In the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. 9 We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, In the midst of Thy temple. 10 According to Thy Name, O God, So is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: 11 Let mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Thy judgments. (IV. Her strength and glory.) 12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: Tell the towers thereof: 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, Consider her palaces : That ye may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death. REFLECTIONS. 1. The Church is the glory of the world, and the joy of all the earth: God is known in it in His adorable perfections, and as the refuge of His people; and in it He is to be praised for all His glory and good ness. 2. The mighty of the world may devise the ruin of Zion; but overthrow and anguish will be the fruit of their impiety and presumption. He whose tempest wrecks the proudest fleet, will confound their plans and efforts. This is the consolation of the pious. 3. The foundations of the Church are firm, and she shall endure through all generations. We ought to enter into her courts with joy, to hear of, and to meditate upon, the loving-kindness of the Lord; His tender mercies to our perishing race in Christ Jesus: to hear of, and to consider, the righteousness, goodness, and truth that shine forth in His counsels and proceedings. If we rightly understand the nature and blessings of the Church, our hearts will be filled with joy and gladness. 4. Examine the Church; her foundation, her structure, her ordinances, her treasures. She is a spiritual edifice, built by the hand, protected by the power, enlightened by the truth, enriched with the mercy, and adorned with the holiness of Jehovah; of Him who is "our God for ever and ever;" of Him "who will be our guide even unto death;" of Him who after death will be our everlasting portion. PRAYER. Give us grace, O Lord, to look upon Thy Church with thankful and joyful hearts. Frustrate, we beseech Thee, the devices of her enemies; and grant that she may be always safe under Thy protection. Make her to be the joy of the whole earth: and may we be of the number of those who think of Thy lovingkindness in the midst of Thy temple; and who praise Thee and rejoice in Thee as our God, our Guide, and our exceeding great reward; through our blessed and only Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen. PSALM XLIX. Instructive, as Psalm i. The argument is similar to that of Psalm Xxxvii. It states the folly of envying the rich, powerful, and wise of the world. (I. Invitation to hear instruction.) 1 Hear this, all ye people! Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world! 2 Both low and high, Rich and poor, together. 3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; 4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: 5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, shall compass me about? 6 They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him : 8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, And it ceaseth for ever :) 9 That he should live for ever, And not see corruption. (III. Death the portion of all.) 10 For he seeth that wise men die, Likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, 11 Their inward thought is, That their houses shall continue for ever, And their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly: Yet their posterity approve their sayings. 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall consume in the grave (IV. Faith in the resurrection.) 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: For He shall receive me. (V. The worldly prosperous not to be feared.) 16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: His glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: And men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. 20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish. REFLECTIONS. 1. How happy are they, whether rich or poor, who listen to the lessons of divine wisdom! If we find dark sayings upon the pages of Scripture, this should only induce us to examine them with greater diligence. 2. Though days are evil, and though the wicked encompass us, we have no cause for fear. The rich and powerful die, and see corruption, as other men. Riches do not exempt us from the dominion of death. 3. What a picture of human folly! How many plan, speak, and act as if their residence upon earth were to be perpetual! The experience of all ages fails to inspire them with wisdom, and to teach them that they are only the creatures of a day; their power soon to end in weakness, and their beauty soon to fade. 4. How delightful the persuasion, how glorious the prospect of the true believer! God will redeem him from sin, and death, and the grave, and receive him to eternal bliss and glory. Oh how does the world vanish from our view at the thought of this! How manifestly does true piety appear to be the good part! 5. See the worthlessness of riches. We possess them, and shine here: we die, and leave them behind us destitute of piety, we die, and, how awful is the thought! shall "never see light." PRAYER. O Lord, convince those who trust in worldly riches |