422 FORGIVENESS OF SIN. An exhortation or admonition "Israel, hope in the Lord," or expect Jehovah. A ground of encouragement to the performance of the duty exhorted to : "because with the Lord there is much, plenteous, abundant, precious redemption." A gracious promise of a precious issue which shall be given to the performance of this duty : He shall redeem Israel from all his sins, and out of all his troubles." 1. In the exhortation we notice, The persons exhorted ; that is, Israel; not Israel ac- cording to the flesh. For " they are not all Israel who are of Israel." Rom. 9.: 6. It is the Israel mentioned, Psalm 73 : 1, the whole Israel of God, to whom he is good, such as are of a clean heart ; that is, all those who are interested in the covenant, and do inherit the promise of their forefathers, who were first called by that name; all believers : the Psalmist treats them all in general in this matter. There are none of them but have their trials and en- tanglements about sin, more or less. As there is none that liveth and sinneth not, so there is none that sin- neth and is not perplexed and troubled. Perhaps they are not all in the same condition with him, in the depths that he has plunged into. Yet, more or less, all and every one of them is so far concerned in sin as to need his direction. All the saints of God either have been, or are, or may be in these depths. It is a good saying of Austin on this place : None so in the deep as they who do not cry and call out of the deep. They are in a deep of security, who are never sensible of a deep of sin.
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