Psalm 142

Psalm 143

The prophet praiseth God, and prayeth to be delivered Srom his enemies. No worldly happiness is to be compared with that of serving God.

1 Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.

2 My mercy, and my refuge; my support, and my deliverer; my protector, and I have hoped in him; who subdueth my people under me.

3 Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the Son of man, that thou makest account of him?

4 Manis like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow,

5 Lord, bow down thy heavens, and descend: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

6 Send forth lightning, and thou shalt’ scatter them: shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.

7 Put forth thy hand from on high; take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children:

8 Whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.

9 To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery, and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee:

10 Who givest salvation to kings: who hast redeemed thy servant David from the malicious sword:

11 Deliver me, and rescue me out of the hand of strange children; whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity:

12 Whose sons are as new plants in their youth: their daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple:

13 Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth:

14 Their oxen fat. There is no breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.

15 They have called the people happy, that;hath these things: bué happy is that people whose God is the Lord.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.”

The prophet praises God, and returns him thanks for the singular favour conferred on him, in enabling him to conquer the giant Goliah, the source of all his glory. “Who teacheth my hands to fight.” He uses theword ‘‘teacheth,” instead of strengtheneth, because the victory was owing more to skill than to strength ; for, as we read in 1 Kings xvii, “* David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone.” It certainly required no small amount of skill to let a stone fly from a sling so as to hit an adversary in one particular vital spot, on such an occasion ; which, however, the prophet, in his wisdom, does not attribute to his own science, skill, or coolness, but entirely to the gift of God. In like manner, we need art rather than strength in the spiritual contests we have daily to maintain with the devil ; and Christ himself, of whom David was the type, couquered the devil more by his wisdom than by his power. It was by his patience and his humility that he laid his proud and crucl enemy prostrate; and, there-

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fore, the prophet, instead of saying, ‘* Who armeth my hands,” says, “* Who teacheth my hands,” which he repeats when he says, “ and my fingers to war.”

2 ‘* My mercy, and my refuge ; my support, and my deliverer ; my protector, and I have hoped in him; who subdueth my people under me.”

In five expressions the prophet tells the order in which God helped: him to the victory, and in which he will help us too, if we put our entire confidence in him. First, God in his mercy looked upon David ;

for God’s mercy is the primary source of all our bless- —

ings, and precedes all merit whatsoever; and he, therefore, places “my mercy’ first. thus called and taken by the hand through God’s mercy, he looked towards him, and through hope and prayer fled to him, and thus God became “ my re- Suge.” Thirdly, God did not despise him, when he thus made him his refuge, but reached out his hand to him to protect and assist him, and he, therefore, adds, ‘‘ my support.” Fourthly, he delivered him, after having thus supported him, from captivity and from the imminent danger of death, and thus, he became “ his deliverer.” Fiually, after having so delivered him, he protected, and continued to protect him as long as the fight lasted, lest he may be wounded or made captive, and he therefore styles him “ my protector,” and he adds, “ and I have hoped in him who subdueth my people under me,” as much as to say, God surely is my mercy, my refuge, my support, my deliverer, my protector, having done more for me than I could have ever hoped for or dreamed of, and I therefore, will put my whole hope and confidence in him, inasmuch as he not only saved me from the hand of Goliah, but he also set me as a prince over his people; for, immediately after his victory over Goliah, Saul gave him the command of a thousand soldiers, which soon extended to the whole kingdom, as we read in Kings, “ Adi Israel and Juda loved David, for he came in and went out before them.”

3 “ Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the son of man that thou makest account of him?”

From the consideration of such favours David bursts forth into great admiration, that such a God, than whom nothing greater can be imagined, should condescend to make so much of man, a thing of nothing, as to deign to wish to be known and to be loved by him! And if such was the language of David, and expressed with so much piety, what should we not feel, say, and do, to whom God not only made himself known, but even assumed the form of a servant, and in such form, ‘ humbled. himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” and thereby obtained a victory for us, “ not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places,” and who brought “many people under subjection to us,” and after raising us to a share in his kingdom, placed us with Christ, * over all his goods.”

But to.

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come to the text. “ Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him?” What did you seein man when you condescended to let yourself so down, and reveal so much about your wonderful mysteries and attributes to him ?—“ or the Son of Man that thou makest account of him?’—a repetition of the precedingsentence, in which he again expresses his astonish - ment at the wonderful regard of God for man, with whom he desires so to commune, and to establish such relations of familiarity and friendship.

4 * Man is like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow.”

He now tells why he is so wrapt in admiration ; it is because man is so insignificant a thing, and his very insignificance of such short duration, thus drawing the greatest possible contrast between the nothingness of man, and the greatness of God. God is the fulness of all good, and is so atall times, and never subject to change or diminution. While man, though he is not, exactly, vanity, “he ws like to vanity,” because there is some little trifle in him that is capable of being turned to great account, should God take him in hands ; but until he does, man is like avain and empty thing; which he further elucidates by comparing man to ‘‘the shadows that pass ;” for, as the shadows of the mountains are constantly shifting their position during the day, and ultimately disappear altogether on the approach of night; so with man, who is every day advancing to the moment of his final departure from this world. All this applies to man in regard of his temporal life alone, as contrasted with that of God, because, in other respects, man is a being of great consequence and importance, inasmuch as he is created to the image and likeness of God, in order to know and to love him ; and a being for whom the only-begotten Son of God did not hesitate to spill his blood ; and, in fine, a being destined to rank with the Angels in a state of eternal happi-

ness, should he persevere in this his pilgrimage, in.

faith, hope, and charity. Though man should therefore, when compared to God, avow himself to be no moore than dust and ashes, yet, whenever the devil would tempt him by the suggestion of the evil desires that reduce him to the level of the beast, he should reflect on his own dignity, and seek rather to aspire to the place intended for him among the Angels.

5 ‘¢ Lord, bow down thy heavens, and descend : touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

6 “Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them : shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.”

The holy prophet from having been lost in admiration at the extent of God’s goodness to man, and then at his mercy in regarding a thing so miserable as man; now, reflecting on the other hand, on the pride and blindness of many, who, in contempt of God, are entirely devoted to the oppression of the poor and the accumulation of riches, prays to God to display his power in regard of such people, who, as

they will not be influenced by the love of justice or reverence for their Creator, may, at all events, be deterred from crime, through the fear of punishment. “ Lord, bow down thy heavens, and descend.” Since all your favours have not had the effect of reducing the pride of man, to acknowledge or to fear you, make yourself known to them by your dark and gloomy clouds, by your fire from heaven, by your lightnings and thunder that cause mankind so to fear and tremble. God is said to ‘‘ bow down the heavens” when he visits them’ with dark, heavy, and gloomy clouds, that look as if they were a part of the firmament; and heis said to “* descend” by them, inasmuch as they demonstrate his interference by their effects, which are usually thunder and lightning. Thus, in Exodus, God is said to have descended on mount Sinai, when he enveloped the whole mountain with a thick cloud and dense darkness, and heated the whole mountain so that it began to smoke, which he alludes to here, when he adds, ‘ touch the mountains and they shall smoke.” God, however, principally displays his presence and his power, through the astounding roar of his thunder and the coruscations of his lightning, than which nothing more subtle, more fleet, more efficacious, or more horrible can be imagined; and he, therefore, adds, ‘ Send forth lightning and thou shalt scatter them,” meaning the proud, aforesaid ; ‘‘ shoot out thy arrows,” those celestial arrows, ‘‘ and thou shalt trouble them,” for even the most hardened and fierce will quail before that thunder of yours, that no haman power can resist; hence, we read, in 1 Kings ii., “ The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him; and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens.”

7 ‘ Put forth thy hand from on high ; take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children :”

It would appear, from this verse, that the Psalm was not written after David’s accession to the throne, and that the subject is not the same as that of Psalm xvii. ; because, in that Psalm, he returns thanks for his delivery from Saul, and from all his enemies ; while it would appear, from the present Psalm, that he is still at war with his “ strange children,” the Philistines, and prays for victory over them. Havying, then, prayed to God against the proud and the wicked in general, he now prays for himself in particular, saying, ‘‘ Put forth thy hand from on high.” Display your power from heaven; “‘take me out, and deliver me from many waters ;” from the multitude of my enemies, the infidels, who daily harass me; and he explains the metaphor when he adds, “ from the hand of strange children ;” from the Philistines, with whom he was then at war.

8 ‘ Whose mouth hath spoken vanity : and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.”

He gives a description of the strange children by saying they were sinners in word and deed. ‘‘ Whose mouth hath spoken vanity,” instead of your truth, or your law, or any thing good; ‘‘ and thew right hand”

does nothing but plunder, oppression of the poor, homicide, adultery, &c.

9 “ To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee:

10 ** Who givest salvation to kings: who hast redeemed thy servant David from the malhcious sword:

11 ‘ Deliver me, and rescue me out of the hand of strange children : whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity :”

After a parenthesis of two verses, expressive of his affection for God, he returns to a description of the “strange children.” —“ To thee, O Lord, I will sing a new canticle.” Though I do not forget the favours I have received, I am about to ask for more, and IJ will, therefore, ‘‘sing a new canticle,” a beautiful one, one never heard before; and while singing it I will play upon the psaltery, too, on one of ten strings, and that because “ you give salvation to kings,” as when you saved king Saul through my interference; and thou “hast redeemed thy servant David from the malicious sword ;” from the sword of Goliah the giant; and as-you have hitherto so regarded me, “ deliver me.” Rescue me, I say, from “the strange children,” who are full of wickedness in words, as well as in deeds.

12 ‘+ Whose sons are as new plants in their youth: their daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitude of a temple :”

He now tells us what he means by the “ strange children,” by informing us of their ideas and their, affections; they are the persons who neither know nor care for any thing but the pleasures of this world, the fecundity and the prosperity of their sons and daughters, the abundance of their corn, wine, and oil, their flocks and herds, and their produce, and the enjoyment of all those things in peace. Such is the first source of happiness with the “ strange children.” A second source of happiness with them is handsome, beautiful daughters, likely to meet, at once, with good husbands. “ Theer daughters decked out, adorned round about after the similitu.e of a temple ;” with a beautiful shape, and finely turned limbs. ‘After the similitude of a temple ;” as beautiful asthe temple that was studded with gold, silver,

‘ precious stones, silks, and fine linen.

13 ‘* Their storehouses full, flowing out of this into that. Their sheep fruitful in young, abounding in their goings forth :”

The third source of happiness to “the strange children” consists in the fulness of their granaries, which are so replete with all the necessaries of life that they must needs remove them from one store to another. Happiness from this source is well described in the Gospel, where the rich man said, “ What shall I do because I have not where to lay up together my fruits? This will I do, I will pull down my barns, and will build greater.” A thing that usually happens when the harvest is being brought in, and the surplus of the preceding

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crop is stowed away, to make room for the new, “* Their sheep fruitful in young abounding in their goings forth. Their oxen fat.” Such is the fourth source of temporal happiness ; numerous and fruitful flocks of sheep, “abounding in their goings forth,” which seem nigh countless, as they go out to. pasture ; and with them herds of fat oxen, too,

14 “ Their oxen fat. There isno breach of wall, nor passage, nor crying out in their streets.”

The last of the temporal blessings enjoyed by - them consists not only in their houses and palaces being in perfect repair, but even their wall and their streets, in which there is neither noise nor confusion, but all is tranquil and peaceful.

15 “‘ They have called the people happy, that hath these things: but happy is that people whose God is the Lord.”

Such is the conclusion of the holy prophet, who, while he states that though “ the strange child” may look on all those who enjoy the above-named blessings to be happy, yet, in his opinion, it is not the people who have such things, but the people who have the Lord for their God, that can be accounted happy. It must be remarked here that the abundance or the want of the things of this world makes no difference whatever between the children of God and the aforesaid ‘‘ strange children.” Many cbildren of God abound in the things of this world, and the Lord himself even promised a hundred fold for anything we may give up, with life everlasting in the next; and, on the other hand, many of the children of this world have had a wretched end, in want, in exile, in chains, or on the scaffold. The whole difference between the sons of the kingdom and the sons of hell, the children of this world and the children of light, consists in the affections; for they who look upon the things of this world as of immense value, and have such an affection for them as to despise their eternal happiness for them; and, on the other hand, who look upon the crosses of this life as the greatest of misfortunes, and so dread them as not to hesitate in offending God, and running the risk of losing their eternal salvation in order to escape them, they are “the children of the darkness of this world and of the pit,” and they are the parties the prophet has in view when he says, ** They have called the people happy that hath these things.” While they who look upon the goods of this world to be things of nothing, as they really are, and the loss of them as a matter of no moment; and, on the other hand, they who reckon the grace of God and the country above among the greatest blessings, and the offending God, or the loss of eternal life, as the greatest of all misfortunes, they are truly the children of light, the children of God, the children of the kingdom, who have not turned a deaf ear to “ Seek ye, therefore, first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you;” and that is what is conveyed inthe words,”

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“happy ts that people whose God is the Lord;” that is to say, the good things of this world may be good in their way, but happiness does not consist in them. What constitutes aman supremely happy is the possession of the supreme good, which consists in the beatific vision.

PSALM CXLIV. | A psalm of praise, to the infinate majesty of God.

1 I will extol thee,O God my kiny: and 1 will bless thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.

2 Every day will I bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: and of his greatness there is no end.

4 Generation and generation shall praise thy works: and they shall declare thy power.

5 They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness; and shall tell thy wondrous works,

6 And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts; and shall declare thy greatness.

7 They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness ; and shall rejoice in thy justice.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful; patient and plenteous in mercy.

9 The Lord is sweet to all: mercies are over all his works.

10 Let all thy works, O Lord, praise thee: and let thy saints bless thee.

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom; and shall tell of thy power.

12 To make thy might known to the sons of men; and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom:

13 Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endur eth throughout. all generations. The Lord is faithful ‘in all his words: and holy in all his works.

14 The Lord lifteth up all that fall; and setteth up all that are cast down.

15 The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord: and thou givest them meat in due season.

16 Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature.

17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

18 The Lord is nigh unto all them that eall upon him; truth.

and his tender

to all that call upon him in~

19 He will do the will of them that fear him: and he will hear their prayer, and save them.

20 The Lord keepeth all them that love him: but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “J will extol thee, O God my king: and I will bless thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.”

The two first verses contain a preface, in which he prophet tells us what he proposes singing of in this Psalm, and he does so in a poetical manner by addressing himself directly to God. ‘ZI will eatol thee ;” I will celebrate thee in these my verses, in order that, supreme as you are, you may be looked upon and considered as the most supreme by men. He styles God ‘hes King,” either to shew that, king as he was himself, he still had God as a King, who rules all, and is ruled by none over him, or because he was about to praise God for the works and attributes that pertained to him as King and Governor of mankind and of all created things. ““And I will bless thy name,” which is no more than a repetition of the previous sentence ; and he adds, “ for ever, yea, for ever and ever,” to give us to understand that his praise would be everlasting, commencing with himself and continued by the succeeding generations, who were to chant his Psalms to the end of the world, and after that without end in the country above, as he says in Psalm Ixxxiii., ** Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord; they shall praise thee for ever and ever.” This is more clearly repeated and explained in verse 2, where he says, ‘‘ Kvery day will [bless thee;” I will praise thee for ever, whether in prosperity or in adversity, while I am here below, and hereafter in heayja. “ J will praise thy name for ever and ever.”

2“ Byery day will I bless thee: and I will praise thy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.”

Greatness consists in breadth, length, height, and depth, which, to a certain extent, exist in God, according to the Apostle, “ That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what ts the breadth, and height, and depth,” &c. The prophet then commences by praising God by reason of his greatness, and if we apply it to his divine essence, he is great therein in breadth, because it is immense ; in length, because it is everlasting ; in height, because it is most sublime ; and in depth, because it is incomprehensible. Or if you will have the prophet call him great by reason of his sovereign power, he is great as to breadth or extent, inasmuch as all created things, from the highest Angel to the crawling insect, are

‘subject to him; as to length, because his kingdom is

to last for ever; as to height, because he rules every

thing with supreme and absolute power; and as to depth, because he not only rules our bodies, but also our hearts with its most intimate and secret thoughts and affections ; and, finally, there is nothing so secret or so hidden, that the sceptre of his kingdom does not reach. Therefore, “ great is the Lord,” and on that account, “ greatly to be praised,’—“ and of his greatness there is no end.” Whether as to length, breadth, height, or depth. God’s greatness, then, is infinite, and therefore, quite incapable of being investigated by us, who are finite beings; which does not imply that we are thoroughly ignorant of God’s greatness, for we know him to be great, and that there is no end of his greatness, though we cannot take it in or comprehend it. This infinite greatness of God admonishes us, that as well as his greatness has no end, so our praises should have no end. It also reminds us that we should not be satisfied wita moving in the narrow. limits in which we are placed here below, but that we should daily endeavour to increase in that real greatness that arises from virtue, as Psalm Ixxxiii. bas it. “ Jn his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps in the vale of tears ; they shall go from virtue to virtue,’ for they who seek to increase in riches and in power, that they may get above others, they, instead of being great, are only swollen ; instead of being full of juice, they are ouly distended with wind, for pride and magnanimity are two very different things.

3 “ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised : and of his greatness there is no end.

4 “ Generation and generation shall praise thy works : and they shall declare thy power.”

He passes now from the essence of the great king, which is inscrutable, to his wonderful works, that convey some idea of his power; and he does not say, I will praise thy works, but, ‘* generation and generation shall praise thy works.” 1, of myself, am inadequate to praise your works, but generations unborn will praise them, for there never will be wanting souls to reflect on them, admire them, and praise them, ‘and they shall declare thy power.” The unborn generations who shall study your works, will constantly proclaim the power that shines forth in them.

5 “ They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness ; and shall tell thy wondrous works.”

Having spoken, in general, of the wonderful works of God, he now distinguishes three sorts of his works, some of them glorious and beautiful, and therefore, wonderful, by reason of their surpassing beauty and splendour ; some of them terrible, and therefore, very wonderful, by reason of the great terror inspired by them; and some of them most lovely, and from their being the channels of conveying God’s kindness to us, no less wonderful than the others. In this verse, then, the works that are wonderful, by reason of their splendour and beauty, are praised, such as, the heavens, than which nothing more. beautiful can be

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imagined, and speaking of which he says in another Psalm, “* The heavens shew forth the glory of God,” as also the sun, moon, and the other heavenly bodies, whose number, variety, splendour, and perpetual motion, without fatigue or labour, are truly wonderful. ‘* They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness.” All fature generations shall speak in praise of the excellence of the glorious works of your magnificence, and in thus praising them, “ shall tell thy wondrous works,” that appear so numerous and so conspicuous therein.

6 “* And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts ; and shall declare thy greatness.”

This is the second sort of God’s works, in which the fear of the divine majesty, in punishing the wicked, is shewn, ‘‘ And they shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts,” they shall be talking of the dreadful and severe scourges with which you chastised the wicked, such as the deluge, the destruction of whole cities by fire from heaven, the plagues of Egypt and of Pharao, the opening of the earth to swallow Dathan and Abiron alive; and finally, the earthquakes, plagues, thunderbolts, inundations, and storms, which frequently express God’s anger to man.

7 ‘‘ They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness ; and shall rejoice in thy justice.”

Here is the third sort of God’s works that appertain to mercy, which is expressed at greater length, and more redolent of gratitude, as all God’s faithful servants should be. “ They shall publish the memory of the abundance of thy sweetness;’ that is to say, all generations having been filled with the abundance of the sweetness and the kindness of thy mercy, for “the earth is full of God’s mercy,” sach abundance will cause them to publish the memory of the sweetness that so abounds, or in other words, they will hand down to posterity the record of so many and so great favours conferred on them; and they will not confine themselves to so publishing the memory of these favours, but they will, themselves, ‘‘ rejozce in thy justice,” by reason of your having so faithfully carried out what you promised. To this class of favours belong the innumerable gifts of providence bestowed so bountifully on man, such as the alternations of night and day, the rains of heaven, the fruitfulness of the earth, the countless multitude of cattle, birds, and fish, designed for the use and behoof of man, the verdant groves and beautiful gardens, the seas and the rivers, that serve for transport, and many other blessings beside. And all those, nothing, positively nothing, as compared with the gifts of grace; for instance, the Incarnation of the Divine Word, the passion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, the sending of the Holy Ghost, the calling of the gentiles, the preaching, the promise, and the publication of the kingdom of heaven. Let any one devoutly meditate on these points, and it will be truly

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wonderful, if in his fulness he will not ‘“ publish the memory of the abundance of the sweetness” of God.

8 “ The Lord is gracious and merciful ; patient and plenteous in mercy. ~

9 “ The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.”

Not content with having said that such was the abundance of God’s sweetness that all generations would, publish the memory of it, he comes out the first to publish and to proclaim it, saying, ‘* The Lord ts gracious and merciful, patient, and plenteous in mercy.” He is the Lord because he removes all troubles, by forgiveness, by justification, by glorification; and he is not only ‘ gracious,” but he is “merciful,” as merciful as a father; and, furthermore, he is “ patient,” which means that his mercy is continuous ; for no matter how often we may provoke him, he will not turn to anger at once, but rather waits to see would we do penance ; and finally, such mercy is not small, confined, or illiberal, but on the contrary, “‘ most plenteous.” That is most fully explained in the next verse, where he says, “ The Lord is sweet to all;”’ and so he is to those who can appreciate his sweetness; and he is not only sweet ~ and kind to a!l, and merciful too, but “ his tender mercies are over all his works;” for there is no one of his works, however insignificant, to which he does not extend his mercy. The expression, “‘ Zhe Lord ts sweet to all,” is absclutely true, because God “maketh his sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust;” and in Psalm Ixxxv. we read, ‘‘ Yor thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild, and plenteous in mercy, to all that call upon thee ;” and again, in Psalm cii., “* For according to the height of the heaven above the earth, he hath strengthened his mercy to them that fear him. Asa Sather hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him. But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon them that fear him;” which the blessed Virgin also expressed, when she said, ‘* And his mercy is Srom generation to generation to them that fear him.”

10 “ Let all thy works, O Lord, praise thee : and let thy saints bless thee.

11 “* They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom ; and shall tell of thy power:

12 “‘ To make thy might known to the sons of men; and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom.

13 “ Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faathful in all his words: and holy in all his works.”

Having hitherto sung of the glorious, terrible, and lovely works of God, he now comes to describe his kingdom, and then the virtues peculiar to the King himself. ‘ Let all thy works, O Lord, praise thee.” Let all the works for which I have been hitherto praising you, now unite with me in praising you; for the productions of an artist, when they are beautiful, redound to his praise and glory, and God's works

ON THE PSALMS.

are such as to admit of no improvement,. either by adding or taking from them. “ And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good;” and in Psalm ex., “* Great are the works of the Lord sought out according to all his wills.” These words may be considered as a conclusion to the first part of the chapter, as he now enters on a different subject with the words, “and let thy saints bless thee ;” thatis to say, generations unborn will praise thee by reason of the works that are visible to all, but it is the saints alone, through the revelation of the Holy Ghost, that are aware of the nature of your kingdom Iam now about to speak of; and, therefore, ‘‘ let thy saints,” to whom it has been revealed by the Holy Ghost, ‘‘ bless thee,” which means praise thee; and he tells for what, when he adds, “They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and shall tell of thy power.” The glory of a kingdom is synonymous with its power. The power of a kingdom consists in the number of its subjects, and the sufficiency of its revenues to maintain them. Now, the glory, or the power of God’s kingdom, may be inferred from the difference between it and that of man. There are four points of difference. First, the kings of this world have but few subjects, without much wealth ; not more than the population and wealth of one kingdom, or one province, while God reigns over all Angels, all men, all demons, and all the wealth on land, in the sea, orin the air, belong to him. There is another difference, that while the kings of this world rule their subjects, they are still ruled by them, they are dependent on them, can do nothing without them; and, however, abundaat their revenues may be, they are generally in want, nay even in debt, and, consequently, always calling for fresh tributes and taxes; but God, while he governs all, is subject to none, because he needs nobody’s help or assistance ; instead of being in want, he abounds in every thing, because he could, in one moment, bring from nothing much more than he now beholds or enjoys. The third difference is a consequence of the second, while the kings of this world seem so to enjoy their honours and dignities, they are, at the same time, suffering acutely from interior fears, doubts, and cares, which have sometimes been so burdensome, as to cause them to abdicate altogether. God never suffers such pressure, is subject to no fear, no misgivings, but reigns absolutely in perfect tranquillity, The fourth difference, an essential one, is, that the kings of this world reign but for a time; but God reigneth for ever. Now, the first difference is touched upon in the verse, “ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and shall tell of thy power ;” your saints will proclaim the power and the glory of your kingdom, which consists in ‘the number of your subjects, and the inexhaustible abundance of your wealth. The second and third are included in the words, “To make thy might known to the sons of men, and the glory of the magnificence of thy kingdom,” which indicate an immense difference between the kingdom

of God and any human kingdom, for he says, “To make known to the sons of men,” to make them understand that their kingdoms are a mere nothing as compared with that of God, and not éontent with having said, “To make thy might known,” he adds, “and thy glory;” and not content with that even, he adds again, “ of the magnificence of thy kingdom,” or the glory of your most magnificent kingdom. The fourth difference is apparent in the verse, “‘ thy kingdom,” &c. “ The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works.” He now enters on the virtues that belong to a king, that are so conspicuous in God, and in Christ, as man, and which all kings, and all in power, should constantly look to and seek to imitate. The first virtue that should distinguish a king is uprightness, with a strict adherence to truth, for the king’s example is all-powerful, and of Christ, the King, we read, ‘“‘ Who did no sin, neither was guilt found in his mouth,” nearly word for word with what the prophet says here, “The Lord is faithful in all his words;” that is to say, truthful, no liar, no deceiver, observing all his promises most faithfully ; “ and holy in all his works ;” or in other words, “ Innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,” and immaculate in all his actions.

14 “ The Lord lifteth up all that fall ; and setteth up all that are cast down.”

Here is the second virtue that should adorn a king and a pastor, for both should rule in such a manner that their subjects may not fall; and if they chance to fall, that they should be prompt in raising them. That virtue is called mercy, and one essential to all in power. ‘The expression “lifteth up,” in the Hebrew, conveys the idea not only of lifting up, but enabling the person so lifted to keep up, as we read in another Psalm, ‘‘ Being pushed Iwas overturned, that I might fall, but the Lord supported me.” But is. it true that God lifts up all that fall, when we daily see many falling without being lifted, either as regards soul or body? God is said to lift up all that fall, inasmuch as those who fall not when tempted, keep up, through God’s grace; and they who rise after falling, are set up by God’s grace; while they who fall, or do not rise after falling, must blame themselves for it, and not God, which Osee expresses in different language, when he says, ‘* Destruction is thy own, O Israel, thy help is only in me.” That David did not mean to say absolutely that all, without any exception, that may chance to fall would be raised, is clear from the following expression, whiere he says, “ And setteth up all that are cast down.” For if God were to support all that were about to fall, he would have no occasion to set up any one, or nobody would fall; how, then, is it true that he “ setteth up all that are cast down?” Tiese words are to be taken in a spiritual sense. As to

the actual falling of any one, it remains to be said’

that God is naturally inclined to raise and to set up all; and if he does not do so by all, nay, more, if

COMMENTARY ON-THE PSALMS.

he sometimes precipitates and bringythem down, he does so either with a view to prove them and to crown them, as he does to the just, in which case it proves a raising up rather than a taking down, or he does so in order to punish and chastise, and that when the sins of the parties themselves call for it, and thus the very first root of the evil springs from ourselves, and thus what Osee said, ‘* Destruction is thy own, O Israel, thy help 1s only mm me,” will always be true.

15 ‘* The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord: and thou givest them meat in due season.

16 *' Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature.”

Liberality is the third virtue that should adorn a king. Kings should not fleece their subjects, and seek to squeeze money out of them under various pretences, and thus, perhaps, reduce them to poverty ; on the contrary, they should deal liberally with them, supporting them, as if they were their own children; but, yet, taking care not to allow them to eat to excess, or spend whole days in feasting. ‘‘The eyes of all hope in thee, O Lord.” The eyes of all living things look to thee, expecting food from thee, that they may be supported by it, and keep up their life, ‘* and thou givest them meat ;” and you, through the agency of the creatures subject to you, the earth, the sun, and the rain, produce fruits in abundance, as meat for all living creatures, and that “‘in due season,” when they have need of it, for they should not be always eating; and thus, they who eat to excess, have not their meat from God, but from their own gluttony. ‘* In due season” also implies when hunger calls for it, when it is useful or necessary ; and therefore, they who accumulate and hoard up their superfluities, steal so much from the community ; and it cannot be a matter of surprise to find so many in dire necessity. He also gives it “in due season,” when it is right to give it, because sometimes it is better withhold it, because man’s sins deserve it, as the physician will sometimes prescribe total abstinence from food and strong drink; and

hence God, not unfrequently, visits sinners with —

dearth and famine, in punishment of their sins. “ In due season” also expresses the variety of food that God provides for us in the various seasons. That we may carry with us the fact of God’s liberality, being the primary source of all our blessings, he next adds, “‘ Thou openest thy hand, and fillest with blessing every living creature,” every word of which is expressive of profuse liberality. ‘‘ Thow openest thy hand.” hand that you give to your creatures ; it is with extreme liberality ; “ and /illest,” satisfy to the fullest extent of their desires, “every living creature,” not only man, but all living things ; ‘ with blessing,” in the most abundant manner; such is the sense in which St. Paul uses the word blessing, when he writes to the Corinthians to have the alms collected,

“to be ready, so as a blessing, not as covetousness ;”

It is not with a closed but an open.

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

that is, that their alms should be liberal. But if God fills every living thing so abundantly, whence have we so many beggars, so many poor, hungry, thirsty? We have already observed that a good deal of it arises from the injustice of the rich, who

either hoard up, or sinfully squander, what they should share with the poor; aud we added, that such often arises from the just punishment of God, that is called for by the sins of the parties themselves ; and finally, we may add, that the very poor in question are often themselves the cause of it, either because they depend more on their scheming than they do on God, or because they cannot content themselves with the food and raiment befitting their station in life, or because they will often spend in one day’s debauch what they may have been earning for an entire week,

17 “‘ The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”

Justice is the fourth virtue befitting a sovereign, and one of absolute necessity, in order to ensure peace and tranquillity among the people. “ Zhe Lord is just in all his ways.” The Lord displays extreme justice in his external acts, by which alone we can form an idea of his justice ; for he renders to all what is due to them, and he repeats the same in the next sentence when he says, “ and holy in all his works.”

18 ‘* The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him ; to all that call upon him in truth.”

The fifth virtue becoming a King consists in his being easy of access to all who come to him looking for assistance. This God does to a wonderful extent, for “‘he is nigh unto all them that call upon him;”’ no matter how high above the heavens he may be, he comes nigh at once to all that call upon him, never refusing an audience to any one. Hence, Moses boasts in Deuteronomy, “ Nezther is there any other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions;” and he tells us how we are to understand the expression, “to all that call upon him,” when he repeats it with the addition of “in truth,” for that expression comprehends all the conditions that are necessary for prayer. He that prays without faith does not pray “in truth,” because, instead of calling on God, he calls on the idol of his own brain. He that prays without hope does not pray “ zm truth,” because, he cannot be serious in praying to any one by whom he

_ does not hope to be heard. And he who prays with-

out charity, or, at least, without inchoate love, does not invoke God “im truth,” because nobody will seriously pray to one whom he hates, and who, he has reason to think, hates him. They, too, who pray without affection and desire, such as those who recite the Psalms or any other prayers, without any desire of obtaining what they ask, though they appear to do so, “do not invoke God in truth.” They also who pray without attention, without knowing what

they are saying, pray merely with their lips, and they also ‘‘do not call upon him in truth,” because, instead of calling on him, they only shew an empty appearance of calling on him.

19 “ He will do the will of them that fear him: and he will hear their prayer, and save them.”

Benignity, er kindness, is the sixth royal attribute, by virtue of which the king not only admits his subjects to an audience, but graciously grants all their petitions, provided it be right for him to grant them. “ He will do the will of them that fear him;” on having heard their prayer, he will do what they want, but he qualifies it by adding, “‘ of them that fear him,” for it is but fair that God should do the will of those only that do his will; and those who have a holy horror of offending God, and would lose the whole world rather than his grace, are the people that do his will. That, as usual, he repeats, when he says, “and he will hear their prayer.” He fivally adds, “and save them,” to give us to understand how God always hears the prayers of those that fear him. God frequently appears not to hear the prayers of such people, as when he would not deliver St. Paul from ‘the sting of his flesh,” though he had prayed three times to be delivered from it; and still he really hears the principal desire of such people, which consists in a desire of eternal salvation. For, as the Lord ordered to “ seek first the kingdom of God and his justice,” or in other words, his glory and his grace ; thus all they who fear God with the holy fear becoming him, will first and principally, in every prayer of theirs, ask for inchoate salvation or grace ; and then for perfect salvation which is glory. God, then, always hears those that fear him, for “ he wall save them;” that is to say, he hears them in the time and the mode most conducive to their salvation.

20 “' The Lord keepeth all them that love him: but all the wicked he will destroy.”

The last but most necessary virtue for a king is that of providence, by virtue of which he protects the jus from oppression on the part of the wicked, and prevents the wicked, if not from injuring the just, at least from injuring them to the extent oftheir wishes. Forthough he sometimes allows the just to suffer much from sinners, still heso protectsthem, that such suffering cannot harm them; nay more, that it turns to their advantage. God suffered the holy martyrs to be flogged and to be slain, but he * kept them,” by the gift of constancy, in their faith, and patience in their sufferings, with a view to securing glory to their souls, and a glorious and immortal body, and thereby realizing the truth of the promise, ‘A hair from your head shall not be lost.” As to the sentence, ‘*‘ but all the wicked he will destroy;” the truth of that will appear either because the wicked will beconverted, and will then not be there, as wicked, for destruction ; or because they persevere in final wickedness, and will then be scattered by being consigned to hell, so that they can never again come near the just.

21 “‘ My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord : and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever, yea for ever and ever.”

He now concludes the Psalm by uniting the first and last verses, as if he said, In consequence of all: I have stated regarding the greatness of God, of his works, of the perpetuity of his kingdom, of his royal qualities that are so numerous and so perfect in him, “My mouth shall speak the praises of the Lord” for ever. And I not only mean to do so myself, but I earnestly desire that ‘‘ all flesh,” that every human being, every thing that lives and breathes, should praise the name of the Lord for ever.