into sin, and then detained in it; because, having forgotten the great witness and judge of his actions, he vainly thinks his crimes may be concealed, or disguised, till a discovery breaks the charm, and disperses the delusion. The last day will show

strange instances of this folly.

3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good; or, to understand, that he may do good.

If the fear of God be not in the heart, iniquity and deceit' will be under the tongue; and then, an apostacy from wisdom and goodness, or the wisdom of goodness, which is the only true wisdom,

cannot be far off.

4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not

evil.

From the actions and the words of him who bath not the fear of God before his eyes, the prophet goeth back to the thoughts and imaginations of his heart, which, even in retirement and solitude, are busily employed upon evil, as those of the righteous are, at those seasons, upon God and goodness. A man may know the state of his mind, in some measure, from his morning and evening thoughts ' upon his bed.' He who doth not give diligence to set himself in a good way,' will soon be set in one that is not good; and he who doth not 'abbor' sin, will, ere long, delight in it.

5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds, or, skies.

6. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep.

From the wickedness of the world, in which we live, we must lift up our eyes for help and comfort, to the mercy and truth of God, boundless, pure, and beneficial, as the heavens over our heads; to his righteousness, fixed and permanent as the everlasting hills; and to his judgments, stupendous and unfathomable as the waters of the great deep. Truth will engage mercy to accomplish the promised salvation of the elect; and righteousness will employ judgment in executing upon the reprobate the vengeance that is due.

7. O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

The good providence of God extendeth over all creatures, nourishing and preserving them, as well as man, for whose use they were made. We can never enough value and extol the loving kindness' of him, whose overshadowing wings' protect and cherish us on earth, in order to bear us from thence to heaven. See Matt. xxiii. 37; Deut. xxxii. 11.

8. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

In heaven alone the thirst of an immortal soul after happiness can be satisfied. There the streams of Eden will flow again. They who drink of them shall forget their earthly poverty, and remember the miseries of the world no more. Some drops

from the celestial cup are sufficient, for a time, to make us forget our sorrows, even while we are in the midst of them. What then may we not expect from full draughts of those pleasures which are at thy right hand, O Lord, for evermore ?

9. For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light.

The rivers before mentioned flow from a fountain' which fetcheth not supplies from without, but whose spring is within itself, and therefore can never be exhausted. The water of life' proceeds from. the throne of God and the Lamb.' Rev. xxii. 1. This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.' John, xvii. 3. God, like the sun, cannot be seen, but by the light which he himself emits.

10. O continue thy loving kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

The prophet, groaning under the oppression of the wicked, who are described in the first part of the Psalm, prayeth for a continuation of the mercies of God, which he has celebrated in the second part. Give us, O God, the knowledge of thee, and make us upright in heart, that thy loving kindness and thy righteousness may be our portion for ever.

11. Let not the foot of pride come against me; and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

The Christian has reason enough to join with the prophet in this petition, whether we suppose it to deprecate destruction from proud men and sinners without us, or from pride and sin within us.

12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

Faith calleth things that be not, as though they were; it carries us forward to the end of time; it shows us the Lord, sitting on his throne of judgment; the righteous caught up to meet him in the air; the world in flames under his feet; and the empire of sin fallen to rise no more.

Seventh Day.-Evening Prayer.

PSALM XXXVII.

ARGUMENT.-From the beginning to the end of this Psalm, the Holy Spirit, by the prophet, administereth advice and consolation to the church and people of the Lord, oppressed and afflicted in the world, by prosperous and triumphant wickedness. Faith and patience are, therefore, recommended, upon the double consideration of that sure reward which awaiteth the righteous, and that certain punishment which shall be inflicted on the wicked. These two events are set before us in a variety of expressions, and under many lively and affecting images. As the Psalm is rather a collection of divine aphorisms on the same subject, than a continued and connected discourse, it admitteth of nothing farther in the way of argument.

1. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither green herb.

as the

The Holy Spirit here prescribeth a remedy to a very common, and no less dangerous disorder of the mind, namely, a distrust of God's providence, occasioned by frequently beholding the prosperity

of the wicked, in this present world. He who alloweth himself time to consider, how soon the fairest spring must give place to a burning summer, a blighting autumn, and a killing winter, will no longer envy, but pity, the fading verdure of the grass, and the still more transient glories of the flowers of the field. Herbs and plants are medicinal in more senses than one.

3. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed: or, dwell in the land, and feed on truth, or, faithfulness.

The consideration of the speedy and tragical end of sinners, affordeth a powerful argument for perseverance in faith and holiness; for continuing in the church, and making our abode in the pastures of truth; until, in the strength of that sacred viand, we come to the heavenly land of promise, and dwell therein for ever.

4. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

He who delighteth in the creature, hath not always the desires of his heart' granted, nor is it fit that he should have them; but he who delighteth in God, will desire what he delighteth in, and obtain what he desireth.

5. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon day.

Malice and calumny may, for a time, overshadow

1 See an elegant and beautiful discourse on the lilies of the field;' published among the Sermons of the late learned, ingenious, and worthy Dr. Tottie.