asking as it were an account of his dealings with him. Thirdly, he spake not right when he spake so much of his own righteousness; but he spake altogether right of God, and of his providence towards himself and others all along, while he constantly maintained, that he was not afflicted for any wickedness committed by him in the former passages of his life that outward good is not always the portion of the good, nor outward evil the portion of evil men always in this life: that God is not unrighteous, though he exercise the righteous with grievous troubles all their days, and heap worldly blessings upon the wicked all the days of this life that we are not to take measure of, nor estimate the goodness or badness of any man's person, by the good or bad days which pass over his head in this life: that no man's happiness or unhappiness is to be judged by what befals bim in this life. Job spake right, and more rightly of God than Eliphaz and his two friends, in all these particulars. And whereas he sometimes acted impatiently, and spake unbecomingly, these proceeded not out of the abundance of his heart, but from the abundance of his pains under the beavy hand of God. And when he seemed to tax the judgment of God, it was not any affirmation that God was unjust or unequal in it; but an expostulation with him about it, or as some express it, a confession of his own ignorance, and an earnest desire of clearer light and better information concerning the way of it.

Ver. 8. "And my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept."]-This shews that sacrifices were appointed by the Lord before the giving of the Levitical law, Gen. iv. 4. for Job's friends were commanded to offer seven bullocks and seven rams: the number seven, which is a num ber of perfection points forth the perfect sacrifice of Christ, and the full atonement thereby; and by God's accepting Job's offering the sacrifice for his friends, some have thought that in this he was a type of Christ, who hath offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins, and God has accepted his sacrifice for us, in whom we have redemption through his blood. This plainly shews that there never was any way to help a sinner but by a sacrifice: and who was the sacrifice? Surely Jesus Christ was the sacrifice; it was not the blood of bulls and goats, of bullocks and rams, that could take away sin, as the apostle argueth at large in the epistle to the Hebrews, these could never take away

sin, these only pointed at Jesus Christ, who alone did it, by bearing our sins and by being made a sacrifice for them. To typify or shew this, we read in the law of Moses that the sin of the offender was laid upon the sacrifice; and a sacrifice for sin was called sin by the prophet long before Christ came; Dan. ix. 24. "He shall make an end of sin;" that is, when Christ shall come in the flesh, he shall make an end of all sacrifices for sin; and so the apostle called it after Christ was come and had suffered in the flesh; 2 Cor. v. 21. "He made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The sacrifice was called sin, because the sin of the person who brought it, and in whose behalf it was offered, was laid upon the sacrifice; there was as it were a translation of the sin from the person to the sacrifice. In which sense Luther is to be understood, when he said, 'Jesus Christ was the greatest sinner in the world :' not that he had any sin in his nature, or any sin in his life, but, because he had the sins of all that are or shall be saved, laid upon him; as the prophet spake, Isaiah liii. 6. "The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all;" or, as our margin hath it,He hath made the iniquity of us all to meet on him.' And as there is no atonement for sin but by a sacrifice, so the Lord ordained the offering up of a whole burnt-offering for the taking away of sin.

Ver. 12. "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning."]-He was blessed both with spiritual and temporal blessings, which God sometimes reserves for the last days of his people; the best wine he reserves till last; he gives more faith, hope, life, and love, more humility and resignation to his will; and they are favoured with more breathings after heaven, happiness, and the full enjoyment of God. This is left for the comfort of the godly in their lowest condition. What was it that raised Job from poverty to riches, from weakness to strength, from the dungbill to the throne? Only this, "The Lord blessed him." Though all be lost, his word of blessing will restore all again. If estate be lost, his blessing will make us rich; if health be lost, his blessing will make us well; if strength be lost, his blessing will renew it; if credit be lost, his blessing will repair it, and give us honour for disgrace or reproach. The blessing of the Lord is every good thing to us, and doth every good thing for his people because they are in a state of grace, they are in the cove

nant, or as the apostle calls them, Heb. vi. 17. "Heirs of promise:" these are the blessed of the Lord; and these, both great and small, the Lord will bless; Eph. i. 3. "Blessed be God, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ." Being in Christ, we are in covenant; and being there, we cannot miss being blessed with all spiritual blessings, and with whatever is a needful blessing in outward things: he that blesseth in the greater, will not withhold his blessing in the less, according to our need; but the best blessings will be reserved for us at last.

A

Spiritual Exposition

OF THE

BOOK OF

PSALMS.

SCRIPTURE KEY.

THIS book has its title from the Hebrew words, Sepher Tehillim, which signify The book of hymns or praises, because the high praises of God are the subject matter of them; but psalms is a more general word, meaning all metrical composures fitted to be sung, which may as well be historical, doctrinal, or supplicatory, as laudatory: though singing be properly the voice of joy, yet the intention of songs is of a much greater latitude, to assist the memory, and both to express and to excite all the other affections as well as this of joy. The priests had a mourn. ful muse, as well as joyful ones; and the divine institution of singing psalms is thus largely intended; for we are directed not only to praise God, but to teach and admonish ourselves and one another "in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs," Col. iii. 16. Secondly, it is called the Book of Psalms; so it is quoted by St. Peter, Acts i. 20. It is a collection of psalms, of all the psalms that were divinely inspired, which though composed at several times, and upon several occasions, are here put together without any reference to or dependence upon one another; thus they were preserved from being scattered and lost, and lain in so much greater readiness for the service of the church.

The authors of this book were Moses, David, Asaph, Heman, and Ethan; but it is doubtless derived originally from the blessed Spirit. They are spiritual songs, words which the Holy Ghost teacheth: the penman of most of them was David, the son of Jesse, who is therefore called the "sweet psalmist of Israel," 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Some have not his name in their titles, yet are expressly ascribed to him elsewhere, as the second psalm, Acts iv. 25. and Psalms xcvi. and cv. 1 Chron. xvi. One psalm is expressly said to be the prayer of Moses, Psalm xc. and that some of the psalms were penned by Asaph, is intimated 2 Chron. xxix. 30. where they are said to praise the Lord in the words of David and Asaph, who is there called a seer or prophet. Some of the psalms seem to have been penned long after, as Psalm cxxxvii, at the time of the captivity in Babylon, but for certain the far greater part of them were penned by David himself, whose genius lay towards poetry and music, and who was raised up, qualified, and spirited for the establishing of the ordinance of singing psalms in the church of God. And so well known were the psalms to the old testament saints, that they are in the Hebrew called, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Zimroth Jisrael, that is, the psalms of Israel, as they were entitled by the Holy Ghost for the benefit, consolation, and edification of the Israel of God, both under the old and new testament dispensation, and are supposed to be collected together by Ezra. And it is worthy of observation,, that the word tehillim, which gives the title to this book, does not only signify psalms or praises, but it comes from a Hebrew root which signifies manifestations, shinings forth, or making bright, because the psalms contain such glorious manifestations of the divine perfections of God, of the glory of his love, faithfulness, promises, and blessings to his people; these shine forth with a singular brightness and glory in this book: on which account it may be fitly called the book of praises, as it opens such a field and subject of praise and thanksgiving to God; for the subject matter of this book is exceeding great and excellent, as it treats of and points forth the glory of Christ's person, the perfections of his nature, the riches of his grace, the wonders of his incarnation, the preciousness of his promises, the perfection of his righteousness, the atonement of his death, the exaltation of his person and of his office as the mediator, being exalted at God's right hand to make intercession for his people. This renders the psalms so suitable and precious to the children of God,