"I will fing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I fing."

(1.) I think it imports a grounded refolution, that he had got a difcovery of the glory of God's mercy and justice in the face of Jefus Chrift; and a difcovery of the glory of God in all his merciful and afflictive dif penfations. He had a fenfe and impreffion of the goodnels of God, in all the favours that he met with; and he had a fenfe and impreffion of the wisdom of God, in ordering all affictive providences to his foul's advantage. "I will fing of mercy and judgment."

(2.) It imports a grateful refolution, that the spirit of gratitude filled his foul: fo much does his refolution to fing import; for it fays, that his fpirit was fweetened with a fenfe he had of the kindnefs of God; his meditation of him was fweet, and that makes him refolve upon fuch a fweet exercife: he faw what strong and manifold obligations he was under to praife and magnify the name of the Lord.

(3) I think, the manner of expreffion imports a cordial refolution; heart and will are engaged in it: there is twice I WILL in the text; "I WILL fing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, I WILL fing." He had a good will to the work where the understanding is enlightened in the knowledge of God, in his mercy and judgment, there the will is fubdued and made willing; willing to praife, willing to glorify God by the obedience of faith and love through grace.

(4) The manner of expreffion imports a fervent refolution; fo much I think lies in that word, "O LORD, I will do it to thee, O LORD, I will fing." To be fervent in prayer, is a notable exercife; but to be fervent in praife, is yet more notable: fervency in feeking is good; but fervency in finging is yet better; “Ta thee, O Lord, will I fing." Perhaps this imports also a wonder; O, I will fing; for thy mercies and judgments are fo wonderfully great! O, I will fing with wonder and admiration!

(5.) The manner of expreffion imports a humble refolution I cannot fing of merit; but I will fing of mercy, and through mercy I will fing of mercy. To

fing of mercy must be a humble fong; for mercy towards a miferable finner is a melting word; and to fing of judgment must be a humble fong; for judgment in every fenfe is an awful word; and the pfalmift breathes out his refolution in a mofl humble manner, “O Lord, I will fing of mercy and judgment."

(6.) The manner of expreflion imports a folemn refolution made in the prefence of the great JEHOVAH; “To thee, O Lord, will I fing." It is not only refolved in his own mind, that he will fing to the Lord, but by way of folemn addrefs to the God of heaven, the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift; "To thee, O Lord, will I fing" to thee will I give the glory of thy mercy and judgment: behold, I refolve upon it before thee, O Lord.

(7.) The manner of the expreffion imports a skilful harper, a dextrous mufician, even in a ipiritual fenfe; he knew what should be the fubject of the fong, and therefore fays, "I will fing of mercy and judgment:" and he knew what fhould be the object of the fong, or to whom it fhould be fung, and therefore fays, "TO THLE, O Lord, I will fing:" he knew who fhould be the Singer; and therefore fays, I will do it: he knew what should be the manner; and therefore fays, "I will SING of mercy and judgment; to thee, O Lord, will I SING." It is before the Lord he refolves to fing, as he did before the ark, which was a type of Christ and fo it is a fong to the praife of God in Christ.

(8.) The manner of the expreffion imports a firm, fixed, and conftant refolution; fo the redoubling of it feems to import; "I will fing, I will fing." He had a mind this exercife of finging should not go down, but be his continual trade; "I will fing, I will fing;" I will fing on earth, and I will fing in heaven; I will fing in time, and I will fing through eternity. And indeed, all on whom the Spirit of praife and gratitude is poured out, they refolve never to give over finging. And because they know it will not laft always in time, nor their harp be ftill in tune; therefore they refolve, as it were, to make it their great errand to heaven, to fing, to fing there for ever; "I will fing, I will fing.' " David

had

had heard once, yea twice, that mercy as well as power belongs to the Lord; and therefore, not only once, but twice in a breath, he refolves to fing unto the Lord. The word hath a great deal of elegancy and emphasis in it; "I will fing of mercy, I will fing of judgment: O, I will fing; O Lord, I will fing; and I will fing unto thee."

In a word, it imports, that a God in Chrift was the ALL of the song; even the Alpha and Omega of it, the beginning and the end of it: it was of him, as the Alpha; for the difcovery of the mercy of God in Chrift brought him to it; I will fing of mercy and judgment:' and it was to him, as the Omega; for the fong is dedicated to the Lord; "To thee, O Lord, will I fing."These things, I think, are imported in the manner of the expreffion, and they may help to regulate our refolutions in finging.

IV. The fourth head propofed was, Why it is fo ordered of the Lord, that his people fhould have ground to fing of mercy and judgment both? why there is both mercy and judgment in their lot, to be the matter of their fong, while in this world?

1. The first reafon is, To put a difference betwixt heaven and earth; for in heaven there will be no judgment, no affliction, no desertion, no fin, no fong of judgment prefent, but of judgment paft: The fong of heaven will be of mercy prefent, and judgment past, among the triumphant company; but the fong of the militant church, is of mercy and judgment, both prefent. Now, we fee through a glafs darkly, and therefore fing confufedly; but then we fhall fee face to face, and therefore fhall fing diflinctly: now we know in part, and fing in part; but then the perfect knowledge will make a perfect fong: now we are very unlike to Chrift, becaufe we fee but little of him, and fo the fong is but heavy, dull, and flat; but then fhall we be like him, for we fhall fee him as he is, and fo the fong will be chearful and ravifhing: now when a mercy raises the fong, a judgment bears it down, fome cloud or other interrupts the finging; but then there fhall

be

be no prefent judgment, no cloud, no night, no complaint to mar the fong, for there the mercy is not mixt with any judgment, nor the joy mixt with any forrow.

2. The fecond reafon is, That they may put honour upon the divine wifdom, that does fo wonderfully reconcile thefe oppofites, fuch as mercy and judgment are. O the infinite wifdom of God, that can make antipods meet in a fong of praife, and contraries in a hymn of glory to him. O the wifdom that makes mercy and judgment meet together, and kifs one-another! O the wisdom that brings the greatest good out of the greatest evil, and the beft bleffings out of the worst of evils; as out of the first Adam's fin and fall, brings the fecond Adam's glory and honour, and the greatest happiness of his feed! O the wifdom that brings life out of death, light out of darkness, liberty out of bondage, love out of enmity, happiness out of mifery, holinefs out of fin, joy out of forrow, mercy out of judg-, ment! O, can we look down to this great depth, without crying with the apostle, "O the depth of the riches, both of the wifdom and knowledge of God! how unfearchable are his judgments, and his ways paft finding out?" Rom. xi. 33.

3. The third reafon is, That they may be trained up gradually for finging hallelujahs in heaven. They are not yet fit and qualified for finging of mercy without judgment; and though judgment is turned into mercy to the people of God, and fo is matter of a song: yet the prefent fenfe and feeling that they have of judgment, makes the manner of their finging fuitable to their imperfect condition, wherein they are not capable to fing of mercy without a mixture of judgment. They are but learning to fing; and by judgment they are difciplined to fing gradually better and better: when mercy does not prevail to make them fing aright, he fends a judgment to make them fing better. They are learning the language of heaven before they go there; but at their first learning they are but scho lars, and need the correction of judgment. If they

abufe

abufe mercy, and do not fing aright of it, there comes a heavy judgment to make them take heed how they fing, and then they learn to fing the feventy-first verle of the hundred and nineteenth Pfalm, faying,

It hath been very good for me,

that I afflicted was,

That I might well inftructed be,
and learn thy holy laws:

And then they learn to fing the feventy-fifth verfe;

That very right thy judgments are,

I know and do confess; ̧
And that thou haft afflicted me,

in truth and faithfulness.

4. The fourth reafon is, That the burden of the fong may be proportioned to their back. They cannot bear to have all mercy, and no judgment; for then they would fwell in pride, and be exalted above measure : they cannot bear to have all judgment, and no mercy; for then would they fink into defpair, and be preffed above measure. On the one hand, to fing of nothing but mercy, would be a burden too great and heavy; they find, when their hearts at fometimes are lifted up to a high note, they cannot get praised; they are ready to invite angels, faints, fun, moon, and stars, to help them to praise, for it is too great work for them alone; they cannot get their notes raised high enough: but when the praifing frame is over, if nothing but a fenfe of mercy remain, then having a body of fin that abuses all mercies, fome proud thought and felf-exalting imagination, rifes in their brealls, and would rise above measure, if it were not kept down with judgment.— On the other hand, to fing of nothing but judgment, would be a damp inftead of a fong, a melancholy fighing instead of finging: and therefore they are well mixed together in infinite wisdom.

5. The fifth reafon is, That their fong may be the more melodious. As in natural, or artificial mufic,

there