' ver. 11. with Isai. xlv. 8. '' 2 Cor. v. \g, 20. ' 1 John 1.9.
Ps. Ixxxvi. 1 — 5. Bow down thine ear, 0 Lord! hear me ; for I am poor and needy. Presei've my soul ; for I am holy. 0 thou 7ny God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee! Be mer- ciful unto ine, 0 Lord ! for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant : for unto thee, 0 Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou. Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy iinto all them that call upon thee.
TRUE and genuine piety cannot always be cer- tainly known by men's intercourse with their fellow- creatures. Appearances may be so plausible, that they cannot, except by Him who searcheth the heart, be distinguished from realities. But in their inter- course with the Deity, the truth or falsehood of their profession may be clearly discerned. The most re- fined hypocrite may, by examining the state of his soul in his private devotions, obtain the certain means of discovering his proper character, provided he have his standard rightly fixed, and his test im- partially applied. To furnish such a standard, is our object in the present discourse. We here behold the man after God's own heart drawing nigh to a throne of grace, and pouring out his soul in suppli- cations before God : and we wish to call your atten- tion especially to the spirit which he manifested in this sacred duty, since it will serve as an excellent criterion whereby to try and judge ourselves.
Let us then consider, I. The subject-matter of his prayer —
It should seem that David was now under great affliction, either from the persecutions of Saul, or from the unnatural rebellion of his son Absalom : and his prayers may well be understood, in the first instance, as relating to his temporal trials. But, as it is of his soul that he chiefly speaks, we shall no- tice his prayer principally in that view. Let us notice then,
1 . His petitions —
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