"because of these judgements" of their God upon his enemies, whereby he evinced himself superior to the powers of the earth, and the gods of the nations. Thus, at the fall of Babylon, it is said, Rev. xviii. 20. "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apos"tles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on "her." And Eusebius speaks, in the following terms, of the times under Constantine, which succeeded the overthrow of Maxentius and Maximin ; "A bright and glorious day, no cloud overshadowing "it, did enlighten, with rays of heavenly light, "the churches of Christ over all the earth ;-and among all Christians there was an inexpressible "joy, and a kind of celestial gladness." Ecclesiast. Hist. b. x.

10. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints, he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

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Having sung the glory of the Redeemer, the Psalmist delineates the duty of the redeemed. They are characterized by their "love of God;" they are enjoined to "hate evil;" this hatred is, indeed, a consequence, and a sure proof, of that love, when it is genuine and sincere. Religion must be rooted in the heart, and spring from thence. A Christian must not only serve God outwardly, but must inwardly "love" him; he must not content himself with abstaining from overt acts of sin, but must truly "hate" it. They who do so, are " the saints "of God, whose souls he preserveth" from evil, and will finally "deliver" from the evil one, and his

associates, by a happy death, and a glorious resurrection.

11. Light is sown for the righteous; and gladness for the upright in heart.

However gloomy our prospects may at any time be, let us wait patiently, as the husbandman doth, all the winter, in expectation of a future crop, from the seed which lieth buried in the earth. 66 Light "and gladness are sown for the righteous and true "hearted," though they may not yet appear; the seed-time is in this world; the harvest will be in that to come. "In due season we shall reap, if we faint "not." Gal. vi. 9.

12. Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Tribulation itself, therefore, should not prevent our rejoicing in Jehovah our righteousness," who justifieth us from our sins; no adversity ought to make us negligent in celebrating, with thanksgiving, the "commemorations of his holiness," which the church hath appointed to be observed; to the end that we may always remember, with gratitude, how great things he hath done for us already, and reflect, with comfort, on those much greater things which he hath promised to do for us hereafter.

NINETEENTH DAY.—EVENING PRAYER.

PSALM XCVIII.

ARGUMENT.

In this evangelical hymn, the Prophet, 1-3. extols the miracles, the victory, the salvation, the righteousness, the mercy, and truth, of the Redeemer; on account of which, 4-9. he calls upon man, and the whole creation, to rejoice and praise Jehovah.

1. O sing unto the LORD a new song, for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory.

New mercies and wonders demand new songs. And what mercies, what wonders, can be compared with those wrought by the holy Jesus?" Go and "tell John," saith he to John's disciples; go and tell all the world, saith he to his own disciples, "the "things which ye see and hear;" the marvellous things which I do to the bodies and to the souls of men. "The blind receive their sight," and the ignorant minds are enlightened with knowledge; "the lame walk," and strength is communicated to impotent souls; "the lepers are cleansed," and the lascivious rendered chaste; " the deaf hear," and the obstinate listen to instruction and reproof; "the "dead are raised," and sinners justified; "the Gospel is preached," and the world converted. "His own right hand, and his holy arm," hath done

these marvellous things, without and against all worldly power; not by spear and sword, but by patience and charity, he hath " gotten the victory," and gained the glorious day.

2. The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

The "salvation" of Jehovah was "made known" by the preaching of Christ himself in Judea, for the space of three years; his "righteousness," whereby sinners are justified, was " openly showed," by the sermons of his apostles, "in the sight of the hea"then." Still let that salvation be made known, still let that righteousness be openly showed, by the ministers of the Gospel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and the remnant of the Jews converted; until antichrist be overthrown, and death himself fallen before the all-conquering cross.

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3. He hath remembered his mercy and truth towards the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

In sending the Messiah, God showed himself mindful of the promises, which mercy" prompted him to make, and "truth" required him to perform. These promises were made to " the house of "" Israel;" to the lost sheep of that house, Christ declared himself sent; and the apostles offered salvation first to the Jews: but to them is was never inended that evangelical blessings should be confined. The prophets spake in plain terms of the call of the Gentiles, who were to be adopted into the holy family, and made the children of Abraham. The

Gospel was accordingly preached to the nations, the apostles made their progress through the world, and "all the ends of the earth saw the salvation of God." The Jews fell from the faith of their fathers, and, to this day, continue in their apostasy. And are not the Gentiles, in their turn, falling away, after the same example of unbelief? "Remember," yet once again, O Lord, thy "mercy and truth toward the "house of Israel;" yet once again let "all the ends "of the earth see thy salvation."

4. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5. Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD the King.

The Psalmist, beholding in spirit the accomplishment of the promises, the advent of Christ, and the glory of his kingdom, thinks it criminal in any creature to be silent; he bids the whole earth break forth into joy, and exult in God our Saviour, with every token of gratitude and thankfulness; with voices, and instruments of all kinds, in perfect harmony, with tempers and affections according in like manner, men are enjoined to sound aloud the praises of their great Redeemer.

7. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8. Let the floods clap their hands, let the hills be joyful together, 9. Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.