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The words, In his favour is life, seem to come in as a fatisfying answer to a tacit objection formed by those who are invited to fing the praises of God, ver. 4. As if it had been faid, Alas! How can we join in the pleasing work of thanksgiving. We lie under the tokens of God's displeasure, and seem to feel the marks of his anger within us. How can we fing the Lord's fong, when our harps are hung on the willows?

The Pfalmift answers this by a conceffion; "Be it fo; it is proper there should be an interchangeable fucceffion of joy and forrow, as of day and night. Sorrow, like an unwelcome guest, may lodge with us during the night, but a blessed morning of deliverance fucceeds. The feafon of difconfolation is but fhort; it will not laft for ever; so far from this, God's anger is but for a moment, and in his favour is life." The displeasure and the favour of the Moft High are here compared, in their nature and their duration.

The displeasure of God occafions a night of forrow and distress. Night in fcripture often denotes a season of gloom and difconfolation. The gracious foul is under great difcouragement when the Sun of righteousness is withdrawn. If the wrath of a king be as the messengers of death, how afflictive must a fenfe of God's displeasure be, to the man who looks

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for all his felicity from him! But in his favour is life; it is that which gives being to all the hope, the peace and comfort of a faint. He lives by the fhining of his heavenly Father's countenance.

The divine difpleasure is but for a moment; the gloominess occasioned by it is but for a night. At longest, the season of affliction and forrow can but continue during the period of a good man's pilgrimage through this vale of tears; but the favour of God is life everlasting; it runs parallel with the existence of the foul, and with the line of eternity.

The former part of this verfe, because short and concise, seems rather intricate; but in the latter, the Pfalmist more fully unfolds his meaning. Anger, by an ufual figure, is put for chastisement, which, among earthly parents, is frequently the effect of anger. The Supreme Being is not angry as men are; yet he vifits the tranfgreffions of his children with a rod, and their iniquities with ftripes, though he will not take away his loving-kindness from them, nor fuffer his faithfulness to fail.

The words in the Hebrew text lie thus, A moment in his anger; in his favour life. Life is oppofed to a moment, as favour is to anger. Displeasure is momentary, love is everlasting. The general sense of the paffage appears to be this,-Though for our offences the Lord may hide his face, withdraw

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his comforts, and visit us with affliction; yet he will fpeedily manifeft his pardoning mercy, remove the chaftifement which indicated his difpleasure, and reftore to us the joys of his falvation. This renewed manifestation of favour will produce so great a change in our flate of mind, that it may be termed, a calling us back from death to life.

As my defire is to inftruct and edify the reader, and not to perplex him, I shall not introduce the laboured criticisms of fome learned writers upon the words under confideration, nor attempt any farther explication of them, but immediately propound this doctrinal propofition arising from the

text,

That In God's favour there is life; or that his favour is a good man's life.

This is the branch of divine truth held forth to our notice, by the royal Pfalmift here. Under the infpiration of the Holy Spirit, he advanced this, as a faithful faying, and worthy of acceptation. Mofes seems to affert the fame thing, when he says of JEHOVAH, "He is thy life, and the length of thy days." That is, he is effectively fo; he is the cause of thy life; whatever justly deserves the denomination of life, confifts in the enjoyment of him, and consequently, in being conformed to his holy will.

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In the prosecution of my design, I shall attempt to give a solution of the following inquiries;

I. What are we to understand by the favour of God, and what that life is which is faid to be in it? II. In what refpects is his favour to be confidered as life?

III. To whom is it so, and in what seasons and circumftances?

IV. Why do these persons put such a value on the divine favour, as to account it life?

When I have given a short answer to these seve ral important questions, I fhall attempt a fuitable application of the whole.

CHAP. II.

What God's Favour is, and the Life which is enjoyed in it.

WE are in the firft place to inquire, what we

are to understand by the favour of God, and what that life is which is faid to be in it. For the fake of brevity, we unite these two neceffary branches. of investigation, in the prefent chapter, humbly requefling the reader to to favour us with his candid, pious and impartial attention. The nature of the fubject undoubtedly calls for it.

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The word for favour, in the facred original, fig. nifies good will, or good pleasure. good pleafure. In the bleffing wherewith Mofes the man of God bleffed the children of Ifrael before his death, we meet with this elevated apoftrophe, "O Naphtali, fatisfied with favour, full with the bleffing of the Lord!" The latter clause explains and illustrates the former. When men are full of the bleffing of the Lord, they enjoy his favour; and it is that which gives them fatisfaction. The word alfo fignifies acceptance. The prophet Ifaiah uses the fame expreffion as that in our text; when speaking of the spiritual facrifices which God's people shall present unto him, through the Mediator, he fays, in the name of the great Je hovah, "They fhall come up with acceptance, with favour, upon mine altar." Sometimes the term, in our English verfion, is rendered defire. As when the Pfalmift fays, "He fhall fulfil the defire, the good will, of them that fear him." But as the expreffion is ufed concerning the Author and Fountain of all good, it implies, in its lowest sense, kindnefs or regard : and it may be considered in several points of light.

1. The favour of God may intend his common Providence towards all, both good and bad. Favour is shown to fome who are little influenced by it. "Let favour be fhewed to the wicked," in the boun