that we be "neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 8.

"13. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps; or, and shall set his steps in the way."

Upon the appearance of the Redeemer, "Righteousness" is represented "as going before him," like his harbinger the Baptist, to prepare and make ready his way. In that way, the way of righteousness, "he set his steps," and walked therein, without the least deviation, until he had finished his appointed course. Draw us, blessed Jesus, and we will run after thee in the path of life; let thy mercy pardon us, thy truth enlighten us, thy righteousness direct us to follow thee, O Lamb of God, whithersoever thou goest, through poverty, affliction, persecution, and death itself; that our portion may be for ever in thy kingdom of peace and love.

SEVENTEENTH DAY.-MORNING PRAYER.

PSALM LXXXVI.

ARGUMENT.

This Psalm is entitled a payer of David, and supposed to have been written in some of his great distresses. Like others of the same kind, it is calculated for the use of the church during her sufferings here below, by which she is conformed to the image of the true David, that man of sorrows. It contains, 1. an earnest supplication, grounded on the poverty, 2. the holiness, faith, 3. importunity, and 4. devotion of the suppliant; and on, 5-7. the goodness, and, 8. power of God, 9, 10. to be one day acknowledged by all nations, at their conversion. After this follows, 11. a petition for wisdom, strength, and singleness of heart: 12, 13. a thanksgiving for redemption; 14. a complaint of persecution from the wicked; 15. an act of faith; 16, 17. a prayer for help and salvation.

1. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, and hear me: for I am poor and needy."

All prayer is founded on a sense of our wants, and God's ability to sup ply them. In the sight of his Maker, every sinner is "poor and needy;" and he must become so in his own, that his petitions may be regarded; he must pray with the humility and importunity of a starving beggar, at the gate of heaven, if he expect the great King to "bow down his ear and hear him." "The prayer of the humble," saith the wise son of Sirach, "pierceth the clouds; and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted; and will not depart till the Most High shall behold," Ecclus. xxxv. 17. The blessed Jesus, "though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, and had not where to lay his head; nor is it to be doubted, but that in his state of humiliation, he oftentimes made his prayer to the Father in these very words; "Bow down thine ear, O LORD, and hear me; for I am poor and needy." If he sued, in such a form of words for us, shall we think of suing in any other form for ourselves?

"2. Preserve thou my soul; for I am holy: 0 thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee."

The word here translated "holy," is on the same which is used in the xvith Psalm; "Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." And indeed, if we understand "holiness" in its strict sense, no one but "he whom the Father sanctified, and sent into the world," to redeem lost man, could say to him, "Preserve my soul, for I am holy." But the word properly signifies "good, merciful, pious, devoted to the service of God," &c. The Christian, therefore, only pleads, in this expression, his relation to Christ, as being a member of Christ's body, the church, and a

partaker of the gifts, which, by virtue of that membership, he has received through the Spirit of holiness. So that this first part of the verse, “Preserve my soul, for I am holy," when repeated by us, is equivalent to another passage in the Psalms, "I am THINE, O save me," cxix. 94. The latter member of the verse under consideration teaches us to pray for help and salvation, as the "servants" of God, whose eyes therefore look naturally to him, "as the eyes of servants," in affliction, "look unto the hand of their masters," Psalm cxxiii. 2. And happy, surely, are we in a Master, who, himself, for our salvation, once lived, and prayed, and suffered, and died, in the form of a servant," Phil. ii. 7.

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"3. Be merciful unto me, O LORD, for I cry unto thee daily."

There is no man upon earth, but needeth "mercy;" he who is truly sensible of his need, will "cry daily" for it; and who doth so, may comfort himself with the hope of obtaining it. The prayers of Jesus, poured forth for the salvation of his mystical body, in the days of his flesh, were frequent and mighty: his intercession for us in heaven is continual. Does the man believe this, who prays not at all, or who prays without devotion? "4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul."

Sorrow was the portion of Christ in the world, and the church hath no reason to expect any other from it. He that would have real "joy" in his heart, must beseech God to give it him, for no creature hath it to give. Nay, the love of the world must be renounced, before this divine gift can even be received." The affections must be loosened from earth, and "lifted up" to heaven, on wings of faith and love: for in the soul that is full of sensual pleasures and indulgences, there is neither room nor taste for spiritual delights.

5. For thou, LORD, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee."

We are encouraged to "lift up our souls to God" in prayer, because his "goodness" and the "plenteousness of his mercy" in Christ Jesus, incline him to give his holy Spirit of peace and comfort to "all that call upon him." His favour is no longer confined to Judea; there is now no distinction of age, condition, or country; but the sinner, whoever, or wherever he be, if he call upon the saving name of Jesus, is heard, pardoned, and accepted, upon the terms of the evangelical covenant.

6. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer: and attend to the voice of my supplication. 7. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me."

In confidence of an "answer" nourished and strengthened by all the foregoing considerations, the suppliant renews his prayer, while the "day of trouble" lasts; and that day will not end but with this mortal pilgrimage; since he who loves his country, will ever be uneasy while he is detained among strangers and enemies, perils and temptations. But the trouble is overpaid with profit, which rendereth us adepts in the practice of devotion, which convinceth us that we are abroad, and maketh us to wish and sigh for our true and only home.

"8. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O LORD; neither are there any works like unto thy works."

Another reason why application should be made unto Jehovah, is his infinite superiority over all those that, by infatuated men, were even called "gods." From the ancient idolatry, which taught adoration to the sun, moon, and stars, to the light and the air, we have been delivered by the Gospel; nor do we any longer profess to worship Jupiter, and the other heathen gods and goddesses: but do not many still trust in idols? and have they not, in effect, other objects of worship, from whose hands they expect their reward? Are not the hearts of the covetous, the ambitious, the voluptuous, so many temples of Mammon or Plutus, of Jupiter or Mars, of Bacchus, Comus, and Venus? But what are these deities; what is their

power; and what are their gifts? What is the whole world and all that is therein, when compared with its Maker and Redeemer? what is it, when applied to, for the ease and comfort of a wounded spirit ?" Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O LORD; neither are there any works like unto thy works!"

"9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O LORD; and shall glorify thy name."

The Psalmist predicteth, that this superiority of Jehovah should one day be acknowledged throughout all the earth, when "neither in Jerusalem only, nor in the mount of the Samaritans," but in every place," should men worship the Father;" John iv. 21, when he who "made all nations" by his Son, should by that Son redeem all nations, bringing them from the world to the church, there to "worship before the true God, and in songs of praise to glorify his holy name." If in these our times, we behold the nations again falling away from God, departing from the purity of their faith, and leaving their first love, let us comfort ourselves with looking forward to that scene of things described by St. John, in which we hope to bear a part hereafter. "I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation unto our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Rev. vii. 9.

"10. For thou art great, and dost wondrous things: thou art God alone." "Great" is Jehovah in his power, in his wisdom, in his mercy; wonderful in the creation of the world, wonderful in the preservation and the government of it, wonderful in its redemption; wonderful in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus; in the descent of the Spirit, the propagation of the Gospel, the sufferings of saints, and the conversion of sinners: most wonderful will he be, when he shall raise the dead, judge the world, condemn the wicked, and glorify the righteous. And then shall every tongue confess, "Thou art God alone!"

"11. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name."

It is the continual subject of the Mediator's intercession above, and of our prayers below, that we may be "taught the way of Jehovah," the way to life eternal, prepared for us through faith and love which is in Christ Jesus; that being so taught, we may likewise be enabled "to walk in the truth," without error in doctrine, or deviation from duty; believing all things which God hath revealed, and doing whatsoever he hath commanded us; that the affections of the "heart" may be withdrawn from other objects; and being no longer divided between God and the world, become "united" in the filial "fear of his name," as the grand principle of action.

"12. I will praise thee, O LORD my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell."

Gratitude for mercies already received, will obtain a continuance and increase of those mercies. The church is never in so afflicted a state, but she hath still reason to intermingle hullelujahs with her hosannas, and in the midst of her most fervent prayers, to "praise the LORD, her God, with all her heart, and to glorify his name for evermore;" since, whatever she may suffer upon earth (and even those sufferings will turn to her advantage) "great," most undoubtedly, hath his mercy been toward her, in delivering her, by the resurrection of Jesus, from the bondage of sin, the dominion of death, and the bottomless pit of "hell."

"14. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before them, or, before their eyes."

From praises we return again to prayers. When Christ was upon earth, we know the treatment he met with from "proud and violent men, who had

not set God before their eyes;" from self-righteous Jews and conceited Gentiles, who rose up, and took counsel together against him. What his church afterwards suffered at the hands of the same enemies, is likewise well known. How much more she is to undergo in the latter days, we know not as yet; but this we do know, that the spirit of the world stands, now and ever, in opposition to the Spirit of God; its design is always the same, although its method of working be divers. Nor can we be ignorant of those domestic adversaries, that assembly of haughty and turbulent pas sions, which are continually making insurrections, and destroying the peace of the soul. So that either from without, or from within, every one who is a Christian indeed, shall be sure to have his portion of tribulation.

15. But thou, O LORD, art a God full of compassion, and gracious; longsuffering, and plenteous in goodness and truth."

Having taken a view of those that are against us, it is now time to look up to those that are with us. And can we have better friends, than all these gracious and favourable attributes of heaven? Can more comfortable and joyful tidings be brought us, than that God loveth us with a father's love; that he is ready to pardon, slow to anger; and that we have his truth pledged for the performance of his mercy? What a fountain of consolation is here opened for the afflicted Christian? "Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more," Prov. xxxi. 7.

"16. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me: give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid."

On the consideration of the above mentioned attributes, a petition is in this verse put up to God, that he would "turn" his face towards us; that he would of his "mercy" pardon us, by his grace "strengthen" us, and by his power "save" us from all our adversaries. Every Christian is the "servant" of God, and "the son of the handmaid," the church, which may say, in the same spirit of humility and obedience, with the blessed Virgin, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."

"17. Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed; because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me."

Many outward "signs" and "tokens" of the Divine favour were in old time vouchsafed to patriarchs, prophets, and kings of Israel. The law itself was a collection of external and sacramental figures of grace and mercy. All these centred, and had their accomplishment in that grand and everlasting sign and token of God's love to man, the incarnation of Christ, which all faithful people from the beginning wished and prayed for. On this sign the Christian looks with joy, as the great proof that God has "holpen him and comforted him ;" while his faith in it doth not fail, he hath the wit ness in himself, and his actions declare as much to all around him; "that they which hate him may be ashamed" and converted, before that day come, when shame shall be fruitless, and conversion impossible.

PSALM LXXXVII.

ARGUMENT.

The prophet, 1-3. celebrates the stability and felicity of Sion; 4, 5. foretells the accession of the Gentiles to her, and 6, their enrolment among her citizens; 7. extols her as the fountain of grace and salvation. The Psalm was probably penned on a survey of the city of David, just after the building of it were finished.

"1. His foundation is in the holy mountains: or, It is his, i. e. God's, foundation in the mountains of holiness.* 2. The LORD loveth the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob."

* Some commentators suppose this verse to be a part of the title, which will then run thus; "For the sons of Korah, a Psalm; a song when he laid the foundation on the holy mountains."

The Psalmist, after having meditated on the strength, the beauty, and the glory of Jerusalem, being smitten with the love of the holy city, and imagining the thoughts of his hearers, or readers, to have been employed on the same subject, breaks forth at once in this abrupt manner: "It is HIS foundation on the holy mountains." By "the holy mountains" are meant those hills of Judea, which Jehovah had chosen, and separated to himself from all others, whereon to construct the highly favoured city and temple. As the dwellings of Jacob, in the promised land, were beloved by him more than the dwellings of other nations, so he "loved the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." Jerusalem was exalted and fortified by its situation, but much more so by the protection of the Almighty. What Jerusalem was, the Christian church is; "built" by God "on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord," Eph. ii. 20. "It is HIS foundation in the holy mountains;" she is beloved of God above the kingdoms and empires of the earth, which rise and fall only to fulfil the Divine counsels concerning her. When those counsels shall be fulfilled, in the salvation of all believers, the world, which subsists only for their sake, will be at an end.

"3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God."

As the prophet began in a rapture to speak of the holy city, so now, in fresh transport, he changes the person, and suddenly addresses himself to it. The old Jerusalem was "the city of God, and glorious things were therefore said of it" by the Spirit. Pleasant for situation, and magnificent in its buildings, it was the delight of nations, the joy of the whole earth; there was the royal residence of the kings of Judah; there was the temple and the ark, and the glory, and the King of heaven dwelling in the midst of her; her streets were honoured with the footsteps of the Redeemer of men; there he preached, and wrought his miracles, lived, died, and rose again; thither he sent down the Spirit, and there he first laid the foundations of his church. To know what glorious things are said of the NEW Jerusalem, the reader must peruse, Isa. lx. and Rev. xxi. xxii.

"4. I will make mention of Rahab, or, Egypt, and Babylon, to them that know me: behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia, or, Arabia, this man was born there. 5. And of Sion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her; and the Highest himself shall establish her."

The accession of the nations to the church is generally supposed to be here predicted. God declares by his prophet, "I will make mention of," or "cause to be remembered, Egypt and Babylon," the old enemies of Israel, to, or, "among them that know me," that is, in the number of my worshippers; "behold" also "Philistia, and Tyre, with Arabia;" these are become mine; "this." or each of these, "is born there;" i. e. in the city of God; they are become children of God, and citizens of Sion; so that "of Sion," or the church, "It shall be said, This man and that man," Heb. a man and a man,* i. e. great numbers of men in succession, "are born in her;" alluding to the multitude of converts under the Gospel, the sons of that Jerusalem, "which is the mother of us all;" Gal. iv. 25. " and the Highest himself shall establish her;" as he saith, "Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," Matt.

xvi. 18.

"6. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there."

* Dr. Durell renders V'NI 'N" The man, even the man," that is, "the man of men; or, "the greatest of all men." The reduplication, he thinks, according to the oriental phraseology, must mean the superlative, or highest degree. He adds-According to this interpretation, every one will see who this eminent personage was to be, from whose birth Zion (used by a synecdoche for Judea) was to acquire so much glory. The latter hemistic-" And the Highest himself shall establish her"--seems to me to have reference, not to God the Father, but to his Son: it appearing to be exegetical of the preceding one, and to describe his divine, as the other does his human nature. Critical Remarks, p 167.