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2. They speak vanity,' or a lie, 'every one with his neighbour with flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak.'

When men cease to be faithful to their God, he who expects to find them so to each other, will be much disappointed. The primitive sincerity will accompany the primitive piety in her flight from the earth; and then interest will succeed conscience in the regulation of human conduct, till one man cannot trust another farther than he holds him by that tie. Hence, by the way, it is, that although many are infidels themselves, yet few choose to have their families and dependants such; as judging, and rightly judging, that true Christians are the only persons to be depended on, for the exact discharge of social duties.

3. The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: 4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail, our lips are our own: who is lord over us?"

They who take pleasure in deceiving others, will at the last find themselves most of all deceived, when the Sun of truth, by the brightness of his rising, shall at once detect and consume hypocrisy. And as to men of another stamp, who speak great swelling words of vanity: who vaunt themselves in the arm of flesh, thinking to prevail by human wit, or human power: equally deplorable will be their case, when the Lord God omnipotent' reigneth.

5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.'

For the consolation of the afflicted and poor in spirit, Jehovah is here introduced promising, out of compassion to their sufferings, to arise, and set them in safety,' or place them in a state of salvation.' Such all along has been his promise to the church, who, by looking back to the deliverances wrought of old for the servants of God, and, above all, to that wrought for the Son of God, is now encouraged to look forward, and expect her final redemption from the scorn and insolence of infidelity.

6. The words of the LORD are pure words; as silver

tried in a furnace,' or crucible of earth, 'purified seven times.'

The church rejoices in the promises of God her Saviour, because they are such as she can confide in. His words are not like those of deceitful boasting man, but true and righteous altogether. Often have they been put to the test, in the trials of the faithful, like silver committed to the furnace, in an earthen crucible; but, like silver in its most refined and exalted purity, found to contain no dross of imperfection, no alloy of fallibility in them. The words of Jehovah are holy in his precepts, just in his laws, gracious in his promises, significant in his institutions, true in his narrations, and infallible in his predictions. What are the thousands of gold and silver, compared to the treasures of the sacred page !

7. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.'

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As if it had been said, Yes, blessed Lord, what thou hast promised shall surely be performed, since there is with thee no variableness, nor shadow of turning; thou wilt keep thy poor and lowly servants, as thou hast promised, from being circumvented by treachery, or crushed by power; thou wilt preserve them undefiled amidst an evil and adulterous generation; thou wilt be with thy church to the end of the world, and then admit her to be with thee for ever.

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8. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.'

While the faithful repose, as they ought to do, an unlimited confidence in God's promises, they have, in the mean time, but too much reason to mourn the prevalence of wickedness, stalking, like its author, to and fro, and up and down in the earth, uncontrolled by those who bear the sword, but who either blunt its edge, or turn it the wrong way. Such is often the state of things here below; and a reflection, made upon the subject by our Lord, when his enemies drew near to apprehend him, may satisfy us how it comes to be so: It is your hour, and the power of darkness.' But that hour will quickly pass with us, as it did with him, and the power of darkness

will be overthrown; the Lord will be our everlasting light, and the days of our mourning shall be ended.

PSALM XIII.

ARGUMENT.

[This Psalm contains, 1, 2. a complaint of desertion; 3, 4. a prayer for the divine assistance; 5, 6. an act of faith and thanksgiving.]

1. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?'

While God permits his servants to continue under 'affliction, he is said, after the manner of men, to have 'forgotten, and hid his face from them.' For the use, therefore, of persons in such circumstances, is this Psalm intended; and, consequently, it suits the different cases of the church universal, languishing for the advent of our Lord to deliver her from this evil world; of any particular church, in time of persecution; and of each individual, when harassed by temptations, or broken by sickness, pain, and sorrow. He who bore our sins, and carried our sorrows, may likewise be presumed to have made it a part of his devotions in the day of trouble.

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?'

To excite compassion, and prevail for help from above, the petitioner mentions three aggravating circumstances of his misery: the perplexity of his soul, not knowing which way to turn, or what course to take; his heart-felt sorrow, uttering itself in sighs and groaning; and the mortifying reflection, that his enemies were exulting in their conquest over him. All this will happen, and be particularly painful, to him who has yielded to temptation, and committed sin.

3. Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.'

On the preceding considerations is founded a prayer

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to Jehovah, that he would no longer hide his face, but 'consider,' or more literally, 'have respect to, favorably behold' his servant; that he would hear, attend to, be mindful of his supplication in distress. The deliverance requested is expressed figuratively, 'Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.' In time, of sickness and grief, the eyes' are dull and heavy; and they grow more and more so as death approaches, which closes them in darkness. On the other hand, health and joy render the organs of vision bright and sparkling, seeming, as it were, to impart 'light' to them from within. The words, therefore, may be fitly applied to a recovery of the body natural, and thence of the body politic, from their respective maladies. Nor do they less significantly describe the restoration of the soul to a state of spiritual health and holy joy, which will manifest themselves in like manner, by the eyes of the understanding being enlightened;' and in this case, the soul is saved from the sleep of sin, as the body is, in the other, from the sleep of death.

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4. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him ; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.'

This argument we often find urged in prayer to God, that he should be pleased to work salvation for his people, lest his and their enemies should seem to triumph over him as well as them; which would indeed have been the case, had Satan either seduced the true David to sin, or confined him in the grave. And certainly it should be a powerful motive to restrain us from transgression, when we consider, that as the conversion of a sinner brings glory to God, and causes joy among the angels of heaven; so the fall of a believer disgraces the Gospel of Jesus, opens the mouths of the adversaries, and would produce joy, if such a thing could be, in hell itself.

5. But I have trusted,' or I trust, 'in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice,' or rejoices, in thy salvation.' 6. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt,' or deals, 'bountifully with me.'

The heart which trusteth in God's mercy,' shall alone 'rejoice in his salvation,' and celebrate by the tongue, in songs of praise, the loving-kindness of the Lord. It is observable, that this, and many other Psalms, with a

mournful beginning, have a triumphant ending; to show us the prevailing power of devotion, and to convince us of the certain return of prayer, sooner or later, bringing with it the comforts of heaven, to revive and enrich our weary and barren spirits in the gloomy seasons of sorrow and temptation, like the dew descending by night on the withered summit of an eastern mountain.

PSALM XIV.

ARGUMENT.

[This Psalm is in a manner the same with the 53d. It sets forth, 1-3. the corruption of the world; 4-6. its enmity against the people of God; 7. the prophet longs and prays for salvation.]

1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God: they are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doth good.'

It does not appear on what occasion David composed this Psaim. The revolt of Israel in Absalom's rebellion, is by most writers pitched on as the subject of it. But, be this as it may, the expressions are general, and evidently designed to extend beyond a private interpretation. And accordingly, the apostle (Rom. iii. 10, &c.) produces some passages from it, to evince the apostasy of both Jews and Gentiles from their King and their God, and to prove them to be all under sin. In this light, therefore, we are to consider it, as characterising the principles and practices of those who oppose the Gospel of Christ in all ages. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.' Infidelity is the beginning of sin, folly the foundation of infidelity, and the heart the seat of both. 'Their foolish heart (says St. Paul of the heathen, Rom. i. 21.) was darkened.' The sad consequence of defection in principle, is corruption in practice. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doth good.' On these words the reader may see a full comment, Rom. i. 28-32.

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2. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there was any that did under

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