PSALM CXXVIII.

ARGUMENT.

THIS Psalm contains a promise made to him who feared Jehovah, and walked in his ways, that he should be blessed in his person, and in his family, and that he should see the good of Jerusalem. The Psalm was, probably, sung at the marriages of the Israelites, as it is now a part of the matrimonial service among us. In its prophetical and exalted sense, it has respect to the person, marriage, family, and city of Messiah.

1. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD: that walketh in his ways.

Happiness belongs not to the rich, the powerful, and the prosperous, as such; but in every state and condition, blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that so feareth him as to obey him, and to walk in his ways; notwithstanding all the obstructions he may meet with from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Blessed above all the sons of men, and the author of blessing to them all, was the man Christ Jesus, because above them all, and for them all, he feared, he loved, and he obeyed.

2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee,

The person is here beautifully changed, and to the man who fears Jehovah is addressed an enumeration of those blessings which shall attend him. He is to eat the labour of his hands, that is, the fruit, or returns of his labours. Hereby it is implied, that he is not to be idle, but to labour, that he may eat; that he is not to be niggardly, but to eat when he has laboured; that he is neither to be unjust, by living upon the labours, nor enslaved, by depending upon the bounty, of others, but to eat of his own labours; and that he whose labours procure him a sustenance, has enough to be blessed and happy. Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee: every thing shall happen, which God sees to be best for thee in this life, and (as saith the Chaldee Paraphrast on the place) "it shall be good to thee in the world to come." The glory of Christ, and the salvation of mankind, were the fruits of his actions and his sufferings in the days of his flesh; so that, in the enjoyment of them, he doth no more than " eat of the labours of his hands ;" or, to use the words of Isaiah," he seeth of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied." Before he went hence, he took comfort in the reflection, " I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Happy shalt thou be, O Christian, and it shall be well with thee, if, at thy latter end, thou shalt be able to draw comfort from the same consideration.

3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

Marriage was ordained by God to complete the felicity of man, in a state of innocence; and the benediction of heaven will ever descend upon it, when undertaken in the fear of the Lord. The vine, a lowly plant, raised with tender care, becoming, by its luxuriancy, its beauty, its fragrance, and its clusters, the ornament and glory of the house to which it is joined, and by which it is supported, forms the finest imaginable emblem of a fair, virtuous, and fruitful wife. The olive trees planted by the inhabitants of the eastern countries around their tables, or banqueting places in their gardens, to cheer the eye by their verdure, and to refresh the body by their cooling shade, do no less aptly and significantly set forth the pleasure which parents feel, at the sight of a numerous and flourishing offspring. As marriage was, from the beginning, intended to represent the mystical union between Christ and his church, which union is spoken of in matrimonial language, through the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament, we need but extend our view, to behold, under the imagery of the vine and the olive plants, the prolific spouse of Messiah, and the children of peace assembled round the table of their heavenly Father.

4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

Are temporal blessings, then, the reward of piety? They are not its only, nor chief reward, but are often added, even under the new dispensation, to those who "first seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." When they are withheld, or withdrawn, it is

for the security or increase of those more valuable blessings which are spiritual. There are times, when father, mother, brethren, sisters, wife, children, and lands, must be given up for Christ's and the Gospel's sake. But ample amends are promised to be made to all who thus part with earthly relations and possessions. They find in the church other fathers, mothers, brethren, sisters, children, &c. and at the resurrection they will "inherit all things," and brighter coronets of glory shall sparkle from their heads. The Scriptures show us the servants of God, in every state and condition; we view them rich and poor, honoured and despised, sick and in health, married and single, childless and otherwise, in prosperity and in adversity; to teach us, that all things work together for good to them who love God: so that the believer hath comfort always. If temporal blessings be granted him, he accepts them as shadows of those which are eternal ; if they are denied, he remembers that they are only shadows, and are therefore denied, that he may fix his thoughts and affections more firmly on the substance.

5. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalém, all the days of thy life. 6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

Every true Israelite rejoices in the prosperity of Zion; a blessing upon the church diffuses itself to all the members thereof; and the good of Jerusalem, with peace upon Israel, is all the good we can desire to see upon carth. Hereafter we shall see greater things

than these. Jehovah from the heavenly Zion will bless us with the vision of his immortal glory; we shall see the good of the new Jerusalem, the wealth, beauty, and majesty of that holy city; we shall see the generations of the faithful walking in the light of it; with that everlasting peace and rest, which remain for the Israel of God. These are the blessings promised to Messiah, and to his seed, for evermore.