seeth the distresses, heareth and answereth the prayers, accepteth the offerings, cometh to the assistance, and effecteth the salvation of his servants; they are blind, deaf, and dumb, senseless, motionless, and impotent. Equally slow to hear, equally impotent to save in time of greatest need, will every worldly idol prove, on which men have set their affections, and to which they have, in effect, said, "Thou art my God."

8. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

Idolaters, like the objects of their worship, are rather lifeless images than real men. What our Lord said of the Jews, is applicable to them, and indeed to all who reject the knowledge of the true God, and the doctrines of salvation: " Having eyes they see not, having ears they hear not. They see not the things which belong unto their peace: they hear not the word of instruction and exhortation; they speak not of religion and the kingdom of heaven; they work not the works of piety and charity; they walk not in the path of the Divine commandments; they are spiritually blind, deaf, dumb, lame, and impotent: and when their idols are destroyed, they will perish in like

manner.

9. O Israel, trust thou in the LORD; he is their help and their shield. 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; he is their help and their shield. 11. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.

Let the men of the world make to themselves gods, and vainly trust in the work of their own hands or heads; but let the Church repose all her confidence in Jehovah, her Saviour and Redeemer, who alone can be her defender and protector; more especially let her ministers, the sons of the

true Aaron, do this, who are the peculiar portion of their God, employed continually in his service, and designed to build up others in faith and hope; and let all who have been instructed, by their ministry, in the fear of the Lord, trust always in Him, nor suffer any apprehension of danger or distress to separate them from Him.

12. The LORD hath been, or, is, mindful of us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron. 13. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15. Ye are blessed of the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

The heart of the Psalmist is full of "blessing," and on his tongue is the word of kindness and comfort. The "blessings" formerly confined to Israel, have since been extended to the whole race of mankind. Jehovah, ever "mindful" of his creatures, hath visited the world by his Son and by his Spirit; He hath formed a Church from among the Gentiles, appointed a priesthood and ministry in it, and given his benediction to both; He hath "blessed," with the blessings of grace, "them that fear him," of all nations, and of every degree; He hath "increased" and multiplied his people exceedingly; and the faithful members of the Christian Church are now "the blessed of Jehovah, who made heaven and earth," and who is, consequently, possessed of all power in both.

16. The heaven, even the heavens, or, the heavens of heavens, are the LORD's; but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17. The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 18. But we will bless the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.

He who Himself dwelleth in the highest heavens,

where He is praised and glorified by angels, hath "given the earth" for an habitation, at present, "to the sons of men," whose duty it is to praise and glorify Him here below, as the angels do above. Now as "the dead cannot praise him," as they who sleep in the silent grave cannot celebrate Him, we may be certain, that He will not suffer his people to be destroyed and extirpated, but will always preserve a Church to "bless him" in all ages, till the end of the world; when the dead shall be raised, and the choirs of heaven and earth shall be united, to praise and glorify Him together before his throne for evermore.

TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.-MORNING

PRAYER.

PSALM CXVI.

ARGUMENT.

It is not certain by whom, or upon what occasion, this Psalm was composed. It plainly appears, however, to be a song of thanksgiving for deliverance from trouble, either temporal, or spiritual, or both. To render it of general use, let it be considered as an evangelical hymn, in the mouth of a penitent, expressing his gratitude for salvation from sin and death. 1, 2, He declareth his love of God, who hath vouchsafed to hear his prayer; 3-9, describeth his distress, his deliverance out of it, and subsequent peace and comfort; 10, 11, he acknowledgeth himself to have been tempted to despond, but was supported by faith, in the day of trouble; 12-19, he determineth to receive the cup of salvation, to praise and to serve Jehovah, who thus delivereth the souls of his people.

1. I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice, and my supplications. 2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

In the original it is, "I love', because Jehovah

1 Some critics prefer our old version,-" I am well pleased."

hath heard," &c. The soul, transported with gratitude and love, seems at first to express her affection without declaring its object, as thinking that all the world must know who is the person intended. Thus Mary Magdalen, in her conversation at the sepulchre, with one whom she supposed to have been the gardener, though no previous mention had been made of Jesus, saith, "Sir, if thou have borne HIM hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away:" John xx. 15. And ought not the love of God to be excited in all our hearts by the consideration that, when we were not able to raise ourselves up to Him, He mercifully and tenderly "inclined" and bowed down "his ear" to us; He "heard our supplications," and descended from heaven to help and deliver us? With hope, therefore, and confidence should we "call upon him," in all our troubles, "as long as we live."

3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow. 4. Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver

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my

soul.

These " sorrows, or "bands of death," once 'compassed" the human race; these "pains of hell" were ready to seize on every son of Adam. The awakened and terrified conscience of a sinner hath felt the oppression of the former, and experienced some foretaste of the latter. In this situation he is described by St. Paul as crying out, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Let him take the course which the Psalmist took; let him "call upon the name of the Lord," even the Lord Jesus, who put Himself in the sinner's place, and suffered for Him unspeakable "sorrows and pains;" let him do this, and he shall be saved; and shall sing

the praises of his almighty Saviour, in the words of this beautiful Psalm.

5. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous: yea, our God is merciful. 6. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.

In the salvation of a sinner we contemplate God's "grace," by which the work is effected; his "righteousness," which causeth Him to perform what He hath promised through Christ; his mercy," which induced Him to send his Son, and to make the promise. This mercy is the mercy of a parent, and such as a parent showeth to those young and "simple" ones, who have been over-reached and deceived by a crafty adversary; to those who fall, and are unable of themselves to rise again: “I was brought low, and he helped me."

7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. 8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

That peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which the penitent experienceth, as the effect and fruit of pardon, afford him some idea of the rest and felicity of heaven; and, accordingly, he speaks as one translated to those happy mansions, where there is no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, because there is no more sin. A Christian, delivered out of the miseries of this troublesome world, and at rest in Abraham's bosom, would express himself, as one should think, in these very terms. Remission of sins ought to be followed by newness of life, and the resolution of him whose "soul" hath been "delivered from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet from falling," should always be this, "I will walk before