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31 They shall come, and they shall declare

His truth and righteousness

Unto a people yet unborn,

And that he hath done this.

PSALM XXIII.

DAVID is supposed to have written this psalm, when he frequented the barren and desolate forest of Hareth. It borrows images from the pastoral life, in which the Psalmist had employed himself in his younger years, and learned lessons of the highest use, both as a believer and as a king. Or if settled on the throne of his kingdom, when he wrote this beautiful pastoral, we may view it as an expression of his gratitude to that God, who had guided him through so many hidden snares and dangers, and blessed him with a crown and the hopes of immortality.

He celebrates Jehovah as his shepherd-expresses his confidence in his continued goodness-describes, in several particulars, the happiness of his

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Verse 31. They shall come &c. The relative they refers to Messiah's seed, the generation that shall be owned at the resurrection of the just, who are to come and act the part of mystical oxen in treading the wicked under the soles of their feet, as men were wont to tread clay, mixed with The Psalmist strips the ashes, when preparing it for a certain purpose. language of metaphor, by plainly saying, They shall come, and declare kis righteousness unto a people that shall be born, whom the Lord shall The Greek verb is that from create, as the LXX render the last clause. which we derive the terms poet and poem, intimating a creation of the The preachers of his rightemost exact, harmonious and beautiful kind. ousness, and those whom they are to address, must intend a twofold distinct people, and the creation foretold must be spiritual. Thus, He fashioneth their hearts alike, the hearts of the first-born and of the younger children, Psal. xxxiii 15. The parallel of this text we have Rev. xxi. 2. and the context fixes the era of accomplishing the prophecy, when the new heaven, and the new earth shall exist, and there shall be no more sea, the former having passed away in the conflagration. We see too, ver. 5. what is meant by creating that people, and their habitation, that it is to make all things new.

Thus we have taken a glance at the sufferings of Christ, and at the glory that shall follow, and be revealed in and by his saints. But let us never detach the latter from the former, by mutilating the character, the work, the glory, and inheritance of Messiah, and robbing him of the love, worship, and obedience of the great mass of his subjects without end.

N. B. The parallel of this psalm we have in the lxixth, as appears from the quotations from it, John i. 17. Rom. xv. 3.

people,—and declares his assured hope, that the same goodness and mercy would follow him, while on earth, and God's house be his everlasting abode. Though expressed in the person of David, yet every believer may appropriate the language to himself.

1 THE LORD's my shepherd, I'll not want.

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Notes on Psalm XXIII.-Verse 1. The LORD is my shepherd, &c. The terms in Hebrew and Greek rendered Shepherd, signify also a king and ruler; and the verbs from which they are derived admit of these two senses. Homer and other Greek poets frequently give kings the title of shepherds; and none is more calculated to teach them in that important station. As the church cannot have two chief shepherds, and as Christ alone could lay down his life for his sheep, the exclusive characteristic of the good Shepherd of Israel; here we have an undeniable proof that he is Jehovah, the King and Shepherd of the Jewish church and nation.

The phrase, I shall not want, denotes that he, and all the faithful in every age, shall enjoy every thing truly good for them, whether respecting soul or body, time or eternity; of which God himself must be the best Judge.

Verse 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, &c. This imports the richness of these pastures, the unmolested enjoyment of them, and the full satisfaction which they yield. What a recommendation of the ordinances of the gospel, so described! He owns himself indebted to Messiah for all this, and so sets us an example, in which all Christians should follow him.

That waters in the latter clause denote divine influences, is evident, and the figure acquires uncommon significance, as alluding to the state of things in an Eastern clime, where water constituted a chief temporal blessing. How much does a flowing river add to the beauty and fertility of the country through which it passes! These waters may be called still or quiet, considering the source whence they spring, the medium through which they flow, and the effects which they produce in the heart and Church. Access to these, and the enjoyment of them, he ascribes to the Lord; and the phrase-He leadeth me beside the still waters, not only bespeaks his conducting agency, but also the paternal care of his providence, and the condescension and gentleness of his procedure. The evangelic prophet makes this quality an essential part of his pastoral character; and his people in every age, these sheep of his pasture, know from experience how faithfully he fulfils it, Isa. xl. 11. Let the reader consult John x. 9. and Rev. xxii. 17.

Verse 3. He restoreth my soul; &c. To restore any thing, is to bring it back to its proper owner, or to its former state. As God is the Far

Within the paths of righteousness,

Ev'n for his own name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,

Yet will I fear none ill:

For thou art with me and thy rod

And staff me comfort still.

of the spirits of all flesh, whence all souls are his; so it is Messiah's pastoral work to restore them to his image, favour and enjoyment. Even those who believe often need what David here celebrates, and what cur Lord calls in such, being converted. The term Restoration ought not to be so offensive to some as it is; for there is no salvation without it. When restored, He leadeth them in the paths of righteousness, or in the way of holy obedience. In the parable of the lost sheep, he represents himself as fulfilling this part of the pastoral office. He imparts life to the soul, when dead, removes obstructions out of the way, strengthens them to walk and run in it, and presents the crown of life to inspire courage, animate exertion, and secure their perseverance.- All this he is said to do for his name's sake; that is, not for any merit or worth in the creature, but purely to display the glory of his saving name, and the honour of divine truth. By his word and Spirit he restores the soul from error, iniquity, and sorrow, to a state directly the opposite.

Verse 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, &c. Here truth drops the veil of allegory, and addresses us in her own native simplicity. Death is the most terrible object to nature; but faith in Jesus divests death of its sting, and the grave of its terrors. Dr. H. represents the valley of the shadow of death as lying between two mountains, and death as a tyrant extending his gloomy empire over this region of dreariness and desolation. But trusting in that great Shepherd, whom God brought again from the dead, (Hcb. xiii. 20.) like David, we need dread no evil in the passage; for he will be with us to support cur steps, to protect us from evil by his rod, the sceptre of his kingdom, which extends over the whole empire of death, and to guide us safely through the dreaded vale to the heavenly mountain. To an impenitent sinner death comes on a pale horse, with hell at his heels; but to a true believer he is but a shadow, which cannot hurt, yet acts like the angel to Peter, who knocked off his fetters, opened his prison doors, and set him at liberty. In another view, death is like the Jordan, that river of judgment, as the name signifies, that flowed between the wilderness and the land of promise. The power and presence of God the Saviour, of whom the high priest was an en inent representative, caused its waters to divide, when they overflowed all the banks, and to form through its channel an abundant entrance into the land of their destined inheritance; otherwise its swelled flood would have swept them down to the dead sea, the figure of hell. By the divine direction twelve stones were carried to Gilgal, and other twelve deposited over which the waters reflowed. Josh. iv. Το point out the evangelical import of this transaction will try the wisdom of the reputed wise, and indeed, common systems can go no farther than the shadow, g the reader here quite in the dark.

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5 My table thou hast furnished

In presence of my foes;

My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

6 Goodness and mercy all my life

Shall surely follow me:

And in God's house for evermore

My dwelling-place shall be.

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Verse 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine en:mies, &c. Here the Psalmist borrows images from a feast, to represent the happiness of the faithful. He had, no doubt, in his eye what the Lord did, in providing for him and his men, while pursued by Saul like a partridge on the mountains; a too expressive figure of the state of God's people in this world. An overflowing cup is the emblem of a prosperous state; and the anointing of the head with oil, or perfumed ointment, always accompanied the entertainments of the great in the east, and marked their attention and respect to their guests. Let the Christian transfer these things, understood in the evangelical sense, to the ordinances of the gospel, and the blessings attained in and by them in the presence of our spiritual enemies. The bread of life, the cup of salvation, the blessing of a conscience purged from dead works, and the oil of gladness, constitute our New Testament feast which the world cannot give, and with which a stranger to the divine life cannot intermeddlo. Lord, evermore give us this feast, that we may rejoice and be glad in thee!

Verse 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me &c; goodness to supply all our wants, and mercy to pardon all our sins, and to remove all our misery. Our past experience of these should beget an assurance of their continuance to the end; for what can separate Christ's believing peo ple from his love? Who or what can harm them, while they are followers of that which is good, and of the good and holy One?-Where he now is, there they shall be also, to behold and enjoy his glory; whence each may say in faith, with David, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD, Messiah's mystical temple, for ever, or, as on margin, to length of days. The dwellers in his presence there, who officiate as spiritual priests before him, shall be completely and endlessly happy. Though the phrase-length of days, appears to refer to the ages of their official ministrations, and not to interfere in the least with absolute eternity; yet there can be no ground to fear that their glory and bliss will be diminished, far less ended, when their official work is done. All the divisions of time shall be lost in that boundless duration, just as all streams and rivers are in the great ccean; for the righteous are to enjoy a weight of glory exceeding by an excess that which is eternal, or connected with ages on this, or on the other side the grave.-Let every flock we see remind us of our helplessness and wants, and every pasture excite to praise that loving care, which so bountifully supplies them, and to adore that Divine Pastar, who never ceases to tend his flock, till he perfect that which concern

PSALM XXIV.

Dr. Lowth gives a beautiful delineation of this psalm, according to the literal sense. The Ark is supposed to have been carried in a solemn procession of all the tribes of Israel, towards the place of its appointed residence on mount Zion. See 1 Chron. xv. On its ascent up that hill the psalm is supposed to have been sung, in which they claim to Jehovalr the sovereignty of the whole earth; describe the character becoming the people whom he had chosen for himself, and among whom the visible emblems of his special residence were to be fixed. All this Christians are to transfer to our Lord's ascension into heaven, and to his taking possession of his Church, and of the hearts of his people. 1 THE earth belongs unto the Lord,

And all that it contains;

The world that is inhabited, And all that there remains. 2 For the foundations thereof

He on the seas did lay,

them here and hereafter. As David here addresses Messiah as his Shepherd, so in that we may view him also as acting in his typical character, and that our Lord might so express his faith in his Father.

Notes on Psalm XXIV.-Verse 1. The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; &c. The last clause explains the first, the world and they that dwell therein. As this is a truth in every age, it asserts Messiah's right to the world, as well as to the Church; a truth very necessary to be inculcated on Jews and Christians. As all Christ's rights have existed from the beginning, and can never be alienated, or forfeited; so whatever change may pass upon his property, it must finally return to himself, and shew forth his glory. What he said of the land of promise may surely be applied here; The land shall not be sold forever, or, as on the margin, sold to be quite cut off. Since he hath made us, and we are not our own, being bought with a price, it follows as a just inference, that we shall be brought to glorify him both in body and spirit, Ps. c. 2. 1 Cor. vi. 20. What is injoined as a duty, will thence be commanded as a privilege, and finally the attainment of all.

The right of pos

Verse 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, &c. sessing is here founded on the act of creation and preservation. As it is adiaitted there is an allusion here to the chaotic state of things, and that to which they were reduced at the deluge; so both these states being a figure of the future one of misery, the Psalmist may be viewed as here foretelling the restoration of the world, and the mode of its accomplishment, in the fulness of the times,

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