deration—" and after this,” i. e. after “judgment" shall have "returned to righteousness, all the upright in heart;" i. e. it shall be their time; they shall succeed and flourish. Such were those halcyon days enjoyed by the Jews, after the fall of Babylon, and their return to their own land; such those times of refreshment to the church Christian, when the Pagan persecutions were at an end, and the Roman empire became Christian. Far transcendent is the felicity of a soul when it exchanges the miseries of the world for the delights of paradise, there to wait, with its sister spirits, until the bodies of saints shall pass from the dishonours of the grave to the glories of immortality.

"16. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? 17. Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence."

But in the mean season, while "evil-doers" are permitted to prosper, and "the workers of iniquity" carry on their designs, the prophet asks, in the person of the church, Who is there that will, or can protect, defend, and deliver? The answer is, God only can do it; "Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence," or, I had almost been in the state of death. How often have our spiritual enemies arisen against us, threatening to bring us into a state of eternal death! but the Lord Jesus was our help and our salvation.

"18. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up." When the child of God, walking in the slippery paths of life, finding himself falling into temptation, if he confesseth his inability to stand his ground, and crieth out like Peter on the water, to his heavenly Father, "Lord, save me, I perish ;" a merciful, gracious and powerful hand will immediately be stretched out, to support his steps, and establish his goings. "19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul."

The excellent Norris, in a masterly sermon on this verse, has given us the following elegant and affecting paraphrase of it-"When my mind sallies out into a multitude of thoughts, and those thoughts make me sad and heavy, anxious and solicitous, as presenting to my view my own weakness and infirmity, and the universal vanity of all those seeming props and stays, upon which my deluded soul was apt to lean; the many great calamities of life, and the much greater terrors of death; the known miseries of the present state, and the darkness and uncertainty of the future; still urging me with fresh arguments of sorrow, and opening new and new scenes of melancholy, till my soul begins to faint and sink under the burthen she has laid upon herself: when I am thus thoughtful, and thus sorrowful, then it is, O my God, that I feel the relief of thy divine refreshments; I find myself supported and borne up by the strong tide of thy consolations, which raise my drooping head, strike a light into my soul, and make me not only dismiss, but even forget that sorrow and melancholy which my thoughtfulness had brought upon me." Who, that reads this, will not thankfully take and follow the advice offered in another part of the same discourse? "Whenever, therefore, thoughts arise in thy heart, and troubles from those thoughts; when thy mind is dark and cloudy, and all the regions of the soul are overcast; then betake thyself to thy oratory, either to thy closet, or the church, and there entertain thy soul with the pleasures of religion, and the satisfaction of a clear conscience." See Norris's Practical Discourses, vol. iii. Serm. 4.

"20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?"

One consideration which affordeth comfort to the faithful under persecution and affliction, is this, that God can never be on the side of oppression and injustice, though to answer wise and salutary purposes, he may for a time, suffer them to have the dominion, and to establish iniquity by law.

A distinction there certainly must be between right and wrong; and the former must as certainly triumph at the last day.

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21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood."

Righteousness and innocence are most atrocious crimes in the eyes of wickedness and guilt. For these crimes Cain slew his brother Abel, the Jews crucified Christ, the Pagans tortured and murdered his disciples, and bad men in all ages have persecuted the good. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 1 John iii. 13.

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22. But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. 23. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off."

Jehovah is our "defence;" we fear not the fiery darts of the enemy: He is "the rock of our refuge;" we bid defiance to the rage and malice of earth and hell. Armed with the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, we rise superior to every effort of diabolical malice and secular power; waiting in patience and hope for the coming of that day, when He who hateth unrighteousness, and with whom the throne of iniquity can have no fellowship, shall visit the wickedness of the wicked upon them; when the world of the ungodly shall share the fate of apostate Jerusalem, and the righteous shall be glorified with their Lord and Saviour.

NINETEENTH DAY.-MORNING PRAYER.

PSALM XCV.

ARGUMENT.

This Psalm hath been long used in the Christian Church, as a proper introduction to her holy services. It containeth, 1, 2. an exhortation to praise Jehovah, 3. for his greatness, 4, 5. and for his works of creation; 6. men are invited to worship him, as their Maker, and, 7. as their Preserver; 8-11. they are warned against tempting and provoking him, by the example of the Israelites in the wilderness. The author of the epistle in the Hebrews hath taught us to consider the Psalm as an address to believers under the Gospel.

"1. O come, let us sing unto the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation."

In the first verse, Christians now exhort and stir up each other, as the Jews did of old, to employ their voices in honour of Jehovah, to celebrate the "rock of their salvation." Jesus, by redeeming us from our enemies, hath opened our lips, and our mouths ought, therefore, to show forth his praise. He is the Rock of ages, to which is opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness; the Rock which attends the church in the wilderness, pouring forth the water of life for her use and comfort; the Rock which is our fortress against every enemy, shadowing and refreshing a weary land. "O come, then, let us sing unto this our LORD; let us make a joyful noise unto this Rock of our salvation."

2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms."

The "presence" of Jehovah dwelt formerly between the cherubim, in a tabernacle, or temple, made with hands, whither the Israelites were to resort, until God became manifest in the flesh. After that time, the Divine presence left the synagogue, and removed into the Christian church; by her we are now invited to "come before that presence with thanksgiving," and, while we "make a joyful noise," by chanting these divine psalms," to imitate in some measure, the heavenly choirs, who "rest not" from their blessed employment of praising God, "day nor night," Rev. iv. 8.

"3. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods." It is not without reason, that we are exhorted to give thanks and praise unto our God and King; for he is "worthy to receive glory and blessing," Rev. v. 12.; he is a God above all that are called by that name; above those deities, which were once worshipped by the ancient heathen; above the world, which still continues to be an object of adoration among infatuated mortals. His throne is over all, and power and dominion are his. "4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the strength of the hills is his also. 5. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land."

The treasures, which lie hid in the "deep places" of the earth beneath; the majestic pride and "strength of the hills," which tower above, and lift up their heads to heaven; the unnumbered waves of the great and wide sea," which roll in perpetual motion round the world; the rich and variegated produce of the " dry land," crowned with verdure and beauty; together with everything that liveth in the waters or on the earth; all are under the government of our God; by him were all things created; by him have all things been redeemed.

"6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."

As in the beginning of the Psalm we are called upon to "praise" Jehovah, so here we are invited to humble ourselves before him in " "prayer." From him we had our being; him therefore we are to supplicate for every other blessing, both in this life and that which is to come. And since he made our bodies as well as our souls, it is meet and right that they should bear their part in his service, and that internal worship should be accompanied and signified by that which is external.

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7. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand."

An additional reason why we should both praise Jehovah and pray to him, is the peculiar relation into which he hath been pleased to put himself by the covenant of grace; "he is our GoD:" we are the objects of his tender care and unspeakable love; we are his "people!" and his "sheep ;" his chosen flock, which he hath purchased with his blood, which he feeds with his word, and refreshes with his Spirit, in fair and pleasant pastures. From these pastures, O thou good Shepherd! suffer us not to stray; or, if we do stray, bring us speedily back again, by any means, which thou, in thine infinite wisdom, shalt think fit. Wholesome is the discipline which drives us into the fold, and keeps us there.

"To-day if ye will hear his voice, 8. Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness; 9. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work."

The first clause of these two verses may be joined to the preceding verse, thus, "He is our God, we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand, if ye will hear his voice to-day," that is, if ye will be his obedient people, he will continue to be your God. Or else, the word N, translated if," may be rendered in the optative form-"O that you would hear his voice to-day," saying unto you, “Harden not," &c. However this be, what follows, to the end of the Psalm, is undoubtedly spoken in the person of God himself, who may be considered as addressing us, in these latter days, by the Gospel of his Son; for so the Apostle teaches us to apply the whole passage, Heb. iii. 4. The Israelites, when they came out of Egypt, had a day of probation, and a promised rest to succeed it; but by unbelief and disobedience, they to whom it was promised, that is, the generation of those who came out of Egypt fell short of it, and died in the wilderness. The Gospel, in like manner, offers, both to Jew and Gentile, another day of probation in this world, and another promised rest to succeed it, which remaineth for the people of God in heaven. All whom it concerns are, therefore, exhorted to beware, lest they forfeit the second rest, as murmur

ing and rebellious Israel came short of the first. The verses now before us allude to what passed at the place called " Massah," and "Meribah," from the people there "tempting," and striving with their God, notwithstanding all the mighty works which he had wrought for them before their eyes. Exod. xvii. 7.

10. Forty years long was I grieved, or, disgusted, with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their hearts, and they have not known my ways."

O the desperate presumption of man, that he should offend his Maker "forty years!" O the patience and long-suffering of his Maker, that he should allow him forty years to offend in? Sin begins in the "heart," by its desires, "wandering" and going astray after forbidden objects; whence follows inattention to the "ways" of God; to his dispensations, and our own duty. Lust in the heart, like vapour in the stomach, soon affects the head, and clouds the understanding.

"11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest."

Exclusion from Canaan was the punishment of Israelitish contumacy; exclusion from heaven is to be the punishment of disobedience among Christians. To take vengeance on those who reject the gospel terms, is no less a part of the covenant and oath of God, than it is to save and glorify those who accept them. Yet men continue deliberately to commit those sins, which the Almighty standeth thus engaged to punish with destruction !* "Take heed," therefore," brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another, daily; while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; while it is said, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation. For some when they had heard, did provoke; howbeit, not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being made us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." Heb. iii. 12, &c.

PSALM XCVI.

ARGUMENT.

By common consent of Jews and Christians, we apply this Psalm to the times of Messiah, 1-4. Men are exhorted to sing his praises; to declare his salvation; 4, 5. to acknowledge his supremacy over the gods of the nations, with, 6. the glory and beauty of his sanctuary; 7-9. to give him the honour, the worship, and the obedience due unto him, and, 10. to publish the glad tidings of his kingdom being established : 11--13. the whole creation is called upon to rejoice at this great event. We find, by 1 Chron. xvi. that David delivered out this Psalm, to be sung on occasion of temporal blessings, prefigurative of future spiritual ones.

*Sensus hujus loci ex Paulo sic concinnandus: nempe requiem a Deo Israëlitis esse promissam in terra Chananæa; omnes tamen interim in deserto cecidisse hâc requie frustratos: quare Spiritum Sanctum per Davidem ad novam requiem invitasse; ad novum illud sabbatum ab ipso mundi exordio diei septima requie figuratum, novumque indixisse diem quo sub Christo, in Ecclesia, ac cœlesti patriâ quiesceremus, nisi essemus increduli: unde sic concludit Paulus: Festinemus ingredi in illam requiem." Bossuet.

"1. O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth."

Jehovah, our Redeemer, is the person whose praises are to be sung. They are to be sung in a "new" song; a song calculated to celebrate new mercies, prefigured by old ones wrought for Israel in former times; a song fit for the voices of renewed and regenerate men to sing in a new Jerusalem, in those new heavens and that new earth, which constitute the new creation, or kingdom of Jesus Christ. And as the mercies of God are universal, extending themselves not only to the Jews, but to all the nations of the earth, all the nations of the earth are therefore exhorted to bear a part in this new song; "Sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth." Thus St. John, after reckoning up the 144,000, or full number of those who were sealed to salvation from among the tribes of Israel, proceeds to tell us, that he "beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." All these sung a new song, which none could learn but the redeemed; they "cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." See Rev. v. vii. xiv.

"2. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day."

Again are we excited to sing unto the Lord Jesus, and in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, to bless his saving NAME. The latter clause of the verse is very expressive in the original, 1, "preach," or "evangelize his salvation from day to day;" let it be the constant theme of all your discourses; publish it to the world in every possible way, by your words, and by your actions; and while God allows you breath and life, let one day transmit the glorious employment to another, until it be resumed and continued in heaven to all eternity.

"3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people."

The "glory" of Messiah in his incarnation, his life, his death, resurrection, ascension, and kingdom; the "wonders" or miracles by him wrought upon the bodies and souls of men; these were the things "declared among the heathen," even "among all people," by the apostles and their successors; these things are still declared, by the Scriptures read, and sermons preached in the church, which was gathered originally from among the Gentiles.

"4. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols, or, things of nought: but the LORD made the heavens."

Christ is to be celebrated, his glory and wonders are to be declared, because he is, in every possible sense, "great;" great in dignity, in power, in mercy; and, therefore, "greatly to be praised" by every creature. The heavens and heavenly bodies, adored by the nations, were no gods, but the works of his hands, who hath fixed his everlasting throne high above them all. At the publication of the Gospel, idolatry fell before it; and what is the world itself but one great idol, which is to fall and disappear in like manner?

"6. Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary."

What are the splendour and the magnificence of earthly courts, when compared with that glory and majesty, the unutterable brightness of which fills the court of the heavenly King? some portion of this celestial light is communicated through grace to the Christian church, which is described by St. John, under images borrowed from the figurative sanctuary, and the earthly Jerusalem, as an edifice composed of gold and precious stones, illuminated by the glory of God and the Lamb, residing in the midst of it. See Rev. xxi.