With awful joy I view this frame of mine, v. 17. From the wonders of God's form ing hand, the Psalmist proceeds to those of his alldirecting Providence, which afford additional proofs of the divine omniscience and omnipresence. v. 23. In the first verse of the Psalm, David declared that Jehovah had "searched him out, and known him;" he concludes with a petition, that his proceedings, and even his thoughts, might be still scrutinized by his Maker, in order to their perfect purification, from any evil which might be in them, or adhere to them. Should the hottest furnace of adversity be found necessary to purge the dross from the silver, he refuseth not to be dissolved in it, so that he might only become a vessel of honour, fitted for the master's use here below, and vouchsafed a place afterwards in his temple above. "See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" Ps. cxxxviii. p. 107. David's confidence in God. Matt. ix. 24. "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth." In respect of me and of my divine power this death is but as sleep, I will revive this maiden with my mere word as if she were but asleep, Acts xx. 10. Diodati. v. 7. Who doth not "walk in the midst of trouble," while his pilgrimage is prolonged upon earth? Who hath not "enemies" encompassing him on every side? O how comfortable, then, the reflection that he is with us, who can "revive" the dead; that we are under the protection of an "arm," which is almighty! v. 8. In troublous times, and the days of affliction, we must look back on that which God hath already done for us, and from thence draw an argument, that he will "perfect that which" remains, and not leave his work unfinished: we must remember that his mercies fail not, after a time, but "endure for ever" the same; and when we call to mind, that we are the work of his own hands," how can we 66 think he will "forsake us," unless we utterly and finally forsake him? Ps. civ. p. 107. God's glory is eternal. v. 22, 23. And who, O divine Psalmist, will not sing with thee, that hath an understanding to apprehend, and a tongue to celebrate, the works of his Maker and Redeemer! To whom will not thy heavenly meditation be sweet as honey, fragrant as the breath of spring, pleasant and cheering as the fruit of the vine? Who doth not long to partake of thy spiritual joy and holy gladness ?-"Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord." v. 24. The "sinners," and the "wicked," are they of whom it is elsewhere said, that they "consider not the works of Jehovah, nor regard the operations of his hand,” to give him praise and glory for them. These shall one day experience the power of that God, whose wisdom and goodness they would never acknowledge. They shall be "consumed," and 66 perish from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Ps. xxxix. p. 108. The consideration of the brevity and vanity of life. v. 12. The Christian pilgrim's prayer. This Psalm is with the utmost propriety appointed by the church to be used at the burial of the dead, as a funeral is indeed the best comment upon it. v. 5. The age of man, or that of the world, is but a span in dimension, a moment in duration; nay, it is less than both; it is "nothing," if compared with the unmeasurable extent, and the unnumbered days, of eternity: every hour, from that of our birth, brings us so much nearer to our death; nor can we continue, for a second of time, in one stay. 66 . Behold," then, O Lord, the "vanity” of man; and be so merciful unto him, as to open his eyes, that he may behold it, himself! v. 6. This world is, to the other, as a "shadow" to the substance; nay, temporal life, health, riches, honours, and pleasures, can hardly be called shadows of those which are eternal, in point of resemblance; though, for their illusive and fleeting nature, they are shadows indeed. The fate of riches heaped up by misers, with unutterable care and anxiety, may convince us, how "vainly" men are disquieted. v. 7. The soul, that hath a true sense of the vanity of the creature, will at once fix her thoughts and affections on the Creator. A celebrated writer, describing a man of the world, on his death-bed, hath expressed this sentiment, with wonderful sublimity and elegance "Whoever would know how much piety and virtue surpass all eternal goods, might here have seen them weighed against each other, where all that gives motion to the active, and elevation to the eminent; all that sparkles in the eye of hope, and pants in the bosom of suspicion, at once became dust in the balance, without weight, and without regard. Riches, authority, and praise, lose all their influence, when they are considered as riches, which to-morrow shall be bestowed upon another: authority, which shall this night expire for ever; and praise, which, however merited, or however sincere, shall, after a few moments, be heard no more.' v. 12. Meditation should terminate in devotion; and meditation on human vanity and misery, if indulged as it deserves to be, certainly will do so; it will bring us to our "prayers," our "cries," and our "tears;" and teach us to address the throne of grace, as poor pilgrims in a strange land, who have here no abiding city, but are soon to strike our tents and be gone for ever. Such was David, though king of Israel; and such was the son of David, in the body of his flesh, though Lord of all things: both were 66 strangers and sojourners, as all their fathers," Abra * Rambler, Vol. II. No. liv. ham, Isaac, and Jacob, were before them, and as all their children have been, and shall be, after them, upon the earth. v. 13. Most fervently and affectionately, therefore, ought the Christian pilgrim to pray, that God would spare his life, and respite the fatal sentence, until all that hath been decayed through the frailty of nature, be renewed by the power of grace; that his perfect reconciliation with the Almighty may be accomplished, and his plenary pardon sealed in heaven, before he taketh his last farewell of the world, and ceaseth to have an existence in these regions of vanity and sorrow. Ps. cxlv. p. 109. David praiseth God for his glory, and his justice. his kingdom. mercy. v. 8. His mercy, and the majesty of p. 110. His providence, and saving v. 20. He voweth perpetual praises. v. 8. Mercy hath misery for its object, and is that attribute, towards which the eyes of a fallen world must naturally be turned. The Psalmist hath, accordingly, introduced her last, with great pomp and splendour, seated in her triumphal chariot, and invested with a supremacy over all the works of God. She is above the heavens, and over all the earth, so that the whole creation findeth that refuge under the shadow of her wings, |