lieveth. Wherefore, the Roman pontiffs, together with their church, are truly idols and things merely made up by ungodly men: for they strive to break these lines and to stretch them out wherever they please, even unto that which is not "excellent," but most evil and dark; but all is in vain. For Christ does not say the lines are ' extended,' but "are fallen:" it is not ye that extend them, they fall from heaven!

He here describes, therefore, the inheritance which the Lord ordained for him, in the place of those who are of blood. "I will not (says he) gather together those that are of blood." Whom then will he gather together? the excellent, the beautiful, the delightful, and the sweet. And who are these? They have no great name, no dignified person; they are not Jews nor Greeks; they are not Romanists nor Babylonians; they are not this great man nor that;-they are those who, in the Spirit, are pure, fair, beautiful, and sweet. For, according to the Hebrew word, " in pleasant (or excellent) places," signifies beautiful and sweet places; which expresses how Christ is well pleased with those that believe in him; and it expresses also what an abomination those are to him who are unbelieving, and who glory in flesh and blood.

And here again, as I said, the resurrection is testified, where he says, "to me." For, what " me is here signified? Does he not say "Preserve me, O Lord?" Thus (he would say) I truly die, but I shall rise again, and my inheritance shall be most sweet to me.

And he says also "lines," in the plural; for though the whole church is one, yet it is scattered about in various places throughout the world, because of the ministry of the word; because one could not administer unto all. So that each 'line' is a church; in which there is the same Christ, the same baptism, and the same Word.

And he says "they have fallen:" because the believers in Christ are multiplied, not by human efforts and works, but by the power of the grace of God: and all those who are converted come in quite unexpected

to us, and are such as we never could have foreseen: as Isaiah saith, xlix. 21, "Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate? and who hath brought up these?" For thus does Christ also shew that he receives all things from the Father, and that these lines have fallen to him, as if by lot, in most pleasant places.

Nor is this without its peculiar force, when he says, "are fallen to me," and, "a goodly heritage." The whole of this is against the outside show of those who judge of the church according to its external appearance, and fix it to certain places, confining their dioceses to certain bounds. Thus we say at this day, that one church is larger than another, according to the space of earth that it occupies and the multitude of people which it contains; whereas, the church stands alone in faith, hope, and love, whether it be a small church or a large one, whether it have a fair outside show or whether it have great power. Nay, because it is in the eyes of Christ pleasant and beautiful, (as David here says,) it is thereby understood that it is unpleasant and bitter to the world: as the church herself saith, Song i. 5, 6, " I am black but comely. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me." That is, Christ has subjected me to the cross and to evils; and thus, outwardly I am black, but internally I am fair. For he that pleases Christ must displease himself; and he must be black to himself, who would be fair in the eyes of Christ. For he that pleases himself belongs to the assemblies of blood and of the cross.

Why, therefore, do we presume upon ourselves for being great in the world and in the flesh; bishop above bishop, and church above church? Christ does not here prove or approve the church for being visibly fair and great in the eyes of men, but for that which he sees in her; that is, her faith, which humbles her and crucifies her to all things here below. But let us suffer our great hierarchy to have the name of the great headship ;this will only bring it under the lash of these words:

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"Nor will I be mindful of their names through my lips." They are the work of men, and therefore they please men.

Ver. 7.-I will bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding: moreover, even unto night my reins chasten me.

Hieronymus and the Hebrew have it thus: 'I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: moreover also my reins instruct me in the night.' And here, indeed, a great and difficult work is pointed out; that is, to be filled with counsel: that is, for him, who, when in the midst of death and sufferings, when he is straitened and filled with fear on every side, knows what to do and whither to flee: for those who are destitute of this counsel flee continually but never escape. Hence, Isaiah xi. 2, couples counsel and strength together: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord." For if thou be not powerful with the counsel no strength will stand by thee in death. And hence, it is not only the gift of God to bear evil and death, but also to know how it is to be borne, and whence strength is to be obtained to bear it: as we have it, Wisdom viii. 21, "Nevertheless, when I perceived that I could not otherwise obtain her, except God gave her me, (and that was a point of wisdom also, to know whose gift she was,)" &c.

What therefore was the counsel, or understanding, that was given to Christ? Namely this, that he did not flee in death, and did not go back, but said, “Preserve me, O Lord;" delivering the whole of his cause into God's hand. And so we also are wont with overflowing feelings to rejoice when delivered from dangers and perils; not so much because we are delivered from those dangers, as because we were led so to conduct ourselves as to be brought out of them. For there are many found, who, when they are well, know how to give right counsel unto the sick, and when they are free from all peril have all wisdom, and can teach any one. But when the waves mount up unto heaven and sink down again into the deep, their soul is melted because of trouble, they reel to and fro, and stagger like drunken men, and all their wisdom is swallowed up; as we have it Psalm cvii.; so that no one stands in so much need of counsel as they who were before the masters of all counsel. Wherefore, here the divine mercy remarkably and excellently shines forth, which, in the time of so great necessity, is always near and enlightens the heart trembling and destitute and devoid of counsel. And this is what David prayed for before, saying, "Preserve me, O Lord." For by this counsel the heart is preserved in the midst of this shadow of death. And David himself indeed in the following verse shews what this counsel is.

But what is the meaning of "Moreover also my reins instructed me in the night season." What are "the reins" of Christ which 'emend' (as Augustine renders it) or 'chasten' (as our translator has it) or 'instruct' (as Hieronymus translates it, and as it is in the Hebrew)? What can this be but that which Paul saith, Hebrews v. 8, 9, "Yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." And that of Matt. xxvi. 41, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." For although he was full of counsel, yet he felt the infirmity of our nature resisting and struggling against that counsel; in which struggle he learnt obedience by experience. Even as we also are the more instructed the more we are assaulted with temptations, if we are led to endure them prudently and wisely: and, (which seems a contrariety,) the more the man is overcome as to his own strength, the more full of counsel, the more courageous, and the more faithful his spirit is made: as Paul glories, 2 Cor. xii. 'When I am weak, then am I strong. For strength is made perfect in weakness.' Thus the "reins" of Christ, though they were holy and immaculate, yet, being weak, they shuddered at suffering and death, be

cause the human nature had rather live and be well: and yet, under all this horror, his counsel compelled him to watch and be concerned for the things that were of God. And we said above, Psalm vii. that "reins" signified natural pleasure, and also the concupiscent powers: which pleasure hates all unpleasantness and sorrow, and loves quiet and delight: which, in all men, as it did in Christ also, makes suffering and death to be bitter and hard to bear: which things must be overcome by "the spirit of counsel and of might."

And David expressively adds ' in the nights:' which is much better than our translation "unto night." For here, although we may take nights as signifying, allegorically, adversities; (for the reins, or the pleasurable powers, if there be no adversities cannot at all instruct, because they neither excite nor are excited, and their peculiar property is to instruct and stir up the spirit in temptations;) yet, I would rather understand it as signifying, simply, and without allegory, the time of night; which is a time particularly adapted to fears and tremblings, and for the secret operations of God: so that therein the time is exactly adapted to the work.

Hence we read, Gen. xv. that after the sun was gone down, "a horror of great darkness fell upon Abraham." And, Gen. xxxii. we read, 'that Jacob wrestled with an angel until the morning.' And thus also in the following Psalm, David says, "Thou hast proved my heart, thou hast visited me in the night." For as the night is a time fitted for prayer, (as Christ is recorded to have prayed frequently in the night,) so also it is a fit time for meditating and for suffering all divine things. And so again, Christ began his agony with the beginning of the night. And again, Job iv. 13, 14, we have it, "In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake." And we read many things of the same kind in the scriptures. For the night, as being the time when man is disengaged from all worldly concerns, and when all things are silent, is most adapted for those divine operations; that is, for