putting out of their name for ever and ever; the destruction of cities, and their memorial perished with them; the sinking down of the heathen in the pit which they made, and their own foot taken in the net which they hid; the turning of the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget God; but the doom of the wicked, or the righteous retribution which is visited upon them, has for its reason, For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the expectation of the poor perish forever. While the Lord shall minister judgment to the people in righteousness, He will also be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. When He maketh inquisition for blood, He remembereth them that seek him; He forgetteth not the cry of the humble, however long they may have raised it; He avenges the blood of his saints; He lifts them up from the gates of death, that they may show forth his praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion, and rejoice in his salvation. While the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands, the Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth; and even on earth, the result of his arising, when his throne is prepared for judgment, is, that man shall not prevail; that the heathen shall be judged in his sight, and so put in fear by Him, that the nations shall know themselves to be but men. Here there are not wanting signs and tokens of that day, when the King of kings and Lord of lords shall judge and make war, nor testimonies concerning the issue of the battle of that great day of God Almighty-such as show, in their intermingled descriptions, that though set forth in separate and successive visions of the Apocalypse, these things shall not be far apart in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, when He shall judge the world in righteousness, and shall be known by the judgments which he executeth, when the heathen shall be judged, and the wicked be turned into hell, and they that seek the Lord shall be lifted up from the gates of death that they may show forth the praises of the Lord, and-not the least marvelous of all, the nations shall know themselves men, and no longer make war with the Lamb, when he shall rule them, as he shall then have broken them, with a rod of iron.

The rest of the Psalm, when sung in faith, is thus in harmony with its like prophetic beginning, I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth thy marvelous works, I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will

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sing praises to thy name, O thou Most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right; thou satest in the throne judging right.

PSALM XVIII.

The eighteenth Psalm is also recorded at the close of the history of David's reign. 2 Sam. xxii. He spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. The time when it was spoken is thus recorded; but that the prophet-king looked to another day and other triumphs than his own, as ere then he long had done, this Psalm itself bears testimony. It is concluded in these words, Great deliverance giveth He to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore. That he spake, by the Spirit, of the time when the Lord shall give unto his Christ, the Seed and the Son of David, the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, seems obvious in the kindred testimony, Thou hast made me the head of the heathen. 43. That this Psalm has respect to other conquests than those which the first king of Zion who reigned over Israel achieved, and that it has still to be sung in hope by all who are the children of the kingdom, and the subjects of Zion's King, scriptural authority demonstrates.

In appealing to "the promises made unto the fathers," the Apostle Paul first quotes from this Psalm; and shows, how the testimony of the prophets has to be received, and for what end the Scriptures were written, and Christ himself was a minister of the circumcision.

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written. For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name; And, again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again Esaias saith, "There shall be a root of Jesse, and He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; and in him

shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

"1

The forty-ninth verse of this Psalm is here united with the song of Moses, another psalm of David, and the words of the prophet Isaiah. Their common testimony as thus adduced is, that the Lord's name will be praised among the Gentiles; that the Gentiles will rejoice with his people; that all nations and all people shall praise him; and that the root of Jesse shall reign over the Gentiles, and that in him shall the Gentiles trust. Thus did the apostle compare spiritual things with spiritual, scripture with scripture, and bring texts together which testified of the same thing. Because of this blessed promise Gentiles had to glorify God for his mercy; and believing the promises, as written by the prophets, to rejoice in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost, by whose inspiration they were given.

As this Psalm, bearing a united testimony, is thus conjoined with the song of Moses, it may be compared with it and other corresponding scriptures, to see what farther harmony subsists between them.

It is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing praises to thy name.” For what cause? Is there any uniformity here between the song of the lawgiver, and the psalm of the king of Israel? In the song of Moses the cause of the joy is plainly written, a joy at last common to Gentiles and Jews. "Rejoice ye nations with his people: for He will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and be merciful to his land and to his people." Not less plain is the cause for singing praises to his name.

"It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth (or destroyeth) the people under me.. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me thou hast delivered me (Heb.) from the man of violence. Therefore" - for this cause. "will I give thanks (marg. confess) unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. In both psalms, the rejoicing and the praise are preceded by judgments; and it may be seen whether, as the cause is thus common, there be not words that agree with those of the song of Moses, the Book of Revelation, and similar testimonies, which

1 Rom. xv. 4, 8-13,

show, as the apostle said, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.

1, 2. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

4. The sorrows of death com

passed me, and the floods of ungodly men (of Belial) made me afraid.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect.-How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. Deut. xxxii. 4, 30, 31.

Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said. Joel ii. 32.

A great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. Joel ii. 2, 6. They are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. xvi. 14, 16.

5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

They have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people.-For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell. I will heap mischiefs upon them: I will spend mine arrows upon them. Deut. xxxii. 21-23. He is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting.

6. In my distress I called (Heb., as in the third verse, I will call) upon the Lord, and cried (Heb., I will cry) unto my God: He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

And with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him.—Gather the people.— Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule

over them wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Joel ii. 11-18. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, &c. In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Zech. xii. 9-14; xiii. 1. -O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matt. xxiii. 37-39. 7. Then the earth shook and trembled, the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

A fire is kindled in mine anger

and shall set on fire the foundations of the mountains. Deut. xxxii. 22. We are thine: thou never barest rule over them: they were not called by thy name. O that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence-to make thy name known to thine adversaries.-When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. Isa. lxiii. 19: Ixiv. 1-3. My fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israelso that all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down. Ezek. xxxviii. 18-20. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.—The Lord shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake. Joel iii. 14, 16. There was a great earthquake.-Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.-The great day of his wrath is come. vi. 12, 14, 17.

8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured.

9. He bowed the heavens also and came down.

Then shall they see the Son of man coming-with power and great glory. Luke xxi. 27. His eyes were as a flame of fire. Rev. xix. 12.

Behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man. xiv. 14. And I saw