❝bles are come about me; my sins have taken such "hold upon me that I am not able to look up, yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my “heart hath failed 1 me. 1 O Lord, let it be thy pleasure "to deliver me, make haste, O Lord, to help me. Let "them be ashamed and confounded together that seek "after my soul to destroy it: let them be driven back"ward, and put to rebuke, that wish me evil. Let them "be desolate, and rewarded with shame, that say unto "me, Fie upon thee, Fie upon thee.' Let all those that "seek thee, be joyful and glad in thee, and let such દ as love thy salvation, say alway, 'The Lord be praised.' "As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord careth "for me. Thou art my helper and redeemer, make no "long tarrying, O my God." Psalm xl. 1-21 ". k 66 My sins." How can this apply to Christ, God's righteous servant, (Is. liii. 11.) who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth? (Is. liii. 9. 1 Pet. ii. 22.) The answer is obvious: "God laid upon him the iniquity of us all," (Is. liii. 6.)“ and he "bare the sins of many," (Is. liii. 11, 12.) God making "him to "be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the "righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. v. 21. "Failed," &c. Looking forward, probably, more especially to, as it was clearly verified in " his agony" at Gethsamene, immediately before his apprehension, when he prayed, "Oh my "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," Matt. xxvi. 39. Mark xiv. 35. Luke xxii. 42. and when from his agony and the earnestness of his prayer, "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground." Luke xxii. 44. (See Hebr. v. 7.) 66 ་ m The application of this Psalm to our Saviour is made out by Hebr. x. 5, 6, 7. "When he (i. e. Christ) cometh into the "world he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, "but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifice for sin thou hast had no pleasure: then said I, Lo, I 46 6 come, (in the Volume of the Book it is written of me) to do "thy will, O God.'' The difference between "A body hast "thou prepared me," in the Hebrews, " and mine ears hast thou 66 6 C XVIII. Upon the Pre-eminence and Exaltation of Christ, his Vengeance upon his Opponents, and the perpetual Duration and Righteousness of his Kingdom. Thou art fairer are thy lips, beGird thee with n No. 18. My heart is inditing of a good matter: I speak of the things I have made unto the king. than the children of men: full of grace cause God hath blessed thee for ever. thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty, according to thy worship and renown: good luck have thou with thine honour: ride on because of the word of truth, of meekness and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thy arrows are very sharp, and the people shall be subdued unto thee, even in the midst among the king's enemies. Thy seat, O God, endureth for ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre: thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, wherefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Psalm xlv. 1. 3-8°. "opened," in the Psalms, arises probably from a small variation in three Hebrew Letters: and the meaning of either expression is substantially the same: "thou hast fitted me to be thy ser"vant." See Mede, book v. c. 4. Kidder's Demonstration, part ii. c. 4. sect. 14. fol. ed. p. 89-93. n "The word," &c. How aptly does this description, "the "word of truth, of meekness and righteousness," suit the character of the Gospel? • The 7th and 8th verses are clearly considered, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as applicable to our Saviour, and if they applied to him, so must the whole Psalm. "Unto the Son," he saith, ever, a sceptre of righteThou hast loved righte Thy throne, O God, is for ever and "ousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. "ousness, and hated iniquity, wherefore God, even thy God, hath "anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Heb. i. 8, 9. No. XIX. Foretelling Christ's Ascension-his Victory over Satan, and the Blessings he obtained for Man. No. 19. Thou art gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them. Psalm lxviii. 18 P. XX. Contemplating the Distress Christ should suffer, and his Appeals to God for Aid: the Opposition he should experience, and the Scorn with which he should be treated, ascribing it to his Zeal for God-his forlorn and deserted State, and the Greatness of his Misery: part of his Treatment on the Cross-Denunciations against his Opponents-looking forward to his own Deliverance, and to the Blessings God should give his Servants. No. 20. Save me, O God, for the waters are come in, even unto my soul. I stick fast in the deep mire, 66 P St. Paul evidently considers this verse as spoken prophetically of Christ. "Unto every one of us (he says) is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Wherefore he saith, "when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, " and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it "but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth: "he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all "heavens, that he might fill all things," &c. Eph. iv. 8. and Justin M. looks upon this as a proof that the Psalm referred to the Messiah; so do Bellarmine, Dr. Hammond and Mr. Vaillant. Justin M. Dial. cum Tryphone, 258. 313.—Bellarmine de Christo. Lib. i. c. 4. p. 282. Hamm.-and Vaill. 34.—Kidder, part i. c. 9. p. 107. remarks that the words, "thou hast led captivity captive," very fitly agree with the conquest Christ obtained over death and Satan. 66 where no ground is: I am come into deep waters, so that the floods run over me. I am weary of crying, my throat is dry my sight faileth me for waiting so long upon my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: they that are my enemies, and would destroy me guiltless, are mighty. I paid them the things that I never took: God, thou knowest my simpleness, and my faults are not hid from thee. Let not them that trust in thee, O Lord God of Hosts, be ashamed for my cause; let not those that seek thee, be confounded through me, O Lord God of Israel. And why? for thy sake have I suffered reproof: shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren: even an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thy house hath even eaten me, and the rebukes of them that rebuked thee are fallen upon me. I wept and chastened myself with fasting; and that was turned to my reproof: I put on sackcloth also, and they jested upon me. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and the drunkards make songs upon me. But Lord, I make my prayer unto thee, in an acceptable time. Hear me, O Lord, in the multitude of thy mercy: even in the truth of thy salvation. Take me out of the mire, that I sink not; O let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the water-floods drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving kindness is comfortable; turn thee unto me, according to the multitude of thy mercies: and hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble: O haste thee, and hear me. Draw nigh unto my soul, and save it: O deliver me, because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproof, my shame, and my dishonour: my adversaries are all in thy sight. Thy rebuke hath broken my heart: I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to have pity on me, but there was no man: neither found I any to comfort me. They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table be made a snare to take themselves withal: and let the things that should have been for their wealth, be unto them an occasion of falling. Let their eyes be blinded, that they see not, and ever bow thou down their backs. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful displeasure take hold of them. Let their habitation be void, and no man to dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk how they may vex them whom thou hast wounded. Let them fall from one wickedness to another, and not come into thy righteousness. Let them be wiped out of the book of the living, and not be written among the righteous. As for me, when I am poor and in heaviness, thy help, O God, shall lift me up. I will praise the name of God with a song: and magnify it with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord, better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall consider this, and be glad: seek ye after God, and your soul shall live: for the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let heaven and earth praise him: the sea, and all that moveth therein. For God will save Sion, and build the cities of Judah: that men may dwell there, and have it in possession. The posterity also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein. Psalm lxix. 1-37'. This and the following verses may be predictions, not imprecations. However in citing verses 23, 24. St. Paul states them as imprecations, and a prophetic imprecation is properly" a warning," a denunciation how God will treat given conduct. r When our Saviour drove out of the Temple those that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, his disciples remembered that it was written (as in v. 9.) "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." John ii. 15-17,-as if they considered the passage as written of him. St. Paul writes (Rom. xv. 3,) "even Christ pleased not |