the one we may suppose the psalmist to have had in mind, is in the Lu.w ~f Moses (Numb. xv., especially vers. 27-31). These are the sins of which St. John says that the truo child of God does not commit sin (l John iii. 9). He has fully tauaht 0 that real Christians do commit sin, and need forgiveness (1 John i. 9, 10; ii. 1). But not wilful sin-sin "with a high hand" (1 John v. 18). A. child of God knowingly and perversely disobeying God, despising God's Law, defying Divine justice, practicall:, denying the Lord that bought him, an! doing despite to the Spirit of grace, is an impossible supposition-a practical contradiction. Yet, how significant is it, that David prays to be "kept back" from even such sins-restrained by a power not his own! He even sees peril of sinking into abject bondage: "Let them not have dominion over me 1" These are the sins of which our Lord speaks (John viii. 34). The more willingly and wilfully a man sins, the more does he forge fetters for himself, and become" tied and bound." ,vith profound humility and knowledge of his own heart, the psalmist feels that he has in himself no security. "Is thy servant a dog?" said Hazael (2 Kings viii. 13); but he did it (Prov. xxviii. 26; 1 Cor. x. 12; Pe cxiL 117). III. GREAT TRANSGRESSION. What the psalmist humbly prays, he confidently hopes. That he may "absolved," "held guiltless," or (as ver. 12) "cleansed." This cleansing, as it regards sins actually committed, is what St. John calls being cleansed by "the blood of Jesus Christ" (1 John i. 7); St. Paul (Rom. v. 9), "being justified by his blood;" St. Peter (1 Pet. i. 2), "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 'l'o forgiveness, the ide.a of l)ractical holiness, actual purity, is added by the word "upright;" literally (as Revised Version), "perfect;" namely, with that perfection of which Scripture so often speaks-integrity; whole-hearted sincerity. What may we uuderstand by "great transgression," from which the psalmist hopes to be clear? It seems to correspond to the "sin unto death" of which St. John speaks (1 John v. 16, 17). Hence was drawn the famous attempt to classify sins: (1) "mortal," or "'deadly;" (2) "venial," capable of forgiveness. The fatal mistake ie in trying to judge of sins apart from the person who sins. What is a sin of ignorance in one may be a presumptuous sin in another. The sin of which one repents and finds forgiveness may in another be a sin against so much light and grace that it is impossible to renew to repentance (Heh. vi 4, 6)-" a sin unto death." Let us not pry into thu.t dark abyss; but seek to keep far from its fatal brink. Only rem em her and be sure of this- sorrow for sin and desire for pardon and purity are a sure proof that no unpnrdonable sin has been committed. God "pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfe4?;ned1y believe his holy gospel "-the message of hie grace and love in Christ Jesus. To every one-whatsoever hie sins may be-who can truly mako this prayer his own, the Saviour answers as of old," I will: he thou clean."
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1---6.-.Tlie voice of God in his works. There is enough in &111s psalm tor twenty discourses. But in this department of the 'Pulpit Commentary' it is not our province to dwell on specific texts, however attractive, but to indicate how by a homiletic exposition of the psalm as a whole, it may be brought home to us for every- day life in the continuous unfolding of the Scripture. At the same time, the two divisions of the psalm are so entirely distinct that they call for separate treatment, as they open up to the preacher entirely different branches of thought and instruction.1 There is no reason to question the Davidic authorship of the psalm, but it is so couched that from its contents there is nothing by which wo can infer either its authorship or date; and it so speaks to man as man, that it is of equal value by whomsoever or whenso- ever it was penned. We have in its first 1:ix verses a rehearsal of the voices of God 1 No expositor can well afford to overlook the mass of quotELtions on this psu.lm in Bpurgeon's • Tre.1.Bury of David;' but he will nee<l to exercise judgment \n the us~ ~~ • PB, XIX, 1-14,] TBE BOOK OF PSALMS. 133