the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming." And it goes on to say that our adversaries are not only to be cut down but to be held in derision.

O what a power of faith is required in all these words! For who would have thought, while Christ was suffering and the Jews triumphing, that God was laughing at them all the while! And so also, while we are oppressed, how shall we believe that God is holding our adversaries in derision, when it seems to ourselves that we are held in derision both by God and men! But, as I have said, this derision is divine. For God made the Christ-murdering Jews and Gentiles a derision to the whole world, by raising Christ from the dead, and making, out of his despairing kingdom among that one people, a kingdom that shall flourish eternally over all creatures thus turning all their endeavours into an event the directly contrary of what they expected: as we sing Psalm cxiii. 4, "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens:" and yet, that same God was humbled under all the Jews, and his ignominy went even under the earth. Therefore, as in the preceding verses the passion and death of Christ are prophesied of; so in this verse his resurrection is predicted, though in a way of somewhat an obscure allusion.

But what is the intent of those words, "He that sitteth in the heavens?" It sets forth the quiet and wonderfully hidden Judge, for the raising of our hope. He sitteth in the heaven, who is concerned for us. He sitteth there in quiet and safety. Though we are distressed, he is not distressed whose care we are. We are tossed to and fro, but he sits unmoved, that the righteous may not be tossed to and fro for ever. But, his sitting in heaven is so secret and hidden, that unless thou be in heaven thou canst not know and understand it. Thou art suffering upon earth, in waters, and under all creatures, and the hope of help is denied thee by all and in all things: until, rising by faith and hope above all these things, thou mountest up to reach unto him that sitteth in the heavens: and then thou also

sittest in the heavens: but, in faith and hope. Here therefore it is, that the anchor of our heart is to be cast in all tribulations; and in this way all the evils of the world will not only be made easy to be borne, but will become a derision.

Verse 5.-Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and ver them in his sore displeasure.

That which has been said concerning tautology in the preceding verse holds good also in this. For to the insensible and haters and despisers of God, enough that is terrible cannot be said. For that Behemoth described Job xli. esteemeth iron as straw, darts as stubble, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; sling-stones are turned by him into stubble,' &c. Though this perhaps may not be considered as tautology.

When then does he " speak to them in his anger?" or which is his anger?. It is then, when he has them in derision. This we shall see when we inquire from the scriptures what it is for God to speak in his anger. Jeremiah saith, chap. xviii. 7, 'I will speak suddenly against a nation and against a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it,' &c.-Therefore, "to speak in anger," is, to root up, and to destroy: and this is what came upon the Jews: who said, 'The Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. And, it is better for one man to die, that the whole nation perish not,' John xi. 48, 50. All these vain meditations the Lord had in derision, until that which the wicked feared, (according to the proverb,) came upon them: for the Lord rooted up, pulled down, and destroyed them by the Romans. This " anger " and "hot displeasure" of God, therefore, are the fury of the Romans. Hence Isaiah x. 5, 6, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against a deceitful (that is, an hypocritical and dissembling) nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge," &c. Which words, according to my judgment, are spoken of the Roman army. For when he saith "I will give him

a charge," it is the same as is said in this verse, "shall speak unto them: " because all things are done by the command and Word of God: as it is written, "He spake and they were made," &c. Psalm xxxiii. 9.

Wherefore, these words "shall speak" are to be taken absolutely, in this way: He shall speak: that is, he shall decree, command, and ordain by his word: but it shall be against them, and not in their favour and therefore, not in mercy but in wrath. For he speaks also against the righteous and his own children, when he commands the cross and death to be brought upon them according to that of 2 Kings xvi. 10, "The Lord hath bidden him to curse David:" but in mercy.And if the preposition 'unto' be changed into against,' and the verb 'speak' into 'command,' the text will be more clear, "Then shall he command against them in his anger.

Nor will he pull down and destroy them only, but will distress them also: for he shall consume them outwardly by arms, and inwardly by dread. And indeed he distresses his own children also, and terrifies them with alarming fears; as was the case with Christ in the garden. But he distressed the Jews while they were in the act of being destroyed and slaughtered by the Romans, with a perpetually foreboding dread. For it is impossible that the ungodly man, when drawing near unto death, should not be under unceasing dread and apprehension. It would have been a light punishment if they had been destroyed only; but their having been destroyed in anger was that which increased the horror of their calamity; and, what was the most awful of all, after having been destroyed and slaughtered, they were destined to be punished in wrath, and to be launched through death into eternal horrors.

Behold, therefore, what a catalogue of dreadful punishments are prepared for the murderers of Christ. First, being stripped of all their glory, in the pride of which, chiefly, they raged against Christ, they are made a derision to God and all men, and see themselves surrounded by ignominious shame on every side; which is

no small calamity to proud and envious men. Secondly, deprived of every thing that could afford them any help, they are laid waste, rooted out, and destroyed; so that they have not, even with respect to their bodies, the least degree of comfort. And lastly, the sum of all their calamities, is, that tribulation and anguish will torture their souls to all eternity. Thus, they are utterly destroyed in their fame, in their bodies, and in things eternal: and there is not one creature, nor God himself, propitious toward them. Here then, I ask, who would not pity his enemies, who would not lament for them, who would not endure all things for them, and even from them, when he firmly believed that all these intolerable evils hung over their heads. For only observe the order of these evils. First, they are laughed at and held in derision, while all their glory is turned into the deepest confusion, which is the greatest thing they possess. Secondly, they are destroyed and deprived of all their property and patrimony, which is another possession. And finally, they are terrified with dreadful apprehensions, all hope and confidence of spirit being taken away, which is their inward and last possession. And these are they who are made like dust before the wind.

And again, you see that the punishment of the wicked is here described as being fear and horror. For as the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and safety; so, of necessity, hell must be sin, dread, and horror.

Verse 6.-Yet am I set by him as king upon holy hill of Zion.

his

Here the person is changed: for it is not David now speaking in his own person, but it is Christ that speaks. The Hebrew, however, rather makes it to be the "Yet have Person of the Father speaking, and saying, I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." But I do not think this a matter of so much moment that there should be any contention or dispute about it, because each sense is equally good: except that the Hebrew text, by a figure of speech very usual in the scriptures,

rather favours that reading which gives the authority to the Father; according to that of Psalm cx. 1, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand; and that of Psalm lxxxix. 27, "Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth." Stapulensis thinks that it may be rendered, "But I have anointed my king :" resting upon those words of the believers, Acts iv. 27, where they say, 'Against thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed were they gathered together.' But those believers seem to have taken the word "hast anointed," not from the present verse, but rather from the second: for citing that, they had said just before against his Christ,' ver. 26: which is the same as saying against his anointed, and which, from a holy desire to confirm the truth, they repeat in the 27th verse. As if they would say, Most truly he is Christ, and the Anointed, whom thou hast anointed; that is, whom thou has made Christ.

And moreover, according to my poor way of judging, I seem to think that "my holy," if the Hebrew did not compel us to couple it with Zion, does not unappropriately apply to Christ: so that the sense may be, "I have set my king upon my hill of Zion," not an indifferent person, but him who is my holy one" anointed of me by the Holy Ghost. For Christ is often called in the scriptures, the "Holy One of God," and, the Holy One of Israel: as in Psalm xvi. 10, "Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." And Psalm lxxxix. 18, "For the Lord is our defence, and the Holy One of Israel our King." But the Hebrew, as I have said, has it "my holy mountain."

The meaning of the passage therefore is, They have gathered themselves together against me and my King, and would not that he should reign over them. But my counsel shall stand, and I will perform all my pleasure. Who is able to stand before me? They have killed him, but I have set him up as King! They have withdrawn themselves from under him, but I have placed my holy hill of Zion, and all the kingdoms of the earth, in subjection to him! Thus, they are laughed at and held