VER. 7. "Which giveth food to the hungry."]In a literal sense, he gave manna and quails to the hungry Israelites in the wilderness, fed five thousand with five loaves and two small fishes, and four thousand with seven loaves and a few fishes, while here on earth; and in a spiritual sense, to such as are in a starving and famishing con dition, and hunger and thirst after righteousness, he gives himself, the bread of life, and his grace, the water of life; he gives them to eat of the hidden manna, and of the tree of life; he gives them his word, his gospel, which is milk for babes, and meat for strong men: he gives them his ordinances, which are a feast of fat things, and so he fills and satisfies their hungry souls.

"The Lord looseth the prisoners."]-Who are in a spiritual sense prisoners of sin, satan, and the law, being shut up, and held under by them, he proclaims liberty to them, and the opening the prison to them that are bound; he opens the prison doors, and says to the prisoners, “Go forth;" he delivers them from the power of sin, the slavery of satan, and the bondage of the law, and brings them into a state of liberty.

Ver. 8. "The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind.”]— Who are corporally blind, the eyes of many such were opened by Christ when here on earth, and one who was born blind; and such as are spiritually blind as to any knowledge of divine things, of God in Christ, of the way of life and salvation by Christ, of the Spirit and his operations, of their state and condition by nature, or of the things of the gospel; the eyes of many such he opens, so as to see their sin and danger, their want of righteousness, and need of Christ, and salvation by him: this is usually done by means of the ministry of the word, which is as an eye-salve; but the work is Christ's, and a work of almighty power it is.

PSALM CLXVII.

The propliet here foresees the gathering up of Israel's outcasts, and the bars of Zion's gates made fast. In a view of this, he is stirring up her children to praise the Lord for his power and goodness, which is here in several instances displayed; particularly in his granting the knowledge of his laws and statutes to Israel, making them keepers of those lively oracles, which in the fulness of time were to open the treasures of knowledge to all nations; that is, of salvation by Christ, which is matter of eternal praise.

VER. 2. "The Lord doth build up Jerusalem.”]— Literally, after the Babylonish captivity, according to some; or rather when taken from the Jebusites by David; or spiritually the church, which is often called Jerusalem, even the gospel church, of which Christ is the builder, his ministers are instruments, his people are the materials, and which, though now greatly fallen to decay, will be rebuilt by him in the latter day, when his work will be revived among his saints, his gospel more powerfully preached, his ordinances more purely administered, and multitudes of souls converted; and which will be matter of praise and thanksgiving, as it is now matter of prayer, Psalm li. 18.

He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel."]This may represent the Lord's people in a state of nature, like the wretched infant cast out into the open field, scattered up and down in the world, in a state of distance from God, Christ, and his people: these are gathered by Christ in redemption, who came to seek and collect them together.

Ver. 3. "He healeth the broken in heart."]-Christ is a physician; many are the diseases of his people; he heals them all by his blood, stripes, and wounds.

Ver. 6. The Lord liftetb up the meek."]-The lowly and humble souls, such as are made so by the Spirit of God; he shews them their sinfulness, and want of righteousness, the insufficiency of their own, and need of Christ's blowing a blast upon all their goodliness, so bringing down their natural pride and haughtiness, and causing them to submit to Christ, that he alone might be exalted.

Ver. 8. "Who covereth the heaven with clouds."]This may be an emblem of afflictive dispensations of providence, when the Lord covers himself with a cloud, or hides his face from his people, their sins, as clouds, interposing between him and them; and yet these afflictions and desertions, though not joyous but grievous, tend to make the saints more holy, humble, and fruitful.

Ver. 11. "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him."]-With a filial and godly fear; that serve and wor ship him, privately and publicly, with reverence and love: as appears by the goodness he lays up for them, the good things he communicates to them, the discoveries of his love, covenant, and grace, they have from him, and the guard he sets about them.

Ver. 13. "For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates."]-Of Jerusalem, of Zion, the church of God. Gates are for the letting in of persons into the city of our God, which have faith in Christ, and a profession of it; Isaiah xxvi. 1, 2. Bars are for the security of those that are in it, and to keep out the enemy; and these strengthened, denote the utmost safety of the true members of Christ and his church.

Ver. 14. "And filleth thee with the finest of the wheat."]-Or, fat of the wheat; the best of it; Deut. xxxii. 14. which is the choicest of grain, and makes the best of bread, and especially the finest flour of it. Here it may be understood spiritually of the gospel, which may be compared to wheat and the finest of it, for its excellency and purity, for its solidity and substance; with which the chaff of buman doctrine is not to be mentioned.

Ver. 19. "He sheweth his word unto Jacob."]-The word of grace, peace, reconciliation, righteousness, eternal life, and salvation, which was first published to the Jews." It was shewn unto them, for it cannot be known by any without a revelation: the gospel, and the things of it, are hidden things to natural men, and could never have been discerned by any, had they not been shewn by the Lord, as they are externally in the ministration of the word, and internally and affectionately by the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of divine things.

His statutes and his judgments unto Israel."]-The ordinances of divine worship under the former dispensation, which were peculiar to literal Israel; and those of the gos

pel dispensation, which belong to the spiritual Israel, Jews and gentiles; and which are shewn and directed to in the word, to be observed by them; and both the gospel and the ordinances of it, are instances of divine favour, for which the Lord is to be praised.

PSALM CXLVIII.

The prophet here is calling all things, every knee both in heaven and earth, to bow, and give praise to Jehovah, ver. 1-13. and then foretels the exaltation of his servants, at the restitution of all things; when every knee will be made to bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Jehovah, and he whose praise is above heaven and earth.

VER. 1. "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens."]- That is, those that are of the heavens; let their praises of the Lord, of his perfections, works, and benefits, resound from thence; the angels of heaven particularly, who have their babitation and residence there, and sometimes descend from thence on special business, by the order and appointment of their great Creater and Master. Though some take the phrase, from heaven, to be descriptive of the Lord, the object of praise, who is the Lord from heaven; the character of Christ, the second Adam, 1 Cor. xv. 47. who is from above came down from heaven to do the will of God; and was in heaven, as to his divine person, while here on earth in human nature, working out the salvation of men; for which he justly deserves the praise of all in heaven and in earth. But as all creatures are distinguished in this Psalm into celestial and terrestrial, called upon to praise the Lord; this seems to be the general character of the celestial ones, persons, bodies, and things; as the phrase," from the earth," ver. 7. includes all the terraqueous globe.

"Praise him in the heights."]-Either in the highest heavens where he dwells, or with the highest

notes of praise that can be raised: Psalm cxlix. 6. Luke ii. 14.

Ver. 2. "Praise ye him, all his angels."-Who minister before him: the ministring spirits, the angels of Jeho vah, even of Christ, who are his creatures, and at his command; and whom he sends forth to minister to others, Heb. i. 7, 14. And great numbers there are of them, thousands and tens of thousands, yea, an innumerable company; and all of them are under obligation to praise the Lord for their creation for invisible spirits, as well as visible bodies, even the celestial thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, were created by him, by Christ, Col. i. 16. And for their preservation in their beings, and confirmation in that happy estate in which they were created; being chosen and secured in Christ, the head of all principality and power, and so stood whilst others fell; and also for the various excellent powers, and faculties and properties they are endowed with; they excel in strength, are possessed of great agility and swiftness; have a large share of knowledge, of things natural, civil, moral, spiritual, and evangelical; are perfectly holy, and without sin; and happy in the enjoyment of God, in whose presence they always are, and whose face they continually behold; and will ever remain in this state, being immaterial and immortal beings. And as praise is their duty, it is their work; in this they were employed at the creation of all things, then these sons of God and morning stars sang and shouted for joy; and at the incarnation of Christ, when they worshipped him; at the conver sion of every sinner; and frequently join the church in this service, and will be concerned in it to all eternity: and when the psalmist calls upon them to engage in it, it does not suppose that they were deficient in it, or backward to it, or that he had any authority over them to require it of them; but it shews his great desire that the Lord might be praised by the noblest creatures, and in the best manner that could be, and how much his heart was in this work; and he does it to stir up himself and others the more unto it, from this consideration; that if those heavenly creatures should praise the Lord, then much more such as he and others, who were so very unworthy of the divine favours, and so much beholden to the Lord for them.

"Praise ye him, all his hosts."]-Meaning either the angels as before, sometimes called the hosts of heaven, and the heavenly host, there being armies and legions of them,