5. Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite: Heb. of his understanding there is no number, or, computation;

.אין מספר

This is a proper conclusion drawn from the former part of the Psalm, and especially from the preceding verse. The greatness of God's power, which overcometh all difficulties to effect the salvation of his people, is not to be grasped by the human mind; and that wisdom which numbers the stars of heaven, and the sand of the sea, and the generations of the sons of Abraham, can itself be subject to the rules of no arithmetic.

6. The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

To exalt and reward the humble, penitent, believing, and obedient; to depress and punish the proud, impenitent, unbelieving, and disobedient; these are the measures and ends of all the Divine dispensations. And as a man ranks himself in one or other of these two divisions, he may expect from Heaven storm or sunshine, mercy or judgment.

7. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God. 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

The faithful praise God for his goodness to the animal world, both on account of that goodness in itself, and also because they behold therein an emblem and assurance of his mercy to themselves. The watchful care of Providence over all creatures speaks the same language to us, which Jehovah made use of to Joshua, and which the Apostle hath applied to Christians: "I will never

leave thee, nor forsake thee:" Josh. i. 5; Heb. xiii. 5. He who, by sending rain on the mountains, which could not otherwise be watered, provideth food for the wild beasts inhabiting those mountains, will never leave the lambs of his flock destitute. And He who feedeth the young of the unclean raven when they cry, and, as it were, in their way call upon Him for a supply of their wants, will He, in the day of dearth and calamity, forsake the meek and harmless dove, that mourneth continually in prayer before Him? The desponding servant of God need only therefore put to himself the question which we find asked by the Creator, in the book of Job, chap. xxxviii. 41: "Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat they wander and find it. Our Lord pressed this argument on his disciples; Luke xii. 24. "Consider the ravens ;" Matt. vi. 26. "Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

Behold, and look away your low despair;
See the light tenants of the barren air:
To them, nor stores, nor granaries belong,
Nought but the woodland, and the pleasing song;
Yet, your kind heavenly Father bends his eye
On the least wing that flits along the sky.

To Him they sing, when spring renews the plain,"
To Him they cry, in winter's pinching reign;
Nor is their music, nor their plaint in vain :
He hears the gay, and the distressful call,
And with unsparing bounty fills them all.
Will He not care for you, ye faithless, say?

Is He unwise? Or, are ye less than they?-THOMSON.

10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

11.

The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

If, therefore, the inference deduced above be a just one, namely, that God, who takes care of the wild beasts, and the birds of the air, will support and defend his Church; then, however weak she may be, and however strong her adversaries may be, yet she may rest secure, as having Him on her side, to whom it is equal to save by many or by few; who giveth not the victory to the pomp and pride of carnal strength, to thousands, or ten thousands, but to "those who fear him, and hope in his mercy." The history of Israel is one continual exemplification of this truth; and in our spiritual warfare, "this is the victory which overcometh the world, even our FAITH.” 1 John v. 4.

12. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. 13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates: he hath blessed thy children within thee. 14. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

The Church, like Jerusalem of old, erected and preserved by the wisdom, and power, and goodness of God, is exhorted to praise Him for all the benefits and blessings vouchsafed unto her; for the increase of "her children within her;" for the "peace" which she at any time enjoyeth "in her borders," while she is here below; for the plentiful provision made by her pastors, to satisfy the needs of those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness;" and for the protection of the Almighty, "strengthening the bars of her gates," and securing to her the possession of all these comforts; which, in the heavenly Jerusalem, shall be rendered perfect and indefeasible for

evermore.

15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth his word runneth very swiftly. 16. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. 17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? 18. He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

The wonders of nature represent to us the miracles of grace, and the change of seasons produceth not greater alterations in the world, than those which take place in the Church, when her God hideth from her, or restoreth to her, the light of his countenance, which, like its emblem, the bright ruler in the heavens, at its departure leaves winter behind it; and brings the spring with it at its return. "The sun," says Bishop Sherlock, "is the great spirit of the world, in the light of which all things are made to rejoice; perpetual spring attends his course; all things revive at his approach, and put on a new face of youth and beauty; winter and frost lag behind him; nature grows deformed, and sickens at his departure." Discourses, vol. v. What the sun is to the world, the same is Christ to the Church. When the heart of man turns away from Him, and deprives itself of his gracious illumination; when ignorance succeeds to knowledge, that is, darkness to light; when faith fails, and all its fair productions wither away; when "the love of many is waxen cold,” and the fertilizing streams of charity are frozen to the bottom on the other hand, when God "sendeth out his WORD, and melteth them;" when He "bloweth with his SPIRIT, and," by these genial influences from above, "the waters are made "to flow;" when faith revives, and shoots into vigour, and beauty, and fruitfulness; and when the hearts of men are warmed, as well as their understandings

illuminated; what is all this, but a winter, and a spring, like those which, in their turns, annually deform and renew the face of the earth, at the "word and command of God," in either case, running swiftly," and operating efficaciously?

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19. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

That "word," the effects of which upon the spiritual system are similar to those experienced by nature in the vernal season, that "word was showed unto Jacob," and became the property of "Israel," while Israel continued to be the Church of God. It hath since been made over, with all its types realized, and its prophecies accomplished in Jesus, to the Church Christian; it is that peculiar blessing, which distinguishes her from the rest of the world, and for which her children are bound, at all times, to "praise the LORD."

PSALM CXLVIII.

ARGUMENT.

All the creatures in the invisible and visible world are called upon by the Psalmist to upite in a grand chorus of praise and thanksgiving. The various parts are to be performed by, 1, 2, the angelic hosts; 3-6, the material heavens, and the luminaries placed in them; 7, the ocean, with its inhabitants; 8, the meteors of the air; 9, 10, the earth, as divided into hills and valleys, with the vegetables that grow out of it, and the animals that move upon, or about it; 11-13, the human race of every degree, of each sex, and of every age; 14, more especially the Israel, or Church of God.

1. Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. 2. Praise ye him, all ye angels; praise ye him, all his hosts.

When St. John saw in vision the King of glory seated on his throne, he tells us that he heard all