in Ruth ii. l e,ncl 1 Sn.m. ix. 1, "wealthy, wards him, he will not ~nticipate misfor- prosperous." The genere,tion of the upright tunes. They may come, a.e even the best shall be bleeeed; i.e. she,11 receive blessing man is not exempt from them; but he will from the Most High, e,nd shall 1herefore not meet them half-way. His heart is fixed; prosper. To be blessed in one's seed was, i.e. firmly established (see ver. B)-settled under the old covenant, the highest of on a sure basis-trusting in the Lord-the blessings. one basis that is solid and immovable. Ver. 3.-Wealth and riches shall be in Vtr. 8.-His heart is established. Almost his house. Bishop Butler baa well shown a reprtition of the phrase in ver. 7, "hie how, in God's mornl government of tho heart is fixed "-seemingly, therefore,super- world, virtue tends to accumulate to itself flnous, bnt renlly emphasizing the point, the good things of this life, and vice to which is of great moment (seo the com- disperse and dissipate them (' Analocy,' ment of Hengstenberg, and compare the pt. i. eh. iii.; comp. 1 Tim. iv. 8). And his "just man" of Horace, 'Od.,' iii. 3, II. righteousness endureth for ever. Human 1-8). lie shall not be afraid. "Perfect goodness-here called "1·ighteoueness "- love castelh out fear" (1 John iv. 18). He is a thing which does not change, since who feels himself alwaye and altogether in ch11racter is formed by habits, and habits the hands of a loving Father cannot be afraid aro "a second nature." of what is about to befall him. Until he see Ver. 4.-Unto the upright there ariseth his desire upon his enemies. He knows that light in the darkness. God's Word ie "a his enemies have no real power to harm lantern unto their feet, and a light unto him, and that ultimately he will "see his their paths" (Pa. cxix. 105)-sufficient desire upon them:" i.e. will triamph over un,ler most circumstances to guide their them (see Pas. !iv. 7; lix. 10, etc.). steps aright. When this is not enough, he Ver. 9.-Re ho.th dispersed, he hath given vouchsafes a.n in~ard light to them (Pas to the poor. There is no virtue in mere xxvii. 1 ; xxxvi. 9; Isa. lviii. 10: xlix. 6, "dispersing,'' since spendthrifts" disperse" etc.). He is gracious, and fnll of compas- even more lavishly than virtuous men. The sion, and righteous. It is a very forced only laudable "dispersing" is that which interprete,tion to underst!1Ild this as s11id of has for its object the relief of distress, and Jehovah. The entire subject of the ps11lm which (it may be added) is wisely directed ie the righteous, God-like man. In him ore to that object. His righteousness endureth reflected shadows of all the Di vine qunlities. for ever (ste the comment on ver. 3). B:is Ver. 5.-A good man ehoweth favour, and horn shall be 6Xalted with honour. The lendeth; rather, 1oell is it with the man that esteem of men, on the whole, follows upon shoioeth, etc. The verse is exegetical of goodness, and the righteous obtuin more the latter clause of ver. 4, and shows how honour than others. the righteous man's compassion works. It Ver. 10.-The wicked shall eee it, and be makes him "show favour " or "kindness " grieved. The wicked hate the righteous to men generally, and "le'nd" to those who (Ps. cv. 25), 1md are naturally " grieved" a.re in necessity ( comp. Ps. xxxvii. 26; and to see them prosper. " When shall he die, for the duty of lending to the needy, see and his name perish?" is the thought of Deut. xv. 8, 11). He will guide hie affairs their heart against the godly man. He shall with discretion; rather, perhaps, with equity. gnash with his teeth (comp. Job xvi. 9; Scarcely, as Professor Cheyne suggests, "in Pss. xxxv. 16; xnvii. 12; Lam. ii. 16; courts of justice." Acts vii. 54). Civilization represses these Ver. 6.-Surely he shall not be moved for emotional displays, but the feeling remains ever. God's blessing shall a.hide with him, nevertheless. And melt away; or, "con- and mrike his ho.ppiness sure and stable. sume away "-"waste o.way"-through envy (On stability o.s a necessary element in and hate. The desire of the wicked shall l111ppiness, see Aristotle, 'Eth. Nie.,' i. x. § perish ( comp. Pa. i. 6). "The desire of the 7, 8.) The righteous shall be in. everlasting wicked "-tho.t which they earnestly long remembrance; i.e. everl11stingly remembered for, which is the downfall and deetruotiou by God. of the righteous-does not come to pass, but Ver. 7.-He shall not be afraid of evil falls to the ground, "perishes," comes to tidings. Confident in God's goodness to- nought.
HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-10.-The_promise of piety. In Bacon's celebrated saying that "prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament, but adversity of the New," there is a measure of truth; but it is far from covering all the ground. We may sot against it the apostolic declaration that" godliness hath the promise of the life that now is." And though we TRE BOOK OF PSALMS. [i>s. oxn. 1-10.