Psalm 79

A prayer for the church in tribulation, commemorating God’s former favours.

1 Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel; thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth

2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. Stir up thy might, and come to save us.

3 Convert us, O God: and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved. ,

4 O LordGod of Hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy servant?

5 How long wilt thou feed us with the bread of tears: and give us for our drink tears in measure?

6 Thou hast made us to bea contradiction to our neighbours: and our enemies have » scoffed at us.

7 O God of Hosts, convert us: and show thy face, and we shall be saved.

8 Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Heypt: thou hast cast out the gentiles, and planted it.

9 Thou wast the guide of its journey in its sight: thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land.

10 The shadow of it covered the hills: and the branches thereof the cedars of God.

11 Itstretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs unto the river.

12 Why hast thou broken down the hedge thereof: so that all they who pass by the way do pluck it?

13 The boar out cf the wood hath laid it waste: and a singular. wild beast hath devoured it.

14 Turn again, O God of Hosts; look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard :

15 And perfect the same which thy right hand hath planted: and.upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself.

16 Things set on fire and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand; and upon the son of man whom thou hast confirmed for, thyself.

18 And we depart not from thee, thou shalt quicken us: and we will call upon thy name.

19 O Lord God of Hosts, convert us: and shew thy face, and we shall be saved,

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel; thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, shine forth”

The prophet commences this Psalm with a prayer to God, that he may hear him, and cast a favourable eye on his people. ‘ Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel ;” O God, who art the ruler and the guide of the people of Israel, hear the prayer I pour forth for your own people. He then repeats the first part of the prayer, leaving the second to be understood; “thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep;” O God, who leadest the descendants of Joseph as a shepherd would his flock, hear the prayer which I pour forth for your people, who are called Israel and Joseph. The reason for bis mentioning Israel and Joseph is, that the name Israel comprehended all the tribes, and the name Joseph dees the same, We can easily understand why Israel includes all the tribes,

for they were all descended from Israel; and the reason why Joseph also comprehends all the tribes is, because he fed the whole of them, and ruled over them in Egypt, and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasses, became the heads of two distinct tribes, the only instance of the like. Each of the sons of Israel became the head of a separate tribe, with the exception of Joseph, who got the privilege of founding two tribes; and, upon the death of Solomon, when his kingdom was divided into the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Juda, the first who reigned as king over the ten tribes of Israel was Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph. “ Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim shine forth.” Having asked God to hear the prayers of his people favourably, he now begs that he may turn his eyes on them, and regard them with a look of complacency. God is said to look on one when he is pleased with him, and to turn away his eyes, or to cover them with a cloud, when he is displeased: ‘‘ Thow that sittest upon the Oherubim;” O God, who sittest in heaven, above the Angels of the first rank, called Cherubim, and as a type thereof you have in your sanctuary, the mercy-seat resting on the images of the Cherubim for your throne, and where the Ark is, as it were, the footstool of your feet, attend to us.

2 * Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. Stir up thy might, and come to save us.”

Shew thy face and look with pity on us, the people of Israel. Why the three tribes just named should stand for the whole people of Israel, the reason seems to be that which we have assigned in the preceding verse, for Ephraim and Manasses, to whom he unites Benjamin here, because he was uterine brother to Joseph; and when the tribes were marshalled in array of battle, Ephraim, Manasses, and Benjamin always went together. The prophet had also, possibly, in view the fact of these three tribes being in possession of the principal parts of the land of promise. Ephraim held Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel; Benjamin had Jerusalem, the capital of the kingdom of Juda; and Manasses had the country beyond the Jordan. The reason for his placing Benjamin between the brothers, seems to be for distinction sake, he having been their uncle. “ Stir up thy might and come to save us.” He tells now, more plainly, why he asked God to direct his ears and his eyes towards them, that he may save them. “ Stir up thy miyht,” your power which looks as if it were buried, when you so allowed us to be harassed by our unjust persecutors ; ‘ come,” therefore, with your most powerful help ‘to save us.”

3 ‘ Convert us, O God: and shew us thy face, and we shall be saved.”

The reason why God often does not look upon us is, because we turn away from him, and turn to creatures; but as we cannot turn to him without his aid, the prophet asks for both for God’s people. “Convert us, O God,” inspire us with your love,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

that we may turn away from the things of this world, and turn back to you: “ and shew us thy face ;” turn your face to us, at the same time, that thus united to you by the bonds of holy charity, “ we wll be saved” from all the enemies that assail us, for when you turn your face away, we languish and perish ; when you look upon us, we revive and re~

4 * © Lord God of Hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy servant ?”

The prophet, seeing that God’s anger towards his sinning people was very great, and that he was not likely to be heard, renews his prayer with greater force, saying, Lord God of armies, who art terrible, (for such is the force of the Hebrew,) how long will you be angry, even with me who am praying to you.

5 ‘+ How long. wilt thou feed us with the bread of tears: and give us for our drink tears um measure ?”

How long will you leave us in such affliction, that we can do nothing but shed tears in abundance, which will thus seem to be the only meat and drink we have to support us ?

6 “Thou hast made us to be a contradiction to our neighbours: and our enemies have scoffed at us.”

He tells why they are overwhelmed with so much grief, and shed so many tears, because they are beset and trampled on by all their neighbours, and scoffed at and insulted when so subdued. ‘* Thou hast made us to be a contradiction to our neighbours ;” when you took your protection from us, you encouraged all our neighbours to rise up against us and to “contradict us,” not only by word of mouth, but by open assaults and violence. ‘* And our enemies have scoffed at us;” they conquered and subdued us, and then insulted and scoffed at us.

7 ‘*O God of Hosts, convert us: and shew thy face and we shall be saved.”

This verse is the same as the third, and it is repeated again in the end of the Psalm, with this difference, that we have the word ‘ of hosts;” that is, of armies here, and we have “ Lord G'od,” in the last verse, instead of ‘ God” here. Such repetition indicates the principal object of the Psalm. And as nothing more valuable can be asked of God than “ to turn us to him, and turn himself to us,” such grace is the source of all good. The addition of one word in the first, and twoin the second repetition, expresses the increase and the earnestness of his prayer as he advances in it. ’

8 ‘* Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt : thou hast cast out the gentiles, and planted it.”

In order to succeed in his prayers, he falls back upon God’s favours to the Jews, whom he had delivered from the bondage of Egypt, and introduced into the lands of the Chananeans, making use of the figure of the vine, as was afterwards adopted by Isaias and Ezechiel, and even by the Saviour himself. The application is most appropriate, for many reasons, but mainly because the vine will either pro-

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS,

duce fine and well-flavoured fruit, and then it is most valued by its owner, and tended with the greatest care, or it will be barren and unproductive, in which case it will be:thrown into the fire. Such will be the case with every one of us; if we shall have the fruit of good works to produce, we shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, if we lack them we shall be sent into hell fire. “ Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt; you brought your people like a vine from the barren land of Egypt, and planted them in the rich land of Palestine. And as that beautiful land was previously occupied by wild and useless vines, ‘‘ you cast them out,” and ‘ planted” your own vine in their stead.

9 “ Thou wast the guide of its journey in its sight : thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land.”

• That we may understand clearly what the prophet says here about this vine, meaning man, he uses indiscriminately plain and figurative language. ‘‘ Thou wast the guide of its journey in tts sight;’? when you were bringing that vine of yours from Egypt to Palestine, and the vine, as being endowed with reason, was on its journey, you were its guide, preceding it by day as a pillar of cloud, and by night as a pillar of fire. God was, in a moral sense also, the guide of bis vineyard, of his people on their journey to the land of promise, when he gave them the law. “Thou plantedst the roots thereof, and it filled the land;” you established your people in the land of promise, and so propagated them, that the whole country became replete with inhabitants.

10 “* The shadow of it covered the hills: and the branches thereof the cedars of God.

11 “ It stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs unto the river.”

He now describes the increase and propagation of the people of Israel as to length and breadth ; that is, as to glory and numbers, mixing up much high flown language with his metaphors. “ Zhe shadow of tt covered the hills.” This vine grew to such an enormous height, that it rose above the mountains and overshadowed them, nay, even to such a height did it rise, that its branches rose higher than the cedars of Libanus, the highest trees in the world, and standing on one of its highest mountains. Such height was typical of the power and glory of the kingdom of Israel, that it exceeded the power and glory of manykingdoms. For Israel subdued the Amorvheans, in the time of Moses, and under Josue they conquered thirty-one kings, and under David they subdued the Philistines, the Idumeans, and the Moabites. He now describes the propagation of the kingdom, saying, “ It stretched forth its branches unto the sca, and its boughs unto the river.” Israel was so extended and propagated as to fill the land of promise, from the west to the Mediterranean, and from the east to the great river Euphrates; and thus- was God’s promise, Deut. xi., fulfilled. “ Hrom the great

river Euphrates, unto the western sea, shall be your borders.” |

12 “ Why hast thou broken down the hedge thereof: 80 that all they who pass by the way do pluck it 2”

Having described the greatness and the excellence of the Jewish people, under the figure of a vine, help - ing up the same idea, he now deplores the miserable state of the people, by reason of God’s anger. “Why hast thou broken down the Sence thereof?” why have you withdrawn your protection, which was like a fence round about it ? “so that all thy who pass by the way do pluck it?” why do you allow all the enemies of your people to conquer her and plunder her, as people do a vineyard when the fences are ail levelled? More than once were the Israelites persecuted and plundered by the Philistines, and the Madianites, when God, provoked by their sins, was pleased to abandon them.

13 “ The boar out of the wood hath laid it waste: and a singular wild beast hath devoured it.”

Following up the metaphor of the vine, he now dep'ores, in particular, the severe captivity inflicted on them by the kings of the Assyrians, whether it was Salmanasar, who carried away ten whole tribes captives, or Nabuchodonosor, who carried off the remaining two tribes captives, having totally demolished the city, burned the temple, and dethroned the king; and this latter king be calls “ the boar out of the wood,” and “a singular wild beast,” who not only levelled the fences, but thoroughly rooted out the vine. .

14 “ Turn again, O God of Hosts ; look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard :?

He now, by way of a prayer, foretells the coming of Christ, who made up the breaches in the hedge, and gave the vineyard to be managed by other hands, as we read in Mat. xxi., “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen;” which he at once

-explains. more clearly in the following verses, where

he says, “ The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof.” For the Church of the Old Tes-’ tament, which was at one time God’s vineyard, was never thoroughly destroyed, but it was reformed, The Apostles, the first fruits of the Church, be-' longed to Israel, and so did the many thousands who were converted by the preaching of Peter; and St. Paul, Rom. xi., clearly proves the gentiles to be “the branches ingrafted into the good olive tree,” that is, the Church originally formed of the Jews.’ . He therefore says, “ God of hosts,” who hast many thousands of Angels, nay, even all created things, serving thee, and art, therefore, all-powerful, “turn again,” in your mercy, to your vineyard, your people, for whom you have so long entertained a just and deserved hatred; ‘look down from heaven and sec ,”. when you shail have retired far from your vineyard, deign, at least, to look down from your throne: in heaven, “‘ and see” how disfigured your vineyrad has

been by the wild boar; “ and visit this vineyard ;” come and make a personal inspection of this vineyard. When he did so, Zacharias said, “ He hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people ;” and Christ himself, when he wept over Jerusalem, and foretold its destruction, attributed it to, ** because thow hast not known the time of thy visitation.”

15 “And perfect the same which thy right hand hath planted : and upon the Son of man whom thow hast conconfirmed for thyself.”

He now foretells the coming of the Messias more clearly. “And perfect the same which thy right hand hotn planted.” Finish the work you began. Rxform ihe Church of the Old Testament, now nearly defunct, and give a better one in its stead; as it was you that originally founded it, and planted it as a vineyard, not to perish, but to yield fruit ; “* and upon the Son of man;” look down also upon the Son of man, who is thy Son also, the Messias, ** whom thou hast confirmed for thyself,” as the principal husbandman in charge of your vineyard, as the head and guide of your Church. All agree that this passage refers literally to Christ, because, after the Babylonish captivity, the Jewish people never recovered their former position ; and, therefore, the vineyard was never made perfect, as regards them; and it was only under Christ, as its Saviour and its Lord, that it could have been said to have been made perfect.

16 “ Things set on fire and dug down shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.”

He now explains the effects likely to follow from the coming of the Messias, namely, that the vineyard of the Lord, though burned down and rooted up, shall flourish and grow up again; for one rebuke from him will stop the devastation of the vineyard ; just as when he rebuked the storm there was an immediate calm ; and, when he commanded death and disease, they immediately disappeared, and were succeeded by life and health,

17 ‘' Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand ; and upon the Son of man whom thou hast confirmed for thyself.”

Certain of the coming of the Messias, he prays all manner of blessings on him. “ Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand;” may your hand be extended to protect at all times, and in all places, the man of your right hand, the man who was formed by your right hand alone, without any co-operation on the part of man; for that Christ was so formed is certain, as we read in Lukei., ‘ The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee;? and the same Christ was placed over the Church, not by the choice of man, but by the decree of God. ‘But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain.”

18 ‘And we depart not from thee, thou shalt quicken us; and we will call upon thy name.”

While Christ is our ruler, “we depart not from

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS,

thee ;” because Christ’s kfngdom will last for ever, and the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church. ‘ Thou shalt quicken us’ with the life of grace here on earth, and of glory hereafter in heaven; “and we will call upon thy name ;” offering : our tribute of invocation, praise, and thanks for ever, 19 “ O Lord God of Hosts, convert us: and shew thy face, and we shall be saved,” See verse 7. cred

PSALM LXXX., An invitation to a solemn praising of God.

1 Rejoice to God our helper: sing aloud to the God of Jacob.

2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel: the pleasant psaltery with the harp.

3 Blow up the trumpet on the new moon, on the noted day of your solemnity.

4 For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judgment to the God of Jacob.

5 He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt; he’ heard a tongue which he knew not.

6 Heremoved his back from the burdens: his hands had served in baskets.

7 Thou calledst upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee: I heard thee in the secret place of tempest: I proved thee at the waters of contradiction.

8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me,

9 There shall be no new god in thee: neither shalt thou adore a strange god.

10 For I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 But my people heard not my voice: and Israel hearkened not to me.

12 So Ilet them go according to the desires of their heart: they shall walk in their own inventions.

13 If my people had heard me; if Israel had walked in my ways:

14 I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on them that troubled them,

15 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him; and their time shall be for ever.

{6 And he fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with honey out of the rock.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ Rejoice to God our helper : sing aloud to the God of Jacob.” :

COMMENTARY

The prophet exhorts us,*when we praise God, that We should do it with great interior joy ; “for God loveth @ cheerful giver ;” and if he loves the one who gives cheerfully, much more does he love him who _ praises cheerfally. Cheerfulness comes from love and from desire; and, therefore, he who sings moodily, and who looks upon the divine office as an intolerable burden, rather than a sweet canticle, gives to understand that he has very little affection for him whose praises he chants. ‘ Rejoice to God our helper.” Praise God in great exultation, for it is he who can help us on all occasions. ‘‘ Sing aloud to the God of Jacob;” give your mind to it, and sing his praises with a loud voice.

2 “* Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel: the pleasant psaltery with the harp.

3 ‘‘ Blow up the trumpet on the new mvon, on the noted day of your solemnity.”

He tells them when they are especially to sing their hymns of praise, at the time of new moon ; for then the Jews began the month, and held their festivals. “On the noted day of your solemnity,” which some will have to be the new moon of September, the most solemn feast of the Jews, while others will have it to be the first of each month; but it matters little which, as the sense is the same.

4 “ For it is a commandment in Israel, and a judgment to the God of Jacob.

5 “ He ordained tt for a testimony in Joseph, when

he came out of the land of Egypt; he heurd a tongue which he knew not.”

He assigus a reason for singing with such joy, and bringing in the aid of musical instruments; and that is, because God himself commanded it, when he brought the peopleout of Egypt. For God, who needs nothing, still wishes for such tribute of praise, aud that we should keep up the memory of his benefits. ** For it ts a command in Israel.” We must sing and play on musical instruments, as a mark of joy and thanksgiving, because it has been commanded by God, and the commandment is kept in Israel by God’s people, who are so called from their parent Israel. “ And a judgment to the God of Jacob;’ a repetition of the same idea, for judgment and commandment, and Israel and Jacob, are frequently used in the Scriptares, to express the same idea. He ordained it for a testimony in Joseph, ‘‘ when he eame out of the land of Egypt; another repetition, testimony, commandment, and judgment, signifying the same thing, as is also the case with Israel, Jacob, and Joseph. “ He heard a tongue which he knew not ;” for, up to the delivery of the commandments on mount Sinai, the people never heard the voice of God speaking to them.

6 “ He removed his back from the burdens : his hands had served in baskets.”

Another favour conferred by God on the Jews in their departure from Egypt. They had been compelled by the Egyptians to the severest labour, in

ON THE PSALMS. QA7 making and burning brick ; that was “removed from their backs,” they were no longer obliged to bear the heavy loads they had been subjected to in brickmaking. “ His hands had served in baskets,” fetching the clay, from which slavery God delivered them.

7 ‘‘ Thou calledst upon me in affliction, and I delivered thee: I heard thee in the secret place of tempest : I proved thee at the waters of contradiction.”

From this verse to the end, God alternately puts before them his own kindness and their ingratitude. “ Thou calledst on me in affliction; and I delivered thee;” when you were labouring under most grievous persecutions in Egypt you called upon me, and I heard you, and I delivered you from such slavery, and brought you out of the country. ‘ J heard thee in the secret place of tempest.” I heard you, not only when you dreaded Pharao’s anger, but also when you dreaded the tempests and plagues you saw inflicted on the Egyptians, for then I put you in a secret place, and protected you, so that the plagues did not harm you. Others will apply it to the invisible protection afforded by God im their passage through the Red Sea, and afierwards in the desert. “ F proved thee at the waters of contradiction.” After such great favours I tried you,.in order to prove your patience and fidelity, by depriving you of water, and I found you impatient and unfaithful, see Num. xvii. and xx., where God deprived them of water for a short time, and, when they murmured and became seditious, brought an abundance of it: from the rock forthem. The place was called “ The waters of contradiction,” the people having rebelled against Moses, and contradicted him there.

8 “ Hear, O my people, and Iwill testify to thee : O Israel, if thow wilt hearken to me,

9 * There shall be no new god tr thee : neither shalt thou adore a strange god.

10 ‘* For F am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I ewall fill vt.”

The prophet, speaking in the person of God, relates what fair conditions he offered, and what ample promises he made his people, if they would adhere to their promises, from which we can judge of the unspeakable goodness of God. “* Hear,” you Jews, who are “my peop’e,” and I will tell you plainly, “ Iwill testify to thee” what I require of you, and what I will give you in return, This much I 'require of you, and beyond and above all things command, “ There shall be no new god in thee,” no god who was not worshipped by your fathers. ‘“ Neither shalt thow adore a strange god;” a repetition of the same thing. ‘ For I am the Lord God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” No better reason could be assigned for the Jewish people not worshipping strange gods, for it was he who redeemed them from captivity, and transferred them from.the bondage of Pharao, to be his own servants. A consideration that should weigh much more powerfully with Christians, aud attach them to that God who deli-

vered them from the slavery of the devil, and brought them into the kingdom of his beloved Son. “ Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.” A most ample promise, on the part of God, to those who serve him. “ Open your mouth” as wide as you can, and the jaws of your desires, and I will-satisfy the cravings of your hunger with most delicious food. God alone could make such promise, for nothing created ean satisfy the cravings of man’s heart. The sight and enjoyment of God, who is the infinite good, and comprehends all good, can thoroughly satisfy us.

11 ‘* But my people heard not my voice: and Israel hearkened not to me.”

God now complains of the ingratitude of his people, in not accepting such favourable offers. And how truly wonderful is it not, that slaves in this world will fawn to such an extent upon their masters, and think it great condescension on his part to speak to them, or even to look upon them; and yet, Israel, dust and ashes, will not condescend to hear or to attend to the Lord of lords ? How truly, then, he said, in Luke xvi., “‘ For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.”

12 “So I let them go according to the desires of their,

heart: they shall walk in their own inventions.”

A dreadful, but most just, scourge is here held out by ‘God, to those who despise him ; and that is, that ‘sin shall ‘be the punishment of sin to them; that means, they will be suffered continually to lapse into greater sins, until they shall have, at length, come to the lowest depths of misery, of which the Aposile thus speaks, Rom. i., * Wherefore, God gave them up to the desires of their hearts ;” and immiediately after he adds, ‘ For this cause God delivered them up to shameful affections;” and again, “ God delivered them up to a reprobate sense to do those things which are not convenent.” This is the hardness of heart, of which Kceli., chap. vii., speaks, “ Consider the works of Giod, that no man can correct whom he hath despised.” —‘ So I let them go according to the desires of their own hearts.” I let them walk aud work, in accordance with their own concupiscences ; gave them no discipline, as I would to a child; but, as strangers, I allowed them to tumble down the precipice and be destroyed. * hey shall walk in their own inventions.” They will not follow the paths of their fathers, nor the straight ways of my law, but they will follow whatever their own inventions or human curiosity may suggest, in the worship of false gods, and will thus fall into all the vices that disgrace human nature, when they are not directed by God’s light, supported by his hand, or assisted by his efficacious grace.

_ 18 “ If my people had heard me ; if Israel had walked in my ways :

14 “TI should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand on them that troubled them,”

To shew the abundance of the innate mercy of Go, he returns now to the promises he made them,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

which, in the Hebrew, are accompanied by a wish, as if he said, Oh, that my people had heard me; for truly God is “ the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation.” Had they heard me, I would have humbled and cast down all those that now afflict her, in such a way that they would never be able to ° raise their heads again.

15 ‘ The enemies of the Lord have lied to him: and their time shall be for ever.”

The prophet speaks here, and confirms what God had asserted, “* But my people heard not my voice.” By his enemies he means the Jews, who from children became enemies, especially when they denied, in presence of Pilate, that Christ was their King ; on which Daniel distinctly says, chap. ix., “‘ And the people that shall deny him shall not be his.” —** The enemies of the Lord (the rebellious, incredulous Jews) have lied to him;” for they promised, at the foot of mount Sinai, that they would carry, out all his commands; for “the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken,” Exod, xxiv. ; and yet they did not do one of them; “ and their time shall be for ever;” their punishment will be everlasting, for the fire of hell will never be extinguished.

16 “And he fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with honey out of the rock.” I

Behold the great ingratitude of the Jews, who had received so many favours from God, and still have lied to him.” These words may have reference to the manna that rained down to them in the desert, and the water that gushed from the rock; for that food might have been properly called “the fat of wheat ;” because it was the bread of Angels, as it is called in Psalm Ixxvii.; and it had, as we read in Wisdom xvi., ““ The sweetness of every taste ;” the honey out of the rock may have been the water, which, to the thirsty Hebrews, was then sweeter than any honey. ‘The whole verse may refer to the land of promise, which, though rocky and mountainous, still abounded in wheat, wine, and oil; so Moses writes, Deut. xxxii,, “ He sat him upon the high land, that he might eat the fruits of the fields, that he might suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the hardest stone.” The fat of wheat and the honey out of the rock are, however, in much more esteem with Christians, who have, under the appearance of bread, the body of the Redeemer, and the honey of heavenly wisdom from the rock, no other than the same Christ; and yet, how many, after renouncing the dévil, his works, and his pomps in baptism, prove false to God, by returning to those very things they renounced ; and, after partaking of bread from heaven, and honey from the rock, return, like unclean dogs, to their vomit. They ought to fear the eternity of the punishment in store for them, of the fire that will never be extinguished, of the worm that will never die.