"By no means; it is all to be ascribed to thee." The goodness of man is all derived from God, and should be extended to his brethren. That of Messiah owed its original to his union with the Divinity; and promoted the salvation of those to whom it was communicated, that is to say, of those who thereby became "the saints and excellent ones in the earth." For their sakes obedience was performed, and propitiation made, by the Son of God, because he loved them with an everlasting love, and placed "all his delight" in making them happy. He "rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the sons of men," Prov. viii. 31.

4. Their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

Christ denounceth vengeance against those who should make to themselves other gods, run after other saviours, or suffer any creature to rival him in their affections; declaring of such that their offerings should not be presented by him to the Father, nor should they be partakers of the benefits of his intercession. Even the bloody sacrifices of the law, instituted for a time by God himself, became abomination to him when that time was expired, and the one great sacrifice had been offered upon the altar of the cross.

5. The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup; thou maintainest my lot. 6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodiy heritage.

The true David, anointed to his everlasting kingdom, yet first a man of sorrows and a stranger upon earth, prefers the promised inheritance of the church, that spiritual kingdom, city, and temple of Jehovah, before all the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; he is sure that Jehovah will maintain his lot, that he will both give and preserve to him this his patrimony; and therefore rejoices at the divine beauty and excellency of the heavenly Canaan. And hence the Christian learns wherein his duty and his happiness consist; namely, in making choice of God for "the portion of his inheritance and of his cup," for his support, and for his delight: in prefering the spirit to the flesh, the church to the world; and eternity to time.

7. I will bless the LORD who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night season.

The person speaking here blesses Jehovah for communicating that divine" counsel," that celestial wisdom, by which he was incited and enabled to make the foregoing choice and resolution.

In the latter part of the verse is intimated the mode of these gracious and spiritual communications, which in the dark seasons of adversity were conveyed to the inmost thoughts and affections of the mind, thereby to instruct, to comfort, and to strengthen the sufferer, until his passion should be accomplished, and the morning of the resurrection should dawn, in which, as we shall see, all his hope and confidence were placed.

8. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

The method taken by Christ, as man, to support himself in time of trouble, and persevere unto the end, was to maintain a constant actual sense of the presence of Jehovah, whom when he thus saw standing at his right hand, ready, at the appointed hour, to succour and deliver him, he then feared not the powers of earth and hell combined for his destruction. Why are our fears great, but because our faith is little?

9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Through confidence in the almighty power engaged on his side, joy filled the heart of Christ, and rendered his tongue an instrument of giving glory to Jehovah in the midst of his sufferings; because when they were ended, as they must soon be, his flesh was only to make its bed, and rest awhile in the grave, after the labours of the day, in sure and certain hope of a speedy resurrection and glorification. This same consideration is to the afflicted, the sick, and the dying Christian, a never-failing source of comfort, an inexhaustible fountain of joy; sin and infidelity are the enemies, who would fill it with earth.

10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neilker wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

It was a part of the covenant of grace, and promised by the mouth of God's prophets, that after the death of Messiah, his animal frame v should not continue, like those of other men, in the grave, nor should corruption be permitted to seize on the body, by which all others were to be raised to incorruption and immortality. As members of Christ, this same promise and assurance is so far ours, that although our mortal part must see corruption, yet it shall not be finally left under the power of the enemy, but shall be raised again, and reunited to its old companion, the soul, which exists, meanwhile, in secret and undiscerned regions, there waiting for the day when its Redeemer shall triumph over corruption, in his mystical, as he hath already done, in, his natural body.

11. Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy: at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

The return of Christ from the grave is beautifully described by Jehovah "showing," or discovering to him a "path of life," leading through the valley of the shadow of death, and from that valiey to the summit of the hill of Zion, or to the mount of God in heaven, on which he now sits enthroned. There exalted at the right hand of the Father, that human body, which expired on the cross, and slept in the sepulchre, lives and reigns, filled with delight, and encircled by glory incomprehensible and endless. Through this thy beloved Son and our dear Saviour, "thou shalt show" us likewise, O Lord, "the path of life;" thou shalt justify our souls by thy grace now, and raise our bodies by thy power at the last day; when earthly sorrow shall terminate in heavenly joy, and momentary pain shall be rewarded with everlasting felicity.

PSALM XVII.

ARGUMENT.

The Psalmist, confiding in the justice of his cause, 1-4. prayeth for a hearing and decision of it; 5-9. he petitioneth for the divine guidance and protection; 10-12. he describeth the temper and behaviour of his enemies; 13, 14. beseecheth God to disappoint them, and to deliver him; he endeth with an act of faith.

1. Hear the right, O LORD, or, Hear, O righteous LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

The righteousness of the judge, and the importunity and sincerity of the petitioner, are the arguments here urged for a speedy and favourable determination. Slander and calumny were the portion of David, and of a greater than David, till the righteous Lord manifested himself on their behalf. And shall not God, in like manner, judge and avenge the cause of "his own elect, who cry day and night unto him? I tell you," saith Christ himself, "that he will avenge them speedily," Luke xviii. 8. "Men ought always to pray, therefore, and not to faint."

2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

A court of equity is ever sitting in heaven, to receive appeals from the wrongful decisions of men here below; and in that court a judge presides whose impartial hand holds the scales of justice even; whose unerring eye marks the least inclination of either; and

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from whose sentence injured innocence is therefore taught to expect redress.

3. Thou hast proved mine heart, thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth shall not trangress.

The sufferer's "heart condemns him not, and he has confidence towards God," to whom he applies as the proper Judge, because the only Witness of his integrity. God had "proved," not only his words and actions, but his "heart," which man could not do: God had "visited," observed, and explored “him in the night," when secrecy and solitude prompt the hypocrite to sin, and when the undisciplined imagination wanders abroad, like the bird of darkness, after forbidden objects; God had" tried" him, as silver orgold, in the fiery furnace of adversity; and if there be any dross or scum in the metal, it will then rise to the top, and show itself; yet nothing appeared, not so much as the alloy of an intemperate word. Absolutely and universally this could only be true of the holy Jesus; however, through his grace, it may be true of some of his disciples, in particular instances of crimes falsely laid to their charge. Let us pray that it may be true of us, whenever God shall please to prove and try us.

4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of his lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

The way to hold fast our integrity in time of temptation is here pointed out. "Concerning the works of men," that is, such works as fallen depraved man has recourse to, when in distress, "by the word of thy lips," by treasuring up thy word in my heart, as the rule of my actions, and the guide of my life, "I have watched," observed, that is, in order to avoid "the paths of the destroyer." This seems to be the literal construction, and to convey the full meaning of the verse, which contains exactly the same sentiment with that in Ps. cxix. 11. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." If the word either be not in the heart at all, or if it be not there in such a manner as to be ready at all times for use and application, the man is in danger, at every turn, of going astray.

5. Hold up my goings in my paths, that my footsteps slip not.

The word of God affords us direction, but the grace of God must enable us to follow its direction, and that grace must be obtained by prayer. The " paths of God" are opposed to the "paths of the destroyer," the way of righteousness to that of sin. The image here is taken from one walking in a slippery path, for such is that of human life, by reason of temptations; so that the believer, espe

cially if he be young, feeble, and inexperienced, has great need of a divine supporter in every step he takes.

6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, or, because thou hast heard me, O God: incline thine ear to me, and hear my speech.

The sweet experience of former deliverances giveth a comfortable assurance of protection in present and future dangers; and this should cause us to fly for refuge at all times, by strong supplication and prayer, to him who is able and willing to save us from death.

7. Show thy marvellous loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee, from those that rise up against them.

This is an address to the "loving-kindness," or mercy of God, which the Psalmist entreats him to display and magnify in his favour, since it was the promise, the delight, and the glory of Jehovah, to save those who believed and trusted in HIM. There are two ways of rendering the latter clause of this verse: either, "Thou who savest by thy right hand, &c." as our translation has it; or, "Thou that savest them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up at, or, against thy right hand,” meaning the opposers of the divine counsels and dispensations; as in Zech. iii. 1. Satan is said to "stand at Joshua's right hand,” to obstruct the building of the temple.

8. Keep me as the apple of the cyc: hide me under the shadow of thy wings. 9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

He who has so fenced and guarded that precious and tender part, the pupil of the eye, and who has provided for the security of a young and helpless brood under the wings of their dam, is here entreated to extend the same providential care and parental love to the souls of his elect, equally exposed to danger, equally beset with enemies. Of his readiness so to do he elsewhere assureth us, under the same exquisite imagery. Zech. ii. 8. “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye." Matt. xxiii. 37. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings!"

10. They are inclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly.

The last argument made use of by the Psalmist, in his address to God, is the character of his adversaries. He begins with their "pride" and its cause, "fulness of bread," or high-living. Dr. Hammond prefers the rendering which follows; "They have shut