clouds of ignorance and of depravity, and discloses to them scenes of which they had once no conception. He unfolds to them a world of wickedness in themselves, and a world of grace in him and in his Son. He discloses to them all the dangers with which the path of vice is crowded, and all the pleasures with which the path of righteousness is fraught. And like the natural sun, he not only enlightens, but warms and fertilizes; he fills the cold breast with the warmth of devotion and love; he inspires the bosom that had been frozen, as it were, by idleness and sin, with the vigour and the life of spring; he makes all the tender plants of religion and virtue, which had long been concealed, to disclose their beauty; and while, with the genial influences of his Spirit, he cherishes and strengthens them, he at the same time shields them from the blasting influence of bad example, from the storms of unsubdued passions, from the depredation of every foe.

As a shield he defends them from every danger; as the sun he invigorates them with every joy: As a shield he protects from all the evils, the real evils of life; as a sun he communicates the gracious influences of heaven.

“ And God will not only give grace but "glory." He will not only be a sun and shield on earth, but an exceeding great reward in heaven. He will not only lead his creatures through all the dangers and perils of life; he will not only give them grace to defend, and comfort, and guide them through this wilderness; but he will crown them with joy unspeakable in the heavenly mansions. But why, my friends, should I pretend to enumerate all that God will do, and all that he will bestow on them that love him? His goodness is infinite and inexhaustible.

"No good thing will he withhold from "them that walk uprightly!"

This is an important clause. In vain do we lift up our eyes to heaven; in vain do we frequent the house of God; in vain do we implore the protection and favour of that Being "who is a sun and shield,” "who will give both grace and glory," if we do not walk uprightly before him. "Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle? "Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He "that walketh uprightly, and worketh " righteousness, and speaketh the truth in "his heart,"

VERSE 12. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

This prayer of David had relieved his mind from the load of sorrow with which he was oppressed. It had revived in his soul a sense of the divine goodness and mercy, and he concludes by reposing his confidence on the providence of that heavenly Father, who had protected him thro' life, who had distinguished him by many blessings, who had rescued him from the power of the lion and the bear, who had enabled him to triumph over the champion of the Philistines, who had delivered him from the persecutions of Saul, and the machinations of all his enemies, and who, he hoped, would now deliver him from the wicked and unnatural conspiracy that had been formed against him, and permit him again to appear before his God in Zion, with songs of thanksgiving and of praise. This assurance calms his troubled breast, fills his soul with a pure and elevating joy, and makes him conclude his prayer in these words, so consolatory to every afflicted and pious Christian, “ O "Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that "trusteth in thee."

Having thus illustrated the verses.composing this Psalm, we shall next briefly proceed to a. practical improvement of them.

Did the tabernacles of God appear so amiable and so desirable to David? and how amiable and desirable ought they to appear to us? Under the imperfect dispensation of the Jews, worshippers were permitted to enter only into the courts of the tabernacle ; but we, under the perfect dispensation of the gospel, are required " to enter with "boldness into the holiest of all, by the "blood of Jesus, by a new and living way " which he hath consecrated for us through "the veil, that is to say, his flesh." If, therefore, as the Apostle to the Colossians argues, "the ministration of death, written "and engraven on stone, was glorious, "how shall not the ministration of the

spirit be rather glorious!" And if David pronounced the man blessed, who under the law dwelt in the house of God, and was still praising him, how great must be the blessedness of the man who, under the gospel, delights to dwell in the house of God, and with how much greater reason will he be still praising him? In those

Old Testament times, they were only blessed with the shadow of good things to come; we are blest with the substance. They had their sacrifices, and types, and shadows; but we have Him in whom they all centered. They had the Prophets who foretold, we have the Evangelists who record, the life of Jesus. They knew that Christ would establish a glorious kingdom in this world; we see that kingdom established, and enjoy its blessings. With respect to light and spiritual advantages, he that is least in the kingdom of God, i. e. in the church of Christ, is greater than all the Old Testament prophets.

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But, brethren, are you profiting under the means of grace? Does fruit in any measure correspond with the superior advantages which you enjoy? When you read of the lively devotion of David and other Old Testament saints, are you not ashamed of cold lifeless services? How comparatively languid and dead is the worship of many Christians, and how far do even the most spiritual fall short of what they know to be their duty! How many in this highly favoured land, instead of being glad when it is said to them, "Let us go up to

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