TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY.-MORNING PRAYER.

PSALM CXX.

ARGUMENT.-This, and the fourteen Psalms which follow it, are entitled, "Psalms of Degrees, or of Ascensions." For what reason they were so called is altogether uncertain. Certain, however, it is, that they are most instructive and pleasing compositions, wonderfully calculated to elevate the soul to God; and that the Christian, as he proceeds from one degree of virtue to another, in his way towards eternal felicity, cannot employ himself better than in meditation on them. In the first of these Psalms, the author, most probably David, complaineth of the falsehood, the treachery, and the violence of men, amongst whom he grieveth that his pilgrimage is prolonged.

1. In my distress, I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

2. Deliver my

The prophet relateth the success of his prayer made to Jehovah in time of trouble. He "cried," and was "heard." The particular species of trouble under which he then laboured, was that caused by the malice and treachery of his adversaries, who either with "lying lips" bore false witness against him, or with a "deceitful 'tongue" tried to ensnare him, and to draw something from him on which they might ground an accusation. Thus the Jews dealt with Christ; and men of their cast and complexion have, in all ages, dealt thus with his true followers. From such "lips," and such "tongues," God only can "deliver" the persons and the reputations of the most innocent.

3. What shall be given unto thee! or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.

Some render the first of these two verses a little differently: "What shall a false tongue give thee, or what shall it add to thee?" The sense will be much the same, whether the Psalmist be supposed to address his question to the false tongue or to him who is the owner of it. The purport of the question plainly is this: What profit or advantage do you expect to reap from this practice of lying and slandering? what will at last be its end and its reward? Then followeth the answer: "Sharp arrows of the mighty one," , who is the avenger of truth and innocence; with a fire that burns fiercely, and burns long, like that which was made of "juniper," or some wood used in those days, remarkable for increasing and retaining heat; punishments justly inflicted on a tongue, the words of which have been keen and killing as arrows, and which, by its lies and calumnies, hath contributed to set the world on fire. We read in the gospel of one who exclaimed, "Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."

5. Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! The Psalmist lamenteth his long continuance among those deceitful and malicious men, whom he compareth to the wild, barbarous,

and idolatrous Arabs, the descendants of "Kedar," the son of Ishmael: Gen. xxv. 13. The former part of the verse is, with greater propriety, perhaps, rendered, by many of the translators and expositors, thus: "Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged—”, "I dwell, or, my dwelling is, among the tents of Kedar." When our Lord was upon earth, the Jews were become the spiritual Ishmaelites, sons of the bond-woman, persecutors of the sons of the freewoman, and the children of promise. "O faithless and perverse generation," saith he, "how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?" Matt. xvii. 17. "And as then he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." Gal. iv. 29. The church daily sigheth and groaneth, because her "sojourning is prolonged," and she dwelleth among adversaries of various denominations, among those who take delight in vexing and troubling her. These are "the tents of Kedar," among which we dwell in the wilderness, longing to depart, and to be with Christ in the city of the living God.

6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. 7. I am for peace ; or, I am a man of peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

If this was the case of David, much more might the Son of David make the same complaint, that he "dwelt with them that hated peace;" that although he was "a man of peace," meek, lowly, and gracious in his deportment to all around him; although he came to make peace, and to reconcile all things in heaven and earth; although his conversation and his preaching were of peace, and love, and the kingdom of God; yet no sooner did he open his mouth to "speak" upon these divine subjects, but his enemies were up in arms, ready to apprehend, to accuse, to condemn, and to crucify him. Marvel not, O disciple of Jesus! if the world hate and oppose thee; but pray only, that when thou shalt be used as he was, thou mayest be enabled to bear that usage as he did.

PSALM CXXI.

ARGUMENT.-In this Psalm, the prophet, 1, 2. introduceta a person, most probably an Israelite on his way to Jerusalem, expressing his trust and confidence in Jehovah, the Maker of heaven and earth, of whose favour and protection, at all times, and in all dangers, the prophet, 3-8. assureth him. These promises, like those in the ninety-first Psalm, were, in their full and spiritual sense, made good to Messiah, and are now daily accomplishing in the members of his mystical body, the Christian church. Bishop Lowth supposeth the two first verses to be spoken by David, when going out to war, and the answer of encouragement to be made by the high-priest from the holy place. In this case, the idea of warfare is added to that of pilgrim age, and the Psalm rendered still more applicable to us, as well as to the true David our King.

1. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

The true Israelite, amidst the dangers of his earthly pilgrimage and warfare, looketh continually towards the heavenly city, whither he is

travelling. Faith showeth him afar off the everlasting "hills from whence cometh the help," which must bring him in safety to them. He lifteth up his eyes" in prayer to the Almighty, whose temple and habitation are thereon. He putteth not his trust in any creature, but imploreth aid immediately of "him who made heaven and earth," and who, consequently, hath power over all things in both.

3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

In the first two verses, we heard the believer declaring his resolution to trust in God. The Prophet now commendeth that resolution, and encourageth him to persevere in it. As if he had said, Thou dost well to expect help from Jehovah alone; to overlook the vanities here below; to place thy confidence, and set thy affections on him who dwelleth above. Know therefore assuredly, that he will be with thee in the way in which thou goest; he will preserve thee from falling, and defend thee from all dangers; for in him thou hast a guardian, who is not, like all others, liable to remit his care, by being subject to sleep or death. The eye of his providence is upon thee, and that is always open. "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep."

5. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The meaning is, that the good man, during his journey through life, shall be under God's protection at all seasons; as Israel in the wilderness was defended from the burning heat of the sun, by the moist and refreshing shadow of the cloud; and secured against the inclement influences of the nocturnal heavens, by the kindly warinth and splendour diffused from the pillar of fire. Be thou with us, thy servants, O Lord, in the world, as thou wast with Israel in the wilderness; suffer not our virtue to dissolve before the sultry gleams of prosperity; permit it not to be frozen by the chilling blast of adversity.

7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth for evermore.

To dissipate our fears, and remove every ground of diffidence, Jehovah promiseth, by his holy prophet, to "preserve us from all evil" which might befall us in the way, either by turning it aside, or turning it finally to our advantage, so that we shall not perish, but see our labours happily begun and ended in him; he "shall preserve our going out, and our coming in," until, through all the vicissitudes of this mortal state, he shall have brought us into his holy temple," there to become "pillars," and to "go no more out." Rev. iii. 12.

PSALM CXXII.

ARGUMENT.-The author of this Psalm, as we are informed by its title, was David. The subject of it is that joy which the people were wont to express upon their going up in companies to keep a feast at Jerusalem, when the divine services were regulated, and that city was appointed to be the place of public worship. Every thing which can be said upon this topic, must naturally hold good in its application to the Christian church, and the celebration of her feasts; at which seasons the believer will as naturally extend his thoughts to the Jerusalem above, and to that festival which shall one day be there kept by all the people of God.

1. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Great was the joy of an Israelite, when his brethren called upon him to accompany them, on some festive occasion, to the tabernacle, or temple at Jerusalem; great is the joy of a Christian, when he is invited, in like manner, to celebrate the feasts of the church, to commemorate the nativity, or the resurrection, and to eat and drink at the table of his Lord. Such, in kind, but far greater in degree, is that gladness which the pious soul experiences, when she is called hence; when descending angels say unto her, Thy labour and sorrow are at an end, and the hour of thy enlargement is come; put off mortality and misery at once; quit the house of bondage, and the land of thy captivity; fly forth, and "let us go together into the house of the Lord, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem !

Yes, O thou holy and happy city of peace, and love, and everlasting delight, our God will in time bring us to behold, and to enter thee; “ our feet," which now, with many a weary step, tread the earth, "shall" one day "stand within thy gates," which are opened to all believers; we shall at length rest in thy celestial mansions, and converse for ever with thy blessed inhabitants!

3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together.

We see thee not, indeed, as yet, but we hear of thy stability, thy unity, thy beauty, and thy magnificence. Thy foundations are firm upon the holy hills; they are garnished with all manner of precious stones; and in them are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Thy gates are of pearl, twelve in number, and open to all quarters, for the tribes of the spiritual Israel to come in. Thy streets are of pure gold, as it were transparent glass; thou art crowned with the unfading brightness of eternal glory; and the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple in the midst of thee. All these glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God! And yet, when we come to see thee with our eyes, we shall be forced to confess, as the queen of Sheba did upon viewing the earthly Jerusalem, with its material temple, and the court of its mortal king, that thou far "exceedest the fame which we had heard," and that "the half was not told us." 1 Kings x. 7.

4. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto, or, according to, the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.

As all the "tribes" of Israel, three times in the year, were seen "going up" to the old Jerusalem in compliance with the "testimonies," the injunctions and institutions of their law, to acknowledge the mercies, and to give thanks unto the name of "Jehovah," who had done such great things for them; so from the ends of the earth are the redeemed of the Lord, out of every nation, and kindred, and people, continually ascending, by faith and charity, to the new Jerusalem. St. John saw the nations of them that were saved, walking in the light of the heavenly city, and he heard her streets resound with the hallelujahs of ten thousand times ten thousand.

5. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. The Israelites resorted to Jerusalem, because it was the metropolis of the country, and there was the residence of their monarchs, after the kingdom was established in "the house of David." But, alas! that metropolis is desolate, and "the thrones of judgment," which were therein, have been long since cast down to the ground. A Jerusalem, however, remains, which shall never be moved; in that Jerusalem is the throne of eternal judgment erected, and the Son of David sitteth upon it. Of him it was said by the angel to Mary, "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke, i. 32. And he himself thus addressed his apostles: "Verily, I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. xix. 28.

6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. In this latter part of our Psalm, the members of the Israelitish church are exhorted to pray for its peace and welfare. What that church was, the Christian church militant upon earth now is, and demandeth, in like manner, the prayers of all Christian people for its peace and welfare in a troublesome and contentious world. Its increase here below, is in reality the increase of Jerusalem above, of which it is a part, and ought to be a resemblance. Heaven has therefore decreed, that they who contribute their labours, as well as their prayers, to promote so good and so glorious an end, shall enjoy its protection, and its blessing shall be upon the work of their hands; "They shall prosper that love thee.”

7. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity, or, plenteousness, within thy palaces.

Come, O thou divine Spirit of peace and love, who didst reside in the soul of the holy Jesus, descend into his mystical body, and fill us, who compose it, with all his heavenly tempers; put an end to heresies, heal all schisms, cause bitter contentions to cease, abolish every enmity, and make us to be of one mind in thy holy city; that