never, never forsake you*:" and you may rest assured that he will fulfil his word; for " He is faithful who hath promised"." " Cast, then, your care altogether upon himx;" and " commit the keeping of your souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faith- ful Creator y."]
1 Heb. xiii. 5. u Heb. x. 23. x 1 Pet. v. 7. U Pet. iv. 19.
Ps. cxxxix. 1 — 12. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising ; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted ivith all my ways : for there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, 0 Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonder- ful for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or lohither shall I jlee from thy pre- sence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if 1 make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ; but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
DAVID was a man bitterly persecuted and greatly calumniated. Nothing could exceed the acrimony with which Saul pursued him to take away his life. But David had the comfort of a good conscience : and he often appealed to the heart-searching God to attest his innocence of those crimes that were laid to his charge. It is probable that such were his circum- stances when he composed this psalm ; and that, when traduced by men, he consoled himself with the reflection, that every thought of his heart was fully known to God. The sentiments are delivered in an immediate address to the Deity himself: and they are such as ought to be deeply impressed on every mind.
Let us in our comment on this passage consider, I. The truths here acknowledged —
David asserts in a most solemn manner the omni- presence of the Deity —