4 Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.

5 Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.

7 Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;

8 Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

9 I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.

10 It is he that giveth 'salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.

11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:

12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, 'polished after the similitude of a palace:

to fight. The Lord was his goodness; his fortress; his high tower; his deliverer; his shield; the one object of all his faith; and the one victorious conqueror of all his foes; he that gave him salvation, and delivered him from the peril of the sword. Do you not here perceive what high, and honourable, what sublime and exalted views of the glorious character of his glorious and gracious God filled his soul?

case.

This is just what ought always to be the You never can entertain too high, or too exalted views of the glorious Redeemer. Indeed, properly speaking, you can never come up fully to that mark. He is exalted above all blessings, and all praise. Yet you should aim, each in his measure, to cherish these high and exalted conceptions of his blessed name. How may you attain this? By considering what he is in himself; what he is to you; what he hath done for your soul and for the life of others. In himself, he is God over all blessed for ever! As

Two great and important truths pervade this psalm. They are the glory of the Lord; and the vanity of man. In the consideration of these truths, many others, bearing upon both, are brought to light.

Let us consider the glory of the Lord. I mean, as he was here presented to David's mind; and as he saw and felt him to be in his own soul. The language of this psalm denotes a happy state of gracious deliverance. The truths thus expressed are of the most sublime and glorious description. He seems to be at a loss, how to give utterance to what he saw and felt within. He blesses the Lord. He calls him his strength. He had taught his hands to war, and his fingers

the flesh! As our Mediator and Redeemer, we behold him undertaking our cause; dying for our sins; saving our soul! Oh! can you think of these blessings, in all their rich abundance and happy results, and not say, My beloved is the chiefest among ten thou sand, and altogether lovely? Can you think of these blessings, and not say, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him? (Cant. v. 10; Philip. iii. 8.)

Let us also consider the vanity of man. What a contrast is here! What a contrast between this poor vile despicable creature; and the glorious Lord of all! Let us take a view of our meanness and abasement. Man is like to vanity. Man's days are as a shadow that passeth away. Man is a poor, lost, perishing sinner; born in sin; a child of wrath; doomed to die; and liable to perish for ever. Well we may say, Lord! what is man! Mean in his origin, as taken from the dust; guilty in his state, as a rebel against his Maker; miserable in his end, as doomed to die and deserving to perish for ever. Lord! what is man! Still more won

derful is the thought, Lord! what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man that thou makest account of him! There is the greatest wonder of all. That the most high and glorious Lord of heaven and earth should condescend even to notice his existence; that he should take any account of him whatsoever; above all, that he should have thoughts of mercy and compassion toward him; that he should give his

Son to die for his sins; that for his sake he should pardon, bless, and save him; deliver him from the deepest misery, and raise him to that highest state of blessedness and glory; oh, what wonders of wonders are here!

May our hearts be deeply touched by this matchless goodness! May this gracious and condescending God; this loving and merciful Redeemer; be dear and precious to our souls! In the faith and love of his name, may our sons be as lovely plants in their youth; and our daughters as the polished stones of the temple! May they love the Lord! May they walk in his ways! May they serve him in righteousness and holiness all the days of their life! May this great and glorious Being awe his enemies; and, if it please him, convert and save their souls! Then would they also know, how "happy is that people, that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord" (v. 15).

PSALM CXLV.

1 David praiseth God for his fame, 8 for his goodness, 11 for his kingdom, 14 for his providence, 17 for his saving mercy. David's Psalm of praise.

I

WILL extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

6

15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him but all the wicked will he destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

(1) Heb. and of his greatness there | (4) Heb. great in mercy. (5) Heb. a kingdom of all ages. (6) Or, look unto thee. (7) Or, merciful, or, bountiful.

is no search. (2) Heb. things, or, (3) Heb. declare it.

words.

We have seen the man of God in his depths. We behold him coming out of his troubles. We hear new songs put into his mouth; and fresh thanksgivings bursting forth to the praise and glory of his merciful deliverer. So it is, generally speaking, with all the saints of God. First come the depths; the scas of trouble; the overwhelming waves; and then succeed the peaceful calm, and the happy deliverance.

The chief truths enforced in this psalm, are the perpetuity of the divine praise; and the perpetual exercise of the divine mercy and compassion: subjects, in a measure, realised on earth; but which can be perfected only in the heavenly regions above. Can we join in these delightful themes?

Let us consider the perpetuity of the divine praise. It was foretold of Christ, that as prayer shall be made for him continually;

These are the subjects brought immediately before us in this instructive psalm. Let us consider, first, the nothingness and sin of man. In a former psalm it is said, Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. Here we are told, There is no help in man: he is a poor, frail, dying creature. His breath goeth forth: he returneth to the earth. In that very day his thoughts perish (v. 3, 4). What a picture of our frailty! How true is the reality! Where are all the generations of old? Gone down to the grave! Whither are all the existing generations of men now hastening? To the same place. The grave is the common receptacle of all living. All must die. Princes and poor men, all must die alike. All must go down to the grave. All must turn to their dust; and the reason is, because all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Can this poor, frail, dying creature, who cannot deliver himself from the grave, save himself from hell? Can this miserable and dying creature, who cannot help or deliver himself, be the object of trust or confidence to others? Impossible. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help;" or, as it is in the margin, "no salvation" (v. 3).

In whom, then, ought we to trust? In whom is there help? In whom is there salvation? In the Lord. "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." Why? Jacob's God is our God and Saviour. Jacob's God is able to save to the uttermost. Jacob's God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is therein. Jacob's God keepeth his truth for ever. He executeth judgment for the oppressed. He fills the hungry with good things. Jacob's God is that blessed Saviour, who looseth the prisoners; who openeth the eyes of the blind; who raiseth up them that are bowed down; who loveth

the righteous; who preserveth the strangers and pilgrims upon earth; who relieveth the needy and destitute; who turns the way of the wicked upside down; who reigneth for ever, as the God of Zion, unto all generations (v. 5—10).

Is not that man, then, happy, who hath the God of Jacob for his help; whose hope is in the Lord his God? Is his hand shortened that it cannot save; or his ear heavy that it cannot hear? Is he not able to bless and to save to the uttermost? Will he ever fail, or forsake them that put their trust in him? Will he not guide them with his counsel, till he receive them to his glory? Who, then, is your hope? Where is your trust? In whom do you confide? Is it in Christ? Is he all your salvation, and all your desire? or, do you put your trust in man in others? or in yourselves? How vain, how wicked is that hope! Look to this in time: for "cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” (Jer. xvii. 5.) If you would escape that sentence, come and put your trust in the Lord. He that opens the eyes of the blind, and raises up them that are fallen, and relieveth the needy and destitute, can recover, bless, and save you. May you make this happy choice; and learn to praise the God of all our mercies for ever and ever!

PSALM CXLVII.

1 The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his care of the church, 4 his power, 6 and his mercy: 7 to praise him for his providence: 12 to praise him for his blessings upon the kingdom, 15 for his power over the meteors, 19 and for his ordinances in the church.

PRA RAISE ye the LORD: for it is good to pleasant; and praise is comely. sing praises unto our God; for it is

2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their 'wounds.

4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: 2his understanding is infinite.

6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse he taketh not pleasure in the legs of

a man.

11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.

4

14 He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. 16 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.

17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.

20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

THESE last psalms are very delightful. There is a sweet spirit of sacred solidity discernable in them all. Is the psalmist drawing near the close of his inspired work? Is he ripening for his heavenly rest? However this may be, certain it is, there is a peculiar maturity of thought, and unction of feeling, which mark the man of God in these sacred effusions.

Praise is still the theme. The nature of praise, and the grounds of praise, are here laid before us. "Praise ye the Lord." Are not all bound to praise him? Who that hath tasted his grace, and experienced his salvation, will not praise him? All his saints shall praise him; even the children of Zion; the people that are near him. (Ps. cxlviii. 14.) What is the nature of this praise? Three things are named respecting it. "It is good to sing praises unto our God. It is pleasant. Praise is comely." First, it is good. Praise is one of those many good words and works,

in which believers are to abound more and more. Secondly, praise is pleasant. It is a delightful exercise in its own nature. Sorrow has fled where praise comes. It is the token of gospel happiness, and the pledge of spiritual peace. Thirdly, praise is comely. It is the beauty and ornament of the Christian spirit, and the Christian character. It is a grace, which overtops, as it were, and beautifies the whole work of grace in the heart, and the whole salvation of Christ in the soul; because it is the most delightful evidence of both (v. 1).

grace;

Why is the Lord thus to be praised? What kindles the spirit within? What calls for its happy exercise, as the case may be? The wonderful acts, and the gracious dealings of the Lord with his people. He builds up Jerusalem; and gathers together the outcasts of Israel. The decaying work he revives. The scattered sheep he gathers into his fold. In so doing, he heals the broken in heart, and bindeth up all their wounds. He, that telleth the number of the stars, knows all his people by name. In so doing, he shews how great the glorious Lord is in himself; how great his power is, in the exercise of his and and mercy how infinite is his understanding, in devising and executing the whole. While the wicked are cast down to the ground, the weak are lifted up out of their sorrows and distress. Every thing displays his wisdom, and exhibits his power. The heavens covered with clouds; the rain prepared for the earth; the grass growing upon the mountains; the beasts provided with food; the young ravens receiving their supply; the pleasure he takes in the welfare of his chosen; the safety of the church; the peace of his people; the blessings he gives them; the diffusion of his truth; the snow, the frost, the ice, the cold, the thaw; the blowing wind; the flowing streams; the word he shews to his servants, and his statutes enjoined to his people; all proclaim what a wonderful, merciful, and gracious Being he is. How special are his mercies to his church, and how highly favoured they are who put their trust in him! (v. 1-20).

And is not such a Being as this to be loved, praised, admired, and adored? Does