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we may suppose him making intercession, ver. 1-11. The prophet then, speaking in bis own person, breaks out into a rapturous admiration of this wondrous man, whose character here, and in other places of this book, is, "He that feareth the Lord;" and whose sced is, according to the secret covenant, to inherit the earth, ver. 12-14. After which, the wondrous man speaks again: fixing his eyes ou Jehovah, and begging redemption for Israel. This psalm, respecting the christian, is full of devout affection to God; the out-goings of holy desires towards his favour and grace, and the lively actings of faith in bis promises.

VER. 6. "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, and thy loving-kindnesses."]-His love is exceeding great, and numerous are the ways and methods in which it is declared, both in eternity and in time; and though he can never forget his love, nor the people whom he loves, for they are engraven on his hand, and set as a seal upon his heart, yet he sometimes seems, by the conduct of his providence, as if he did not remember it, and had no tender affection for them; and their unbelief is ready to say, the Lord has forgotten to be gracious; and the design of such a petition as this, is to intreat a fresh discovery and application of the grace, mercy, and loving-kindness of God, and which he allows his people to put him in remem

brance of.

"For they have been ever of old."]-Which appears in the choice of his people in Christ, before the foundation of the world, in the everlasting covenant of grace made with him, and in the setting of him up as the mediator of it, and in putting his people into his hands, with all grace and spiritual blessings for them before the world began; and which love, as it is from everlasting, it is to everlasting, and remains invariably the same.

Ver. 10. "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth."-Every step he takes is in a way of goodness and kindness to his people, and in truth and faithfulness to his promises; but we are to understand here the ways and methods he has taken towards their spiritual and eternal salvation; as in his counsels and purposes, in which there is a large display of his grace and mercy; in the choice of them in Christ, as vessels of mercy, and which is of grace, and not of works; in determining to send bis Son to die for them, which springs from the tender mercy of our God, in resolving to call them by his grace, and to adopt them into his family, and at last to glorify them; all which proceed from his merciful loving-kindness.

Ver. 11. "For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity."-David here prays for pardon in a way of mercy, and upon the foot of satisfaction; for he prays, that God would mercifully pardon, as the word signifies; or, according to his tender mercies blot out his transgressions, and cleanse him from his sins; or that he would be propitious to him, or forgive him in a propitiatory way, or through the propitiation of Christ, whom God had set forth in bis purposes and promises to be the propitiation for the remission of sins: and therefore he intreats this favour for his name's sake, not for his own merits and good works, but for the Lord's sake, for his mercy's sake, or for his Son's sake; see Isa. xliii. 25. compared with Eph. v. 32.

"For it is great."]-Being committed against the great God, against great light and knowledge, and attended with very aggravating circumstances; or much, he being guilty of many sins; his sins were great, both as to quality and quantity; this seems to be rather a reason against, than a reason for, the pardon of sin; it denotes the sense the psalmist had of his iniquity, and his importunity for the pardon of it; just as a person, sensible of the violence and malignity of his disease, entreats the physician with the greater eagerness and importunity to do his utmost for him; see Psalm xli. 4.

Ver. 14. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him."]-The secret of his purposes with them; as his purpose according to election; his resolution to redeem his chosen ones by his Son; his design to call them by his grace; his predestination of them to the adoption of children, and eternal life; which are the deep things of God, the Spirit of God reveals; and all which are made manifest to them in effectual vocation: and the secret of his providences is with them; some are made known to them that fear the Lord, before they come to pass; as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to Abraham, with many other instances in the old testament; see Amos iii. 7 And what is the book of the Revelation, but a revelation of the secrets of providence, from the time of Christ and his apostles to the end of the world?

Ver. 16. "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me."-Or, look unto me, or upon me; which suggests, that the Lord had turned himself, and hid his face from him; and expresses a desire, that he would look upon with a look of love and mercy, and arise to help and deliver him out of the hands of his enemies; he pleads no merits nor

works of righteousness of his, but casts himself upon the mercy of God.

Ver. 20. "O keep my soul."]-Or, life, which was in danger, his enemies seeking for it; wherefore he applies to God that gave it, and who had hitherto held him in it, to preserve it. God is the keeper of his people in a spiritual sense; they cannot keep themselves from sin, satan, and the world; but he is able to keep them from falling, and therefore they pray to him that he would keep them; and they bave reason to believe they shall be kept by his power through faith unto salvation.

Ver. 22. "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his trou. bles."]-By sending the Messiah; and in his sense may be, that God would send the promised Redeemer and Saviour, to redeem his people from all their iniquities; from the law, its curses and condemnation; to ransom them out of the hands of satan, who is stronger than they; and to deliver them from all their enemies, and from death itself, the last enemy, which will put an end to all their troubles, Isaiah XXXV. 10.

PSALM XXVI.

To the intercessions of her blessed Head in the foregoing psalm, the church is here adding her humble supplications for protection and guidance from the Lord, the Father; as walking sincerely, and trusting only on the Lord, his Son; and loving, also the place where his glory dwells, that is, his sanctuary, the place where he puts his name on earth, and which is the emblem of the glorious temple of Christ's body; which is the true Shekinah, or habitation of the Father's glory. The learned Amyraldus in his argument of this psalm suggests, that David is here by the spirit of prophecy carried out to speak of himself as a type of Christ, of whom what he here saith of his spotless innocence was fully and eminently true, and to him we may apply this psain. "We are complete in him."

VER. 3. "For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes."]-The special loving-kindness of God, shewn in the choice of him in Christ, in the provision of a Saviour for him, and in the effectual vocation of him; which lovingkindness is unmerited, free, and sovereign, is from everlasting and to everlasting; it is better than life, excellent beyond expression, and marvellous: and this may be said to be before his eyes; because it was now in sight; he had a comfortable view of interest in it, and was persuaded

nothing should separate him from it; it was upon his heart, shed abroad in it, and he was affected with it.

Ver. 7. "That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works."]-This psalm appears to be a description of the person, perfection, glory, and righteousness of the Lord Jesus, as the church's head, husband, and representative, and of his delights in his Father's goodness to him as man; and of the great end of his undertaking, to tell of all his "wondrous works," that is, to reveal to his church the Father's wondrous acts of grace in election, redemption, and vocation, in his sufferings, righteousness, and resurrection for them. A view of which makes the church say as follows.

Ver. 8. "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house."]-Meaning the tabernacle, for as yet the temple was not built; which was a habitation for the saints, where they chose to dwell, and reckoned it their happiness, and was the habitation of the Lord himself: the sanctuary was built for that purpose; and between the cherubim, over the mercy-seat, he took up his residence; hence it follows, the Lord's house is loved by his people, because of his word and ordinances, which are ministered there, and because of his presence in it or else what was typified by the tabernacle is here designed; either the tabernacle of Christ's buman nature, called the true tabernacle, Heb. viii. 2. in which the fulness of the Godhead dwells; which the Son of God, the brightness of his Father's glory inhabits; and in the redemption and salvation wrought out in it, the glory of all the divine attributes is displayed; and Christ incarnate is the mercy-seat from which God communes with his people, and is their way of access unto him, and whereby they have fellowship with him; and who is loved by the saints sincerely, above all creatures and things, and in the most ardent and affectionate manner or heaven itself, of which the tabernacle was a figure, Heb. ix. 24.

PSALM XXVII.

This psalm seems to set before us the great Captain of our salvation, pre. paring to encounter the enemies of our souls. According to the Septuagint, it was wrote by David upon his being anointed which prefigured that unction of the Spirit, by which God anointed the blessed man Christ Jesus at his baptism. He seems therefore to have been led

to use words, which to us should point out that his great root and offspring, was preparing to enter the lists, and begin that great work to which he was then anointed, in a full assurance that the Lord was his light and salvation, and would protect him in the evil day, and even fill his mouth with joy. Respecting the christian, this psalm is very expressive of the devout affections with which gracious souls are carried out towards God in times of trouble. Here is, (1.) The courage and holy bravery of his faith, ver. 1, 2, 3. (2) The compla cency he takes in communion with God, and the benefit he experiences by it, ver. 4, 5, 6. (3.) His desire towards God, and his favour and grace, ver. 7—9, 11, 12. (4.) His expectations from God, and the encouragement he gives to others to hope in him, ver. 10, 13, 14.

VER. 1. "The Lord is my light, and my salvation."] -Which the psalmist now had an experience of; enjoying the light of God's countenance, and having discoveries of his love, which made him fearless of danger and enemies : and such who are made light in the Lord, have no reason to be afraid of the prince of darkness; nor of the rulers of the darkness of this world; nor of all the darkness, distress, and persecutions they are the authors of: and what made the psalmist still more fearless was, that Christ was his salvation; by the light which the Lord was to him, he saw his need of salvation, he knew that his own righteousness would not save him; he was made acquainted with the design and appointment of the Lord, that Christ should be salvation to the ends of the earth; he had knowledge of the covenant of grace, and faith in it, which was all his salvation, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. Salvation was revealed to the old testament saints, in the promises, sacrifices, types and figures of that dispensation; and they looked through them to him for it, and were saved by him, as new testament believers are; and they had faith of interest in Christ, and knew him to be their Saviour and Redeemer, as did Job, and here the psalmist David.

Ver. 4. "To behold the beauty of the Lord."]-Or, the delight and pleasantness of the Lord." The presence of the Lord may be intended by his beauty, than which nothing is more desirable to the people of God, even to behold his smiling countenance, to see his face, and enjoy his favour, and to have fellowship with him, and with one another; and particularly the beauty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ may be designed, represented by the Shekinah, or glory, which filled both the tabernacle and the temple; who being the brightness of his Father's glory, and altogether lovely and full of grace, is a very desirable object to be beheld by faith.

"And to enquire in his temple."]-To seek the face of the Lord, to consult him in matters of difficulty and mo

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