The chief desire of the Christian, analogous to that of the prophet in distress, is to be saved from sin, as well as sorrow; to be instructed in the way of righteousness, by the "light" of heavenly wisdom, shining in the face of Jesus Christ; to see the accomplishment of the promises, in him who is the "truth;" and to be "led" by this light and this truth, from the land of his pilgrimage, to the "holy hill," and the "mansions" of the just, in the new Jerusalem.

"4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy, or, the gladness of my joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God."

The royal prophet, upon his restoration to his throne, was to sacrifice, on the altar of his God, with the voice of thanksgiving, and to celebrate his mighty deliverer, in a new song, upon the melodious harp. The Christian, in like manner, foresees a day coming, when sorrow and sighing shall be no more; when he and his brethren are to be "made kings and priests;" when they are to reign with their Redeemer for ever; and, upon their golden harps, tuned to an unison with those of angels, to sing his everlasting praises in the courts of the heavenly temple. Therefore,

5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." See above, Psalm xlii. 5.

NINTH DAY.-MORNING PRAYER.

PSALM XLIV.

ARGUMENT.

In this Psalm we have the voice of the church, under persecution, 1-3. recounting the mercies of God, vouchsafed to his servants of old time; 4-8. declaring her confidence, that she shall experience the same in her present distress, and shall at length overcome, through the power of her Redeemer; for that notwithstanding her seeming desertions and manifold sufferings, 9-16. there is still a faithful remnant, 17-22. of those who have not bowed the knee to Baal, and who cease not, 23-26. to cry unto God for mercy and deliverance.

"1. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old."

The works wrought of old, by the arm of Jehovah, for the salvation of his people, are recorded by the Spirit in the Scriptures of truth, that "through patience and comfort of those Scriptures," as the Apostle expresseth it, the church and people of God, whensoever oppressed and afflicted, in any age or country, "may have hope," that the same God will exert the same power in their behalf. And great is the light, great is the consolation, which the sacred history, when thus applied, will always afford to the troubled mind.

"2. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out."

If the dispossession of the Canaanites, and the establishment of the house of Jacob in their land, furnished the distressed church of Israel with sufficient ground for confidence; how much force hath the argument since received, by the accomplishment of what was then typified; by the victories of the true Joshua, or Jesus, by the fall of paganism, and the plantation of the Christian faith in its stead!

"3. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them."

As it sufficiently appears, that the settlement of Israel in the promised land was the work of God, from the miraculous fall of Jericho; from the prolongation of the day, at the word of Joshua; from the slaughter of the enemy by hailstones from heaven, &c. &c. so was it the first thing which an Israelite was in duty bound to acknowledge, if he hoped for more mercies at the hand of God. The Christian, in like manner, begins and ends all his prayers with an humble and thankful acknowledgment of the free mercy of God in Jesus Christ; confessing, that he "got not" his title to salvation, nor should enter into the possession of it, by "his own" power or merit, but by the right hand and the arm of his Redeemer, and the light of his countenance, because he had a favour unto him."

"4. Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob."

In these words, the church sums up her argument; as if she had said, O thou, who, going forth before thy people, hast so often and so wonderfully wrought salvation of old time, I still acknowledge thee as my King, able and willing to save; O manifest yet again thy power, yet again let me experience thy mercy. Behold, all things are yet at thy command; all events are at thy disposal. O gracious Saviour, let all work together for good, to her whom thou lovest.

"5. Through thee will we push down our enemies; through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us."

The people of God, however persecuted by the powers of the world, here declare, that their faith faileth not; that the adversary cannot take from them their holy confidence in God, through whom, and in whose saving name, whenever he shall think fit to hear their prayers, and to appear in their cause, they doubt not of obtaining a final victory, and celebrating a glorious triumph over all their enemies, terrestrial and infernal. Such should be the hope of every afflicted soul.

"6. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. 8. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever."

In spiritual as well as temporal warfare, the appointed means are to be used, but not "trusted in;" man is to fight, but God giveth the victory; and to Him must be ascribed the praise, and the power, and the glory; that, as it is written, "He who glorieth, may glory in the Lord." And thus the Christian church daily singeth, after the example of her blessed and holy representative, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour."

9. But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies."

The church having declared her confidence, founded on the former mercies of God vouchsafed unto her, proceedeth now to describe her pitiable state under persecution, when the protection of the Almighty seemed, for a season, to be withdrawn, so that she was no longer able to stand before her enemies.

"10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy; and they which hate us spoil for themselves."

The first consequence of a victory, gained by the enemies over the friends of the church, is rapine and sacrilege; the invasion of her patrimony, and the plunder of her revenues; allured by the prospect of which, robbery hath sometimes entered into the sanctuary, under the mask of reformation. "11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen."

The second calamity which is permitted to fall on the church, in the day of adversity, is that her people are doomed to sudden and cruel deaths by sanguinary edicts. A third calamity is that of their being driven, in times of persecution, from their native country, to wander among strangers and aliens, or among those in whose communion it is judged unlawful to join.

"12. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price."

A fourth misery incident to the people of God, when under persecution, is, that he permits them to be held cheap and vile, and to be sold into slavery by their enemies for little or nothing; a situation far more to be dreaded than the sword of the executioner.

"13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us. 14. Thou makest us a by-word among the heathen; a shaking of the head among the people. 15. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me: 16. For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger."

The fifth and last bitter fruit of persecution is, that thereby the name, and truth, and church, and people of God, are exposed to the insolent and blasphemous scoffs and jeers of infidels; nor is there any circumstance to a pious soul more grievous and afflictive than this.

"17. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. 18. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death."

It is certain that God is provoked, by the sins of a church, to let loose the fury of the oppressor upon her. This is acknowledged by Daniel in his prayer, ch. ix. by the three children in the furnace, Song, ver. 5, 6. by the Maccabean martyrs, suffering under Antiochus, 2 Macc. vii. 18. and by Cyprian, and others, in the primitive times. It is not less certain, that no mere man can say, he is free from transgression. The verses now under consideration, are not, therefore, spoken by the whole church, but by the faithful remnant; nor do they imply an exemption from all sin, but a steadfast perseverance in the profession of God's true religion, from which it is the aim of persecution to seduce, or to force them. The malice of the tormentors is here compared to the venom of "serpents;" and the state of a suffering church to the gloom of "death" itself. Happy the soul, that in the extremity of affliction can with humble confidence thus make her appeal to God, as having held fast her integrity against all the efforts made to wrest it from her, and not having suffered the blasts of adverse fortune, by wearing out patience, to part her from the anchor of faith.

"20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21. Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart."

The consideration, that God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all "things," 1 John iii. 20. ought to be strongly impressed on our minds at all times; but more particularly, when we are tempted by the world (as, one way or other, we all frequently are) to deny our Master, either by word or deed; and when we have occasion to call Heaven to witness our uprightness under such temptation.

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22. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as the sheep for the slaughter."

The sufferings of the martyrs were a sufficient proof that they had not yielded to the temptations of the enemy. St. Paul, Rom. viii. 36. cites this verse as predictive of the persecution then beginning to be raised against the Christians. All may apply it to themselves, who are in circumstances of the same nature; and persecution is generally consistent with itself, contriving by some means or other, to be rid of those who stand in its way. It is a storm, before which all must either bend or be broken.

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"23. Awake, why sleepest thou, O LORD? Arise, cast us not off for ever. 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction, and our oppression?"

There is a time, when the triumphs of the adversary, and the afflictions

of the church, tempt men to think, that the eye of Providence is closed, or turned away, and that the Almighty had ceased to remember their sad estate. But the truth is, that God only giveth his people an opportunity of feeling their own insufficiency; and waiteth, till by fervent and importunate prayer, they solicit his help. For so the holy Jesus slept, while the ship was covered with the waves; until, awakened by the cries of his disciples, he arose to their assistance, and spoke the tempest into a perfect calm.

"25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the earth."

They who are not brought into this state of humiliation, by outward sufferings, should bring themselves into it by inward mortifications and selfdenial, by contrition and abasement, if they would put up such prayers, as the Majesty of Heaven will deign to accept and answer; if they would repeat, with our church, in the spirit of the litany, the concluding verse of this Psalm

"26. Arise, for our help, and redeem us, for thy mercies' sake!"

PSALM XLV.

ARGUMENT.

In this Psalm, which is one of those appointed to be used on Christmas-day; the prophet, after, 1. proposing his subject, proceeds to celebrate King Messiah, 2. for his spiritual beauty and eloquence; 3, 4, 5. his power and victories; 6. his throne and sceptre; 7. his righteousness and inauguration; 8. his royal robes, and glorious palace. 9. The church is introduced as his spouse; her appearance and dress are described; 10, 11, 12. it is foretold, that the nations shall bring their offerings to her; 13, 14, 15. her attire, her presen tation to Christ with her attendant train, and the universal joy and gladness, occasioned by the solemnization of the nuptials, are set forth. 16. The prophet predicteth the fruits of this divine union, and, 17. the use that should be made of his sacred epithalanium, by the faithful, from generation to ge

neration.

"1. My heart is inditing, Heb. boileth, or, bubbleth up, a good matter, or, the good word: I speak of the things which I have made touching the King: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer."

"The Spirit of the Lord," saith David elsewhere, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. "spake by me, and his word is my tongue." In like manner, we are to conceive the prophet here to be full of the Divine Spirit, which inspired him with "the good word," or the glad tidings of salvation. The sacred fire, enclosed in his heart, expanded itself within, till at length it brake forth with impetuosity to enlighten and to revive mankind with this glorious prediction "touching the king," Messiah; and this was uttered by his tongue, under the guidance of the Spirit, as, in writing, the pen is directed by the hand that holds it.

"2. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever."

After a short introduction, the prophet stays not to enter regularly upon the subject, in the formal way of narration; but, as if he saw the Divine Person, whom he was about to celebrate, standing before him, he breaks out in ecstatic admiration of the second Adam, so different from all the descendants of the first! Compounded of a soul fair above all created spirits, and a body pure and perfect, and now brighter than the meridian sun; being invested with the unutterable effulgence of the Divine nature. Next to the spiritual beauty of Messiah, the prophet is astonished (as those who heard him speak in the days of his flesh afterwards were) at the " gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, Luke iv. 22. through the grace poured into his lips." Such honey and milk were under his tongue,

so delightful and salutary was his doctrine, that even his enemies found themselves obliged to confess, "never man spake like this man," John vii. 46. His word instructed the ignorant, resolved the doubtful, comforted the mourners, reclaimed the wicked, silenced his adversaries, healed diseases, controlled the elements, and raised the dead. Therefore hath the Father loved, and exalted, and blessed him for evermore.

"3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty; with thy glory and thy majesty."

The prophet having described the beauty and the eloquence of the King, proceedeth now to set forth his power, and to arm him as a warrior for the battle. The "sword" of Messiah is his Word, which, in the language of St. Paul, is said to be "quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword;" and is represented by St. John, as "a sharp two-edged sword," coming out of the "mouth" of Christ, Heb. iv. 12. Rev. i. 16. With this weapon he prevailed, and thereby made his "glory and majesty' to be known throughout the world.

"4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because, or, for the sake, of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible, or, wonderful, things."*

Messiah is in these words magnificently described as making his progress among the nations, seated in his triumphal chariot, adorned with all the regal virtues, achieving the most astonishing victories, and, by the irresistible might of his power, subduing idolatry and iniquity to the faith and temper of the Gospel."

5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee."

The prophet goes on to represent Messiah as a warrior, completely armed, and skilful in the use of every weapon. Thus a prince is portrayed, Rev. vi. 2. "I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him; and he went forth conquering and to conquer." The conquests of Messiah are either those of his word over sin, or those of his arm over the persecuting powers.

“6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.'

The battle being fought and the victory gained, we are called to the consideration of the "throne" and "sceptre" of King Messiah, whom the prophet addresseth, as God. His throne is distinguished from the thrones of this world, by its endless duration; his sceptre from the sceptre of earthly potentates, by the unerring rectitude of its administration.

"7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." The sermons, the example, and, above all, the death of Christ for the expiation of sin, demonstrated his love of righteousness and hatred of wickedness; and "because he humbled himself, and became obedient even to the death of the cross, therefore God highly exalted him," Phil. ii. 8, 9. and he was "anointed" to the kingdom, "with the Holy Ghost and with power" immeasurable; to the intent that he might bestow, in due proportion, the gifts of heaven on those whom he is not ashamed to call "friends" and "brethren." And these gifts he did bestow on them, by the emission of the Spirit, soon after his ascension and inauguration. See the application of these two last verses to Christ, Heb. i. 8.

"8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces,† whereby they have made thee glad."

The sense, perhaps, may be this; Thy right hand, by its promptness to encounter danger, shall bring thee acquainted with terrible things: thy right hand shall know its office; by habitual exercise, shall render thee expert in war, and lead thee on from conquest to conquest." Merrick.

That is, palaces adorned, or inlaid with ivory: as "Ebur atria vestit." Lucan, x. 119. Merrick.