Ver. 3. * God came from Teman, the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, the earth was full of his praise.'
° Teman was a city of the Edomites, whose land the people of Israel compassed in the wilderness, when they were stung with fiery serpents and healed with looking on a brazen serpent set up to be a type of Christ. Teman is put up for the whole land of Edom; and the prophet makes mention of it for the great deliverance and mercy granted there to the people, when they were almost consumed ; that's God's coming from Teman. See Num. xxi. 5 — 9. When
" Bonum agoiieni subituri estis, in quo agonothetes Deus virus est : Cliristarchos Spiritns Sanctus, corona aetcrnitatis brabium, epithefes Jesus Christus. Tertul. ad Mar. 0 Gen. xxxvi. 15. Jcr. xlix. 7. Obad. 9.
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they were destroyed by fiery serpents, he heals thera by a type of Christ, giving thera corporeal, and raising them to a faith of spiritual salvation.
P Paran, the next place mentioned, was a mountain in the land of Ishmael, near which Moses repeated the lavv- ; and from thence God carried the people immediately to Canaan; another eminent act of mercy.
Unto these he addeth the word Selah : as it is a sono". a note of elevation in singing ; as it respects the matter, not the form, a note of admiration and special observation. Se- lah, consider them well, for they were great works indeed. Special mercies must have special observation.
Now by reason of these actions the prophet affirms that the glory of God covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. Lofty expressions of the advancement of God's glory, and the fulness of his praise amongst his people of the earth, which attended that merciful deliverance and gra- cious assistance. Nothing is higher or greater than that which covers heaven, and fills earth. God'si glory is ex- ceedingly exalted, and his praise increased everywhere, by acts of favour and kindness to his people.
That which I shall choose from amongst many others that present themselves, a little to insist upon, is that
VII. Observation. Former mercies, with their times and places, are to be had in thankful remembrance unto them who wait for future blessings.
Faith is to this end separated by them. ' Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord, awake as in the an- cient days, as in the generations of old : art not thou it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon ? Art not thou it that dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over ?' Isa. li. 9, 10. The breaking of Rahab, that is, Egypt, so called here, and Psal. Ixxxvii. 4. Ixxxix. 11. for her great strength, which the word signifies ; and the wounding of the dragon, that great and crooked afflictor, Pharaoh, is remem- bered and urged, for a motive to a new needed deliverance. So Psal. Ixxiv. 13, 14. ' Thou breakest the heads of Leviathan
P Deut. i. 1 Gloria est frequens de aliquo faraa cum laiide. Cic. lib. 2. de inv, Consenliens laus bonorum, incorrupta vox bene jridicantium de excellente virtnte. Idem. Tusc. lib. 3.
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in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people in the wilderness.' Leviathan, the same dragon, oppressing, perse- cuting Pharaoh, thou breakest his heads, his counsels, armies, power, and gavest him for meat, that the people for forty years together might be fed, sustained, and nourished with that wonderful mercy. ' Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came forth sweetness.'
In this reciprocation God walketh with his people. Of free grace he bestoweth mercies and blessings on them; by grace works the returns of remembrance and thankfulness unto himself for them ; then showers that down again in new mercies. The countries which send up no vapours, receive down no showers. Remembrance, with thankfulness of former mercies, is the matter, as it were, which by God's goodness is condensed into following blessings. For
1. Mercies have their proper end, when thankfully re- membered. What more powerful motive to the obtaining of new, than to hold out that the old were not abused? We are encouraged to cast seed again into that ground, whose last crop witnesseth that it was not altogether barren. That sad spot of good Hezekiah, that he rendered not again ac- cording to the benefit done unto him, is set down as the opening a door of wrath against himself, Judah, and Jerusa- lem, 2 Chron. xxxii. 25. On the other side, suitable returns are a door of hope for farther mercies.
2. The remembrance of them strengthens faith, and keeps our hands from hanging down in the time of waiting for blessings. When faith is supported, the promise is engaged, and a mercy at any time more than half obtained. ' Faith is the substance of things hoped for;' Heb. xi. 1. ' God,' saith the apostle, ' hath delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver.' Now what conclusion makes he of this experience ? ' in whom we trust, that he will yet deliver us ;' 2 Cor. i. 10. It was a particular mercy with its circumstances, as you may see ver. 9. which he made the bottom of liis de- pendance. In the favours of men we cannot do so; they may be weary of helping, or be drawn dry, and grow helpless. Ponds maybe exhausted, but the ocean never. The infinite fountains of the Deity cannot be sunk one hair's breadth by everlasting flowino- blessinc^s. Now circumstances of ac-