say serve yourself, nor your own belly, nor your gold ; nor, finally, your own righteousness, power, or wisdom; nor, in a word, any thing whatever that is your own or created: for all these things are a kind of idolatry. Therefore, rejoice "in him: not in yourselves, nor in any creature, but in the Lord alone. And this thou doest when thou arrogatest to thyself nothing good whatever in any thing of thine own, so as to trust and glory therein; but ascribest every thing unto God, and praisest, blessest, and lovest him in all things: ascribing unto thyself at the same time all evil, and fearing and trembling on account of it, and having no confidence whatever therein; even as Job said, with respect both to his prosperity and adversity, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord," chap. i. 21.

How difficult all these things are thou wilt see if thou consider each time. For in adversity, it is a hard matter not to faint, not to complain, not to become impatient, and, from the fear of evil, not to do things, and to leave them undone, contrary to the commands of God; and thus, by the fear of God, to overcome the fear of the creature, not to yield to the senses and to sensible objects, but to cleave close unto the Word of the Lord even unto death. For by these things it is proved whether we serve God or not, or whether the will of God is feared more than the violence of any creature.Though, indeed, the trembling at God is more in peril in prosperity, than the fear of God is in adversity. Because, in prosperity we rejoice in security: for it is difficult to fear, much less to tremble, when all things go on just according to our wishes.

Therefore, according to my judgment, David has very appropriately connected trembling with rejoicing, and fear with serving: because, serving implies the labour of adversity, but rejoicing the ease of prosperity and fear was to be recommended in the former, that he might declare trembling to be necessary in the latter. As if he had said, there is more to be feared where fear is not; and the more pleasantly all things go

:

on, the more anxiously ought we to fear; and consequently, we ought to tremble when at any time we exult and rejoice more than usual.

Verse 12.-Lay hold on discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and ye perish from the right way.

In the Hebrew the words Lord' and 'right' are not found; though that does no harm to the sense. But the translation "lay hold on discipline" is reprobated by almost all. For in the Hebrew it is NASCU BAR: which Hieronymus has rendered in the Hebrew Psalter, Adore purely:' because BAR signifies also 'pure' and 'elect.' And the same author in his short commentary has these words. In the Hebrew it is read nascu BAR: which may be rendered 'Adore the Son.' For BAR signifies also a son. Hence we have in the Gospel Simon bar Jonah, Simon the son of John. And, bar Ptolemeus, the son of Ptolemy. And again Barnabas, the son of a prophet: and the like.

Burgensis and Lyranus render the passage thus, 'kiss the Son.' But we no where find that bar signifies discipline.' And by kiss' they consider to be signified do homage.' So that the sense should be kiss the Son; that is, hold the King and Lord, Christ, in reverence with humility.

But let us try to harmonize all these renderings.— First, a kiss is a sign of reverence and adoration, and a way in which we kiss and adore sacred and divine things; as when, humbly prostrating ourselves, we kiss the feet and footsteps of any person, in the same way as Mary Magdalene kissed Christ: and therefore, according to this, Hieronymus has rendered the passage 'adore purely.-Secondly, it is a sign of acknowledgment, and of a profession of fidelity: as when in doing homage, we are accustomed to kiss the hand, acknowledging thereby that he whom we kiss is our Lord.Thirdly, it is a mark of the most perfect friendship and affection: as when we kiss the eyes or face of any one: concerning which the Apostle commands us, Rom. xvi.

16, "Salute one another with an holy kiss." And we read that it was with such a kiss as this that Christ was used to receive his returning disciples. And, as those who kissed each other thus were accustomed to clasp and embrace each other, therefore, our translation has "lay hold on discipline.'

But since David says absolutely kiss the Son,' not saying any thing about his feet, not his hands, nor his face; it is just that we should take this kissing in its full latitude; that is, that, by kissing his feet, we adore Christ as the Son of God and truly God; that, by kissing his hand we receive him as our lawful Lord and our eternal helper and Saviour; that, by kissing his eyes or face, we embrace him as our most sweet Father, our friend, and the husband of our soul. And concerning these three kisses, see Bernard, at the beginning of the Song of Solomon. So that the sense is, "kiss the Son; that is, worship Christ as God with the greatest reverence; be subject unto Christ with the deepest humility; and cleave unto the husband Christ with the strongest love.-Behold, here are love and fear, and humility between to keep both in their proper places. And this is the most perfect service and worship of God.

And with respect to the other word BAR, which has been translated son,' son,' 'pure,' and 'discipline,' let us proceed to harmonize these renderings thus.-Faith in Christ is, rightly, our discipline. And therefore he who believes in Christ, that is, kisses the Son, truly lays hold on discipline, carrying the cross of Christ in himself; as we read in the Cralatians. For he does not kiss nor lay hold of Christ according to the flesh, but in the spirit: and that he does, when he lovingly undertakes his cross and sufferings, which are the things by which we are disciplined, Heb. xii. Therefore our translation, though by no means correct with regard to the literal meaning of the Hebrew, is yet most agreeable to truth and experience.

Moreover, to adore purely,' touches upon that

which is written, 1 Kings xix. 18, concerning the adoration of Baal. "Yet will I reserve unto me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him, kissing his hand." In which passage, (to make a cursory observation,) kissing his hand is not in the original: but the same verb NASCA is there used, which is found in this passage, and which we now are showing, signifies 'to kiss;' and which, with reference to Baal, signifies to adore him; though it was in all probability some Hebrew interpreter that added the gloss "kissing his hand," that he might express the mode of adoration used; and afterwards that gloss was by some ignorant author introduced into the text.

According to this sense of the passage, Job also speaks, chap. xxxi. 27, 28, "If my mouth hath kissed my hand. This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the God that is above.' By which scriptural trope is signified, as Gregory interprets it, a man that trusts in his own works, and glories in a righteousness not received from Christ, but gotten by his own works and performances. For such a man as this adores and kisses his hand with his mouth, because, he praises himself in himself, and pleases himself with himself; but his soul does not praise God and rejoice in him: and therefore, it is the greatest of iniquities, and a denying of the Most High: because such an one ascribes to himself that which belongs to God, setting up himself for an idol Baal, adoring himself, and making himself the author of all the good that he enjoys. For Baal signifies an 'author,' or a 'lord.' Thus, Isaiah ii. 8, "They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." But this is the most impure of all adorations. Therefore to kiss Christ, to acknowledge Christ as a Saviour, and to kiss his hand,-this is truly and purely to adore the true and pure Christ,-this is to adore the Son. And saith John, "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed," chap. viii. 36.

We conclude, therefore, that the prophets meaning is, that men serve Christ in fear; acknowledging themselves to be sinners, ever accusing themselves, and justifying only God in Christ. But as men may run against Christ, and pretend that they have kept the law, are righteous, have not sinned, and have no need of Christ for righteousness: therefore, opposing this presumption, David saith, Do not think that ye are righteous; away with such an idolatrous imagination; make not yourselves equal unto God; trust not in your own righteousnesses. Yea, kiss the Son; embrace the Son; and his hand, his righteousness, and his salvation shall save you. But if ye do not this, he will grow "angry" with your righteousness, and ye shall perish from the way:" or, (as I seem to think it is,) 'Ye shall perish together with your way;' for in the Hebrew it is somewhat obscurely expressed VETHOBEDU DERECH; that is, literally, and ye shall perish, the way;' which seems to me to be put eliptically, for 'ye shall perish with your way,' according to that of Psalm i. 6, "but the way of the ungodly shall perish." For I do not see, (with due deference to the opinions of others,) how they can perish from the right way, who were never in the right way. But they may be terrified to their destruction, who, pleasing themselves with their own way as being the right way, do not acknowledge Christ the true " way.

When his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that trust in him.

This passage is, in the Hebrew, put in contrariety to that which precedes. The order of the whole is thus,-Adore the Son, lest he be angry and ye perish with your way: because, his wrath will kindle in a moment. Blessed are all they that trust in him.

The meaning therefore is, Make haste, and delay not to adore Christ, lest ye perish in his anger. And do not deceive yourselves as supposing that he is far from you but know that his wrath is kindled in a moment,