Whether this passage had first a reference to the case of David*, who, as a figure of Messiah, was brought from a state of rejection and persecution to the throne of Israel; or whether there be any truth in a Jewish tradition concerning a certain, stone, which, after having been, by the builders of the second temple, thrown aside among the rubbish, was at last found to be exactly fitted for the honourable place of a chief corner-stone; it is neither possible nor needful to ascertain. That the verses belong, in a full proper sense, to Messiah, is confessed by the Rabbis, and acknowledged by all. No text in the Old Testament is quoted by the writers of the New, so often as this, which we meet with in six different places; namely, Matt. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 10. Luke xx. 17. Acts iv. 11. Ephes. ii. 20. 1 Pet. ii. 4. The sum and substance of the New Testament applications and expositions is, that Jesus Christ is the stone here mentioned; that he was rejected and set at nought by the chief priests and Pharisees, the then builders of the church; but that, being chosen of God, and precious to him, this most valuable stone, thus despised and rejected of men, thus thrown among the rubbish, and buried in it, was, at length, from such a state, exalted to be the chief cornerstone in the building, the main support of the edifice, and a centre of union for Jew and Gentile, the two

* David a Saüle et aliquandiu à decem tribubus reprobatus, ae soli tribui Judæ agnitus, deinde omnium princeps; et sub figura ejus Christus à Judæit ac Gentibus impetitus, mox utrorumque caput, ut ipse interpretatur, Matt. xxi. 42. BOSSUET..

parts of which it consisted; that this was the work of God, and the admiration of man. And what can be more truly marvellous, than that a person, put to death as a malefactor, and laid in the grave, should from thence arise immortal, and become the head of an immortal society; should ascend into heaven, be invested with power, and crowned with glory; and should prepare a way for the sons of Adam to follow him into those mansions of eternal bliss?

24. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Of the day on which Christ arose from the dead, it may, with more propriety than of any other day, be affirmed, "This is the day which Jehovah hath "made." Then it was, that the " rejected stone" became the "head of the corner." A morning then dawned which is to be followed by no evening; a brighter sun arose upon the world, which is to set no more; a day began, which will never end; and night and darkness departed, to return not again. For thus saith the Lord to his church by the prophet Isaiah," Thy sun shall no more go down, nei"ther shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord "shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of

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thy mourning shall be ended:" Isa. lx. 20. Easter-day is in a peculiar manner consecrated to Him, who, by his resurrection, triumphed over death and hell. On that day, through faith, we triumph with him; we "rejoice and are glad in his salva"tion."

25. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26. Blessed be

he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of, or, you that are of, the house of the LORD.

As a prelude to the triumphant manner in which Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, should ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, he entered the earthly city, before his passion, amidst the acclamations of the multitude, who hailed him as King of Sion, and with palm-branches, the emblems of victory, in their hands, sung before him these words, partly taken from our Psalm, "Hosanna to the Son of David: "blessed is he that cometh in the name of the "Lord: Hosanna in the highest." The word "Ho"sanna," is in the original, win, "Save now!" The form of words used by the people was both a petition and a congratulation; as if they had said, Let us beseech Jehovah, in the language of the cxviiith Psalm, to grant salvation to the Son of David, and to send us now prosperity under him: Blessed is he who thus cometh, not in his own name and power, but in the name and power of Jehovah, according to the prophecies concerning him, to deliver us from all our enemies: ratify, O Jehovah, in the highest, or in heaven, these petitions which we make for the salvation and prosperity of our King, that thy blessings upon him and us may be established on earth. Since the resurrection of our Lord, the faithful have expressed, in these two verses, the same wishes and prayers for the increase of his kingdom, and the prosperity of his house and family, of his ministers and his people: "We bless you that are "of the house of Jehovah."

27. God is the LORD, which hath showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

As Jehovah hath manifested his power and glory, by raising Christ from the dead; as he hath, by so doing," showed us the light" of life and immortality; let us observe the festival, which is designed to perpetuate the memory of so great and joyful an event. "Christ, our passover," saith an apostle, "is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast:" 1 Cor. v. 7. Let us keep it, only changing legal for evangelical sacraments and ceremonies; let us go to the altar, not to see a figure of the Lamb of God, as he was to be slain; but to behold a representation of him as he hath been slain; to behold, in figure, his body broken, and his blood poured out; to eat the bread of life, and drink the cup of salvation.

28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 29. O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

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The Prophet declareth his resolution to "praise" and to "exalt," to magnify and to glorify, his "God;" he then concludes, as he began, with exhorting all the world to do the same. Preserve to us, blessed Lord, the use of these divine hymns in thy church, until, at the resurrection of the just, we shall celebrate an Easter in heaven, and sing them new in the kingdom of God.

This Psalm is divided (most probably for the advantage of memory) according to the number of letters which compose the Hebrew alphabet, into twenty-two portions, of eight verses each; and not only every portion, but every verse of that portion, begins with the letter appropriated to it. David must, undoubtedly, have been the author. He describeth, in a series of devotional meditations, the instruction and the comfort which, through all vicissitudes of mind and fortune, he had ever found in the word of God. The many strong expressions of love towards the law, and the repeated resolutions and vows to observe it, will often force us to turn our thoughts to the true David, whose "meat and drink it was, to do the "will of him that sent him." The passages more especially characteristic of him, as well as those which allude primarily to any particular circumstances in the history of the patriarch David, are pointed out in the course of the comment. But the chief design through the whole hath been, to draw forth the lessons of heavenly wisdom and comfort, contained in this interesting composition,