grief, David with another, Daniel with a third, all forgot or refused to eat their bread, 1 Kings xxi. 4. 2 Sam. xii. 16. Dan. x. 3. Such natural companions are mourning and fasting.

5. By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin.

Extremity of sorrow causeth the flesh to waste, and the bones to press upon the skin, through which they are ready to force their way. Sickness is the chastisement of heaven, inflicted often upon us to supply the want of that discipline which we should exercise upon ourselves. "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world, 1 Cor. xi. 31.

6. I am like the pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl, or, bittern of the desert, or, of waste ruinous places. 7. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top.

The sorrowful man is naturally desirous of retiring from the world, to vent his complaints in solitude, and to pass the nights in watchfulness and prayer. In such a situation the true penitent placeth himself, worthily to bewail his sins, and deprecate the judgments of his God. And in such a situation did captivity place the daughter of Zion, that she might do likewise. The use which Daniel made of it for this purpose may be seen in the ninth chapter.

8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day: and they that are mad against me, are sworn against me.

The scoffs and reproaches of men are generally added to the chastisements of God; or rather, perhaps, are a part, and sometimes the bitterest part of them. How the enemies of Jerusalem behaved in the day of her calamity is well known. How carnal and ungodly men behave to a penitent, when mourning for his sins under the afflicting hand of heaven, is as well known.

9. For, or, Therefore, I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, 10. Because of thine indignation and wrath; for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.

By "eating ashes, and drinking tears," we may understand the same as if it had been said, "I have eaten the bread of humiliation, and drank the water of affliction;" ashes being the emblem of one, and tears the consequence of the other; while the actions of eating and drinking intimate to us the fulness and satiety which the sufferer had experienced of both, from "the wrath and indignation of God." Prosperity and adversity are from him; "he lifteth up, and he casteth down;" he lifted up Jerusalem above

all the earth, and cast her down to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles.

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11. My days are like a shadow that declineth and I am withered like grass. 12. But thou, O LORD shalt endure for ever, and thy remembrance unto all generations.

A shadow never continueth in one stay, but is still gliding inperceptibly on, lengthening as it goes, and at last vanisheth into darkness. The period of its existence is limited to a day at farthest. The rising sun gives it birth, and in that moment when the sun sets it is no more. The grass of the field, in like manner, hath a being of the same duration. In the morning, clothed with verdure and beauty, it refresheth and delighteth the eye of the beholder; but the evening findeth it cut down, dried up, and withered. Such is the life of man, sojourning in this land of his captivity, and doing penance for his sins. But the eternity of Jehovah, the infallibility of his promises, and the remembrance of his former works and mercies, comfort our hearts, and encourage us to hope, nay, even to rejoice in the midst of sorrow and tribulation.

13. Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Sion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. 14. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.

From this passage, and what follows, it appears, that the suppliant, in this Psalm, bewails not only his own miseries, but those of the church. Israel was in captivity, and Sion a desolation. A time notwithstanding, a set time there was at hand, when God had promised to arise and to have mercy upon her. The bowels of her children yearned over her ruins they longed to see her rebuilt, and were ready, whenever the word of command should be given, to set heart and hand to the blessed work. Such ought to be our affection towards our Sion, however afflicted and destitute she may at any time appear to be; such should be our faith in the promises of God concerning the future glorification of his church, at the time appointed.

15. So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD: and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16. When the LORD shall build up Sion, he shall appear in his glory. 17. He will regard the prayer

of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

The object to which the prophets of old had chiefly respect, was not only the deliverance of Israel from Babylon, and the rebuilding of the material temple, but the salvation of sinners, and the erection of the christian church in the days of Messiah's kingdom. "When the Lord" Jesus thus "built up Sion, he appeared in his glory; the heathen feared his name, and all the kings of the

earth" adored his majesty, because he had "regarded the prayer of the destitute" sons of Adam, in their worse than Babylonish captivity, and had arisen himself to be their Saviour and mighty Deliverer. We in these latter days look and pray for the second appearance of the same Redeemer, with power and great glory, to raise the dead, and to build up from the dust a Jerusalem which shall experience no more vicissitudes, but continue for ever in unchangeable beauty and brightness.

18. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.

The history of this redemption and restoration by Messiah, thus foretold, had been written in the gospel for the benefit of after generations, to the end that the people who are created anew in Christ Jesus, may from age to age praise Jehovah, in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; as it is done at this day in the church, and ever will continue to be done, till the choirs of heaven and earth shall be united before the throne of the Lamb.

19. For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary : from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; 20. To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to death: 21. To declare the name of the LORD in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem: 22. When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms to serve the LORD.

Redemption is the subject of praise in the christian church; and the process of that great work is here described by images borrowed from the temporal deliverance and restoration of Israel. God is represented as looking with an eye of pity from heaven upon poor mankind; as hearing the groans of sinners, fast bound in the chains of their sins, and sentenced to death eternal; as coming down to forgive and release them; that being so forgiven and released, they might cause the church to resound with his praises, when, upon the preaching of the gospel, it should be filled with converts, assembled from every people and kingdom of the world. Look down, O Lord Jesus, yet once again upon thy servants, still under the dominion of death, and the bondage of corruption; loose these chains, even these also, O Lord, and bring us forth into the glorious liberty of thy children; that with the whole assembly of the redeemed, in the heavenly Jerusalem, we may bless and praise thy name for ever and ever.

23. He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. The prophet, in the person of captive Sion, having from verse 13. to verse 22. expressed his faith and hope in the promised redemption, now returns to his mournful complaints, as at verse 11.

Israel doubteth not of God's veracity, but feareth lest his heavy hand should crush the generation then in being before they should behold the expiration of their troubles. They were in the way, but their strength was so weakened, and their days shortened, that they almost despaired of holding out to their journey's end. A sore trial hath the christian church to undergo in the last days, before the second advent of her Lord and Saviour. Strong faith and invincible patience will be necessary to enable her to endure until the end shall come.

24. And I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days; thy years are throughout all generations.

Israel prayeth that the holy seed might not be extirpated, and perish by a kind of untimely death, e'er yet the promise had been made good, and Sion had seen the salvation of her God. Every man hath reason to pray, that God would not take him away in the midst of his days, or call upon him when unprepared; but that time may be allowed him, to perfect his repentance, and to work out his salvation.

25. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Amidst the changes and chances of this mortal life, one topic of consolation will ever remain, namely, the eternity and immutability of God our Saviour; of him who was, and is, and is to come. Kingdoms and empires may rise and fall; nay, the heavens and the earth, as they were originally produced and formed by the WORD of God, the Son, or second Person in the Trinity, to whom the Psalmist here addresseth himself; see Heb. i. 10. so will they at the day appointed, be folded up, and laid aside, as an old and worn-out garment; or, if the substance remain, the present form and fashion of them will perish, and they will be utterly changed and altered from the state in which they now are. But Jehovah is ever the same; his years have no end, nor can his promise fail, any more than himself. "Heaven and earth," saith he," shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away," Matt. xxiv. 35.

28. The children of thy servants shall continue: and their seed shall be established before thee.

Whatever be the fate of the present generations, whether they may live to see the accomplishment of all that has been foretold or not, yet the word of God standeth sure; there shall be always

a church, and an holy seed, to whom the promises shall be made good. They have already been fulfilled with regard to the advent of Messiah, and the vocation of the Gentiles. The events which are behind, will be brought forward and come to pass in their seasons, until the counsel of God shall be finished, and every prediction receive its full accomplishment in the glorification of the redeemed.

PSALM CIII.

ARGUMENT.

In this evangelical and most comfortable hymn, David, after, 1, 2. exciting himself to the work, 3-5. praiseth Jehovah for the mercies of redemption; 6, 7. celebrateth his goodness to Moses and Israel; 8-13. setteth forth the divine philanthropy, under various beautiful expressions and images; 1416. describeth, in a manner wonderfully affecting, man's frail and perishable state; but, 17, 18. leadeth him, for consolation, to the everlasting mercy of God in Christ, the stability of whose throne and kingdom, 19. he declareth, and, 20-22. calleth upon heaven and earth to join with him in blessing and praising his holy name.

1. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.

The Psalmist, about to utter a song of praise, first endeavours to awaken and stir up his soul to the joyful task. He calleth forth all his powers and faculties, all that is within him, that every part of his frame may glorify its Saviour; that the understanding may know him, the will choose him, the affections delight in him, the heart believe in him, and the tongue confess him. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name."

2. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Thanksgiving cannot be sincere and hearty, unless a man bear impressed upon his mind, at the time, a quick sense of benefits received; and benefits we are most apt to forget; those especially, which are conferred upon us by God. Therefore David repeateth his self-awakening call, and summoneth all his powers of recollection, that none of the divine favours might continue unnoticed and unacknowledged. A catalogue of such particular mercies, temporal and spiritual, as each individual hath experienced through life, might be of service to refresh the memory upon this important head.

3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all thine infir

mities.