Saviour, to whom the ark and the tabernacle, and the temple, and the various ordinances of that ancient dispensation, directed the attention of the enlightened worshipper. The psalm now before us appears to have been composed for that auspicious occasion. In the ascent of the ark to its resting place in Zion, the Israelites were instructed to look forward to that greater event, thus typified and represented, when the Messiah should go up from this earth to His throne in heaven; when the great work of redemption having been accomplished, He should publicly demonstrate His authority by His triumphant return to the world of glory.

Leaving, therefore, the immediate object of this sacred composition as it refers to the ark, let us proceed at once to its bearing upon the christian dispensation, and consider

I. SOME OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CHRIST'S ASCENSION, and

II. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF IT.

The inquiry will lead us, in conclusion, to a few practical observations.

I. Let us notice SOME OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CHRIST'S ASCENSION.

From the terms of the address, Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive,

we are led to suppose that the holy psalmist, having by the prophetic Spirit been rapt into the visions of futurity, had just witnessed the ascent of the Messiah to His throne in the heavens; and that in the ecstacy of the moment this was the language by which he gave expression to his feelings; so that we have here an exclamation not merely affirming the certainty of that event in its appointed time, but manifesting the delight with which this servant of God beheld the glorious spectacle. And hence we observe a close connexion between the two verses of the text. Having stated concerning Mount Zion, this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever; we are to imagine that the mind of the prophet was at once raised from this earthly Zion and this earthly procession, to the view of the Messiah in His ascension to glory; and that on contemplating the wonderful scene, he immediately breaks forth, The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Such was the vision presented to him of the bright train which attended their victorious Prince, all rejoicing to

* Verse 16.

minister unto Him, and uniting to welcome Him back to that world, which for a season He had been contented to leave: and in the midst of them was the Lord Himself, as in Sinai, in the holy place; the place where the divine Majesty had been so gloriously manifested. The description becomes still more striking, and the scene more wonderful, if we contrast it with the previous humiliation of the Messiah; and to this the words naturally invite us; for in saying, Thou hast ascended on high, the psalmist reminds us of the Messiah's condescension in visiting the world, the world which knew Him not. Only a few days had elapsed since His disciples had deserted Him, and He seemed to be forsaken even by His God: He died upon the cross, and His body was committed to the tomb: He now ascends from the earth as in a chariot of glory, surrounded with an innumerable company of angels.

We are not, however, to interpret the phrase, Thou hast ascended on high, as confined to the mere circumstance of His ascension; the psalmist doubtless comprises in that expression the further idea of His entering into His kingdom and taking possession of His mediatorial throne,

and seating Himself at the right hand of God. It was in order to assume that dignity and power which belongs to Him as the Mediator between God and man, that He thus returned to heaven; and the pomp which accompanied His progress was meant to conduct Him to a yet higher scene, where, invested with all power in heaven and in earth, He should sit as the King of kings and Lord of lords, the object of adoration to all the inhabitants of the world of light. To this power of the Messiah the psalmist particularly adverts, in representing His ascension as the triumph of a conqueror. He entered into heaven not as a Mediator only, but as a victorious Sovereign: Thou hast led captivity captive; that is, Thou hast brought into subjection to thyself those who had been hitherto in bondage: thou hast rescued them from their servile state, and hast made them the happy subjects of thy just authority: thou hast broken the yoke from their necks, and hast subjected for ever the enemies who oppressed them.

But where, then, was the victory achieved? On what field of conquest were displayed the terrors of His power? When His hands were lifted up, it was in mercy; when He spake, it

was in the language of compassion: the poor rejoiced to behold Him; and even little children could discover in that countenance no motive for alarm. Shall we look to the garden of Gethsemane as the scene of His conquests; or seek upon the cross for the evidence of His victory? Yes, it is there that we have the demonstration of power from on high: yes, it was there that, while men did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, He got to Himself the victory. While His hands were fixed to the tree, He grasped the keys of hell and of death; and the crown of thorns itself was the presage and the sign of an everlasting triumph. In that conflict on the Mount of Olives, in that death upon Calvary, He broke the chains of the oppressor, and cast down the power of the prince of darkness. It was in the moment of apparent weakness, that He proved Himself to be mighty in battle:* and by His subsequent resurrection from the dead, He established His authority over death and the grave. Thus the conflict had been maintained, and the victory won. But in His ascension to heaven, He publicly proclaimed it: by His death He hath destroyed even him that had the power of death, that

*Psalm xxiv. 8.