deration caufeth her to groan earnestly within herself, and at length to breathe forth a with, that the Spirit of truth and love would fix and establish her in a holy courfe of thinking, fpeaking, and acting, upon all occafions, and would prevent her from turning aside out of it, to the right hand or to the left. 6. Then fhall I not be ashamed, when I have reSpect unto all thy commandments. ALL the commandments have the fame author, and the fame fanction. He who thinketh to atone for the breach of one, by the obfervation of another; he who referveth to himself a licence of indulging any favourite darling luft, while, in general, he preferveth the appearance of an exemplary conduct, is a hypocrite, and unless he repent, will be brought to "fhame," if not before men here, yet before men and angels hereafter. "Shame" is the fruit of fin; confidence is the effect of righteoufness. Wherefore, in all our proceedings, let us " have refpect," not to the opinions of men, to the corrupt cuftoms of the world, or to the deceitful fuggeftions of our own hearts, but "to the commandments, to all the com"mandments of God;" let us, as St. John exhorteth, "abide in Chrift; that when he fhall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before "him at his coming." I John ii. 28. 7. I will praife thee with uprightness of heart, when I fhall have learned thy righteous judgments. Confidence in God will always be productive of joy, and undiffembled " praife" will accompany true converfion. The Scriptures are ftyled God's "righteous judgments," as containing an account of his décrées decrees and determinations concerning us, with a hiftory of cafes and precedents, entered upon record for our admonition. By thefe we are to form our opinions, and to regulate our conduct. And when we shall have fo "learned" thefe, as to walk according to them, we shall praise God with an "upright heart;" our tongues will utter what our hearts feel. 8. I will keep thy ftatutes: O forfake me not utterly. The refult of our meditations on God's word, and on the advantages of ftudying, in order to obferve it's directions, fhould always be a refolution fo to do, and a prayer for grace to execute that refolution. Lord, we" will keep thy ftatutes;" for love can do all things, when thou haft fhed it abroad in our hearts. "Love worketh no ill; therefore love is the fulfill"ing of the law;" Rom. xiii. 10. and mercy will accept what grace enableth us to perform. Be thou, therefore, ever with us, and "forsake us not;" or if, at any time, to try our faith, and to exercise our patience, thou shouldeft depart from us, and leave us to ourselves for a time, short be thy abfence, and speedy thy return! "O forfake us not utterly!" 9. BETH. PART II. Wherewithal hall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. Youth enters upon the journey of life, headftrong and inexperienced, with a bias of original corrup tion, and all the paffions awake. In fuch circumftances, how shall a young man direct his fteps, fo as " as to "escape the pollution that is in the world "through luft?" 2 Pet. i. 4. He muft, for this purpose, take with him the directions to be found in the Scriptures of truth. "I have written unto you, young men," fays the Beloved Disciple, "be"cause ye are ftrong, and the word of God abideth "in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." He who became man for our falvation, paffed through this state of youth, undefiled, that he might, as it were, reclaim and confecrate it anew to God. Let every young man often meditate on this circumftance. 10. With my whole heart have I fought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Despairing of fufficient affiftance from any other quarter, because no one else can either fhew, us the way to heaven, or enable us to walk therein, even if it could be fhewn, "with our whole heart have we fought thee," O God, thy direction, and thine aid; and thou haft promised, that they who "feek “fhall find;" like theep without a fhepherd are we given to ftray; O preferve us from error in principle, and in practice; "let us not wander from thy "commandments." 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not fin against thee. The young man who would cleanse his way, and take heed according to God's word, muft " lay up "that word in his heart;" for from the hear tare "the iffues of life," the thoughts, the words, and the actions; when God ruleth in the heart by his word and fpirit, thefe become his fubjects; then "the "the kingdom of heaven is within us," and all is obedience, peace, and love. Thou art our King, O Lord Jefu; fuffer no ufurper to poffefs thy place in our affections; permit no other Lord to have dominion over us. 12. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy ftatutes. He who is "bleffed" can make us fo; he who delighteth to communicate "bleffing," will do it, if we afk him, by "teaching us his ftatutes," which conform us to his nature, that we may live his life, and bless his name for ever. When the Word of God is our leffon, the Spirit of God must be our Master. 13. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. The beft fign that God hath "taught us his sta"tutes," and the greatest inducement to him to teach us ftill more and more, is a readiness to make others partakers of those bleffings, which we ourselves have received from him. Jehovah fashions the " lips" of man, and he expects that they should be employed in his fervice. "Out of the abundance of the heart "the mouth fpeaketh," and the stream will always shew the nature of the fountain. When we make the Scriptures the fubject of our converfation, we glorify God, we edify our neighbours, and we improve ourfelves. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy teftimonies, as much as in all riches. Truth and holiness afford to the fincere believer a pleasure more exquifite, as well as more folid and enduring, than that which a mifer feels at the acquifition of his darling wealth. Let us no longer envy the the joys of worldly men, no longer be chagrined at The " true riches" we the prosperity of the wicked. may always acquire; and, furely, as much as the heaven is higher than the earth, fo much are heavenly joys above earthly, in kind, degree, and duration. 15. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have refpect unto thy ways. Meditation is that exercise of the mind, whereby it recalls a known truth, as some kinds of creatures do their food, to be ruminated upon, until all the nutritious parts are extracted, and fitted for the purpofes of life. By study we lay in knowledge, by meditation we reduce that knowledge to practice. And we have then duly "meditated on God's precepts," when in all our proceedings we" have respect unto "his ways," comparing our actions with the rule of his word. 16. I will delight myself in thy ftatutes: I will not forget thy word. By frequent meditation and continual practice, the divine "ftatutes" will become our "delight;" and from the pleasures, as well as from the cares of the world, we shall gladly fly to THEM, for recreation and comfort. Of holy exercises there is great variety, and fpiritual joys are without number. Lord, make us to "delight ourselves in thy ftatutes," and when we delight in what we learn, we shall easily retain it in memory; we shall not forget thy word." GIMEL. PART III. 17. Deal bountifully with thy fervant, that I may live, and keep thy word.". |