dependents, he looks upon them with complacency, and converses with them with a placid and fmiling countenance. This gladdens their hearts, and infpires them with chearfulness and pleasure. The light of the king's countenance is life, and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain. Solomon observed this in his courtiers; and it ferves to illustrate the affertion of his father David here, In his favour is life. When God manifefts his love to his children, it turns their mourning into joy, it exhilarates and revives their drooping spirits, and gives them new life and vigour. While the men of the world are saying, "Who will fhew us any good?" their language is, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us; thou haft put gladness into our hearts, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased." Their joy on this occafion is far fuperior to the gladness which men feel in the time of vintage, or that of harveft; it is a joy bright and pure, as the regions whence it defcends.

In the words, "Lift thou up the light of thy countenance, the Pfalmift alludes to the lifting up of a banner : instead of the defence of an army with banners, he requests for his comfort and fecurity amidst many enemies and dangers, the manifestation of the divine favour. As if he had faid, "Men have their friends and confederates to afford them help in

time of need; but, Lord, I defire no other comfort than thy favour; affure me of that and I fhall be happy; give me but a confolatory sense of thy love, let me behold the brightness of thy reconciled face, and every threatening cloud will be difpelled. Then will my foul rejoice, with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

The joy which arises from a sense of God's favour, is indeed fuch as cannot be described. It is hearty and fincere; it is full, intimate and fatisfying. It is fo reviving to the fainting spirits of a poor finner, who was before perhaps in a state of defpondency, that it reftores him, as it were, from death to life. Reader, if you have known this by your own experience, you will better understand the doctrine of our text, than others can by all that we can fay upon it. A sense of God's displeasure is killing to him who puts fuch a value on the divine favour, as to look for all his felicity from it. But the sweet beams of his love, in the returning manifeftations and affured tokens of it, give new life to the difconfolate foul. A child is deeply affected by the frowns of its earthly parent, but animated and cheered by his reconciled father's favourable smiles. It is even fo with a child of grace. The favour of God gives him a new life of divine joy, elevated pleasure, and heart-felt satisfaction.

Reader, this is the life of heaven; it is feafting on the grapes of Canaan; it is living in paradife; it is feeding on the tree of life; it is leaning on the bofom of Jefus, having the kiffes of his mouth, and tafting the joys of his falvation.

It must be owned, this is not a privilege to be enjoyed without interruption, in the present state. But it is the good pleasure of the God of all confolation, at some seasons to indulge his children with thefe foretaftes of celeftial felicity. When that eminent Scotch divine, Mr. Robert Bruce, was afked by his friends, in his languishing moments, how it was with him, he answered to this effect, "When I was young and in health, I was enabled to be diligent, and lived by faith in the Son of God; but now I am old and feeble, and it is his good pleafure to feed me with fenfible comforts."

The Pfalmift thus defcribes the felicity of gracious fouls. Bleffed is the people that know the joyful found; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name fhall they rejoice all the day and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength;

and in thy favour our horn fhall be exalted."

The two laft particulars relating to the divine favour, I apprehend, are principally intended in The favour of God which bestows fpiri

our text.

tual

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》རབར

tual life, and his favour as manifefted to the foul, which animates it with a life of joy and comfort. From the context it appears, that David had the latter chiefly in view when he said, In his favour is life.

Should it be asked, " But whofe favour is here intended? I answer, the favour of Jehovah, the fountain of life. The favour of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft; for these three are one. The benediction prescribed for the priests to pronounce, under the former difpenfation, is very remarkable, and may be thus paraphrafed. "The Lord, the Father and fountain of bleffings, the Preferver of his creatures, bless thee with spiritual blessings, give thee grace and keep thee in his fear. The Lord Jefus Christ, the Sun of righteousness, irradiate thy foul with beams of gofpel light and love, make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Spirit of the Lord, the Comforter of his people, give thee an affured intereft in the divine favour, and thus lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace! Even that peace which paffeth all understanding, that it may keep thy heart and mind through Chrift Jefus." See Numb. vi. 24, 25, 26. The New Testament benediction answers to that of the Old, and ferves to explain it. "The grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and the love of God, and

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the communion of the Holy Ghoft be with you all." The works of the bleffed Three-One, are undivided. Hence creation is fometimes afcribed to the Son, fometimes redemption to the Father; and fanctification is fometimes represented as the work of the Father, and of the Son, as well as that of the Holy Ghoft. He whose favour is here spoken of, is the one Jehovah.

It is neceffary, however, to obferve, before we close this chapter, that the favour of God is manifefted to finners only through Jefus, the Mediator of the covenant. It is only in him that God is reconciled to us. He is the great propitiation, by whom full atonement was made for our offences, through which God is pacified, and shews himself friendly and favourable to every one that believeth. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is not to be interpreted fimply of the perfon of Chrift, but of what he did and what he fuffered in the capacity of a Mediator and Redeemer. Through him God is reconciled, and to the praise of the glory of his grace, he hath made us accepted in the Beloved; that is to fay, in Jesus, the Son of his love. The ftreams of grace iffue out to finners fince the fall, through the channel of redeeming blood. The beams of divine favour which quicken the dead finner, and which enlighten, enliven, and

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