ransforming than those
of Nature. And lastly, the notions of God entertained by those who have
the light of Nature alone, are not to be compared with the views
entertained by those who form their views of God from the Bible alone,
or from the Bible and Nature conjoined.

4. One of my strongest objections was based on the 109th Psalm. This
Psalm contains strong expressions of revenge and hatred towards the
enemy of the Psalmist. The answer to this objection is,

1. That the Psalmist is not set up as our great example, and that his
utterances are not given as the highest manifestation of goodness.

2. The Psalms are exceedingly instructive and interesting, and must have
been of immense value, both as a means of comfort and improvement, to
those to whom they were first given; but the perfection of divine
revelation was yet to come. The Psalms are of incalculable value still,
but they are not our standard of the highest virtue. John the Baptist
was greater, higher, better than the Psalmist; yet the least of the
followers of Jesus is higher than he.

3. But thirdly; we must not conclude that the feelings and expressions
of the Psalmist were wicked, merely because they fell short of the
highest Christian virtue. 'Revenge,' says one of our wisest men, 'is a
wild kind of justice;' but it _is_ justice notwithstanding, when called
forth by real and grievous wrong. It is goodness, though not goodness of
the highest kind. It is virtue, though not perfect Christian virtue. And
the revenge of the Psalmist was provoked by wrong of the most grievous
description. Read the account of the matter given in the Psalm itself.
'Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; for the mouth of the wicked and
the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken
against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words
of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are
my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me
evil for good, and hatred for my love.' This was injustice, ingratitude,
cruelty of the most grievous kind. And these wrongs had been continued
till his health and strength wore reduced to the lowest point. 'I am
gone,' says he, 'like the shadow when it declineth. My knees are weak;
my flesh faileth; so that when men look at me, they shake their heads.'

And a similar cause is assigned for the revengeful expressions in the
69th Psalm. There we find the persecuted Psal