And again, Isaiah xli. 1, "Keep silence before me, O islands and let the people renew their strength."

But finally, to be silent, according to the figurative mode of the scriptural expression, is of the same signification as, to lay aside ones impetuosity, to mitigate ones fury, to bridle ones mind: which we Germans in our vernacular language express, by saying to those whom we would restrain when angry, Still, still, halt in!' And hence tomb is in the Hebrew expressed by DUMA, from this true and real silence: because, there a man ceases from every thing, and remains wholly in silence. And therefore, Isaiah had said just before in the same chapter, ver. 12, Ye trust in calumny and tumult : for the mind of those who are angry and offended, is irritated to calumny and tumult: whereby it presumes that it shall obtain revenge and prevail. But, restraining this irritated state of mind, he saith, "In returning and rest ve shall be saved:" for you will overcome, not by making a tumult, but by remaining still. And then it follows, "and in quietness and confidence shall be your strength" that is, if ye keep silent, and remain still, bridle your impetuosity, abstain from tumult, and not seek revenge, but wait for my hand, and leave all revenge unto me, and deliver your cause into my hand, behold then ye shall be strong, and shall overcome: for I will fight for you, but ye shall be still.

Thus Moses saith, Exod. xiv. 14, "The Lord shall fight for you, but ye shall hold your peace." What mean these words, "Ye shall hold your peace?" They mean, ye shall be still: ye shall do nothing in the matter, but shall act just as if it did not at all concern you. This being in peace and still, therefore, is nothing else than exercising a quiet patience: which is a figure of speech most common in the holy scriptures.

Hence Isaiah, in the above-mentioned place, when they would not listen to the admonition and exhortation to keep silence, saith, "But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses, and we will ride upon the swift." And what is this, but desiring to defend themselves by tumult, and not to wait to become strong and saved by

the same passage,

quietness and confidence. And therefore it follows in "Therefore shall ye flee: and therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one: at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye shall be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill." From these words, then, I think it is quite clear, what it is to be silent and still, and, what it is to make a tumult. The one is, to remain in patience and quietness : the other, to be moved and to put every thing else in commotion; and (as we say) to confound heaven and earth. The former, is the silence which this verse teaches.

The meaning of the passage is, therefore, "Commune with your own hearts upon your beds:" that is, (as we should say,) ponder, deliberate, be not precipitate, nor immediately bring forth that which your anger may suggest. First consult with yourselves, "for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God," James i. 20. And, as a heathen writer has also written, 'Let nothing be done or said in anger.' And Gregory also said, It is better to avoid anger by silence, than to overcome it by reply.'

6

And now, let us look at the words particularly. First we have "Commune (or speak) with your own hearts" that is, Let them meditate well with themselves, and not obey the motions of their anger, which is precipitant, and which always has its words upon the tongue and not in the heart: according to that of Ecclesiasticus, chap. xxi. 26, "The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart." A beautiful and excellent antithesis, or contrariety! And the same admonition is given in the present verse, that we should turn our mouth to our heart, and not immediately utter forth what the temptation may suggest. For to have our heart in our mouth, is, to speak imprudently; which is what persons in a passion generally do. But to have our mouth in our heart, is, to speak prudently; which those do who are still and quiet. And therefore, we may use the same

antithesis or contrariety in this place: and say, that, to speak in our hearts and to think in our mouths (if I may so say) are contrarieties, or opposites; the one, being a mark of wise men; the other, of fools.

But, that they may the more conveniently commune with, or speak to, their hearts; he adds, that they should do this upon their "beds: " that is, that they should seek a solitude, and avoid all the irritation of a crowd. For when the body and all external tumults are reduced to quiet, the mind may be the more easily stilled, so as to be in a state to commune and meditate with itself. But, as avoiding the crowd, and seeking solitude, are useful under this temptation, so are they perilous under many other temptations.-These things have I spoken according to my own mind, without prejudice against any other expositor.

And now, in what way shall I make our received translation out, so as that it shall accord with the Hebrew? We must of necessity understand some other verb; as Augustine also says, who disposes our common translation thus, "Which things (or the things which) ye say in Here understand, says Augusyour hearts. tine, the verb say; thus, "The things which ye say, say in your hearts." And what he thus turns may be made to accord with my rendering in this way.Seeing that, when angry, ye are prompted to say whatever comes first upon your tongue; do not precipitately utter abroad what ye wish to say, but speak it in your hearts: that is, speak wisely what ye desire to speak. For according to this figure of speech, Christ said to Judas, "What thou doest, do quickly:" that is, what thou desirest to do, or what thou hast already proposed to do. So here, the things which ye say: that is, What ye wish to say, say in your hearts. What, from your impatience of anger, ye wish to say foolishly, take care to meditate in your hearts, that ye may speak prudently.

And lastly, how shall I reconcile this; "And be filled with compunction on your beds." What concord can there be between silence' and 'compunction?'

In my opinion there may be this concord; that, by returning to his heart, the angry man feels a compunction, and is dissatisfied with himself that he has been thus moved to anger; and therefore, by the forementioned silence, he comes by the shortest way to the force of compunction. Hence, while he communes or talks with his heart (especially when on his bed, or sitting alone,) he sees how foolish his commotion and impatience of anger were, which, if he had followed up, he would have basely fallen. And thus, being changed by his compunction, he refrains from the tumult to which he was moved, and now remains still and in silence, the flame of revenge being not a little extinguished. He that can give a better exposition of the passage, let him communicate it without envy. This is the best that I can produce.

I have already sufficiently shown what "Sela" at the end of this verse signifies.-It is a signal gift of grace for that man, who has been provoked to anger and impatience by injury and the like temptation, to exercise the feelings here required, to refrain his tongue, and to withdraw himself aside into secret, and remain silent. For it is to this end that Paul (as I said) handles this Psalm, Ephes. iv. where he says at the end, ver. 32, "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

Ver. 5.-Sacrifice the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord.

An admirable doctrine this! And what is this sacrifice? Who can offer unto God righteousness, when we ought rather to ask of God for all our sacrifices? David here distinguishes, in a few words, the sacrifice of righteousness, from all the sacrifices of cattle and of all other things. For these two sacrifices are directly opposed to each other. The sacrifice of righteousness makes men righteous: the sacrifice of things makes them sinners. In the latter, we seem to give something unto God, and to work a righteousness: in the former, we only express

our desire to receive of God, and to confess our sins. Hence it comes to pass, that the sacrifice of things, while it puffs us up with self-righteousness and works, renders us impatient of injuries, making us appear to ourselves to be persons of much and great merit; and it inflames us the more unto revenge, because we then, as it were, stand up in defence of our own righteousness. The sacrifice of righteousness, therefore, is to justify and praise God, and to confess ourselves sinners and worthy of all those things which we suffer; and causes us to exclaim with Psalm cxix. 137, "Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments." As it is described also by a most beautiful example, Daniel iii. [Song of the Three Children, chap. i. 45, Apocrypha, continuation of Daniel iii.] "Wherefore, all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing that thou hast done unto us, thou hast done in true judgment: and thou didst deliver us into the hands of lawless enemies." And again immediately following, verses 16, 17, "Nevertheless, in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted. Like as the burnt-offerings of rams and bullocks, and like as in ten thousands of fat lambs; so let our sacrifice be in thy sight this day, and grant that we may wholly go after thee: for they shall not be confounded that put their trust in thee." And Baruch i. 15 teacheth the Babylonian captives the same thing, " And ye shall say, To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces; as it is come to pass this day unto them of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."

But this sacrifice must be offered out of a true heart and mouth, and with a true work: out of a heart truly acknowledging its sin, out of a mouth confessing unfeignedly, and with a work that willingly beareth the punishments which are inflicted. For there are many who say with their mouths that they are sinners, but do not feel the same in their hearts, and evince it in their works. Which they manifestly show, by their being unwilling to be called and accounted sinners by others, and