saith, chap. lxvi. 2, 'To whom shall I look, but to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word? And how wilt thou assure thyself that thou hast faith enough? Remember then, that as much as thou art deficient in faith, so much hast thou of ungodliness. It is the way of the ungodly to arrogate to themselves all those things that are good with confident security, and to refer all that is evil unto others. On the other hand, it is the way of the godly to believe all that evil of themselves which does not belong to them, and to refer all good unto others: nor can they be brought to aspire after the better things without much suffering of unworthiness; even though they seek those things not on account of any merit in themselves, but only by a naked hope in the mercy of God.

Therefore, to the wicked there is nothing prosperous; they have a withering leaf, and are not planted by the rivers of water. But hear in the spirit one that speaks in the spirit. For the whole scripture declares that the ungodly flourish and prosper: and we see the same in many of the Psalms: so that it seems as if one could say of them only, 'Their leaf is green, and all that they do prospers.' Hence faith is necessary to understand these things.

But are like the dust which the wind scattereth away.

The Hebrew word CAMOTZ in this passage signifies 'chaff,' or 'the dust of chaff,' or 'the sweepings of a barn-floor;' yet, it is of no moment, for it is the same thing whether you say dust, or chaff-dust, or chaff, or ashes; because the persons here represented are those concerning whom Luke saith, chap. iii. 17, " Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor; and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable." And you need not hold the least doubt, that it is this purging, this chaff, and this chaff-dust, that is signified in the present passage; though strictly and most properly, the word signifies small chaff and pieces of chaff. And Job in the same way saith, chap. xxi. 18, "They are as stubble

before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away."

And observe: He does not only call them chaff, but that chaff which the wind scattereth away: he does not wish to signify that chaff which lies still; but that which is driven about, scattered and dispersed. And we may understand him first of the Jews: for these are scattered away in a threefold sense. First, corporally, by storms; that is, by the wills and indignation of those men among whom they live: so that we plainly see them with our eyes to have no certain dwelling-place, and to be exposed every moment to a wind of this kind that drives them here and there. Secondly, their minds are driven about by the wind of various doctrine, by means of their pestilent teachers, because they are not planted in the faith of Christ, but their minds are scattered in different directions by uncertain doctrines, while their consciences can find no certainty or quiet. Thirdly, in the last day they will be scattered by the eternal storms of the intolerable wrath of God, and will be driven away never to have rest, not even for a moment. And the same things will also await all heretics, especially the two last-mentioned storms.

And what else do you think it is in the church but the storm of the wrath of God, that has scattered us away into so many and different, such unstable and uncertain, and at the same time infinite, glosses of lawyers and opinions of theologians? While Christ in the meantime is utterly unknown, and we are miserably driven and dashed against so many quicksands, rocks, and straits of conscience?—Though all the rest of the ungodly have their storms and hurricanes of pleasures and lusts, of riches, honours, favour, and the other billows of this world; by which, they are most miserably dashed to and fro; and that, because they despise the one only rock and solid strength of our heart.

Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in the judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous.

We have already fully shown who are sinners

and ungodly and do thou take heed that thou hear not these words of God without trembling, as if thou wert sure of being godly and a saint. This fear itself is godliness; nay, the very fountain-spring and beginning of wisdom and godliness.

"Shall not rise" here signifies, that the ungodly shall not stand before God: according to those words of Psalm v. 45, "Neither shall the evil dwell with thee; the unrighteous shall not remain in thy sight." And Psalm xxiv. 3, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" and this is said also concerning Christ when he shall rise up in judgment: as is that also of Psalm xii. 5, " Now will I arise, saith the Lord." Therefore, "shall not rise,' signifies, that they shall not stand, shall not serve, shall not minister unto God; as they most confidently presume they shall do.

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'Judgment" in this place signifies, by a scriptural figure, office. Thus, the whole book of Judges, is so called from the judges or rulers of Israel: as in Psalm cxxii. 5, "For there are set the thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David." And so also Psalm cx. 6, "He shall judge among the heathen:" that is, he shall be the judge of the heathen. And Psalm lxxii. 4," He shall judge the poor of the people:" that is, he shall rule them. And again, Psalm xcvi. 13, " He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth."-The meaning therefore is, the wicked shall never rise to that state, so as to be the judges or rulers of the faithful: nor even stand in their "counsel," that is, in their congregation; which means, that they shall never be reckoned either among the great or the small of the faithful. And, to open the whole more plainly still, it signifies, that the ungodly shall never so rise in judgment, nor in the congregation of the righteous, as to be considered the servants of God.

What! shall we not then put down these ungodly rulers and these wicked men, and cast them out from the midst of us? Or, is that not a congregation of the faithful where ungodly men rule, and where sinners are

intermingled? Not so! I before observed, that the prophet spoke in spirit, and must therefore be heard in spirit. For Judas was an apostle, and yet he was not an apostle. And as John saith, 1 Epist. ii. 19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us." And thus the ungodly while they rule, rule visibly as to their persons, but in truth do not rule at all. For Zechariah saith, "Wo to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock." Here he calls the same person a "shepherd," which was the name with which he was honoured among men, and also an "idol," for which he was condemned before God. And so Christ also, that we may understand that precedence is not that which essentially belongs to the faithful, rewards many of the ungodly in this life with that paltry pittance. Such men, therefore, are to be borne with, as chaff is among the wheat, until the winnowing day shall come.

And see whether this be not plainly the prophet's meaning? For, when he had before said "the ungodly are not so," it was not necessary to repeat the same in another verse: it would have been sufficient to have said, 'therefore the ungodly shall not rise in the judgment, nor in the congregation of the righteous.' But he has spoken thus, that he may do away with all outward person, and all the external appearance of men: because, rich men, powerful men, and what other external appearance soever there may be, may rise in the judgment, and be in the congregation of the righteous; seeing that all these things pertain unto the body. But, ungodly men and sinners never can. Therefore the whole force of the passage lies in the terms "ungodly," and "sinners." For such never have the precedence in reality, and in spirit. The ungodly are never among the faithful; though they carry so showy an appearance in external life, that it may be thought that none have so much precedency over, and such a place among, the faithful, as they. And this hypocricy and external show, of which they are so proud, on which they presume so much, and by which they deceive so many, are the very things that are struck at in this Psalm.

For the Lord knoweth the the way of the ungodly shall per

So specious, saith David, is
that unto men, they may seem
and to stand in the congregati
deceived, understands their wa
are ungodly; and in the eyes
among the number of his church
only, and knoweth not sinners,
one, and not the other. There
the least of all expect or believ
shall perish, I say; though it
that it seems as if it would be

Behold how David here
prosperous appearance, and
temptations and adversities.
righteous all men utterly repro
God knoweth nothing about an
the wisdom of the cross. There
knoweth the way of the righteo
For the
righteous themselves.
on in a wonderful manner; see
of sense, nor of reason, but of
faith that sees in darkness, and
invisible.

When, therefore, we are su herds, we do not obey the ungod not hear or follow their ungodlin precedency of their persons. Aga and cast out such, (as we see don ungodly that they put down? no persons. For the ungodly who are It is then only the ungodly still. put down, when he is led from un which is not done by external internally praying and externally God condescends to work at the Whoso is not pleased to unders let him abide by this interpretation