days of Solomon, the delight of the nations, and the joy of the whole earth.

16. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

That is, the Israelites, if obedient, would still have enjoyed the sweets of that good land, in which the Lord their God had placed them, where the fruits of the earth were produced in the highest perfection, and honey streamed from the very rocks, so that no part of the country was without its increase. Upon the same conditions of faith and obedience, do Christians hold those spiritual and eternal good things, of which the pleasant fields and fertile hills of Canaan were sacramental. Christ is the "bread" of life, He is the "rock" of salvation, and his promises are as "honey" to pious minds. But they who reject Him, as their Lord and Master, must also lose Him as their Saviour and their reward.

SIXTEENTH DAY.—EVENING PRAYER.

PSALM LXXXII.

ARGUMENT.

The Psalmist addresseth himself to judges and magistrates; 1, he remindeth them of the presence of that God whom they represent, and to whom they are accountable; 2-4, he exhorteth them to the due discharge of their office; 5, reproveth the ignorance and corruption among them; 6, 7, threateneth their fall and punishment; 8, prayeth for the manifestation of Messiah, and the establishment of his righteous kingdom.

1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty: he judgeth among the gods.

Earthly judicatories are the appointment of God. All magistrates act in his name, and by virtue of

his commission. He is invisibly present in their assemblies, and superintends their proceedings. He receives appeals from their wrongful decisions; He will one day re-hear all causes at his own tribunal, and reverse every iniquitous sentence, before the great congregation of men and angels. Unjust judges must either disbelieve or forget all this. God is, in like manner, present to the heart of each individual; He is privy to the various reasonings and pleadings of grace and nature, of principle and interest, in that lesser court; and He is a witness of its determinations; which also will by Him be manifested to the world, and openly canvassed, when He sitteth in judgment.

2. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? 3. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

A charge is here given, by the Spirit of God, to all magistrates, much like that which king Jehoshaphat gave to his judges, 2 Chron. xix. 6, 7: "Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now, let the fear of the LORD be upon you, take heed, and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." It is the glory of Jehovah and his Christ, to "accept no man's person" in judgment; to regard neither the quality nor the station of the offender; but to give to every man, of whatever rank or degree in the world, according to his works. All the sons of Adam were once "poor and fatherless, needy and afflicted," when God took their cause into his own hands, and, by a method consistent with the strictest justice, "delivered them out of the hand

of the wicked one." Every oppressor of the poor is a likeness of "that wicked one," and every upright judge will endeavour to resemble the Redeemer. For this purpose he will be always willing to admit, diligent to discuss, solicitous to expedite, the cause of a poor and injured person, and to afford such an one the speediest, the cheapest, and the most effectual redress, equally contemning the offers of opulence, and the frowns of power. A judge who acts in this manner, takes the readiest way to obtain the favour of God; and the people will be sure to bless him.

5. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth, or, the land, are out of course; or, nod, or, shake.

We here find the prophet deploring, in magistrates, a method of proceeding contrary to that above described. He laments their voluntary ignorance in the ways of righteousness, and their choosing to “walk in darkness." In judges this is occasioned by "presents and gifts," which, as saith the son of Sirach, "blind the eyes of the wise:" Ecclus. xx. 29. And if once the "pillars" and "foundations" are moved from their integrity, and "shaken" to and fro by every blast of fear and favour, what shall become of the political fabric erected upon them? Verily it must fall; and great and terrible will be the fall thereof. A community, whether ecclesiastical or civil, consisteth of great numbers; but its well-being dependeth on a few, in whose hands the administration is placed. When the salt hath lost its savour, the mass must putrefy; when the light becometh darkness, how great must be that darkness!

6. I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are

children of the Most High. 7. But ye shall die like men, or, Adam, and fall like one of the princes.

It is true, then, that magistrates are exalted above other men; that they are dignified with a commission from above; appointed to be the vicegerents of Heaven upon earth; and therefore called by the name of Him in whose name they act. But it is likewise as true, that, notwithstanding all this honour conferred upon them, for the good of others, and of themselves, if they use it aright, they still continue to be the mortal sons of mortal" Adam;" like him, they must fall and perish; God can, at any time, cast them down from their high estate, as He did the heathen "princes' who misbehaved themselves, and opposed his counsels death certainly will strip them of all their authority, and lay them low in the grave; from thence the last trumpet shall call them forth, to stand, with the rest of their brethren, before the judgment-seat of Christ, there to take their trial, and receive their everlasting sentence. How necessary oftentimes is this consideration, to check the spirit of tyranny and injustice, to qualify the pride and insolence of office!

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8. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

A view of that disorder and confusion in which frequently the Jewish nation, as well as the rest of the world, was involved, caused the prophets most earnestly to wish and pray for the coming of that time when "God" should "arise," in the person of Messiah, to visit and "judge the earth;" to deliver it from the powers of darkness and the tyranny of sin; to "inherit all nations," as purchased and redeemed by Him; to establish his Church among them; and to rule with a sceptre

of righteousness, in the hearts of his people. "Arise" yet once again, O Lord Jesu, from thy throne, where thou sittest at the right hand of the Father; "judge the earth," again corrupted and overwhelmed with iniquity; do away sin, and put an end for ever to the power of Satan; "inherit all nations," redeemed from death, and ransomed from the grave; and reign to eternity, King of Righteousness, Peace, and Glory.

PSALM LXXXIII.

ARGUMENT.

In this Psalm the Church, 1-8, complaineth to God of the insolence, subtilty, rage, and malice of her enemies, united in close confederacy against her; 9-12, she prayeth for a manifestation of that power which formerly discomfited Jabin, Sisera, and the Midianites; that so the hostile nations, 13-15, made sensible of the superiority of Israel's God, 16-18, might either themselves be induced to acknowledge Him, or else, by their destruction, become a warning and admonition to others. As, while the world endureth there will be a Church, and while there is a Church she will have her enemies, who are to increase upon her as the end approacheth, this Psalm can never be out of date. And to the spiritual adversaries of his soul, every private Christian may apply it at all times.

1. Keep not thou silence, O God; hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 2. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up their head.

The Church entreateth God again and again to hear and help her in the day of trouble. Her enemies and haters are here said to be the enemies and haters of God, because Christ and the Church, like man and wife, are one; they have one common interest; they have the same friends, and the same foes. To Him therefore she applieth, terrified by the tumultuous noise of confederated nations, roaring against her like the roaring of the sea, and "lifting up their heads," as so many