Ps. xxxiv. 1 1 — 16. Come, ye childre7i, hearken unto me; J ivill teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good ? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaJcing guile. Depart from evil, and do good: seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
TO enlighten a dark world, and to guide wanderers into the paths of peace and holiness, is the most glo- rious office that can be committed to a human being. So at least David thought : for though he was well qualified to teach men the science of music (in which he eminently excelled), or the art of war (in which he was a great proficient), or the principles by which states and kingdoms should be governed, he con- sidered none of those employments comparable to that of instructing men in the principles and practice of true religion. As a prophet of the Lord, (for at the time the psalm was written he was not yet exalted to the throne of Israel,) he regarded all, to whom he had accesss, as his children ; and was anxious, as a loving parent, to gain their attention, that he might instil into their minds those truths which he himself felt to be of supreme importance. He wished in particular to shew them, what we also are desirous to point out to you,
I. Wherein the fear of the Lord consists —
The fear of the Lord is such a reverential regard to him as inclines us to walk in all things according to his revealed will, and to approve ourselves to him,
1. In our words — [" Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak ; " and every evil that is in the heart will betray itself by the tongue. Truly the tongue is justly called an unruly mem- ber : like a helm of a ship, it is but a small matter ; but it boasteth great things. It is declared by God himself to be " a world of iniquity;" " a fire, setting in flames the course of nature, and itself set on fire of hell." So untameable is it, that the man who bridles it on all occasions is pronounced to be "a perfect man:" whilst, on the other hand, the man who has no