the punishment of Jerusalem; let all, then, depart from the sins which occasioned it.

9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.

It is remarkable that the desolation of the once holy and beloved city filled all men with fear' and astonishment, forcing them to acknowledge and declare' it to be the work of God.' Even Titus, the Roman emperor, confessed that he had fought and conquered by the favour, and under the direction, of heaven. O that men would wisely consider' of this, and other wonderful works of the Almighty!

10. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

As sorrow, sooner or later, will be the portion of Messiah's enemies, so joy is the high privilege of his friends and disciples. The righteous' man alone can be truly glad,' because he alone can be glad ' in the Lord' Jesus, the object of all his confidence. There was light in Goshen, when darkness covered the Egyptians; the Christian church drank the cup of salvation, when that of vengeance was mingled for Jerusalem; and when the empire of Satan shall fall, heaven will resound with hallelujahs.

PSALM LXV.

Twelfth Day.-Evening Prayer.

ARGUMENT.—In this very lovely song of Sion, the prophet treats, 1. of the praise due to Jehovah, for, 2. his mercy in hearing the prayers of his servants, and, 3. in redeeming them from their sins; 4. he declareth the blessedness of the elect in Christ their head; 5. predicteth the wonderful things which God would do for the salvation of men, by that power which 6, 7. established the mountains, and confined the sea within its bounds; 8. foretelleth the conversion of the nations; and, 9-13. describeth the blessed effects of the Spirit poured out upon the church, under the figure of rain, descending upon a dry ground.

1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion; and unto thee shall the vow be performed.

The oblations of praise and thanksgiving' were formerly offered, and all 'vows' were paid, in the temple on Mount Sion.' At Jerusalem was performed the promise of man's redemption by the sacrifice of the Son of God; since which event, and the call of the Gentiles, the Christian church has been the holy city and temple. In our communion, we are to offer up our devotions, and to perform the vow made in baptism; until we come to the heavenly Sion, to pay our vows, with the church triumphant, in everlasting hymns of praise.

2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

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The prophet here foretels, that on account of God's mercy, in hearing the prayers of his people, all flesh,' that is, all mankind, out of every nation, should come' at his gracious call, and make their supplications before him in his church. And to

whom should all flesh come,' but to him that 'heareth prayer?"

3. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.

The chief subject of the prayers, made by all flesh to God, is the forgiveness of sin; in order to which it must be confessed. The verse, therefore, consisteth of two parts. First, an acknowledgment of guilt: 'Iniquities prevail against me ;' like whereunto is St Paul's complaint, ' O wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from this body of death!' The second part of the verse intimates an assurance of pardon, through the blood of the Lamb: 'As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away;' exactly corresponding to the answer which the apostle returneth to himself: 'I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Rom. vii. 25.

4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

Blessed are they who are chosen out of the world, and admitted to the privileges of the church; still more blessed are they who are chosen out of the congregation to stand continually in the presence of God, and to minister in his courts; but blessed, above all blessing and praise, is the man Christ Jesus, elect, precious, chosen of God to be an high priest for ever; to make intercession for his people in the courts of heaven; that where he is, they may be also. Then shall we indeed be sa

tisfied with the pleasures of thy house, O Lord, even of thy holy temple.'

5. By terrible, or, wonderful, things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea.

The ancient church foretelleth, that God would 'answer' her prayers for the coming of Messiah, by wonderful things in righteousness; which was brought to pass by the death and resurrection of Christ, the overthrow of idolatry, and the conversion of the nations. Then, the God of salvation' became the confidence of all the ends of the earth,' and the inhabitants of the most distant 'island' believed in Jesus. By wonderful things in righteousness,' will the prayers of the church, which now is, be answered at the second manifestation of the Son of God, in the glory of his Father.

6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

That power which originally fixed the foundations of the mountains,' and which, from time to time, controls the waves' of the sea, is engaged in the support and preservation of the church; and will never suffer the waves' of this troublesome world to overwhelm the mountain of his holiness.'

8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens; thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.

The tokens' or signs mentioned in this verse, are the exertions of divine power and mercy, called above, wonderful things in righteousness;' which, at the publication of the gospel, produced a saving 'fear' of God among the nations, ' dwelling in the uttermost parts of the earth.' The isles,' saith Isaiah on the same occasion, 'saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid; they drew near and came.' Isa. xli. 5. And then it was that the outgoings of the morning and evening,' all the inhabitants of the earth, as many as experienced the sweet vicissitudes of day and night, of morning and evening, were made to rejoice' in God their Saviour; whose name was praised from the rising to the setting sun.

9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it; or, for so thou hast established, or constituted it.

Under the beautiful image of a once barren and dry land, rendered fruitful by kindly showers of rain, turning dearth into plenteousness, are represented here (as in Isa. xxxv. and numberless other places) the gracious visitation' of the church by the Spirit; the riches' of grace and mercy, poured upon the hearts of men, from the exhaustless 'river of God;' and the bountiful provision made thereby, for the relief of that spiritual famine which had been sore in all lands. See Isa. lv. 10; Rev. xxii. 1; Amos, viii. 11.

10. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.