juslice; do not refuse to hear their cause'' Ver. 6.-I have said 1 Ye are gods; l.e. (comp. 1"11. i. 23; Jcr. v. 28). Do justioe "in my Lnw I hare called you gods "-I to the afflicted and needy. After eons,•nt- hnve given you this lofty name (see Exod. inl(" to hear their cause, be sure thou doest xxi. 6; xxii. 8, 9), sinco ye judge on ml th,m justice. These commands are covert behalf, "as my representatives" (Dent. reproad1es. 17; 2 Chron. xix. 6; Rom. xiii. I, 2). And Yer. 4.-Deliver the poor and needy. The all of you are ohildren of the Most High. poor were terribly oppressed, and needed Not therefore" gods" in the striotost sense, "deliverance" (see Job xxix. 12; Isa. i. but possessing a derived, and so a quulified, 17; iii. 14, 15; l viii. 6; Micah iii. 2. 3). divinity. Rid them out of the hand of the wicked ; Ver. 7.-But ye shall die like men. The or, re-11c11,a them. name of "gods," even the fact of your Ver. 5.-They know not, neither will being representatives of God, shall not save they understand. Scarcelv "11n asid" from you from condign punishment. Ye shall the indignant judge," as Professor Cheyne be punished with death, as other wicked suggests, much less a remark interpolated men are punished (Ps. lxxiii. 18). And by the poet (Ewald, Hitzig). Rnther a fall like oue of the prinoes ; i.e. come to an complaint of huw&n perversity, addressed untimely end, as so many "princes'' have by Jcho,ah to tbe augelic host who are done (see Josh. xii. 9-24; Judg. i. 7; present (vrr. 1). It is not an accidental iii. 21 ; vii. 25; viii. 21, etc.). and excusable ignorance, but & wilful and Ver. 8.-Arise, 0 God, judge the earth. guilt)· one that is spoken of. They walk The words of God (vers. 2-7) being ended, on ill da.rkness. Loving darkness rather the psalmist calls upon him to prooeed at than light, because their deeds were evil once to jndgment; but be does not limit (John iii. 19), they walked in the way of the judgment to Israel's unjust judges. darkness (Prov. ii. 13). All the foundations God is nsked to "arise" and "judge the of the earth are out of course; rather, a1·e earth," i.e. tile whole world (comp. Ps. vii. ahalcen. The fnnd&ment&l bases on which 7, 8; lvi. 7; lix. 5). For thou she.It in- the life of man upon the earth rests, the herit; or, "for thou dost inherit." " God ie very principles of morality, e.re shaken, and the King of all the earth" (Ps. xlvii. 2), totter t.o their fall, when those whose place not of Israel only. All nations-the whole it is to admini,;ter justice pervert it and world-must be regarded aa his possession dee.I out injUBtice instead. or "inheritance."
HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-.A view of human life from above. "God standeth," etc. Earthly greatness, and God's supreme rule of rulers and judgment of judges, are the theme of this sublime, brief psalm. The psalmist takes his stand on the watch-tower of inspired prophecy; and gives, a.s the Bible is wont, a view of human life from above, as seen, not in the light of man's judgment, but God's (1 Sa.m. ii. 8; Luke i. 52). L THE OFFICE AND DIGNITY OF RULERS. In the administration of justice, and claim to obedience---enforced, in the last resort, by death-penalty-they are God's represen- tatives; therefore here called "gods." The slate, in its care of the lives, property, duty, and welfare of its citizens, is a kind of earthly providence, entru~ted by God himself with this authority (Rom. xiii. 1-4). Here is no reference or limitation to any special form of government, monarchical or republican, aristocratic or democratic. The right of man to rule o·ver his fellow-men, in whatever particular form of govern- ment, like the right of parents to the obedi~nce and reverence of their children, can come only from God. ArDJies can compel submission. Popular will can create offices, and choose men to fill them. But men could never create authority. It belongs to God. In this doctrine of Scripture (and also of common sense) there is no shadow of support for the slavish and monstrous doctrine of" the Di_vine right of _kings," with which the pulpits of England once resounde~; or to the ~la1~ th~t hereditary ,?~vem- ment is more Divine and sacred than elective. What 1s ' ordained of God 1s the maintenance of la.wand justice, for the welfare of the people and punishment of wrong-doers, by lawfully constituted public authority. IL Gon's SUPREHE RULE AND RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF EARTHLY RULERS. 1. See the special sins a.nd failures with which the judges or princes of Israel a.re charged; and the national di.Border a.nd danger thence arising (vers. 2-6). Merciful pity for the poor, the oppressed, thoae bereaved of their natural protectors, is a. strong characteristic PB, LXXXII.1-8.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 17!)
of Bible morality nnd religion (Jae. i. 27; ii, 13), JuaUce is to be enforced for the snke of mercy, We may say that Di vine justice is part of Divine mercy; "for Gori ii love." 2. Those high in rank and office are reminded that not only their authority, but their life, is held from God; at his pleasure every moment (ver. 7). The death ot great men is among the special means by which God's providence contests earthly affairs, The master-hand grows cold, and all the threads of policy it wove snap; the reins it held drop (Ps. cxlvi, 3, 4). Therefore the only consolation to the devout patriot, politician, or lover of men is in turning from the injustice, the instability, the errors of human governments to the kingdom of Christ. The prayer of ver. 8 is equivalent to our daily prayer, "Thy kingdom come! " Death, which is the ruin of all other sovereignties, was the foundation of Christ's. What seemed its sudden blood-red suuset was indeed its ruddy dawn (Heb. ii. 9).