THE END OF CHRISt's ASCENSION.
Ps. Ixviii. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led cap- tivity captive : thou hast received gifts for men ; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.
WHILE some give an unbounded scope to their fancy, and view Christ in almost every passage of the Scriptures, others run into a contrary extreme, and scarcely behold him even in the most express prophecies. But there certainly are many parts of the prophetic writings, and particularly of the Psalms, which, to whomsoever they relate in a hteral sense, have a spiritual or mystical reference to Christ : nor can we err in interpreting them of him, while we take the inspired Apostles for our guides.
David, having vanquished all his enemies, deter- mined to provide a fixed residence for the ark of God, that God might dwell in the midst of his people at Jerusalem. And he penned this psalm to be used on that occasion ^ But St. Paul informs us, that there was a further reference in it to the ascension of Christ ; who, being the true ark whereon the glory rested, went, after having triumphed over all his
* It is thought that ver. 1 — 6. was sung when the ark was taken up by the Levites ; ver. 7 — 14. while they were on their way to the hill, till they came in sight of it; ver. 15 — 17. while they were ascending it ; and ver. 18 — 23. when the ark was deposited.