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PSALM XXXIX.

ARGUMENT.

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The prophet in a state of distress and persecution, determineth, 1-3. to be watchful and silent, as our blessed Lord also was, before his enemies. He prayeth for a due sense of the shortness of human life and after meditating, 5, 6. on that subject, fixeth all his faith and hope in God, 7. whom he entreateth, but with submission to his will, 8-10. for remission of sin, and alleviation of misery. 11. From a view of the human body wearing away by sickness, he breaketh out, 12, 13. into a most fervent and affectionate prayer, which ought to be continually in the mouth of the Christian upon earth. This Psalm is with the utmost propriety appointed by the church to be used at the burial of the dead, as a funeral is indeed the best comment upon it. "1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me."

The Psalm begins abruptly with the result of a meditation on the narrow, slippery, and dangerous paths of life; and more especially, on the extreme difficulty of restraining the tongue amidst the continual temptations and provocations of the adversary. In these circumstances, "watchfulness" and "silence" are resolved on as the only means of security. Let us behold the Lamb of God, as our great pattern and example herein.

2. I was dumb with silence; I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred."

There is a time to keep silence, because there are men who will not hear; there are tempers, savage and sensual, as those of swine, before whom, evangelical pearls, or the treasures of heavenly wisdom, are not to be cast. This consideration stirreth up fresh grief and trouble in a pious and charitable heart. How much more must it have done so, in the soul of Him, who lived and died only for the salvation of sinners.

"3. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue."

The fire of divine charity, thus prevented from diffusing itself, for the illumination and warmth of those around it, and, like other fire, rendered more intense by its confinement, presently ascended in the flame of devotion toward heaven; while it continued to be fed, and preserved in brightness and vigour, by meditation on the goodness of God, and the ingratitude of man; the transient miseries of time, and the durable glories of eternity.

"4. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.'

Wearied with the contradiction of sinners, and sickening at the prospect of so much wretchedness in the valley of weeping, the soul looks forward to her departure from hence, praying for such a sense of the shortness of human life, as may enable her to bear the sorrows of this world, and excite her to prepare for the joys of a better. “O faithless and perverse generation," saith even the meek and patient Jesus himself, "how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?" Matt. xvii. 17.

"5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee; verily every man at his best, Heb. settled estate, is altogether vanity."

The age of man, or that of the world, is but a "span" in dimension, a moment in duration; nay, it is less than both; it is "nothing," if compared with the unmeasurable extent, and the unnumbered days of eternity: every hour, from that of our birth, brings us so much nearer to our death; nor can we continue, for a second of time, in one stay. "Behold," then, O Lord, the "vanity" of man; and be so merciful unto him, as to open his eyes, that he may behold it himself!

66 6. Surely, every man walketh in a vain shew, or, in a shadowy image;

surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them."

This world is, to the other, as a "shadow" to the substance; nay, temporal life, health, riches, honours, and pleasures, can hardly be called shadows of those which are eternal in point of resemblance; though for their illusive and fleeting nature, they are shadows indeed. "The mortal state of man is compounded of light and darkness) seeming to be something, when really it is nothing: always altering and ending on a sudden; nearest to disappearing, when at full length; sure to continue no longer than while the sun is above the horizon; but liable to vanish at the interposition of a cloud; and, when it is gone, leaving no track behind it." The fate of riches, heaped up by misers, with unutterable care and anxiety, may convince us how "vainly" men are 66 disquieted!"

"7. And now, LORD, what wait I for? My hope is in thee."

The soul, that hath a true sense of the vanity of the creature, will at once fix her thoughts and affections on the Creator. A celebrated writer, describing a man of the world on his death-bed, hath expressed this sentiment with wonderful sublimity and elegance-"Whoever would know how much piety and virtue surpass all external goods, might here have seen them weighed against each other, where all that gives motion to the active, and elevation to the eminent: all that sparkles in the eye of hope, and pants in the bosom of suspicion, at once became dust in the balance, without weight and without regard. Riches, authority, and praise, lose all their influence, when they are considered as riches, which to-morrow shall be bestowed upon another: authority, which shall this night expire for ever; and praise, which, however merited, or however sincere, shall, after a few moments, be heard no more.

"8. Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish.'

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Affliction hath then had its proper effect, when the sufferer is thereby convinced of sin, and therefore prayeth for a removal of the latter, as the only way to be delivered from the former. The " "reproaches of the foolish make no inconsiderable article in the account of a Christian's sufferings and our Lord frequently complaineth of them in the Psalms, as one of the bitter ingredients of his own cup.

"9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it." Whatever materials compose the rod of affliction, and from whatsoever quarter the stroke cometh, let us remember, that the rod is grasped, and the stroke is inflicted, by the hand of our heavenly Father. To revenge ourselves on the instrument is folly; to murmur against the agent is something worse.

10. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand."

The Christian, who knows from whence his troubles proceed, knows where to apply for relief; and having first "petitioned" for remission of sin, ver. 8. he then humbly supplicates for a mitigation of his sorrow. "Father," saith the beloved Son of God, "if thou be willing, remove this cup from me," Luke xxii. 42.

11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty, or, all that is delightful, or, desirable in him, to consume away like a moth: surely, every man is vanity."

The body of man is as a "garment" to the soul; in this garment sin hath lodged a "moth," which, by degrees, fretteth and weareth away, first the beauty, then the strength, and finally the contexture of its parts. Whoever has watched the progress of a consumption, or any other lingering distemper, nay, the slow and silent devastations of time alone, in the human frame, will need no farther illustration of this just and affecting similitude;

* Rambler, Vol. II. No. 54.

but will discern at once the propriety of the reflection which follows upon it "Surely, every man is vanity!"

"12. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were."

Meditation should terminate in devotion; and meditation on human vanity and misery, if indulged as it deserves to be, certainly will do so; it will bring us to our "prayers," our "cries," and our tears;" and teach us to address the throne of grace, as poor pilgrims in a strange land, who have here no abiding city, but are soon to strike our tents, and be gone for ever. Such was David, though king of Israel; and such was the Son of David, in the body of his flesh, though Lord of all things: both were "strangers and sojourners, as all their fathers," Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were before them, and as all their children have been, and shall be, after them upon the earth.

"13. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be

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Most fervently and affectionately, therefore, ought the Christian pilgrim to pray, that God would spare his life, and respite the fatal sentence, until all that hath been decayed through the frailty of nature, be renewed by the power of grace; that his perfect reconciliation with the Almighty may be accomplished, and his plenary pardon sealed in heaven, before he taketh his last farewell of the world, and ceaseth to have an existence in these regions of vanity and sorrow.

PSALM XL.

ARGUMENT.

It is plain, from ver. 6-8. of this Psalm, compared with Heb. x. 5. that the prophet is speaking in the person of Christ, who, 1-5. celebrateth the deliverance wrought for his mystical body, the church, by his resurrection from the grave, effecting that of his members from the guilt and dominion of sin; for the abolition of which he declareth, 6-8 the inefficacy of the legal sacrifices, and mentioneth his own incarnation, to do the will of his Father. and, 9, 10. to preach righteousness to the world. 11-18. He representeth himself as praying, while under his sufferings, for his own and his people's salvation; he foretelleth, 14, 15. the confusion and desolation of his enemies, and, 16. the joy and thankfulness of his disciples and servants; for the speedy accomplishment of which, 17. he preferreth a petition.

"1. I waited patiently for the LORD, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."

In this verse we hear the voice of the meek Lamb of God, who, though never sorrow was like unto his sorrow, "waited patiently," till the time appointed by the Father came, when that sorrow should be turned into joy. Let not his disciples expect to "inherit the promises," otherwise than "through faith and patience." Four thousand years, the church, under the patriarchs, the law, and the prophets, waited for the first advent of Messiah; and, seventeen hundred years, the church, under the Gospel, hath awaited for the second. Jehovah, who inclined himself to the prayers of the former, will also hear the cries of the latter.

"2. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, Heb. a pit of confused tumultuous noise, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

The sufferings from which our Redeemer was delivered, are here described under the image of a dark subterraneous cavern, from which there was no emerging, and where roaring cataracts of water broke in upon him, overwhelming him on every side; till, as it is expressed in the xviiith Psalm,

"God sent from above, and took him, and drew him out of many waters." Let us celebrate the deliverance of Christ, as a pledge and earnest of our own rescue from the troubles and temptations of life; from the power of death and the grave; from the "horrible pit, and the miry clay;" when we shall be exalted on "the rock" of our salvation, and our "goings" shall be "established" for ever.

"3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our GoD: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."

Every new deliverance requires "a new song." Christians sing their wonderful redemption from sin and death in these holy hymns, which God, by his Spirit, hath put into their mouths, and which, by their application to matters evangelical, are become "new" songs, setting forth the praise and glory of God, through Jesus Christ. And who can hear the church singing the victory and triumph of her mighty and merciful Saviour, without being incited to "fear" and to "believe."

"4. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."

He who is sensible how much God hath done, and how little the world can do for him, will earnestly and heartily pronounce the blessedness of the man who relies upon the real power and goodness of the former, instead of suffering himself to be deceived by the empty parade and fallacious promises of the latter.

"5. Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

The counsels and works of the ever-blessed Trinity, planned and executed for the benefit of man, in his creation and preservation, his redemption and sanctification, in order to his resurrection and glorification, through Christ, already risen and glorified, are subjects which can never be exhausted by the intellectual powers of men or angels; but will, to both, afford matter of incessant meditation and endless praise. Yet, how little do we meditate on them; how seldom, and how coldly, do we praise God for them!

"6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me. 8. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."

These words, as the Apostle informeth us, Heb. x. 5. are spoken by Christ, in his own person. In them he proclaims the inefficacy of the legal sacrifices to take away sin, and the Divine disapprobation of such sacrifices, when relied on for that purpose. He sets forth his own readiness to do, and to suffer, the will of the Father, implied in the Psalm, by the words "mine ears hast thou opened ;" but more plainly expressed in the Apostle's citation, by the paraphrase, "a body hast thou prepared me.' He refers to the predictions concerning Messiah, in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which is here styled" the volume, or, roll of the book." He declares the pleasure he had in doing the Father's will, or in accomplishing the law;

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For the expression "Mine ears hast thou opened," seems equivalent to, "Thou hast made me obedient." Thus, Isa. I. 5. The Lord hath opened mine ears, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiter," &c. The LXX. perhaps, meant to interpret this symbolical impression, when they rendered it by aμa naτпρTIO0 μol, “Thon hast prepared," or, fitted my body," that is, to be "obedient," and to "do thy will." See Dr. Jackson, Vol. II. p. 882. This seems to be the best sense of the present reading, and is well expressed by Mr. Merrick, in his poetical version:

Nor sacrifice thy love can win,

Nor offerings from the stain of sin
Obnoxious man shall clear:

Thy hand my mortal frame prepares,
(Thy hand, whose signature it bears,)
And opes my willing ear.

Mr. Pierce, of Exeter, proposed a conjectural alteration of the word "ears," into the

which had taken possession of all his powers and faculties; having been admitted by the understanding, retained in the memory, and rendered operative in the will. "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."

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"9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation."

As the preceding verses described the priestly office of our Lord; in the execution of which he offered himself, and his all-perfect obedience, for us ; so, in the passage now before us, he declares himself to have acted up to the prophetical part of his character, by "preaching" the doctrines of truth, righteousness, and salvation to the people, without concealing aught, through negligence, fear, or favour. Happy the minister of Christ, who, on his death-bed, is able to say the same!

"11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD; let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me."

The beloved Son of God here prayeth for the continuation of that mercy, and the accomplishment of those gracious promises, to his body the church, which made the subjects of his heavenly discourses in the days of his flesh. Such ought to be the subjects of our discourses and of our prayers.

"12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up: they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth me."

If these words, as well as the foregoing, are supposed to be spoken by our Lord, (and indeed there doth not appear to be any change of person) they must he uttered by him, considering himself (for so the primitive writers suppose him in the Psalms frequently to consider himself) as still suffering in his body mystical, the church; and lamenting, as head, both the transgressions and the afflictions of the members, accomplishing their warfare in the world. Thus much at least we know, that after his ascension, when the members were persecuted on earth, the head complained from heaven, as sensible of the pain. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME?" Some critics think the word y, in the text, may be translated, "my punishBut the author of the Anonymous Notes, mentioned below, observes, that all punishments, properly speaking, presuppose sin; and especially, when they are represented, as here, to overtake and seize a person. Therefore, to understand this of Christ, it must be interpreted of imputed sins, or punishments for them." Merrick's Annotations, p. 295.

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me."

13. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help

This short, but forcible prayer, for help and deliverance in God's good time, and according to his good pleasure, continues, and must continue, to be the prayer of the church, and of all her children, until the day of final redemption.

must

two words "then a body," &c. in which case a learned friend suggests, likewise be altered to "hast thou prepared, or finished." Bishop Lowth wishes to adopt Mr. Pierce's emendation, in order to render the original conformable to St. Paul's citation from the LXX. And I must confess, if the Apostle's argument turned on the word μa, such an emendation might seem necessary. It is true, aua Xp158 occurs in the succeeding verse; but I think it not essential to the argument, which seems to stand clear and full, whatever be the meaning of owμa xaтпρTION μol" When he said, Sacrifice, &c. thou wouldst not-then he said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." The author of the Anonymous Notes in Mr. Merrick's Annotations, I find, is of this opinion: "It is not certain that the apostle argues from the word u at all. He quotes the translation of the LXX, as he found it in his copy; lays a stress on what is in the Hebrew, but none on the rest; either knowing it not to be there, or being restrained by the Spirit of God, from making use of it." See Appendix to Merrick's Annotations, p. 294.

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