(III. Prayer.)

5 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Thy glory be above all the earth.

(IV. Adversaries punished.)

6 They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down:

They have digged a pit before me,

Into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.

(V. Praise.)

7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

8 Awake up, my glory; Awake, psaltery and harp :

I myself will awake early.

9 I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people:
I will sing unto Thee among the nations.
10 For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens,
And Thy truth unto the clouds.

(VI. Prayer repeated.)

11 Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, Let Thy glory be above all the earth.

REFLECTIONS.

1. The pious may experience much tribulation: they may see days full of calamities. But they trust in God; they call upon Him; and they seek protection under the sheltering wing of His providence. Thus believing and dev out, they are fully assured that

they shall have abundant proof of His mercy and faithfulness.

2, 3, 4. Our enemies may be numerous, strong, and cruel but our Defender is almighty; and His glory will be made conspicuous by the overthrow of the wicked, and by the preservation of His faithful people.

5. He whose heart is stedfast in faith may engage in the joyful work of praise and thanksgiving, even in the midst of trouble. He will remember the unbounded mercy and the unchanging truth of God; and thus his heart will be filled with gladness.

6. It is the prayer of the believer, that God may be exalted and glorified by the praises of all His intelligent creatures; that He may be known in the Gospel through all the world, and that men and angels may celebrate His perfections.

PRAYER.

Grant, O Lord, that in all our calamities, whatever be our trials, and whoever be our enemies, we may call upon Thee, and put our entire confidence in Thy mercy and truth. Being safe under Thy protection, may we evermore praise Thy holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

PSALM LVIII.

Instructive, as Psalm i. David wrote this Psalm, perhaps, in reference to Saul and his wicked counsellors.

(I. Reproof.)

1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness;

Ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. (II. The wicked described.)

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb : They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent:

They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely.

(III. Their ruin.)

6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth:
Break out the great teeth of the young lions,

O Lord.

7 Let them melt away

As waters which run continually :

When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows,
Let them be as cut in pieces.

8 As a snail which melteth,

let every one of them pass away: Like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. 9 Before your pots can feel the thorns,

He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
Both living, and in His wrath.

(IV. Joy of the righteous.)

10 The righteous shall rejoice

when he seeth the vengeance:

He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. (V. The divine equity.)

11 So that a man shall say,

Verily there is a reward for the righteous:
Verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth.

REFLECTIONS.

1. The corrupt administration of justice is an evil that exists in our fallen world. Our words should be truth, and our decisions should be equity: but how often does the heart meditate evil, and the lips pronounce an unjust sentence !

2. We have full proof of the depravity of man even from his earliest years. Falsehood in language, angry and malignant passions, self-will and incorrigible obstinacy, are some of the bitter fruits of our native corruption. Such is man without divine grace.

3. The wicked will do well to remember, that there is One who can break their power in a moment, and render them feeble and inefficient, or suddenly remove them from their place. They may for a season make many around them to tremble: but can they themselves stand in the day of God's displeasure?

4. The righteous proceedings of God will inspire

the souls of His servants with joy; not that they rejoice in the sufferings of any persons whatever, but in the manifestation of the divine perfections.

5. Apparent confusion exists under the present administration of Divine Providence: we see a part, and not the whole; the beginning and the progress, but not the end; but we may be fully assured, that God will finally be justified by all His creatures; who will see and avow that all His ways are equal.

PRAYER.

We acknowledge, O Lord, the corruption of our nature; and we beseech Thee to renew us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may be pure in heart, and upright in our dealings. Grant that we may do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Thee in faith, fear, and love; that, when Thou shalt judge the world, in righteousness, we may be approved in Thy sight, and received into the mansions of eternal life, through the merits and intercession of Thy Son Jesus Christ our only Saviour. Amen.

DAY 11.]

PSALM LIX.

EVENING PRAYER.

Prayer, as Psalm iv. David wrote this Psalm when persecuted by Saul.

(I. Prayer.)

1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:
Defend me from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloody men.