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to the church-hath prepared his throne in the heaand his dominion ruleth over all, to bring about the fulfilment of his promifes, and to give the rewards of his righteoufnefs to his fervants, and to them that fear him, both small and great; which he will give according to their works, Hebrews vi. 10. "for God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and labour of love, which ye have fhewed to his name, in that ye have miniftered to the faints, and do minifter."

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If it be objected, that infants have no works,-it may be answered, infants have fuffered for Chrift.Witness those of Bethlehem, and all the coafts thereof, from two years old and under. See the gracious notice the Holy Ghost takes of them, Jeremiah xxxi. 16, 17. thus faith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work fhall be rewarded, faith the Lord, and they fhall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, faith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border,”—that is, at the refurrection of the juft, to reign with Chrift, as they had fuffered on his account. He likewife takes notice of all the contempt caft on the children of fuch as cleave to his truth and ways, in which they share with their parents for his name's fake; and will fay, as in another cafe," inafmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of thefe, my brethren, ye did it unto me," ift of Theffalonians, i. 6, 7. "feeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation to them who trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us; when the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels."

I fay, in view of his ruling over all, and bringing about these things, every believer is conftrained to fay, "blefs the Lord, O my foul." The time is coming, when the redeemed of the Lord will all fay fo, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from

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the eaft and from the weft, from the north and from the fouth, Pfalm cvii. 2, 3. That this time is pointed at in this Pfalm, is evident from verses 40, 41, 42. "he poureth contempt upon princes"-which perhaps may receive illuftration from Daniel vii. 12. they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a feafon.--(verfe 41.) yet fetteth he the poor on high from affliction-(verfe 42.) the righteous fhall fee, and rejoice; and all iniquity fhall ftop her mouth"-which will not take place till Jefus Christ come to reign on earth.-Then shall every believer that is fingly constrained to fay," Blefs the the Lord, O my foul," join "to exalt him alfo in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the affembly of the elders," (verse 32.) agreeable to Pfalmi xxxv. 18. "I will give thee thanks in the great congregation; I will praise thee among much people." and Pfalm cxlix. i.fing unto the Lord a new fong, his praise in the congregation of faints,"-of which affembly we have an account in Revelation iv. 10. and v. 8. and their new fong from verfes 9. 10."and they fung a new fong, faying, thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the feals thereof for thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and haft made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth, &c, To proceed in the confideration of the pfalms:

Jefus Chrift is there celebrated as man. And it may be fuitable to obferve here, that wherever in the Pfalms the bleffed man, the upright man, the righteous man, the juft man, the righteous one, the just one &c. is spoken of in the fingular number, it always points to Jefus Christ. And fo we are directed to apply those things faid of fuch an one, to Chrift.—(not to David, not to ourselvess, not to fuch and fuch good men, that we are apt to believe may apply those things to themselves, and take the comfort of them,

if we cannot; and fo to wifh we were like them, making idols of them to the neglect of the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.) Thus we find who is fpoken of in the first Pfalm, namely, the fubject of all the Pfalms. "Bleffed is the man that walketh not in the counfel of the ungodly, nor ftandeth in the way of finners, nor fiteth in the feat of the fcornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night;"-which agrees with Pfalm xl. 8. "I delight to do thy will; thy law is within my heart ;"and with fundry paffages in John's gospel-" I do always thofe things that please the Father.-I have kept the Father's commandment.-My meat and drink is to do the will of him that fent me, and to finish his work, &c."—and with many paffages in the cxix. Pfalm; as verfes 14, 15, 16. "I have rejoiced in the way of thy teftimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts. I will delight myself in thy ftatutes. (verfe 24.) thy teftimonies my delight. (verfe 77.) thy law is my delight. (verfe 97.) O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day," &c. &c. this whole Pfalm being fo expreffive of his perfect conformity to the law of God, and refraining from every evil way in thought, word, and deed, that it cannot properly be applied to David, nor to any mere mortal man. To the fame purpose is Pfalm xviii. fee verfes 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.

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the Lord rewarded me according to my righteoufnefs, and according to the cleannefs of my hands hath he recompenfed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his ftatutes from me. I was alfo upright before him; and kept myfelf from mine iniquity Therefore hath the Lord recompenfed me according to my righteoufnefs, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eye-fight.

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Thus we have Jefus brought in as addreffing the Father; agreeable to John xvii. 4, 5. "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finifhed the work which

thou gavest me to do. And now, And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own felf, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." And thus we are led to a character in which God is well pleased; according to Isaiah xlii. 21. " the Lord is well pleafed for his righteoufnefs fake: He hath magnified the law, and made it honourable." Here is a righteoufnefs fit to be made mention of before God. Jefus, Christ has pleaded it with fuccefs. His difciples are to learn of him to fay, as Pfalm lxxi. 16. "I will go in the ftrength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteoufnefs, of thine only."

But those who force and strain these paffages in the Pfalms, to apply them to good men, would do well to confider Isaiah 1. 11. "Behold all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with fparks: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This fhall ye have of mine hand, ye fhall lye down in forrow." And xxviii. 20. "For the bed is fhorter than that a man can ftretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himfelf in it."

As an objection may arife from what has been faid that there is great impropriety in afferting fo much of the Pfalms to be the language of Chrift, confidering fuch expreffions as in verfes 67 and 176, of the cxix Pfalm. Before I was afflicted, I went aftray-I have gone aftray like a loft sheep,'-how can it be faid with propriety that Chrift ever went aftray? I would anfwer, That though he was the holy one, and the juft, who did no fin, neither was guile found in his mouth; yet confidering him as the reprefentative of his body the church, and bearing their fins in his own body to the tree, as having their guilt imputed to or charged upon him, and that he is spoken of throughout the scriptures

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in this view; we fhall find no difficulty or inconfiftency. in viewing feveral paffages in the Pfalms, as well as the above-mentioned expreffions, to be the language of the Meffiah, where we may find him more fully confeffing the fins of his body the church as his own fins. The whole xxxviii. Pfalm is very particular in language adapted for him who in all the afflictions of his people was afflicted; who in the days of his flesh offered prayers and fupplications, with ftrong crying and tears, unto him that was able to fave him from death, and was heard for his piety; who though he were a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he fuffered. This Pfalm when compared with the lxxxviii. Pfalm, may be confidered as an epitome of what he endured through his whole life. Yet it seems to point more particularly to the latter fcenes of his fufferings, when he faid, "My foul is exceeding forrowful even unto death-My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me."-For then was completely fulfilled what is written in the 4th verfe, ("mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me") when he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoft. The Ixix. Pfalm is fo plainly the language of the Man Chrift Jefus, that I fuppofe fcarce any perfon will deny it; as feveral paffages are exprefsly quoted from it in the New Teftament, as appertaining to him; and yet in the 5th verfe of this Pfalm we find him taking the reproach of fin upon himself thus, "O God, thou knoweft my foolishness, and my fins are not hid from thee."* But it is to be remarked, that in all thofe Pfalms, as well as in other parts of feripture, where he thus fpeaks of himfelf, or is fpoken of, as oppreffed, and finking under the burden of fins Jying on him, we shall always find expreffions by himfelf, or concerning him, fhewing, that as to any fin of his own, he was perfectly innocent, and knew no fin, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and feparate from fin

* See alfo Pfalm xl. 12.

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