The pardon of sin is to be asked, and obtained, throughout that gracious “ne," in which "mercy and truth are met together;" and so "great" is our sin, that pardon can be had only through that name. 12. What man is he that feareth the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

The blessings consequent upon the "fear of the Lord," are such as will fully justify the earnestness and fervour of the foregoing petitions for pardon and grace. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." He who hath it, will "choose" the right way, and will be "taught" to go therein.

13. His soul shall dwell at ease, Heb. lodge in goodness: and his seed shall inherit the earth.

It is a privilege of" the man who feareth the Lord," that not only in this present life, all things work together for his good," but his soul, after having persevered in righteousness, shall take up its abode in the mansions of felicity. His "seed" likewise shall be blessed in the same manner, with such a portion of the temporal promise made to Abraham, as God seeth best for them, and certainly with an abundant share in the spiritual inheritance, the NEW earth, wherein dwell righteousness, joy, and glory. "Blessed are the meek," the seed of Christ, "for they shall inherit the earth," Matt. v. 5.

14. The secret, Heb. fixed counsel, or, design of the LORD, is with them that fear him; and will show them his covenant, Heb. and his covenant to make them know it.

The greatest happiness of man in this world is, to know the fixed and determinate counsels of God concerning the human race, and to understand the covenant of redemption. This likewise is the reward of "the fear of the Lord," which humbles the soul, and prepares it for divine illumination, causing it to place all its comfort in meditation on the wonders of heavenly love. "All things which I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you,” saith our Lord to his disciples, John. xi. 15.

15. Mine eyes are ever towards the LORD: for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Encouraged to hope for the blessings above-mentioned, the lowly suppliant still continues to fix the eyes of his understanding on their proper object, God his Saviour, beholding his glory, attending to his will, and expecting his mercy. An unfortunate dove, whose feet are taken in the snare of the fowler, is a find emblem of the soul, entangled in the cares or pleasures of the world; from which she desires, through the power of grace, to fly away, and to be at rest, with their glorified Redeemer.

16. Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

They who are ever looking unto the Lord, will be heard, when they beseech him to turn his face, and to look upon them. When the soul, forsaking and forsaken by all earthly supports and comforts, finds herself in a state of desolation, and is experimentally convinced of her being, not in a paradise of delights, but in a vale of misery, then her visitation and deliverance are at hand.

17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.

The last

So it was in the

As life is prolonged, troubles are generally enlarged, * till at length they take up what room there is in the heart. scene of the tragedy is the most calamitous. life of our dear Master. And every man will sooner or later perceive, that God alone can "bring him out of his distresses."

18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Affliction and pain, whether of mind or body, are the fruits of sin; and the pardon of sin is the first step towards the removal of sorrow. The latter is sent to beget in us a due sense of the former, in order to a deliverance from both. In the new earth "dwelleth righteousness ;" and, for that reason, "there is no more sorrow, pain, nor crying," 2 Pet. iii. 13. Rev. xxi. 4.

19. Consider mine enemies, for they are many; and they hate me

with cruel hatred.

As the evils we suffer are great, so the enemies we have to encounter are many. Their name is "legion :" and to their envy, hatred, and malice, there are no bounds. How unequal the combat, unless thou, O God, goest forth with us by thy grace, conquering and to conquer!"

20. O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed, for I have put my trust in thee.

Preservation from sin, and deliverance from death, are two great gifts of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For the latter clause, see ver. 2.

21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on thee. How many wishes do our hearts send forth after riches, honours, and pleasures: how few after "integrity and uprightness :" yet these

* Bishop Lowth, with some slight alteration of the text, thinks the rendering should be,

Coarctationes cordis mei dilata;
Et ex angustiis meis educ me.

See Merrick's Annotations.

uprightness are the prerogatives of the King of righteousness; and it is his grace which makes us such as his mercy will accept. On him therefore let us" wait."

22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

In the common salvation all have an interest; and, for that reason, all should pray for it. The earthly David petitioned for Israel; the heavenly David ever continueth to intercede for the church; and every Christian ought to become a suppliant for his brethren, still looking and longing for that glorious day, when, by a joyful resurrection unto life eternal, God shall indeed "redeem Israel out of all his troubles."

PSALM XXVI.

ARGUMENT.

The party speaking in this Psalm, whether we suppose it to be the typical or the true David, the church or any member thereof, lying under the false accusations of calumny, 1, 2, 3. appealeth to God in behalf of injured innocence; 4, 5. disclaimeth all connexion with wicked men; 6, 7, 8. declareth a fixed resolution to adhere to the worship of God in the church, 9, 10. prayeth to be delivered from the ungodly; 11. again protesteth integrity, and 12. determineth to praise the Lord.

1. Judge me, O LORD, for I have walked in mine integrity; I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.

We have here an appeal to God, in behalf of injured and calumniated innocence. This was the case of David, with regard to the accusations of Saul; of Christ, with regard to those of the Jews; and it is often the case of the church, and of good men in the world; for whose use this Psalm seems peculiarly calculated.

2. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me: try my reins and my heart.

A trial of this sort might be desired by David, and may be desired by men, like him, conscious of their integrity, as to the particular crimes charged upon them by the malice of their enemies. Christ alone could ask such a trial at large, as being equally free from every kind and degree of sin; and certain of receiving additional lustre from the increasing heat of the furnace.

4. For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes; and I have walked in thy truth.

They who study, in order to copy the "loving-kindness" and the "truth" of God, may have confidence towards him, whose

"truth" will not suffer him to be false to the promises, which his 'loving-kindness" prompted him to make.

4. I have not sal with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. 5. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

David, driven by Saul into a land of aliens, yet preserved himself from the contagion of idolatry. And happy the Christian who can say, that, during the time of his banishment and pilgrimage, he hath escaped the pollutions that are in the world, namely, vanity and hypocrisy, evil practices, and wicked principles. Christ alone, like his emblem the light, passed through all things undefiled.

6. I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O LORD; 7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell all thy wondrous works.

Instead of consorting with the heathen, David comforts himself with the future prospect of restoration to Jerusalem: of attending the service of God in the tabernacle; of performing the legal ablutions, in token of innocency thereby signified; and of singing, before the holy altar, Psalms of praise for his deliverance. The believing soul, in like manner, may find perpetual consolation, while she looks forward toward her return home from her exile in the world, to the Jerusalem above; her access to the fountain of life and purity; her employment of serving God in the eternal temple, and chanting forth, with angels and archangels, the new songs of the celestial Sion, for so great salvation.

8. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. Heb. the place of the tabernacle of thy glory.

With what ardent affection the banished prophet sighs for the beauty of holiness in the church, the most amiable object on earth, because the nearest resemblance of heaven, where is the true "habitation of God's house, and the tabernacle of his glory;" since of the heavenly Jerusalem, St. John tells us, that the "Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple," Rev. xxi. 22.

9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men ; 10. In whose hand is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes. In consideration of his integrity and piety, David beseeches God not to deliver him over into the hands of his unjust and bloody enemies, nor to reckon him in their number. Let our lot, O Lord, be among thy children here, that it may be among them hereafter. 11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity; redeem me, and he merciful unto me.

The Christian's resolution, like that of the prophet, must be, to hold fast his "integrity" in the midst of his enemies, and not fol

low a multitude to do evil; as knowing, that the day of final redemption and mercy" will come.

12. My foot standeth in an even place; in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

The law of God is that" even place," that plain and direct path, in which the affections, which are the “ feet" of the soul, must be immoveably fixed, so that nothing may induce her to swerve from the stability of her purpose, to the right hand or to the left. David, upon his return to his country," blessed the Lord in the congregation" of Israel, by singing Psalms of praise and thanksgiving, and by the constant use of those very Psalms, the Lord is daily “blessed” in all Christian" congregations" throughout the world; yea, and he shall be so blessed to the end of time.

V. DAY. EVENING PRAYER. PSALM XXVII.

ARGUMENT.

This Psalm containeth, 1-3. a declaration of trust and confidence in Jehovah, amidst the dangers and tumults of war: 4. a longing desire of restoration to the city and house of God; 5, 6. a triumphant assurance of final victory and exaltation; 7—12. earnest prayer for support and protection; 13. a profession of faith, and its mighty power and comfort in affliction; 14. an exhortation to patience.

1. The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? God is our light," as he showeth us the state we are in, and the enemies we have to encounter; he is our "strength," as he enableth us by his grace, to cope with, and overcome them; and he is our “salvation," as the author and finisher of our deliverance from sin, death, and Satan. All this he was to the blessed Person, whom David represented; and all this he will be to his faithful servants. "If God" therefore "be for us, who can be against us?" Rom. viii. 31.

2

2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and foes, came upon me, to eat my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

The past time is often used, in the prophetical language, to intimate the certainty of the future. Faith sees the foe already vanquished, and the prey snatched from the jaws of the devouring lion.

3. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

What avails it, that the "host" of darkness is in arms, and the world taking the field against us, when the LORD is our light, and heaven our ally?