The copious springs their steps beguile, 8. O LORD God of hofts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. 9. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. After extolling the happiness of those who dwelt in the temple, and of those who had accefs to it, the Pfalmift breaks forth into a moft ardent prayer to his God, for a fhare in that happiness. He addreffeth him as "the Lord of hofts," Almighty in power; as "the God of Jacob," infinite in mercy and goodness to his people; as their "fhield," the object of all their truft, for defence and protection; and befeecheth him to "look upon the face of his Anoint"ed," that is, of David, if he were king of Ifrael when this Pfalm was written; or rather of Meffiah *, in whom God is always well pleased; for whofe fake he hath mercy upon us; through whofe name and merits our prayers are accepted, and the kingdom of heaven is opened to all believers. 10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thoufand: I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. One day, spent in meditation and devotion, affordeth a pleasure, far, far fuperior to that, which an age of worldly profperity could give. Happier is the * « Christi tui ;" Regis, qui Chrifti figura. BossUET. leaft leaft and loweft of the fervants of Jefus, than the greatest and most exalted potentate, who knoweth him not. And he is no proper judge of bleffedness, who hesitates a moment to prefer the condition of a penitent in the porch, to that of a finner on the throne. If this be the cafe upon earth, how much more in heaven? O come that one glorious day, whofe fun fhall never go down, nor any cloud obfcure the luftre of his beams; that day, when the temple of God fhall be opened in heaven, and we fhall be admitted to ferve him for ever therein! 11. For the LORD God is a fun and fhield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Jefus Chrift is our "Lord," and our "God;" he is a "fun," to enlighten and direct us in the way, and a "fhield," to protect us against the enemies of our falvation; he will give "grace" to carry us on "from ftrength to ftrength," and "glory" to crown us when we 66 appear before him in Zion;" he will "withhold" nothing that is "good" and profitable for us in the course of our journey, and will himself be our reward, when we come to the end of it. 12. O LORD of hosts, bleed is the man that trufteth in thee. While, therefore, we are ftrangers and fojourners here below, far from that heavenly country where we would be, in whom should we truft, to bring us to the holy city, new Jerufalem, of which the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple, but in thee, O Saviour and Redeemer, who art the Head of every VOL. II. creature, F creature, the Captain of the armies of heaven and earth, the Lord of hofts, and King of glory? "Bleffed," thrice "bleffed is the man that trufteth " in thee." PSALM LXXXV. ARGUMENT. This Pfalm, appointed by the church to be used on Christmas day, 1-3. celebrateth the redemption of the Ifrael of God from their fpiritual captivity under fin and death; 4-7. teacheth us to pray for the full accomplishment of that redemption in ourfelves; 8-11. defcribeth the incarnation of Chrift, with the joyful meeting of Mercy and Truth, Righteousness and Peace, at his birth, and 12, 13. the bleffed effects of his advent. 1. LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou haft brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2. Thou haft forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou haft covered all their fin. 3. Thou haft taken away all thy wrath: thou haft turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. These three verses speak of the deliverance from captivity, as already brought about; whereas, in the subsequent parts of the Pfalm, it is prayed for and predicted, as a thing future. To account for this, fome fuppofe that the Pfalmift first returns thanks for a temporal redemption, and then prophefies of the fpiritual falvation by Meffiah. Others are of opinion, that the fame eternal redemption is fpoken of throughout, but represented, in the beginning of the Pfalm, as already accomplished in the divine decree, though the eventual completion was yet to come. The difficulty, perhaps, may be removed, by rendering these three firft verfes in the prefent time; "LORD, thou art favourable to thy land, thou bringeft back the captivity of thy people," &c. that is, Thou art the God whofe property it is to do this, and to shew such mercy to thy people, who therefore call upon thee for the fame. But, indeed, to us Chriftians, who now use the Pfalm, the difference is not material; fince a part of our redemption is paft, and a part of it is yet to come, for the haftening of which latter we daily pray. God hath already been exceedingly gracious and "favourable" to the whole "earth," in "bringing "back," by the refurrection of Jefus, the fpiritual "captivity of" his people; he hath himself, in Chrift, "borne," and fo taken away, "the iniquity "of his people;" he hath "covered all their fins," that they should no more appear in judgment against them: propitiated by the Son of his love, he hath removed his "wrath," and "turned himself from "the fierceness of his anger." So exactly and literally do these words defcribe the means and method of Gospel falvation, that a Christian can hardly affix any other ideas to them. 4. Turn us, O God of our falvation, and cause thine anger towards us to cease. 5. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7. Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy falvation. The ancient church is here introduced as petitioning for the continuation and completion of those bleffings which had been mentioned in the foregoing verfes, namely, that God would "turn" his people from their captivity, and "caufe his anger towards "them to ceafe;" that he would "revive" them from fin and forrow, and give them occafion to " rejoice "in him," their mighty deliverer; that he would "thew them" openly that "mercy" of which they had so often heard, and "grant them that falvation,' or that "Saviour," that JESUS, who had been fo long promised to mankind. And although it be true, that Jefus Chrift is come in the flesh, and hath virtually procured all these bleffings for the church, yet do we" still continue to pray, in the fame words, for the actual application of them all to ourselves, by the converfion of our hearts, the juftification of our perfons, the fanctification of our fouls, and the glorification of our bodies. For this last bleffing of redemption," the whole creation waiteth, groaning, and "travailing in pain together, UNTIL NOW." Rom. viii. 22. 8. I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his faints; but let them not turn again to folly; or, that they may not turn again to folly. The |