6 O en'my! now destructions have
an end perpetual :

Thou cities raz'd; perish'd with them
is their memorial.

7 God shall endure for ay: he doth
for judgment set his throne:
8 In righteousness to judge the world,
justice to give each one:

9 God also will a refuge be

for those that are opprest; A refuge will he be, in times of trouble, to distrest.

10 And they that know thy name, in thee their confidence will place:

For thou hast not forsaken them
that truly seek thy face.

11 O sing ye praises to the Lord,
that dwells in Zion's hill;
And all the nations among
his deeds record ye still.

12 When he inquireth after blood,
he then rememb'reth them:
The humble folk he not forgets

that call upon his name.

13 Lord, pity me, behold the grief which I from foes sustain,

E'en thou, who from the gates of death dost raise me up again ;

14 That I, in Zion's daughters' gates,
may all thy praise advance;

And that I may rejoice always
in thy deliverance.

15 The heathen are sunk in the pit

which they themselves prepar'd ;

And in the net which they have hid,
their own feet fast are snar'd.

16 The Lord is by the judgment known,
which he himself hath wrought:
The sinners' hands do make the snares
wherewith themselves are caught.

17 They who are wicked, into hell each one shall turned be, And all the nations that forget to seek the Lord most high.

18 For they that needy are shall not
forgotten be alway:

The expectation of the poor
shall not be lost for ay.

19 Arise, Lord, let not man prevail,
judge heathens in thy sight;

20 That they may know themselves but men, the nations, Lord, affright.

Ver. 5--Prov. x. 7.

PARALLEL PASSAGES.

8-Rev. xx. 12.

Ver. 10-Exod. xxxiv. 5. 18-Isaiah xlı. 17.

PSALM X.

THIS Psalm teaches us, in the first verse, that the people of God have not, at all times, the full experience of his favour and nearness. For wise and merciful purposes, our God sometimes stands "afar off" from us. From verse 2 to 11 David describes the enmity and relentless cruelty of the enemies of God, and prays for their conviction, and next for the confusion of their wicked plans. From verse 11 to 14 he intercedes for mercy and favour to the meek, the orphan, and the poor, and rejoices in the assurance that God will hear his prayers.

In the midst of abounding iniquity and numerous enemies within and without, let us rejoice in the delightful truth conveyed in that text, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

The marks of the wicked are ever the same- -"boasting,"

66

pride," "vain glory,"
," "subtle cruelty," and such like.

"Be

hold he prayeth" is still the characteristic of a regenerate man.

[CHARMOUTH.]

1 WHEREFORE is it that thou, O Lord,
dost stand from us afar?
And wherefore hidest thou thyself
when times so troublous are?
2 The wicked, in his loftiness,
doth persecute the poor:

In these devices they have fram'd,
let them be taken sure.

3 The wicked of his heart's desire
doth talk with boasting great;
He blesseth him that's covetous,
whom yet the Lord doth hate.
4 The wicked, through his pride of face,
on God he doth not call;

And in the counsels of his heart
the Lord is not at all.

5 His ways they always grievous are;
thy judgments from his sight
Removed are: at all his foes

he puffeth with despite.

6 Within his heart he thus hath said,
I shall not moved be ;

And no adversity at all

shall ever come to me.

7 His mouth with cursing, fraud, deceit,
is fill'd abundantly:

And underneath his tongue there is
mischief and vanity.

8 He closely sits in villages,

he slays the innocent;

Against the poor, that pass him by, his cruel eyes are bent.

9 He, lion-like, lurks in his den,

he waits the poor to take

e;

And when he draws him in his net, his prey he doth him make. 10 Himself he humbleth very low, he croucheth down withal, That so a multitude of poor may by his strong ones fall. 11 He thus hath said within his heart, The Lord hath quite forgot;

He hides his countenance, and he
for ever sees it not.

12 O Lord, do thou arise; O God,
lift up thine hand on high:
Put not the meek afflicted ones
out of thy memory.

13 Why is it that the wicked man thus doth the Lord despise? Because, that God will it require, he in his heart denies.

14 Thou hast it seen, for their mischief and spite thou wilt repay:

The poor commits himself to thee,
thou art the orphan's stay.

15 The arm break of the wicked man, and of the evil one;

Do thou seek out his wickedness
until thou findest none.

16 The Lord is King through ages all, e'en to eternity;

The heathen people from his land
are perish'd utterly.

17 O Lord, of those that humble are,
thou the desire did'st hear;

Thou wilt prepare their heart, and thou
to hear wilt bend thy ear:

18 To judge the fatherless, and those
that are oppressed sore,

That man, that is but sprung of earth,
may them oppress no more.

PARALLEL PASSAGES.

Ver 2-Prov. v. 22.

Ver. 4-Eph. ii. 12.

Ver. 17-Isaiah lxv. 24.

PSALM XI.

THE Psalmist, under the pressure of outward distress and inward trial, overcomes his invitations and tendency to seek refuge in any thing below, and resolves to trust entirely on his God. David reasons with his own heart, in verse 3, and sets forth the worst possible state of things in which the people of God may be placed; and yet he finds consolation and confidence in the great truth, that the righteous are not only, at all times and under all circumstances, seen, but favoured and protected of God, and destined to triumph in the end. He remembers the destiny of Sodom and Gomorrah, once wealthy and flourishing, but now burned up and destroyed; and then the destiny of Lot, for a season in trouble, but now in heaven. Trust in God is the surest refuge in trouble.

[PALERMO.]

1 I IN the Lord do put my trust;

how is it then that ye

Say to my soul, Flee as a bird
unto your mountain high?

2 For, lo! the wicked bend their bow,
their shafts on strings they fit;
That those who upright are in heart
they privily may hit.

3 If the foundations be destroy'd, what hath the righteous done?

4 God in his holy temple is, in heaven is his throne;