strong terms. He was raised from a position of obscurity and poverty, to a state of great wealth and distinction; from a sheepfold to a throne; or, as he otherwise spoke of it, from the dust, from the dunghill, to sit among princes. Even this, however, although descriptive of great and rapid elevation, does not meet the case of David. He not only became a king, but a great king. Saul was a king, but after a reign of forty years all his royal power was insufficient to preserve his country from invasion; while David, having emerged from the keeping of the sheep of his father on the hills of Bethlehem, having displayed great heroism in the field, and evinced all the qualities of a great general, found the Hebrew kingdom just in the condition in which it was left by Saul, and not only raised it to independence and power, but actually subjugated every neighbouring state; so that he reigned paramount from the Euphrates over all western Asia. Egypt, with all her ancient prestige and power, was cut off from her overland trade with the East, and compelled to witness in silence the transfer of this great source of wealth to the Hebrews. Syria, Edom, Ammon, Philistia, and every other people within this vast range of territory, was made tributary. And David was the centre of power, the directing mind that ruled supreme over it. The world has seen so few instances of a man raised to one of such dignity, wealth, and power, that it might be truly said, "He was the man who was raised up on high." In the whole world, at that time, there was no similar instance of the elevation of an individual; so that the strong emphatic language of this phrase is amply justified.

from a position so humble,

The next clause of this remarkable poem is no less significant," the anointed of the God of Jacob." We

THE KING'S EMINENT PERSONAL PIETY. 369

do not regard these words as applicable to the ceremony by which he was constituted king over Israel. That seems clearly included in words already considered as a part of the process by which he was raised up on high. We consider these words rather as setting forth the special Divine appointment by which David was brought into peculiar and intimate relation to Jehovah, as a king to rule over and guide His people, and as a sacred prophet to communicate to them Divine truth, and to minister to them a knowledge of their duty and of their covenant relation to God. In this sense the word "anointed" means the Divine and spiritual vocation, and the necessary qualifying influences of the Holy Spirit, of which the material anointing was but the type or symbol. That this view of the text was taken at a very early date is evident from the fact that the Chaldee version renders it, "Anointed by the word of the God of Jacob." *

This sets forth a vitally important feature in the character of the son of Jesse. It was this that made

:

him what he was. By nature he possessed remarkable physical and intellectual powers; he was a brilliant poet, an eminent musician, a man of varied gifts and lofty genius but all these would not have made him the David of Holy Scripture,-the man after God's own heart; this was done by a copious baptism of the Holy Ghost, the unction of the Holy One. It is confessed, that this did not always save him from frailty and from sin but on these unhappy occasions it led him by penitence and prayer to seek for pardon, nor should these two or three departures from rectitude be allowed to shut out from our vision the pious and virtuous labours of a long life. It was the operation of the Holy Spirit on the mind of this prophet king,

*Unctus in dicto Dei Jaghacob.

the virtue of the anointing spoken of in the words before us, which gave him that strong faith in God which made him a hero in his youth; this sustained him in all the labours and dangers of his wandering life; it was this that gave him wisdom to govern and prowess to conquer the enemies of his country. By this spiritual power he was imbued with that Divine zeal which gave his people the tabernacle on Zion, and induced him to make such wonderful provision for the erection of the temple. Above all, it was this unction that filled his soul with that more than human power, spirituality, and feeling, which gave the universal church his inimitable Psalms. These stand throughout all ages as a living witness for the truth, and point out their author as the man pre-eminently "anointed by the word of the God of Jacob."

The first paragraph of this poem contains an allusion to yet another feature in David's character, and says that he was "the sweet Psalmist of Israel." Mention has already been made of the beauty, purity, and spirituality of the Psalms, and of their universal adaptation to the edification of the church in all ages. It is therefore intended here to confine our observations strictly to the words of the text, "the sweet Psalmist of Israel." If these Psalms are a great means of instruction, edification, and blessing to the Christian church, what must they have been to the Israel of David's day? How would the pious and devout among a people possessing only the books of Moses as the revealed truth of God, and these unquestionably only in a very limited circulation, rejoice in the possession of these spiritual hymns! If we value them so highly when we have also the sublime poetry of the prophets, the discourses of the Son of God, and the Epistles of His apostles, how would godly Israelites exult in the pos

RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE OF THE PSALMS. 371

session of these inspired Psalms, when they had scarcely any other devotional Scripture! The means by which these soul-stirring truths were brought to their minds constituted also at that time a very peculiar blessing. There can be no doubt that sincerely pious Hebrews, bringing their sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, and waiting in prayer while they were offered, received blessings from heaven; but how much more richly would this spiritual good be realized when, worshipping in full vision of the ark and cherubim of glory, their minds were led into spiritual devotion by singing the Psalms of David! It is perhaps impossible for us to apprehend the vast advance in the means and results of public worship which were thus introduced. Not the least of the glories of his character is brought into view when David is called "the sweet Psalmist of Israel."

It is worthy of observation that in this brief notice of David's character there is no mention of his martial heroism, nothing said of his statesmanship, no allusion, in fact, to any merely human excellence; every point noticed exhibits the operation of Divine grace on the mind of the man. He is not spoken of as the maker of his own fortune: he was raised by the blessing of the Almighty on the exercise of his natural powers. There were in him all the attributes of the great man, but it was the anointing of the God of Jacob which crowned him with success. He possessed naturally a fine feeling, brilliant genius, and a fervid. imagination; but it was the abiding influence of the Holy Spirit, directing, guiding, and intensifying all these, that made him "the sweet Psalmist of Israel." Thus is the personal character of David set before us by the pen of inspiration.

The second part of this poem asserts that the per

son spoken of in the preceding lines had received direct revelations from God for communication to others, and also some for his own instruction and guidance. The first is given in these words :—

"The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,
And His word was in my tongue."

Here is a clear and distinct assertion that the Spirit of the Lord spake by David, that the mind and purposes of the Almighty were revealed to this favoured servant of God, and that he was thus empowered to declare, to the same extent that he was informed, the will of God. Wise men of the present day either deny the possibility of this inspiration, or reject all such claims with scorn and contempt. Here, however, is an aged king who has passed through the busy scenes of a long life, and is now uttering his last words, standing on the threshold of the grave; and on the brink of eternity he unfalteringly says, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was on my tongue." Is this statement true? We read his sacred songs, and even at this day feel them pregnant with celestial fire. They bear, even in a translation, plenary evidence that they are imbued with a vitality that nothing but the breath of God could give. Are we mistaken in this judgment? Then was Peter mistaken when he declared before the council at Jerusalem that God spake by the mouth of His servant David; (Acts iv. 25;) and on this supposition even Jesus Christ was mistaken when he declared that David spake by the Holy Ghost. (Mark xii. 36.) But the testimony is true; the Spirit of the Lord spake by David in his inspired poetry. The mind of God, the thoughts of God, the truth of God, are there certainly recorded for the benefit of mankind