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tion; and how are majesty and glory, in any sense which the words may bear in our language, to be girt on upon the person? The truth is, that in the Hebrew language, these words have a great variety and latitude of meaning; and either these very words, or their synonymes, are used in other places for splendid dress, and for robes of state; and being things to be girt on, they must here denote some part of the warrior's dress. They signify such sort of armour, of costly materials and exquisite workmanship, as was worn by the greatest generals, and by kings when they led their armies in person; and was contrived for ornament as well as safety. The whole verse might be intelligibly and yet faithfully rendered in these words:

"Warrior! gird thy sword upon thy thigh; "Buckle on thy refulgent dazzling armour." The psalmist goes on:

4. "Take aim, be prosperous, pursue,.

"In the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;"

that is, take aim with thy bow and arrow at the enemy; be prosperous or successful in the aim taken; ride on in pursuit of the flying foe, in the cause of religious truth, evangelical humility, and righteousness..

"And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things;" rather,

"And thy own right hand shall show thee wonderful things."

In these last words, the Saviour, effecting every thing by his own power, is represented under the image of a great champion in the field, who is prompted by his own courage, and a reliance on his own strength and skill, to attempt what might seem impracticable; singly to attack whole squadrons of the enemy,-to cut his way through their embattled troops,-to scale their ramparts and their walls, and at last achieves what seems a wonder to

himself, when the fray is over, when he is at leisure to
survey the bulwarks he has demolished, and the many
carcasses his single arm has stretched upon the plain.
Such great things he will be able to effect; for
5.“ Thine arrows,” saith the psalmist, are very

sharp
“ In the heart of the king's enemies;

“ Insomuch that peoples fall under thee.” To open the true spiritual meaning of all this highwrought imagery, will be ample matter for another discourse. I shall close, therefore, for the present, with this preliminary observation, as the fundamental princi. ple of the interpretation which by God's assistance I shall give, That the war in which the Saviour is engaged is very different from the wars which the princes of this world wage upon one another: it is not for the destruction of the lives of men, but for the preservation of their souls,

SERMON VI.

Psalm xlv. 1.

I speak of the things which I have made touching the

King, or unto the King.

IN my last discourse, I proceeded so far in my exposition of this mystic marriage song, as to enter upon what I reckon the second section of the whole psalm; consisting of five verses, from the third to the seventh, both inclusive; in which, under images taken from military exploits, the successful propagation of the gospel is described, through the whole of that period which commenced at our Lord's ascension, and will terminate with the triumphs of the church at his second advent.

From the commendation of the comeliness of the king's person, and the graciousness of his speech, which, in the second verse, are put figuratively for the perfect innocence and sanctity of our Lord's life on earth, and the sweetness of his gracious doctrine of pardon, peace, and justification, the psalmist, persevering in the same figurative strain, passes to the topic of his royal bridegroom's military prowess. He accosts the king as a warlike prince, preparing to take the field,—describes his weapons, and the magnificence of his armour, and promises him victory and universal dominion.

I shall now endeavour to open and explain to you, with God's assistance, the true spiritual meaning of all this high-wrought imagery. But first I must repeat,

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with some enlargement and explanation, as the fundamental principle of the interpretation I am about to give, the observation with which I closed my last discourse, -namely, that the war in which the psalmist represents the Saviour as engaged, is very different from the wars which the princes of this world wage with one another: it is not for the destruction of the lives of men, but for the prezervation of their souls. It may happen indeed, -it has happened heretofore, -in our own times it has happened, and it will inevitably happen again, that the struggles of Christianity, with the adverse faction, may kindle actual war between the secular powers, taking part on one side or on the other. This our Lord himself foretold. ""Suppose ye,” he said, “that I am come to give peace on earth? I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Such wars are, on the one side, no less holy, just, and good, than, on the other, they are wicked and impious; for when the antichristian powers attack religious establishments by the sword, by the sword they may and must be defended. It is the mere cant of puritanism to allege the precept of mutual forgiveness, the prohibitions of returning evil for evil, and of resisting persecution, as reprobating such wars. All those injunctions relate to the conduct of individuals with respect - to one another, or with respect to the government of which they are subjects. The individual is to be ready at all times to forgive his personal enemies: he is not to indulge a spirit of revenge in the retaliation of private injuries; and least of all is he to resist by force even the injustice, as affecting himself, of his lawful sovereign. But when Antichrist arms his powers for the persecution of the faithful and the extinction of the faith, if Christian princes arm their powers to oppose him, their war is godly, and their cause is blessed. These wars, how, ever, are not within the purview of this prophecy, as the sequel of my discourse will show. This prophetic text

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of the psalmist relates only to that spiritual war which Christ wages with the enemies of man, for man's deliverance,-to the war arising from that enmity which was originally put between the seed of the serpent and the woman's seed.

The offensive weapons in this war of charity, according to the psalmist, are of two sorts,ma sword, and arrows.

The common military sword is a heavy massive weapon, for close engagement: wielded by a strong and skilful arm, it stabs and cuts, opens dreadful gashes where it falls, severs limbs, lops the head, or cleaves the body.

The arrow is a light missile weapon, which, in ancient times, was used to annoy the enemy at a distance, and particularly when put to flight. It comes whizzing through the air unseen; and, when it hits, so small is the wound, and so swift the passage of the weapon, that it is scarcely felt, till it fixes its sharp point in the very heart.

Now both these weapons, the sword and the arrow, are emblems of one and the same thing; which is no other than the word of God, in its different effects, and different manners of operation on the minds of men, re. presented under these two different images.

The word of God may be divided, indeed, into two parts,—the word of reproof, commination, and terror; and the word of persuasion, promise, and hope. The former holds up to the sinner the picture of himself, sets forth the turpitude of sin—the holiness of God God's hatred of unrighteousness, and alarms the conscience with the danger of a state of enmity with God, and with denunciations of implacable wrath and endless punishment.

The second, the word of persuasion, promise, and hope, sets before the penitent the riches of God's mercy,

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