of the soul against the wickedness of the wicked, the Psalmist's language of cursing is but the breath. The world is the heathen whom he prays God to break in pieces. And for ever let the Christian exercise himself with that warfare, else he shall never know the fellowship of the Redeemer's sufferings. It is the capital principle of all sound doctrine, That the world is to be destroyed. It is the deep-rooted source of all heretical doctrine, That the world is to be mended. And to keep the one in mind, the other out of mind, it is most necessary that no mean portion of the devotion of a Christian church should be to express the desires of their soul on his behalf. Charity being unviolated; yea, charity being edified; for until the sceptre of the world is broken in pieces, charity can find no room, but is fain to flee into the wilderness. Out of the same charity, therefore, ought the Christian to adopt these expressions of his hatred to the form, and fruits of wickedness, that he expresseth his longing desire that the souls of the wicked should be set free and saved.

Such is the food, exercise, and entertainment which the child of God receives in this precious portion of his word, to all those instincts of the renewed spirit which regard self-preservation, the communion of saints and the salvation of the world. But beyond these objects which dwell upon the earth, he is carried upward to hold communion with the God and Father of his spirit, from whom he hath obtained a new birth, and by whom this new principle is kept alive in its uncongenial habitation. Many are the conflicts of Zion's children in their way to the heavenly city, and great the travail of their souls, under the variety and might of which they need appropriate encouragement from Him who is greater than all their enemies, and in whom is their trust. Their own individual salvation, their own peculiar trials, their own besetting enemies, Zion's well-being, and the share of all her sorrows till her warfare is ended; the world's salvation, in which they must travail till the number of the elect is accomplished, and, as priests unto God, offer up continual supplication: how shall they prosper in such an arduous work, without constant communion and fellowship with the Father. and with his Son Jesus Christ? For which communion with the Godhead, these divine songs of Israel furnish the most sublime, the most pathetic, and the most varied forms. Here the perfections of Jehovah are revealed to all his saints, whether in his strength as the God of Hosts, or in his righteousness, as before whom the heavens are not clean; or in his intelligence as the pure light in whom is no darkness at all; or in his all prevading presence in the highest heavens, and the deepest hell, and the uttermost parts of the earth, and the dwelling place of darkness; or as the Father of all life, and the Creator of all wealth, and the liberal Provider for the wants of every thing that liveth, as the Glory of the hosts above, and the Terror of the hosts beneath; the Eternal, Unchangeable, without variableness or the shadow of turning; who of old laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of his hands; which, when they wax old, he shall fold up as a vesture, and cover them with a new garment of creation, while he remaineth the sime and his years have no end. Oh, my soul! that thou couldst tell how thou hast been enlarged into the liberty of divine thought, and borne upon the wings of contemplation beyond the bounds of time and space, wrapt into the mysteries of the divine life, and with a strong heart and serene countenance, brought back to fight and to finish the warfare, till thy change come, by the glorious representations of Jehovah and his acts, contained in the Book of Psalms, which truly are the fiery chariot, the vehi

cle sent from God to carry the saints into the third heavens, that they may breathe an imperial air, and return lightened of their troubles, and quickened in their spirit, to finish the heavy work which God hath given them to do.

Of this, indeed, no one will doubt, be he spiritual or carnal, that these Psalms contain such representations of the great and mighty God, as mind of man never conceived, or pen of man indited; but more marvellous is it still to find in these Psalms, which looked afar off at the day of Christ, all the perfections and peculiar attributes of Messiah, which form to his redeemed people the endless theme of praise, issuing from the heart, and returning into the heart again, like the waters which the firmament draweth from the earth, and droppeth again upon the earth in dews and refreshing showers. These are set forth in away most noble, most true, and most full of feeling. In such a wonderful way is the man Christ Jesus represented in these Psalms, uttering his soul unto his Father, · unto his people, unto his persecutors, or unto his own bosom, that the children are able to take part in them, and find to their inexpressible joy that he is one with them in mind, in heart, in deed and in very word. And now, let us take free scope to set forth this, the most soul-quieting, and soul-delighting virtue of these songs of Zion: that they contain the phonies of Messiah and his children, of Immanuel and his people.

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But first, like the bride who loveth to look upon the face of the bridegroom, and to hear of all his excellence, that she may with the more gladness give herself into his bosom, and rejoice in his embrace; the church doth well love and much delight to hear it said of him by Jehovah, “I will declare the decree, Thou art mine only Son; this day have I begotten thee." "Thou wast set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was;" "from everlasting to everlasting thou art God," the same who did appoint the foundation of the earth, establish the clouds above, and strengthen the fountains of the deep; of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hand." And how her glory rejoiceth to hear, that for the love of her that he might wash her in his blood, and present her without spot or wrinkle in the presence of his Father, he became a partaker of flesh and blood, and was formed in fashion as a man, yea, took upon him the form of a servant; that by toil, and servitude, and suffering, and death, he might purchase her love. Making request unto his Father, thus-"Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me; mine ears hast thou bored. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God!" Remembering how he fulfilled all righteousness for her sake, and redeemed her from the curse, by becoming a curse for her, she thus sings her unbounded love," And he bowed the heavens and came down, darkness was under his feet. He made darkness his secret place, his pavilion round about him was dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. He took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them

which hated me."

And looking on him whom she caused to be pierced, whose beauty was wasted by death, and the joy of his soul drunk up by the fierce arrows of his Father, she mourns and weeps, and her eyes distil with tears, at the thought of those stripes by which she was healed; and by the deepest of all sympathies, the sufferings of Messiah became the sufferings of the church, and she crieth out, with her suffering Lord, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me! O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou

hearest me not, and in the night season, and am not silent! I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; thou hast brought me to the dust of death."

But the symphonies which the Church singeth with Christ out of this book are not all a fellowship of suffering. For not only by the shedding of his blood did Messiah make propitiation for her sins, and destroy her writing of condemnation, and put a new song in her mouth-"Who is he that condemneth," but also for her hath he purchased the raiment of an everlasting righteousness, and the beauties of holiness, and the spirit of a perfect obedience, which, by previous justifying faith, she claimeth as her own, and over which she singeth other symphonies of gladness: "I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteous dealing, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight." And in the greatness of her loyal love, how many a song singeth the daughter of Zion, touching the things that belong unto the King, when her tongue is as the pen of a ready writer: "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured upon thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving kindness, and tender mercies." And with what a brave pulse of glory doth her heart exult toward the accomplishment of Messiah's kingdom, and the fulness of his power; when all lands shall call upon his name, and all nations shall bow before him, and there shall be given to him of Sheba's gold, and his name shall endure for ever, and last like the sun, and men shall be blest in him, and all nations shall call him blessed! Then his people sing in high symphony with their triumphant King, and all-conquering Lord, in whom each one feeleth himself to be a conqueror and a king, seated on his throne, and sharing in his royal sovereignty, "Thou hast made me the head of the heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me, as soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The strangers shall submit themselves unto me."

For what are the conquests of David, or the greater conquests of David's everlasting Son, over the kingdoms of the earth, but a shadow of that inward conquest which Christ worketh over his enemies within our soul, which is more valuable than the earth, and to conquer which is a higher achievement than to subdue the kingdoms of the earth! The history of the Church is such a shadow of soul-history, as creation is of the omnipotent Spirit that made it. The soul is a thing for the Son of God to conquer, the world is for Cæsar, or the son of Philip. The soul, the boundless world of the soul to recover, to reconcile its warring powers, to breathe the life of God over its chaotic wastes-this is a work whereof all outward works are only fit to be the emblems; a work, in the execution of which every spiritual man feels the going forth of his Saviour conquering and to conquer. And he hath every outward action of holy writ realized inwardly, every groan of the conquered, every struggle of the conqueror, his toil, his sweat, his wounds, his death, his resurrection, his second going forth in the plenitude of the Spirit, his unconquered resolu tion, his long-abiding labour, the turning of the tide of battle, his sword upon the neck of his enemies, the shout of victory, the treading of the

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nations in the wine-press of his fury, his shivering them with his iron scep-tre like a potsherd, his driving them with death, and the grave, and himthat had the power of death, into the bottomless pit. His reign of peace, its joy, full contentment, and perfect assurance, what are they all, but letters, words, and similitudes, whereby the believer may better understand, and better express the spiritual work which is going on with his own soul, by the casting down of imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ? If a company of musical and melodious souls feel in unison with the sounds that flow from chords touched by the hands of a master musician, and a company of rich and poetical souls feel in harmony, while the drama of a master poet is rehearsed with true action in their ears, shall not the souls of spiritual men be in har-mony, while perusing the outward action, whereof they are the subject? Be in harmony! aye, in truest harmony. For they are the end of it all, the meaning of it all. In them it hath its reality, and till realized in them, it is an incomprehensible world to words and images, a hieroglyphic with no interpretation; a musical instrument, with no hand cunning enough to bring out its infinite streams of liquid music. Therefore, by no mystery but reality, though it be deep spiritual reality, deeper far than nature's penetration, they sing, "He hath ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, and receiving gifts for us, even for the rebellious, that the Lord our God may dwell among us. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, he is the King of glory." And in spirit they see the heavens to have opened their glorious gates, and behold the desire of their soul seated at the right hand of God, and they hear the welcome of Jehovah to the Son of man, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool, and thy people willing in the day of thy power, when the rod of thy strength shall be sent out of Zion."

But the sympathy of the church with her glorified Head endeth not with his exaltation to the right hand of the Highest, but from the new office to which she heareth him appointed-"Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek," she doth derive an assurance, a blessed confidence, that he standeth ever on high, to revive the drooping faith of his people. He is passed within the veil, to offer the blood of his own sacrifice, and intercede for the sins of his people, whose hope has passed in along with him, and anchored within the veil. And when their souls languish even to the gates of death, and the adversary presscth sore upon them, that they might fall, and for a moment darkness covereth their soul, and they say, Will the Lord cast off for ever, and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Straightway, they remember their infirmity, and call to mind the years of the right hand of the Most High; and are assured that Messiah ever liveth to make intercession for them, and that if any man sin, he has an advocate with the Most High, even Christ Jesus, the righteous. They remember the man of sorrows, who was acquainted with grief, and can be touched with the feeling of their infirmities, having been in all points tempted like as they are, yet without sin. And taking

heart, they exc.aim, "The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident, the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my high tower." And thus the children of God are exercised between the troubles of life, and the consolations of faith, between a body of sin and death, and a life which is born of God, and hidden with Christ in God. The principalities and powers of darkness would fain overwhelm the light and life of their soul, but they know that the powers of the flesh cannot oppress the powers of the Spirit. They see the body of Christ, which was rescued by the power of the Spirit from the jaws of the grave, standing in the presence of God on high. And they are assured thereby that the holy seed, born within them of the same Spirit, will, in like manner, quicken their mortal flesh, and at length re-demand and rescue from the grave the body, that it may live and reign with Christ for evermore.

At length cometh the end of all trial and experiences, for which there is an abundant preparation made in this storehouse of spiritual feeling. Messiah's spiritual seed, the heirs of many exceeding great and precious promises, who know that to them an abundant entrance shall be ministered into the everlasting kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, anticipate with hope and joy, not with fear and dismay, the time when their earthly house of this tabernacle being dissolved, they shall enter into the building of God, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Many a dark and gloomy valley have they passed through, since the time at which they find all their faces Zionward, and became pilgrims in the strait and narrow way which leadeth unto life. The last sad and dismal vale through which they have to pass, before their earthly pilgrimage be accomplished, is the valley of the shadow of death, which so many appalling shapes and forms of terror hover around. The deep shades of an eternal night seem evermore to rest upon it. Dark and portentous clouds hang round about it, and shut it in, impervious to mortal sight. Nature looks upon the gloom, and attempts in vain to discover the limits of the inhospitable region. Knowledge is baffled, and discovery is set at nought. Visions of terror trouble the eye which comes near it. Unearthly sounds of horror strike upon his ear who approacheth it. New and mysterious emotions seize upon the appalled spirit, which feels no capacity of dying, nor symptoms of death, while the tabernacle is all crumbling into dust, and she shrinks back aghast, and asks herself how she is to fare alone, with no one to cheer or accompany her. And though nature would fain nerve herself to it, she feels how utterly weak she is, how profitless strength, wealth, knowledge, friendship, and what else she boasted in. "My heart is sore pained within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and an horrible dread hath overwhelmed my soul." None can wrestle with death but He who overcame death, and those to whom he giveth power to overcome that king of terrors; whom he hath taught with the eye of faith to peruse the dark vale, and pierce its gloom, and know the bright and happy region which to them lies revealed within, though to others it be the mouth of the yawning pit. And as the man of God walks onwards through the valley, he says unto his God, "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt