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Jesse; the Root and Offspring of David; the < Branch; the Good Olive; the TREE of LIFE in ⚫ the midst of the paradise of God, and on either side ⚫ of the river, which beareth twelve manner of fruits, and yieldeth fruit every month; and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations,' &c. We find the Lord himself also, in the same parabolical style, addressing his disciples to the following purpose, 'Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the VINE, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bring⚫eth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do ' nothing.'-And, on other occasions, dropping the figure, My meat is to do the will of him that sent 6. me, and to finish his work-Lo, I come to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart -Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which 'thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.'-For this, in answer to his prayer, he was raised from 'the dead, crowned with glory and honour, and highly exalted, and a name given him, which is above every name; that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' -Thus

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the Son, who became the servant of the Father to bring many sons and daughters to glory, was recompensed, made most blessed for ever, and exceeding glad with his Father's countenance-Now, surely, such a character, and such a blessedness, as the legal due reward of that character, must originally, and in the first instance, belong to the Son of God,

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considered personally, or by himself; and to others
only by way of imputation, communication, and de-
rivation from him: for to whom, besides him alone,
of all the sons of Adam, will such a character and
blessedness otherways apply? For, separate from
him, and as they are in themselves, the verdict of
JEHOVAH stands thus declared and confirmed against
them all; There is none righteous, no not one!'
Neither can they be justified in his sight by the
the deeds of the law: for by the law is the know-
ledge of sin.'
They are all under the curse, shut
up by the law under sin, under wrath, &c. But,
though this be the situation of all who believe not
the gospel, yet by him all who do believe it are
justified from all things from which they could
not be justified by the law of Moses.' Thus his
people all become righteous, as the prophet speaks,
not indeed through works of righteousness done by
themselves, but through the righteousness of God,
which is by the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and
upon all them that believe,' who are '
justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that
is in Jesus Christ'-who is made of God the end
of the law for righteousness' (or personal justifica-
tion) to every one that believeth-as it is written,
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
* Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
• hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
'made unto salvation. In singing this Psalm,
therefore, the true worshippers are directed to re-
joice in CHRIST JESUS their Mediator, Advocate,
and Forerunner, who for them magnified the law,
and made it honourable, by redeeming them from
the curse thereof with his own blood; and, being
now through the knowledge of the truth set ever.
lastingly beyond the reach and fear of condemna-
tion by the law, they are taught to consider it in
the hand of the Mediator, as the royal law of

liberty;' to reverence it, to love it, and to obey it; not with terror, as slaves trembling for fear of damnation, nor with mercenary considerations, as hirelings working for the wages of eternal life, but with the pure, generous affections of love, gratitude, and joy, before the Lord their Saviour, who hath redeemed them, not only from the curse of the law, but also from all such unhallowed and dispiriting meditations concerning it; constrained by his love to hate evil, and to give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness; while, with holy heart-subduing awe, astonished and amazed at such sovereign, distinguishing mercy, manifested towards themselves, they behold the terrors of the Lord falling dreadful upon all the fearful and unbelieving, and overwhelming them with eternal perdition. So shall it fare with all those whom death, in an evil hour, shall surprise without faith, and so without Christ, without God, ⚫ without hope in the world-Like chaff, they shall be driven away, in the judgment, and burnt with everlasting fire; whereas those, who are in union with Christ by the faith of his resurrection, shall, like the palm-tree, flourish evermore: because he liveth, who is the Lord their Righteousness, from whom their fruit is found, they shall live also, and live with God. -Upon the whole, it may be observed, that the same distinct line of interpretation runs visibly, like a beam of light, through the other ways utterly impenetrable darkness and obscurity of all the prophetic writings, but most eminently through the whole book of Psalms; dispelling the clouds of erroneous representation, and clearly discovering the glory of God, as it shines, and ever shone, in the face of Jesus ; and darting, into every wise and understanding heart, the instructions and consolations of the Holy Ghost. See particularly, among many others, these following Psalms, viz. iii. iv. v. xv. xvi. xvii. xviii. xxiv. xxv. xxvi. xxxv. xl. &c. but especially the cxix. throughout-All of which, as shall be shown in the

proper place, belong to the same class, and must, of consequence, be opened by the same key.

Th' eternal perfect blessedness
Of David's LORD and SON,
Whose everlasting righteousness
For us the blessing won,
Let all the churches sweetly sing!
And chaunt aloud their joy!
The LORD, EMMANUEL, is our King;
He'll death and hell destroy.

THA

HAT man hath perfect blessedness
Who walketh not astray

In counsel of ungodly men,

Nor stands in sinners way,
Nor sitteth in the scorner's chair;

2. But placeth his delight
Upon God's law, and meditates
On his law day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree that grows
Near planted by a river,

Which in his season yields his fruit,
And his leaf fadeth never:
And all he doth shall prosper well.
The wicked are not so ;

But like they are unto the chaff,
Which wind drives to and fro.

5 In judgment therefore shall not stand
Such as ungodly are;

Nor in th' assembly of the just
Shall wicked men appear.

6 For why? The way of godly men
Unto the Lord is known:

Whereas the way of wicked men
Shall quite be overthrown.

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PSALM II.

THIS Psalm stands in the front of a large catalogue of parallel ones, all evidently supposing, or expressly, as here, declaring and ascertaining, according to Řom. i. 4. the divine, eternal Sonship, character, and office of Jesus Christ, the King of glory, in his mediatorial kingdom of grace and truth; the blessedness of his faithful subjects; and the utter destruction of all his enemies, the unbelievers, who will not have him to reign over them, Luke xix. 14. Acts iv. 25. and xiii. 33. Heb. i. 5. and v. 5.

Among many others, wherein the expression is various, but the sense undeniably the same, the following Psalms are parallel with this, and set beyond all possibility of controversy with regard to their subject; as any one, who will be determined by the Holy Ghost's public and infallible interpretation in the New Testament, may clearly perceive by reading them over, and consulting the marginal references as he goes along; viz. the two next, xvi. xviii. xx. xxi. xxii. xxiv. xxix. xlv. xlvi. xlvii. xlviii. 1. lx. lxi. lxiii. lxviii. lxxii. lxxxix. xci. xciii. xcvi. xcvii. xcviii. xcix. cviii. cx. cxlv. and cxlix.

Messiah rais'd again from death,
Declar'd the SON OF GOD

Kiss ye the SON-prevent his wrath
Or feel his iron rod:

For those the Saviour who despise,
“And his salvation scorn,

Exil d for ever from the skies,
Must mourn in hell forlorn.

W

WHY rage the heathen? and vain things
Why do the people mind?

2 Kings of the earth do set themselves,
And princes are combin'd,

To plot against the Lord, and his
Anointed, saying thus,