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till his enemies be made his footstool. St. Paul hath expressed the same sentiment in literal terms; "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross: WHEREFORE, di, God also hath highly exalted him," Phil. ii. 8.

PSALM CXI.

ARGUMENT.

This is one of the proper Psalms appointed by the church to be read on Easter-day. It containeth, 1. a resolution to praise Jehovah in the congregation, 2, 3. for his great and glorious works, and, 4. for the appointed memorials of them: 5, 6. his mercies to the church are celebrated, and, 7, 8. the equity and the stability of his counsels declared; 9. the blessings of redemption, and the new covenant, are mentioned as they were prefigured of old in God's dispensations toward Israel. 10. Religion is proclaimed to be true wisdom.

1. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Jehovah is to be praised, not only with the voice and the understanding, but with the heart, with the whole heart, and all its affections, tuned, like the chords of the son of Jesse's harp, to a song of gratitude and love. Solitary devotion hath, doubtless, its beauties and excellencies; but how glorious is it to hear the voices of a whole Christian congregation break forth into Hallelujahs, like the sound of many waters, and the noise of mighty thunderings, while each one, as it were, provokes another to continue the blessed employment, with unremitted attention, and unabated fervour.

2. The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

The subjects of man's praise are the works of God. Every one of these works, whether in the natural or the spiritual system, is great. Nothing cometh from the hands of the divine artist, but what is excellent and perfect in its kind, adapted with infinite skill to its proper place, and fitted for its intended use. Happy are they, who with humility and diligence, with faith and devotion, give themselves to the contemplation of these works, and take pleasure and delight therein. To them shall the gate of true science open, they shall understand the mysteries of creation, providence, and redemption; and they who thus seek, shall find the treasures of eternal wisdom.

3. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness en dureth for ever.

The work, of all others, in which the honour and glorious majesty of Jehovah appeared, and which the Christian church celebrates with this Psalm, is the salvation and exaltation of our nature by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; an event which contained in it the accomplishment of the ancient promises, and thereby demonstrated to all the world the everlasting truth, fidelity, and righteousness, of him who made them.

4. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: or, he hath appointed a memorial for his wonders; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Jewish feasts were memorials of the wonders wrought for Israel of old; Christian festivals are memorials of the wonders wrought in Christ for all mankind, to whom no less than to Israel, God had now showed himself gracious and full of compassion.

5. He hath given meat to th ́m that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. 6. He hath showed his p ople the power of his works, that he may, or, might, give them the heritage of the heathen.

Agreeably to the covenant which God made with Abraham, as concerning his children according to the flesh, he fed and supported them in the wilderness, he overthrew their enemies by the might of his power, and he put them in possession of Canaan, which before was the heritage of the heathen. Agreeably to the covenant which God made with the same Abraham, as concerning all believers, those children of the promise which are counted for the seed, he feedeth them in the world with the true * manna, the bread which cometh down from heaven; he hath again showed the power of his works in the overthrow of idolatry; and again, by the conversion of the nations, given to his church the heritage of the heathen; although, like Israel, she is commanded, and hath had frequent admonitions, not to fix her heart on an earthly Canaan; not to expect any permanent habitation, any enduring city here below; not to stop short of an eternal and heavenly rest.

7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. 8. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

In all God's dispensations towards his faithful servants, and towards his impenitent adversaries, we admire and adore his verity in the performance of his promises to the former, and his justice

* "Escam dedit"-Manna: quæ cætera Dei Mirabilia in memoriam revocabat: unde in Areâ servari jussa, Exod. xvi. 32. Erat autem Eucharistiæ figura, quæ verè divini amoris monumentum æternam. Bossuet.

in executing his vengeance on the latter. Thus the time of fulfilling his promise to Abraham came not till the iniquity of the Amorites was full. The case is the same as to the coming of Christ, the subversion of paganism, the deaths of persecutors, the rise and fall of nations, the conversion or excision of individuals, and every other instance of mercy or judgment. Another property of God's works is, that, being "done. in truth and uprightness, they stand fast for ever;" and will then appear in perfect glory and beauty, when all the arts and labours of man shall be no

more.

9 He sent redemption unto his people, he hath commanded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend, or, terrible is his name.

He who sent redemption to Israel by the hand of Moses, hath now sent redemption by the power of Jesus, to all the world: he who, at mount Sinai, established his covenant with his people, and gave them a law, hath now established his covenant with the Gentiles, and published to them his gospel from Sion. Holy is his name, and therefore terrible to those who, under all the means of grace, continue unholy.

10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

The fear of God is the first step to salvation, as it exciteth a sinner to depart from evil, and to do good; to implore pardon, and to sue for grace; to apply to a Saviour for the one, and to a Sanctifier for the other. Religion is the perfection of wisdom, practice the best instructor, and thanksgiving the sweetest recreation.

PSALM CXII.
ARGUMENT.

The Psalmist enumerateth the blessings attending the man who feareth Jehovah; 1. the pleasure which he taketh in doing his will; 2. the prosperity of his seed; 3. the plenteousness in his house; 4. his comfort in trouble; 5. his internal joys; 6. the honour with which he is remembered; 7, 8. his holy confidence in God; 9. his good deeds, and the reward of them; 10. the envy, wretchedness, and perdition of the wicked. The blessings of the gospel are spiritual and eternal; and they are conferred upon the members of the christian church through Christ their head, who is the pattern of all righteousness, and the giver of all grace.

1. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments; or, he delighteth greatly in his commandments.

The man who duly feareth God, is delivered from every other fear; the man who delighteth in God's commandments, is freed from every inordinate desire of earthly things; and such a man must needs be blessed. Of this kind was thy blessedness, O holy Jesus, on whom did rest the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah, and whose meat it was to do the will of him that sent thee, and to finish his work, Isai. xi. 2. John iv. 34.

2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

A father's piety derives the benediction of heaven upon his children. The posterity of faithful Abraham were often spared and favoured on account of their progenitor; as the whole family of believers, Abraham and all, are blessed in Him, who is the great Father of that family, and the Author of their salvation.

3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

It sometimes pleaseth God to bestow on his servants, as he did on Israel of old, the good things of this world. And a rich man is therefore happier than a poor man, because it is more blessed to give than to receive, Acts xx. 35. But the true wealth of Christians is of another kind; their riches are such as neither moth can corrupt, nor thief steal. Grace and glory are in the house of Christ, and everlasting righteousness is the portion of his children.

4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

While we are on earth, we are subject to a threefold darkness; the darkness of error, the darkness of sorrow, and the darkness of death. To dispel these, God visiteth us by his word, with a threefold light; the light of truth, the light of comfort, and the light of life. The Christian's temper is framed after the pattern of his Master; and he is ever ready to show to others that love and mercy which have been shown to him.

5. A good man showeth favour and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

The former part of this verse may be rendered with a little variation, "It is well with the man who is gracious and communicative;" ill nature and avarice are their own tormentors, but love and liberality do good to themselves, by doing it to others, and enjoy all the happiness which they cause. It is not God's intention, that any of the talents which he bestoweth upon us should lie dead, but that our brethren should have the use of them; even as Christ receiveth the Spirit to communicate it to us, and our salvation is his glory and joy. The latter part of this verse

is likewise capable of a different, and, indeed, a more literal translation; “he will support, or, maintain his words, or, his transactions in judgment;" that is, he who thus employed his talents for the benefit of mankind, will be able to render a good account to his Lord who entrusteth them with him.

6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

Nothing can deprive the person here described of his felicity. When his work is done, his body will go to its repose in the dust, but the memorial of his name and of his good deeds will be still fresh as the morning breeze, and fragrant as the flower of the spring. He feareth no evil report: no blast of slander and malice can touch him; no tidings of calamity and destruction can shake his confidence in God: but he will hear the trump of judgment, and behold the world in flames, rather with joy than with dread; as knowing, by those tokens, that the hour of his redemption is come, when he shall see his enemies, and even death, the last of them, under his feet.

9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

His riches are not hoarded up, but dispersed abroad; and that not by others after his death, but by himself in his life-time; He hath dispersed. They are not squandered in the ways of vanity and folly, but given to the poor; nor are they given indiscriminately and at random, but dispersed, like precious seed, with prudence and discretion, according to the nature of the soil, and in proper season, so as to produce the most plentiful harvest. Therefore his righteousness endureth for ever: its fruits and its good re port are lasting among men, and it is never forgotten before God, who hath prepared for it an eternal reward. His horn shall be exalted with honour, or, in glory; whatever may be his lot upon earth, and even there the charitable man will frequently be had in honour at the last day, certainly, when the thrones of the mighty shall be cast down, and the sceptres of tyrants broken in pieces, then shall he lift up his head, and be exalted to partake of the glory of his Redeemer, the author of his faith, and the pattern of his charity, who gave himself for us, and is now seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.

10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

The sight of Christ in glory, with his saints, will, in an inexpressible manner, torment the crucifiers of the one, and the perse

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