4 The earth is weak, and all the inhabiters thereof; I bear up the pillars of it.

5 I said unto the fools, "Deal not so madly;" and to the ungodly, "Set not up your horn.

6 Set not up your horn on high, and speak not with a stiff neck."

7 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south.

8 And why? God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

9 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full mixed, and He poureth out of the same.

10 As for the dregs thereof, all the ungodly of the earth shall drink them, and suck them out.

11 But I will talk of the God of Jacob, and praise Him for ever.

12 All the horns of the ungodly also will I break; and the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

4. The earth is weak, &c.] While the earth itself seems about to be dissolved, and all its inhabitants are utterly powerless, the Lord alone sustains the world on its foundations.

5. I said unto the fools, &c.] In these words the Psalmist, speaking in behalf of the people, and confiding in the promise of Jehovah, addresses their proud enemies.

Set not up your horn] Do

not arrogantly exalt yourselves.

7. For promotion cometh, &c.] It is not to allies from any quarter that we look for help, but to God only.

9. In the hand of the Lord, &c.] The Lord gives their respective portions to the several nations; either the cup of prosperity and blessing, or as here, the cup of judgment and woe. Isa. li. 17.

PSALM LXXVI.

NATIONAL THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORY.

IN Jewry is God known; his Name is

great in Israel.

2 At Salem is his tabernacle, and his dwelling in Sion.

3 There brake He the arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword, and the battle.

4 Thou art of more honour and might than the hills of the robbers.

5 The proud are robbed, they have slept their sleep; and all the men whose hands were mighty have found nothing.

6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are fallen.

7 Thou, even Thou art to be feared; and who may stand in thy sight when Thou art angry?

8 Thou didst cause thy judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth trembled, and was still,

Ps. LXXVI. is supposed to have been written and sung in celebration of the deliverance of Jerusalem by the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army, B.C. 710. See 2 Kings xix. 35, and Isa. xxxvi.-xxxvii. 1. Jewry] Judah.

2. Salem Jerusalem.

4. Thou art of more honour, &c.] Thou,Jehovah, art mightier than the strongholds of the enemy.

5. The proud are robbed,] The stout of heart are despoiled;

they sleep the sleep of death.

And all the men, &c.] " And none of the men of might have found their hands;" in other words, The mighty have become powerless.

6. The chariot and horse are fallen, &c.] If the description refers to the destruction of Sennacherib's army by the angel of God, nothing can be more graphic than the Bible Version," Both the chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep."

9 When God arose to judgment, and to help all the meek upon earth.

10 The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise, and the fierceness of them shalt Thou refrain.

11 Promise unto the Lord your God, and keep it, all ye that are round about Him; bring presents unto Him that ought to be feared.

12 He shall refrain the spirit of princes, and is wonderful among the kings of the earth.

PSALM LXXVII.

THE REMEMBRANCE OF FORMER MERCIES A SOURCE OF COMFORT IN AFFLICTION.

I

WILL

cry unto God with my voice; even unto God will I cry with my voice,

and He shall hearken unto me.

2 In the time of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran, and ceased not in the night-season; my soul refused comfort.

10. The fierceness of man] Truly the wrath of men, controlled and directed by Thee, is made to minister to thy praise. See Isa. xxxvii. 29.

12. He shall refrain]" He will subdue the spirit of princes; He is to be feared by the kings of the earth."

Ps. LXXVII. is of uncertain date, but contains a fountain of rich consolation (namely, the experience or memory of

God's loving-kindness and mercy) for all who are overwhelmed with grief or disquieted with doubts.

1. I will cry unto God, &c.] The Bible Version is in the past tense. "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, even unto God with my voice, and He gave ear unto me."

2. My sore ran,] The meaning seems rather to be, My hand was stretched out incessantly in prayer.

3 When I am in heaviness, I will think upon God; when my heart is vexed, I will complain.

4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking; I am so feeble, that I cannot speak.

the

5 I have considered the days of old, and years that are past.

6 I call to remembrance my song; and in the night I commune with mine own heart, and search out my spirits.

7 Will the Lord absent Himself for ever, and will He be no more entreated?

8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever; and is his promise come utterly to an end for

evermore?

9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious; and will He shut up his loving-kindness in displeasure?

10 And I said, It is mine own infirmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most Highest.

11 I will remember the works of the Lord, and call to mind thy wonders of old time. 12 I will think also of all thy works; and my talking shall be of thy doings.

13 Thy way, O God, is holy: who is so great a God as our God?

14 Thou art the God that doeth wonders;

3. Complain.] Mourn, or groan in spirit.

4. Thou holdest mine eyes, &c.] Thou didst keep mine eyes from sleep I was so troubled that I could not speak.

6. My song;] The song of

praise for God's mercy which he sang in happier days.

10. The years of the right hand, &c.] The years wherein Jehovah manifested the victorious strength of his right hand.

and hast declared thy power among the people.

15 Thou hast mightily delivered thy people; even the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, and were afraid; the depths also were troubled.

17 The clouds poured out water, the air thundered, and thine arrows went abroad.

18 The voice of thy thunder was heard round about; the lightnings shone upon the ground; the earth was moved, and shook withal.

19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy footsteps are

not known.

20 Thou leddest thy people like sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Evening.]

PSALM LXXVIII.

[Day 15.

THE WONDERS WHICH GOD WROUGHT FOR HIS PEOPLE IN

THE OLD TIME.

H

EAR my law, O my people; incline your ears unto the words of my mouth.

14. The people.] that is, The surrounding nations.

15-20.] These verses plainly refer to the signs and wonders wrought by God in Egypt and the wilderness for the deliverance of his chosen people.

Ps. LXXVIII, was written by

Asaph the Seer, who lived in the time of David. It contains a summary of God's miraculous dealings with his people, from the time of Moses; and its main object is to warn Israel not to provoke a fresh judgment, by a fresh rebellion and apostasy.