expresses the sntisfaction of the righteous It is obserrnble that DrLVid, personally, at the punishmC'nt of the unjust judges. wus too indulgent, mther th11n too severe, town.nls offenders. Vn 10.-The righteous shall rejoice Ver. 11.-So that a m:m shall say, Verily when he seeth the vengeance. As tho good there is a rewn.rd for the righteous. God'■ man is pnined wheu ho sees the ungodly righteous judgment being seen in the prosper, so he C'annot but feel fl certain punishmont of the wicked, men will no satisfaction and pleasure when punishment longer doubt of tho ultimate rewnrd of the overtakes him. Dante so.ye- go,lly. God must, by his very nalurc, bo " 0 Signor mio, quando &'tro io lieto more inclined to rel"l"ard goodness thsn to A vedt'r 111. vendetto., oho nnscosa. punish wickedness. Verily he is a God the.• Fa dolcc l'iro. tua nel suo eegrdo ? " Jndgeth in tbo earth; rnther, t1erily there fa (' Purg.,' xx. 9-1-96.) a God, eto. (seo Revise,l Verdion). Elohim is joined with a plural here, because the Re shall wash his feet in the blood of the spe,.'l,kers are men genoro.lly, not only wicked (comp. Ps. h:viii. 2-1; La. h:iii. 3), Israelites.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-11.-UnJustj-udges. There is a contrast in this psalm between the unjust judges of the earth, and God the righteous Judge of all mea (vcrs. 1, 2, and ver. 11), "Do ye really, 0 ye gods, speak righteousness? Do ye in uprightness judge the children of men? Nay, in he:i.rt ye work iniquities, in the land ye weigh out the violence of your hands" (Delitzsch). This indignant protest is just.. Judges have often been false to their trust. They have prostituted their power to selfish ends. They have increased iostea•l of diminished the evils of eociety, and made confusion worse confounded by their wicked deeds. There are signal examples of this in the Bible, and though the lines have fallen unto us, in these last days, in pleasant-places, our fathers, in the days of Bonner and Jeffries and Claverhouse, and in days of persecution, suffered grievously. But how different is it with God the Judge of all th_e earth I His jndgments are all righteous. Even the wicked cannot complain. In their punishment they only receive, as their own c_onscicnces testify, "the just reward of their deeds." Our attention i.s specially concentrated on the wicked. I. THEIR CHARACTER IS PORTRAYED. (Vers. 1-5.) Character is a growth. No man becomes of a sudden either very bad or very good. There is gradation-" first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." We are shown wickedness in its germ. It has its source in a bad heart-a heart not right with God. From within it works toward without. Evil may for a time be concealed or held in check, but it is sure to show itself. People ruay be worse than they seem. God only knows the evil that lies hidden and rooted in the heart. '.l'ben we see wickedness in its development. It has been said that "tongue sins are our first transgressions." But bow quickly do we proceed from "lies" to other and more flagrant forms of wickedness I Tbo more the will of the flesb is indulged, the stronger it becomes. The poison spreads through all the veins. "The soul grows clothed by contagion, Imbodies and imbrutes, till she qnifo lose The Divine property of her first being." (111ilton.) Then cometh the consummation. All checks and warnings and remonstrances are in vain. Men become " more deaf than adders to the voice of true deci.sion." Like Saul, they choose the evil instead or the good. Like Reboboam, they persist in their sins. Like Ahab, they sell them~elves to work iniquity. Like I,rnel, they harden their hearts against all teaching and rebuke, till in the cud there is no remedy (2 Cbron. xxxvi. IG). II. THEIR JUDGMENT 1s PREDICTED. (Vere. 6-11.) God is long-suil'ering and merciful. How excellent his counsc;ls ! how tender his rebukes I how gracious bis calls to repentance ! But when evil men knowingly and obstinately persist in their ev:! ways, judgment must be done. 'fhe psalmist adds image to image to strengthen the argumc;1:Jt, rrnd to i;ct forth tLe more vividly the awful doom of tho wicked. 1. Judg- PB, LIX, 1-17.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 11
ment is required in the interests of humanity. In all good governments there a.re laws for the protection of society. If evil-doers will not repent, they must be restrained. '!'heir power to do injury must bo slopped. 2. Besides,judgment is demanded i1I accordance with righteousness. There is nothing arbitrary in the procedure. Even evil must be den.It with fairly. 3. Judgment also is necessary for the vindication of God's truth. '!'here is a moral necessity why it should be" ill with the wicked." "God is not a man, that he should lie." "But evil on itself sh111l back recoil, And mix no more with goodness, when at fast. Gather'd like scum, and settled to itself, It shall be in etcrno.l restless change, Self-fed and self-consumed; if this fail, The pillar'd firmament is rottenness, And earth's base built on stubble." (Milton.) W.F. Vers. 1-11.-.A bold protest against unrighteousjwlges. I. THE INVETERATELY WIOXED. (Vers. 1-5.) 1. Wiclced within and without. (Vers. 1, 2.) In heart and deed. 2. Wicked °h1J nature and by habit. (Ver. 3.) Go a.stray all their lives. 3. Incorrigible. (Ver. 4.) Like the adder that will not be turned by the voice of the charmer. II. 'l'HEm PUNISHMENT. (VerR. 6-11.) 1. They shall be rendered powerless in their designs. (Vers. 6-9.) All the figures in vers. 6-9 mean tl,is. 2. They shall become the objects of God's rigliteous vengeance. (Vers. 9, 10.) 3. The victims of their wickedness shall see their overthrow, and rejoice in it. (Vers. 10, 11.) They shall rejoice that there is a God that judgeth among men.-S.
EXPOSITION.