cerns the coming judgment of God, though not yet apparent, by the eye of faith, as the Apostle well calls faith "the beholding of things not seen." (Heb. xi. 1.) Incredible as it might appear that any calamity should overtake so mighty an empire as Babylon then was, and impregnable as it was generally considered to be, he sees in the glass of the Word its destruction and overthrow. He calls upon all God's people to do the same, and by faith from the elevation of heaven's oracles, to despise the pride of that abandoned city. If the divine promises inspire us with hope and confidence, and God's Spirit attemper our afflictions to the rule of his own uprightness, we shall lift up our heads in the lowest depths of affliction to which we may be cast down, and glory in the fact that it is well with us in our worst distresses, and that our enemies are devoted to destruction. In declaring those to be happy who should pay back vengeance upon the Babylonians, he does not mean that the service done by the Medes and Persians, in itself, met with the approbation of God; for they were actuated in the war by ambition, insatiable covetousness, and unprincipled rivalry; but he declares that a war which was carried on in a manner under God's auspices, should be crowned with success. As God had determined to punish Babylon, he pronounced a blessing upon Cyrus and Darius, while on the other hand Jeremiah (chap. xlviii. 10) declares those cursed who should do the work of the Lord negligently, that is, fail in strenuously carrying out the work of desolation and destruction, to which God had called them as his hired executioners. It may seem to savour of cruelty, that he should wish the tender and innocent infants to be dashed and mangled upon the stones, but he does not speak under the impulse of personal feeling, and only employs words which God had himself authorized, so that this is but the declaration of a just judgment, as when our Lord says, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." (Matt. vii. 2.) Isaiah (ch. xiii. 16) had issued a special prediction in reference to Babylon, which the Psalmist has doubtless here in his eye-" Behold God

1 "Il n'entend pas que le service des Perses et Medes ait este agreable a Dieu," &c.-Fr.

has sharpened the iron, and bent the bows; he sends forth the Medes and Persians, which shall not regard silver and gold; they shall thirst for blood only," &c.

PSALM CXXXVIII.

In this Psalm David, in remembrance of the singular help which had always been vouchsafed him by God-the experience he had enjoyed of his faithfulness and goodness, takes occasion to stir himself up to gratitude; and from what he had known of the divine faithfulness, he anticipates a continuance of the same mercy. If dangers must be met, he confidently looks for a happy issue.

¶ A Psalm of David.

1. I will praise thee with my whole heart, before the gods will I sing psalms to thee.

2. I will worship thee towards the temple of thy holiness, and sing unto thy name for thy mercy and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified thy name above all things by thy word.

3. In the day when I cried to thee then thou answeredst me, and hast abundantly ministered strength to me in my soul.

4. Let all kings of the earth praise thee, O Jehovah! because they have heard the words of thy mouth.

5. And let them sing in3 the ways of Jehovah, for great is the glory of Jehovah.

1 Here "O Jehovah" is to be understood. Though it is not in the received Hebrew text, it was found in six copies examined by Dr. Kennicott, and in eight examined by De Rossi. The Septuagint, Arabic, Vulgate, and Ethiopic versions add " Jehovah" after the verb for "praise." "The omission of the Divine name," says Jebb, in his Translation of the Psalms, "in a passage like this, at the beginning of the Psalm, is altogether unexampled.'

By the Hebrew word 'n, Elohim, translated gods, Calvin understands "angels" or "kings," but particularly the former. It is however proper to observe that D, Elohim, is one of the names applied to the Supreme Being in the sacred volume, and therefore some critics translate "before God," which they explain as meaning "before the ark," where were the sacred symbols of his presence. If after the Hebrew word for "before," we should suppose "thee" to be understood, the reading would be "before thee, or in thy presence, O God! will I sing praise unto thee.”

Phillips observes that the force of 2, beth, seems to be that of concern

1. I will praise thee with my whole heart. As David had been honoured to receive distinguishing marks of the divine favour, he declares his resolution to show more than ordinary gratitude. This is exercise which degenerates and is degraded in the case of hypocrites to a mere sound of empty words, but he states that he would return thanks to God not with the lips only, but with sincerity of heart, for by the whole heart, as we have elsewhere seen, is meant a heart which is sincere and not double. The noun D, Elohim, sometimes means angels, and sometimes kings, and either meaning will suit with the passage before us. The praise David speaks of is that which is of a public kind. The solemn assembly is, so to speak, a heavenly theatre, graced by the presence of attending angels; and one reason why the cherubim overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant was to let God's people know that the angels are present when they come to worship in the sanctuary. We might very properly apply what is said here to kings, on account of their eminence in rank, as in Ps. cvii. 32, "Praise ye the Lord in the assembly of the elders"-that is, as we should say, in an assembly of an honoured and illustrious kind. But I prefer the former sense, and this because believers in drawing near to God are withdrawn from the world, and rise to heaven in the enjoyment of fellowship with angels, so that we find Paul enforcing his address to the Corinthians upon the necessity of decency and order, by requiring them to show some respect at least in their public religious assemblies to the angels. (1 Cor. xi. 10.) The same thing was represented by God long before, under the figure of the cherubim, thus giving his people a visible pledge of his presence.

2. I will worship towards the temple of thy holiness. Ho

ing:-"The kings of the earth shall sing concerning the ways of the Lord,' how that they are good and merciful."

1 This Psalm is entitled "a Psalm of David," and Calvin considers him to be its author agreeably to the title; but the mention of " the temple" in the second verse seems to render such an opinion doubtful. If, how ever, we translate this word by "mansion," which is the proper rendering of the original-" the mansion of thy sanctity:" this objection to its com position by David falls to the ground. In the Septuagint version the

intimates that he would show more than private gratitude, and, in order to set an example before others, come in compliance with the precept of the law into the sanctuary. He worshipped God spiritually, and yet would lift his eyes to those outward symbols which were the means then appointed for drawing the minds of God's people upwards. He singles out the divine mercy and truth as the subject of his praise, for while the power and greatness of God are equally worthy of commendation, nothing has a more sensible influence in stimulating us to thanksgiving than his free mercy; and in communicating to us of his goodness he opens our mouth to sing his praises. As we cannot taste, or at least have any lively apprehensions in our souls of the divine mercy otherwise than through the word, mention is made of his faithfulness or truth. This coupling of mercy with truth is to be particularly taken notice of, as I have frequently observed, for however much the goodness of God may appear to us in its effects, such is our insensibility that it will never penetrate our minds, unless the word have come to us in the first place. Goodness is first mentioned, because the only ground upon which God shows himself to us as true is his having bound himself by his free promise. And it is in this that his unspeakable mercy shows itself-that he prevents those with it who were at a distance from him, and invites them to draw near to him by condescending to address them in a familiar manner. In the end of the verse some supply the copulative, and read-Thou hast magnified thy name and thy word above all things. This learned interpreters have rejected as a meagre rendering, and yet have themselves had recourse to what I consider a forced interpretation, Thou hast magnified thy name above all thy word. I am satisfied David means to declare that God's name is exalted above

title of this Psalm is, "A Psalm of David; of Haggai and Zechariah, when they were dispersed," (comp. Ezra v. 1); meaning a Psalm of David, used by Haggai and Zechariah.

1 According to this mode of rendering the passage, cal, the word for all, is independent of DV, shimcha, the word for thy name. But it has been properly observed by Aben Ezra, that in this case should have a Cholem, and not a Kametz Chateph, with which it is found in all copies. Besides, this translation is not supported by any of the ancient versions." -Phillips.

all things, specifying the particular manner in which he has exalted his name, by faithfully performing his free promises. Nor can any doubt that owing to our blind insensibility to the benefits which God bestows upon us, the best way in which he can awaken us to the right notice of them is by first addressing his word to us, and then certifying and sealing his goodness by accomplishing what he has promised.

3. In the day when I cried to thee, &c. Frequently God prevents our prayers, and surprises us, as it were, sleeping: but commonly he stirs us up to prayer by the influence of his Spirit, and this to illustrate his goodness the more by our finding that he crowns our prayers with success. David well infers that his escape from danger could not have been merely fortuitous, as it plainly appeared that God had answered him. This then is one thing noticeable, that our prayers more nearly discover his goodness to us. Some supply a copulative in the second part of the verse-Thou hast increased me, and in my soul is strength. But this is not called for, since the words read well enough as they stand, whether we render the passage as I have done above, or translate it, Thou hast multiplied, or increased, me with strength in my soul. The sense is, That from a weak and afflicted state he had received fresh strength to his spirit. Or some may, perhaps, prefer resolving it thus: Thou hast multiplied that is, blest me, whence strength in my soul.

4. Let all kings of the earth praise thee. Here he declares that the goodness he had experienced would be extensively known, and the report of it spread over all the world. In saying that even kings had heard the words of God's mouth, he does not mean to aver that they had been taught in the true religion so as to be prepared for becoming members of the Church, but only that it would be well known everywhere that the reason of his having been preserved in such a wonderful manner was God's having anointed him king by his commandment.' Thus although the neighbouring

"Sed hoc ubique fore notum, non alia de causâ mirabiliter servatum fuisse a Deo, nisi quod ejus mandato unctus fuerat in Regem."-Lat.