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 way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

So specious, saith David, is the way of the ungodly, that unto men, they may seem to rise in the judgment and to stand in the congregation. But he who is not deceived, understands their ways, and knows that they are ungodly; and in the eyes of him they are not at all among the number of his church. He knows the righteous only, and knoweth not sinners, that is, he approves the one, and not the other. Therefore, (which is what they the least of all expect or believe), their way shall perish; shall perish, I say; though it goes on with such success, that it seems as if it would be eternal.

Behold how David here terrifies us away from all prosperous appearance, and commends to us various temptations and adversities. For this "way" of the righteous all men utterly reprobate; thinking also, that God knoweth nothing about any such way. But this is the wisdom of the cross. Therefore, it is God alone that knoweth the way of the righteous; so hidden is it to the righteous themselves. For their right hand leads them on in a wonderful manner; seeing that it is a way, not of sense, nor of reason, but of faith only; even of that faith that sees in darkness, and beholds things that are invisible.

When, therefore, we are subject to ungodly shepherds, we do not obey the ungodly, but men; for we do not hear or follow their ungodliness, but we endure the precedency of their persons. Again, when men put down and cast out such, (as we see done in Bohemia,) is it the ungodly that they put down? no! they put down the persons. For the ungodly who are thus put down remain ungodly still. It is then only that the ungodly man is put down, when he is led from ungodliness to godliness: which is not done by external violence, but by love internally praying and externally admonishing, where God condescends to work at the same time.

Whoso is not pleased to understand this passage thus, let him abide by this interpretation--that the psalmist,

in the first place, directs his words against the ungodly Jews: for he has in many other places predicted that these shall be driven from the church: as shall also heretics, and all those who openly declare their ungodliness for they alienate themselves from the church, and the church alienates and expels them, how much soever they may boast that they only are the church and the people of God.

Finally: This admonition is to be given which the most illustrious fathers, especially Athanasius and Augustine, have given before. That is, that our affections and feelings be brought to accord with, and be attempered to, the feelings described in the Psalms. For since the Psaltry is solely a certain school and place of exercise for the affections; he harps without the spirit, who does not harp in the spirit. So that when thou readest, "Blessed is the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly," thy feelings and affections ought to move at the same time, and to hate the counsel of the wicked and pray against it, not only on account of thyself, but on account of the whole church also and so they should also when thou readest of the "way of sinners" and the "pestilence" of doctrine. For it is with this fire, the affection of love, that heretics are to be burnt, and all who savour of and teach, ungodliness. But since we have despised that fire, God has given us over to a reprobate mind, to become murderering executioners, and to burn heretics with natural fire, and to be burnt again ourselves in

return.

And so also, when thou soundest forth, "But his will is in the law of the Lord," Thou art not here to snore in safety, and securely bless thyself, as if thou wert already a lover of the law of God; but thou art, with all the ardour of the affection of thy mind, to sigh unto him who alone came to send that fire upon the earth: nor art thou, as long as thou livest, to think any otherwise of thyself, than as one who does not yet love the law of God, and who greatly needs this "will in the law."

And again, as thou hearest that all things "prosper" unto the righteous man, thou art to desire and sigh for all those who are placed in any adversity, of what kind soever it may be: and also to pray, that their leaf may not wither, and that the pure word of God may flourish in the church of Christ, all fables and dreams of men being cast out. And if thou see any of these things so to take place, thou art to congratulate, to rejoice and to give thanks unto the divine goodness.--And do not think that thou art thus exhorted to impossibilities: only make the attempt, and I know that thou wilt have to rejoice and be thankful. First, exercise thyself in one Psalm, nay, in one verse of a Psalm. Thou hast done much if thou hast learnt to make one verse in a day, or even in a week, a living and breathing word, by being felt in thy affections. And when thou hast attained unto this beginning, all the rest will follow; and there will open unto thee an overflowing treasure of knowledge and experiences only, take heed that thou be not frightened away from beginning by any weariness or despair. This is truly to harp, or, as the scripture saith of David, to strike the harp-strings with the fingers. For those little fingers of the harpers which run over the strings and strike them, represent the affections running over the words of the Psalms and being moved by them: and as the strings do not sound without the fingers, so neither is the Psalm read or sung without it touch the affections.

I wished thus to premise these things once in this First Psalm, that I might not have occasion to repeat the same through every Psalm. Though I know very well, that if any one be exercised in this matter, he will of himself find more in the Psaltry than all the commentaries of all commentators put together can give him. I see that Bernard excelled in this; and drew all his fund of understanding from it. And I know that the same way was discovered and made sweet to Augustine, and many others. And so also, we ought to drink out of the same fountain these waters of life; lest that cutting rebuke should fall upon us which is found in the

prophet Amos, respecting 'making to ourselves instruments of music like David,' Amos vi. 5. And again, "Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs: for I will not hear the melody of thy viols," Amos vii. 23. For what thinkest thou all that muttering and roaring, which every-where fills our churches without either mind or spirit, appears to be in the sight of God! nothing but as a swarm of flies making a buzzing hum with their wings. And if thou addest to all this a belief that such things please God, thou makest the true and living God a laughing stock and an idle phantom.

PSALM II.

Ver. 1.-Why do the people rage, and the people imagine vain things?

Ver. 2.-The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his anointed; saying

That this Psalm was written by David, and that it speaks of Christ, the authority of the primitive church compels us to conclude: concerning which Luke writes, Acts iv. 24, 25, 26,—They lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God which hast made heaven and earth, and the sea and all that in them is who by thy Holy Spirit by the mouth of our father David, thy child, hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Christ. And the kings of the earth have stood up, and the rulers have taken counsel together, against the Lord and against his Christ. For, of a truth, in this city Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and the people of Israel, have taken counsel together against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed; for to do whatsoever