successor of David, and the person appointed to "build an house for God's name." Here then we have an incontestable proof, that the covenant with David had Messiah for its object; that Solomon was a figure of him; and that the Scripture hath sometimes a double sense *. It is moreover to be observed, that the covenants made with Abraham, David, &c. all had their original and foundation in the covenant made with MESSIAH, who was the true Father of the faithful, the Beloved and Chosen of God; the great Prophet, Priest, and King; the only person qualified to be a Sponsor, and to engage in a covenant with the Father for mankind. His sufferings were the price of our redemption : and because he suffered in the flesh, as "the Son of "David," therefore is he "established for ever, "and his throne built up to all generations." Remarkable are the words of 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.

5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD; thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints: or, The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD; and the saints thy faithfulness in the congregation.

Did not "the heavens praise the wonders of "Jehovah," when a choir of angels descended from above, to sing an anthem, at the birth of Christ?

* 66 Disposui testamentum :" percussi fœdus cum electo meo: id est, Davide et Christo.

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And how must the celestial courts have resounded with the hallelujahs of those blessed spirits, when they again received their King, returning in triumph from the conquest of his enemies? Nor do "the "saints" omit to celebrate God's "faithfulness in "the congregation" upon earth, while "with angels "and archangels, and all the company of heaven,

they laud and magnify his glorious name, evermore "praising him, and saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord "God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord most high."

6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints; and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. 8. 0 LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? or, and thy faithfulness is round about thee.

These verses proclaim that right and title which Jehovah hath to the praises of all his creatures in "heaven and earth." No one of them, however excellent and glorious, however deified and adored by fond and foolish man, can enter the lists, and contest the superiority with its Maker. High over all is the throne of God: before him "angels" veil their faces, "saints" prostrate themselves with lowest reverence, and created nature trembles at his word: his "power" is almighty, and derived from none; and with "truth" he is on all sides invested as with a garment: the former enables him, the latter (if we may so express it) binds him, to perform those gracious

promises, which mercy prompted him to make, concerning our eternal redemption.

9. Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

instance of his

The extent of the ocean, the multitude of its waves, and their fury when excited by a storm, render it, in that state, the most tremendous object in nature; nor doth any thing, which man beholds, give him so just an idea of human impotence, and of that divine power which can excite and calm so boisterous an element at pleasure. God himself therefore frequently appeals to this omnipotence, see Job xxxviii. 11. attribute of which our Lord showed himself to have been possessed, when, being with his disciples in the ship, he arose and rebuked a tempestuous wind and a raging sea, and there was instantly a calm. In all our troubles and temptations, be thou, blessed Jesu, with us, and then they shall never finally overwhelm us.

Jer. v. 22. an

10. Thou hast broken Rahab, i. e. Egypt, in pieces, as one that is slain: thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

The destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians is here mentioned as another instance of God's mighty power. And it is probable, that the foregoing verse was intended to allude more particularly to that miraculous exertion of God's sovereignty over the waters, the division of the Red Sea, which happened at the same time; as these two events are generally spoken of together. Thus Isaiah: “ Art thou not it "that hath cut Rahab," i. e. Egypt, "and wounded

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"the dragon," i. e. Pharaoh ?" Art thou not it which "hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, "that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the "ransomed to pass over?" li. 9. The same power which effected all this. hath since, in Christ Jesus, overcome the world, destroyed the works of the devil, and ransomed mankind from the depths of the grave.

11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world, and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12. The north and the south, thou hast created them; Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

The "heavens," and all the glorious bodies there ranged in beautiful order; the "earth," with its rich furniture, and the unnumbered tribes of its inhabitants, through its whole extent, from "north to "south," and from east to west; all these are so many evidences of that wisdom and power which at the beginning contrived and formed them; all, in their respective ways, declare the glory, and speak the praises of their great Creator; but chiefly the holy land, and the fruitful hills which adorned it. "Tabor" in one part, and "Hermon" in another, formerly seemed, as it were, to " rejoice" and sing, for the abundant favours showered down upon them by the God of Israel, who hath since caused all nations no less to exult and triumph in his saving

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13. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

The Psalmist, having produced and meditated on

some eminent instances of divine power, draws this general conclusion from the premises. Towards the Christian church "the arm of Jehovah" hath been revealed in a still more extraordinary manner. She reflecteth on the wonders wrought by Jesus; a conquest over more formidable enemies than Pharaoh and his Egyptians; a redemption from more cruel bondage; salvation from sin and death; a new creation, new heavens, and new earth, a new Jerusalem, and a spiritual Sion. With additional conviction may she therefore exclaim, "Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand!" 14. Justice and judgement are the habitation, Heb. the establishment, of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Although the power of God be infinite, yet is it never exerted, but under the direction of his other attributes. When he goeth, as a judge, to his tribunal, mercy and truth go before his face;" they are represented as preceding him, to give notice of his advent, and to prepare his way. "All the ways," or dispensations "of the Lord," as it is elsewhere observed," are mercy and truth;" Ps. xxv. 10. they are the substance of all his revelations, which either promise salvation, or relate the performance of such promises. By these is man warned and prepared for judgement;" which is to be the last and finishing

scene.

And when the great Judge of all the earth shall from his throne pronounce the irreversible sentence, not a creature then present shall be able to accuse that sentence of injustice. After this model should the thrones of princes, and the tribunals of