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overthrown (ver. 4); earth's thick-peopled regions fear Him, and shall go on fearing him in peace, so long as sun and moon remain, that sun and moon which at creation's dawn were appointed to light up earth and guide men to keep holy festivals to the Lord, (Gen. i. 14). The Lord Jesus is there. Like plenty-dropping showers" that reach the very roots of the mown grass (ver. 6), so is He to the earth after it has been shorn by the scythe of war, and every form of ruin and wrath. He revives it, as summer's genial rains cause grass to spring up in new vigour, clothing the soil with a richer and thicker mantle of verdure than before--as Layard* tells us how in the season of spring the dusty soil of Mesopotamia will change its aspect, in one night the tame plains turning to a bright scarlet, or to deepest blue through the burst of flowers, while the meadows put on the emerald green of the most luxuriant pastures, causing even the wild Bedouin, as he riots in the rich herbage and scented air, to exclaim, “What delight has God given us equal to this!” The wealth of opposite nations, Sheba and Seba (Meroe and Arabia), is consecrated to Him, as they bring "gifts" (ver. 10), or tribute, 2 Kings iii. 4.

"The swart Sabeans and Panchaia's king

Shall cassia, myrrh, and sacred incense bring;

All kings shall homage to The King afford;

All nations shall receive him for their Lord." (Sandys.)

He is the true Job (see xxix. 12) who delivers the poor (ver. 12); "he looks with pity upon" (Fry), or “sympathises with” (Horsley), the poor and needy (ver. 13). He redeems them from Satan's craft and cruelty, from Satan as the serpent, and Satan as the lion, "from deceit and from violence.”

We agree with Keble's hint in his metrical version of this book, that verse 15 refers to the well-known salutation offered to kings, "O king, live for ever." It runs thus

"Yes, let him live !

And the gold of Sheba be given him !

And let him pray for every one continually.”

The pronoun of the third person is used to express "every one," viz., every one of his subjects. They adore him and worship; he intercedes and acts as mediator to them for ever.

*Discoveries in Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 273 and 301.

And what sights of strange fertility and beauty shall be seen, as indicated by verse 16! corn to the summit of the hills rustling like cedar boughs on Lebanon; while The City, the metropolis (Psa. lxxxvii.), flourishes in population like the numberless blades of grass, all holy, all praising their King, presenting the spectacle of a model-city to the world.

And now is fulfilled to the utmost the promise made to Abraham, "in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xxii. 18), so oft repeated; for Messiah's name (ver. 17) produces posterity," i. e., renovates itself, acquiring fresh vigour, “for ever”" (Hengst.). All nations are blessed in him, and all call him blessed.

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Sing, then, as verses 18, 19, sing with heart and voice for

evermore

"Blessed be Jehovah !

God (without a rival), God of Israel !

Who alone (needing no help of any) doeth wondrous works.

And blessed be his glorious name for ever and ever

Yea, let the whole earth be filled with his glory !
Amen, and amen !”

The prospect of this consummation fills the heart of the Sweet Singer of Israel; it leaves him nothing more to wish for. He has reached the height and summit of desire and hope. Perhaps the last words of verse 19 should be joined to verse 20, and run thus

The "Amen" of the whole Psalm falls on his ear from his own harp strings, and he catches it up and repeats it thus-" Yea, amen ! the prayers are ended of David the son of Jesse.'

"So let it be! Thy will on earth now done,

No more to seek has David, Jesse's son."

وو

And thus it is that an individual's own peculiar desires shall all be satisfied in that kingdom, satisfied because absorbed in the flood of bliss. Who is there that ever takes up the former Psalm or the next, wearied, faint-hearted, and desponding? Look forward and see here

The Righteous One's hopes realised in the glory of the

kingdom.

PSALM LXXIII.

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 TRULY God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped; 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked 4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.

5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other

men.

6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8 They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.

9 They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them:

11 And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?

12 Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world! they increase in riches.

13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in in

nocency.

14 For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. 15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.

16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!

They are utterly consumed with terrors.

20 As a dream when one awaketh;

So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.

22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right

hand.

24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

26 My flesh and my heart faileth :

But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish:

Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.

28 But it is good for me to draw near to God:

I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.

A SORT of historical series begins here, relating to Israel's posi- A new series. tion in the world (lxxiii.), to their temple (lxxiv.), their land (lxxv.), God's deeds therein (lxxvi., lxxvii.), God's dealings in days past (lxxviii.), Israel's desolation (lxxix.), and prayer regarding the same (lxxx.).

“A Psalm of Asaph;" perhaps one of those specially sung by Hezekiah's appointment at the altar (2 Chron. xxix. 30); and what more fit to be sung there when the ascending smoke and poured-out blood declared in type Jehovah's unspeakable gift, and so seemed to say, "Yes, God is good to Israel !" (2 Chron. v. 13.)

How well it follows the last Psalm ! As if Asaph had been singing it, and thereupon had felt all his surmises and faithless. fears dissipated by the triumphant prospects held out there to the people of Messiah. It is a Psalm, not about Messiah himself, but about “his people” (ver. 10), about “Israel” (ver. 1); about the members, not the Head. It is uttered in the presence of the Head; but it tells how its members have often been nearly "offended in Him" (Luke vii. 23). Had Asaph lived in Herod's day, such suspicious surmises as are expressed in verses 3-9 might have been raised in his soul, by seeing the Baptist first in the dungeon, and then in the tomb, while Herod ruled and rioted in luxury. Horsley remarks on the first word, "It expresses the state of mind of a person meditating a difficult question, in which he is much interested and can hardly come to a conclusion.”

The title.

Connection and subject.

Verse 4 should be rendered-" There are no death-bands Verse 4. to them" (Horsley); "they are never fettered with death" (Hengst.), i. e., there are no death-bringing circumstances in their lot. They escape the annoyances and reproaches which God's people meet with (see 1 Cor. x. 13); their "pride" is their "ornamental chain" (ver. 6), and (ver. 7) "the imagination of their hearts overflows"-that is, speaks out, or vents itself;

"They speak of oppression from on high" (ver. 9) (Hengst.);

Verses 6-9.

Verse 10.

Verse 12.

Verse 20.

as if they were out of reach of danger, aloft on their rock; or as old Sandys renders the line, "They speak like thunder from the troubled sky." Hence,

“His people return hither" (ver. 10);

i. e., God's people return to the state of mind described in verse 2, or to this sight which causes the unbelieving surmises. To quote Sandys again, as giving the right sense

“The good not seldom, through their scandal, stray.”

How like a desponding man's words is verse 12, "Yet they
prosper for ever,” or more literally," They are everlasting pros-
perers!" But now, the likelihood of giving occasion to others
to stumble crosses his mind; and forthwith the same Spirit
who suggested that consideration, leads Asaph in his thoughts
(as some understand the words of verse 17) to the sanctuary.
Standing there, the very thought of the Holy One on his
Throne is enough to remind him of what must be the end of
these ungodly ones; but more especially is the remembrance
that there is a resurrection day-a day when God will arise
and scatter these dreams of earthly felicity (ver. 20).

“O Lord, when thou awakest, (see Psa, xvii. 15) thou wilt despise
their splendid show,

As one does a dream, when he awakes out of it!

Telling his grief and shame because of such unbelief, confessing himself a beast* or brute, he yet returns to sing that, notwithstanding all this, God has not forsaken him, and never will-

"And I continually am with thee !

And thou holdest me fast by my right hand."† (Ver. 23.)

I am in the wilderness, and thou art my guide, and wilt "receive me,” as thou didst Enoch (Gen. v. 22, same word). The Hebrew words are rather obscure, but this may be because of

* Barclay, in his zeal to prove that every Psalm is Christ's words directly,
falls into the strange error here of rendering
"a lamb," as if parallel

to Isaiah liii. 7. Hengstenberg has remarked, that
other such plural forms) the essence of the brute character.

implies, (like

† Might it not be rendered (neglecting the accents), " And with the hand thou

dost hold my right hand ?”