450 PSALMS, cxxi. 1 — 8. [430.
work of our hands, Ye are our gods : for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy '^." This is the dictate of true piety: and, whilst it ensures to men a constant communication of all necessary good, it renders every blessing ten-fold more sweet, as coming to them through the special intervention of their heavenly Father.]
3. A necessary resolution —
[This state of mind is equally necessary for every Child of man. The greatest monarch is as dependent upon God as the lowest person in the universe. No man has any power to secure himself for one single moment : ** hd is crushed before the moth," if God give it a commission to destroy him. Pharaoh himself was as open to the assault of all the different plagues, and as incapable of removing any one of them, as any of his subjects were. What peace then can any man enjoy, who has no other than a created arm to rest upon ? If we would have any solid comfort in our minds, we must realize a sense of God's superintending care, and rest in him for a supply of every bless- ing that we stand in need of.]
Having declared his resolution, the Psalmist in- forms us of,
II. The encouragement given him to persevere in it- It is worthy of observation, that, after the two first verses of the psalm, David ceases to speak, and is himself addressed by another, who overheard his resolution. And who is it that thus replies to him ? It is no other than God himself ; who immediately replies, in order to shew to the whole universe how pleasing and acceptable to him such a resolution is. Nor are such transitions unusual in the Scriptures : but they deserve especial notice, wherever they occur. We may see a precisely similar passage in the book of the prophet Jeremiah ; where the Lord, having overheard the confessions of his repenting people, instantly takes up the subject, and for their encouragement addresses them in these gracious terms ; *' If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me ; and I will put thine abomina- tions out of my sight; and thou shalt not remove**." The declarations which God here made to David, are equally applicable to all, who, like him, are resolved
to
•"Hos. xiv. 3. ^ Jer. iii. 25. & iv. 1.