religion; and therefore they reproach him severely, and exhort him to repentance before God. Job, in asserting his integrity, and defending the purity of his character, argues that God does afflict the righteous for the trial of their faith and obedience; but several expressions of Job manifest a spirit of self-justification, not only against his uncharitable friends, but apparently in relation to God. Elihu, as moderator, blames the other friends of Job, on account of their unrighteous censoriousness, while he reproves Job for his rash expressions. The contents of the book of Job are the more remarkable, as they relate to times so ancient; and because they evince to us that the principal articles of the true faith were maintained at so remote a period. Among other points of important evangelical doctrine, we learn the following from the book of Job: 1. The creation of the universe by one supreme, almighty, eternal Being. 2. The government of the world, by the powerful, universal, and perpetual providence of the Creator. 3. That the providential government of Almighty God is carried on by the ministry of an order of his intelligent creatures. 4. That a part of these glorious beings are fallen from their original loyalty, dignity, and felicity, and are become apostates, of whom Satan is the chief. 5. That these superior creatures, both good and bad, are subject to their Creator; to whom they are required to render an account on stated occasions. 6. That every human being, descending by ordinary generation from Adam, is a partaker of a fallen nature, and born in sin. 7. That Almighty God would be propitious to sinners, by means of a sacrifice of atonement for trangres sion. 8. That God, sometimes for his own glory, and for their personal benefit, tries the faith and love of his most eminent servants by great afflictions. 9. That an expectation of the promised Messiah was G cherished by many, beyond the boundaries of the land of Canaan. 10. That good men derived substantial consolation from the belief of a general resurrection from the dead, and of a future state of felicity for the righteous. The book of Psalms is a collection of inspired hymns and songs, meditations and prayers; and the book is so called, because psalms signify holy songs. In the original they are said to present every possible variety of Hebrew poetry. They are commonly called the Psalms of David, because he wrote the largest portion of them. The other writers of the Psalms were Heman, Moses, Asaph, Jeduthun, and some inspired prophets, who lived during the Babylonish captivity; and some even at a later period, The book of Psalms is considered as containing the sum of the whole Bible, adapted to the purposes of devotion. The design of these compositions is, the instruction of the church, and the assistance of pious men in the acceptable and profitable worshipping of God. For this purpose, being written in various styles of verse, many of them were set to music, and sung by the Jews, in their public exercises of religion, and they have always been prized by the people of God as suitable helps in communion with the Father of spirits, both in public and private. While this book has a literal sense, applying generally to the circumstances of the several writers, its main design is to exhibit the Saviour, and to manifest the varied experience of the true believer. David himself was an eminent type of Christ, being an extraordinary king, priest, and prophet of Israel. The Jewish community prefigured the professing people of God; their enemies were typical of those of the church; and their victories shadowed forth the triumphs of believers. To read the Psalms with the full measure of profit designed by the Holy Spirit, we should, 1. Obtain a knowledge of the ancient scriptures, particularly the history of David as recorded in the books of Samuel, and in the first book of Chronicles. 2. Give an attentive consideration to the application of the Psalms to Jesus Christ and to the church, by the inspired writers of the New Testament. 3. We should possess a regenerate and spiritual mind; and the more a believer is advanced in experimental godliness, the better will he be prepared to perceive their divine excellences, and to realize the heavenly consolations which are conveyed by the Psalms. The word Selah, found in many of the Psalms, denotes a musical elevation of sound. In the confession of his sin, the penitent believer will find the most suitable assistance in the 51st Psalm; in praising God, his grateful soul will be enlarged by the 103d; in praying for grace, and adoring God for the Scriptures, his mind will be abundantly furnished by the 119th; in supplicating for the prosperity of the church, his heart will be inspired by the 122d; and in imploring the extension of the church, embracing the heathen in its salvation, the 67th will inflame his benevolent devotion. · The number of the Psalms is one hundred and fifty, and they have been classed under six heads. I. Prayers 1. For pardon of sin, vi. xxv. xxxviii. li. cxxx. Those called penitential are, vi. xxxii. li. cii. cxxx. cxliii. 2. When prevented attending public worship, xlii. xliii. lxiii. lxxxiv. 3. In affliction, iii. xiii. xxii. lxix. lxxvii. lxxxviii. cxliii. 4. In trouble, iv. v. xxviii. xli. xliv. lv. lxiv. lxxix. lxxx. lxxxiii. cix. cxx. cxl. cxli. cxlii. II. Thanksgiving Psalms 1. For personal mercies, ix. xviii. xxx. xxxiv. xl. lxxv. ciii. cviii. cxvi cxviii. cxxxviii. cxliv. cxlv. 2. For mercies to the church, xlvi. xlviii. lxv. lxvi. lxviii. lxxvi. lxxxi. lxxxv. xcviii. cv. cxvi. cxvii. cxxiv. cxxvi. cxxix. cxxxv. cxxxvi. cxlix. III. Psalms of adoration Of the majesty, glory, and perfections of God, viii. xix. xxiv. xxix. xxxiii. xlvii. 1. lxv. lxvi. lxxvi lxxvii. lxxxix. xciii. xcvi. xcix. civ. cxi. cxiii. cxiv. cxv. cxxxiv. cxxxix. cxlviii. cl. Of the providential care of God over good men, xxiii. xxxiv. xxxvi. xci. c. ciii. cvii. cxvii. cxxi. cxlv. cxlvi. IV. Psalms of doctrinal instruction- The characters of good and bad men, i. v. vii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiv. xv. xvii. xxiv. xxxii. xxxiv. xxxvi. xxxvii. 1. lii. lviii. lxxiii. lxxv. lxxxiv. xci. xcii. xciv. cxii. cxix. cxxi. cxxv. cxxvii. cxxviii. cxxxiii. V. Prophetical Psalms-relating especially to Jesus Christ, or Messiah. ii. viii. xvi. xxii. xl. xlv. lxviii. lxxii. lxxxvii. cix. cx. cxviii. VI. Historical Psalms lxxviii. cv. cvi. cxxxv. cxxxvi. About fifty Psalms are either quoted or referred to in the New Testament. Proverbs are wise sayings, contained in short sentences, which can be easily remembered: and the book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, given by divine inspiration, and written in the poetic style. They relate to almost every part of moral and religious duty; and they have been always considered by the church as forming a storehouse of practical wisdom, directing us how to walk with God in the way of holiness. Most of these proverbs were written by Solomon, the wise king of Israel; on which account they are commonly called by his name. The book of Proverbs is divided into thirty-one chapters, which include three principal sec tions. Section I. Embraces the first nine chapters, which contain the most affectionate and forcible exhortations to engage men to the study of wisdom in the fear of God, ch. i.-ix. Sec. II. Contains the wise maxims of Solomon; and which are, in a proper sense, proverbs, ch. x.-xxix. Sec. III. Consists of the last two chapters; the first of which contains the wise sayings and instructions of Agur to his two disciples Ithiel and Ucal: the other the excellent lessons addressed to king Lemuel by his mother. The most remarkable things in the book of Proverbs, are the invitations and counsels to mankind by Christ in the character of Wisdom. See ch. viii. |