4 It is the Lord, that ruleth the sea; the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.

5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedar-trees; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Libanus.

6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Libanus also, and Sirion, like a young unicorn.

7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire: the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Cades.

8 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and discovereth the thick bushes; in his temple doth every man speak of his honour.

9 The Lord sitteth above the water-flood; and the Lord remaineth a King for ever.

10 The Lord shall give strength unto his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

4. Mighty in operation;] Powerful in its effects, as when the thunderstorm rends the cedars of Lebanon.

6. To skip] To bound. The forest trees in a thunderstorm swayed to and fro, and quivering seem to resemble the gambols of young animals.

Sirion,] Another name for Hermon, one of the summits of Mount Lebanon. Deut. iii. 8, 9.

7. Divideth the flames of

fire] Cleaves asunder with strokes of forked lightning.

The wilderness of Cades.] Or Kadesh, part of the wilderness through which the Israelites passed. Numb. xiii. 26.

8. Maketh the hinds to bring forth young,] The peals of thunder so terrify them, that they cast their young before the time.

Discovereth the thick bushes;] Strips and makes bare the trees of the forest.

Morning.]

PSALM XXX.

PRESERVATION FROM DANGER OR SICKNESS.

[Day 6.

WILL magnify Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast set me up, and not made my foes to triumph over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me.

3 Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell; Thou hast kept my life from them that go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his; and give thanks unto Him for a remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye, and in his pleasure is life; heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6 And in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be removed; Thou, Lord, of thy goodness hast made my hill so strong."

7 Thou didst turn thy face from me, and I was troubled.

8 Then cried I unto Thee, O Lord, and gat me to my Lord right humbly.

Ps. XXX. "A Psalm at the Dedication of the House of David." See 1 Chron. xxii. 1-5.

3. Hast brought my soul out of hell;] Hast rescued me from the jaws of death: hast brought me alive from among those who go down to the grave.

5. In his pleasure] Through his favour.

6. And in my prosperity I said,] Even good men are tempted by prosperity to rest satisfied with the comforts of this life, and require the trial of adversity to loosen their affections from things temporal.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?

10 Shall the dust give thanks unto Thee, or shall it declare thy truth?

11 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; Lord, be Thou my helper.

12 Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy; Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.

13 Therefore shall every good man sing of thy praise without ceasing. O my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.

PSALM XXXI.

PRAYER OF FAITH IN THE MIDST OF ADVERSITY.

"N Thee, O Lord, have I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion; deliver me in thy righteousness.

2 Bow down thine ear to me; make haste to deliver me.

3 And be Thou my strong rock, and house of defence, that Thou mayest save me.

4 For Thou art my strong rock, and my

9. What profit is there in my blood, &c.] What service can I render to Thee in the grave ? Ps. vi. 5; Isa. xxxviii. 18.

13. Therefore shall every good man, &c.] "To the end that my glory [or my soul] may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent."

Ps. XXXI. records David's

prayers and vows, in danger and distress; his grateful acknowledgment of the Divine mercy; and his call upon all men to trust in God's goodness and truth, of which he was himself a signal example.

1. In thy righteousness.] According to thy rule of truth and justice.

castle; be Thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name's sake.

5 Draw me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; for Thou art my strength. 6 Into thy hands I commend my spirit; for Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, Thou God of truth.

7 I have hated them that hold of superstitious vanities; and my trust hath been in the Lord.

8 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy; for Thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known my soul in adversities.

9 Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy, but hast set my feet in a large

room.

10 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am in trouble, and mine eye is consumed for very heaviness; yea, my soul and my body.

11 For my life is waxen old with heaviness, and my years with mourning.

12 My strength faileth me because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 13 I became a reproof among all mine

6. Into thy hands I commend my spirit;] Words adopted by our Saviour on the cross, Luke xxiii. 46: and words to the like effect were used by St. Stephen as he fell asleep. Acts vii. 59.

7. That hold of superstitious vanities; That look to, or trust in idols and false gods.

8. Hast known my soul in adversities.] Hast owned and comforted me when in trouble;

or it may be, Thou knowest the trouble of my soul.

9. Thou hast not shut me up, &c.] Thou hast not given me over into the power of the enemy, but hast upheld me in liberty.

12. Because of mine iniquity,] David humbly acknowledges his bodily sickness to be a chastisement of his sins.

13. I became a reproof, &c.] An object of reproach. This

enemies, but especially among my neighbours; and they of mine acquaintance were afraid of me; and they that did see me without conveyed themselves from me.

14 I am clean forgotten, as a dead man out of mind; I am become like a broken vessel. 15 For I have heard the blasphemy of the multitude, and fear is on every side, while they conspire together against me, and take their counsel to take away my life.

16 But my hope hath been in Thee, O Lord; I have said, "Thou art my God."

17 My time is in thy hand; deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

18 Show thy servant the light of thy countenance, and save me for thy mercy's sake.

19 Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon Thee; let the ungodly be put to confusion, and be put to silence in the grave.

20 Let the lying lips be put to silence, which cruelly, disdainfully, and despitefully speak against the righteous.

21 O how plentiful is thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, and that Thou hast prepared for them that put their trust in Thee, even before the sons of men!

and the two following verses apply more closely still to Christ the Son of David. See Isa. liii. 3; Matt. xxvii. 1.

14. Like a broken vessel.] Useless, and fit only to be

cast away.

17. My time is in thy hand;] My times, i. e. of prosperity or adversity, of life or death, are in thy power.