pensations of nature and of grace; by which, as he checketh at pleasure the rage of the most boisterous elements in the former, so, with the same ease, he controlleth the fury of the enemy and oppressor in the latter; saying with equal authority in both cases, Peace! be still!

11. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

From Jehovah, whose power and majesty have been with so much sublimity displayed in this whole Psalm, we are to expect, through faith and prayer, "strength" to overcome our enemies, whether ghostly or bodily; and also the blessing of "peace," which must be the fruit of victory. Thou, O Christ, art the "Mighty God ;" and therefore, thou art the "Prince of Peace." Isa. ix. 6.

SIXTH DAY.-MORNING PRAYER.

PSALM XXX.

ARGUMENT.-In this Psalm, or devout hymn, composed probably by David, on his revisiting the sancturary, after a joyful recovery from some dangerous sickness, he, 1-3, returneth thanks for that event; and, 4. calleth the church to do so likewise, 5. drawing a comparison between temporary sufferings and eternal rewards. 6, 7. He describeth his former prosperity succeeded by affliction, with, 8-10. the supplications poured forth to the Almighty, in the day of his distress; and then returneth again, 11. to celebrate his deliverance, and, 12. to glorify God for the same. The Psalm is finely adapted to the case of the true David, and of Christians, his disciples and followers.

1. I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, Heb. drawn me out, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

These words, if originally composed and uttered by king David, on occasion of some temporal mercy, apply, in a far more emphatical and beautiful manner, to the case of Messiah, suffering and rising again, as well as to that of his church and people, following him, both in his sufferings and resurrection; when we shall all lift up our voices, and sing together-"I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up! and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me!"

2. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. Deliverance is to be attained by "prayer;" for so David, and so the Son of David, obtained it; the former was "healed" at his restoration to health and strength; the latter at the resurrection: the soul is healed at its repentance and conversion; and the body will hereafter be repaired, beautified, and glorified, from the ruins of the grave.

3. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul, or, animal frame, from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

The resurrection of David was a figurative one; that of Christ was a real one, as that of his saints will be; so that the Psalm is

more strictly applicable to the true, than it ever could have been to the typical David. The latter clause may be rendered-"Thou hast quickened me from among them that go down to the pit ;" which rendering is most agreeable to the former part of the verse-"Thou hast brought up my frame from the grave."

4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, or, of his Holy One.

The church of the redeemed is called upon to glorify the name of God, for his remembrance of "the King of saints," and for the accomplishment of the promise in raising him from the dead.

5. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

This is a most beautiful and affecting image of the sufferings and exaltation of Christ; of the sorrows and joys of a penitent; of the miseries of time, and the glories of eternity; of the night of death, and the morning of the resurrection.

6. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face,

and I was troubled.

David, after his success against Goliath, and Christ, upon his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, were hailed by the acclamations and hosannas of the people, as the Christian may sometimes meet with the applauses of the world, and be led to think himself established in prosperity. But other troubles awaited David; and the blessed Jesus was nailed to the cross. Let not the disciple expect to be above his master; nor, in the season of life and joy, neglect to prepare for the approaching days of sorrow and darkness.

8. I cried unto thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 9. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? 10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.

These are some of "the strong cryings and supplications," which the true David poured forth, while under the cloud of his passion; and which are to be poured forth by us, when conformed to his image, in suffering affliction. The argument here used, is a very powerful one, namely, the necessity of a resurrection from the grave, that man may be saved, and God glorified. The dead cannot praise, or serve God. They must live again for this purpose; and for this purpose it is, that we should desire to live, whether it be in the present world, or that which is to come.

11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.

This might be true of David, delivered from his calamity; it was true of Christ, arising from the tomb, to die no more; it is true of the penitent, exchanging his sackcloth for the garments of salvation; and it will be verified in us all, at the last day, when we shall put off the dishonours of the grave, to shine in glory everlasting.

12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent: 0 Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

The end of Christ's resurrection, of the salvation of the souls of the faithful, and the resurrection of their bodies, is one and the same, namely, the glory of God, who is the author of every kind of deliverance; whose praise should, therefore, be resounded by the grateful tongues of the redeemed, from generation to generation; as the tongue then becometh the "glory” of man, when it is employed in setting forth the glory of God.

PSALM XXXI.

ARGUMENT.—In this Psalm, ver. 5th of which was pronounced by our Lord, when expiring on the cross, we hear the true David, like his representative of old, 1-6. supplicating for deliverance; 7, 8. rejoicing in the Divine favour and assistance; 9-13. describing his afflicted and forlorn state; 14-18. returning again to his prayers; 19 -22. celebrating the mercies of God to the children of Adam; and, 23, 24. exhorting his saints to courage and perseverance, under their troubles in the world.

1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

God is faithful and just, to save those who, in time of trouble, renouncing all dependence on themselves and the creature, "put their trust" only in his mercy. His honour is engaged by his promise, not to let such be "ashamed" of their confidence.

2. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me speedily; be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

The Christian, like his blessed Master, is "besieged" by many and powerful enemies, insomuch that, notwithstanding all human precautions, "unless Jehovah keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain." Who, in such circumstances, would not pray for "speedy" deliverance?

3. For thou art my rock and my fortress: therefore, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me.

God will be the "rock" and "fortress" of those who esteem him as such; and, after having been so, through all the dangers and difficulties of life, he will "lead" and "guide" them to the realms of peace and rest, for the sake of that "name" which implieth salva

tion.

4. Pull me out of that net which they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

As David prayed for an escape from the secret conspiracies that were entered against him, so did Christ pray for deliverance from the snares of death; and so doth the Christian pray to be extricated from the toils both of sin and death.

5. Into thine hand I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.

David, in his distresses, might, by these words, express his resig

nation of himself and his affairs into the hands of God; but it is certain, that Christ actually did expire upon the cross, with the former part of this verse in his mouth: Luke xxiii. 46. Nor is there any impropriety in the application of the latter part to him; since, as man, the surety and representative of our nature, he was "redeemed" from the power of the enemy, by "the God of truth" accomplishing his promises.

6. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord. They may hope for redemption, who so "trust in God," as to trust in nothing beside him; for all else is "vanity," and will deceive.

7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy; for thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known my soul in adversities: 8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a large room.

The considerations that make the soul "cheerful" in the hour of affliction, are, that God is merciful; that as he is not ignorant, so neither is he unmindful of our troubles; that he is a friend, who "knows" us in adversity, no less than in prosperity; that he hath not subjected us to the necessity of being overcome by our spiritual enemies; but hath, "with the temptation, made a way for us to escape."

9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul, or, animal frame, and my belly.

Upon the strength of the foregoing considerations, supplication is here made for deliverance from troubles, which wasted the eyes with weeping, and exhausted the strength and vigour of the frame. Such were the troubles of David, and, more emphatically, those of Christ; and sickness and sorrow will one day teach us all to use the same expressions.

10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

Do we not, in these words, hear the voice of the "man of sorrows," suffering not indeed for his own "iniquity," but for ours, of which he frequently, in the Psalms, speaks as if it were his own? If sin was punished in the innocent Lamb of God, let us not expect that it should be unpunished in us, unless we repent: and let our punishment never fail to remind us of our guilt.

11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without, fled from me.

These particulars were never more applicable to David, than they were to the Son of David, when his acquaintance, at beholding him reviled by his enemies, were terrified from attending him, and when "all the disciples forsook him and fled." The same things are often too true of the faith and the church. They are true likewise of every man, when he suffers the dishonours of the last enemy, death; when he is "a fear" to his dearest friends, and they are obliged to forsake him.

12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

This was literally the case of Christ, when laid in the sepulchre, and esteemed no longer the object of hope by his friends, or of fear by his enemies. That he should be so "forgotten," while dead, is less wonderful, than that this should have happened since his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven.

13. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side, while they took counsel together against me: they devised to take away my life.

The slander of Shimei, and the counsel of Ahithophel against king David, direct us to the slanders of the Jews, and the counsels of Judas and the sanhedrim against the beloved Son of God, who, in his church, will be persecuted in like manner, by the ungodly, to the world's end.

14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. 15. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.

In all our afflictions, after the example of the typical, and of the true David, we are to have recourse to the prayer of faith; we are to consider, that Jehovah is our God and Saviour: that the times and the seasons of prosperity and adversity, of life and death, are in his hand; and therefore on him we are to wait, till the day of mercy shall dawn, and the shadows fly away.

17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee; let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 18. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Ahithophel, for his treason against David, and Judas for treachery against Christ, felt the force of this prophetical imprecation, or prediction, which will also, one day, take its full effect, in the confusion of all impenitent calumniators and traitors.

19. O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men!

Peace of conscience, the comforts of the Spirit, and the hope of future glory, will teach the soul, even in the darkest night of affliction, to break forth into this exulting strain of gratitude and praise, for the blessings experienced by those who confess their Saviour before men.

20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride, Heb. conspiracies, of man; thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

In times of contention and persecution, there is a refuge for the faithful in "the tabernacle of David," which is the mystical body of Christ, inhabited by the presence of God. In this sacred "pavilion," they enjoy the pleasures of contemplation and devotion, regardless of the distant tumult and confusion of the world.