BX 5255 .L4 1853 V.2 Le i ght on , Robe r t The whole works of the most reverend father in God 1 Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive in 2015 Iittps://arcliive.org/details/wlioleworksofmost02leig_0 THE WHOLE WORKS OV THE MOST KEVEREND FATHER IN GOD, ROBERT LEIGHTON, D.D., ARCHBISHOP OF GLASGOW. TO WHICH IS PRKFIXED, A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, THE REV. JOHN NORMAN PEARSON, M. A., or TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND CHAPLAIN TO THE HOST NOBLE THE MARQUE9S WELLESLEY. OwToi 3'Ewi/ Kai ivdpuj-rrtov ^tiwv Kai tiioatfiovtav pio^, diraWayi] tuiv dWtuv Tthv Tride, ^io'i &vrihovo'3 twv Trjdt, tpvyji fxovov 7rpo9 fiouou. Plotini Ennead. 6. L. c. xi. 9. A NEW EDITION, IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. MDCCCLni. JOHN CHILDS AND SON, BDNGAT. CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. MEDITATIONS, CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL, ON PAGE Psalm IV 7 XXXII 21 CXXX 30 A FRAGMENT ON Psalm VIII 49 EXPOSITORY LECTURES ON Psalm XXXIX 57 Isaiah VI 78 Rom. XII 90 LECTURES ON THE FIRST NINE CHAPTERS OF ST. MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. Chap. I. 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham 101 II. 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem 105 III. 1. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilder- ness of Judea Ill B 2 iv CONTENTS. Chap. iaob IV. 1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil 118 V. 1, 2. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him . .124 VI. 19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . 128 VII. I — 5. Judge not, that ye be not judged 132 VIII. 1. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him 136 IX. 1. And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city 145 SERMONS. Serm. 1. The Nature and Properties of Heavenly Wisdom .... 153 2. The Patient and Docile Sufferer 161 3. The Divine Glory of Zion 169 4. Christ the Light and Lustre of the Church 176 5. Christ the Light and Lustre of the Church 184 6. Hope amidst Billows 193 7. Generous Grief 203 8. The name of Jesus fragrant 212 9. The Sinner a Rebel against God 222 10. The true Christian the best Subject 228 1 1 . Grapes from Thorns 238 12. The Believer a Hero 246 13. The Parable of the Sower 254 14. The Promises an Encouragement to Holiness .... 260 15. Divine Grace and Holy Obedience 264 16. The Christian Triumph 271 17. The Christian Triumph 275 18. The Goodness of God, and the Wickedness of Man . . .280 19. Time to awake 288 20. The Observation of Providence 295 21. Imperfection and Perfection 302 22. The Confidence of Faith 309 23. A Summary of Spiritual Privileges 316 24. The Folly of Man and the Teaching of God . . . .326 25. Mercy despised and the Contempt punished 333 26. The Confession and Prayer of Faith 342 27. Calamities to be cautiously interpreted 349 28. Present Duty 355 29. Love the Fulfilling of the Law 358 30. The Law written upon the Heart 362 31. God's End and Design in Affliction 366 32. Suitable Exercise in Affliction 375 A Sermon preached to the Clergy 383 CONTENTS. EXPOSITIONS. PAGE An Exposition of the Creed 395 An Exposition of the Lord's Prayer 418 An Exposition of the Ten Commandments 462 A Short Catechism 504 THEOLOGICAL LECTURES. Preface 507 Lect. 1. The Introduction 511 2. Of Happiness, its Name and Nature, and the Desire of it implanted in the Human Heart 515 3. Of the Happiness of Man, and that it is really to be found . .517 4. In which it is proved that Human Felicity cannot be found either in the Earth or earthly things 520 5. Of the Immortality of the Soul 525 6. Of the Happiness of the Life to come 530 7. Of the Being of God 534 8. Of the Worship of God, Providence, and the Law given to Man . 541 9. Of the Pleasure and Utility of Religion 545 10. Of the Decrees of God 548 1 1. Of the Creation of the World 551 12. Of the Creation of Man 557 13. Of Providence 562 14. Of Christ the Saviour 568 15. Of Regeneration 571 16. Of Regeneration 578 17- Of true Felicity and eternal Punishment 583 18. Of the Christian Religion, and that it is the true Way to Happiness 587 19. That Holiness is the only Happiness on this Earth . . . 591 . 20. Of our Happiness, particularly that it lies in God, who alone can direct us to the true Way of attaining to it ; that this way he has discovered in the Sacred Scriptures, the Divine authority whereof is asserted and illustrated 595 21. Of the Divine Attributes 602 22. How to regulate Life, according to the Rules of Religion . . 605 23. Of Purity of Life 608 24. Before the Communion 611 An Exhortation to the Students, upon their return to the University after the Vacation 616 CONTENTS. EXHORTATIONS TO THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. PAGE Exhortation 1 620 II 623 III 626 IV 629 V 631 VI 634 VII 636 VIII 640 Valedictory Oration 643 A Modest Defence of Moderate Episcopacy, &c. .... G4() A Fragment on Ezra ix. 650 Charges to the Clergy of the Diocesan Synod of Dunblane . . 652 Rules and Instructions for a Holy Life 663 MEDITATIONS, CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL, ON PSALMS IV., XXXII., AND CXXX. TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN OF ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON, BY THE REV. DR. PHILIP DODDRIDGE. MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. Title, To the chief Musician on Neginoth, a Psalm of David. Many of the calamities of good men look like miseries, which yet, on the whole, appear to have conduced greatly to their happiness ; witness the many prayers which they poured out in those calamities, the many seasonable and shining deUverances which succeeded them, and the many hymns of praise they sang to God their deliverer ; so that they seem to have been cast into the fire on purpose that the odour of their graces might diffuse itself all abroad. The Seventy Greek Interpreters seem to have read the word wliich we render To the chief Musician, something diiferent from the reading of our present Hebrew copy, i. e. Lemenetz, instead of Lemenetzoth ; and therefore they render it, eIq rtXoc, as the Latin does, m finem, to the end. From whence the Greek and Latin Fathers imagined, that all the Psalms wliich bear this inscription refer to the Messiah, the great End and the accomplishment of all things ; a sentiment which was rather pious than judicious, and led them often to wrest several passages in the Psalms by violent and unnatural glosses. Yet I would not morosely reject all interpi-etations of that kind, seeing the Apostles themselves apply to Christ many passages out of the Psalms and other books of the Old Testament, which, if we had not been assured of it by their authority, we should hardly have imagined to have had any reference to him. Nor is it probable that they enume- rated all the predictions of the Messiah which are to be found in the prophetic writings, but only a verj^ small part of them, while they often assure us that all the sacred writers principally centre in Him. And it is certain the passage out of this Psalm, which Austin, and some others, suppose to refer to Christ, may be applied to him without any force upon the expression : 0 yc sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?* And what follows they explain with the same * They read it gravi corde, as expressive of the stupidity of heart which tlie re- jecting of Christ and his Gospel manifests. 8 MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. VER. 1. reference : Know that the Lord has in a wonderful manner separated his Holy One unto himself. Others, however, render the title in a ditferent manner, ( Victori,) To the conqueror. Moderns translate it prcBcentori, or prafecto musicce, to the chief musician, or him who pre- sided over the band of musicians, which after all seems the most na- tural interpretation. The word Neginoth, which is sometimes rendered stringed itistruments, did no doubt signify instruments of music wliich were struck to give their sound, as Nehiloth, in the title of Psalm v., seems, though not without some little irregularity in the etymology, to signify instruments of ivind music. The Psalm was written by David, as a summary of the prayer he had poured out before God, when some exceeding great affliction seemed to besiege liim on every side, whether it was the persecution of Saul, or the conspiracy of Absalom his son. Ver. 1. Hear me when I call, 0 God of my righteousness : thou hast enlarged me ■when I was in distress ; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. Hear me.'\ Behold the sanctuary to which this good man betook liim- self, in all the afflictions of his life ; a sanctuary which therefore he sets off", by accumulating a variety of expressive titles all to the same pur- pose, Psal. xviii. 1 : My rock, my fortress, my strength, my deliverer, my buckler, &c. He is indeed & place of refuge to his children; and therefore, as Solomon expresses it, Prov. xiv. 26, In the fear of the Lord is a strong confidence. Tiiere seems something of an enigma in that expression — confidence in fear, yet the thing itself is most true. And again, Prov. xviii. 10, The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. And. they who know not this Refuge are miserable ; and when any danger arises, they run hitlier and thither, as Antoninus beautifully expresses it, nviuiov tirro- fiertov diudpoixaiQ, "They fly and flutter they know not whither." The life of man upon earth is a warfare ; and it is much better, in the midst of enemies and dangers, to be acquainted with one fortress than with many inns. He that knows how to pray, may be pressed, but cannot be overwhelmed.* Hear me, O Lord, hear my prayer."] He did not think it enough to have said this once, but he redoubled it. He who prays indeed, is seriously engaged in the matter ; and not only seriously, but vehe- mently too, and urges the addi-ess, because he himself is urged by his necessities and difficulties, and the ardent motion of his own desire and affection. And let it be observed, that these are the only prayers that mount on high, and offer a kind of grateful violence to Heaven. Nor does the Divine goodness grant any thing with greater readiness and delight, than the blessings which seem, if I may be allowed the ex- pression, to be forced out and extorted by the most fervent prayer. So that Tertullian used to say, " That when we pray eagerly, we do as it were combine in a resolute band, and lay siege to God himself."! These are the perpetual sacrifices in the temple of God, [Ovtriai Xoytmi,) rational victims ; prayers and intermingled vows, flowing from an up- right and pure heart. But he who presents his petitions coldly seems to bespeak a denial : for is it to be wondered at, that we do not prevail * Prcmi potest, non potest opprimi. t Precantes veluti stipato agmine Deum obsidere. VER. 1. MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. 9 on God to hear our prayers, when we hardly hear them ourselves while we offer them ? How can we suppose that such devotions should penetrate heaven, or ascend up to it ? How should they ascend, when they do not so much as go forth from our own bosoms, but, like wretched abortives, die in the very birth ! But why do I say that they do not go out from the inward recesses of our bosoms ? Alas ! tliey are only formed on the surface of our lips, and they expire there, quite different from what Homer ascribes to his wise and eloquent Ulysses, when he says, Forth from his breast he poured a mighty cry. Thou God of my righteousness.'] q. d. O God, who art righteous thyself, and art the patron of my righteousness, of my righteous cause, and of my righteous life. For it is necessary that both should concur, if we desire to address our prayers to God with any confidence ; not that, depending upon this righteousness, we should seek the Divine aid and favour as a matter of just debt ; for then, as the Apostle argues, it loere no more of grace. Rom. xi. 6. Our Prophet is certainly very far from boasting of his merits ; for here he so mentions his righteous- ness, as at the same time to cast himself upon the Divine mercy ; Have mercy upon me, exercise thy propitious clemency towards me. And this is indeed the genuine temper of one who truly prays with sincerity and humility. For polhded hands are an abomination to the Lord, and he hates the heart that is puffed up ; he beholds the proud afar off, as the celebrated parable of the Pharisee and Publican, Luke xviii., is (you know) intended to teach us. Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and his countenance beholds the upright. Whereas the words of the wicked, when he prays, are but as a fan, or as bellows, to blow up the Divine displeasure into a flame ; for how can he appease God who does not at all please him, or how can he please who is indeed himself displeased with God, and who utterly disregards his pure laws, and that holiness which is so dear to him ? Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.] I have often ex- perienced both the riches of thy bounty, and the power of thy hand ; and I derive confidence from thence, because thou art immutable, and canst never be wearied by rescuing thy servants from the dangers that surround them. The examples we have heard of Divine aid granted to others in their disti-ess should animate us ; as David recol- lected, Psal. xxii. 4 : Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted in thee, and thou didst deliver them. But our own personal experiences are later and nearer, and he who treasures them up in his memory, not only thereby expresses his gratitude to God, but wisely consults his own interest ; for he enjoys all those benefits of the Divine favour twice, or rather as often as he needs and pleases to renew the enjoy- ment of them ; and he not only supports his faith in new dangers, by surveying God's former interpositions, but by laying them open before God in humble prayer, he more earnestly implores, and more effectually obtains new ones. By a secret kind of magnetism, he draws one benefit by another ; he calls out, and as it were allures the Divine favour by itself. 10 MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. VER. 2. Thou hast enlarged ■me.'] The redeemed of the Lord may espe- cially say so, in reference to that grand and principal deliverance by which they are snatched from the borders of Hell, from the jaws of eternal death. The remembrance of so great salvation may well excite songs of perpetual praise, to be ascribed Deo liberatori, to God the de- liverer ; and by this deliverance, so much more illustrious than any of the rest, they may be encouraged in the confidence of faith, to urge and hope for the aids of his saving arm in every other exigence. One thing more may be observed here, but it is so very obvious that I shall only just mention it, as what needs not be much inculcated, That he who has not been accustomed to prayer when the pleasant gales of prosperity have been breathing upon him, will have little skill and confidence in applying himself to it, when the storms of adversity arise ; as Xenophon well observed in the person of Cyrus.* Ver. 2. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame ? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing ? Selah. Justly may we admire the force and the speed with which Prayer flies up to heaven, and brings down answers from thence, a^a iVoe, cifxa 'ipyov, no sooner said than done; if not as to the accomplishment of the tiling itself, which perhaps may be more opportune in some future hour, yet, at least, in clear, firm hope, and strong confidence, sent from above into a praying soul. Prayer soars above the vio- lence and impiety of men, and with a swift wing commits itself to Heaven, with happy omen, if I may allude to what the learned tell us of the augury of the ancients, which I shall not minutely discuss. Fervent prayers stretch forth a strong, wide-extended wing, and while the birds of night hover beneath, they mount aloft, and point out, as it were, the proper seats to which we should aspire. For certainly there is nothing that cuts the air so swiftly, nothing that takes so sublime, so happy, and so auspicious a flight, as prayer, which bears the soul on its pinions, and leaves far behind all the dangers, and even the delights of this low world of ours. Behold this holy man, who just before was crying to God in the midst of distress, and with urgent importunity entreating that he might be heard, now, as if he were ah-eady possessed of all he had asked, taking upon him boldly to rebuke his enemies, how highly soever they were exalted, and how potent soever they might be even in the royal palace. 0 ye sons of men.'] The Hebrew phrase here used, Bene Isch, pro- perly speaking, signifies noble men and great men, as persons of ple- beian rank are called Bene Adam:^ q. d. Whoever you are, and how- ever illustrious by birth, or inflated with pride, or perhaps formidable on both accounts, your greatness is false, and when it is most blown up, is most likely to burst. That is a sound and stable degree of honour to which God has destined his servants, whom you insult and deride. The height of your honour and vanishing glory, from the exaltation of which you look down upon me, will, if you desire I should speak the truth, only render your future fall more grievous and * ITapd Twi/ S'Eoiw TTpaKTiKM-repo^ av th), Sxnrtp Kai Trap' avQpuiTMV, 01711 nv, ottote kv airopoi'S i'Ct}, tots KoXaKiuoi iW ote irpd-rToi, totc fxaXia-ra -rwv S'iuiv fitfwijTui. + Accordingly, the Latin renders it, not filii hominum, hvXfilii virorwn. VER. 2. MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. 11 fatal, which he whose destruction you seek with such insatiable rage, sees, indeed, but does not wish ; nay, he rather wishes that this misery may be averted from you, and that, by a return to the exercise of your right mind, it may be totally prevented : and therefore he gives you this admonition, lest, while you are deriding him, unexpected destruc- tion should come upon you, and your laughter should prove of the Sardonic kind, which nothing can quiet till it end in death. You have indeed great strength and deep counsel, but these things are only the blandishments of your ruin, and the splendid prelude to that misery which is hovering over you. You have spent time enough, and, alas ! how much more than enough, in giving chase to such vanities ; at last regard the man who, in the most disinterested manner, admonishes you of the most important truths. How long will ye turn my glory into shame'?'] The Septuagint appears to have read these words something diiferent from our copies, but the sense is nevertheless much the same;* and though the Psalmist, in the affair which he had in view, speaks only of a few, the words tliemselves have such an expressive dignity, and are in truth so unhappily extensive, that without doing any the least violence to them, they may be considered as an admonition to all mankind. 0 ye sons of men, how long will ye love vanity and lies? For, indeed, what are all those things which we foolish mortals pursue with such contention and ardour of spirit, but, as an ancient expresses it, " trifles that are but like the shadow of smoke ?"f But we are to speak of this hereafter. In the mean time, let us attend to the words before us. How long will ye turn my glory into shame? The things which are the brightest orna- ments of human nature, and which alone constitute its very glory, are holiness, piety, and faith ; and these are treated as if they were the most despicable and ignominious things in the whole world. Among Chris- tians, or those who are called by that name, it is the greatest of all scan- dal to be a Christian indeed. We liave long since lost the true names of things ; candid simplicity of manners is despised as rusticity ; lively religion is called the delirious dream of superstitious notions ; and gen- tleness, dulness and stupidity : while pride has usurped the name of mag- nanimity, and craft that of wisdom. Thus we turn true glory into shame, and shame into glory. And because few are able to discern what tends to their eternal happiness, they squander away the whole day of this short life in pursuing and catching at the false and fictitious forms of it ; yea, they seek a lie, lying vanity. And they who heap up riches seem to be wise both to themselves and others ; but oh, how far from it, and with how base a lie do they impose upon themselves ! For these riches are spent upon gratifying tiieir palate, and ministering in other respects to their luxury. Into how foul a gulf do they throw what they have laboured so eagerly to gain ! Or if they hoard up their wealth, how soon do they pass over the property to their heirs ! Men hunt after fame and vain-glory, and, when they seem to have caught it, feed upon air, and become the slaves of all, even the meanest, for a thing of nought. And as for pleasure, who is so senseless as not to know how deceitful a lie it proves at last ? It drives men into a weak frenzy, to * Tbey render it ews iroTE PapvKupcioi, "How long are ye slow of heart." Antl the Latins, Usque quo gravi corde. Instead of Kebudi lekelesseh, they read Kebudi leklessi. t ^Xtoovfs diravTa kol Kairuov (r/a«i. 12 MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. VER. 3. run after the most trifling objects of pursuit, wliich fly from them like bees, who, if they are taken, yield but a drop of honey, and repay the spoil of it with a painful sting ; a sting wliich, alas, reaches the very heart. Religion is a high, sublime thing, royal, unconquerable, un- wearied ; but pleasure is low, servile, weak, and withering. ReUgion is neither attended by sickly disgust in the enjoyment, nor by bitter re- pentance in the reflection ; but what the world calls pleasure is attended by both. Hear, my young friends, hear the Divine voice of celestial wisdom calling you -with fervent affection and a loud cry, from the trackless ways of error and precipices of misery. Hoiv long, does she say, how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? He that seeks me, shall not be wearied in running hither and thither, but shall find me sitting at his door and waiting admittance ; and he who finds me needs seek nothing else, unless he be one whom a life of real happi- ness cannot satisfy. Oh that the indefatigable labour and industry with which men pursue flattering and uncertain enjoyments, may stir up your minds to exei't at least an equal diligence in this sublime and most blessed pursuit ! For if, as St. Chrysostom speaks, it may seem indecent for me to press you further to such an attachment to these ob- jects as they require, it will be a lovely thing to give it without further solicitation. But to proceed, Hoiv long will you love vanity, and seek after leasing ?2 Can any one deny tliat this is the character of almost every thing that is to be found in human life ? Should a man proclaim this in every company with a loud voice, he would soon pass for a lunatic ; but certainly, he might reproach them with the general madness which reigns among mankind, not only among the vulgar that he meets with in the streets, but the pliilosophers disputing in the school, the counsellors pleading in our courts of judicature, yea, the senators and nobles that sit in the most august assembly. And, oh, how happy are they, of whatever order, whom the hand of God draws out of the crowd, and turns their minds from these various lying and transitory vanities, to the pursuit of true and lasting good ! Happy they wliom he, by a wonderful in- terposition of grace in their favour, sets apart as dear to himself. Which leads to the 3rd verse. Ver. 3. BiU know that tlie Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself : the Lord will hear when I call unto him. The Prophet hath this great support both of his faith and of his kingdom, the immutable and unshaken decree of the supreme and universal King, and it is the firm establishment of David's infi- nitely greater Son in his throne and kingdom, I will declare the decree. Psal. ii. 7. In this verse, and there, we may most properly under- stand it of both ; more immediately of David as the type, but chiefly, and in its consummate sense, as referring to Christ the Lord, and having its full end and accomplishment in his endless and eternal kingdom. He is, by way of eminence, God's holy one, holy and harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And those, whoever they are, who endeavour to oppose themselves to the Divine purposes, betray the most desperate madness, and on whatever strength or coun- sel they depend in the enterprise, like waves dashed against the solid I'oek, they shall be broken in pieces, by what they vainly attempt to VER. 4. MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. 13 break. And on this basis does the whole safety of the whole Church rest, and that of God's saints, of all those whom he sets apart for himself, and (as the form of the original here has been thought to imply) wonderfully separates, as his peculiar people and treasure, the sacred charge of Christ the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, whicli all the powers of earth and the gates of hell shall in vain attempt to wrest from him. And this is the confidence on which believers should repose themselves. They never trust to themselves or their own strength or virtues, but they often redouble that cry. Thou, Lord, art my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. Psal. xviii. 2. And Psal. xxxiv. 8, Blessed, 0 Lord, is the man who triisteth in thee, who must previously and necessarily despair first of himself, as considered in himself alone, as the great Apostle says, WJien I am. weak, then am I strongest of all, 2 Cor. xii. 10; according to that lively and just expression, " Faith which is endangered in security, is secure in danger." * The Psalmist adds. The Lord will hear me when I call. From the Divine decree and favour, he promises not to himself an entire free- dom from all and every attempt of his enemies, but assures himself that God will be present in the midst of his calamities, present and propitious ; not to the indolent and drowsy soul, but to that which solicits his assistance by prayer. And this is the determination of every godly man, whom the Lord has set apart for himself, that he will call upon God without ceasing, and that if any unusual diflficulty arise, he will call upon him more fervently. Hence it appears, how entirely all our safety depends upon prayer. Yet, all our prayers, and those of the whole church, are sustained by those prayers of our great King and Priest ; as Augustine says in reference to that known story in the Evangehsts, Because the waves rise, the ship may be tossed, but, because Christ prays, it cannot be sunk.^ Ver. 4. Stand in awe, and sin not : commune witli your o^^•n heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Oh most friendly counsel which is here offered to enemies ! This is indeed overcoming hatred and injury with the very best of favours ; by far the most noble kind of victory. A sublime and heavenly mind, like the upper region of the world, is not only itself always calm and serene, as being inaccessible to every breath of injury and turbulent impression, but it also continually sheds down its benign influences without distinction on all below it, on the evil and the good, the just and the unjust. Stand in aive: — the Hebrew and Greek have it, Be ye moved; and as this emotion may arise either from anger, fear, or any other affection of the mind, the Septuagint renders it, Be angry and sin not, a maxim which St. Paul finding to his purpose, inserts in his Epistle to the Ephesians, ch. iv. 26. Nevertheless, the author of this psalm here seems apparently to demand their fear rather than their anger ; and accordingly, the Targum explains it. Fear him, i. e. God, and sin not : Kimchi — Fear the Lord who has chosen me king, * Fides quae in securitate periclitatur, in periculis secura est. t Quia insurgunt fluctus, potest turbari navicula, sed quia Christus orat, non po- test mergi. 14 MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. VER. 4. and Aben-ezra — Fear God and despise not my glory, for that great King will require the derision at the hand of the deriders. The passions are the inmost wheels of this machine which we call man, whose motions all the rest of the life follows, and all the errors of this career of ours proceed from their irregularity. Of so great importance is it that every one rightly determine what he should desire, and hope, and fear. And from the time that man lost the ingenuousness of his disposition, and became like a wild ass-colt, the use of fear is become very great. It is true that they who are born again, and who really are the sons of God, are especially led by the sweet and noble energy of this Divine principle, and therefore it is the saying of the beloved Apostle, that perfect love, or charity, casteth out fear. 1 John iv. 18. But as the generality of mankind are either entirely destitute of this Divine love, or possess it only in a very low and imperfect degree, so it is certain, that vdth regard to him whose heart is most entirely fired with this celestial flame, we may under- stand the words as signifying, that in such a one this great and fer- vent love does indeed cast out all despairings and diffident fears, but not that of a pious and reverential awe. Alas ! most of us, under the pretence of avoiding a servile terror, perversely shake off the bonds of holy and ingenuous fear, and become obstinate and self-willed ; whereas, when we look into the word of God we shall find the holiest men there tremble in the Divine presence, and sometimes acknow- ledge even greater horror of mind. My flesh trenibleth for fear of thee, arid I am afraid of thy judgments. Psal. cxix. 120. Destruction from God was a terror to me, and because of his ex- cellency I could not endure. Job xxxi. 23. In this sense, as David declares. The fear of the Lord is clean, and endureth for ever, Psal. xix. 9, endures in the most happy agreement with perfect love. Nor is it to remain only in spirits that inhabit flesh, but in all the angelic choirs, pure and happy as they are. Nay, the profound rever- ence of that eternal and tremendous Majesty flourishes and reigns most of all there ; for in proportion to the degree in which the knowledge is clearer, and vision more distinct, are the veneration and the fear more, deep and humble. How reasonable then must it be, that mortal men, beset with sore temptations and dangers, should, as Hezekiah expresseth it, loalk softly and tremble before that infinite Majesty, at whose voice the earth is shaken, and at whose rebuke the pillars of heaven are moved. With great propriety did one of the ancients say, " Fear is the first swaddling-band of new-born wis- dom,"* or, as the Scripture expresses it. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is observed that the original word there made use of, signifies both the beginning and the top; and in both senses it is most true. The author just mentioned admirably says, " Do they call such a one unlearned ? It is the only wisdom I know, to fear God ; it is the beginning of wisdom and the end of all discourse, as Solomon describes it : it is indeed the to nav, the whole matter, the whole concern of man, and it is all in all — Fear God."'\ And * 'O <^o€os irpwTOD T)|9 rrocp'ias (XTrapyavov. Greg. Naz. t ' A-ntMtvTov ovofiuaovm ; n'lav (Tu^iau oloia, to (po^iiaQai Qtov' dpx'/ t£ 70,0 <7o- d)i'os, d>6to^ Kvptov KUi Tc'Xos Xoyov, to irav uKovi, itfiri 2o\o/i(oi/, Toy Btoi/ (potov. — Greg. Naz. Or. 28. VEK. 4. MEDITATIONS ON PSALM IV. 15 elsewhere he adds, " This fear is most salutary to men, but at the same time most rare, superlatively so." * And once more, " It is (says he) the greatest of all good things, to fear God ; and the ungodly, in fall- ing from it, shall not be permitted long to continue in the abuse of his own folly." f Well, therefore, is it here added. Sin not. This fear is the water of the sanctuary, to quench all the flames of concu- piscence. This, says Bernard, is the arrow that strikes through all the desires of the flesh. Hence arose Abraham's fear and apprehension among strangers : Surely, says he, the fear of God is not in this place. Gen. XX. 11. But in order to produce this fear, it is necessary that we should have right conceptions of God ; that nothing impure can please him, because he is holiness itself ; that nothing secret can be concealed from him, because he is light ; nor can any sinner surely be mad enough to hope he shall escape the long hand of this righteous Judge and supreme King, whose power is immense, and who cannot be a respecter of per- sons. What evil then c»n escape with impunity ? Thou, 0 Lord, thou only art to he feared, and who can stand before thee when once thou art angry ? Psal. Ixxvi. 7. Commune with your oion heart. '\ Or, as some render it, examine yourselves. Oh, how few do this ! Men live abroad, and are indeed strangers at home : the great mark of human madness, to dehght in speaking and hearing of what concerns others, "while no individual will attempt to descend into himself." \ Yet this faculty, which we call reflection, is the peculiar privilege of human nature ; and to be borne on wholly by external objects, is indeed brutal. And oh, what heaps of disorder, what odious filthiness must there necessarily be in a breast which is never looked into and cleansed out ! Dear youths, if amidst all your other studies, you do not learn to converse and commune with your own selves, whatever you know, or rather, what- ever you imagine you know, I would not purchase it at the expense of a straw. On your bed."] Or, as some would render it, in your secret cham- bers, when free from the noise of the world, and hurries of their daily business. An ancient said, " The reflections of the night are deepest." § And it has been observed, that David, in the nineteenth Psalm, ascribes speech to the day, and wisdom to the silent night. It is an excellent advice of Pythagoras, and the verses that contain it do indeed deserve to be called golden, " That we should not allow ourselves to go to sleep, till we have seriously revolved the actions of the day, and asked our- selves. What have I done amiss ? What good have I done or neglected to do ? That so we may reprove ourselves for what has been wrong, and take the comfort of what has been as it ought." || * $o6o9 ck Qiov, dvdpMTTaiv