7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye ever lafting doors: and the King of glory fhall come in. 7%

8 Who is the King of glory: it is the Lord ftrong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battel.

9 Lift up your heads, Oye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlafting doors: and the King of glory fhall come in.

10: Who is the King of glory: even the Lord of hofts, he is the King of glory.

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10|| Pfalm 25. Ad te, Domine, levavi.

U

NTO thee, O Lord, will I lift up my foul, my God, I have put my trust in thee: O let me not be confounded, neither let mine enemies triumph over me.

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2 For all they that hope in thee fhall not be afhamed: but fuch as transgress without a cause shall be put to confusion.

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3. Show me thy ways, O Lord: and teach me thy paths. 4 Lead me forth in thy truth, and learn me: for thou art the God of my falvation; in thee hath been my hope all the day long.

5 Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercies: and thy loving kindneffes which have been ever of old.

6 Oh remember not the fins and offences of my youth: but according to thy mercy think thou upon me, O Lord, for thy goodness. 7 Gracious and righteous is the Lord: therefore will he teach finners in the way.

8 Them that are meek shall he guide in judgment: and fuch as are gentle, them fhall he learn his way.

9 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth: unto such as keep his covenant, and his teftimonies.

10 For thy Names fake, O Lord: be merciful unto my fin, for it is great.

People or Nation; and beflow upon them fome extraordinary privileges above others; in order to promote his own wife purpofes: yet that the Righteous are his peculiar Favourites.

taufe he fo carneftly implores the pardon of his Sins, and efpecially, at the 11th Verfe, of fome particular one which he fays is great and which has been thought to relate to the affair of Uriah. Defer bing alfo the David feems to have compofed this Pfalm when happiness of the Righteous, and praying to be deliver. under grievous diftrefs from Abfalom's Rebellion; be-, ed from his Afflictions.

II What man is he that feareth the Lord: him fhall he teach in the way that he fhall choose.

12 His foul fhall dwell at eafe: and his feed fhall inherit the 1.

land.

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13 +The fecret of the Lord is among them that fear him: and he will fhew them his covenant.

14 Mine eyes are ever looking unto the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

15 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me: for I am defolate, and in mifery. 16 The forrows of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my troubles.

17 Look upon my adverfity and mifery: and forgive me all my fin. 18 Confider mine enemies how many they are: and they bear a tyrannous hate against me.

19 O keep my foul, and deliver me: let me not be confounded, for I have put my truft in thee.

20 Let perfectnefs and righteous dealing wait upon me: for my hope hath been in thee.

י!

21 Deliver Ifrael, O God: out of all his troubles. § Pfalm 26. Judica me, Domine.

BE

E thou my judge, O Lord, for I have walked innocently: my trust hath been alfo in the Lord, therefore fhall I not fall. 2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me: try out my reins, and my heart.

3 For thy loving kindness is ever before mine eyes: and I will walk in thy truth.

4 I have not dwelt with vain perfons: neither will I have fellowship with the deceitful.

The fecret of the Lord is with them that fear, &c. This paffage of Scripture feems to be in fome degree parallel to that expreffon of our Saviours. If any Man will do bis Will, he ball know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself John vii. 17. and fignifies that whofoever is fincerely difpoed to ferve and pleafe God fhall be preferved from all

deftructive errors; and endued with the knowledge of all things neceffary to Salvation.

In this Pfalm the royal Prophet appeals to God for proof of his innocence, in oppofition to the falle accufations of his Enemies-declares that he always avoided the company of the wicked, and that it was his greatest pleasure to attend the publick werfhip of

I have hated the congregation of the wicked: and will not fit among the ungodly.

6. *I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord: and fo will I go to thine altar;

7 That I may fhew the voice of thanksgiving: and tell of all thy wondrous works.

8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy houfe: and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

9 O fhut not up my foul with the finners: nor my life with the blood-thirty;

10 In whofe hands is wickedness: and their right hand is full of gifts.

11 But as for me, I will walk innocently: O deliver me, and be merciful unto me.

12 My foot standeth right: I will praise the Lord in the congregations.

EVENING

A.

§ Pfalm 27. Dominus illuminatio.

TH

HE Lord is my light, and my falvation; whom then shall I fear: the Lord is the ftrength of my life; of whom then fhall I be afraid?.

PRAYER.

2 When the wicked, even mine enemies, and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh: they ftumbled and fell.

3 Though an hoft of men were laid against me, yet fhall not my heart be afraid: and though there rose up war against me, yet will I put my trust in him.

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, which I will require:

God in his Tabernacle and therefore humbly hopes that he fhall not fhare in the lot of the wicked.

• I will wash my Hands in innocency, &c. As it was a ceremony of the Law for the Priests to wash their hands before they offered facrifice: fo in allufion to this Rite, David refolves to pay a ftrict regard to purity of behaviour, in order that his religious fervices may be acceptable to God. The neceffity of this is evident from the declaration of Solomon that the Prayer

of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.

§ In this Pfalm David teftifies his entire confidence in God in the greatest dangers; and his zeal and firm adherence to the true worthip of him. He befeeches God alfo to grant him tokens of his favour, and. feems fully periuaded that he will never forfake him. In this Pfalm there are many noble ftrains of Faith, Piety, and Devotion.

even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to vifit his temple,

5 For in the time of trouble he fhall hide me in his tabernacle: yea, in the fecret place of his dwelling shall he hide me, and fet më up upon a rock of ftone.

6 And now fhall he lift up mine head: above mine enemies round about me.

7 Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladnefs: I will fing, and speak praifés unto the Lord.

8 Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee: have mercy upon me, and hear me.

My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face: Thy face, Lord, will I feek.

10 O hide not thou thy face from me: nor caft thy fervant away in displeasure.

II Thou hast been my fuccour: leave me not, neither forfake me, O God of my falvation.

112 When my father and my mother forfake me: the Lord taketh me up,

13 Teach me thy way, O Lord: and lead me in the right way, because of mine enemies.

14 Deliver me not over into the will of mine adverfaries: for there are false witneffes risen up against me, and such as speak wrong.

15 I fhould utterly have fainted: but that I believe vetily to fce the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

16 O tarry thou the Lords leifure: be ftrong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and put thou thy truft in the Lord.

II fhould utterly have fainted; but, &c. As it appears from this paffage that David was fupported under his Afflictions by a firm truft in the divine goodnefa humble confidence that God would in his good time grant him a deliverance; and restore him

*

to fociety and the free exercife of Religion. So't may be a comfortable reflection to every good Chrif tian under his greateft diftreffes, that this light Affic tions which are but for a moment shall work out for bin a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

|| Pfalm 28. Ad te, Domine.

UN

TO thee will I cry, O Lord my ftrength: think no fcorn of me, left if thou make as though thou hearest not, I become like them that go down into the pit.

2 Hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto thee: when I hold up my hands towards the mercy-feat of thy: holy temple.

3. O pluck me not away, neither destroy me with the ungodly. and wicked doers: which fpeak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mifchief in their hearts.

4 Reward them according to their deeds: and according to the wickednefs of their own inventions.

5 Recompense them after the works of their hands: pay them that they have deserved.

6 * For they regard not in their mind the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands: therefore fhall he break them, down, and not build them up.

7 Praised be the Lord: for he hath heard the voice of my humble petitions.

8 The Lord is my ftrength, and my fhield, my heart hath trufted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my fong will I praise him.

9. The Lord is my ftrength: and he is the wholfome defence of his Anointed.

10 O fave thy people, and give thy bleffing unto thine inhe-ritance: feed them, and fet them up for ever.

§ Pfalm 29. Afferte Doming

BR

RING unto the Lord, O ye mighty, bring young rams unto the Lord: afcribe unto the Lord worship and ftrength.

The Pfalmift here intreats God to defend him from the malice and artifices of his Enemies, and from the judgments that should fall upon them. He praifes him likewife for his providential care and protectionexpreffes a firm reliance upon him, and prays for the profperity of Ifrael.

c.

For they regard not in their Mind the works, It may be juftly obferved here that inconfideration is the root of irreligion and all iniquity. For did mankind duly reflect upon God's wonderful works of Creation, Providence and Redemption; they would be almoit neceffarily induced to love, worship, and obey him.