R David
242 PSALMS, Lxxi. 7 — 9. [339.
David finds himself firmly seated on his throne : on jwjiich occasion,
" 1. He acknowledges the mercies he had received —
[He felt himself most peculiarly circumstanced: his trials had been great, and his deliverances most extraordinary. His hair-breadth escapes from Saul, and afterwards from foreign and domestic enemies, were very numerous He had re- cently been even driven from his throne by his son Absalom, the partisans of whom were ordered to direct their efforts exclusively against him : yet from this danger also had he been deUvered : so that he seemed to all to be under the peculiar protection of Heaven.", 'His mind too had in all these trials been wonderfully preserved from any thing vindictive, or unworthy of his high character. On all these accounts he was "a. wonder unto many."
There was indeed a reason for these mercies, which his enemies had no idea of: " he had made God his refuge." When per- secuted by men, he betook himself to prayer, and " encouraged himself in God." Thus under all circumstances he had " God for his glory and defence."]
2. He makes a suitable improvement of them —
[He renders thanks to God for his past favours. — In this the Psalmist was so exemplary, that he seems frequently to
breathe almost the very language of heaven itself In
this too he is distinguished from almost all other saints : others
abound in prayer, but he in praise —
He next prays for a continuance of these favours. — He well knew that he could no longer be safe than whilst he was under the care of the Almighty ; and that now in his advanced age he needed, if possible, more than ever the guidance and
protection of Heaven Hence he prayed that God would
" not cast him off in his old age, nor forsake liim when his strength failed him."]
Such is the import of the passage. Let us now,
IL Accommodate it to the circumstances of this day- Well may we at this time acknowledge the mer- cies of God to us —
[Our king may truly be said to be " a wonder unto many," whether we consider the length, or the prosperity, of his reign. Twice only, witliin the space of a thousand years, has any mon- arch of ours reigned so long as to s^e a jubilee kept on his account. And if we consider the state of the world, it is truly wonderful, that, after so many difficulties as we have encountered, "''■'■"' "' we
,88S.j] THE king's accession. 243
we should stand so eminent among the nations. Some indeed are fond of representing us as in a distressed and fallen state. But let such persons compare us with all the other nations of Europe, and they will see, that, whilst all of them have fallen a sacrifice to the politics or arms of France, we are as rich and potent as at any period of our history. That we have burthens to bear, is certain : but it is very unfair to ascribe them to our Governors. They have arisen out of the circumstances of the world around us ; in which we were of necessity involved ; and from which we could no more disengage ourselves, than we could exempt our nation from the physical motion of the globe.}
We should also make a similar improvement of them —
[Many are the grounds which we have for praise and thanksgiving: and our mouths may well " be filled with God's praise all the day." On this day especially we are called to manifest our gratitude both in a way of spiritual, and, if I may so speak, of carnal joy. Some, in their zeal for spiritual joy, forget that we consist of body as well as of a spiritual part ; and that in the Scriptures we have numerous instances of national gratitude expressed by the combined exercise of spiritual and carnal joy. Such was that holy feast which David himself, toge- ther with his people, kept, not long after he had written this psalm ^. And it is truly gratifying to think, that, through the benevolence of the rich, all the poorer classes of society are en- abled to participate, in a more than ordinary measure, the boun- ties of Providence, and to share in the general joy.