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and the successful labours of the apostles. Let us highly prize it, esteem it sweeter than honey and better than thousands of gold and

silver.

3. Let us carefully improve our knowledge of God's will to practical purposes. It shows us our errors and sins, and our dan ger by them; and should lead us to seek mercy to pardon our numberless offences, and grace to help us in every time of need. We should especially pray against presumptuous sins; lest we sin wil fully against the law of God; in which case we are more inexcusable than even Jews or heathens. Our great desire should be, that our hearts may be humbled, and our lives directed and guided by the law of God. And unless we pay such a practical regard to it, our most serious words and meditations upon it, will neither be acceptable to God nor profitable to our own souls; for those who turn away their ear from hearing, that is, obeying God's words, will find that he will turn away his ear from hearing their prayer..

PSALM XX.

To the chief musician, A Psalm of David.

This psalm is a prayer for the king, composed by David, to be used in the temple service before he went out on a military expedition, firobably against the Syrians and Ammonites, who had a multitude of chariots and horsemen, to which there is a reference in the seventh verse. See 2 Sam. x. 18.The people say,

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HE LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; they knew he would pray, and therefore desire God to hear; the name of the God of Jacob, the grace and providence of that God who is 2 in covenant with his people, defend thee. Send thee help from the sanctuary, from the holy place where he dwelleth, and strength3 en thee out of Zion. Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; show that he accepts thy sacrifices, by giving 4 thee success. Selah. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel; fulfil thy heart's desire, which they knew -5 was no other than reasonable, just, and pious. We will rejoice in thy salvation, in humble confidence that God will hear us, and in the name of our God we will set up [our] banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions; we will go forth with thee in humble dependence upon him, and may he give us success. Thus far was the prayer of the people. Then the king, who was present at this solemnity, and joined in the service, adds, Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand; I am assured that God will give me success, as he inclines the hearts of my people to pray for it; he will hear me and defend me by his almighty

7 power. Some [trust] in chariots and some in horses, our ene mies boast of these, and despise us for the want of them: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God; we will make mention of the Lord our God, and trust in him; and can even tri8 umph beforehand, saying, They are brought down and fallen; but we are risen and stand upright; we have gained the victory 9 over them. Then the chorus of the Israelites concludes; Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call; or, as the words are better rendered in the English liturgy, O Lord, save the king, and hear us when we call upon thee.'

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REFLECTIONS.

*WE learn hence the duty of praying for our king, and "W for victory and success in time of war. It was an uni

versal custom among the heathens, it was required among the Jews, and is enjoined by the rules of the gospel. We should commend our king, his counsellors and forces, to the guidance, care, and blessing of the Almighty. These are important petitions, since the heart of the king is in God's hand, and victory and success depend entirely upon him. Let us pray, that God would incline the hearts of our rulers to pray for themselves, and the nation, as David did; and as the apostle exhorts, 1 Tim, ü. 2. we should continue to make supplication, prayers, and intercession, for our king, and all that are in authority, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty.

2. We are here taught, not to trust in our military preparations in times of danger and war, but in the Lord. Pride and confidence in our military strength has been too much the character of our country. We have often talked arrogantly of our soldiers and navies; and God has often, by terrible things in righteousness, shown us the vanity of that confidence. Let us learn this wisdom by all our former disappointments, to make mention of the name of the Lord, and go forth in his strength. O that such may always be the disposition and conduct of our country, and especially of our commanders; then we may hope that God will appear for us; that he will hear us from his holy habi'a ion, and deliver us by the saving strength of his right hand. Finally, let us often pray for one another, especially for those in danger or distress, in spiritual troubles, or spiritual desertions, in the suitable language of this psalm; The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee, Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. May he grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy petitions.

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PSALM XXÍ.

To the chief musician, A Psalm of David.

The former psalm was a prayer for the king, this is a thanksgiving for mercies received.

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HE king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! his joy in thy delivering goodness is beyond expression. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of 3 his lips. Selah. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness, thou hast not only granted his request, but hast given him more than he asked: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee, that is, present deliverance, [and] thou gavest [it] him, [even] length of days for ever and ever; thou gavest him the promise of long life, and thou wilt con5 tinue the crown to his posterity. His glory [is] great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him; his renown is greatly spread abroad by reason of those wonderful deliver6 ances and favours granted to him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever, or rather, hast set him for a blessing, hast made him such an example of happiness, that it shall become a proverb, let him be as successful as David: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance, by the discoveries of thy love and favour to him. He then expresses his humble confidence in what 7 God would further do for him. For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be 8 moved. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies; his enemies who are also thine: thy right hand shall find out those that 9 hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them; they shall perish as unavoidably 10 as if they were thrown into a fiery oven. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children 11 of men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a

mischievous device, [which] they are not able [to perform.] 12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, [when] thou shalt make ready [thine arrows] upon thy strings against the face of them; they will be thrown into utter confusion when thou 13 appearest against them. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength [so] will we sing and praise thy power; for this manifestation of thy power thou shalt be applauded; and the glory of all the deliverances vouchsafed to our king and people be given to thee.

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REFLECTIONS.

NSWERS to prayer demand a return of praise. When God hears the petition of his servants for public or pri vate blessings, it becometh them to render thanks to him; to

acknowledge the suitableness, seasonableness, and greatness of the mercy granted; and especially to take notice how graciously God has exceeded their prayers and their hopes.

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2. This psalm naturally leads our thoughts to the Lord Jesus Christ. If the author of it had not a direct reference to him, as many suppose, yet David's victories over his enemies were emblems of the nobler victories of the Redeemer. Let us rejoice in his ex altation and triumph, because God hath given him his heart's desire ; conferred all authority upon him, and vanquished all his foes: he is set for a blessing for ever, and his seed, his faithful servants, shall enjoy everlasting happiness. Let us then submit to this king, and behave as his loyal subjects; for dreadful is that condemnation and ruin which shall be the final portion of his enemies. Let us heartily pray for the further spread and establishment of his kingdom; and do all we can for his service; and wherein the strength of the Lord appears to be exalted, and exalted too in spreading the gospel, and making any the willing subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us sing and praise his power, and long for the happy day, when all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his anointed.

PSALM XXII.

To the chief musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, or, the hind of the morning;* A Psalm of David.

This whole psalm is a prophecy of Christ, of his sufferings, and the glory that should follow.

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God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring? why dost thou withdraw the sensible tokens of thy 2 presence and love? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent; to an 3 eye of sense thou seemest to have entirely deserted me. But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the praises of Israel; thou art still good and gracious, and art always surrounded with the praises of Israel, as we are with the houses in which we dwell. 4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst de 5 liver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded, pleading God's former 6 goodness to his people and praying servants. But I [am] a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people; though they were delivered, I am treated as the meanest 7 creature, and dealt with in the most contemptible manner. All

The Jewish paraphrase interprets it, of the daily morning sacrifice; and hence some learned men suppose that it was surg every morning in the temple service, to accustom them to the expectation of Christ's sufferings and kingdom.

they that see me, laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, they show all the marks of reproach, and 8 scorn, [saying,] He trusted on the LORD [that] he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him; the very avords used by the priests when Christ hung upon the cross, which was most astonishing, considering how often they must have read 9 them. But thou [art] he that took me out of the womb thou didst make me hope [when I was] upon my mother's breast,' 10 and therefore I hope thou wilt not now forsake me. I was cast upon thee from the womb thou [art] my God from my mother's belly; my mother and supposed father, being unable of themselves to protect and provide for me, without thy special providence. 11 Be not far from me; for trouble [is] near; for [there is] 12 none to help; my circumstances are still helpless. Many bulls

have compassed me strong [bulls] of Bashan, powerful and 13 furious enemies, have beset me round. They gaped upon me [with] their mouths, [as] a ravening and a roaring lion; wicked 14 men and evil spirits are joined together against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels; my spirits are spent, and I am left as weak as water; probably referring to Christ's sufferings in the garden and on the cross, to the depression 15 of his spirits, and his bloody sweat. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; my sufferings have wasted my strength, and brought on great thirst; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death; it is thine appointment, 16 my enemies are only the instruments. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me; my persecutors are like so many hounds hunting a weak and trembling animal: they pierced my hands and my feet; words which plainly refer to Christ's crucifixion, and cannot be applied to David. 17 I may tell all my bones, through leanness and distortion upon the cross: they look [and] stare upon me; my enemies gaze upon 18 me and take pleasure in my misery. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture; a circumstance 19 which the evangelists directly apply to Christ. But be not thou far from me, O LORD; O my strength, haste thee to help me ; 20 again I seek thy help in these distressing circumstances. Deliver my soul from the sword; from the rage and violence of my ene mies; my darling from the power of the dog; my spirit from 21 the assaults and suggestions of Satan. Save me from the lion's mouth for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns ; thou hast granted me former deliverances, especially from the temptations in the wilderness. The rest of the psalm refers to the 22 glory that should follow Christ's sufferings. I will declare thy name, thy attributes and grace, unto my brethren, to my true disciples, in my person and by my ministers : in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee; make known thy praise in large

This refers to the helpless circumstances in which Christ was born; his mother might have no help in bringing him forth, or dressing and swaddling him.

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