received it; and if thou displayest a pure life meet for it, remains indwelling within continually. For, saith he, he that loveth me, will keep my commandments; and I and my Father will come unto him, and make our abode with him. As then one can not rightly enjoy the sunlight, unless he open his eyes; so neither can one largely enjoy this splendor, unless he have expanded the eye of the soul, and rendered it in every way keen of sight.

But how is this effected? Then, when we have cleansed the soul from all the passions. For sin is darkness, and a deep darkness; as is clear, because men do it unconsciously and secretly. For, Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light. And, It is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. For, as in darkness a man knows neither friend nor foe, but can not perceive any of the properties of objects; so too is it in sin. For he who desires to get more gain, makes no difference between friend and enemy; and the envious regards with hostile eyes the man with whom he is very intimate; and the plotter is at mortal quarrel with all alike. In short, as to distinguishing the nature of objects, he who commits sin is no better than men who are drunk or mad. And as in the night, wood, lead, iron, silver, gold, precious stones, seem to us all alike on account of the absence of the light which shows their distinctions; so he who leads an impure life knows neither the excellence of temperance nor the beauty of philosophy. For in darkness, as I said before, even precious stones if they be displayed do not show their lustre, not by reason of their own nature, but because of the want of discernment in the beholders. Nor is this the only evil which happens to us who are in sin, but this also, that we live in constant fear: and as men walking in a moonless night tremble, though none be by to frighten them; so those who work iniquity can not have confidence, though there be none to accuse them; but they are afraid of every thing, and are suspicious, being pricked by their conscience: all to them is full of fear and distress, they look about them at every thing, are terrified at every thing.

Let us then flee a life so painful, especially since after this painfulness shall follow death; a deathless death, for of the punishment in that place there will be no end; and in this life they who sin are no better than madmen, in that they are dreaming of things that have no existence. They think they are rich

when they are not rich, that they enjoy when they are not enjoying, nor do they properly perceive the cheat until they are freed from the madness and have shaken off the sleep. Wherefore Paul exhorts all to be sober, and to watch; and Christ also commands the same. For he who is sober and awake, although he be captured by sin, quickly beats it off; while he who sleeps and is beside himself, perceives not how he is held prisoner of it.

Wherefore let us, I exhort you, show forth in our life much gentleness, much purity, for we have a king who beholds all our actions continually. In order then that this light may ever richly enlighten us, let us gladly accept these bright beams, for so shall we enjoy both the good things present and those to come, through the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom, and with whom, to the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.-Psalm i. 1, 2.

THE great object of the Psalmist, is to show that it shall always go well with the devout worshippers of God, who seek continually to walk in the way of his commandments. For since the greater part of the world laugh at their simplicity, as though they did but lose their labor, it was needful that they should be fenced with this shield: that all men are wretched without God's blessing, and that God is favorable to none, but to such as seek instruction from him. But because so great is the corruption that has ever overrun the world, that the common course of living is little else but a falling from God's law, the prophet, before he pronounces the followers of the law to be happy, warns them to take heed that they are not carried away with the ungodliness of the multitude. For first declaring his abhorrence of the wicked, he tells them it is not possible that man should apply his heart to meditate on God's law, unless he gather in and sever himself from the fellowship of the ungodly; a salutary warning doubtless, for we see how unadvisedly all men

any

plunge themselves into the snares of Satan, or at least how few guard themselves against the enticements of sin.

Therefore lest we should have so little forecast, it is necessary for us to understand that the world is fraught with deadly corruption, so that the first step to live well is to forsake the company of the ungodly, which otherwise would infect us with its contamination. And because in the first place the prophet has enjoined the godly to beware of evil hinderances, let us also follow the same order. His affirmation that those are blessed who shun association with the wicked, would not easily be admitted on the principles of ordinary sense and reasoning. For although all men naturally covet blessedness, yet we see with what unconcern they indulge themselves in their sins; yea, the further each of them has turned from righteousness to follow his own lust, because thereby he obtaineth his heart's desire, he is counted blessed. But on the contrary the prophet teaches here, that no man can be duly minded to the fear and worship of God and to the study of his law, until he is fully persuaded that all ungodly men are wretched, and that all shall be involved in the same destruction with them who depart not far from their company. But because it is a difficult matter so to shun the ungodly, with whom we are intermixed, as that we may be altogether estranged from them; the prophet, to augment the force of his exhortation, employs an accumulation of phrases.

And first of all, he forbids us to walk in their counsel; secondly, to stand in their way; and lastly, to sit in their seat. The sum is, that God's servants must endeavor utterly to abhor their manners. But forasmuch as Satan insinuates his deceptions craftily, lest any man should be beguiled unawares, the prophet shows how men are wont to turn aside from the right way by little and little, for they proceed not at the first step to the proud contempt of God. But when they have once begun to give ear to evil counsel, then Satan leads them further away from time to time, till they fall headlong into open rebellion. Therefore the prophet begins with counsel, by which term I understand the wickedness which as yet shows not itself openly. Then he names the way, which is taken for the manner and course of living. And thirdly, he uses the expression the seat, by which word he denotes figuratively the hardihood that is conceived from the continued custom of living. And with reference to the same

notion ought the three words, walk, stand, and sit, to be understood. For when a man wilfully goes astray after his own depraved lusts, the custom of sinning makes him drunk, so that forgetting himself, he becomes hardened in his own naughtiness, which the prophet calls to stand in the way. At length there follows a desperate stubbornness, which he denotes by the metaphor of sitting; whether there is the same climax in the Hebrew words, let other men consider. I think there is not, unless it be in the last word. For they are called scorners, who, casting away all fear of God, presume to sin the more boldly, because they escape unpunished, and scoff fearlessly at God's judgment, as though they should never come to account for it. Now if in the time of the prophet it was necessary for the devout worshippers of God to withdraw themselves from the fellowship of the ungodly, that they might frame their life aright; then at this day, the more corrupt the world is, the more carefully must we shun all pernicious fellowship, that we may be preserved pure from the defilements thereof.

And yet the prophet not only commands the faithful to withdraw from the ungodly, lest their infection should taint them, but his warning extends thus far, that no man should be a schoolmaster of ungodliness to himself. For it may happen that he who has taken no blemish by evil example, may, notwithstanding, become like to the evil by adopting their manners of his own accord. In the second verse he does not simply pronounce those blessed that fear God, as in other places, but he designates godliness by the study of the law; whereby we are taught that God is not worshipped aright otherwise than when his word is obeyed. Then must not every man devise a religion after his own fancy, but the rule of godliness must be brought from God's word. When in this place he speaks only of the law, it is not to be so taken that the rest of the Scripture should be of no account; but rather, forasmuch as the whole Scripture is no other than an exposition of the law, under the head itself is comprehended the whole body. The prophet therefore commends the law with its appurtenances. Neither could it otherwise stand, as I have just asserted, that it was also his purpose to exhort the faithful to the reading of the Psalms. And when he requires in the first place that the delight of the godly should be in the law of the Lord; by these words we may learn that constrained and servile worship

of God is in nowise allowable; and that none other are meet disciples of the law, but those that come to it with a cheerful mind, and whom the doctrine thereof delights in such wise that they account nothing more to be desired, or more sweet, than to profit in the same. But from this love of the law flows the continual study of it, which the prophet mentions soon after. For it can not be but that they must willingly exercise themselves in it, whosoever they are that are touched with the love thereof.

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.-1 Cor. xv. 25, 26.

ALTHOUGH those persons and things that never degenerated from their original, are entirely subject to him; the angels obey his will; universal nature is governed by his providence; the heavens, the earth, the waters, and all things produced from them never resist the direction of his hand; yet there are others who fell from their integrity, and some things consequent to man's rebellion, which either oppose the power of Christ, or are not yet actually subdued; and they are the enemies of our salvation, Satan, sin, and death. Now the perfect freedom of the church from all these, will be the last glorious act of Christ's regal office. And it is observable, the day of judgment is called the day of redemption, with respect to the final accomplishment of our felicity, that was purchased by the infinite price of his sufferings. The day of Christ's death was the day of redemption, as to our right and title; for then our ransom was fully paid and it is by the immortal efficacy of his blood that we partake of the glorious liberty of the sons of God; but the actual enjoyment of it shall be at the last day. Therefore the perfection of all our spiritual privileges is referred to that time, when death, our last enemy, shall be overcome.

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The apostle saith, And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption; to wit, the redemption of our bodies. During the present life, we are taken into God's family in the quality of his children; but the most solemn act of our adoption shall be at the last day. In this there is a similitude