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lasting felicity and make him glad with the joy of thy coun

tenance.

7. And why? because the King putteth his trust in the Lord: and in the mercy of the Most Highest he shall not miscarry.

8. All thine enemies (k) shall feel thy hand thy right hand shall find out them that hate thee.

9. Thou shalt make them like a fiery oven in time of thy wrath: the Lord shall destroy them in his displeasure, and the fire shall consume them.

10. Their fruit shalt thou root out of the earth: and their seed from among the the children of

men.

11. For they intended mischief against thee and imagined such a device (1) as they are not able to perform.

12. Therefore shalt thou put them to flight and the strings of thy bow shalt thou make ready against the face of them.

13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength so will we sing, and praise thy power.

Lessons for the Fourth Day of the Month throughout the Year.

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"God hath raised him from the dead, and "set him at his own right hand in the "heavenly places, far above all princi"pality and power, and might and domi"nion, and every name that is named, not "only in this world, but also in that which "is to come;" and according to Philip. ii. 9-11. "God hath highly exalted him, "and given him a name which is above "every name; that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow, of things in hea"ven, and things in earth, and things "under the earth, and that every tongue "should confess that Jesus Christ is "Lord," &c.

April 4.

Morn. 1 Sam. xi.
Acts i. (3)

Even. 1 Sam. xii.

Heb. vi.

August 4.

Morn. Jer. xxxv.
Acts ii. (7)

Even. Jer. xxxvi.

Heb. vii.

December 4.

Morn. Isa. xx. xxi.
Acts v. (11)

Even. Isa. xxii.
Heb. x. (12)

(5) ante, 198. 177.

(4) ante, 57. 49. (9) ante, 204. (10) ante, 204. (11) ante, 208

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EVENING PRAYER.

Psalm xxii. (m)

My God (n), my God, look upon me; why hast thou forsaken me and art so far from my health, and from the words of my complaint?

2. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not and in the night-season also I take no rest;

3. And (0) thou continuest holy thou worship of Israel. 4. Our fathers hoped in thee: they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them.

5. They called upon thee, and were holpen they put their trust in thee, and were not confounded.

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6. But as for me, I am a worm (p),

(m) A prophetic description of the trouble and anguish the Messiah should undergo, of the scorn with which he should be treated, of many of the circumstances of his passion, of the assistance God should give him, of his ultimate triumph, and of the final success of his kingdom. David is considered the author, and he speaks in his own person as though he was speaking of himself; but he was a type of the Messiah, and in that character speaks of things as having happened to himself which were only to happen to the Messiah. This is one of the Psalms selected for Good Friday. Justin M. considers it clear that it applies wholly to the Messiah. Dial. cum Tryphone, 324, 5, 6, 7, 9. 330, 1, 2, 3.

(n) v. 1." My God, &c." Our Saviour uttered the beginning of this verse whilst upon the cross, (Matt. xxvii. 46. Mark xv. 34.); perhaps to call to recollection the predictions in this Psalm, and to fix the attention upon their wonderful accomplishment.

(o) v. 3." And," or "but." The meaning probably is, though I do not immediately obtain relief, I am satisfied thou wilt not wholly forsake me; I shall have the deliverance which they who trust in thee have always found.

and no man : a very scorn of men, and the out-cast of the people.

7. All they that see me, laugh me to scorn (q): they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying,

8. "He trusted in God, that "he would deliver him: let him "deliver him, if he will have him."

9. But (r) thou art he that took me out of my mother's womb : thou wast my hope, when I hanged yet upon my mother's breasts,

10. I have been left unto thee ever since I was born: thou art my God, even from my mother's womb.

11. O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand and there is none to help me.

(p) v. 6. "A worm," "treated with such "little regard." Many passages speak prophetically of the contempt the Messiah should experience, of the sufferings he should undergo, and of the ultimate success of his religion. It is of him that it is said, Is. l. 6. "I gave my back to the "smiters, and my cheeks to them that "plucked off the hair; I hid not my face "from shame and spitting ;" and of him God saith, Is. xlix. 7. " to him whom "man despiseth, to him whom the nation "abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings "shall see and arise, princes also shall "worship."

(g) v. 7, 8. "To scorn, &c." How exactly does this correspond with what occurred at the crucifixion! "They that "passed by reviled him, wagging their "heads: likewise also the chief priests "mocking him, with the scribes and elders, "said, "He saved others, himself he can"not save; if he be the king Israel, let "him now come down from the cross, and "we will believe him: he trusted in "God, let him deliver him now, if he "will have him. Matt. xxvii. 39, 41, 42, "43."

(r) v. 9." But thou, &c." So that I may have the utmost confidence in thee,

12. Many oxen (s) are come about me: fat bulls (s) of Basan close me in on every side. 13. They gape upon me with their mouths as it were a ramp

ing and a roaring lion.

14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax.

15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my gums: and thou shalt bring (1) me into the dust of death.

16. For many dogs are come about me and the counsel of the wicked layeth (u) siege against

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(t) v. 15. "Shalt bring," or (B. T.)" hast brought."

(u) v. 16. "Layeth siege, &c." verified when the chief priests and elders took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death. See Matt. xxvi. 8. 15. 59.- Matt. xxvii. 1. -Mark xiv. 1.-Mark xv. 1.- Lukexxii. 2.

(x) v. 17. Pierced, &c." This occurred to our Saviour when he was nailed to the cross. It may be observed, that crucifixion was not a Jewish punishment, that there was no Jewish punishment in which the hands and feet were pierced, that it was not likely they should adopt any such punishment so long as they continued in the free exercise of their own laws; and that if they became subject to those of any other nation, it was not likely they should have the power of bringing about the Messiah's death. The probability, therefore (humanly considered) was against the fulfilment of this prediction; but the almighty Power that suggested the prophecy could also bring it to pass.

(y) v. 18. "Part, &c." and "cast lots." These two singular predictions were literally fulfilled at our Saviour's death: "The "soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, "took his garments, and made four parts,

bones they stand staring and looking upon me.

18. They part (y) my garments among them and cast (y) lots upon my vesture.

19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord: thou art my succour; haste thee to help me.

20. Deliver my soul from the sword: my darling (2) from the power of the dog.

21. Save me from the lion's mouth: thou hast heard me also from among the horns (a) of the

unicorns.

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"to every soldier a part, and also his coat: "now the coat was without seam, woven "from the top throughout: they said "therefore among themselves, "Let us "not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it "shall be:" these things therefore the sol"diers did. John xix. 23, 24." What but the foresight of God could have suggested so remarkable a prophecy? what but his power have caused its completion?

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(z) v. 20. "My darling," i. e. "my life, my existence, that about me which is "most dear and precious." So Ps. XXXV. 17.

(a) v. 21. "From the horns of the uni"corn," a figurative expression, to express a situation of the greatest danger: "thou "hast heard and delivered me when I was "upon the point of being gored by the "horns of the unicorns."

(b) v. 22. Here the character of the Psalm changes: the deliverance prayed for is foreseen, the success of Christ's kingdom contemplated, and praise and glory to God required on those accounts. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews considers this verse as spoken in Messiah, Heb. ii. "sanctifieth. are all of is, Jesus (that

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25. My praise is of thee in the great congregation (c): my Vows (d) will I perform in the sight of them that fear him.

26. The poor shall eat (e), and be satisfied they that seek after the Lord, shall praise him; your heart shall live for ever.

27. All the ends (g) of the world shall remember themselves, and be turned unto the Lord : and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him.

"unto my brethren, in the midst of the "church will I sing praise unto thee.

(c) v. 25. "The great congregation." "The great_religious assembly of the "Jews." So Ps. xxxv. 18. “I will give thee "thanks in the great congregation, I will "praise thee among much people." And

Ps. xl. 11. 13.

(d)" My vows, &c." So Ps. cxvi. 16. "I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in "the sight of all his people, in the courts "of the Lord's house, even in the midst of "thee, O Jerusalem."

(e) v. 26. "The poor shall eat, &c." It is a mark of great temporal prosperity, where there is such abundance, that the very poorest have enough; and the meaning here probably is, that in the times referred to, the times of the Messiah, there shall be a proportionate abundance of spiritual blessings. See Ps. lxxii. 16.

(g) v. 27. "All the ends, &c." One, among many, of the predictions as to the extent to which the true worship of God should in time prevail. Isaiah, in his figurative language, says, "It shall

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come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house" (that is, the worship of the true God) "shall be "established in the top of the mountains, "and shall be exalted above the hills, and "all nations shall flow unto it. Is. ii. 2." So Hos. ii. 23. "I (i. e. God) will say to "them which were not my people, "Thou

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"art my people;" and they shall say, "Thou art my God." And again, Mal. i. 11. "From the rising of the sun even unto "the going down of the same" (that is, from the extremities of east and west)" my "name shall be great among the Gentiles, "and in every place incense shall be of"fered unto my name, and a pure offering; "for my name shall be great among the "heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts." Ps. ii. 8.-lxxxvi. 9. and Is. xlv. 23. (h) v. 28. "The Lord's :" a triumphant burst of rapture. "He alone shall have a "kingdom! He alone shall be governor amongst the nations;" because, (in the language of Rev. i. 16.) "The kingdoms "of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his "Christ."

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(i) v. 29. “All, &c." The meaning perhaps is, his worship shall be universal: all ranks shall join the rich," the fat upon earth," and " they that go down "into the dust," the poor and abject.

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(k) v. 30. "No man," i. e. (perhaps) "no one can of himself, without my means, quicken his own soul, obtain eternal "life."

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() v. 31. "My seed," i. e. (perhaps) "the church of Christ, the professors of "Christianity." See Ps. lxxxix. 30. and the note there.

(m) A hymn of great simplicity, written by David, on the protection and kindness

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"The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
"And feed me with a shepherd's care;
"His presence shall my wants supply,
"And guard me with a watchful eye;
"My noon-day walks be shall attend,
"And all my midnight hours defend.

"When in the sultry glebe I faint,
"Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
"To fertile vales, and dewy meads,

My weary wandering steps he leads,
"Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
"Amid the verdant landscapes flow.

"Tho' in the paths of death I tread,
"With gloomy horrors overspread,
"My stedfast heart shall fear no ill,
"For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
"Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
"And guide me thro' the dreadful shade.

"Tho' in a bare and rugged way,
"Thro' devious lonely wilds I stray,
"Thy bounty shall my pains beguile,
"The barren wilderness shall smile,
"With sudden greens and herbage crown'd,
"And streams shall murmur all around."

(n) v. 2. "In a green pasture," i. e. "as abundantly as sheep feed in a green pasture.

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(o) v. 3. "Convert," i. e. "direct; "turn into the right way."

(p). "me."

"Bring me forth," i. e. " conduct

(q) v. 5. " Against," i. e. "in defiance of."

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(t) A spirited hymn, upon some solemn procession with the ark of God to the top of mount Sion, either upon its removal from the house of Obededom the Gittite, (see 2 Sam. vi. 12.) or upon some victory. Justin M. considers it as prophetical, applying to the Messiah, and thinks it clear that the King of Glory" means Christ; and that the order to open the gates, &c. refers to Christ's ascension into heaven. Justin M., Dial. cum Tryphone, 254, 5.310, 11.-357. Other primitive Fathers interpret it of Christ, 4. Aug. 461. Waterl. 230.; and Christ is distinctly called "the "Lord of Glory, 1 Cor. ii. 8. ;" and in our Te Deum, "Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ." It notices the universal dominion of God, and the qualities he requires in those he suffers to approach or attend him, and concludes with a command for opening the gates for the admission of the ark, (which was looked upon as a type or representation of the Messiah's ascension into heaven). It is one of the Psalms for Ascension Day. It appears to be responsive, performed by several sets of singers, and the first six verses were probably sung as the procession advanced towards the tabernacle; and the other four just as they were reaching the

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