sweet, and pure the holy and wonderful Word of God is, that it is the greatest of all good! But this they cannot taste, who have their hand or their tongue only in the law, while their will is immersed in the filth of the things of this world. For there are many prating ones who talk much about the law of the Lord, and pretend much and think much about it, but who do not yet love it. But David does not say, Blessed is the man whose tongue is in the law of the Lord, nor whose hand, nor whose mind and speculations are in it; for by these things men are only puffed up, and bless themselves, as if they were already sainsts and saved.

Moreover, this "will" comprehends the whole life of man. For if the man has his will, which is the fountain-spring of his life, and his head, in the law, there is no fear that he will keep any other member out of it. For wherever love leads, the whole heart and body follow it. And herein observe thou the different conversation of the godly and the ungodly.-The ungodly begin their righteousness from without, and then go on to that which is within. They first feign works, and then words; and then they go on to the exercising of thoughts; and this is the greatest height to which they attain. And here, they begin to be teachers of others; and whatever they think, say, or do, they will have to be holy and divine; yet, after all, they never attain unto this secret "will." But the godly begin within from this holy "will," then follows "meditation," and then the external work, and afterwards, the teaching of others as we shall see hereafter.

And in his law will he meditate day and night.

Meditation is not without damnation, unless there be first the "will:" but the love will of itself lead to meditation. And this "will" is to be sought by us from heaven, (as I have said,) by humble faith in Christ, when we are brought to despair of all strength in ourselves. And mark this well.-It is the manner and nature of all lovers to talk freely, to sing, to write, to compose, and to amuse their thoughts, on their loves; and

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to hear the same things. And so also this lover, this man that is "blessed," has his love, the law of the Lord, always in his mouth, always in his heart, and always (if he can) in his ear. For" he that is of God heareth God's words," John viii. 47. "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage," Psalm cxix. 54. And again "I will meditate always in thy statutes," ver. 48.

And thinkest thou that they are blessed men, who turn over swine's husks, and who talk day and night about natural things, about the opinions of men, about prebendaries, dignities, and the power and privileges of churches, and a thousand other vanities of the same kind? No! They are far more miserable than those who talk about the loves of maidens and the fables of the poets. For the latter know that they are acting foolishly, and can sometimes repent of what they have done. But the former, thinking that they are all the while acting wisely and holily, die in their ungodliness; and too late repent, that the laws which they have made have only heaped destruction and ungodliness on their own heads, because they meditated not on the law of the Lord.

VERSE 3.

And he shall be like wood planted by the rivers of waters, that shall give forth his fruit in his season.

I have said, that the blessedness of this man is hidden in the Spirit in God; so that it cannot be known but by faith and experience. And that this is true thou shalt clearly see. If thou look at his "will," in which alone his blessedness consists, it does not stand in his riches, nor in his honours, nor in his righteousnesses and virtues, nor, in a word, in any good that can be mentioned, (excepting this will in the law itself,) either in or out of the man. Nay rather, it is found in the midst of the contraries, in poverty, in contempt, in foolishness, in all the evils that can be mentioned either within or without the man. So that the man whom the

prophet here calls "blessed," is hated by the whole world together, and they all judge him to be the most miserable of mortals. And this Isaiah saw in Christ, the head and pattern of all these blessed ones; and therefore said, "He is despised and rejected of men," chap. liii. 3. For the world and its prince cannot endure that man who desires to be blessed with this "will," but despises all his blessedness together. And therefore it is, that David, contemplating the fewness of such men, breaks out, O! blessed is the man, who,' &c.

Having thus described the "blessed" man in his own proper definition, he goes on to set forth the same by a similitude no less beautiful. The definition, indeed, was perfect, representing him as free from all evil, and filled with all good; (which is what the generality of men call blessedness; but their blessedness stands in present things, while this man's blessedness stands in faith.) And so also the similitude proves him to be free from all the same evil, and full of the same good. And since this "blessed” man that is hidden in faith, could not be set clearly forth to view by any farther definition, David, as it becomes all definers to do, sets him forth under the similitude of a visible thing. And since we know that he is describing a righteous man under a figure, we are not to quarrel about terms.

I however believe, that it is the palm-tree that is alluded to in the figurative description: for it is said in another Psalm, "The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree, he shall increase like a cedar of Lebanon,' Psalm xcii. 12. And what is there briefly alluded to, is here more fully enlarged upon. For the palm-tree loves the rivers of water, (as Pliny says,) and drinks all the year round, and is always green, and brings forth most sweet fruits. And perhaps David took this similitude from those palms on the Jordan near Jericho, which were so much celebrated: for Jericho is on that. account called the "city of palms :" and the Jordan is in many other places in the scriptures spoken of mystically. Hence we have this passage, "A well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon," Song iv. 15.

Here, the prophet gives you a rule for understanding the allegories of trees and rivers which occur in the scriptures. The good tree signifies a good man, and the evil tree an evil man : as Christ also teaches us. Though I know that Augustine, when he was so hotly pressed by the Pelagians, that he might not in any way admit that the children of the faithful were born holy, rather chose by tree,' not to understand man, but the will of man. And this may perhaps be given in his favour, that by the tree here it is the spiritual man that is set forth, which is indeed the will itself, or the Spirit. But I think we may with no less, if not rather more propriety, here understand by "tree" the whole man; by the root, the will; and by the branches, the members and powers.-But I will not contend.

David says it is "planted:" wherein he distinguishes this palm-tree from those which grow of their own accord and represents it as being made what it is by the care and cultivation of another, and not becoming so by its own nature: that is, as being cut off from that which grew of its own accord and by nature, and planted by art as a branch in some other place. And this is what I before said,--that the "will" in the law of the Lord, is found in no man by nature, but brought down out of heaven by the great planter and cultivator, our heavenly Father, who transplants us out of Adam into Christ.

The "rivers of water" certainly signify divine graces. For the palm is said to grow in a soft, sandy, nitrous, and saline soil; and therefore it always loves rivers. And so also the "will," which is the root of this tree, being in this dry unfruitful life, thirsts the more after the rivers of heavenly waters, the more it finds that there is nothing in this world that can make it flourish. And thus, as Isaiah saith, chap. liii. 2, in this desert and waterless land, "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground." But, is it not wonderful that a tree should grow in a barren soil, being nourished by the rivers of water only? Blessed therefore is the man, who, the more he feels the

barrenness of the world, thirsts the more after heavenly waters. Thus, this tree does not grow by the richness of the earth, nor does the "blessed" man grow by the luxuries of this world.

Some have inquired why David here saith wood' (lignum) rather than a tree' (arborem): and, shall 'give' his fruit, rather than shall bear' his fruit. The reading in Genesis, is, that God created 'wood' (lignum) not the tree' (arborem.) And hence the scripture still preserves the metaphor 'wood' (lignum) for 'tree' (arborem.) And the 'giving' of fruit, shows, that this blessed man serves not himself, but his neighbours, with that charity which we see to be commanded in every law of God. For there is no tree that brings forth fruit for itself, but every tree gives its fruit unto others. Nay, no creature, (except man and the devil,) lives to itself, or serves itself. Nor does the sun shine for itself, nor the water flow for itself, &c.

Thus every creature observes the law of charity, and its whole substance is in the law of the Lord: nay, even the different members of the human body do not serve themselves. It is the affection of the mind only that is ungodly for this not only will not give every one his own, and will not serve any one, nor wish well to any one, but, it takes all from all for itself, and seeks its own profit in all things, even in God himself. So that you may truly say, that this is the tree, or thorn, or brier, which grows of its own accord, cherished by the cultivation of no other hand, nor delighting in the rivers of water; and bringing forth nothing but thorns, with which it goads, tears, and chokes the fruits of all other trees that grow near it; and also pulls, plucks, and tears the garments, fleeces, skin, flesh, and every thing else of every object that passes by it. The prophet, therefore, has here set forth the benefit of good trees,that, while they injure no one, they profit all, and give forth their fruits willingly.

In his season.

O golden and admirable word! by which, is asserted