the work of thy fingers, the moon and the ftars, which thou haft ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? For thou haft made him a little lower than the angels, and haft crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madeft him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. I will praile thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

12.... The lot is caft into the lap ; but the whole difpofing thereof is of the Lord. A man's heart devifeth bis way; but the Lord directeth his fteps. The bleffing of the Lord maketh rich. The Lord reigneth ; let the earth rejoice. He doth according to his pleafure in the armies of heaven above, and among the inhabitants of this earth; He woundeth and He healeth ; He killeth and He faveth alive.

13....The Lord covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth, and maketh grafs to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry? The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou giveft them their meats in due featon. Thou openeft thy hand, and fatis fieft the defire of every living thing.

14....The Lord hath fed and clothed us; He hath nourished and brought us up: He hath granted us life and favor, and his vifitation hath preferved our spirit.

15...Blefs the Lrod, O my foul; and all that is within me; bless his holy name. Befs the Lord, O my foul, and forget not all his benefits :"Who forgiv. eth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy difeafes ; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crown. eth thee with loving kindnefs and tender mercies; who fatis fieth thy mouth with good things.

16....Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Holy and reverend is his name.

God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, neither fhall evil dwell with him. I lift mine hand to heaven, and say, I live forever; if I whet my glittering fword, and mine hand take hold on judgement, I will render awful punishment to mine enemies.

17....A juft God and a Saviour. The Lord proclaimeth his name: the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, flow to anger, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity, trangreffion and fins. The Lord is gracious and full of compaffion; flow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.

THE DEPRAVED, GUILTY STATE OF MAN.

18.... What is man, that he fhould be clean? And he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? Behold, the heavens are not clean in his fight: how much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinketh iniquity like water?

19....The fool hath faid in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt; they have done abominable works; there is none, that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to fee if there were any who did understand, and leek God. They are all gone afide, they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not

one.

THE PREDICTED SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST FOR SINNERS. 20....He fhall grow up as a tender plant, and as a

root out of dry ground. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of forrow and acquainted with grief. Surely he hath borne our grief and carried our forrows: He was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and with his ftripes we are healed.

21... All we, like sheep, have gone aftray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath. laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppreffed, and he was afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a fheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prifon and from judgment, and was cut off out of the land of the living: for the tranfgreffions of my people was he ftriken.

22....It hath pleafed the Lord to bruife him; he hath put him to grief when thou fhalt make his foul an offering for fin, he fhall fee his offspring, and the * pleasure of the Lord fhall profper in his hand. He fhall fee of the fruit of his fufferings and be fatisfied: by his knowledge fhall my righteous fervant juftify ma. ny; for he fhall bear their iniquity.

23.... .Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great; because he hath poured out his foul unto death: and he was numbered among the trangreffors; and he bare the fin of many, and made interceffion for the tranfgreffors.

THE DIVINE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF CHRIST.

24....Unto us a child is born, unto us a fon is given, and the government fhall be upon his fhoulder; and his name fhall be called wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there fhall be no end; to order his kingdom and to ef tablish it with judgment and with juftice, from henceforth, even forever.

25....Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion: Behold thy king cometh unto thee: He is juft, and having falvation. And his dominion fhall be from fea even to fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. In his days fhall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace fo long as the moon endureth. Prayer alfo fhall be made for him continually; and daily fhall he be praised. His name fhall endure forever: His name fhall be continued as long as the fun; and men fhall be bleffed in him. All nations fhall call him blessed. And this is the name whereby he fhall be called, The Lord our Righteoufnels.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN CHANGING AND SANCTIFYING THE MINDS OF SINNERS.

26....I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye fhall be clean from all your filthinefs wil! I cleanle you. A new heart alfo will I give you, and a new fpirit will I put within you; and I will take away the ffony heart out of your flefh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my fpirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ftatutes, and ye fhall keep my judgments and do them.

27....Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my fin. Purge me, and I thall be clean: Wash me, and I fhall be whiter than Inow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a Light fpirit within me. Caft me not away from thy prelence; and take not thy holy fpirit from me.

THE EXERCISES OF A PENITENT.

28....I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye feeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in duft and ashes. I acknowledge my tranfgreffions; and my fin ever is before me. Against thee, thee only, have I finned, and done this evil in thy fight ;

that thou mightest be juftified when thou fpeakeft, and be clear when thou judgeft.

29....I have iurely heard Ephraim bemoaning him. felt thus: Thou haft chaftifed me, and I was chaflifed: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented I was afhamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

30....Then fhall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings, which were not good, and fhall loathe yourselves in your own fight, for your iniquities, and for your abominations.

31....It is good that a man fhould both hope, and quietly wait for the falvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He fit teth alone, and keepeth filence, because he hath borne it upon him. He putteth his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope. He is filled full with reproach. GOD'S GRACIOUS ACCEPTANCE OF PENITENT, RETURN ING SINNERS.

32.... Thus faith the high and lofty one who inhabita eth eternity, whole name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him alfo who is of a contrite and humble fpirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the fouls which I have made. I have feen his ways, and will heal him, and reftore comfort unto him, and to his mourners.

33....1 ..The facrifices of God are a broken fpirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not defpile. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a brok en heart; and faveth fuch as be of a contrite fpirit

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