a troublesome world, to the land of everlasting peace and comfort.

13. I will go into thine house with burnt-offerings; I will pay thee my vows, 14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats.

Under the gospel, the obligation of going to the house of God,' and there paying vows,' still continues; but the offerings' are changed. The legal sacrifices have been abolished by the oblation of the body of Christ once for all. This oblation is commemorated in the eucharist; at the celebration of which, we now offer up our prayers and praises, ourselves, our souls and bodies, a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice, acceptable to God, in the name and through the merits of the Redeemer. These offerings, if vowed in the seasons of sickness and sorrow, should be paid in the days of health and gladness.

16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

It is

Every man should be ready, like David, to celebrate the mercies of God vouchsafed to him. a debt of gratitude to his Saviour, who is glorified; and a debt of charity to his brethren, who are edified thereby; provided only, that it be done with sobriety and humility

17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.

The mean by which we obtain salvation, is faith;

which, as it showeth us both our disease and our physician, inclineth us to pray to the latter for a cure of the former. Prayer is one gift of God; and every other gift is obtained by it.

18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

The prayer which is heard,' is the prayer of the penitent, heartily grieved and wearied with sin, hating, and longing to be delivered from it. For God heareth not hypocrites, who, while they outwardly disavow, yet inwardly regard' and cherish iniquity;' from which every one who nameth the name of Christ ought to depart.

19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.

David was heard, when God delivered him from his enemies, and set him on the throne of Israel: Christ was heard, when God raised him from the dead, and exalted him to the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens and every man is heard, when God raises him from sin to righteousness, as an earnest of his future resurrection from dust to glory. Let every such man praise the Lord, and say, with David, in the last verse of our Psalm,

20. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

PSALM LXVII.

ARGUMENT.-In this evangelical Psalm, the Israelitish church is introduced as partly praying for, and partly foretell

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ing the advent of Christ, and the conversion of the nations, with the joy and gladness that should be consequent thereupon. The Christian church now uses, and will continue to use, the Psalm with propriety, until the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in, the conversion of the Jews effected, and Christ shall appear the second time, finally to accomplish the salvation of his chosen.

1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us.

The Israelitish church, by the mouth of the prophet, expresseth her ardent desire after Messiah's advent, and appearance in the flesh; she prayeth that God would be merciful unto her,' as he had promised; that, by so doing, he would bless' her with the blessings of pardon and peace, of grace and glory; and, in one word, that he would cause his face to shine upon her' by the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, making her to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, reviving her with the glad tidings of the gospel, and enlightening her with the light of salvation.

2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Nor was she studious, as her degenerate children have since been, to confine the favour of heaven within her own pale. If she had a good wish for herself, she had one likewise for others; and therefore prayed, that the way' to life eternal might be 'known,' not in Jewry alone, but over all the earth;' and that the virtues of that salutary medicine, which was able to restore health and vigour to the diseased and languishing spirits of men, might be published among all nations.'

3. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

As if she had said, Hitherto indeed, blessed Lord, thou hast thought fit to make me the guardian and keeper of that great deposit, thy true religion, from which the nations revolted, and fell; but the time is coming, when, by gospel of thy dear Son, they shall again be called to the knowledge of thee. Thy glory, impatient, as it were, of any longer restraint, and demanding a larger sphere, shall diffuse itself, like the light of heaven, to the ends of the world. Hasten, then, O hasten the dawning of that happy day, when congrega tions of converted Gentiles shall everywhere lift up their voices, and, perhaps in the words of this very Psalm, sing to thy praise and glory!

4. O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

And a very sufficient cause, surely, is here assigned, why the nations' should be glad, and sing for joy' upon the erection of Messiah's kingdom in the midst of them; namely, because he would judge the people righteously;' breaking the yoke of the oppressor, and the iron rod of the prince of this world; becoming himself an advocate in the cause of his church; introducing her into the glorious liberty of the children of God, whose service is perfect freedom; and, with a sceptre, around which justice and mercy are wreathed together, governing the nations upon earth.'

5. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Chorus repeated, as above,

verse 3.

6. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

Then, when that long-expected time shall arrive, 'the earth shall yield her increase;' the nations of the world shall be converted to the faith, and become fruitful in every good word and work, through the benediction of heaven them. upon

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7. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

The evangelical blessings,' predicted in this Psalm, have been long since poured out upon the ends of the earth,' by the bountiful hand of God in Christ. Let us beseech him to add yet this to all his other mercies, that in return for such unmerited favours, the redeemed may have grace evermore to pay him the tribute of fear and obedience, of duty and love.

Thirteenth Day.—Morning Prayer.

PSALM LXVIII.

ARGUMENT.-This beautiful, sublime, and comprehensive, but very difficult Psalm, is one of those which the church has appointed to be used on Whitsunday. It seems evidently to have been composed on that festive and joyful occasion, the removal of the ark to Mount Sion. See 2 Sam. vi.; 1 Chron. xv.2 Under this figure, David, foreseeing the exaltation of

Universæ gentes ad Deum convertentur, et electi abundabunt bonis operibus, rerumque omnium copià. Bossuet.

*The argument seems to be, a prognostication of success to David and the kingdom of Israel, and victory over their enemies, in consequence of the manifestation of the especial presence of God on Mount Sion, and by his power exerted in their favour. In the mystical sense, which is authorised by St. Paul, Eph. iv. 8, it is, according to Vitringa, "Ascensio Christi in cœlos, et sessio ad dextram Patris, et illius effecta, quæ sunt col

VOL. II.

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