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cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

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This was emphatically true of the man Christ, whose steps Jehovah established, and in whose way he delighted; who, though he fell' by death, yet was raised again by his mighty hand and outstretched arm. It is true likewise of Christians, whom it should support and comfort, in all dangers and temptations. See, for a parallel, Psal. xci.

25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is blessed.

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So far is charity from impoverishing, that what is given away, like vapours emitted by the earth, returns in showers of blessings into the bosom of the person who gave it ; it; and his offspring is not the worse, but infinitely the better for it. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.' Prov. xi. 25. The bread which endureth, as well as that which perisheth, is his; and the blessings of time are crowned with those of eternity.

27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28. For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever : but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein for

ever.

The justice and mercy of God, the rewards which await the righteous, and the punishments that will, sooner or later, be inflicted on the wicked,

are subjects on which whoever shall frequently meditate, 'will depart from evil, and do good.' 'Whatsoever thou takest in hand,' saith the wise son of Sirach, remember the end, and thou shalt

never do amiss.' Ecclus, vii. 36.

30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. 31. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

The word which is here, as in other places innumerable, translated the righteous,' is in the singular number, and might therefore be translated 'the Righteous One,' or, the Just One;' for it is often designed to point him out to us, who is emphatically so styled; whose 'mouth' always spake wisdom,' in whose heart was the law of God,' and whose steps' never declined to evil. Lord, put thy laws into our hearts, that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth may speak; and as the mouth speaks, the hands may act, and the feet may walk.

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32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

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The Jews watched' that 'Just One,' daily and hourly; they sought to slay him,' and did so; but Jehovah left him not in their hands,' but vindicated his innocence, by raising him from the dead. And the day is coming, when he who hath stood tamely at the bar of men, and hath suffered for truth and righteousness, shall be advanced to a throne among the saints and martyrs, to assist at the trial of his once-insulting judges.

34. Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

The apostle, writing to the Hebrew converts, under affliction and persecution, thus expresseth the sentiment contained in this verse: Cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.' Heb. x. 35.

35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree, or, a native tree, which has grown from the seed without transplantation, in the same spot. 36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

The great Babylonian monarch had his own exaltation, and subsequent degradation, portrayed to him in a vision, under this very image, which conveyed to the mind a most striking and affecting idea of the rise and fall of men and empires, which have now no existence but in history. I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and it was meat for all; the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my head

upon my bed, and behold a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.' Dan. iv. 10, 11, &c. See the prophet's exposition, 20, 21, &c. and what is said above, on verse 10 of this Psalm.

37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. 38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

After taking a view of those short-lived honours, which the world setteth upon the heads of its most favoured votaries, let us turn our eyes to the Perfect and Upright One;' let us behold the permanent greatness and the unfading glory of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God; whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and whose fruit is the fruit of ' peace.'

39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they put their trust in him.

Of thee, O Lord Jesu, is our salvation: be thou our strength in this mortal life, which is a time of trouble; help us against our spiritual enemies, and deliver us from them; deliver us from the wicked one, and from all evil; and save us from the guilt and punishment thereof, because we put our trust in thee, and in thee alone.

Eighth Day.-Morning Prayer.

PSALM XXXVIII.

ARGUMENT.-In this Psalm, which is the third of those styled Penitential, the sinner, ver. 1. prayeth to be chastened only, and not destroyed; 2—10. describeth the state of his soul under various images, chiefly borrowed from bodily diseases and pains; 11, 12. complaineth of his friends forsaking, and his enemies persecuting him; but, 13-15. continueth patient and resigned, committing his cause to God, whom, 16-22. he beseecheth to help him, on his confession and repentance. As our Lord took upon him the guilt, and suffered the punishment, of sin; as there are some passages in the latter part of the Psalm, literally predictive of his passion, and so understood by the best ancient expositors; and as the sinner should be led by his own sorrows to reflect on those of his Redeemer; the meditations of the reader are, therefore, under each particular, directed by the ensuing comment into that channel.

1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath; neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

The petition here preferred, as in the sixth Psalm, is, that Jehovah would not condemn as a judge, but chasten as a father, for the amendment and preservation of the offender. The same prayer, which we sinners make for ourselves, Christ, who bore our sins, once made for us.

2. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

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The arrows' and the hand' of God, are his judgments on sin; those internal pangs and terrors which pierce the soul, and those external afflictions and calamities which sink and weigh down the spirits. The holy Jesus, at the time of

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