The psalm from which these words are selected, was written by David, king of Israel, but never can they with justice be applied to him. We dare not venture to imagine he acted agreeably to the will of his God, in the matter of Uriah the Hittite; nor was the law of his God ruling in his heart, when his pride led him to number the children of Israel. But let us no longer dwell on the crimes and failings of this (in one sense of the word) great man; let us endeavour to discover some other, to whom it can, with more justice, be applied. But, alas! if we search to earth's remotest bounds, we cannot find, on this our globe, one to whom it may be applied without deserving the charge of flattery. If permitted to extend our search to the upper and brighter world, and allowed to inquire of the inhabitants of those realms of bliss, if they had ever known one of Adam's race, when sojourning here below, of whom it could with truth be said, his delight was to do the will of his God, yea that the law of his God was the constant ruling principle of his heart;[60] struck at our want of discernment, they would exclaim with holy indignation, was He so long an inhabitant of your world, and do ye not know him? Have ye not read of his life, of his acts, of his words, and ways; but above all, have ye not heard the oft told tale of his death? Do ye now need to be reminded that the words are a true description of the man ye call Jesus of Nazareth? Yes, angels know him, and glory in their knowledge; with joy would they tell us, that, with all their opportunities of observing his conduct, they could never discover in him the least imperfection or tendency to sin.[61] Yes, it is Jesus the son of David, and not David the son of Jesse; who is here speaking, as other parts of the psalm clearly prove. He alone could say, without presumption, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea thy law is within my heart." Jesus came from heaven to earth, to do the will of his Father who sent him; even to accomplish the work of redemption, which is as much the will and pleasure of the Father, as it is the delight of the Son. His zeal was discoverable at twelve years of age, when he was found in the temple, and, to the gentle reproof of Mary, answered, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business;" which he preferred before the refreshments of the body; yea, his meat was to do the will of him that sent him, and to finish the work. What devotedness marked his life! days of toil in travelling and preaching were often succeeded by whole nights spent in prayer: the returning sun found him again employed with the same unwearied diligence in the work he had undertaken. We should do well to bear in mind, that all Jesus did was voluntary. There was nothing, but his love to God and man, which led him to engage in the work. There was no compulsion, no obligation, it was entirely an act of his own free will; nor did he enter on the covenant, ignorant of the