those yet more expeditious ones of the morning, and am carried by them to dwell in the midst of the sea, instead of the bowels of the earth, still shall I be under thy power and providence; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me fast, preserving me for a joyful resurrection at the time appointed. 13. For thou hast possessed, or, formed, my reins; thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. That God seeth in darkness, and that from him nothing is hidden, his knowledge of, and power over, our most inward parts, do plainly show. He "formed," and he therefore "possesseth," as his own property, our "reins," and is consequently privy to all those affections and desires which flow from thence. It was he who "covered us" in the womb, or, as it is elsewhere expressed, Job x. 11. who "clothed us with skin and flesh, and fenced us with "bones and sinews;" a work so astonishing, that before the Psalmist proceeds in his description of it, he cannot help breaking forth in rapture at the thought: "I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Obstupeo, et memet lætå formidine lustro, "Divini monumentum operis !" LOWTH. With awful joy I view this frame of mine, 15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought, or, variegated like needle-work, in the lowest parts of the earth. 16. Thine eyes did see my 'substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. By the "lower parts of the earth" is undoubtedly to be understood the "womb," where the fetus is gradually formed and matured for the birth, like plants and flowers under ground. The process is compared to that in a piece of work wrought with a needle, or fashioned in the loom; which, with all its beautiful variety of colour, and proportion of figure, ariseth by degrees to perfection under the hand of the artist, framed according to a pattern lying before him, from a rude mass of silk, or other materials. Thus, by the wisdom and power of God, and after a plan delineated in his book, is a shapeless mass wrought up into the most curious texture of nerves, veins, arteries, bones, muscles, membranes, and skin, most skilfully interwoven and connected with each other, until it becometh a body, harmoniously diversified with all the limbs and lineaments of a man, not one of which at first appeared, any more than the figures were to be seen in the ball of silk. But then (which is the chief thing here insisted on by the Psalmist), whereas the human artificer must have the clearest light whereby to accomplish his task, the divine Work-master seeth in secret, and effecteth all his wonders within the dark and narrow confines of the womb. The reformation of our corrupted and dis solved bodies, which is to be wrought, at the last day, in the womb of the earth, in order to their new birth, will crown all the works of the Almighty. 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto, or concerning, me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. From the wonders of God's forming hand, the Psalmist proceeds to those of his all-directing providence, which afford additional proofs of the divine omniscience and omnipresence. The "thoughts" and counsels of Jehovah concerning David, his appointment to the throne, his troubles and his preservation in the midst of them, were "precious" and delightful subjects of meditation and praise, never to be exhausted of the rich matter they contained. With these in his mind, he lay down at night to rest, and "when he awoke" in the morning, his thoughts naturally recurred to the pleasing theme; he began where he had left off, and found himself, in heart and soul, "still present with God," still ruminating on him and his works. The mercies of heaven in the redemption of the church, by the sufferings and exaltation of the true David, according to the divine decree concerning him-how precious are they to believers! How great is the sum, how far exceeding all human arithmetic to number them! Let them be to us the constant subjects of contemplation, admiration, and thanksgiving, day and night; and let death, that last sleep, find us engaged in an employment, which, when we awake and arise from the grave, we shall resume, and prosecute to eternity in the presence of God. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: or, Wilt thou not slay the wicked, O God? depart from me, therefore, ye blood-thirsty men. 20. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 86 David now draws the intended conclusion from the premises, so largely expatiated upon in the former part of the Psalm. As if he had said-And wilt thou not, O God, thou who art every where present, seeing and knowing all things: thou to whom the justice of my cause, and the iniquity of mine adversaries, are equally open; thou who hast formed, and hitherto, in so wonderful a manner, watched over and preserved thy servant; "wilt thou not slay the wicked," and deliver me, as thou hast promised to do, out of their hands? I know thou wilt; "depart " from me, therefore, ye blood-thirsty men;" I trust in my God, and will have no connexion, in the way of treaty or friendship, with you. You are not my enemies, but those of Jehovah ; against whom, not considering that he is privy to all your words, and even to your thoughts, you "speak" presumptuously and "wickedly," and whose "name" you "take " in vain," no less when you do evil under a godly pretence, and call him to witness the truth of your lies and calumnies, than when you openly blaspheme him. Such seemeth to be the full import of these two verses; and their application to the members of the church, when at any time in similar circumstances, is obvious, 21. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22. I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. A faithful servant hath the same interests, the same friends, the same enemies, with his Master, whose cause and honour he is, upon all occasions, in duty bound to support and maintain. A good man hates, as God himself doth; he hates not the persons of men, but their sins; not what God made them, but what they have made themselves. We are neither to hate the men, on account of the vices they practise; nor to love the vices, for the sake of the men who practise them. He who observeth invariably this distinction, fulfilleth the perfect law of charity, and hath the love of God and of his neighbour abiding in him. 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. In the first verse of the Psalm, David declared, that Jehovah had "searched him out, and known "him" he concludes with a petition, that his proceedings, and even his thoughts, might be still scrutinized by his Maker, in order to their perfect purification from any evil which might be in them, or adhere to them. Should the hottest furnace of adversity be found necessary to purge the dross from the silver, he refuseth not to be dissolved in it, and newformed, so that he might only become a vessel of honour fitted for the Master's use here below, and |