for his consolation and support' He will indeed " be
inquired after for these things ;" but He will " suffer none to seek his face in vain." He " draws nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth :" or, if they be not able to express their wants in words, " he will fulfil their very desires ;" yea, if only, as on any sudden emergency, they " cry unto him, he will hear their cry, and will save them." How astonishingly kind and gracious are these declarations ; and how suited to encourage his weak and drooping saints ! It fre- quently happens that they can do little else than sigh and groan: yet even these expressions of their minds he will favourably receive, and richly recompense unto their souls k ]
2. How righteous !
[Though God, as a sovereign, dispenses his gifts according to the good pleasure of his will, yet there is an equity in all his proceedings, whether of providence or grace : " gracious is the Lord, and righteous :" " he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works1." We, from our pride and ignorance, are ready to accuse him of injustice, if he distinguish any as monuments of his grace. But though " he has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and has compassion on whom he will have compassion," yet is there, in truth, no inequality in his ways : " our ways are unequal ; but his are equal :" he invariably " rewards those who diligently seek him," and " becomes the enemy of those only who rebel, and vex his Holy Spirit :" " he filleth the hungry with good things, and the rich only doth he send empty away." He puts, as it becomes him, " a difference between those who serve him, and those who serve him not." " They who love him shall be preserved," though the whole universe were combined to destroy them : but " all the wicked," whether old or young, rich or poor, " shall be de- stroyed :" " though hand join in hand, not one of them shall pass unpunished™."
Say now, Whether, in this view of the Deity, David's pur- poses and desires were not highly commendable ; " My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord ; and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever"."]
From the perusal of this psalm, two reflections naturally arise :
1. What an elevation of character does true reli- gion produce !
[We would not speak in a degrading manner of any, and much less of those who are renowned for wisdom : yet who does not see how low and grovelling are the thoughts of statesmen
» ver. 14— 1G. k ver. 18, 19. ] ver. 17. m ver. 20. n ver. 21.