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6RIGHAM  YOUNG  U    WZliSYTV 
PROVO,  UTAH  ^ 


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THE  PREACHER'S  COMMENTARY 


ON     THE 


BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 


TEIB 


§uuhtt*!5  OTcmplck  ^omikttcal 

COMMENTARY 


ON  THE 


OLD   TESTAMENT 

CON  AN  ORIGINAL  PLAN). 

ith  Critical  anb  topknatcrs  S^it&t  inbias,  &c.,  &€ 


sr 


VARIOUS  AUTHORS. 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS   COMPANY 

London  and  Toronto 

189a 


IIOMILETIC    COMMENTARY 


ON  THE  BOOK  OF 


PSALMS 


VOL.  II. 


ON  PSALMS  LXXXVIII— OIX, 

By  WILLIAM  JONES  ; 

ON  PSALMS  ex.— CXX. 

By  J.   W.  BURN  ;  . 

ON  PSALMS  CXXL— CXXX. 
By  GEORGE  BARLOW  ; 

ON  PSALMS  CXXXL— CL. 
By  WILLIAM  JONES. 


Krto  ¥orfe 

FUNK   &   WAGNALLS    COMPANY 

London  &  Toronto 

1892 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2011  with  funding  from 
Brigham  Young  University 


THE    L 
fiRlGHAi.i  YOL 

http://www.archive.org/details/preacherscomplet12newy 


HOMILETIC     COMMENTARY 

ON  THE 

PSALMS. 

PSALM    LXXXVIIL 

Introduction. 

Superscription. — '*  A  Song  or  Psa^m,"  i.e.,  combining  the  properties  of  both  a  Psalm  and  a 
Bong.  ^'For  the  sons  of  Korahy"  see  Introductiou  to  P.salm  xlii.  "The  expression,  'To  the  Chief 
Musician,'  amounts  to  a  notice  that  we  have  before  us  a  proper  Church  song."  "  Upon  Mahalath 
Leannotk."  On  *'Mahalath,"  see  Introduction  to  P-a.  liii,  ^*  'Leannoth^  is  variously  rendered, 
accoicluig   as  it  is  derived   from   H}^    to  suffer,  be   afflicted,    or    from  il^^*     to   chant,    sing. 

T    T    *  T    T    ' 

Gesenius,  De  VVette,  Dr.  Davies,  and  others  take  the  latter  view;  while  Mudge,  Hengstenberg, 
Alt^xinuer,  and  others  take  the  formei-.  Mudge  translates,  to  create  dejection;  Alexander 
reiidciis,  mahalath  leannoth,  concerning  afflictive  sickness  ;  Hengstenberg  reads,  upon  the  distress 
of  opjirisslon.  The  Septuagint  (dTroKpLdrjvai)  and  the  Vulgate  {respondendum)  indicate  a 
responslre  song,  and  Houbigaut  translates  the  words  in  question,  for  the  choirs  that  they  may 
answer.     M;iiiv  etymologists  consider  the  primary  idea  of  HJ^    to  sing^  that  of  answering. 

T   T    ' 

The  tone  of  the  Psalm  in  question,  however,  being  decidedly  that  of  sadness  and  dejection,  it 
appears  more  piobable  that  leannoth  denotes  the  strictly  ele^dac  character  of  the  performance, 
and  the  whole  titlr-  may  read  therefore,  *A  Song  or  Psalm  for  the  sons  of  Korah,  to  the  chief 
musician  upon  the  flutes  {or  the  hollow  instruments)  to  afflict  {or  cause  dejection)  a  didactic  Psalm 
of  Heman,  the  £zrahiie.' " — {F.  G.  Uihbard.)  '^  Maschd,"  an  instruction,  a  didactic  Psalm. 
"  Of  Heman  the  Hzrahite."  It  is  generally  held  that  this  Heman  is  the  sou  of  Joel,  and 
grandson  of  Samuel  the  prophet,  a  Kohathite,  one  of  the  famous  musicians  of  the  time  of 
David,  who  is  several  times  spoken  of  in  connection  with  Asaph  and  Ethan  or  Jeduthun, 
I  Chron.  vi.  33;  xv.  17-19;  xxv.  1,  3.  "Ethan  is  the  same  as  Jeduthun,"  says  Hengsten- 
Derg.  But  Lord  A.  C.  Hervey  in  Smithes  Diet,  of  the  Bible  says,  "Whether  or  no  this  Heman 
{i.e.,  the  above-mentioned)  is  the  person  to  whom  the  8"th  Psalm  is  ascribed,  is  doubtful. 
The  chief  reason  for  supposing  him  to  be  the  same  is,  that  as  other  Psalms  are  ascribed  to 
A.saph  and  Jeduthun,  so  it  is  likely  that  this  one  should  be  to  Heman  the  singer.  But  on  the 
other  iiand  he  is  there  called  'the  Ezrahite;'  and  the  89th  Psalm  is  asciibed  to  'Ethan  the 
Ezrahite.'  But  since  Heman  and  Ethan  are  described  in  1  Chron.  ii.  6,  as  'sons  of  Zerah,'  it 
is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  Ezrahite  means  *  of  the  family  of  Zerah,'  and  con- 
sequently that  Heman  of  the  88th  Psalm  is  different  from  Heman,  the  singer,  the  Kohathite. 
In  1  Kings  iv.  31,  again  we  have  mention,  as  of  the  wisest  of  mankind,  of  Ethan  the  Ezra- 
lute,  Heman,  Chalcol  and  Darda,  the  sons  of  Mf^hol,  a  list  corresponding  with  the  names  of 
the  s(ms  of  Zerah,  in  1  Chron.  ii.  6.  The  inference  from  which  is,  that  there  was  a  Heman, 
different  from  Heman  the  singer,  of  the  family  of  Zerah  the  son  of  Judali,  and  that  he  is  dis- 
tinguished from  Heman  the  singer,  the  I.evite,  by  being  called  the  Eziahite.  ...  If  Heman 
the  Kohathite,  or  hiy  fatiier,  had  married  an  heiress  of  the  house  of  Zerah,  as  the  sons  of 
Ilakkoz  did  of  the  iiouse  of  Barzillai,  and  was  so  reckoned  in  the  genealogy  of  Zerah,  then  all 
the  notices  of  Heman  might  point  to  tlie  same  person,  and  the  musical  skill  of  David's  chief 
musician,  and  the  wisdom  of  David's  seer,  and  the  genius  of  the  author  of  the  88th  Psalm, 
concurring  in  the  same  individual,  would  make  him  fit  to  be  ioined  with  those  other  worthies 
whose  wisdom  was  only  exceeded  by  that  of  Solomon.  But  it  is  impossible  to  assert  that 
this  was  the  case." 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Psalm  which  marks  clearly  the  time  and  occasion  of  its  composition. 
The  Psalm  is  very  mournful  and  desponding  in  its  character.  There  are  other  Psalms  which 
are  the  utterance  of  the  troul>led  heart,  but  they  have  in  them  some  rays  of  liglit,  some  gleam 
of  hope.  But  in  this  the  darkness  is  unrelieved.  It  is,  says  Stier,  "The  most  mournful  of 
all  the  plaintive  Psalms,  yea,  so  wholly  plaintive,  without  any  ground  of  hope,  that  nothing 
like  it  is  found  in  the  whole  Scriptures." 

Prayer  from  the  Depth  of  Misery. 

(Verses  1-9.) 
I.  A  great  depth  of  affliction.     In  1     Jlis  troubles  were  spiritual.      "My 

a  very  cxpressiNe  inanriei  the  Psalmist      .s-cm/ is  full  ff  tf^ib]'^;^. "      The  Psalmist 
sets  forth  his  distresses,  was  probably  sutferingfrora  soiiu'  severe 

I 


PSALM  LXXZYni. 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


and  painful  physical  disease.  He  was 
certainly  suffering  in  spirit.  There  is 
no  trouble  so  sore  and  hard  to  bear  as 
trouble  in  the  soul.  '*  The  spirit  of  a 
man  will  sustain  his  infirmity ;  but  a 
wounded  spirit  who  can  bearl"  The 
poet's  mind  was  troubled,  his  heart  was 
sorrowful,  he  seems  almost  in  despair. 
The  severest  anguish  is  not  that  of  the 
body,  but  that  of  the  spirit.  When 
cherished  hopes  are  blighted,  and  fond 
and  worthy  ambitions  are  destroyed, 
and  those  we  trusted  prove  untrue,  and 
those  we  love  are  summoned  away 
leaving  us  to  tread  life's  pilgrimage 
without  them,  and  our  sins  arise  against 
us  so  many  in  number,  so  enormous  in 
guilt,  and  God  seems  to  have  forsaken 
us,  or  to  be  smiting  us  in  His  wrath, — 
who  shall  describe  the  anguish  of  such 
experiences  1  Yet  good  men  sometimes 
pass  through  them, 

2.  His  troubles  were  many.  "My 
soul  is  full  of  troubles."  He  enume- 
rates some  of  the  many  troubles  with 
which  his  soul  was  full.  His  acquaint- 
ances were  removed  from  him,  he  was 
afflicted  and  ready  to  die,  and  God  was 
pursuing  him  as  with  the  breakers  of 
an  angry  sea.  He  was  satiated  with 
sorrows.  The  utmost  limit  of  his  endur- 
ance he  seemed  to  have  reached.  The 
cup  of  his  distresses  would  not  contain 
one  drop  more. 

3.  Ris  troubles  were  bringing  him 
speedily  to  death.  He  uses  various  ex- 
pressions setting  forth  this  idea.  "  My 
life  draweth  nigh  unto  the  grave,*'  unto 
JSheolf  the  abode  of  the  dead.  He  felt 
that  unless  he  obtained  speedy  relief 
he  must  die.  "  I  am  counted  with 
fchem  that  go  down  unto  the  pit.  I 
am  as  a  man  that  hath  no  strength.'* 
He  was  so  near  death,  his  case  seemed  so 
hopeless,  that  men  reckoned  him  among 
the  dead.  And  his  strength  had  de- 
parted from  him.  "Free  among  the 
dead,  like  the  slain  that  lie  in  the 
grave,  whom  Thou  rememberest  no 
more."  There  is  a  passage  in  Job 
(iii.  17-19)  which  will  help  us  to 
elucidate  the  first  clause.  "  There  the 
wicked  cease  from  troubling;  and  there 
the  weary  be  at  rest;  there  the  prisoners 
rest  together;  they  hear  not  the  voice 
of  the  oppressor;  the  small  and  great 


are  there ;  and  the  servant  is  free  from 
his  master."  The  dead  are  emancipated 
from  the  cares  and  sorrows,  the  toils 
and  burdens  of  life.  "  The  comparison 
with  the  dead  is  followed  by  that  with 
the  slain^  because  the  Psalmist  was 
threatened  with  violent  deprivation  of 
life.  *  To  be  cut  off  fr-om  the  hand  of 
Gody  His  helping  and  protecting  hand 
is  to  be  made  away  with  in  a  violent 
manner."  ,  .  .  The  idea  which  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  the  whole  verse  is 
this,  "  that  the  dead  are  no  longer 
the  objects  of  the  loving  care  of 
God."  Life  and  immortality  were  not 
brought  to  light  in  the  days  of  the 
Psalmist  as  they  are  in  the  Gospel. 
Men  shuddered  at,  and  shrank  from, 
that  "  land  of  darkness  as  darkness 
itself ;  and  of  the  shadow  of  death 
without  any  order,  and  where  the  light 
is  darkness.'*  *'  Thou  hast  laid  me  in 
the  lowest  pit,  in  darkness,  in  the 
deeps."  "The  lowest  pit"  is  Sheol, 
deep  under  the  earth.  All  these  ex- 
pressions are  intended  to  set  forth  the 
idea  that  the  Psalmist  was  on  the  very 
verge  of  the  grave,  that  he  was  already 
as  one  dead,  and  that  hope  had  almost 
or  altogether  forsaken  him.  Or,  if  it  be 
held  that  the  language  is  to  be  figura- 
tively understood,  then  we  have  before 
us  a  good  man  in  the  most  appalling 
trouble;  the  darkness  which  envelops 
his  spirit  is  like  that  of  the  grave  itself, 
his  anguish  is  unsupportable,  his  griefs 
are  overwhelming,  and  he  is  brought  to 
the  last  extremity. 

4.  His  troubles  isolated  him  from 
human  society.  "  Thou  hast  put  away 
mine  acquaintance  far  from  me ;  Thou 
hast  made  me  an  abomination  unto 
them :  I  am  shut  up,  and  I  cannot  come 
forth."  In  time  of  suffering  and  sor- 
row the  presence  and  sympathy  of  a 
friend  are  very  precious  and  helpful. 
But  the  poet  in  his  great  affliction  was 
forsaken  by  his  friends.  Such  desertions 
are  among  the  sharpest  sorrows  of  life. 
It  would  seem  as  though  the  Psalmist 
was  either  suffering  from  some  infec- 
tious or  defiling  disease,  or  from  the 
attacks  of  slander.  Men  shrank  from 
him  with  loathing.  In  the  Hebrew 
the  word  which  is  translated  "  abomina- 
tion" is  in  the  plural.     Men  regarded 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALM  LZZXVIII. 


him  as  though  he  were  an  assemblage 
of  abominations,  or  one  great  mass  of 
abominations.  Hengstenberg  interprets 
"I  am  shut  up,  and  I  cannot  come 
forth,"  as  "shut  up  by  public  reproach, 
which  keeps  me  in  the  house  like  a 
prisoner,  I  do  not  go  out,  I  stir  not 
from  the  door."  Slander  has  been 
truly  called  "  the  foulest  whelp  of  sin." 
And  "  the  worthiest  people  are  the  most 
injured  by  slander,  as  we  usually  find 
that  to  be  the  best  fruit  which  the  birds 
have  been  pecking  at."  Human  friend- 
ships,  or  the  things  which  so  often 
degrade  the  high  and  holy  name,  are 
most  unreliable  and  unsatisfactory 
things.  True  friendships  are  as  rare 
as  they  are  precious.  Prosperity  at- 
tracts to  us  a  large  number  of  so-called 
friends,  but  adversity  tests  them,  and 
sometimes  all  fail  in  the  trial,  as  did 
those  of  the  Psalmist.  His  acquaint- 
ance all  forsook  him,  and  regarded  him 
with  abhorrence  or  loathing. 

5,  His  trouble  was  from  the  hand  of 
God.  It  seemed  to  the  Psalmist  that 
all  his  distresses  came  to  him  from  the 
hand  of  God.  "  Thou  hast  laid  me  in 
the  lowest  pit,"  Ac.  "  Thou  hast 
afflicted,"  <fec.  "Thou  hast  put  away,"<fec. 
When  faith  is  in  lively  exercise  it  is  a  relief 
in  trouble  to  know  that  the  trouble  comes 
from  God.  Then  the  tried  saint  softly  sings, 

••  It  is  Thy  hand,  my  God ; 

My  sorrow  comes  from  Thee: 
I  bow  beneath  Thy  chastening  rod, 

Tis  love  that  bruises  me. 

My  God,  Thy  name  is  love, 

A  Father's  hand  is  Thine ; 
With  tearful  eyes  I  look  above. 

And  cry, — Thy  will  be  mine  I 

I  know  Thy  will  is  right, 

Though  it  may  seem  severe  ; 
Thy  path  is  still  unsullied  light, 

Though  dark  it  may  appear." — Da/thy, 

But  not  thus  did  the  matter  present 
itself  to  the  mind  of  the  Psalmist. 
That  his  troubles  were  from  the  hand 
of  God  seemed  to  him  a  sore  aggrava- 
tion of  those  troubles.  Evil  from  so 
good  a  hand  appeared  quite  intolerable 
to  him.  So  deep  was  his  depression, 
that  while  feeling  acutely  the  adversity, 
he  could  not  perceive  any  of  its  "  sweet 
uses."  The  bitterness  of  his  draught  he 
realised  completely ;  its  medicinsl  pro- 
perties he  entirely  lost  sight  of.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  aggravate  his  misery. 


6.  His  trouble  was  an  expression  of 
the  wrath  of  God,  "Thy  wrath  lieth 
hard  upon  me,  and  Thou  hast  afflicted 
me  with  all  Thy  waves."  So  far  was 
the  Psalmist  from  regarding  his  dis* 
tresses  as  coming  from  the  chastening 
hand  of  a  Father,  that  he  looked  upon 
them  as  punishments  from  the  hand  of 
an  angry  God.  Like  a  huge  and  in- 
supportable burden,  God's  wrath  was 
crushing  him  to  the  earth ;  and  as  the 
breakers  of  the  stormy  ocean  dash  in 
thunder  and  fury  upon  the  shore,  so 
God  in  anger  seemed  to  be  afflicting  the 
Psalmist.  We  have,  indeed,  a  great  depth 
of  affliction  here.  The  deep  darkness 
of  this  picture  of  distress  has  not  often 
been  equalled  in  the  history  of  suffering 
humanity.  Before  leaving  this  part  of 
our  subject  we  shall  do  well  to  lay  to 
heart  two  facts.  (1)  That  the  best  of 
men  in  this  life  are  exposed  to  severe 
sufferings  and  trials.  Suffering  is  not 
necessarily  a  sign  of  the  Divine  dis- 
pleasure. "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He 
chasteneth,"  (kc.  (2)  That  the  best  of 
men  in  this  life  are  liable  to  misinterpret 
the  meaning  of  suffering.  Under  the 
burden  of  severe  distresses  "  even  the 
children  of  God's  love  may  sometimes 
apprehend  themselves  children  of  wrath, 
and  no  outward  trouble  can  lie  so  hard 
upon  them  as  that  apprehension." 

II.  A  great  urgency  of  prayer.  "  O 
Lord  God  of  my  salvation,  I  have  cried," 
&c.     His  prayer  was — 

1.  Directed  to  God,  "I  have  cried 
day  and  night  before  Thee:  let  my 
prayer  come  before  Thee,"  &c.  With 
steady  aim  he  directed  his  complaints 
and  petitions  to  God.  His  appeal  was 
intended  to  reach  the  ear,  and  move  the 
heart,  of  God.  The  notice  or  approba- 
tion of  men  the  Psalmist  neither  sought 
nor  wanted;  but  his  heart  was  set  on 
obtaining  the  regard  of  God.  He  is 
the  Hearer  and  Answerer  of  prayer. 
"  He  is,  and  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them 
that  diligently  seek  Him."  Moreover, 
the  Psalmist  sought  the  Lord  as  the  God 
of  his  salvation.  There  is  a  tone  of 
confidence  in  the  address.  Bad  as  things 
are  with  him,  he  is  not  without  hope. 
He  looks  for  salvation,  and  he  looks  for 
it  to  God.  This  is  the  only  cheerful 
beam  which  shines  in  the  Psalm. 

3 


F8ALM  Lxxxnn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


2.  Earnest,  "  I  have  cried,"  <kc.  "  I 
have  stretched  out  my  hands  unto  Thee." 
The  Psalmist's  application  to  God  was 
not  a  half-hearted,  listless  thing.  He 
uttered  an  earnest  "  cry"  for  help,  and 
"  stretched  out  his  hands "  in  fervent 
prayer.  Jeremy  Taylor  says  :  **  When, 
in  order  to  your  hopes  of  obtaining  a 
great  blessing,  you  reckon  up  your 
prayers  with  which  you  have  solicited 
your  suit  in  the  court  of  heaven,  you 
must  reckon,  not  by  the  number  of  the 
collects,  but  by  your  sighs  and  passions, 
by  the  vehemence  of  your  desires  and 
the  fervour  of  your  spirit,  the  apprehen- 
sion of  your  need  and  the  consequent 
prosecution  of  your  supply." 

3.  Unceasing.  '*  I  have  cried  day  and 
night  before  Thee.  I  have  called  daily 
upon  Thee."  Without  intermission  he 
sought  the  Lord  in  prayer.  His  afflic- 
tions prevented  him  from  resting,  and  in 
his  unrest  he  constantly  sought  God  in 
supplication,     "Men  ought  always  to 


pray,  and  not  to  faint."  '*  Praying 
always  with  all  prayer,"  &c.  "  Pray 
without  ceasing."  Such  importunity, 
as  the  expression  of  earnest  desire,  is 
well-pleasing  to  God.  Yet  the  author 
of  this  Psalm  was  like  the  Psalmist 
David  in  this  respect,  that  for  a  time 
there  seemed  to  be  *'  neither  voice  nor 
any  to  answer,  nor  any  that  regarded  ;" 
and  he  might  have  adopted  his  words, 
"  O  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  day  time,  and 
Thou  hearest  not ;  and  in  the  night 
season,  and  am  not  silent."  For  a  time  no 
answer  came  to  his  earnest  and  unceasing 
cry.  Yet  God  will  speedily  ''avenge  Hia 
own  elect,  who  cry  day  and  night  unto 
Him,  though  He  bear  long  with  them.'* 
Conclusion.  Let  the  distressed 
child  of  God  be  encouraged  to  perse- 
vere in  prayer.  In  His  own  wise  and 
good  time  the  Lord  will  appear  for  thee, 
and  "  turn  the  shadow  of  death  into 
morning,"  and  change  thy  mournful 
complaint  into  a  joyful  Psalm. 


Expostulation  prom  thb  Depth  of  Misery. 
{Verses  10-18.) 


From  complaint  and  prayer  the  Psal- 
mist proceeds  to  very  forcible  expostula- 
tion with  the  Lord  God.  And  in  this 
expostulation  he  reveals — 

I.  His  extreme  distress.  He  speaks 
of  himself  as, 

1.  Cast  of  by  God.  "Lord,  why 
castest  Thou  off  my  soul  ?  Why  hidest 
Thou  Thy  face  from  mel"  Through 
suffering  and  sorrow  he  was  unable  to  see 
the  face  of  God.  The  tears  of  his  dis- 
tress had  for  the  time  blinded  his  eyes, 
BO  that  he  was  unable  to  recognise  the 
gracious  presence  of  God.  But  He  had 
not  cast  off  his  souL  "For  the  Lord 
will  not  cast  off  His  people,  neither  will 
He  forsake  His  inheritance."  The  mists 
and  clouds  which  obscure  the  sun,  and 
give  to  us  dark  and  cheerless  November 
days  arise  from  the  earth.  The  sun 
shines  ever.  And  the  hiding  of  God*s 
face  from  His  people  is  by  reason  of 
their  sins,  and  sorrows,  and  sufferings. 
His  faithfulness  and  love  are  unchange- 
able. Nevertheless,  when  His  people 
feel  abandoned  by  Him,  unspeakably 
■ore  is  their  suffering. 

2.  Almost  deprived  of  reason.     "  I  am 


distracted."  Pain  and  sorrow,  doubt 
and  fear,  had  so  wrought  upon  him 
that  he  was  unable  to  think  or  reason 
calmly.  His  suffering  and  anxiety  and 
grief  seemed  to  have  disturbed  the 
balance  of  his  mind.  Calmness  he  could 
not  command.  He  was  trembling  on  the 
brink  of  madness.  As  we  know,  there  have 
been  instances  in  which  extreme  suffering 
has  led  to  insanity,  and  great  spiritual 
depression  and  anxieties  have  issued  in 
mental  derangement.  The  Psalmist  felt 
himself  to  be  in  danger  of  this. 

3.  Terrified  hy  the  wrath  of  God.  "  I 
suffer  Thy  terrors,''  <fec.  The  idea  that 
God  was  pursuing  him  in  wrath  with  His 
plagues  is  a  deep  conviction  with  him. 
That  wrath  seems  to  burn  fiercely  against 
him,  and  he  cannot  escape  from  it.  Or, 
like  an  angry  sea,  it  surrounds  him,  and 
its  wild  billows  course  over  and  beat 
upon  him.  Alas  !  for  the  child  of  God 
passing  through  experiences  like  unto 
these !  Yet  the  Psalmist  is  not  the 
only  one  who  has  travelled  through  this 
dark,  distressing,  dangerous  valley.  We 
rejoice,  however,  to  know  that  One,  whose 
"  form  is  like  the  Son  of  God,*'  walketh 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  LXX  XVIII. 


with  them,  though  they  see  Him  not. 
While  He  is  with  them  no  real  evil 
shall  befall  them. 

II.  His  misconception  of  God. 
**  Thy  fierce  wrath  goeth  over  me  ;  Thy 
terrors  have  cut  me  off."  What  he 
regarded  as  the  "  fierce  wrath  "  of  God, 
was  the  loving  though  severe  discipline 
of  a  wise  and  kind  Father.  When  he 
thought  that  God  had  cast  off  his  soul, 
God  was  educating  and  enriching  his 
Boul  by  means  of  suffering.  When  to 
him  all  things  appeared  sadly  and 
sternly  against  him,  God  was  causing  all 
things  to  work  together  for  his  good. 
A  sense  of  sin,  and  much  and  severe 
suffering,  led  him  to  misconceive  the 
character  and  dealings  of  God.  He 
spake  hastily  and  unadvisedly  as  to 
God's  "fierce  wrath."  God  does  not 
pour  forth  His  fury  upon  His  people. 
If  He  chasten  us  sorely,  it  is  not  in 
anger,  but  in  love  that  He  does  so.  It 
is  the  consciousness  of  sin  and  unscrip- 
tural  theological  notions  that  lead  us  in 
suffering  to  behold  an  angry  God. 

III.  His  nearness  to  death.  *'  Wilt 
Thou  show  wonders  to  the  dead  1  shall 
the  dead  arise  and  praise  Theel"  <kc. 
"  I  am  afflicted  and  ready  to  die  from 
my  youth  up."  In  these  verses,  the 
Psalmist  speaks  of  himself  as  almost 
dead,  as  on  the  very  brink  of  the  grave, 
as  swiftly  passing  into  the  land  of  dark- 
ness and  forgetfulness.  He  does  this  as 
a  reason  why  God  should  speedily  appear 
for  his  help.  If  deliverance  came  not 
quickly,  he  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
it.  (On  his  nearness  to  death,  see  our 
remarks  in  the  preceding  sketch.) 

IV.  His  belief  that  there  are  duties 
and  privileges,  the  discharge  and  en- 
joyment of  which  are  limited  to  the 
present  life.  ''Wilt  Thou  show  won- 
ders to  the  dead?"  <fec.  (vers.  10-12). 
These  verses  have  a  despondent  if  not  a 
despairing  accent.  Yet  it  would  be 
rash  to  affirm  that  the  Poet  had  no  faith 
in  a  future  life,  or  that  he  regarded 
death  as  the  extinction  of  being.  But 
to  him  Sheol  was  a  dark  and  gloomy 
realm,  where  God's  wonders  were  not 
made  known,  where  His  praise  was  not 
celebrated,  where  remembrance  had 
ceased,  and  where  destruction  seemed 
supreme.     Such  seem  to  have  been  the 


ideas  which  he  then  entertained  of  the 
state  of  the  dead.  In  that  day  life  and 
immortality  were  not  revealed  as  they 
now  are  in  the  Gospel.  The  great  truth 
for  us  to  seize  is  this,  that  there  are 
duties  to  be  done  now  which  cannot  be 
done  beyond  this  life,  and  privileges  to 
be  enjoyed  now  which  probably  cannot 
be  enjoyed  when  we  have  passed  hence 
and  are  no  more  seen.     This  is  true, 

1.  Of  our  own  salvation.  "  Behold, 
now  is  the  accepted  time  ;  behold,  now 
is  the  day  of  salvation."  There  is  no- 
thing in  the  Scriptures  to  warrant  the 
belief  that  God  will  show  the  wonders 
of  His  saving  power  to  the  dead — 

**  There  are  no  acts  of  pardon  past 
In  the  cold  grave  to  which  we  haste  ;** 

wherefore,  "  seek  ye  the  Lord  while  He 
may  be  found,"  &c. 

2.  Of  many  ministries  to  others.  It 
is  our  privilege  now  to  lead  the  lost  to 
the  Saviour,  to  reclaim  the  wanderer, 
and  raise  the  fallen,  to  comfort  the 
sorrowful,  and  succour  the  distressed. 
Such  Christ-like  ministries  are  probably 
confined  to  this  present  world  and  life. 
Wherefore, "  whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth 
to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for,"  <fec. 

V.  His  faith  in  God.  This  is  mani- 
fest— 

1.  In  His  expostulations^  and  especi- 
ally in  that  of  the  fourteenth  verse, 
"  Lord,  why  castest  Thou  off  my  soul  ? 
why  hidest  Thou  Thy  face  from  me  % " 
In  these  and  in  his  other  inquiries  the 
Psalmist  manifests  his  faith  in  (1)  the 
faithfulness,  and  (2)  the  righteousness  of 

God.  Was  He  not  a  covenant-keeping 
God  1  Was  He  not  righteous  in  all  His 
ways  ?  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  do  right  ?" 

2.  In  his  prayers.  The  Psalmist 
would  not  have  cried  to  God  in  prayer, 
and  resolved  to  have  anticipated  Him 
in  the  morning  with  his  supplications,  if 
he  had  not  believed  in — (1)  77ie  acces- 
sibility of  God.  Though  on  the  brink 
of  the  grave,  he  knew  that  he  could 
draw   near   to  the   mercy-seat  of  God. 

(2)  The  power  of  God  to  save  him. 
Extreme  as  his  case  was,  he  knew  that 
the  God  of  his  salvation  was  able  to 
meet  and  master  it.  He  is  *'  mighty  to 
save."     He  saves  "  unto  the  uttermost." 

(3)  The  mercy  of  God.      Though    it 


flALH  LXXnX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


seemed  that  His  fierce  wrath  was  going 
over  him,  yet  he  knew  that  there  was 
mercy  in  the  Divine  heart,  or  he  would 
notihave  cried  unto  Him.  Sad  as  was  the 
case  of  the  Psalmist,  it  might  have  been 
worse  ]  for  his  faith  had  not  utterly 
failed  him.  He  still  turned  in  prayer  to 
the  Lord  as  the  God  of  his  salvation. 

Conclusion. — Let  great  sufferers  and 
despondent    souls   take   encouragement 


even  from  this  most  pensive  of  all  the 
pensive  Psalms.  It  teaches  us  that  in 
the  deepest  distress  and  the  greatest  ex- 
tremity— L  The  Lord  is  still  the  God  of 
our  salvation.  2.  The  way  is  still  open  to 
the  throne  of  grace.  3.  While  faith  and 
prayer  are  not  utterly  extinguished  our  case 
may  be  extreme,  hut  it  is  not  desperate. 
From  above,  the  Lord  saith,  "I  have 
prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not.'' 


PSALM    LXXXIX. 

Introduction. 

Superscription. — **Maschil,'*  an  instruction,  a  didactic  poem.  **  Of  Ethan  the  Ezrahite," 
"  one  of  the  four  sons  of  Mahol,  whose  wisdom  was  excelled  by  Solomon  (1  Kings  iv.  31). 
There  is  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  same  person  who,  in  1  Chron.  ii.  6,  is  mentioned — with  the 
same  brothers  as  before — as  a  son  of  Zerah,  the  son  of  Judah."  See  on  "Heman  the  Ezra- 
hite "  in  the  Introduction  to  Psalm  Ixxxviii.  **  There  can  be  little  doubt,"  says  Perowne, 
"that  this  Psalm  was  written  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  when  the  throne  of 
David  had  fallen  or  was  already  tottering  to  its  fall,  and  when  the  prospect  for  the  future  was  so 
dark  that  it  seemed  as  if  God  had  forgotten  His  covenant  and  His  promise.  .  .  ,  The  Psalm 
opens  by  a  reference  to  the  Promise  given  to  David  (2  Sam.  vii.  8,  &c).  This  Promise,  and  the 
attributes  of  God  on  which  the  Promise  rests,  and  which  are  the  great  pledge  of  its  fulfilment, 
form  the  subject  of  the  Poet's  grateful  acknowledgment,  before  he  passes  to  the  mournful 
contrast  presented  by  the  ruin  of  the  house  of  David,  and  the  blighting  of  his  people's  hopes. 
He  turns  to  the  glorious  past,  that  by  its  aid  he  may  rise  out  of  the  grief  and  discouragement 
of  the  present.  He  takes  the  Promise,  and  turns  it  into  a  song.  He  dwells  upon  it,  and 
lingers  over  it.  He  dwells  on  that  which  is  the  ground  and  pillar  of  the  Promise — the  faith- 
fulness of  God — and  then  he  first  lifts  his  loud  lament  over  the  disasters  which  have  befallen 
his  king  and  people,  speaking  out  his  disappointment,  till  his  words  sound  like  a  reproach; 
and  next  pleads  earnestly  with  God  that  He  would  not  suffer  his  enemies  to  triumph." 

A  Noble  Celebration  of  the  Faithfulness  and  Merot 

OF  THE  Lord. 


(  Verses 

In  this  paragraph  the  Psalmist  an- 
nounces his  determination  to  praise 
God  eternally  because  of  His  mercy 
and  faithfulness,  which  were  promised 
to  David  and  to  his  seed  for  ever. 
Looking  at  this  announcement  as  in- 
dicating, in  brief,  the  praise  itself,  we 
take  as  our  subject,  A  noble  celebration 
of  the  faithfulness  and  mercy  of  the  Lord. 
The  nobility  of  this  celebration  appears, 

L  In  the  view  of  these  attributes 
which  is  presented.  Two  prominent 
features  are  set  forth  by  the  Poet. 

1.  Perpetuity.  "  Mercy  shall  be 
built  up  for  ever:  Thy  faithfulness 
shalt  Thou  establish  in  the  very 
heavens."  The  mercy  and  faithfulness 
of  God  are  thus  presented  to  us  as 
abiding  things.  Look  at  the  heavens 
and  the  heavenly  bodies, — how  stable 
and  enduring,  how  orderly  and  regular 
they  are  I     The  sun  with  unvarying 


1-4.) 

regularity  and  absolutely  perfect  punc- 
tuality sets  forth  on  his  course  and 
runs  his  race ;  from  the  creation  to  the 
present  hour  the  moon  has  held  on  her 
appointed  way  and  performed  her  ap- 
pointed rounds  without  a  shadow  of 
turning,  and  with  the  most  perfect 
accuracy;  the  stars  pursue  their  ap- 
pointed orbits  with  nndeviating  pre- 
cision, and  with  the  utmost  exactness 
keep  their  appointed  seasons.  The 
heavens  and  the  heavenly  hosts  appear 
now  as  they  did  in  the  beginning  of 
the  world ;  they  present  no  signs  of 
weariness  or  decay  or  change ;  they  are 
a  fit  emblem  of  the  eternal  and  un- 
changeable. The  Psalmist  pictures  the 
faithfulness  of  God  as  a  part  of  the  very 
heavens  in  order  graphically  to  set  forth 
its  perpetuity  and  perfection.  But  God's 
faithfulness  shall  outlast  the  heavens 
themselves.     "  Heaven  and  earth  shall 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  LXXXn. 


pass  away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass 
away."  *'  God  is  not  a  man,  that  He 
should  lie,"  &c.  (Num.  xxiii.  19).  In 
reference  to  His  covenant  with  David, 
the  Lord  said,  by  Jeremiah,  "If  ye 
can  break  My  covenant  of  the  day,"  &c. 
(Jer.  xxxiii.  20,  21).  God's  faithfulness 
is  perfect  and  eternal.  "  With  Him  is 
no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turn- 
ing." *'  The  word  of  our  God  shall 
stand  for  ever."  His  mercy  also  is 
perpetual.  "  The  mercy  of  the  Lord  is 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting,"  &c. 

2.  Increasey  or  growth.  "  Mercy 
shall  be  built  up  for  ever."  *' Mercy 
appears  here,"  says  Hengstenberg, 
"  under  the  figure  of  a  building  in  con- 
tinual progression,  in  opposition  to  one 
which,  when  still  unfinished,  falls  into 
ruins."  And  John  Howe  well  says : 
*' Former  mercies  are  fundamental  to 
later  ones.  The  mercies  that  we  enjoy 
this  day  are  founded  on  the  mercies  of 
former  days,  such  as  we  ought  joyfully 
and  thankfully  to  recount  with  delight 
and  praise;  remembering  the  years  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High." 
And  we  may  carry  the  idea  further. 
The  mercies  that  we  enjoy  this  day  will 
become  the  foundation  for  the  mercies 
of  future  days,  and  so  onward  in  end- 
less progression.  The  purposes  of  God 
concerning  our  race  are  advancing  to 
perfect  and  splendid  completion.  The 
edifice  which  was  founded  in  mercy 
shall  in  mercy  be  gloriously  finished. 
Thus  ''the  multitude  of  His  mercies'' 
is  ever  growing  more  multitudinous. 
Every  hour,  ay,  every  minute,  new 
mercies  are  being  added  to  the  unspeak- 
able and  countless  mercies  of  former  days. 

II.  In  the  way  in  which  they  are 
celebrated. 

1.  Confidently,  "  I  have  said."  By 
these  words  he  indicates  that  the  state- 
ment he  is  about  to  make  is  his  clear 
and  fixed  opinion.  He  believes;  and 
therefore  speaks.  There  is  the  unmis- 
takable accent  of  conviction  in  his 
utterance. 

2.  Publicly.  Not  in  his  heart 
merely  does  he  celebrate  the  mercy  and 
faithfulness  of  God,  but  "  with  his 
mouth  "  he  "  sings  "  them.  He  will 
sing  to  others  and  for  others  ;  in  words 
which  others  may  use  as  their  own.    He 


cannot  speak  their  praise ;  for  prose  is 
all  too  hard  and  cold  for  such  a  theme. 
He  will  "  sing"  them  ;  and  even  poetry 
and  music  seem  poor  for  this  rich  and 
glorious  theme. 

3.  Perpetually.  "  To  all  genera- 
tions." When  his  voice  was  silent  in 
death  he  would  still  celebrate  the  Divine 
mercy  and  faithfulness.  He  would 
make  a  record  of  his  praise ;  he  would 
write  his  Psalm,  so  that  the  Church 
should  continue  the  strain  through  all 
ages.  Surely  this  is  a  worthy  spirit  in 
which  to  celebrate  the  Divine  praises. 
There  is  a  heartiness,  a  confidence, 
and  an  enthusiasm  in  the  utterance  of 
the  Psalmist  which  are  well  worthy  of 
admiration  and  imitation. 

III.  In  the  basis  on  which  the  cele- 
bration rests.  The  praise  of  the  Psal- 
mist springs  from  his  faith  in  the  cove- 
nant of  God.  The  faithfulness  of  God 
is  both  the  ground  and  the  object  of  his 
praise.  His  faith  is  rooted  in  that  faith- 
fulness, and  his  praise  celebrates  it.  His 
praise  rests  on  the  word  of  God  as  its 
basis.  The  Lord  is  the  speaker  in  verses 
3  and  4.     Consider  : 

1.  The  covenant  itself,  "  I  have  made 
a  covenant,"  &c.  This  covenant  is  re- 
corded in  2  Sam.  vii.  10-17.  Its  grand 
feature  was  the  perpetuation  of  David*s 
family  and  kingdom.  "  Thine  house 
and  thy  kingdom  shall  be  established 
for  ever  before  thee :  thy  throne  shall 
be  established  for  ever."  The  family,  the 
kingdom,  the  throne  should  be  estab- 
lished eternally.  The  throne  would  be 
built  up,  i.e.f  the  sovereignty  would  be 
stable  and  increasing  to  all  generations. 
We  know  that  this  covenant  did  not 
receive  a  material  and  temporal  fulfil- 
ment. The  material  crown  has  long 
passed  from  the  house  of  David ;  the 
temporal  kingdom  has  long  ceased  to  be. 
Yet  the  covenant  abides,  and  is  being 
splendidly  fulfilled.  "  Jesus  Christ,  our 
Lord,  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David, 
according  to  the  flesh."  "  Of  this  man's 
seed  hath  God,  according  to  promise, 
raised  unto  Israel  a  Saviour,  Jesus." 
He  is  at  once  "  the  Root  and  the  Off- 
spring of  David;"  David's  Son,  and 
David's  Lord.  In  Him  and  in  His 
kingdom  the  promise  is  being  accom- 
plished, the  covenant  is  being  fulfilled. 


PSALM  LXXXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and 
peace  there  shall  be  no  end."  His  king- 
dom is  ever  extending  and  increasing.  His 
spiritual  seed  ever  grows  more  numerous. 

2.  l^he  origin  of  the  covenant.  It 
originated  in  the  sovereign  favour  of 
God.  David  was  His  "  chosen."  How 
completely  was  David's  elevation  to  the 
throne  a  thing  of  Divine  sovereignty  ! 
David  was  the  youngest  son  of  Jesse ; 
and  Jesse's  was  not  the  senior  house  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  (Ruth  iv.  18-22; 
1  Chron.  ii.  5-12),  and  Judah  was  not 
the  eldest  son  of  Jacob  ;  yet  God  chose 
the  king  from  the  tribe  of  Judah,  from 
the  house  of  Jesse,  and  the  youngest 
son  of  that  house.  **  He  chose  David 
also  His  servant,  and  took  him  from  the 
sheepfolds,"  &c.  (Psa.  Ixxviii.  70,  71). 
In  like  manner  our  Lord  is  spoken  of  as 
the  chosen  Servant  of  God.  "Behold,  my 
Servant,  whom  I  uphold  ;  Mine  Elect, 
in  whom  My  soul  delighteth."  The 
gift  of  Christ  to  our  race  was  entirely 
of  the  sovereign  mercy  of  God.  We 
may  well  praise  God  for  His  spiritual 
covenant,  for  the  gift  of  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ  to  save  and  reign  over  men,  for 
the  promise  to  Him  of  universal  domi- 
nion, and  for  the  way  in  which  that 
promise  is  being  fulfilled. 

IV.  In  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  celebration  is  made.  When 
the  poet  chanted  this  Psalm  one  might 


have  thought,  judging  from  its  first  and 

greater  portion,  that  the  kingdom  was 
prosperous,  the  throne  firm  and  un- 
menaced,  the  royal  house  numerous  and 
united,  the  future  bright  and  full  of  pro- 
mise. But  widely  different  was  the  case, 
as  we  may  see  by  reading  verses  38-45, 
The  covenant  seemed  to  be  on  the  very 
verge  of  failure;  the  country  was  invaded, 
their  armies  were  beaten  in  battle,  the 
crown  was  profaned,  the  throne  was  cast 
down  to  the  ground,  ruin  was  imminent. 
Yet  at  such  a  time  the  Poet  sang  this 
bright,  confident,  triumphant  celebration 
of  the  faithfulness  and  mercy  of  the  Lord. 
Brave,  trustful  Poet !  Let  us  catch  his 
spirit,  and  imitate  his  example.  When 
sense  is  silent  in  consternation,  let  faith 
be  songful  in  the  Lord.  To  the  believing 
soul,  "  God  gives  songs  in  the  night." 
Even  the  mourner's  heart  when  turned 
to  Him  He  tunes  to  music.  When  all 
things  appear  to  deny  the  faithfulness  and 
mercy  of  God,  let  us  still  believe  them, 
and,  believing  them,  let  us  sing  them. 
Let  us  walk  by  faith,  and  we  shall  find 
matter  for  praise,  and  a  heart  to  praise 
even  in  the  midst  of  outward  trouble. 
*'  As  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing." 

Conclusion.  Let  the  character  and 
covenant  of  God  inspire  us  with  confi- 
dence, even  in  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances. Believe  in  Him,  praise  Him. 
Trust  and  sing. 


The  Incomparableness  of  God. 


(  Verses 

Hengstenberg  heads  these  verses  thus  ; 
"  The  omnipotence  and  faithfulness  of 
God  are  devoutly  praised  even  by  the 
angels,  His  heavenly  congregation."  The 
incomparableness  of  God  manifested  by 
the  relation  of  the  heavenly  hosts  to 
Him.  We  shall  endeavour  to  set  forth 
the  ideas  of  the  Poet  on  this  subject  in 
the  following  manner  : — 

I.  Heavenly  beings  are  mighty. 
**  The  sons  of  the  mighty."  In  another 
Psalm  we  read,  "  Bless  the  Lord,  ye  His 
angels,  that  excel  in  strength."  The 
angels  are  always  represented  in  the 
Scriptures  as  "  far  superior  to  us,  as  pos- 
sessing powers  to  which,  as  it  regards 
their  extent,  we  can  make  no  pretensions, 
and  as  able  to  perform  operations  which 
8 


5-7.) 

may  well  fill  us  with  astonishment,  and 
which  are  far  above  the  reach  of  our 
ability."  For  illustrations  of  the  great 
power  of  angelic  beings,  see  Exod.  xxxiii. 
2,  where  God  promises  to  send  an  angel 
before  the  Israelites  to  drive  out  the 
seven  nations  of  Canaan ;  2  Sam.  xxiv. 
and  1  Chron.  xxi.,  where  an  angel  is 
represented  as  smiting  to  death  by  means 
of  pestilence  seventy  thousand  men,  and 
as  having  power  to  destroy  Jerusalem  ; 
2  Kings  xix.  35,  where  an  angel  is  said 
to  have  destroyed  an  hundred  and 
eighty-five  thousand  Assyrians  in  one 
night.  (See  also  Psa.  xxxiv.  7  ;  Dan. 
vi.  22;  Acts.  v.  19,xii.  7-10;  Rev.  xviii. 
1  ;  and  xxii.  8.)  "  They  are  said  to 
'excel  in  strength ;'  and  it  is  evident  that 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


F8ALM  LXXXUL 


the  Psalmist  has  in  view  chiefly  intellec- 
tual and  moral  strength,  which  qualifies 
them  for  the  service  of  God ;  for  *  they 
do  His  commandments,  hearkening  unto 
the  voice  of  His  Word ;'  though  it  does 
not  exclude  what  is  equivalent  to  phy- 
sical energy,  or  power  over  matter,  to 
mould,  and  influence,  and  render  it  sub- 
servient to  their  will.  They  are  also 
denominated  "  mighty  angels,"  2  Thess. 
i  7,  where  the  Apostle  has  in  view  an 
occasion  on  which  their  might  will  be 
put  in  requisition  and  manifested  in  the 
most  striking  manner ;  for  the  great  pro- 
bability is,  that  they  will  be  employed 
to  eflfect  many  of  the  changes  that  will 
take  place,  and  to  exhibit  many  of  the 
wonderful  scenes  that  will  be  manifested 
at  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  we  are  assured  that,  at  the 
end  of  the  world,  *  The  reapers  are  the 
angels,'  and  that,  *  the  angels  shall  come 
forth,  and  shall  sever  the  wicked  from 
among  the  just*  (Matt.  xiii.  39,  49). 
And  it  is  evident  from  all  the  accounts 
which  are  given  us  of  them  in  the  Bible, 
that  they  excel  in  wisdom  as  much  as  in 
strength  ;  or,  rather  that  their  strength 
is  principally  the  power  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge ;  and  that  in  these  they  are 
far  superior  to  men  is  plainly  implied  in 
the  language  of  the  Saviour  (Matt.  xxiv. 
36).  The  same  fact  is  evident  from  Psa. 
civ.  4,  and  Heb.  i.  7." — Walter  Scott, 

11.  Heavenly  beings  are  holy.  They 
are  here  spoken  of  as  "  saints."  They 
are  designated  by  way  of  eminence 
"holy  angels"  (Matt.  xxv.  31).  They 
are  entirely  free  from  sin,  have  never 
known  sin.  All  their  thoughts  are  true, 
all  their  sympathies  are  pure,  all  their 
principles  are  righteous,  all  their  activi- 
ties are  blessed,  all  their  services  are 
sacred,  all  their  being  is  God*s.  "We 
are  sure  that  their  moral  purity  must  be 
complete y  without  the  least  imperfection 
or  stain,  for  they  dwell  in  the  immediate 
blissful  presence  of  God,  they  are  the 
constant  inhabitants  of  those  glorious 
regions  into  which  nothing  that  defileth 
can  possibly  enter.  Some  of  them  may 
have  been  for  millions  of  ages  employed 
in  contemplating  the  glories  of  God,  and 
in  realising  intellectual  improvement; 
and  still  eternity  is  before  them."  "  The 


dignity,  the  powers,  of  these  celestial 
beings  are  also  plainly  implied  in  the 
names  and  epithets  which  are  given  to 
them  in  the  Scriptures.  They  are  deno- 
minated not  only  angels,  or  messengers, 
by  way  of  eminence,  but  also  cherubim 
and  seraphim,  thrones,  authorities,  domi- 
nions, principalities,  and  powers."  Yet 
great  and  glorious,  mighty  and  holy  as 
they  are,  these 

III.  Heavenly  beings  worship  God. 
"  The  heavens  shall  praise  Thy  wonders, 
O  Lord,"  &c.     These  holy  angels — 

1.  Stand  in  awe  of  God,  *'  God  is 
greatly  feared  "  by  them.  Hengsten- 
berg  :  "  God  is  very  terrible  in  the  confi- 
dence of  the  holy  ones."  And  he  gives, 
what  we  regard  as  the  true  explanation  of 
the  clause :  "  *  The  confidence  of  the  holy 
ones'  denotes  the  confidential  commu- 
nity to  whom  God  vouchsafes  to  entrust 
His  secrets  (Job  i.  6,  ii.  1) ;  though  not 
His  deepest  ones(l  Pet.  i.  12).  Notwith 
standing  this,  there  always  remains  an 
infinite  distance  between  Him  and  them 
(comp.  Job  iv.  18,  xv.  15).  God  does 
not  cease  to  be  even  to  His  holy  ones 
the  object  of  fear."  Any  one  who 
approaches  God  thoughtfully  must  be 
awed  in  so  doing.  We  cannot  rightly 
contemplate  Him  without  very  solemn 
thought.  The  expressions  of  familiarity 
and  endearment  which  some  men  use  in 
their  approaches  to  God  in  worship  stand 
condemned  by  the  reverence  of  the  Holy 
angels.  The  seraphim  worship  with 
veiled  faces,  crying,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy, 
is  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  the  whole  earth  is 
full  of  His  glory."  "  God  is  very  terrible 
in  the  confidence  of  the  holy  ones,  and 
dreadful  for  all  who  are  round  about 
Him."  If  such  are  the  regards  which 
are  paid  to  Him  by  these  high  and  holy 
beings,  surely  unholy  men  should  regard 
Him  with  humble  awe  and  solemn 
reverence  !     These  holy  angels — 

2.  Praise  God.  "  The  heavens  praise 
Thy  wonders,  0  Lord ;  Thy  faithfulness 
also  in  the  congregation  of  the  saints." 
(1)  They  praise  Him  for  the  wonders  of 
His  power.  They  are  deeply  interested 
in  His  mighty  works.  They  sang  the 
anthem  which  celebrated  the  creation  of 
the  world.  "  When  the  morning  stars 
sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God 


PSALM Lxxnx.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


Bhouted  for  joy."    They  are  represented  praise   God  for  the   fulfilment  of  His 

in  Scripture  as  being  deeply  interested  promises  made  unto  David.     Doubtless, 

in   God's   work  in  Providence,  and  as  by  the  heavenly  host  God  is  constantly 

taking  part   in  carrying  out   its  great  and  heartily  praised  for  His  truth  and 

scheme.     They  are  devoutly  and  admir-  faithfulness.     There  are  times  when  it 

ingly  interested  in  God's  great  work  in  seems  to  us  as  though  God's  faithfulness 

human  redemption.     At  the  time  of  the  were  about  to  fail  3  but  even  at  its  best 

Saviour's   advent,    there    appeared    "  a  our  vision  is  dim,  while  the  angels  see 

multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  praising  clearly  ;  our  range  of  vision  is  extremely 

God,"  &c.     After  the  conflict  between  small,  while  that  of  the  angels  is  so  vast 

the  Saviour  and  the  seducer  of  men  in  as  to  admit  of  no  comparison  with  ours; 

the  wilderness,  angels  ministered  to  the  and   they,   with  their  clear  vision  and 

triumphant  Saviour.     During  the  agony  wide  range,  praise  God  for  His  faithful- 

in   Gethsemane,    "  there    appeared    an  ness.       "  He    keepeth    covenant    and 

angel  unto  Him  from  heaven,  strengthen-  mercy    with     His     servants."      **  He 

ing  Him."      Angels  are  represented  as  keepeth  truth  for  ever." 

taking  part  in  the  resurrection  of  our  Conclusion. — 1.  Bow  great  is  God  / 

Lord.      They   are   represented   by   St.  The  most  ancient  and  most  mighty  of 

Peter  as  "  desiring  to   look  into  "  the  angels  cannot  be  brought  into  compari- 

things  of  human  salvation.     Our  Lord  son  with  Him.     Angels  are  great,  holy, 

Himself  says,  "  There  is  joy  in  the  pre-  glorious,   yet  "  the   first-born    sons   of 

sence  of   the  angels   of  God  over  one  light"  pay  to  Him  profoundest  homage, 

sinner   that    repenteth."      Yes,    angels  worship  Him  with  deepest  humility.    2. 

praise   God   for   His  wondrous   works.  How  reverently  should  we  regard  Him, 

They  are  acquainted  with  His  mighty  All   our  thought    of   Him    should    be 

and  glorious  deeds,  they  admire  them,  humble  and  reverent.     We  should  never 

they    celebrate    them   in    the   worship  speak   of   Him    except   with  profound 

which   they   pay  to   Him.       (2)  They  veneration.      We  should  worship  Him 

praise  Him  for  the  truth  of  His  Word,  with  holy  awe. 

"  Thy  faithfulness  also,"  &c.     The  idea  <«  Ti^e  more  Tht  glories  strike  mine  eyei 

of  the  Psalmist  is  that  the  angels  would  The  humbler  I  shall  lie." 

God  Incomparable. 
{Verse  6.) 

"  Who  in  heaven  can  be  compared  passeth  all  understanding  (Phil.  !▼,  7), 

unto  the  Lord  1 "     Mark —  his  faith  is  accompanied  with  joy  un- 

I.  The  doctrine  to  which  these  speakable  (1  Pet.  i.  8),  he  abounds  in 
words  point.  God  incomparable;  and  hope  (Kom.  xv.  13),  and  the  glory  re- 
He  is  so —  served   for   him  is  unrevealed  (1  John 

1.  In  th€  glory  He  possesses.     There  iii.  2). 

is  in  Him  a  glory  of  wisdom  (Eph.  iil  IL  The  sentiments  it  should  excite 

10),  power  (Gen.  xvii.  1),  love  (Rom.  v.  in  us.     If  God  be  incomparable,  so  that 

8),  majesty  (Psa.  civ.  1),  and  grace  (2  none  is  like  Him,  a  holy  r^erential  fear 

Cor.    ix.    8,    11),    before    which    every  becomes   us  in    His   presence  (ver.  7). 

created  glory  sinks  into  obscurity.  With  this  reverential  fear  we  should  also 

2.  In  the  dominion  He  exercises.  feel  in  our  hearts,  and  express  in  every 
Created  beings  have  only  a  limited  and  possible  way,  a  fervent  attachment  to 
confined  sway,  but  God's  kingdom  ruleth  Him  (Psa.  xviii.  1).  Trust,  too,  must  be 
over  all,  and  extends  itself  over  the  confidently  reposed  in  Him,  whatever 
most  distant  places  as  well  as  the  most  difficulties  we  have  to  encounter,  and 
exalted  personages.  though  the  dangers  which  encompass  us 

3.  In  the  blessings  He  bestows.  The  are  great  and  imminent  (Psa.  ilvl  1-7). 
obedient    believer    has    a    peace    that  — W.  Sleigh. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS,  PSALm  lxxxix. 

The  Highest  Worshif, 
(Verse  7.) 

"God  Is  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  iv.   23,   24),      3.    To  all  unbecoming 

assembly,"  <fec.  familiarity  in  worship.     In  the  prayers 

I.  The  highest  worship  is  offered  to  and  praises  which  are  recorded  in  the 
God.  Not  unto  saints,  or  angels,  or  the  Holy  Book  we  find  no  trace  of  that 
Virgin  Mary,  but  unto  God.  He  is  irreverent  and  gushing  manner  of  ad- 
Supreme.     "  There  is  one  God,"  dressing  God,  which  is  so  prevalent  with 

II.  The  highest  worship  is  offered  some  sentimental  religionists  of  to-day. 
by  saints.  Angels  are  called  saints  in  IV.  In  the  highest  worship  the 
the  text.  The  redeemed  in  heaven  are  presence  of  God  is  consciously  re- 
also  called  saints  (1  Thess.  iii.  13).  The  alised.  The  worshippers  feel  that  they 
term  is  frequently  applied  to  the  people  are  "  about  Him,*'  They  realise  the  fact 
of  God  upon  earth.  When  so  applied  that  God  is  present  to  accept  the 
it  indicates  those  who  are,  1.  Spiritually/  worship  and  bless  the  worshippers  who 
regenerated.  2.  Consecrated  to  God,  3,  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Imitators  of  Christ.  1,  God  is  present  everywhere,     2.    His 

III.  The  highest  worship  is  rave-  presence  is  realised  only  by  those  who 
rent  in  spirit.  "  God  is  greatly  to  be  are  spiritual  and  reverent,  3.  He  is 
feared,  .  .  .  and  to  be  had  in  reverence.**  specially  present,  and  His  presence  is 
This  reverence  is  opposed,  1,  To  all  specially  realised  in  the  gatherings  of 
thoughtlessness  in  worship  {^Gc\es,Y,lf  2),  saints  for  worship  (Ezod.  xx,  24;  Matt, 
2.  To   all  formality  in  worship  (John  xviii.  20). 

Thx  Stbength  of  Qoj>  an  Enooubagemekt  to  His  Feoplb 

TO  Tbust  in  Hdl 

{Verses  8-14.) 

The  Psalmist  does  not  in  these  verses  tration  of  the  Divine  sovereignty  over 

lose  sight  of  the  faithfulness  or  truth  the  sea.     "  He  arose,  and  rebuked  the 

of  God  in  respect  to  His  covenant ;  but  winds  and  the  sea ;   and  there  was  a 

he  gives  the  greater  prominence  to  the  great  calm,"     The  Psalmist  seems  to 

might  of  God.     He  is  not  only  a  God  have  regarded  the  tempestuous  sea  as  a 

of  truth,  but  also  a  God  of  power.     He  symbol  of  the  powerful  foes  who  were 

is  able  as  well  as  willing  to  keep  His  arrayed  against  them.     David  in  one  of 

covenant.     The  text  teaches  us  that, —  his  Psalms  speaks  of  "  the  floods  of  un- 

I.  The  Strength   of  God  is  msini-  godly  men."     God  has  complete  control 

fested  in  His  complete  control  over  over  the  most  proud  and  angry  people, 

nature.     "  Thou  rulest  the  raging,"  <fcc.  He  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 

1.  God  rules  over  the  sea.     There  are  Him,  and  the  remainder  of  wrath  He 

times  when  the  sea  seems  utterly  beyond  restrains.     To  the  mightiest  and  most 

control.  Yet  when  it  foams  and  thunders  furious  of  peoples  or  nations  God  can 

in  anger,  when   its  waves,   mountains  impose  limits,  saying,  "  Hitherto  shalt 

high,    chase    each    other    with    awful  thou  come,  but  no  further :  and  here 

rapidity  and  fury,  and  destroy  every-  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed." 

thing  that  is  at  their  mercy,  when   it  2.  God  rules  over  the  Jieavens  and  the 

breaks  with  terrific  violence  upon  the  earth,     "The   heavens   are   Thine,  the 

shore,  and  when  it  seems  to  mock  at  earth  also  is  Thine,"  <fec.     God  is  here 

and  spurn  all  control ;  God  can  subdue  set  forth  as  the  Creator  and  Sustainer 

its   angry  ragings    into   calmness   and  of   the  heavens  and  the  earth.     "All 

repose  at  once.      Our  Lord  when  He  things  were  made  by  Him,"     "  By  Him 

stilled  the  tempest  gave  to  us  an  illus-  all    things    subsist,"      Therefore    the 

11 


PSALM  LXXXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


heavens  and  the  earth  are  His.    Creator- 
Bhip  gives  the  most  indefeasible  right  to 
possession.      If  any  person  can  create 
anything,    it    is    of    all     things     pre- 
eminently  his   own    property.      "The 
highest  conception  of  property  is  that 
which  is  derived  from  creation."     The 
idea  in  the  mind  of  the  Psalmist  seems 
to  be  that  as  the  Creator,  Sustainer,  and 
Proprietor  of  all  things,   God  has  the 
power  and  the  right  to  control  all  things. 
"  He  doeth  according  to  His  will  in  the 
army  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  earth :  and  none  can  stay  His 
hand,  or  say   unto   Him,  What  doest 
Thou  V'     And  therefore  He  was  able  to 
keep  His  covenant  which  He  made  with 
David  and  his  seed.     Notice  the  com- 
pleteness of  God's  rule  over  nature.    The 
Psalmist  mentions  "  the  sea,  the  heavens, 
the  earth,  the  world."     Then  he  men- 
tions "the  north  and  the  south.  Tabor 
and    Hermon."      Tabor   lying    on   the 
western  side   of  Jordan,  and  Hermon 
on   the   eastern,  are  representative   of 
east   and   west.      God    rules   over  all 
nature  in  heaven  above  and  on  the  earth 
beneath,  from  east  to  west,  and  from 
north  to  south.     There  is  no  province 
of    nature   which    is   not    under    His 
control.     God's  sovereignty  over  nature 
is  frequently  asserted  in  the  Bible.     He 
is  at  work  in  all  its  departments.     He 
is  the  Force  of  all  its  forces.     (See  Psa. 
Ixv.  8-11;  civ.  1-30;  Isa.  xl.  26.)     The 
doctrine  of  God's  sovereignty  over  and 
agency  in  nature  is  philosophic.     It  is 
unsatisfactory  to  explain  the  changes  in 
the  phenomena  of  nature  by  "  laws  of 
nature,"  "  nature's  forces,"  "  attraction," 
"gravitation."      Such  explanations  do 
not  satisfy  my  reason.     A  law  of  nature 
is  simply  a  "generalisation  of  pheno- 
mena."    When  such  a  generalisation  has 
been  made  and  named  we  have  frequently 
gained  little  more  than  a  resting-place 
for  ignorance  rather  than  a  large  increase 
of  knowledge.      What  are    "  nature's 
forces"?     What   is   the  secret   of   her 
forces'?      By   naming  a    process    or   a 
phenomenon   you   do    not  remove  the 
mystery  of  the  thing,  even  though  the 
name  applied  be  ever  so   polysyllabic 
and  obscure.     But  when  I  am  told  that 
the  changing  phenomena  of  nature  are 
12 


the  result  of  the  agency  of  the  omnipo* 
tent  Creator  and  Sustainer  of  nature, 
working  through  the  wondrous  arrange- 
ments and  means  which  He  has 
ordained,  my  reason  accepts  the  state- 
ment as  intelligent  and  satisfactory. 
Moreover,  this  recognition  of  God's 
agency  in  and  sovereignty  over  nature 
is  religious.  The  intelligent  and  devout 
man  sees  the  signs  of  the  Divine  pre- 
sence and  working  in  every  department 
and  object  of  nature.  "The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God,"  <fcc. 

II.  The  strength  of  God  is  mani- 
fested in  His  subjugation  of  His  foes. 
**  Thou  hast  broken  Rahab  in  pieces  as 
one  that  is  slain ;  Thou  hast  scattered 
Thine  enemies  with  Thy  strong  arm." 
The  name  Eahab  is  used  to  set  forth 
Egypt  the  ancient  foe  of  Israel.  The 
reference  is  to  the  emancipation  of 
Israel  from  bondage,  and  the  plaguing 
and  destruction  of  their  oppressors.  On 
that  occasion,  God's  sovereignty  of  the 
sea  was  employed  to  secure  the  safety  of 
His  people  and  the  destruction  of  their 
foes.  When  God  makes  bare  His  arm, 
the  proudest  and  mightiest  nations  fall 
before  Him.  The  remembrance  of  what 
He  had  done  to  Egypt  on  behalf  of  His 
people  would  be  especially  encouraging 
to  the  poet  and  the  people  at  this  time. 
His  arm  had  lost  none  of  its  ancient 
might.  He  was  able  at  this  time  to 
break  their  enemies  in  pieces  as  one  that 
is  slain,  or  to  scatter  them,  and  so  de- 
stroy their  power.  God  is  supreme  over 
the  proudest  and  mightiest  nations. 
"  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all.'* 

III.  The  strength  of  God  is  ever 
exercised  in  harmony  with  righteous- 
ness, mercy,  and  truth.  *' Justice  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  Thy 
throne  :  mercy  and  truth  shall  go  be- 
fore Thy  face."  Justice  and  judgment 
are  the  ground  on  which  the  throne  of 
God  stands.  The  Divine  government 
is  founded  on  righteousness.  As  its 
basis,  it  rests  neither  on  force  nor  on 
fraud,  but  on  truth  and  on  right. 
"Even  omnipotent  power  could  not 
maintain  permanently  a  throne  founded 
on  injustice  and  wrong.  Such  an  ad- 
ministration would  sooner  or  later  make 
j*;s  own  destruction  sure."     But  God's 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


ftiALai  L^J\.XiJL. 


power  is  never  employed  for  unrighte- 
ous ends.  His  justice  is  as  great  as  His 
strength.  The  exercise  of  God's  great 
power  is  also  in  keeping  with  His 
"mtrcy."  Even  when  it  is  employed  in 
destroying  violent  oppressors  such  as 
Rahab,  it  is  employed  in  mercy.  Such 
destructions  are  a  kindness  not  simply 
to  the  oppressed  who  are  set  free,  but 
to  mankind  at  large,  who  are  thereby 
delivered  from  a  tyrant  and  a  curse. 
God's  great  power  is  acting  beneficially, 
mercifully.  It  is  also  exercised  in  har- 
mony with  His  "truth''  What  His 
Word  promises  His  power  performs.  He 
is  strong  to  execute  His  threatenings, 
and  to  make  good  His  promises.  God's 
power  and  righteousness,  mercy  and 
faithfulness,  are  all  exercised  in  beauti- 
ful harmony  and  beneficence,  so  that  an 
afflicted  people  looking  to  Him  for  help 
may  take  encouragement  from  them. 

IV.  The  strength  of  God  thus  exer- 
cised is  an  encouragement  to  trust 
Him.  So  the  Psalmist  evidently  thought 
as  he  celebrated  its  praise  in  connection 
with  the  faithfulness  of  God.  We  can- 
not intelligently  trust  in  God  without 
including  His  '*  power  as  a  concurrent 
foundation  with  His  truth.  It  is  the 
mainground  of  trust,  and  so  set  forth 
in  the  prophet  (Isa.  xxvi.  4)  :  *  Trust  ye 
in  the  Lord  for  ever,  for  in  the  Lord 
Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength.'  .  .  . 
How  could  His  mercy  succour  us  with- 
out His  arm,  or  His  wisdom  guide  us 
without  His  hand,  or  His  truth  perform 


promises  to  us  without  His  strength  t 
,  .  .  Though  we  value  the  kindness  men 
may  express  to  us  in  our  distresses,  yet 
we  make  them  not  the  objects  of  our 
confidence,  unless  they  have  an  ability 
to  act  what  they  express.  There^Oan  be 
no  ttrust  in  God  without  an  eye  to  His 
power."  So  said  Charnock  in  one  of 
his  great  discourses ;  and  so  the  Psalmist 
seems  to  have  thought  as  he  penned  this 
portion  of  the  Psalm  ;  and  as  he  called 
to  mind  God's  great  power  in  ruling  the 
raging  of  the  sea  and  subduing  the  foes 
of  His  people,  he  must  have  felt  confi- 
dent that  He  had  power  to  keep  His 
covenant  with  His  people. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Let  the  ungodly  takt 
warning.  You  may  resist  His  grace  and 
the  order  of  His  laws;  but  when  He 
makes  bare  His  arm  for  judgment,  you 
will  find  that  you  cannot  resist  His 
power.  "Acquaint  now  thyself  with 
Him  and  be  at  peace:  thereby  good 
shall  come  unto  thee."  2.  Let  the 
anxious  Christian  he  encouraged.  Our 
evils  can  never  be  so  great  to  distress 
us,  as  His  power  is  great  to  deliver  us. 
He  is  able  to  perform  all  the  great  and 
gracious  things  which  He  has  promised. 
3.  Let  all  men  fear  God.  As  Charnock 
says  :  "  How  should  we  adore  that 
power  which  can  preserve  us,  when 
devils  and  men  conspire  to  destroy  us ! 
How  should  we  stand  in  awe  of  that 
power  which  can  destroy  us,  though 
angels  and  men  should  combine  to  pre- 
serve us  1 " 


The  Blessedness  of  the  People  op  God. 
{Verses  15-18.) 


In  the  preceding  portion  of  the  Psalm 
the  Poet  has  celebrated  the  faithfulness, 
almightiness,  and  righteousness  of  the 
Lord.  And  now  he  celebrates  the 
blessedness  of  the  people  who  had  such 
a  God ;  for  He  would  surely  deliver 
and  save  them.  He  sets  forth  the 
blessedness  of  the  people  of  God  as 
found  in  their  relations  to  Him,  and 
mentions  several  of  these  relations. 
He  speaks  of  them  — 

I.  As  worshippers  of  God.  *' Blessed 
ift  the   people   that  know   the   joyful 


sound."  We  believe  that  by  **  the  Joy- 
ful sound"  we  are  to  understand  the 
call  to  the  religious  festivals.  In 
celebrating  the  great  festivals  trumpets 
were  joyously  blown,  and  there  was 
great  rejoicing  (Lev.  xxiii.  24  \  Num. 
X.  10;  xxix.  1).  To  know  the  joyful 
sound  is  to  know  and  esteem  the  worship 
of  God.  So  the  meaning  of  this  clause 
appears  to  us  to  be — "  Happy  is  that 
people  whose  God  is  the  Lord."  They 
who  are  the  worshippers  of  the  only 
living  and  true  God  are  indeed  blessed. 

13 


FSALU  LXZXIZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


1.  Their  confidence  in  Eim  shall  he 
honoured  and  rewarded,  A  man's  god 
is  that  in  which  his  supreme  affection 
and  trust  are  reposed.  Idolatry  is  really- 
rife  amongst  us  to-day.  Men  worship 
possessions  and  property,  position  and 
power,  honour  and  fame,  relatives  and 
friends.  Now  any  of  these  or  all  of 
them  must  inevitably  fail  those  who 
trust  in  them.  They  are  insecure  and 
transient :  they  are  inadequate  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  soul.  There  is  but 
one  Being  in  whom  we  may  safely 
place  unbounded  confidence.  '*  He  that 
believeth  in  Him  shall  not  be  con- 
founded." "0  Lord  of  hosts,  blessed 
is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  Thee."  He 
will  make  good  His  every  promise.  He 
is  sufficient  to  help  us  in  all  the  needs 
of  life.  In  Him  the  soul  may  find  satis- 
faction for  its  deepest  longings  and  its 
highest  aspirations.  Trust  in  Him  will 
be  amply  rewarded. 

2.  Their  worship  of  Him  is  in  itself 
blessed.  Much  of  the  worship  of  heathen 
deities  was  debasing  and  corrupting. 
Many  of  the  idolatries  of  our  own  age 
are  degrading  the  noblest  powers  of 
our  nature,  dwarfing  our  manhood, 
ruining  souls.  But  the  worship  of 
God  is  the  worship  of  supreme  and 
infinite  Perfection.  His  worship  is 
joyous.  We  do  not  approach  Him  with 
terror,  but  with  humble  confidence ; 
not  with  mourning  and  dirges,  but 
with  gladness  and  psalms.  "Let  us 
come  into  His  presence  with  thanks- 
giving," &c.  His  worship  is  transform- 
ing. As  we  worship  Him  in  spirit  and 
in  truth  we  become  like  Him,  we  "  are 
changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory 
to  glory  as  by  the  Lord  the  Spirit." 
Blessed  indeed  are  they  whose  God  is 
the  Lord. 

II.  As  conscious  of  His  favour. 
"  They  shall  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the  light 
of  Thy  countenance."  They  possess 
the  favour  of  God,  and  they  know  it, 
and  rejoice  in  it.  The  lovingkindness 
of  God  they  realise  as  their  portion. 
The  figure  is  a  beautiful  one.  Who 
does  not  know  the  joy  of  looking  into 
the  face  of  one  whom  we  love  when  no 
cloud  of  anxiety  or  sorrow  or  anger 
darkens  it,  but  when  it  beams  with 
U 


affection  for  us  1  So  the  people  of  God 
live  in  His  smile.  "In  His  favour  is 
life."  His  "lovingkindness  is  better 
than  life."  They  who  walk  in  the 
light  of  His  countenance  enjoy  His 
favour ;  their  life  is  crowned  with  His 
lovingkindness.  Their  life  is  marked 
by  activity  and  progress.  The  conscious- 
ness of  His  favour  does  not  produce 
indolence,  but  it  leads  to  exertion;  it  does 
not  lull  the  soul  into  slothful  security, 
but  stimulates  it  to  diligent  activity. 
"  They  shall  walk,  O  Lord,"  <fec.  Walk- 
ing is  progressive  motion  from  place  to 
place.  So  the  godly  soul  advances  in 
the  Divine  life.  **  They  go  from 
strength  to  strength,"  from  conquest  to 
conquest,  from  grace  to  grace,  from 
glory  to  glory.  They  "press  toward 
the  mark,"  &c. 

III.  As  rejoicing  in  Him.  "  In  Thy 
name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day." 

1.  Their  Joy  is  religious.  They  rejoice 
in  God's  name,  i.e,,  in  Himself  as  made 
known  to  them.  The  good  man  has 
ample  reason  for  joy  in  the  being  and 
perfections  of  God  and  His  relation  to 
him.  When  we  reflect  upon  His  wisdom, 
and  goodness,  and  power,  and  holiness, 
and  truth,  and  love,  and  upon  the  fact 
that  they  are  "  all  engaged  to  make  us 
blessed," — have  we  not  reason  for  joy  ? 
When  we  call  to  mind  our  privileges 
in  the  present,  and  our  prospects  for 
the  future,  have  we  not  cause  for  re- 
joicing^ "Now  are  we  the  sons  of 
God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be,"  &c.  Let  no  one  regard  a 
godly  life  as  gloomy  and  sad.  Men  may 
be  gloomy  for  want  of  religion,  but  not 
because  of  it.  A  truly  godly  life  is  a 
bright  and  joyous  thing. 

2.  Their  joy  is  constant.  "  All  the 
day."  There  is  no  reason  why  the 
people  of  God  may  not  rejoice  continu- 
ally in  God.  Circumstances  may  be 
changeful,  trial  may  overtake  us,  sorrow 
may  be  our  portion,  and  happiness  may 
abandon  usj  but  even  then  we  may 
have  a  deep  and  holy  Joy  in  God,  He 
is  unchangeable.  His  promises  cannot 
fail.  Having  Him  for  our  portion  it  is 
both  our  privilege  and  our  duty  to  re- 
joice in  Him  always.  "  Kejoice  in  the 
Lord  alway  :  again  I  say,  Rejoice." 


BO  Ml  LET  10  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALlf  LXXXIZi 


IV.  As  exalted  by  Him.     "In  Thy 

righteousness  shall  they  be  exalted." 
"  The  righteousness  of  God,"  says  Heng- 
Btenberg,  *'is  here  that  property  by  which 
He  gives  to  every  one  his  own,  salvation 
to  His  people.'*  We  regard  the  clause 
as  intended  by  the  Poet  to  set  forth  the 
idea  that  under  the  righteous  govern- 
ment of  God  they  would  find  salvation 
and  honour.  He  would  deliver  them 
from  their  enemies  and  their  dangers. 
He  would  exalt  them  to  honour.  It 
certainly  is  true  that  the  people  of  God 
are  exalted  by  Him.  They  are  exalted 
now  in  their  character  and  relations. 
"  Now  are  we  the  sons  of  God."  They 
are  like  God  in  character.  They  will  be 
exalted  hereafter  to  heavenly  glory  and 
dignity.  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will 
I  grant  to  sit  with  Me  in  My  throne," 
(fee.  "  Before  the  throne  of  God,  and 
serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple.*' 
*' Kings  and  priests  unto  God." 

V.  As  strengthened  by  Him.  "Thou 
art  the  glory  of  their  strength  :  and  in 
Thy  favour  our  horn  shall  be  exalted." 
The  glory  of  the  strength  of  the  people 
of  God  is  here  set  forth  as  consisting  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  derived  from  God. 
The  "  horn  "  is  a  symbol  of  power.  To 
exalt  the  horn  is  to  display  the  power. 
The  meaning  of  the  verse  is,  that  they 
derived  all  their  strength  from  God. 

1.  The  strength  of  God  is  all-sufficient. 
**I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me."  It  is  sufficient 
to  support  us  under  the  heaviest  trial ; 
and  to  empower  us  for  the  most  arduous 
duty. 

2.  The  strength  of  God  is  always 
available.  Whenever  we  ask  for  it  sin- 
cerely and  believingly  it  will  be  given  to 
us. 

3.  The  strength  of  God  is  our  only 
sufficient  support.  No  one  else  is  ade- 
quate to  sustain  us  in  life's  trials,  and 
strengthen  us  for  life's  duties.  The 
wise,  the  great,  the  powerful,  the  loving 
amongst  men  are  not  sufficient  to  our 
need.  "Apart  from  me,"  said  Christ, 
"  ye  can  do  nothing."     If  we  draw  our 


strength  from  Him,  we  shall  not  fail  in 
life's  duties,  or  faint  beneath  its  burdens. 
"  As  thy  days  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 
VI.  As  governed  and  protected  by 
God.  "  For  the  Lord  is  our  defence ; 
and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  our  King.*' 
The  marginal  reading  is,  "  For  our  shield 
is  of  the  Lord,  and  our  King  is  of  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel."  "  The  true  con- 
struction of  this  verse,"  says  Barnes,  "  is, 
*For  to  Jehovah  (belongs)  our  shield,  and 
to  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  our  King.' 
That  is,  all  that  they  had,  and  all  that 
they  relied  on  as  a  defence,  belonged  to 
God,  or  was  of  God;  in  other  words, 
their  very  protectors  were  themselves 
protected  by  Jehovah."  Undoubtedly, 
the  main  idea  of  the  verse  is,  that  they 
were  protected  by  God.  He  was  their 
shield  and  defender.  He  was  their 
sovereign,  and  would  therefore  guard 
their  interests.  We  have  three  ideas  in- 
volved here — 

1.  The  people  of  God  are  exposed  to 
danger.  Their  "  adversary,  the  devil,  as 
a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour."  They  are  also 
in  danger  from  "  fleshly  lusts,  which  war 
against  the  soul."  And  by  reason  of 
temptation  from  the  world. 

2.  The  people  of  God  are  not  able  to 
protect  themselves  from  danger.  They 
are  not,  of  themselves,  wise  enough  to 
baffle  the  deep  designs  of  their  enemies  ; 
neither  are  they  strong  enough  to  suc- 
cessfully resist  their  power. 

3.  The  people  of  God  are  securely 
protected  by  Him  from  all  danger,  (See 
Psa.  xci.,  cxxi.,  cxxv.  1,  2 ;  1  Pet.  i.  5.) 
They  are  inviolably  and  eternally  secure. 

Conclusion. — 1.  How  great,  then, 
is  the  blessedness  of  the  people  of  God! 
"There  is  none  like  unto  the  God  of 
Jeshurun,"  &c.  (Deut.  xxxiii.  26-29).  2. 
How  important  that  we  should  be  found 
among  them!  Are  we  of  the  people  of 
God  1  If  so,  let  us  rejoice  in  our  privi- 
leges. If  not,  in  the  strength  of 
Divine  grace  "  first  give  your  own 
selves  to  the  Lord,"  and  thus  seek 
union  with  His  people. 


15 


KALMLZXXUL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Blessedness  of  Knowing  the  Joyful  Sound. 
{Verses  16,  16.) 


"  Blessed  are  the  people,  <fec. 

Whatever  these  words  in  their  literal 
sense  refer  to,  they  have  undoubtedly 
an  ultimate  reference  to  the  gospel ; 
and  there  are  three  particulars  for  our 
consideration  respecting  it. 

I.  What  it  is.  It  is  a  joyful  sound. 
And  why  is  it  so?  Because  it  pro- 
claims— 

1.  Pardon  to  the  condemned.  And 
this  pardon  is  complete,  reaching  to  all 
past  offences,  however  aggravated  or 
multiplied  they  may  be.  It  is  free — 
free  of  all  obligation  to  and  of  all  price 
from  the  creature. 

2.  Freedom  to  the  enslaved.  Man  by 
nature  is  in  a  state  of  vassalage ;  he  is 
far  removed  from  his  original  condition; 
bound  with  the  chains  of  his  sins,  and 
yields  to  the  requirements  of  Satan  (2 
Tim.  ii.  26).  In  this  state  he  was  born  ; 
but  the  sound  of  liberty  has  not  ceased 
to  be  heard  since  it  first  saluted  the  ears 
of  Adam  and  Eve. 

3.  Victory  to  the  oppressed.  The  sor- 
rows of  man  are  many ;  but  the  gospel 
ofifers  to  rescue  him,  bringing  to  him  a 
full  and  sufficient  remedy  for  them,  so 
that  he  may  have  peace  within ;  the 
reality,  and  not  the  shadow  merely, 

II.  What  it  demands.  We  must 
"know  the  joyful  sound."  What  is 
implied  in  this?  It  includes  three 
things — 

1.  A  proper  apprehension  of  it.  Many 
content  themselves  with  hearing  it ;  but 
its  import  must  be  understood. 

2.  A  sense  of  being  personally  in- 
terested in  it.     We  know  it  not  aright. 


if  we  do  not  know  it  experimentally  and 

savingly. 

3.  A  life  and  conversation  suited  to  it. 
Before  we  conclude  too  confidently  that 
we  know  the  joyful  sound,  we  should 
ask  ourselves :  how  our  knowledge 
operates?  To  possess  knowledge  will 
be  of  little  avail  unless  it  produce  a 
practical  eff*ect  (1  John  i.  6,  7). 

III.  What  it  ensures.  Blessedness. 
The  Psalmist's  testimony  respecting  this 
is  delightful,  and  shows  how  peculiar 
and  distinguished  the  felicity  of  such 
people  as  know  the  gospel  is. 

1.  They  possess  tranquillity  of  mind. 
In  their  journey  heavenward,  they  have 
the  light  of  God's  countenance  to 
encourage  them  in  their  distresses  and 
difficulties. 

2.  They  have  continual  joy.  "In 
Thy  name  shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day." 
His  name  comprehends  those  infinite 
perfections  by  which  He  has  revealed 
Himself  to  us  in  His  works,  and  in  His 
Word.  These  being  all  theirs,  on  their 
side,  united  for  their  advantages,  cannot 
but  afi"ord  them  unspeakable  enjoyment, 

3.  They  are  greatly  dignified.  "  In 
Thy  righteousness  shall  they  be  exalted." 
By  relying  on  the  atonement,  made  by 
the  death  of  God's  only  Son,  they  are 
arrayed  in  His  righteousness,  and  are 
consequently  justified  and  accepted. 

Have  we  a  saving  knowledge  of  the 
Gospel  ?  If  so,  how  exalted  is  our  privi- 
lege. But  those  who  are  strangers  to  the 
heavenly  message,  whether  they  be  more 
or  less  wicked  in  respect  of  gross  sins, 
are  in  a  truly  awful  state. —  W,  Sleigh, 


God's  Covenant  with  David. 


*'  There  follows,"  says  Hengstenberg, 
**in  prosecution  of  the  subject  entered 
on  in  verses  3  and  4,  a  more  full  de- 
velopment in  two  sections,  of  the 
glorious  promise  made  to  the  anointed, 
and  in  him  to  the  people  (vers.  19-38). 

First  (in  vers.  19-28),  it  is  represented 
16 


{Verses  19-28.) 

that  God  had  promised  perpetual  deliver- 
ance to  the  people  in  him,  perpetual 
victory  over  its  enemies,"  and  "perpetual 
dominion."  The  covenant  undoubtedly 
looks  beyond  David  to  the  Anointed 
Saviour  and  King  of  men,  as  will  be 
seen  as  we  proceed  with  our  exposition. 


EOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


SBaLM  lxxxiz. 


The  leading  teachings  of  the  paragraph 
may  be  indicated  under  two  main 
"heads." 

I.  The  Election  of  David.  The  word 
"  then "  with  which  the  paragraph 
begins  connects  it  with  verses  3  and  4. 
In  those  verses  the  covenant  is  men- 
tioned; in  this  paragraph  it  is  more 
fully  stated.  We  prefer  the  reading, 
"  Thy  holy  ones*'  in  verse  19  to  "  Tliy 
holy  one."  '*A11  the  old  translators, 
many  MSS.  and  editions,"  have  *'  thy 
holy  ones."  "  The  singular,"  says  Heng- 
stenberg,  '*  owes  its  existence,  as  in 
Psa.  xvi.  10,  to  an  exegetical  incapacity. 
It  was  felt  to  be  impossible  to  reconcile 
the  plural  with  the  application  to  David 
or  Nathan ;  and  to  one  or  other  of  these, 
all  interpreters,  without  exception,  down 
even  to  modern  times,  have  applied  the 
expression,  without  observing  that  in 
the  following  part  of  the  Psalm  it  is 
the  people  that  complain  that  God  does 
not  appear  to  be  keeping  His  promise, 
and  that  it  is  the  people  that  pray  that 
He  would  fulfil  His  promise.  .  .  .  The 
address  cannot  be  made  to  David,  for 
he  is  never  addressed  throughout  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  Psalm."  And 
it  is  incorrect  to  say  that  Nathan  is 
referred  to  as  the  "holy  one,"  for  his- 
torically the  address  was  not  directed 
to  him,  but  to  David  through  him. 
The  pioniises,  though  originally  directed 
to  David,  are  intended  for  all  the  people 
of  Israel.     They  are  the  "holy  ones." 

But  respecting  the  election  of  David 
we  are  taught — 

1 .  That  he  was  elected  from  the  people. 
"  Chosen  out  of  the  people."  David 
had  not  descended  from  great  kings  or 
heroic  warriors ;  he  was  not  of  exalted 
rank ;  he  had  grown  up  in  humble  life 
among  the  people,  and  had  lived  in 
lowliness  and  obscurity.  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  also  was  "  chosen  out  of 
the  people."  He  was  "in  all  things 
made  like  unto  His  brethren."  He,  too, 
was  born  into  humble  circumstances,  and 
so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned  He 
lived  a  lowly  life  of  labour.  He  was 
bone  of  our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh. 
He  had  true  human  sympathies.  He 
endured  most  really  severe  human  suf- 
ferings. He  was  and  is  a  true  man. 
VOL.  II, 


2.  That  he  was  elected  to  sovereignty. 
"  I  have  exalted  one  chosen  out  of  the 
people.  I  have  found  David  my  ser- 
vant," (fee.  David  was  thrice  anointed 
king.  Once  by  Samuel  in  his  father's 
house  at  Bethlehem  ;  once  at  Hebron 
as  king  over  Judah  ;  and  once  again, 
after  seven  years,  as  king  over  all  Israel. 
God  called  him  from  the  sheepfolds  to 
the  throne.  Our  Lord  is  called  to 
universal  sovereignty.  He  is  "  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords."  "  On  His 
head  are  many  crowns."  "  He  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men,'*  <fec.  (Phil, 
ii.  7-11). 

3.  That  he  was  elected  to  service.  "  I 
have  laid  help  upon  one  that  is  mighty." 
David  was  chosen  by  God  for  a  great 
work.  God  had  invested  him  with 
power  that  he  might  deliver  Israel  out 
of  the  hand  of  her  enemies.  Hengsten- 
berg  translates,  "I  have  laid  help  upon 
a  man  of  war."  And  Alexander  says 
that  the  word  "c/ioscw"  has  "allusion 
to  its  specific  use  as  signifying  a  young 
warrior."  David  was  elected  of  God  as 
the  champion  of  Israel  to  lead  her 
armies  to  battle  and  to  victory.  We 
know  how  successful  he  was  in  this 
respect.  At  the  beginning  of  his  career 
the  people  cried,  "  Saul  hath  slain  his 
thousands,  but  David  his  tens  of  thou- 
sands." And  at  the  close  of  his  career 
Israel  was  victorious  over  all  her  ene- 
mies, and  was  at  peace.  So  Jesus 
Christ  was  elected  by  God  to  save  man- 
kind. He  is  the  mighty  One  upon 
whom  our  help  is  laid.  He  is  "  mighty 
to  save."  "  He  is  able  to  save  them  to 
the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by 
Him." 

4.  That  he  was  elected  by  God.  "I 
have  laid  help,  ...  I  have  exalted,  .  .  , 
I  have  found,  ...  I  have  anointed." 
In  the  fullest  and  strictest  sense  David 
was  chosen  by  God  for  his  high  position 
and  his  great  work.  This  accounts  for 
his  pre-eminent  fitness  for  his  place  and 
mission.  God  knew  his  great  qualifica- 
tions, his  courage,  strength,  wisdom, 
faith,  piety  ;  and  chose  him  to  fill  the 
throne  and  subdue  the  foes  of  IsraeL 
David  was  indeed  "  king  by  the  grace 

B  17 


ffSALM  LXXZIZ. 


EOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


of  God."  Our  Lord  was  chosen  by 
God  for  His  great  work.  *'  Behold  my 
servant,  whom  I  uphold  ;  mine  elect,  in 
whom  my  soul  delighteth."  He  is  the 
Anointed,  the  Christ  of  God. 

II.  The  promises  made  to  David. 
Here  is  a  promise  of 

1.  Constant  support     "  With  whom 
My   hand  shall  be  established  :   Mine 
arm   also   shall  strengthen   him."     De 
Wette  translates  the  first  clause,  *'  With 
him   My    hand   shall   be   continually." 
The  idea  of  the  verse  is  that  God  would 
grant  unto  David  constant  support.  His 
hand  would  be  ever  present  to  aid  him, 
and  His  strong  arm  would  be  ever  out- 
Btretched    to    strengthen    him.       This 
promise  was  remarkably  fulfilled  in  the 
case  of  David.     Many  were  the  trials  of 
his  life,  yet  in  all  of  them  he  was  sup- 
ported  by  God.      Many  and   arduous 
were   his    undertakings,    yet    he    was 
enabled  to  bring  them  to  a  successful 
issue.     The  people  now  plead  this  pro- 
mise for  themselves.     In  their  prostrate 
and  perilous  condition  they  plead  for  a 
fulfilment  of  this  promise  of  the  cove- 
nant.    The   promise  was  also  fulfilled 
in  the  Saviour.     He  was  ever  upheld  by 
God.     The  Father  was  ever  with  Him 
in  fellowship,  and  ever  with  Him  to  aid 
Him.     He  overcame  all  His  difiiculties, 
He  meekly  and  triumphantly  bore  all 
His  trials,  because  God  was  ever  present 
with   Him.       The   great   want   of   the 
Christian    Church   to-day   is     spiritual 
power.     Here  we  have  the  covenant  pro- 
mise of  the  constant  help  of  God.    Let  us 
plead  it  in  faith,  and  the  life  and  power 
that  we  need  shall  be  given  unto  us. 

2.  Victory  over  His  foes.  This  pro- 
mise is  twofold.  (1)  His  foes  should  be 
restrained.  "  The  enemy  shall  not 
exact  upon  him,  nor  the  son  of  wicked- 
ness afflict  him."  The  allusion,  in  the 
first  clause,  is  to  a  harsh  and  unjust 
creditor,  who,  regardless  of  the  ability 
of  his  debtor,  exacts  not  only  the  just 
debt,  but  an  exaggerated  demand. 
The  second  clause  is  taken  literally  from 
the  words  of  the  covenant  as  recorded 
in  2  Sam.  vii,  10.  For  some  time 
David  suff'ered  much  from  the  persecu- 
tions of  Saul.  Notwithstanding  his  oft- 
repeated  manifestations  of  affection  and 
18 


loyalty,  Saul  was  never  satisfied.     But 
those   persecutions    came    to   an   end, 
those  exactions  all  ceased.     For  many 
years  after  the  making  of  the  covenant, 
the  enemies  of  Israel  did  not  dare  at- 
tempt to  oppress  or  exact  upon  them  in 
any  way,     (2)  His  foes  should  be  van- 
quished.    "  I  will  beat  down    his  foes 
before   his  face,  and  plague  them  that 
hate  him."     Here   is  complete  victory 
from   the   hand   of   God    promised   to 
David  and  to  the  people.      We  know 
how    it    was   fulfilled.      The   reign  of 
David   closed   in   peace,    and   that   of 
Solomon  was  peaceful.     These  promises 
were  fulfilled  in  our  Lord.     The  malice 
and  power  of  men  and  devils  against 
Him    were    curbed    by   God.      Satan 
could    only   bruise    the    heel    of    the 
Saviour,  while  his  head  was  bruised  by 
the    Saviour.       What   Christ    said   to 
Pilate  was   true    of    all   His   enemies, 
"  Thou  couldest  have  no  power  against 
me,   except   it   were   given   thee   from 
above."     All  the  enemies  of  our  Lord 
shall    be    destroyed.      Ignorance,    sin, 
suffering,  death,  and   the  grave,    shall 
all  be  destroyed.      His  victory  will  be 
complete  and  glorious.     Every  child  of 
God  may  claim  these  promises  as  his 
own.      Our  foes  are  restrained.      God 
ever  imposes  upon   Satan  His,  "Thus 
far  shalt  thou  go,  but  no  further."    (See 
Job  i.  12  and  ii.  6.)     And  He  will  van- 
quish all  our  foes  for  us.    Through  faith 
in   Him   we   shall   come   out  of  life's 
battle  "more  than  conquerors."     Here 
is  a  promise  of — 

3.  Conspicuous  power  through  the 
faithfulness  and  mercy  of  God.  "  My 
faithfulness  and  my  mercy  shall  be  with 
him,  and  in  My  name  shall  his  horn  be 
exalted."  In  the  commencement  of  the 
Psalm  the  poet  celebrated  the  mercy 
and  fiiithfulness  of  God,  and  here  he 
recurs  again  to  them.  They  were 
clearly  displayed  in  the  covenant,  and 
now  that  the  covenant  seems  about  to 
fail,  the  hope  of  the  Psalmist  and  the 
people  is  in  them.  Mercy  and  faithful- 
ness were  granted  to  David,  and  to  his 
seed  j  and  though,  by  reason  of  their 
sin,  the  temporal  sovereignty  passed 
away  and  the  kingdom  was  destroyed, 
yet  the  line  of  David  continued  in  uu- 


EOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


F8ALM  LXXXIZ. 


broken  succession  until  Christ  came,  and 
the  spiritual  and  eternal  kingdom  was 
established  in  Him.  Through  God's 
blessing  the  power  of  the  kingdom  was 
conspicuous  in  the  time  of  David,  and  it 
was  especially  so  in  the  time  of  Solomon. 
But  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  is  growing  more  and  more  con- 
spicuous daily.  "  The  stone  that  was 
cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands  " 
is  fast  filling  the  whole  earth.  Here  is  a 
promise  of — 

4.  Enlarged  dominion.  "I  will  set 
His  hand  also  in  the  sea,  and  His  right 
hand  in  the  rivers."  The  sea  which  is 
here  mentioned  is  the  Mediterranean, 
and  the  rivers  are  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates.  These  were  the  boundaries 
of  the  promised  land  as  stated  to 
Abram  (Gen.  xv.  18).  The  kingdom 
of  David  was  of  this  extent.  The 
promise  made  to  Abram  was  fulfilled 
m  his  time  and  in  the  time  of  Solomon. 
But  "  David's  greater  Son  "  "  shall  have 
dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the 
river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth."  His 
kingdom  is  ever  increasing,  and  ever  shall 
increase,  until  the  whole  world  bows  to 
His  sway.     Here  is  a  promise  of — 

6.  Intimate  and  exalted  relationship. 
**  He  shall  cry  unto  Me,  Thou  art  my 
Father,  my  God,  and  the  rock  of  my 
salvation.  Also  I  will  make  Him  My 
firstborn,  higher  than  the  kings  of  the 
earth."  David  looked  to  God  as  "  the 
rock  of  his  salvation,"  but  we  have  no 
evidence  to  show  that  he  regarded  God 
as  a  **  Father.**  Mr.  Molyneux  justly 
inquires,  "  When  did  David  call  God 
his  Father  ?  It  is  striking  that  we  do 
not  find  anywhere  in  the  Old  Testament 
that  the  patriarchs  or  prophets  called 
God  their  Father.  They  did  not  know 
Him  as  such.  This  verse  is  unintel- 
ligible in  reference  to  David,  but  in 
regard  to  the  True  David  it  is  exactly 
what  He  did  say — *  My  Father,  and 
your  Father;  my  God,  and  your  God.' 
Never  until  Christ  uttered  these  words, 
never  until  He  appeared  on  earth  in 
humanity  as  the  Son  of  God,  did  any 
man  or  any  child  of  humanity  address 
God  in  this  endearing  character."  The 
27th  verse  was  partly  fulfilled  in  David, 
but  only  in  a  very  small  degree.     It  is 


true  that  he  is  pre-eminent  among  kings 
"alike  in  his  own  personal  character 
and  his  reign ;  in  his  relation  to  God  i 
and  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  ancestor 
of  the  Messiah."  Yet  it  was  only  a  feeble 
type  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise 
that  was  witnessed  in  David.  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  "the  firstborn  of  every 
creature."  He  is  "appointed  heir  of  all 
things."  "All  kings  shall  fall  down 
before  Him :  all  nations  shall  serve 
Him."  He  "is  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  angels  and  authorities  and  powers 
being  made  subject  unto  Him."  But  it 
is  the  privilege  of  every  member  of  the 
seed  of  Christ  to  address  God  as  "  My 
Father,  my  God,  and  the  rock  of  my 
salvation."  If  by  faith  "we  are  made 
partakers  of  Christ,"  then  is  God  our 
Father,  and  we  may  with  confidence 
draw  near  to  Him,  and  rest  in  Him. 

6.  Perpetual  establishment  of  the  cove- 
nant, "  My  mercy  will  I  keep  for  him  for 
evermore,  and  My  covenant  shall  stand 
fast  with  him."  This  promise  also  looks 
onward  to  the  Christ.  In  Him  the 
covenant  is  sure  and  lasting.  But  in 
what  way  can  God  be  said  to  keep  His 
mercy  for  Christ  for  evermore  1  Excel- 
lently Matthew  Henry  elucidates  the 
point.  "  My  mercy  will  I  keep  for  Himy 
to  be  disposed  of  by  Him,  for  evermore  ; 
in  the  channel  of  Christ's  mediation  all 
the  streams  of  Divine  goodness  will  for 
ever  run.  Therefore  it  is  the  mercy  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  we  look 
for  unto  eternal  life.  And  as  the 
mercy  of  God  flows  to  us  through  Him, 
so  the  promise  of  God  is,  through  Him, 
firm  to  us  :  My  covenant  shall  standfast 
with  Him,  both  the  covenant  of  redemp- 
tion made  with  Him,  and  the  covenant 
of  grace  made  with  us  in  Him."  His 
covenant  made  with  Christ  and  His  seed 
cannot  fail.  His  word  abideth  for  ever. 
The  treasures  of  His  trrace  are  inexhaus- 
tible. He  will  fuHl  His  promises  to 
Christ.  And  His  mercy  and  grace  to- 
ward us  shall  b^  more  richly  imparted 
and  more  conspicuously  displayed  to  all 
eternity. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Let  all  who  hy  faith 
in  Christ  are  interested  in  this  covenant 
rejoice  in  the  rich  blessings  it  secures  unto 
them.     "All  things  are  ours,  and  we  are 

19 


F8ALM  LXXXIX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."     2.  Let  and  come  unto  Me,"  saith   the  Lord; 

all  ivho  are  not  hy  faith  savingly  interested  "hear,  and  your  soul  shall  live;  and  I 

in  this  covenant  believe  in  Christy  and  so  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant  with 

share  its  blessings,     "  Incline  your  ear,  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  ci  David." 


The  Mighty  Helper  of  Man. 
{Verse  19.) 


This  assurance  points  first  to  David, 
afterwards  to  Jesus  Christ.  In  Him  on 
whom  God  hath  **  laid  help  "  for  the  re- 
storation of  humanity  it  receives  its 
complete  fulfilment.  The  text  expresses 
this  truth,  that  marHs  great  need  as  a 
sinner  is  met  by  Christ's  great  power  a* 
a  Saviour.     Consider, 

I.  Man's  Great  Need  as  a  Sinner. 
The  text  teaches  by  implication  that 
none  but  a  mighty  Saviour  was  equal  to 
the  work  of  human  redemption  ;  that 
man  had  fallen  so  low  and  sunk  so 
deeply  in  sin  and  misery  that  no  arm 
but  that  of  the  mighty  One  was  able  to 
raise  him.  That  we  may  obtain  a  clear 
and  correct  impression  of  the  greatness 
of  man's  necessity  as  a  fallen  being,  let 
us  consider — 

1.  The  greatness  of  the  being  that  fell. 
Much  has  been  written  and  spoken  of 
the  physical  majesty  of  man  when  con- 
trasted with  other  animals.  There  is 
much  of  both  truth  and  beauty  in  the 
well-known  words  of  our  greatest  drama- 
tist :  "  What  a  piece  of  work  is  man  ! 
how  noble  in  reason  !  how  infinite  in 
faculties  I  in  form  and  moving,  how  ex- 
press and  admirable !  in  action,  how 
like  an  angel !  in  apprehension,  how 
like  a  god !  the  beauty  of  the  world ! 
the  paragon  of  animals  ! "  And  a  more 
ancient  poet  exclaimed,  "I  will  praise 
Thee;  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully made."  But  the  physical  is  not 
the  man,  it  is  but  the  "  earthly  house," 
the  costume  of  the  spiritual.  "  There 
is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration 
of  the  Almighty  giveth  them  under- 
staTiding."  This  spirit  is  the  man  ;  and 
as  the  inhabitant  is  greater  than  the 
house,  as  the  jewel  is  more  precious  than 
the  casket,  so  the  soul  is  incomparably 
greater  and  more  precious  than  the 
body.  .  .  .  Think  of  the  greatness  of 
man's  mind,  as  seen  in  its  astonishing 
20 


achievements.  Mention  briefly  the 
wondrous  triumphs  of  the  human  mind. 
.  .  .  Now  if  man  has  done  all  this,  and 
much  more  than  this,  in  his  fallen  de- 
generate state,  what  could  he  not  have 
done  had  he  not  fallen?  What  could 
he  not  have  done  had  his  arm  never 
been  paralysed  by  sin,  his  mental  vision 
never  been  beclouded,  and  his  constant 
access  to  the  Great  Source  of  wisdom 
and  power  never  been  interrupted? 
Moreover,  if  man  has  done  all  this 
when  he  is  but  in  his  infancy,  in  the 
mere  "  bud  of  being,"  what  will  he  not 
be  capable  of  accomplishing  when  he  is 
freed  entirely  from  the  impediments  of 
sin  and  in  the  unfolding  of  powers 
much  more  mature  %  The  exceeding 
majesty  of  the  human  mind  in  heaven 
far  surpasses  our  conceptions.  "  It 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be." 
When  we  think  of  man  as  an  immortal 
intelligence,  we  are  struck  into  amaze- 
ment at  his  greatness.  He  is  capable 
of  companionship  with  angels  and  com- 
munion with  the  Father  of  spirits,  and 
is  destined  for  perpetual  growth  in  all 
that  is  true,  holy,  and  beautiful. 

2.  The  greatness  of  the  Fall.  Man*» 
greatness  made  his  fall  the  more  disas- 
trous and  terrible.  The  fall  of  man 
was  not  as  the  wreck  of  some  small 
boat  which  is  quickly  destroyed  and  lost 
sight  of,  but  as  the  wreck  of  a  great  and 
majestic  vessel, — so  great  that  even  now 
the  vast  ocean  is  strewed  with  its  shat- 
tered fragments.  A  once  glorious  angel 
fell  from  his  high  position,  and  with 
him  multitudes  of  high  and  holy  ones 
rebelled,  and  lost  their  purity,  their 
happiness,  their  God ;  and  now  the 
world  is  led  captive  at  his  will.  Man, 
who  was  Ti\2id^  only  "  a  little  lower  than 
the  angels,"  fell  from  his  God-given 
sphere,  and  with  him  fell  all  the  race, 
and  the  power  which  should  have  been 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  LXXXIX. 


exercised  for  the  true  and  good  is  ar- 
rayed in  antagonism  against  them.  And, 
when  all  the  powers  of  man's  being  are 
thus  exercised  for  evil,  who  can  measure 
the  extent  and  enormity  of  their  evil- 
doing  ?  St.  Paul  has  graphically  de- 
picted the  enormities  wrought  by  the 
mighty  but  sadly  perverted  powers  of 
man  (Rom.  iii.  13-18).  Man's  greatness 
has  aggravated  the  terribje  character  of 
his  fall.  His  mind  is  mighty  to  devise 
evil,  and  his  arm  to  execute  it.  And 
this  tiate  of  things  is  not  partial  but 
race- wide  (Rom.  iii.  10-12).  Wherever 
upon  earth  you  find  man  you  find  sin, 
and  wherever  you  find  sin  you  find 
misery  and  death  (Rom.  v.  12).  We 
may  picture  man  as  a  once  splendid 
temple  now  lying  in  ruins.  Who  shall 
restore  him  ?  shall  education  ?  shall 
science'?  shall  schemes  of  social  re-or- 
ganisation? shall  systems  of  political 
economy  ?  These  have  been  tried  and 
found  lamentably  deficient.  None  but 
God  can  restore  man.  Rejoice,  for  God 
hath  "laid  help  upon  One  that  is 
mighty,"  <fec. 

II.  Christ's  great  power  as  a 
Saviour.  "  I  have  laid  help  upon  One 
that  is  mighty,''  &c.     Notice — 

1.  Christ'' s  identification  with  huma- 
nity. *'  Chosen  out  of  the  people  " — one 
of  ourselves.  Christ  was  a  true  man, 
although  not  a  mere  man.  **  God  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh."  "  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself." 
While  bowing  reverently  before  His 
Godhood,  we  remember  gratefully  His 
manhood.  As  a  man  we  see  in  Him  our 
Example.  "  Learn  of  Me,"  He  saith  to 
us.  (1  Pet.  ii.  21).  Our  sympathetic 
Friend  andi  Brother.  (Heb.  ii.  11,  H-IS; 
iv.  15,  16). 

2.  Christ*s  exaltation  above  humanity. 
"I  have  exalted  One."  Mention  the 
spiritual  exaltation  of  the  whole  earthly 


life  of  Christ.  Even  while  His  feet 
trod  this  earth  He  was  "  the  Son  of  man 
which  is  in  heaven."  There  was  the 
sublime  exaltation  of  the  cross.  In 
that  voluntary  self-sacrifice  we  have  the 
most  glorious  manifestation  of  the  God- 
like in  human  life  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  But  the  exaltation  referred 
to  in  the  Messianic  application  of  the 
text  is  probably  that  of  His  resurrection^ 
and  His  ascension  to  heaven.  In  His 
resurrection  we  have  Divine  honour 
conferred  upon  Him,  and  the  attestation 
of  His  Messianic  claims.  In  His  ascen- 
sion He  resumed  the  glory  which  He  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  and 
also  entered  upon  the  glories  of  Mediator. 
*'  For  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him," 
&c.  (Heb.  xii.  2  ;  Phil.  ii.  8-12). 

3.  Christ's  power  to  save  humanity, 
"  I  have  laid  help  upon  One  that  is 
mighty."  Because  Jesus  was  "chosen 
out  of  the  people "  He  possesses  that 
sympathy  with  us  which  is  requisite  to 
render  His  help  eflScient,  and  to  assure 
us  that  it  will  be  imparted.  And  the 
exaltation  of  His  miracles,  resurrection, 
and  ascension  declare  Him  to  be  "  the 
Son  of  God  with  power"  to  save  man. 
His  manhood  is  evidence  of  His  willing- 
ness to  save  man ;  His  Godhood  is 
evidence  of  His  power  to  save  man. 
"  The  Son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth 
to  forgive  sins."  He  is  "  mighty  to  save." 
"  He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  utter- 
most that  come  unto  God  by  Him,"  &c. 

Conclusion. — 1.  If  you  have  availed 
yourself  of  the  help  of  the  Mighty  One, 
cleave  to  Him  until  you  are  entirely 
freed  from  sin,  and  all  your  being  is 
holy  to  the  Lord.  2.  If  you  have  not 
availed  yourself  of  the  help  of  the  great 
Redeemer,  do  so  at  once.  He  waits  to 
save  you.  Trust  His  almighty  power 
and  infinite  love,  and  so  rise  to  holiness 
and  God. 


The  Covenant  of  God  and  the  Sins  of  Men. 

{Verses  29-37.) 

May  the  covenant  of  God  be  made      transgression  ?     May  man  frustrate  the 
of  none  effect  by  the  sin  of  man  ?    Shall      purpose    of    God  %      This    question    is 
God's   covenant   with    David   and    his      answered  in  the  paragraph  before  us. 
teed   be   nullified  by   reason   of   their         I.  The  sins  of  men  are  opposed  to 

21 


PSALM  LXXXIX. 


EOMJLETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


the  covenant  of  God.  All  the  arrange- 
ments of  God  are  utterly  opposed  to  sin. 
1.  His  laws  are  against  it.  The  laws  of 
the  material  universe  are  against  it. 
"  Whoso  breaketh  an  hedge  a  serpent 
shall  bite  him."  God  has  annexed  in- 
evitable and  stern  penalties  to  every 
breach  of  His  laws  in  the  material 
realm.  The  laws  of  the  moral  universe 
are  all  against  sin.  On  all  the  dreary 
region  of  evil  the  Divine  "  Thou  shalt 
not"  is  inscribed  in  letters  of  flame. 
And  on  all  the  sunny  realm  of 
righteousness  the  Divine  '* Thou  shalt" 
is  clearly  written.  2.  His  judgments 
are  against  it.  Think  of  the  stern 
judgments  recorded  in  the  Bible  which 
were  inflicted  by  reason  of  sin :  the 
expulsion  of  our  first  parents  from 
Eden,  the  deluge  in  the  days  of  Noah, 
the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
by  fire,  the  plague  of  the  fiery  flying 
serpents  in  the  wilderness,  the  terrible 
overthrow  of  Jerusalem.  3.  His  re- 
demption is  against  it,  "  For  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested 
that  He  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil."  "  He  appeared  to  put  away  sin 
by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself."  His  great 
mission  is  *'  to  save  sinners."  The 
covenant  of  God  has  no  complicity  with 
evil.  The  goodness  and  mercy  of  God 
are  an  encouragement  to  penitence,  but 
they  are  hostile  to  sin.  God  regards 
sin  with  unutterable  abhorrence.  "Oh, 
do  not  this  abominable  thing  that  I 
hate."  His  ideas,  His  feelings,  His 
purposes,  His  arrangements,  His  opera- 
tions, are  all  against  it. 

II.  Yet  men  who  in  the  covenant 
of  God  are  richly  blessed  may  sin 
grievously  against  Him.  "  If  his  chil- 
dren forsake  My  law,  and  walk  not  in 
My  judgments;  if  they  break  My  sta- 
tutes, and  keep  not  My  commandments." 
Here  are  sins  of  commission.  **  If  his 
children  forsake  My  law,  ...  if  they 
break,"  or  profane,  "  My  statutes." 
Here  are  sins  of  omission.  "  Walk  not 
in  My  judgments,  keep  not  My  com- 
mandments." These  sins  may  be  com- 
mitted by  men  who  are  enjoying  many 
blessings  of  the  Divine  covenant. 

1.  Such  was  the  case  with  tlie  Jews. 
Ancient  Israel  sadly  forsook  God  and 
22 


wickedly  rebelled  against  Him.  Some 
members  even  of  the  seed  of  David 
sinned  grievously  against  Him. 

2.  Such  is  the  case  with  many  who  are 
in  the  enjoyment  of  Gospel  privileges. 
What  multitudes  in  this  land  of  religious 
light  and  liberty  and  abounding  spiritual 
privileges,  are  living  in  utter  disregard 
of  the  Will  of  God  I 

3.  Such  is  the  case  even  with  true 
Christians.  Even  after  we  have  tasted 
that  God  is  gracious,  we  may  sadly  sin 
against  Him.  Nay,  who  is  there  of  us 
that  is  not  sensible  of  frequent  sins  both 
of  omission  and  commission,  and  especi- 
ally of  the  former  1,  "  Sins  of  commis- 
sion may  not,  perhaps,  shock  the  retro- 
spect of  conscience.  Large  and  obtru- 
sive to  view,  we  have  confessed,  mourned, 
repented  of  them.  Sins  of  omission,  so 
veiled  amidst  our  hourly  emotions — 
blent,  confused,  unseen  in  the  conven- 
tional routine  of  existence ; — alas  !  could 
these  suddenly  emerge  from  their  shadow, 
group  together  in  serried  mass  and 
accusing  order,  would  not  the  best  of  us 
then  start  in  dismay,  and  would  not  the 
proudest  humble  himself  at  the  throne 
of  mercy  ?"  The  fact  that  even  good 
men  may  and  do  thus  sin  against  God — 

(1.)  Reveals  man*s  moral  freedom. 
Saint  and  sinner  are  alike  morally  free. 
God  will  not  compel  anyone  to  obey  Him. 

(2.)  The  importance  of  watchfulness. 
"  Watch  and  pray  that  ye  enter  not 
into  temptation." 

(3.)  The  necessity  of  trust  in  God. 
"  Hold  up  my  goings  in  Thy  paths,  that 
my  footsteps  slip  not."  "  Hold  Thou 
me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe." 

III.  The  sins  of  men  will  be  pun- 
ished by  God.  "  I  will  visit  their  trans- 
gression with  the  rod  and  their  iniquity 
with  stripes."  If  the  people  of  God 
sin  against  Him,  they  will  be  most 
surely  punished  by  Him. 

1.  27ie  rod  is  used  for  their  correction  f 
not  for  their  destruction.  God  some- 
times inflicts  upon  His  people  pain  of 
body,  or  losses  in  business,  or  family 
afflictions,  or  distressing  bereavements, 
as  a  chastisement  for  their  sins.  He 
would  thereby  impress  them  with  the 
heinousness  of  evil,  that  they  may  feai 
to  sin.    The  Divine  hatred  of  evil  is  too 


BOM  I  LET  10  OOMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  LXSXtX. 


intense  for  gin  to  go  unpunished.  God's 
love  of  His  people  is  too  great  for  Him 
to  allow  them  to  sin  and  not  chastise 
them  for  it.  He  visits  them  with  the 
rod  of  correction  that  He  may  reclaim 
them  from  their  evil  ways,  and  establish 
their  goings  in  holiness. 

2.  The  correction  is  administered  hy 
God.  "  I  will  visit  their  transgressions," 
&c.  "  Visitation  implies  oversight  and 
paternal  care.  The  metaphor  is  taken 
from  those  who  undertake  to  watch 
over  the  sick,  or  train  up  children,  or 
tend  sheep."  God,  who  is  wise  and 
gracious,  bears  the  rod  and  inflicts  the 
chastisement ;  we  may,  therefore,  rest 
assured  that  He  will  inflict  that  only 
which  is  for  our  good. 

IV.  The  sins  of  men  cannot  frus- 
trate the  covenant  of  God.  *'  Never- 
theless My  lovingkindness  will  I  not 
utterly  take  from  him,'*  &c.,  verses 
33-37.  Human  sin  cannot  defeat  the 
Divine  purposes.    This  is  evident,  for — 

1.  liiey  are  the  purposes  of  an  omni- 
scient Being.  No  circumstance  can  arise 
to  disarrange  them  which  has  not  been 
foreseen  and  provided  for  by  Him.  His 
plans  are  formed  with  a  perfect  know- 
ledge of  all  events  in  all  worlds  and  in 
all  ages. 

2.  They  are  the  purposes  of  an  omni- 
potent Being,  Man's  purposes  may  be 
defeated,  or  he  may  fail  to  carry  them 
out  for  want  of  power,  but  God  is 
almighty.  He  can  subdue  all  opposition. 
He  can  accomplish  all  that  He  may  please. 
"  With  God  all  things  are  possible." 

3.  They  are  the  i^urposes  of  an  imviu- 
tdble  Being.  In  Himself  He  is  un- 
changeable. Man  varies,  as  life  advances, 
and  he  grows  in  knowledge  and  wisdom 
and  holiness;  his  views  of  things  often 
change,  and  he  may  alter  his  plans  or 
his  methods  of  action.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  God.  His  purposes  are  eternal 
and  immutable,  and  He,  being  immu- 
table, omnipotent,  and  omniscient,  we 
may  justly  conclude  that  His  covenant 
arrangements  cannot  be  made  void  by 
man's  sin.  But  let  us  ascertain  the 
teaching  of  the  text  on  this  point. 
Hengstenberg's  note  on  the  37th  verse 
appears  to  us  excellent.  "  The  alleviat- 
ing limitation  is  here  first  given  in  verse 


33,  as  it  is  in  the  fundamental  passage 
in  verse  15.     The  alleviation,  however, 
is  not  to  be  misunderstood,  as  if  it  re- 
ferred  to  individuals   contrary  to   the 
nature  of  the  thing,  and  contrary  to  the 
history,  according  to  which  annihilating 
judgments  did  descend  upon  the  rebel- 
lious members  of  the  family  of  David ; 
but  the  opposition  is  of  the  punishment 
of  sin  in  the  individual,  and  of  grace 
continually   remaining   to    the  family. 
We  must  not  fail  to  notice  that  in  verse 
33  it  is  not  said  :  I  will  not  withdraw 
My  mercy  from  them,  the  sinners,  but 
from  him,  the  family  as  such.      Now 
that  the  kingdom  has  passed  from  the 
sinful  to  the  holy  seed  of  David,  the 
direct  application  of  this  paragraph  has 
ceased.     The  case  provided  for  in  the 
promise  cannot  again  occur.     Still  there 
exists  between  Christ  and  His  Church  a 
case  analogous  to  that  between  David 
and  his  seed.     As  David's  family  was 
chosen  in  him  (Comp.  1  Kings  xi.  36  ; 
2   Kings  viii.  19  ;  Isa.  xxxvii.  35),  so 
that  it  always  remained  in  possession  of 
the  favour  of  God,  notwithstanding  the 
fall  and  rejection  of  many  of  its  indivi- 
dual members,  in  like  manner  the  Church 
is  chosen  in  Christ,  and  the  sins  of  its 
members  may  hurt  themselves  but  cannot 
injure  it     Notwithstanding  the  fall  of 
a  whole  generation,  it  always  flourishes 
again  ;  and  under  the  most  inexorable 
judgments  which   are  not  removed  by 
the  appearance  of  Christ,  but  rendered 
more    severe,    compassionate    grace    is 
always  concealed."    Individual  members 
of  David's  family  transgressed,  and  were 
visited  with  the  rod,  but  the  mercy  was 
not  removed  from  the  family.     Indivi- 
dual Christians  may  fall  into  sin  and 
forsake  God  and  be  visited  with  stripes, 
but  "  the  new  covenant "  shall  not  fail ; 
the    kingdom    of    Christ    shall    flourish 
and  increase.     Man's  sin  shall  not  frus- 
trate  God's  purposes.      "  If,"  saith  the 
Lord,  "  they  profane  My  statutes,  never- 
theless My  covenant  will  I  not  profane." 
Two  things  more  remain  to  be  noticed. 
1.  God  is  again  represented  as  declaring 
the  stability  and  perpetuity  of  the  cove- 
nant.     The  sun  and    moon   are  stable, 
orderly.     Generations  of  men  come  and 
go,   but   they  remain.      Incessant  and 

23 


PSALM  LXXXIZ. 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


Bometimes  great  changes  take  place 
upon  earth,  but  the  ordinances  of  heaven 
remain  unchanged,  the  sun  and  moon 
are  the  same.  So  tbey  are  used  as 
symbols  of  the  unchangeable  and  perma- 
nent. And  so  the  covenant  of  God  is 
immutable  and  eternal.  (See  remarks 
on  verses  1-4.)  2.  The  solemn  declara- 
tion of  the  jieiyetuity  of  the  covenant. 
"  One  thing  have  I  sworn  by  My  holi- 
ness, that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David." 
God,  as  it  were,  pledges  His  own  holi- 
ness for  the  fulfilment  of  the  word  which 
He  spake  unto  David.  That  attribute 
which  seems  most  precious  to  Him  He 
here  stakes  on'  the  fulfilment  of  His 
promise  to  them.  This  one  thing,  that 
He  will  keep  His  word  to  His  servant 


David,  He  thus  solemnly  asseverates. 
"  He  abideth  faithful :  He  cannot  deny 
Himself.'* 

Conclusion.  — Our  subject  urges, 
1.  Confidence  as  to  God's  covenant. 
Neither  tlie  unfaithfulness  and  sin  of 
man,  nor  the  malice  and  rage  of  hell, 
can  frustrate  the  glorious  purposes  of 
God.  2.  Caution  as  to  our  conduct, 
"  If  his  children  forsake  My  law,"  <fec. 
Though  "  you  cannot  break  God's  cove- 
nant you  may  violate  your  own  interest 
therein."  "  Take  heed  lest  there  be  in 
any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief, 
in  departing  from  the  living  God." 
*'  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption.'' 


Lamentation  and  Expostulation  by  Reason  of  the  Apparent 
Failure  of  the  Covenant  of  God. 

(Fers^s  38-51.) 


Confident  proclamation  of  the  firm- 
ness of  the  covenant  is  here  succeeded 
by  bitter  lamentation  of  its  seeming 
failure,  and  upon  the  lamentation 
an  earnest  expostulation  with  Gpd  is 
founded.     Consider, 

I.  The  lamentation.  The  general 
complaint  of  the  Psalmist  is  that  the 
covenant  has  failed.  "  Thou  hast  made 
void  the  covenant  of  Thy  servant."  In 
his  complaint  the  Psalmist  mentions 
several  particulars  in  which  it  seemed 
to  be  failing,  or  to  have  already  failed. 
Let  uS  briefly  glance  at  them  : — 

1.  The  king  teas  dethroned.  "  Thou 
hast  profaned  his  crown  to  the  ground ; 
,  .  .  and  cast  his  throne  down  to  the 
ground."  Complaints  like  these  show 
that,  if  the  king  was  not  actually  de- 
throned, his  sovereignty  was  mutilated, 
his  throne  tottering  to  its  fall.  The 
crown,  which  had  always  been  regarded 
as  sacred,  the  poet  represents  as  having 
been  treated  as  though  it  were  an  un- 
clean or  despised  thing  to  be  contemp- 
tuously cast  to  the  ground.  And  the 
kingdom  had  come,  or  was  speedily 
and  painfully  coming,  to  a  ruinous 
end. 

2.  l^heir   defences     were     destroyed. 
•*Thou  hast  broken  down  all  his  hedges; 

24 


Thou  hast  brought  his  strongholds  to 
ruin."  In  the  former  clause  the  king 
and  people  are  compared  to  a  vineyard, 
the  fences  of  which  were  thrown  down, 
and  which  was  open  to  the  ravages  of 
wild  beasts  and  to  the  depredations  of 
every  intrusive  passer-by.  In  the  latter 
clause,  they  are  compared  to  a  city 
whose  fortifications  were  destroyed.  The 
idea  is,  that  they  were  left  defenceless 
and  helpless,  and  were  completely  power- 
less before  their  enemies. 

3.  They  were  made  the  prey  and 
reproach  of  their  neighbours.  "All  that 
pass  by  the  way  spoil  him ;  he  is  a 
reproach  to  his  neighbours."  By  the 
'*  passers-by,"  the  Psalmist  probably 
meant  *'the  nations  of  the  Asiatic  kings 
who  visited  Judah  in  marching  through 
against  the  king  of  Egypt ; "  and  by 
"  the  *  neighbours,'  the  surrounding 
nations  who,  on  a  former  occasion,  ap- 
proached David  and  Solomon  with 
reverence  and  paid  tribute  (com p.  2 
Sam.  viii.  2  ;  1  Kings  v.  1).  Now 
they  despise  the  anointed  of  the  Lord 
in  his  disgracefully  degraded  condition 
(comp.  Psa.  Ixxx.  6  ;  Ixxxviii.  8)." 

4.  They  were  defeated  in  battle  and 
their  enemies  exulted  over  them.  "  Thou 
hast  set  up  the  right  hand  of  his  ad- 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  LXXXIZ. 


versaries,"  &c,  (vers.  42,  43.)  Their 
Bword  seemed  to  have  lost  its  ancient 
sharpness,  as  though  its  edge  were 
turned.  Their  weapons  failed  them  in 
the  day  of  battle.  And,  which  was  much 
worse,  their  spirit  failed  them  in  the 
day  of  battle.  They  did  *'  not  stand  in 
the  battle."  A  courageous  spirit  will 
achieve  victories  even  with  a  blunt 
sword;  but  a  coward  spirit  will  "not 
stand  in  the  battle  "  even  though  his 
weapons  be  of  the  finest.  They  had 
been  driven  before  their  enemies  like 
craven-hearted  weaklings  ;  while  those 
enemies  had  by  their  victories  over 
them  increased  and  made  firmer  their 
own  power,  and  exulted  proudly  in  their 
triumphs.  '*0  Lord,  what  shall  I  say, 
when  Israel  turneth  their  backs  before 
their  enemies  % " 

6.  Theii-  vigour  and  glory  had  ceased. 
"The  days  of  his  youth  hast  Thou  short- 
ened." Youth  is  the  season  of  strength. 
Old  age  is  marked  by  feebleness  and 
decay.  So  the  period  of  their  pros- 
perity and  power  had  been  brought  to  an 
unexpected  and  early  close.  Premature 
old  age  had  come  upon  them.  Troubles, 
calamities,  reverses,  and,  above  all,  their 
sins,  had  cut  off  their  youthful  successes 
and  triumphs,  and  left  them  weak  and 
decrepit.  Their  glory  had  ceased  ;  they 
were  covered  with  shame.  The  glory  of 
their  sovereign  was  gone ;  their  splendour 
and  might  as  a  nation  had  passed  away  ; 
their  circumstances  and  condition  were 
such  as  put  them  to  shame.  If  the 
Poet  and  the  people  contrasted  their 
present  state  with  their  state  under 
David,  and  yet  more  under  Solomon, 
they  must  have  bitterly  felt  the  change, 
and  may  well  have  bitterly  bewailed  it. 
What  a  dilFerence  there  was  between 
the  then  and  the  now  /  and  all  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  now. 

6.  They  attributed  their  sad  condition 
entirely  to  their  angry  rejection  by  God. 
*'  Thou  hast  cast  off  and  abhorred,  Thou 
hast  been  wroth  with  Thine  anointed." 
They  attribute  all  their  calamities  to 
Him.  He  had  wrought  all  their  evils. 
In  His  anger  He  had  rejected  both  the 
king  and  the  people,  as  if  they  had  been 
regarded  by  Him  with  contempt  or 
loathing.     Now,  is  this  feature  of  the 


lamentation  true  and  right  1  It  is  true 
that  their  calamities  came  not  without 
the  permission  of  God.  He  had  with- 
drawn His  protection  from  them,  or 
their  enemies  would  have  been  power- 
less against  them,  and  their  own  power 
and  glory  would  have  remained  unim- 
paired. So  far,  at  least,  the  Psalmist  is 
right.  But  why  did  God  withdraw  His 
protection  from  them  ?  Was  it  not  be- 
cause they  had  "  forsaken  His  law  and 
walked  not  in  His  judgments,  had  pro- 
faned His  statutes,  and  kept  not  His 
commandments  ?  "  Their  calamities 
were  the  natural  result  of  their  crimes. 
They  had  sown  the  seed  of  sin,  and 
were  reaping  a  harvest  of  shame  and 
suffering.  Yet  in  their  complaint  there 
is  no  confession.  They  bewail  their 
sufferings,  not  their  sins.  Herein  they 
were  wrong.  Their  sins  had  landed 
them  in  their  present  miseries.  And, 
in  complaining  to  God,  they  should  have 
humbly  confessed  and  repented  of  their 
sins.  As  it  is,  there  is  too  much  reason 
for  the  remark  ;  "  The  complainings  of 
the  saints  are  so  exaggerated,  that 
carnal  feeling  makes  itself  more  apparent 
in  them  than  faith."  Is  there  not  a 
lesson  here  for  Christian  believers  and 
churches  ?  Are  there  not  churches  to- 
day in  a  reduced,  feeble,  inglorious  con- 
dition, which  are  bewailing  their  de- 
pressed state,  as  though  it  were  entirely 
of  the  Lord's  doing  1  Let  such  churches 
search  for  the  sins,  of  omission  or  com- 
mission, which  is  the  root  of  their 
failure  and  misery.  Let  them  put  forth 
every  accursed  thing  from  amongst  them, 
and  God  will  invigorate  them  with 
power,  enrich  them  with  success,  and 
crown  them  with  honour ;  and  if  any 
Christian  finds  feebleness  and  failure 
coming  upon  him  as  an  individual,  let 
him  not  blame  God,  but  examine  his 
own  life,  and  renounce  the  secret  sin  or 
the  questionable  practice,  or  take  up  the 
neglected  duty,  which  has  caused  the 
spiritual  loss  and  decline. 

II.  The  Expostulation.  *'  How  long. 
Lord  1,  wilt  Thou  hide  Thyself  for  ever  ? 
shall  Thy  wrath  burn  like  fire?"  &c. 
In  his  expostulation  with  God  the 
Psalmist  takes  up  several  things  and 
turns  them  into  effective  pleas. 


PSALM  LXXXIZ. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


1.  The  duration  of  their  distresses, 
"How  long,  Lord  1"  This  verse  teaches — 
(1)  That  their  distresses  were  very  great. 
The  gracious  presence  of  God  was  quite 
bidden  from  them.  All  was  darkness ; 
and  His  wrath  seemed  to  be  consuming 
them.  (2)  Their  distresses  had  long  con- 
tinued. So  long  had  God's  countenance 
been  hidden  from  them,  that  the  Poet 
inquires  if  it  is  always  to  be  so.  It 
seemed  as  though  their  night  would 
never  be  succeeded  by  morning  ; 
their  winter  never  pass  into  spring. 
(3)  Their  distresses  threatened  their 
utter  extinction.  It  seemed  to  them  as 
though  God's  wrath,  like  fire,  would  burn 
on  until  they  were  utterly  consumed ; 
that  their  miseries  would  continue  until 
their  national  existence  was  clean  gone. 
But  the  main  thought  in  the  mind  of 
the  Poet  in  this  verse  seems  to  be  the 
long  duration  of  their  distresses.  For 
some  time  they  had  pressed  heavily 
upon  them.  No  sign  of  relief  for  them 
could  they  discover  anywhere. 

2.  The  brevity  of  their  life.  "Re- 
member how  short  my  time  is."  The 
brevity  of  life  is  frequently  stated  in 
the  Sacred  Scriptures.  Human  life  upon 
earth  is  compared  to  a  flower,  to  grass, 
to  a  shadow,  to  "a  vapour  which  ap- 
peareth  for  a  little  time  and  then 
vanisheth  away."  The  Psalmist  here 
brings  in  the  brevity  of  life  as  an 
argument  for  the  speedy  interposition 
of  God.  If  the  distresses  were  not 
speedily  removed  life  itself  would  be 
gone.  If  the  Divine  mercy  were  to  be 
manifested,  it  must  be  manifested 
speedily,  or  it  would  be  too  late  for 
them.  Must  their  brief  life  be  all  spent 
in  misery  1  We  may  surely  derive  a  hint 
from  the  Psalmist  here.  If  life  be  so 
brief,  let  us  seek  the  favour  of  God  at 
once.  If  life  be  so  brief,  let  us  discharge 
its  duties  as  they  arise.  If  life  be  so  brief, 
let  us  improve  its  opportunities  and 
privileges  as  they  arise. 

3.  The  vanity  of  their  life.  "Where- 
fore hast  Thou  made  all  men  in  vain  f 
The  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  Psalmist 
seems  to  be,  that  if  their  distresses  were 
continued  their  life  itself  would  be  vain. 
He  seems  to  have  had  no  clear  idea  of 
a  blessed  life  beyond  death.     That  was 

26 


not  clearly  revealed  until  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  poured  a  flood  of  light  upon  it. 
And,  in  his  present  troubled  mood,  the 
Psalmist  was  not  able  to  make  the  most 
of  the  light  which  he  possessed  upon  the 
subject,  and  so  the  future  appears  dark 
and  cheerless  to  him.  In  fact,  he  writes 
as  if  he  knew  no  future ;  as  if  all  his 
hopes  were  bounded  by  the  grave.  So 
man  seems  to  him  to  have  been  made  in 
vain.  Life  seemed  altogether  shadowy, 
unreal,  worthless.  He  urges  this  char- 
acteristic of  life  as  a  reason  why  God 
should  grant  them  speedy  relief.  His 
plea  seems  to  amount  to  this  :  Consider 
how  worthless  the  life  of  man  is,  and 
relieve  its  darkness  and  vanity  by  sending 
us  prosperity,  and  by  sending  it  quickly. 

4.  The  certainty  of  death.  "Whatman 
is  he  that  liveth,  and  shall  not  see  death] 
shall  he  deliver  his  soul  from  the  hand  of 
the  grave  ?"  "  There  is  no  man  that  hath 
power  over  the  spirit  to  retain  the  spirit ; 
neither  hath  he  power  in  the  day  of 
death  ;  and  there  is  no  discharge  in  that 
war."  Death  is  no  respecter  of  persons 
or  of  characters.  The  rich  and  the  poor, 
the  distinguished  and  the  unknown,  the 
strong  and  the  weak,  the  beautiful  and 
the  deformed,  the  wise  and  the  foolish^ 
the  holy  and  the  sinful,  the  useful  and  tha 
baneful  are  alike  swept  away  by  death. 
The  argument  of  the  Psalmist  seems  to 
be  this :  As  all  men,  even  the  strongest, 
even  the  king  himself,  must  die,  deliver 
us  speedily  from  the  miseries  which  now 
oppress  us,  and  grant  us  prosperity 
before  we  pass  into  dark  Sheol. 

5.  The  lovingkindness  promised  by  God. 
"Lord,  where  are  Thy  former  loving- 
kindnesses  which  Thou  swarest  unto 
David  in  Thy  truth?"  The  former 
lovingkindnesses  are  those  which  God 
had  granted  in  earlier  and  prosperous 
times,  and  which  were  regarded  as 
pledges  of  future  mercies.  And  God 
had  promised  to  David  a  continuance 
of  these  mercies  to  his  seed.  The 
Psalmist  asks  God  :  Where  are  Thy 
promises  ?  Art  Thou  not  the  Un- 
changeable ?  Wilt  Thou  not  make  good 
that  which  Thou  hast  spoken?  Thus 
may  we  in  our  distresses  plead  the 
former  mercies  and  the  promises  of  God, 
and  we  shall  never  plead  them  in  vaiiu 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


rSALM  LXZXIX. 


What  God  has  done,  He  will  do  again. 
What  He  has  promised,  He  will  perform. 
6.   The   re'proaches    which  fell    upon 
them.     "  Remember,  Lord,  the  reproach 
of   Thy  servants,"  <fec.    (vers.   50,  51). 
Their  enemies  mocked  them  because  of 
their  sore  distresses  ;  and  they  pray  God 
to  end  their  distresses,  and  so  remove 
their   reproach.      The    Psalmist    pleads 
powerfully  in  these  two  verses.     They 
were    His    ^^ servants"     who    were    re- 
proached,   and    they   were    reproached 
for   trusting    and   serving    Him  ;    and 
would    He  not  roll   back  the  reproach 
from  them  ?     This  reproach  was  a  great 
sorrow  to  the  Psalmist,  and  to  all  who 
were  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  the 
people  and  the  honour  of   God.     The 
reproach  of  all  the  people,  their  troubles, 
their   complaints,   the    scoffs    of    their 
enemies,  all  pressed  upon  the  heart  of 
the    Psalmist    as    a    burden    of    deep 
grief.     Should  he  feel  these  things  so 
deeply,  and  would  God  be  unmindful  of 
them  I      Would   not   God   remove   the 
reproaches,  and  so  relieve  the  heart  of 
His    servant  %      The   reproaches    came 
from   the   *^ enemies"   of   God.      They 
were  not  only  foes  and  mockers  of  the 
covenant  people,  they  were  enemies  of 
the  covenant  God,  would   He   not   re- 
member and  silence   them  1     They  re- 
proached   the     "  anointed "     of     God. 
"  They   have   reproached   the  footsteps 
of  Thine  anointed."     They,  as  it  were, 
followed   the    king,    and   wherever   he 
went   and    whatever   he    did    they   re- 
proached him.     Would  the  Most  High 
allow  His  enemies  thus   to  deride  the 
anointed  king  of  His  own  people  ?    Thus 
the   Psalmist   amidst   the  national  dis- 
tresses, when  the   covenant  seemed  on 
the  very  eve  of  utter  failure,  pleads  with 


God  for  His  saving  interposition.  His 
pleading  is  not  perfect.  As  we  have 
already  indicated,  there  is  no  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  their  distresses 
arose  from  their  sins;  there  is  no  con- 
fession of  the  gross  violation  of  the 
covenant  on  the  part  of  the  people.  It 
was  their  sufferings  and  not  their  sins 
that  they  bewailed  before  God.  Yet  we 
may  learn  some  useful  lessons  from  the 
pleadings  of  the  Psalmist.  In  present 
distresses  we  shall  do  well  to  plead  (1) 
Our  weakness  and  the  shortness  of  our 
life.  God  is  strong  and  merciful,  and  will 
help  and  pity  us.  (2)  We  should  take  en- 
couragement from  and  plead  God^s  former 
mercies.  He  is  unchangeable.  Past 
deliverances  are  reasons  for  hope  and 
confidence  in  present  distresses.  (3) 
We  should  plead  His  faithfulness.  By 
relying  upon  His  word  we  honour  Him. 
(4)  We  should  plead  our  relation  to 
Him.  We  are  His  servants.  His 
enemies  are  also  ours.  Will  He  not 
protect  and  save  His  own  1 

Conclusion. — 1.  Learn  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  sin.  It  was  sin  that  had 
profaned  the  crown  to  the  ground,  <kc. 
Let  suffering  deter  from  sin.  2.  Learn 
not  to  judge  hy  appearances.  "  Things 
are  not  what  they  seem."  The  covenant 
seemed  to  be  utterly  failing,  yet  God 
was  all  the  time  fulfilling  it,  carrying  it 
forward  to  deeper,  diviner,  more  glorious 
issues  than  the  people  imagined  when 
this  Psalm  was  written.  God's  word 
cannot  fail.  His  promises  cannot  be 
broken.  He  may  fulfil  them  in  ways 
unexpected  by  and  strange  to  us ;  but 
He  will  fulfil  them  gloriously.  Christ 
and  His  seed  shall  be  eternally  blessed. 
*'  His  seed  shall  endure  for  ever,  and 
His  throne  as  the  sun  before  Me." 


The  Vanity  of  Man  apart  from  his  Immortality. 


(Verse 
I  purpose  to  show  that,  considered 
merely  in  this  present  state,  apart  from 
any  reference  to  eternity  and  the  pros- 
pect disclosed  by  revelation,  man  is 
made  in  vain. 

I.  The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  in 
such  a  survey  of  our  being  is  the  short- 
ness of  its  duration.     "  Remember  how 


47.) 

short  my  time  is."  The  transient 
nature  of  his  existence  stamps  an  inex- 
pressible meanness  on  man,  if  we  con- 
fine our  view  to  the  present  life ;  and 
forces  us  to  confess  that,  laying  aside 
the  hope  of  immortality,  "  Every  man 
at  his  best  estate  is  altogether  vanity." 
II.  ThQ   s^me   reflection  must  hava 

27 


PBALH  LXXXIX. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


occurred  to  most  persons  of  a  thought- 
ful character,  when  they  have  contem- 
plated the  general  state  of  that  world 
in  which  we  are  placed  :  the  mischief 
and  misery  that  pervade  it;  the  disorder 
and  desolation  which  the  unruly  pas- 
sions of  men  perpetually  introduce  ;  the 
wantonness  with  which  they  rush  to 
deeds  of  violence  and  injustice;  the 
almost  incessant  national  contentions,  in 
which  the  destruction  of  one  part  of  the 
human  race  seems  to  become  the  busi- 
ness and  sport  of  the  other.  .  .  .  Viewed, 
therefore,  merely  as  they  are  here,  and  ex- 
cluding the  supposition  of  a  future  state, 
all  men  will  appear  to  be  made  in  vain. 

IIL  When  we  recollect  how  many 
thousands  of  our  species  are  born  the 
subjects  of  some  inherent,  incurable 
disease,  or  imperfection  of  body,  such 
as  may  be  said  to  render  their  life  a  pro- 
tracted malady, — when  we  call  to  mind 
how  many  are  constitutionally  the 
victims  of  dejected  spirits  and  a  morbid 
melancholy,  such  as  cast  a  gloom  over 
every  surrounding  object,  and  dim  their 
perceptions  to  the  fairest  scenes  of  life 
and  nature,  we  are  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge, of  the  multitude  so  circum- 
stanced, that — if  we  consider  them 
merely  as  existing  in  that  hypothetical 
state  which  terminates  with  death — they 
also  are  made  in  vain. 

IV.  When  we  take  into  the  account 
those  millions  of  mankind  who  are  con- 
demned, through  the  whole  of  life,  to 
manual  and  mechanical  labours; 
whose  day  after  day  is  consumed  in  a 
constant  round  of  the  same  unvaried 
employment,  .  .  .  who  that  limits  his 
view  of  man  to  this  sublunary  scene  can 
forbear  to  sympathise  with  the  despond- 
ing Psalmist  in  the  text  ?  In  labours 
like  these  millions  of  beings  are  em- 
ployed, who  are  created  with  a  mind 
capable  of  looking  backward  and  for- 
ward with  endless  activity  of  thought, 
capable  of  comprehending  truth  and 
advancing  in  knowledge,  capable  of 
enjoying  a  happiness  commensurate  with 
its  own  vast  desires.  The  inheritors 
of  such  faculties  are  employed  in  labours 
in  which  the  mind  is  altogether  passive 
and  dormant,  nor  is  any  exercise  afforded 
to  the  reason  or  the  affections, ..,»,, 
28 


Without  blaming  the  existing  organiza- 
tion of  society,  I  ask  whether,  if  men  are 
condemned  to  terminate  their  existence 
in  these  pursuits,  and  are  not  reserved 
for  another  and  higher  state  of  being, 
the  gieat  majority  of  mankind  are  not 
made  in  vain? 

V.  But  there  are  those,  it  may  be 
said,  who  do  not  fall  under  this  melan- 
choly representation ;  men  of  wealth, 
whose  circumstances  seem  to  be  formed 
by  their  will,  and  who  appropriate  what- 
ever they  desire.  Surely,  you  will  say, 
such  '*  men  of  this  world,  have  their 
portion  in  this  life ;"  surely  an  existence 
like  theirs,  even  if  we  suppose  it  con- 
fined to  earth,  apart  from  any  ulterior 
consideration,  has  a  sufficient  end  in 
itself ;  and,  though  their  existence  is 
short,  they  are  exempt  from  a  charge  of 
having  been  made  in  vain.  Now  there 
is  a  delusion  in  this  view ;  and  if  we 
examine  the  advantages  which  men  of 
wealth  possess  over  others,  we  shall  find 
that  nearly  all  the  pleasures  peculiar  to 
superfluous  opulence  are  reducible  to 
two  classes  ;  the  class  of  sensual  gratifi- 
cations and  that  of  ambitious  dis- 
tinctions, 

1.  How  little  the  gratifications  of 
sense  which  the  rich  have  at  their  com- 
mand, can  be  said  to  redeem  their  pos- 
sessors from  the  lot  of  a  vain  existence, 
will  appear  by  the  following  considera- 
tions— (1)  The  pleasures  of  sense  can 
never  be  proposed  as  an  adequate  end 
of  our  creation ;  because,  in  pursuing 
them,  we  always  regard  them  as  subor- 
dinate to  something  of  superior  import- 
ance, our  regard  to  which  is  allowed  to 
be  the  just  rule  of  sensual  indulgence. 
A  wise  man  advises  a  proper  abstinence 
from  such  pleasures  for  the  sake  of 
health ;  a  good  man  for  the  sake  of 
virtue  ;  either  of  which  is  justly  regarded 
as  an  object  superior  to  that  which 
it  ought  to  regulate.  But  the  true 
end  of  existence  must  be  something 
beyond  which  nothing  can  be  proposed 
of  superior  magnitude,  &c.  (2)  The 
pleasures  of  sense  pursued  beyond  a 
certain  limit,  so  far  from  tending  to 
create  happiness,  tend  to  destroy  it,  by 
the  very  construction  of  those  organs 
which   are   the  instruments  of  sensual 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS.  psalm  lxxxix. 

enjoyment.     That  craving  after  happi-  be  denied  by  those  who  are  competent 

ness  which  every  bosom  feels,  and  the  to  estimate  them. 

satisfaction  of  which  involves  the  per-  1.  But  to  how/«i(;  are  these  pleasures 
fection  of  our  existence,  cannot  be  sup-  confined?  Not  one  person  in  a  thousand 
posed  to  attain  its  proper  object  in  any  has  either  the  abilities  or  the  opportuni- 
of  those  animal  pleasures,  of  which  the  ties  requisite  to  their  high  enjoyment; 
pursuit  (unless  kept  in  continual  check)  while  to  the  rest,  to  the  great  bulk  of 
leads  to  the  extinction  of  happiness  and  mankind,  they  are  the  hidden  treasures 
existence  itself.  (3)  The  enjoyment  of  of  a  sealed  book.  And  can  that  be  sup- 
the  senses  cannot  present  to  human  posed  the  final  object  of  our  being,  which 
beings  the  appropriate  and  distinguish-  can  be  enjoyed  but  by  a  small  proportion 
ing  end  of  their  extinction,  because  they  of  those  who  inherit  that  being? 
are  only  enjoyed  by  man  in  common  2.  Of  the  few  who  make  knowledge 
with  the  lower  animals.  That,  what-  the  aim  of  their  engagements,  none  can 
ever  it  be,  which  forms  the  true  end  of  secure  himself  from  the  intrusion  of  dis- 
human  existence,  must  be  something  turbing  passions  or  distressing  accidents, 
which  is  adapted  to  the  great  peculiari-  The  lights  of  philosophy  are  liable  to  be 
ties  of  our  nature  as  rational  and  moral  broken  by  the  waves  of  adversity  and 
beings ;  but  sensual  fruition  is  received  darkened  by  the  clouds  of  grief,  <fec. 
in  an  equal,  perhaps  a  greater,  degree,  3.  We  have  it,  on  the  testimony  of 
by  the  brutes.  ...  He  who  should  one  of  the  greatest  proficients  in  know- 
abandon  himself,  in  the  gratification  of  ledge  that  ever  appeared  among  men, 
animal  propensities,  to  the  neglect  of  that  "  increase  of  knowledge,"  far  from 
every  higher  aim,  would  be  universally  being  increase  of  happiness,  is  "  increase 
allowed  to  have  lived  "  in  vain."  of  sorrow."     Certain  is  it  that  the  mere 

2.  But  there  is  another  class  of  knowledge  of  things  is  something  ex- 
pleasures  with  the  command  of  which  tremely  different  from  the  enjoyment  of 
wealth  supplies  us — the  pleasures  of  things.  Knowledge  has  its  abode  in  the 
ambition  —  the  respect  and  homage  understanding ,  while  happiness  is  seated 
which  are  paid  to  high  station  and  in  the  heart.  Knowledge  cannot  be  sup- 
splendid  circumstances.  Now,  on  an  posed  to  constitute  that  proper  happi- 
examination  of  these  pleasures,  it  will  ness  of  man  without  which  he  is  "  made 
be   found   that    they    are    unreal    and  in  vain." 

imaginary ;  that  they  consist  of  nothing  VIL  There  yet  remains  another  and 

more  than  a  fiction  of  the  imagination  a  yet  more  elevated  order  of  men,  who 

by  which  we   may  be  said   to  identify  place  the  grand  object  of  their  being  in 

ourselves,  or  to  be  identified  by  others,  religion;  who  think  of    God,   trust  in 

with   all   those    varied   instruments    of  God,  and,  on  all  occasions,  devote  them- 

pleasure  which  affluence  commands,  by  selves  to  do  the  will  of  God,  <fec.  .  .  . 

which  we   diffuse  ourselves  as  it  were  What  shall  we  say  of  such  men  1     If  this 

over  the  whole  sphere  in  which  we  pre-  were  the  only  state  of  being  ordained 

side.  .  .  .  Men  of  wealth  are  not,  more  for    man,    they,    like    others,  would   be 

than  others,  exempt  from  the  mournful  made    in    vain.       **  Verily,    they    have 

charge  of  the  Psalmist.  cleansed  their  hearts  in  vain,"  <fec.     "  If 

VI.  Neither  can  we  exempt  from  the  in   this  life  only  they  have  hope,  they 

same  condition  men  of  knowledge,  who  are   of  all   men  most  miserable,"   most 

pass  life  in  the  cultivation  of  intellect  worthy  to  be  commiserated.  For,  accord- 

and   the   pursuit   of   truth,    an    object  ing  to  this  supposition,  they  are  the  only 

better  suited  to  the  nature,  and  better  persons  who  are  utterly  disappointed  in 

proportioned  to  the  dignity  of  man  as  a  their  object ;  the  only  persons  who  (by  a 

rational   being  than  those   before-men-  fatal  and  irreparable  mistake),  expecting 

tioned.      That  the  pleasures  of  know-  an  imaginary  happiness  in  an  imaginary 

ledge  and   intellect   are  noble   in  their  world,    lose   their   only  opportunity  of 

nature,   exquisite   in   their  degree,  and  enjoying  those  present  pleasures  of  which 

permanent  in  their  continuance,  will  not  others  avail  themBeWeB.  .  .  . 

29 


miLM  Lxxxn. 


EOMILSTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


But  that  supposition  is  not^  for  a 
moment,  to  be  believed:  these  men  are 
not  thus  deluded ;  they  are  not  thus  to 
be  disappointed ;  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive that  they  are.  The  perplexity, 
the  inconsistency,  the  palpable  absurdity 
into  which  those  are  driven  who  argue 
upon  the  non-existence  of  immortality, 
the  falsehood  of  revelation,  proves,  as  far 
as  proof  can  be  expected,  that  theirs  is  a 
false  hypothesis !  Upon  their  hypothesis, 
man  is  the  greatest  enigma  in  the 
universe  ;  that  universe  itself  is  a 
problem  not  to  be  solved :  all  is  mystery, 
confusion,  and  despair.  Bring  in  the 
light  of  revelation  and  immortality,  the 
clouds  and  thick  darkness  in  which  the 
scene  was  enveloped  disperse,  and  all  is 
clear  and  harmonious.  We  learn  at 
once  the  cause  and  the  cure  of  that 
vanity,  in  subjection  to  which  "  the 
whole  creation  groans,"  together  with 
man.  The  origin  of  our  misery  and 
death,  the  recovery  of  life  and  immor- 
tality, are  alike  brought  to  light. 

To  attain  a  share  in  this  salvation,  to 
recover  the  true  end  and  perfection  of 
our  existence^  iu  the  resemblance  and 


the  favour  of  "<Ae  only  happy  God;" 
this  is  the  great  object  of  desire  and 
pursuit  to  those  whose  eyes  are  opened 
to  their  real  situation,  and  whose  hearts 
are  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  real 
want.  And  "  remembering  how  short 
their  time  is,"  they  are  the  more  in 
earnest  that,  by  a  glorious  reverse  of 
their  naturally  ruined  state,  they  may 
prove  at  last  to  have  not  been  "  made  in 
vain." 

I  infer  the  extreme  folly  and  misery 
of  those  who  persist  in  the  neglect  of 
this  salvation,  this  immortality.  What 
must  be  our  emotion  should  we  discover, 
at  the  last  judgment,  that  we  have  lived 
in  vain;  that,  so  far  as  our  own  interest 
is  concerned,  we  have  been  made  in 
vain;  that  we  have  received  the  grace 
of  God  i7i  vain;  that,  having  neglected 
the  one  salvation,  we  are  lost,  lost  in  the 
scale  of  being ;  immortal  creatures,  lost 
to  the  great  purpose  for  which  our 
Maker  gave  us  existence/  lost  to  happi- 
ness ;  irrecoverably  and  for  ever  lost/ 
.  .  .  **  Now  is  the  accepted  time,"  <kc. — 
Robert  Hall,     Abridged, 


DOXOLOGT. 
{Verse  52.) 


This  verse,  says  Hengstenberg,  "  does 
not  at  all  belong  to  the  Psalm,  but  con- 
tains the  doxology  which  concludes  the 
third  book." 

I  God  is  blessed  in  Himself.  All 
distracting  and  distressing  elements  are 
entirely  absent  from  His  nature.  Man 
suffers  much  from  guilt,  from  uncon- 
trolled passions,  and  from  dark  forebod- 
ings. Conscience  accuses  and  condemns 
him,  evil  ]mssions  lash  his  soul  into  fury, 
the  dread  of  suffering,  and  death,  and 
hell  afflicts  him.  All  these  things  are 
utterly  alien  from  the  Divine  nature; 
while  all  those  things  which  contribute 
to  the  blessedness  of  spiritual  being  are 
found  in  Him  in  infinite  perfection. 
Truth,  holiness,  and  love  essentially  in- 
here in  Him  in  full  perfection  and  infinite 
degree.  In  terms  such  as  these  He  is 
represented  to  us  in  the  Scriptures  : — 
"  God  is  light,"  "God  is  good,"  "God 
30 


is  love,"  "  A  God  of  truth  and  without 
iniquity,  just  and  right  is  He,"  "  the  God 
of  peace,"  "  the  God  of  hope,"  &c.  Such  a 
Beingmustbe  blessed  by  virtueof  Hisown 
character.  God  is  an  infinite  ocean  of  life, 
love,  and  blessedness.  "  God  blessed  for 
ever."  "  The  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  blessed  for  evermore." 

II.  God  is  blessed  by  His  creatures. 
God  blesses  man  by  the  impartation  of 
benefits ;  man  blesses  God  by  the  ascrip- 
tion of  praise. 

1.  God  is  praised  by  His  works.  "  All 
Thy  works  shall  praise  Thee,  O  Lord.'* 
Nature  in  her  beauty  and  bounty  praises 
Him.  The  birds  and  beasts  also,  when 
unoppressed  by  man,  seem  in  many 
ways  to  praise  God.  Moreover,  as 
God's  works  answer  the  beneficent 
ends  for  which  they  were  created,  they 
speak  forth  the  praise  of  His  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodnesa 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  psalm  xo 


2.  God  U  praised  hy  His  people  upon  be  the  name  of  the  Lord."     The  godly 

earth.     They  praise  Him  for  what  He  is  soul  is  earnestli/  resolved  thus  to  bless  God. 

in    Himself ;    for    His    truth,    purity,  The  seal  of  faith  is  added  twice  to  this 

power,    mercy,    love,    spiritual    beauty.  doxology,  "  Amen  and  Amen."     '*  Here 

They  praise  Him  for  what  He  has  done,  is  a  double  Amen,"  says  Matthew  Henry, 

and  is  ever  doing   for  them   (Psa.    ciii.  "according  to  the  double  signification. 

1-12).      But   we   must   remember  that  Amen — so  it  iSy  God  is  blessed  for  ever, 

this    doxology  belongs   to  every  Psalm  Amen — he  it  so,  let  God  be  blessed  for 

of  this  third  book.     And  in  this  book  ever." 

there  are  PsaluiS  of  the  doubting  and  3.  God  is  praised  by  redeemed  men 
of  the  distressed  as  well  as  of  the  be-  and  angels  in  heaven.  By  angels  (Isa. 
lieving  and  rejoicing  ;  there  are  cries  of  vi.  1-3  ;  Rev.  vii.  11,  12).  By  the  re- 
misery  and  complaints  of  suffering  as  deemed  in  heaven  (Rev.  v.  9,  10;  viL 
well  as  songs  of  gladness  and  hymns  of  9,  10  ;  e^  al.) 

praise.     Thus  the  people  of  God  would  4.  God  is  praised  by  all  His  creatures 

praise   Him  in  the  varying  scenes  and  everywhere  (Rev.  v.  9-14). 

circumstances  of   life.     In  all  circum-  III.  God  is  blessed  for  ever.     "For 

stances  He  is  good.     Even  in  times  of  evermore."      His   worship   will  occupy 

darkness  and  distress  faith  will  enable  His  creatures  through  all  eternity.     In 

the  godly  man  to  say,  "  Blessed  be  the  heaven  all  our  work  will  be  worship, 

Lord  for  evermore."     "  The  Lord  gave,  and  all  our  life  praise,  and  all  will  be 

and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  perpetual. 


PSALM    XO. 

Introduction. 

Superscription. — **A  prayer  of  Moses  the  man  of  God. "    '*  The  Psalm  is  described  in  the  title," 

Bays  Hengstenberg,  "  as  a  prayer.  This  description  shows,  as  Amyraldus  saw,  that  the  kernel  of 
the  Psalm  is  the  second  part,  and  that  the  desigu  of  the  first  is  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  second, 
and  lay  down  a  basis  on  which  it  may  rest.     For  H^Bi^  denotes  only  prayer  in  the  proper 

sense,  supplicatory  prayer."     On  H^QJ^  as  used  here  Fuerst  says  :    *'  HyS/l  is  a  peculiar 

kind  of  song  in  the  Psalter."  Its  primary  meaning  he  gives  as  prayer.  And  on  its  use  in 
Psalm  Ixxii.  20,  he  says:  "The  first  two  books  of  the  Psalter  are  termed  in  the  subscription 
ilipSJ^   probably  because  they  contain  «MjP2)^icaiton5  for  the  most  part."     Certainly  the  word 

prayer  better  represents  the  character  of  this  Psalm  than  the  word  Psalm,  or  hymn. 

"  Of  Moses."  **  The  correctness  of  the  title  which  ascribes  the  Psalm  to  Moses,"  says  Professor 
Alexander,  **  is  confirmed  by  its  unique  simplicity  and  grandeur  ;  its  appropriateness  to  his  trials 
and  circumstances  ;  its  resemblance  to  the  law  in  urging  the  connection  between  sin  and  death; 
its  similarity  of  diction  to  the  poetical  portions  of  the  Pentateuch,  witliout  the  slightest  trace  of 
imitation  or  quotation  ;  its  marked  unlikeness  to  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  still  more  to  those 
of  later  date  ;  and  finally,  the  proved  impossibility  of  plausibly  assigning  it  to  any  other  age  or 
author."  And  Amyraldus  says  ;  **  But  as  this  ode  is  most  ancient,  so  it  bears  strong  marks  of 
the  genius  and  character  of  antiquity.  It  is  grave,  full  of  majest}''  and  authority,  adorned 
with  various  conaparisons,  splendid  with  figures,  but  tbese  rare  and  little  used,  and  for  the 
understanding  of  which  there  is  needed  extraordinary  attention  of  mind."  The  late  Dr.  James 
Hamilton  points  out  that  **it  is  one  of  the  oldest  poems  in  the  world.  Compared  with  it 
Homer  and  Pindar  are,  so  to  speak,  modern,  and  even  King  David  is  of  recent  date.  That  is  to 
say,  compared  with  this  ancient  hymn  the  other  Psalms  are  as  much  more  modern  as  Tennyson 
and  Longfellow  are  more  modern  than  Chaucer.  In  either  case  there  are  nearly  five  centuries 
between." 

'*27ie  man  of  God."  Moses  is  thus  described  also  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  1  ;  Josh.  xiv.  6  ;  and 
Kzra  iii.  2.  The  term  is  very  appropriately  applied  to  him  because  of  his  singularly  noble  char- 
acter, his  distinguished  rank,  and  the  great  part  which  he  played  in  carrying  out  the  purposes 
of  God  concerning  our  race.  **  Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house,  as  a  servant."  Luther 
points  out  that  the  words  "the  man  of  God  "  give  additional  weight  to  the  Psalm.  He  says  : 
"As  one  who  has  such  a  duty  assigned  to  him  by  God,  so  that  we  should  believe  in  him  and 
in  his  instructions  no  less  than  in  God  Himself." 

Occcunon.     It  is  impossible  to  decide  upon  what  occasion  the  Psalm  was  composed  ;  but 

31 


NALMXa 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


the  probability  is,  that  it  was  written  towards  the  close  of  the  forty  years  wandering  in  the 
wilderness.  **  It  was  written,"  says  F.  W.  Robertson,  **  evidently  in  the  wilderness,  after 
years  of  apparently  fruitless  wandering  ;  its  tone  is  that  of  deep  sadness — retrospective  ;  its 
images  are  borrowed  from  the  circumstances  of  the  pilgrimage — the  mountain  flood,  the  grass, 
the  night  watch  of  an  army  on  the  march." 
Divisions.     The  Psalm  consists  of  a  Meditation  (vers.  1-11),  and  a  Prayer  (vers.  12-17). 


Human  Frailty  and  Divine  Greatness. 


(  Verses 

In  these  verses,  the  Psalmist  brings 
before  us — 

I.  The  greatness  of  God.  "Before 
the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or 
ever  Thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and 
the  world,  even  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting  Thou  art  God." 

1.  He  existed  before  the  world.  The 
word  ^'  earth  "  is  used  by  the  Psalmist 
to  denote  our  world  as  distinguished 
from  the  heavens ;  and  the  word 
"  world  "  signifies  an  inhabited  fruitful 
land,  or  a  land  fitted  for  habitation. 
The  "  mountains  "  are  mentioned  first, 
because  of  all  created  things  they  appear 
most  ancient,  stable,  and  enduring. 
Upon  all  the  generations  that  have  ever 
trod  this  planet,  with  all  their  anxieties 
and  cares,  all  their  strifes  and  commo- 
tions, the  old  hills  have  cast  their  calm 
and  silent  shadows.  They  seem  as 
though  they  had  ever  been  where  they 
are  and  as  they  are,  and  that  they  would 
for  ever  continue  so.  They  are  most 
impressive  symbols  of  the  unchangeable 
and  the  eternal.  In  tlie  poetic  diction  of 
the  Bible  they  are  S[)oken  of  as  eternal. 
Jacob  spake  of  "  the  everlasting  hills.'* 
And  Moses,  "  of  the  ancient  mountains, 
and  of  the  lasting  hills."  And  Habak- 
kuk,  of  "  the  everlasting  mountains, 
and  the  perpetual  hills."  Yet  they  had 
a  beginning.  There  was  a  time  when 
they  were  not.  However  ancient  the 
earth  may  be,  it  has  not  been  from  ever- 
lasting. The  world  is  not  eternal.  God 
existed  before  the  mountains  were 
brought  forth,  before  the  world  was 
created. 

2.  He  created  tlie  world.  He  is  said 
by  the  Psalmist  to  have  '*  formed  the 
earth  and  the  world."  As  God's  exist- 
ence before  the  world  proclaims  the 
fact  that  it  is  not  eternal,  so  His 
creation  of  the  world  proclaims  the  fact 
that  it  is  not  the  product  of  chance. 

32 


1-6.) 

The  sublime  mountains  were  not  up- 
reared,  the  smiling  valleys  were  not  laid 
by  any  "  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms." 
"  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth."  **  He  spake,  and  it  was  done  ; 
He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 

3.  He  is  eternal,  "  From  everlasting 
to  everlasting  Thou  art,  0  God."  To 
understand  eternity  is  difficult ;  to  ex- 
plain It  is  more  difficult  ;  to  compre- 
hend it  is  impossible  to  all  except  the 
Eternal.  We  are  acquainted  with  crea- 
tures which  have  a  beginning,  live  for  a 
few  hours,  or  days,  or  months,  or  years, 
and  then  cease  to  be.  We  are  also  ac- 
quainted with  creatures  who  have  been 
called  into  existence  and  will  never  pass 
out  of  existence.  Such  are  we,  and 
probably  such  are  the  angels.  A  little 
while  ago,  and  we  were  not.  Now  we 
are  called  into  being,  and  shall  continue 
to  be  for  ever.  Our  bodies  shall  change 
and  pass  away,  our  memory  shall  cease 
from  amongst  men  upon  the  earth.  But 
we  shall  never  cease  to  be.  To  everlast- 
ing Thou  art,  0  man  1  But  God  has 
never  had  a  beginning,  and  will  never 
have  an  end.  (1)  He  is  without  begin- 
ning. '*  From  everlasting."  **  Time," 
says  Charnock,  "  began  with  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world ;  but  God,  being 
before  time,  could  have  no  beginning  in 
time.  Before  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion and  the  beginning  of  time  there 
could  be  nothing  but  eternity  ;  nothing 
but  what  was  uncreated, — that  is, 
nothing  but  what  was  without  begin- 
ning. To  be  in  time  is  to  have  a  be- 
ginning ;  to  be  before  all  time  is  never 
to  have  a  beginning,  but  always  to  be ; 
for,  as  between  the  Creator  and  crea- 
tures there  is  no  medium,  so  between 
time  and  eternity  there  is  no  medium. 
It  is  as  easily  deduced  that  He  that  was 
before  all  creatures  is  eternal,  as  He 
that  made  all  creatures  is  God.     If  He 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


riALM  xo. 


had  a  beginning,  He  must  have  it  from 
another,    or    from    Himself ;     if   from 
another,  that  from  whom  He  received 
His  being  would  be  better  than  He, — 
80  more  a  God  than   He.     He  cannot 
be  God  that  is  not  supreme  ;  he  cannot 
be  supreme  that  owes  his  being  to  the 
power  of  another.     He   would  not   be 
said  only  to  have  immortality  as  He  is 
(1  Tim.  vi.  16),  if  He  had  it  dependent 
upon  another  ;  nor  could  He  have  a  be- 
ginning from  Himself ;  if  He  had  given 
beginning    to    Himself,    then    He    was 
once   nothing ;    there  was  a  time  when 
He  was  not.     If  He  was  not,  how  could 
He  be  the  cause  of  Himself  ?'*     H*^  is 
without   beginning   of    days.       He   is 
"  from  everlasting."     (2)  He  is  without 
end.     "  To  everlasting."     **  The  reason 
that  anything  decays  is  either  its  own 
native  weakness,  or  a  superior  power  of 
something  contrary  to  it.     There  is  no 
weakness  in  the  nature  of  God  that  can 
introduce  any  corruption,   because    He 
is  infinitely  simple  without  any  mixture, 
nor  can  He  be  overpowered  by  anything 
else.     A  weaker  cannot  hurt  Him,  and 
a  stronger  than   He  there  cannot  be  ; 
Dor   can    He    be    outwitted  or  circum- 
Tented,  because  of  His  infinite  wisdom. 
As  He  received  His  being  fi  om  none,  so 
He  cannot  be  deprived  of  it  by  any  :   as 
He  doth  necessarily   exist,  so  He  doth 
necessarily   always    exist."      He   is  the 
Self-existent — the   *'  I  am."      '*  The 
Father,"    said     Christ,     "hath    life    in 
Himself."     The  idea  of  omnipotence  is 
associated  with  His  eternity  in  the  mind 
of  the  Psalmist, —  His   omnipotence  to 
guard  His  people.     Luther  says^  "  If  we 
look  at  it"  (His  eternity)  "in  a  right 
way,   it  includes   all  the    properties  of 
the  Godhead.     For,  inasmuch  as  He  is 
eternal,  it  follows  that  He  is  immortal, 
omnipotent,   blessed,   and    wise."     And 
Schleiermacher  :  "  The  eternity  of  God 
is  to  be  understood  only  as  the  omnipo- 
tent  eternity,  as   that   in   God    which 
conditionates  time  itself,  as  well  as  all 
that  is  temporal."     How  incomprehen- 
sibly great  is  God  !     When  imagination 
has   done    her   utmost  to   picture   His 
eternity,  it  has  failed  in  the  attempt. 
We  may  add  ages  to  ages,  and  multiply 
them  by  the  leaves  of  the  forest  in  "  the 

VOL.  II.  :^f 


leafy  month  of  June,"  and  multiply  them 
again  by  the  blades  of  grass  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  again  by  the 
grains  of  sand  upon  the  seashore,  and 
again  by  the  particles  of  dust  on  the 
earth,  and  we  shall  be  as  far  as  ever  from 
the  measurement  of  the  ages  of  eternity. 
"Great  God,  how  infinite  art  Thou  !" 

n.  The  frailty  of  man.  In  the 
verses  in  which  the  Psalmist  sets  this 
forth  there  are  three  things  which  call 
for  notice — 

1.  The  extreme  brevity  of  mans  life 
upon  earth.  This  is  variously  repre- 
sented. How  short  is  human  life  in  the 
sight  of  God/  "A  thousand  years  in 
Thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when  it 
is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night." 
A  day  when  it  is  past  and  gone  appears 
to  us  but  a  very  short  time.  To  God  a 
thousand  years  are  as  brief  as  one  past 
day  is  to  us.  Nay,  to  Him  a  thousand 
years  are  as  brief  as  a  watch  in  the 
night  is  to  us.  The  Jews  divided  the 
night  into  watches,  each  watch  repre- 
senting the  time  during  which  a  sentinel 
remained  on  duty.  Among  the  ancient 
Hebrews  there  were  three  such  watches ; 
the  first,  or  "  the  V)eginning  of  the 
watches"  (Lam.  ii.  19)  ;  the  second,  or 
"the  middle  watch "  (Judg.  vii.  19); 
and  the  third,  or  "  the  morning  watch  " 
(Exod.  xiv.  24).  These  would  last 
respectively  from  sunset  to  10  p.m., 
from  10  p.m.  to  2  a.m.,  and  from  2  a.m. 
to  sunrise.  A  thousand  years  appear  to 
God  as  brief  as  a  night  watch  to  the 
Israelites.  Man  lives  not  a  thousand 
years:  '*The  days  of  our  years  are  three- 
score years  and  ten."  How  short,  then, 
must  man's  life  upon  earth  appear  to 
God  !  To  man  a  life  of  seventy  years, 
especially  when  it  is  in  prospect,  appears 
very  long.  To  God,  who  sees  all  things 
clearly  and  truly,  man's  life,  even  if  it 
should  stretch  to  a  thousand  years,  would 
appear  brief  as  a  night  watch  does  to  us. 
The  Psalmist  also  speaks  of  human  life 
as  ^^  carried  away  as  with  a  flood"  We 
have  seen  the  river  swollen  with  heavy 
rain  rushing  ra})idly  and  irresistibly 
onward  to  the  ocean.  So  the  human 
family  is  carried  away.  Generation 
after  generation  is  hurried  from  time 
into  the  vast  ocean  of  eternity  as  by  an 

33 


fSALMia 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


impetuous  and  roaring  torrent.  "  The 
man  of  God  "  goes  on  to  say  that  human 
life  is  like  "a  sleep  in  the  morning. ^^ 
Barnes  suggests  that  the  words  "  in  the 
morning "  should  be  attached  to  the 
middle  clause  of  the  verse,  and  expounds 
the  clause  thus — *'  They  are  as  sleep 
appears  to  us  in  the  morning,  when  we 
wake  from  it — rapid,  unreal,  full  of 
empty  dreams."  Martin  Luther  says : 
"We  know  that  sleep  is  such  a  thing 
that  it  ceases  ere  we  can  perceive  it  or 
mark  it ;  for,  before  we  are  aware  that 
we  have  slept,  sleep  is  gone  and  ended. 
Wherefore  truly  our  life  is  nothing  else 
than  a  sleep  and  a  dream,  for  before  we 
are  rightly  conscious  of  being  alive,  we 
cease  to  live."  There  is  much  of  un- 
reality in  human  life  upon  earth, 

"  We  are  such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  of, 
And  our  little  life  is  rounded  by  a  sleep.** 

Moses  also  compares  our  life  to  the 
"grass."  The  last  clause  in  the  fifth 
verse  is  rendered  in  the  margin — "  like 
grass  which  is  changed."  Hengsten- 
berg  translates,  "  It  vanishes  like  grass." 
Barnes — "  Like  grass,  it  passeth  away." 
The  sixth  verse  Hengstenberg  renders — 
"  In  the  morning  he  blooms  and — 
perishes ;  in  the  evening  he  is  cut  down 
and  withers."  The  idea  is  clear :  like 
the  grass  or  flower  which  in  the  morn- 
ing is  green  or  blossoming  in  beauty, 
and  in  the  evening  is  cut  down  and 
withered  by  the  sun,  is  man's  life  upon 
earth.  "As  for  man,  his  days  are  as 
grass  ;  as  a  flower  of  the  field  so  he 
flourisheth ;  for  the  wind  passeth  over 
it  and  it  is  gone,  and  the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more."  How  frail  is 
human  life,  and  how  uncertain  !  Every 
day  many  go  forth  in  the  morning  in 
apparent  health  and  vigour,  and  before 
night  they  are  cut  down  by  disease  or 
accident.  And  even  at  its  longest  our  life 
cannot  be  compared  to  the  cedar  oreven  to 
the  oak,  but  to  the  frail  grass  of  the  field. 
2.  The  mournful  end  of  man's  life  upon 
earth.  "  Thou  turnest  man  to  destruc- 
tion, and  sayest.  Return,  ye  children 
of  men."  Perowne  :  *'  Thou  turnest 
frail  man  to  dust."  There  is  without 
doubt  a  reference  here  to  the  curse  pro- 
nounced upon  our  race,  "  Dust  thou  art, 
and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return."     The 

d4 


human  body  must  return  to  dust,  how- 
ever noble  or  beautiful  it  may  be.  Kings 
and  the  meanest  of  their  subjects,  mil- 
lionaires and  paupers,  the  learned  and 
the  ignorant,  the  beautiful  and  the  de- 
formed, the  saint  and  the  sinner,  must 
all  alike,  as  regards  their  bodies,  return 
to  the  earth.  Let  the  remembrance  of 
the  fact  humble  us.  Let  those  who  are 
proud  of  their  .stateliness  or  beauty  re- 
member that  in  a  little  time  they  will 
have  no  pre-eminence  over  the  most 
deformed  and  repulsive-looking  of  their 
fellow-mortals.  Let  the  rich,  who  look 
down  with  contempt  and  scorn  upon  the 
poor,  remember  that,  though  after  death 
their  bodies  may  be  carried  with  pomp 
and  laid  in  some  splendid  mausoleum, 
yet  in  this  respect  they  have  no  advan- 
tage over  those  who  are  buried  in  a 
parish  coffin  and  a  pauper's  grave — the 
bodies  of  all  alike  must  return  to  dust. 

3.  21ie  great  sovereign  of  man's  life 
upon  earth.  The  Psalmist  regards 
human  life  as  entirely  under  the  con- 
trol of  God.  "  Thou  turnest  man  to  de- 
struction," (fee.  ''  Thou  carriest  them 
away,"  <fec.  It  is  not  disease  or  chance 
that  removes  men  from  this  world.  Man 
returns  to  the  dust  not  because  of  the 
decree  of  fate,  or  the  operation  of  some 
inevitable  or  irresistible  law,  but  because 
God  wills  it.  He  has  the  keys  of  death 
and  hades.  Man's  "days  are  deter- 
mined, the  number  of  his  months  are 
with  Thee,  Thou  hast  appointed  his 
bounds  that  he  cannot  pass."  "All 
the  days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I 
wait,  till  my  change  come."  In  the 
Lord's  "  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living 
thing,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind." 
"Thou  changest  man's  countenance  and 
sendest  him  away."  The  time^  the  place, 
and  the  circumstances  of  our  death 
are  all  determined  by  God.  He  is  the 
great  sovereign  of  our  life  upon  earth. 

III.  The  relation  between  the  great 
God  and  frail  man.  *'  Lord,  Thou  hast 
been  our  dwelling-place  in  all  genera- 
tions." When  Moses  penned  this  Psalm 
the  Israelites  were  homeless  wanderers. 
Indeed,  up  to  this  time  they  never  could 
be  said  to  have  had  any  settled  home. 
Their  father  Abraham  after  his  call 
from  his  own  country  lived  a  wandering 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


FSALM  XO. 


life,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.     Isaac 
and  Jacob  also  had  no  settled  dwelling- 
Dlace,    but  dwelt   in    tents,    and    con- 
fessed   that  they  were    *' strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  the  earth."    Then  the  people 
"went   down    into    Egypt    to    sojourn 
there,"  and  it  was  not  long  before  their 
lives  were   made  miserable  by  the  op- 
pressions of  the  Egyptians.     And  after 
their   emancipation   from   Egypt   there 
followed  their   long,   tedious,   homeless, 
and  apparently  fruitless   wandering   in 
the  wilderness.      It  was  probably  this 
unsettled,  homeless    condition   that  led 
them  to  estimate  highly  the  worth  of  a 
habitation,    and    which    suggested    the 
employment   of  the   figure   in  the   first 
verse.      In    their  defenceless,   homeless 
state  God  Himself  had  been  their  home 
and    defence.     By   His    providence   He 
had   preserved   them   in   existence  as  a 
people,  had  supplied    their  wants,   and 
protected  them  from  harm.     Homeless 
wanderers    they    were,   yet    they  found 
their  home  in  God.      "Here  we  have 
no    continuing    city."      By    many    and 
earnest   voices  God  is   calling  to  us — 
"Arise  ye  and  depart,   for   this  is  not 
your  rest."     We  crave  a  dwelling-place, 
a  lasting  home,  a  permanent  rest  for  the 
soul;  but  we  cannot  find  it  here.     Here 
fairest    things    soonest    fade,    brightest 
prospects  soon  are  lost  in  darkness,  the 
most   exquisite    pleasures   are   speedily 
succeeded    by   the  most    painful  trials. 
The  home  of  the  soul  is  not  here.     The 
heart  seeks  rest  and  home  in  the  love  of 
dear  relatives   and   friends  ;   but   these 
may  fail  us  in  our  time  of  need,  or  may 
be  summoned  from  us  by  death.     The 
best  and  truest  of  relatives  or  friends 
cannot  meet  all  the  soul's  cravings  for 
protection,  and   rest,   and   home.     The 
home  of  the  soul  is  not  in  the  creature. 
The  home  of  the  soul  is  in  God. 


1.  We  are  weak,  and  rest  in  Bis  om- 
nipotence. The  difficulties  and  dangers 
which  we  encounter  on  our  pilgrimage 
overmatch  us,  but  by  the  strength  of 
the  Lord  we  are  enabled  to  surmount 
them.  The  soul  that  finds  its  home  in 
Him  is  inviolably  secure. 

2.  We  are  short-lived  and  rest  in  His 
eternity.  "  We  are  but  of  yesterday  and 
know  nothing,  because  our  days  on  the 
earth  are  as  a  shadow." 

"  Like    clouds    that    rake    the    mountain 
summits, 
Or  waves  that  own  no  curbing  hand  j  " 

80  generation  follows  generation  "into 
the  land  of  the  great  departed."  We 
are  hastening  after  the  great  multitude 
who  have  passed  from  earth  for  ever. 
Nothing  rests  here.  Here  nothing 
abides.  Change,  decay,  death  are 
stamped  upon  all  earthly  things.  Yet 
we  crave  the  permanent  and  the  immu- 
table. Oh,  for  some  rock  amid  this 
surging  sea !  Oh,  for  some  thing  or 
being  in  which  these  restless,  craving 
hearts  may  find  satisfaction  and  repose ! 
God  is  that  Being.  "Lord,  Thou  hast 
been  our  dwelling-place  in  all  genera- 
tions," &c.  He  lives  through  all  gene- 
rations. He  is  the  Sovereign  of  all 
generations.  He  is  the  same  through 
all  generations.  Here  we  find  rest. 
Our  permanent  home  is  in  Him.  He 
is  supremely,  unchangeably,  eternally 
great  and  good.  In  Him  let  us  confide. 
The  generations  that  have  passed  away 
have  gone  at  His  bidding.  He  is  the 
God  of  our  life.  Our  age,  our  time  of 
residence  here,  our  departure  from  here, 
are  all  regulated  by  Him.  And  when 
we  pass  hence  He  is  still  our  home,  our 
refuge,  and  our  rest.  Then  we  need 
not  mourn  the  brevity  of  life  or  the 
changes  of  time.  We  rest  in  the  eternal 
and  unchangeable  God. 


The  Home  op  the  Soul. 
(Verse  1.) 


I.  The  soul  of  man  needs  a  home. 
I  argue  this  from — 

1.  Our  sense  of  weariness  and  longing 
for  rest.  The  heart  often  aches  in  lone- 
liness, droops  by  reason  of  exhaustion. 


and  yearns  unspeakably  for  repose. 
Like  worn  and  weary  pilgrims  we 
long  for  rest. 

2.   Our  sense  of  peril  and  longing  for 
protection.     Like  Israel  in  the  wilder- 

35 


RALM  X& 


BOMILBTIO  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  PSA  IMS. 


ness  we  are  exposed  to  danger,  and  need 
some  strong  defence.  We  crave  the 
shelter  and  the  security  of  a  home. 

3.  Our  shrinking  from  death  and 
longing  for  immortality.  The  soul  re- 
coils from  the  idea  of  going  forth  from 
this  life  unclothed  and  alone  into  the 
unknown.  What  is  there  beyond  the 
mystery  which  we  call  death  1  Is  there 
anything  %  If  there  is,  what  is  it  that 
is  there  ?  The  mere  thought  of  ceasing 
to  be  is  painful.  We  long  deeply  for 
immortality.  In  the  awful  loneliness 
and  dread  mystery  of  death  where  shall 
we  find  a  refuge  and  a  home  1 

II.  The  soul  of  man  may  find  a 
home  in  God.  He  has  been  the  dwel- 
ling-place of  His  people  in  all  genera- 
tions. 

1.  In  Him  alone  can  the  soul  find  the 
rest  it  craves.  We  want  rest  from  the 
accusations  of  conscience  and  the  burden 
of  guilt.  He  alone  can  pardon.  The 
rest  of  satisfied  affections ;  the  rest  of 
harmony  and  progress  of  being ;   rest 


from  the  dread  of  death  ; — He  alone  can 
impart  this  full  and  blessed  rdst. 

2.  In  Him  alone  can  the  soul  find  the 
security  it  craves.  He  is  our  only  sure 
defence  against  spiritual  perils ;  and 
in  the  sorrows  and  trials  of  life  He  is 
the  only  adequate  support.  Storms  are 
sure  to  fall ;  He  only  can  shelter  us 
from  tlieir  fury.  He  can  even  bring 
strength  and  joy  to  us  out  of  our  griefs 
and  trials.  His  power,  wisdom,  and  love 
are  the  pledge  of  our  security. 

3.  In  Him  alone  can  the  soul  find  the 
permanence  it  craves.  "He  only  hath 
immortality."  The  continujuice  in  being 
and  blessedness  for  which  we  long  He, 
and  He  alone, can  impart.  "A  ["crpetuity 
of  bliss  is  bliss."  He  gives  '*  eternal 
life."  At  His  "right  hand  there  are 
pleasures  for  ever  more."  "  So  shall  we 
ever  be  with  the  Lord." 

We  enter  this  home  through  Christ. 
By  Him  we  rise  into  fellowship  and 
union  with  God.  "No  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 


God's  Absolute  Control  over  Man's  Life, 


(Verse 

We  pass  away  at  the  command  of 
Qod.  Not  chance,  not  disease,  not 
accident,  not  war,  but  "  Thou  turnest 
man  to  destruction  I "  "  Thou  carriest 
them  away  as  with  a  flood  ! "  We  are 
a  family  whose  members  are  separated 
and  summoned  away  only  by  the  word 
and  hand  of  the  great  Lord  of  the 
house.  We  regard  this  great  power  of 
God  over  us  as — 

L  A  reason  for  acknowledging  Him. 
As  His  power  over  us  is  irresistible  and 
righteous,  we  should  bow  to  His  will. 
It  is  madness  to  resist  Him.  "  Hast 
thou  an  arm  like  God?  or  canst  thou 
thunder  with  a  voice  like  Him?"  "He 
is  wise  in  heart,  and  mighty  in  strength: 
who  hath  hardened  himself  against  Him, 
and  prospered  ? "  His  rule  is  a  fact 
He  is  moving  onward  to  the  most  com- 
plete and  universal  supremacy.  Let  us 
loyally  acknowledge  Him  as  our  King 
and  our  God.  Let  us  move  in  the  line 
of  His  purposes. 

n.  A  reason  for  seeking  His  favour. 
Hia  power  over  us  being  so  absolute  it 
36 


3.) 

is  surely  our  interest  to  seek  friendship 
with  Him.  He  is  condescending  and 
gracious,  He  is  kind  and  merciful  ;  we 
may  obtain  His  favour.  He  calls  us 
to  friendship  with  Himself.  Through 
Christ  we  may  attain  unto  assured  con- 
fidence in  His  favour  and  friendship, — 
may  know  Him  not  simply  as  the  abso- 
lute Sovereign  of  our  life,  but  also  as 
our  supreme  Friend. 

m.  A  consolation  in  bereavement. 
It  is  consolatory  to  know  that  our  loved 
ones  who  have  passed  from  us  were  not 
the  victims  of  chance.  Their  departure 
was  in  all  respects  ordered  by  a  God  of 
infinite  wisdom  and  kindness.  They  left 
us  by  the  appointment  of  His  will,  which 
is  ever  good.     He  doeth  all  things  well. 

IV.  An  encouragement  to  labour. 
Do  not  fear  to  attempt  great  things  in 
life.  Let  not  the  dread  of  death  un- 
nerve your  spirit  and  paralyse  your  arm. 
You  are  immortal  till  your  work  is  done. 
Until  your  education  in  these  sublunary 
scenes  is  completed,  your  life  is  invul- 
nerable against  the  shafts  of  death. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  Xfl. 


V.  An  antidote  against  the  fear  of 
death.  If  through  Christ  we  are 
brought  into  friendship  with  God,  when 
the  body  returns  to  dust,  the  spirit 
will  pass  into  the  immediate  presence 
of  God,  To  the  good  man  death  is  the 
voice  of   the  Father  summoning  His 


child  home  to  Himself.   Why  should  we 
fear  such  a  voice  or  such  a  summons  1 

Conclusion.  Let  us  be  thankful 
that  our  times  are  in  His  hand.  Let  us 
tread  the  path  of  life  with  trustful  and 
fearless  hearts,  for  we  are  safe  in  the 
hands  of  the  eternal  God. 


Human  Frailty  the  Result  of  Human  Sin. 

{Verses  1-\\.) 


In  this  section  of  the  Psalm  Moses 
represents  the  brevity  oi  the  life  of  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  as  the  result 
of  the  Divine  anger  with  them  by  reason 
of  their  sin.  Their  apparently  fruitless 
lives  and  their  death  in  the  wilderness 
were  the  punishment  of  their  sin.  By 
reason  of  some  heinous  or  aggravated 
offence  many  were  suddenly  cut  off  by 
God.  See  Num.  xi.  31-35  ;  xvi.  41-50 ; 
xxi.  4-6.  Moreover  all  those,  from 
twenty  years  old  and  upward,  who  went 
forth  from  Egypt  were  cut  down  in  the 
wilderness  because  of  their  unbelieving 
hearts  and  murmuring  tongues,  save 
Caleb  and  Joshua.  There  they  were 
doomed  to  wander  till  the  unbelieving 
generation  had  passed  away.  Little  or 
nothing  is  recorded  of  them  from  the 
second  year  of  their  departure  from 
Egypt  until  the  fortieth  year.  The  only 
end  of  their  wanderings  during  those 
years  seems  to  have  been  the  consump- 
tion of  the  faithless  generation.  Well 
does  Mr.  Spurgeon  say  :  "  Moses  saw 
men  dying  all  around  him ;  he  lived 
among  funerals,  and  was  overwhelmed 
at  the  terrible  results  of  the  Divine  dis- 
pleasure." The  Psalm  has  "  a  solemn 
and  affecting  interest,  as  a  penitential 
confession  of  the  sins  which  had  entailed 
such  melancholy  consequences  on  the 
Hebrew  nation  ;  and  as  a  humble  depre- 
cation of  God's  wrath ;  and  as  a  funeral 
dirge  upon  those  whose  death  had  been 
pre-announced  by  the  awful  voice  of 
God."  So  far  all  is  clear.  Concerning 
those  of  whom  Moses  wrote  it  is  literally 
true  that  their  frailty  was  the  result  of 
their  sin.  They  perished  in  the  wilder- 
ness because  of  their  unbelief  and  in- 
gratitude and  rebellion.  But  is  it  true 
of  mankind  as  a  whole  that  human 


frailty  is  the  result  of  human  sin  f  Is 
death  the  penalty  of  sin?  Some  pas- 
sages of  the  Holy  Word  say,  Yes.  The 
evidence  of  geology  and  other  sciences 
says,  No.  We  firmly  believe  that  both 
are  correct.  In  what  way,  then,  and  to 
what  extent,  is  death  the  penalty  of  sin  1 
This  is  the  subject  suggested  by  this 
portion  of  the  Psalm,  and  upon  which 
we  shall  offer  some  suggestions. 

"What  is  death?"  "Death,"  says 
one,  "is  simply  another  name  for  dis- 
continuance." "Death,"  says  another, 
"  is  the  dissolution  of  the  body."  But 
the  word  is  used  to  express  quite  dis- 
tinct and  different  things.  In  the  Bible 
the  word  has  at  least  three  uses ;  in- 
deed it  has  more,  but  let  us  look  at 
these.  It  is  used  to  denote  physical 
dissolution.  (See  Gen.  xxi.  16;  xxvii. 
7,  10 ;  Deut.  xxxiii.  1 ;  and  many 
others.)  It  is  used  to  denote  the  moral 
condition  of  unrenewed  men.  (See  John 
V.  24;  Ephes.  ii.  1 ;  1  John  iii.  14; 
et  at.)  It  is  also  used  to  denote  the 
future  punishment  of  the  toicTced.  (See 
Bev.  ii.  11;  xx.  14;  xxi.  8.)  No  one 
will  dispute  that  many  of  the  passages 
which  speak  of  death  as  the  penalty  of 
sin  speak  of  spiritual  death,  not  of 
physical  dissolution.  Thus :  "In  the 
day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt 
surely  die,"  cannot  fairly  be  applied  to 
our  first  parents  in  regard  to  corporeal 
death ;  for,  according  to  the  record  in 
Genesis,  Adam  lived  for  centuries  after 
his  disobedience,  and  "begat  sons  and 
daughters."  And  if  the  words  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Romans,  "  The  w  ages  of 
sin  is  death,"  be  applied  to  physical 
dissolution,  then  saint  and  sinner  pay 
the  penalty  alike,  nay,  in  some  cases, 
the  physical  dissolution  of  the  samt  may 

37 


P8AL1I  XO. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


be  more  painful  than  that  of  thousands 
of  most  hardened  and  corrupt  sinners. 
Still  there  are  passages  of  scripture  in 
which  corporeal  death  seems  to  be  re- 
presented as  the  result  of  sin.  In  the 
punishment  pronounced  upon  Adam  for 
his  disobedience,  it  is  said,  "In  the 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread, 
till  thou  return  unto  the  ground,  for  out 
of  it  wast  thou  taken  :  for  dust  thou  art, 
and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return."  St. 
Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Romans,  says, 
*'  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin  ;  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned." 
But  here  we  may  not  limit  the  meaning 
of  death  to  physical  dissolution.  It 
signifies,  says  Alford,  "primarily,  but 
not  only,  physical  death  :  as  af^a^ria,  so 
6dvaroif  is  general,  including  the  lesser 
in  the  greater,  i.e.,  spiritual  and  eternal 
death."  (See  also  Stuart's  commentary 
in  loco.)  In  no  instance,  we  believe, 
where  the  word  death  is  used  to  express 
the  penalty  of  sin  should  its  meaning 
be  limited  to  the  dissolution  of  the 
body.  For  the  dissolution  of  the  body 
is  natural,  and  would  have  taken  place 
even  if  man  had  not  sinned.  We  con- 
clude thus — 

1.  Became  of  the  testimony  of  geology. 
"We  are  confronted,"  says  Mr.  Froude, 
"  with  evidence  that  death  has  reigned 
through  all  creation  from  the  earliest 
period,  of  which  the  stratified  rocks  pre- 
serve the  record."  The  world  had  been 
familiar  with  death  for  ages  before  the 
creation  of  man. 

2.  Because  of  the  nature  of  the  physical 
constitution  of  man.  "  Birth,  growth, 
and  arriving  at  maturity,  as  completely 
imply  decay  and  death  as  the  source 
of  a  river  implies  the  termination 
of  it,  or  as  spring  and  summer 
imply  corn-fields  and  reaping.  Hence, 
whatever  the  vigour  and  the  powers  of 
repair  that  may  pertain  to  any  given 
structure,  whatever  resistance  it  may 
offer  to  the  shocks  of  ages.  Time,  sooner 
or  later,  dissolves  it;  careful,  however, 
to  renew  whatever  it  takes  away,  and  to 
convert,  invariably,  every  end  into  a  new 
beginning.  There  is  not  a  grave  in  the 
whole  circuit  of  nature  that  is  not  at 
the  same  moment  a  cradle." 

38 


3.  Because  of  the  limited  accommoda- 
tion which  the  world  affords  as  a  home 
for  man.  "  The  command  given  both 
to  animals  and  man,  to  *  be  fruitful  and 
multiply,'  implies  the  removal  of  suc- 
cessive races  by  death ;  otherwise  the 
world  would  long  since  have  been  over- 
stocked ;  plants,  for  tlieir  part,  are 
described  as  created  '  yielding  seed,' 
which  carries  with  it  the  same  inevitable 
consequence.  The  produce  of  so  minute 
a  creature  as  a  fly  would,  if  unchecked, 
soon  darken  the  air,  and  render 
whole  regions  desolate ;  the  number  of 
seeds  ripened  by  a  single  poppy,  were 
they  all  to  grow  and  be  fruitful  in  their 
turn,  would  in  a  few  years  suffice  to 
clothe  a  continent." 

4.  Because  the  material  body  is  a 
hindrance  to  m^arCs  complete  spiritual 
freedom  and  perfection.  The  human 
body  as  it  is  in  this  world  seems  to  us 
to  imprison  and  impede  the  soul's  action 
and  growth.  We  have  faculties  which 
cannot  be  fully  developed  here  and 
under  our  present  conditions.  "  We 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan 
being  burdened,"  &c.  (See  2  Cor.  v. 
1-4.) 

For  these  and  other  reasons  which 
may  be  adduced,  we  hold  that  in  itself 
the  dissolution  of  the  body  is  not  the 
result  of  sin.  How,  then,  are  we  to 
regard  death  as  the  penalty  of  sin  ?  In 
what  way  is  human  frailty  the  result  of 
human  sin  ?  We  reply  :  in  the  suffer- 
ings with  which  death  is  associated. 

I.  Death  is  associated  with  physical 
sufferings,  and  these  are  the  result  of 
sin.  It  is  true  that  there  are  some  who 
die  without  any  physical  suffering.  But 
in  the  great  majority  of  instances  the 
death  of  man  is  a  thing  of  strange  and 
severe  suffering.  The  diseases  of  which 
men  die  are  most  of  them  very  painful, 
and  death  itself  is  a  mysterious  and  pro- 
bably a  painful  thing.  But  the  suffer- 
ings are  the  result  of  sin.  If  man  had 
not  sinned,  death  would  probably  have 
resembled  sinking  into  an  easy  and 
gentle  slumber,  and  have  been  as  sweet 
as  sleep  is  to  the  weary  ;  it  would  have 
been  that  euthanasia  to  all  men  which 
Augustus  Caesar  used  so  passionately  to 
desire,  and  which  is  predicated  of  the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


FSALM  XC. 


Christian  in  a  well-known  and  beautiful 
hymn — 

**  How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies! 
When  sinks  a  weary  soul  to  rest, 
How  mildly  beam  the  closing  eyes. 
How  gently  heaves  the  expiring  breast  I 
So  fades  a  summer  cloud  away. 
So  sinks  the  gale  when  storms  are  o'er, 
So  gently  shuts  the  eye  of  day, 
So  dies  a  wave  along  the  shore  I  '* 

— Barhauld. 

Had  it  not  been  for  sin,  the  probability 
is  that  no  one  would  have  died  from 
disease ;  dissolution  would  have  been 
entirely  freed  from  physical  sufferings, 
and  would  have  been  as  "  a  gentle  waft- 
ing to  immortal  life." 

II.  Death  is  associated  with  mental 
sufferings,  and  these  are  the  result  of 
sin.     These  sufferings  arise  from — 

1.  The  dread  of  death.  In  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  Christ  is  represented  as 
dying  to  "  deliver  them  who  through 
fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage."  We  are  travellers 
in  "  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.*' 
That  shadow  projects  itself  over  life's 
fairest  scenes.  And  the  dread  of  death 
seizes  us  sometimes  even  in  our  bright- 
est hours.  (1)  This  dread  arises  partly 
from  the  mystery  of  death.  Who  knows 
what  strange  anguish  of  body  there  may 
be  in  death  1  What  mental  sufferings 
utterly  unknown  to  us  may  await  us  in 
dying  ?  In  the  separation  of  the  soul 
from  the  body  may  there  not  be  an 
awful  sorrow  ]  Millions  have  passed 
through  this  experience  ;  but  not  one 
has  returned  to  tell  us  of  the  mysteries 
through  which  they  passed.  And  those 
that  were  raised  from  death  by  our 
Lord  uttered  no  word  as  to  its  nature. 
They  removed  none  of  the  mystery. 
Each  man  must  solve  the  mystery  for 
himself.  This  mystery  is  distressing. 
But  had  it  not  been  for  sin  it  would 
probably  not  have  existed.  Man  would 
probably  have  had  a  clear  knowledge  of 
the  nature  and  meaning  of  the  transi- 
tion. And  even  if  the  mystery  had  ex- 
isted it  would  certainly  not  have  been 
distressing,  for  man  would  have  had 
such  firm  and  large  faith  in  God  as 
would  ha\e  enabled  him  to  rise  above 
anxiety  and  fear.  (2)  This  dread  is 
partly  the  dread  of  non-existence.     Man 


shrinks  from  extinction.  The  thought 
of  passing  into  utter  nothingness,  of  not 
being,  is  full  of  pain  to  him.  But  is 
there  life  after  death  1  Is  not  death 
the  end  of  man  ?  What  is  there  but 
darkness,  oblivion,  nothingness,  beyond 
this  present  and  manifest  life  1  Who 
has  not  sympathised  with  the  aflOiicted 
patriarch  in  his  meditations  and  ques- 
tionings ?  "There  is  hope  of  a  tree  if  it 
be  cut  down,  that  it  will  sprout  again," 
(fee.  (Job  xiv.  7-14).  Is  there  anything 
after  death  but  *'  a  long,  unconscious, 
never-ending  sleep"? 

"  When  shall  spring    visit  the    mouldering 
urn  I 
Oh,  when  shall  it  dawn  on  the  night  of  the 
grave  ? " 

But  this  dread  of  non-existence  is  one  of 
the  results  of  sin.  Had  man  not  sinned 
he  would  have  known  that  death  was 
but  transition  ;  nay,  that  it  was  the 
birth  of  his  spirit  into  a  higher  state  of 
being,  (3)  This  dread  is  partly  the 
dread  of  a  miserable  existence.  The 
consciousness  of  guilt  leads  man  to 
dread  a  future  of  misery  and  endless 
woe.  The  guilty  conscience  arrays  God 
in  aspects  of  terror,  and  pictures  a 
future  of  terrible  suffering  as  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin.  But  had  man  not 
sinned,  the  future  would  have  been  to 
him  bright,  beautiful,  and  inviting,  rich 
in  enjoyment  and  r'ch  in  promise. 

2.  The  sorrows  of  bereavement.  In 
the  case  of  those  who  are  called  to  die, 
the  greatest  anguish  which  they  suffer 
frequently  arises  from  having  to  leave 
those  whom  they  love  as  their  own 
soul.  Inconceivable  must  be  the  anguish 
of  the  loving  mother  when  summoned 
away  from  her  tender,  hel[)less  babe. 
And  who  can  conceive  the  deep  and 
silent  grief  of  the  kind  husband  and 
father  who  is  leaving  his  wife  and 
children,  widowed  and  orphaned,  to 
fight  life's  battle  without  the  aid  of  his 
strong  arm,  or  wise  head,  or  loving 
heart  ?  The  sorrow  of  the  bereaved  is 
also  very  great.  Tennyson  has  given 
utterance  to  the  feeling  of  thousands  of 
bereaved  mourners  : 

**  For  this  alone  on  Death  1  wreak 
The  wrath  that  garners  in  my  heart ; 
He  put  our  lives  so  far  apart, 
We  cannot  hear  each  other  speak.'* 

39 


MALM  Xa 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Oil,  the  hearts  that  are  almost  breaking 
in  loneliness  and  unutterable  distress 
because  of  the  bereavements  of  death  ! 
But  all  this  distress  is  the  result  of  sin. 
If  man  had  not  sinned  the  dying  mother 
would  confidently  leave  her  cherished 
babe,  and  the  dying  husband  and  father 
bis  wife  and  children,  to  the  wise  and 
loving  and  all-sufficient  care  of  the 
Heavenly  Father.  If  man  had  not 
sinned  we  should  not  mourn  the  de- 
parture of  our  loved  ones.  With  clear 
perceptions  of  the  spiritual  universe,  we 
should  see  that  the  separation  was  more 
apparent  than  real,  we  should  know  that 
they  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  higher, 
fuller  life,  a  life  of  blessedness,  and  that 
we  should  soon  join  them  in  their  high 
spheres  and  Divine  services.  Oh,  it  is 
sin  that  makes  bereavement  painful  1 
"  The  sting  of  death  is  sin."  Take  away 
sin,  and  though  death  remain,  its  repul- 


siveness  and  painfulness  would  be  en- 
tirely gone.  Sin  has  made  dissolution 
physically  painful ;  sin  has  shortened 
men's  lives  by  diseases  and  crimes  ;  sin 
has  robed  death  in  mystery ;  sin  has 
made  man  to  shrink  from  death  lest  it 
should  lead  to  non-existence  or  miserable 
existence;  sin  has  caused  all  the  anguish 
of  bereavements,  all  and  everything  that 
is  painful  in  death  is  the  result  of 
sin. 

Conclusion.  1.  Brothers^  let  us  hate 
sin.  Let  us  have  nothing  to  do  with 
sin  except  to  resist  it,  oppc^se  it,  save 
men  from  it.  2.  Let  us  he  thank/Ml  for 
the  Gospel.  Christ  is  the  conqueror  of 
death.  He  has  taken  away  its  sting. 
He  is  the  Saviour  from  sin.  Those  who 
believe  on  Him  shall  become  holy  and 
heavenly.  To  them  death  is  no  longer 
a  foe,  but  the  kind  messenger  of  the 
loving  Father. 


Sin  Estimated  by  the  Light  of  Heaven, 

(Verse  S.) 


The  appearance  of  objects,  and  the 
ideas  which  we  form  of  them,  are  very 
much  affected  by  the  situation  in  which 
they  are  placed  with  respect  to  us,  and 
by  the  light  in  which  they  are  seen.  .  ,  . 
No  two  persons  will  form  precisely  the 
same  idea  of  any  object,  unless  they  view 
it  in  the  same  light,  or  are  placed  with 
respect  to  it  in  the  same  situation.  .  .  . 
God  sees  all  objects  just  as  they  are  ; 
but  we  see  them  through  a  deceitful 
medium,  which  ignorance,  prejudice,  and 
self-love  place  between  them  and  us. 
Apply  these  remarks  to  the  case  before 
us.  "  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities,"  &c. 
That  is,  our  iniquities  or  open  transgres- 
sions, and  our  secret  sins,  the  sins  of  our 
hearts,  are  placed,  as  it  were,  full  before 
God's  face ;  and  He  sees  them  in  the 
pure,  clear,  all-disclosing  light  of  His 
own  holiness  and  glory.  Now,  if  we 
would  see  our  sins  as  they  appear  to 
Him,  that  is,  as  they  really  are  ;  if  we 
would  see  their  number,  blackness,  and 
criminality,  and  the  malignity  and  de- 
sert of  ev«ry  sin,  we  must  place  our- 
selves as  nearly  as  possible  in  His  situa- 
tion, and  look  at  sin  as  it  were  through 
40 


His  eyes.  Recollect,  that  the  God  in 
whose  presence  you  are,  is  the  Being 
who  forbids  sin,  the  Being,  of  whose 
eternal  law  sin  is  the  transgression,  and 
against  whom  every  sin  is  committed. 
Keeping  this  in  mind,  let  us — 

1.  Bring  forward  what  the  Psalmist, 
in  our  text,  calls  our  iniquities^  that  is, 
our  more  gross  and  open  sins,  and  see 
how  they  appear  in  the  light  of  God's 
countenance.  Have  any  of  you  been 
guilty  of  impious,  profane,  passionate, 
or  indecent,  corrupting  language  1  How 
does  such  language  sound  in  heaven  ?  in 
the  ears  of  angels,  in  the  ears  of  that 
God,  who  gave  us  our  tongues  for  noble 
purposes  1  ...  Is  this  fit  language  for 
God  to  hear?  Let  every  one  inquire 
whether  he  has  ever  violated  the  third 
commandment,  by  using  the  name  of 
God  in  a  profane  or  irreverent  manner. 
If  he  has,  let  him  bring  forward  his 
transgressions  of  this  kind,  and  see  how 
they  appear  in  the  light  of  God's  pre- 
sence. .  .  .  Have  any  of  you  been 
guilty  of  uttering  what  is  untrue?  If 
so,  bring  forward  all  the  falsehoods,  all 
the    deceitful    expressions,    which    you 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  ZC. 


have  ever  uttered,  and  see  how  they 
appear  in  the  presence  of  the  God  of 
truth;  of  that  God,  who  has  declared, 
that  He  abhors  a  lying  tongue,  and  that 
all  liars  shall  have  their  portion  in  the 
burning  lake.  Oh,  what  is  it  to  stand 
convicted  of  falsehood  before  such  a 
God  as  this  !  After  the  above  maimer 
treat  the  sins  of  perjury,  Sahhath- 
hreaking,  adultery,  fraud,  injustice  or 
dishonesty,  and  intemperance. 

While  attending  to  the  preceding  re- 
marks, probably  many  of  my  hearers 
may  have  felt  as  if  they  were  not  per- 
sonally concerned  in  them,  as  if  they 
were  guilty  of  none  of  those  gross  ini- 
quities. I  would  indeed  hope  that  of 
some  of  them,  at  least,  none  of  you  are 
guilty.  But  these  are  by  no  means  the 
only  iniquities  of  which  God  takes 
notice  ;  for  our  text  further  informs  us, 
that  He  has  set  our  secret  sins,  the  sins 
of  our  hearts,  in  the  light  of  His  counte- 
nance.    Let  us  then — 

II.  Bring  our  hearts  into  heaven,  and 
there,  laying  them  open  to  view,  see 
how  they  will  appear  in  that  world  of 
unclouded  light  and  unsullied  purity. 

What  a  disclosure  is  made,  when, 
with  the  dissecting  knife  of  a  spiritual 
anatomist,  we  lay  open  the  human  heart, 
with  all  its  dark  recesses  and  intricate 
windings,  and  expose  the  lurking  abomi- 
nations, which  it  conceals,  not  to  the 
light  of  day,  but  to  the  light  of  heaven  1 
Even  in  this  sinful  world,  the  spectacle 
which  such  a  disclosure  would  exhibit 
could  not  be  borne.  The  man  whose 
heart  should  thus  be  laid  open  to  public 
view  would  be  banished  from  society ; 
nay,  he  would  himself  fly  from  it,  over- 
whelmed with  shame  and  confusion. 
Of  this  every  man  is  sensible,  and  there- 
fore conceals  his  heart  from  all  eyes 
with  jealous  care.  .  .  .  And  if  the  heart 
laid  open  to  view  would  appear  thus 
black  in  this  dark,  sinful  world,  who 
can  describe,  or  conceive  of  the  black- 
ness which  it  must  exhibit,  when  sur- 
rounded by  the  dazzling  whiteness  of 
heaven,  and  seen  in  the  light  of  God's 
presence,  the  light  of  His  holiness  and 
love?  How  do  proud,  self-exalting 
thoughts  appear,  when  viewed  in  the 
presence  of  Him,  before  whom  all  the 


nations  of  the  earth  are  less  than  no- 
thing, and  vanity  ?  Speak  of  self-will^ 
impatience,  discontent;  angry,  envious, 
revengeful  feelings  ;  and  wanton,  impure 
thougJds.  If  all  the  evil  thoughts  and 
wrong  feelings  which  have  passed  in 
countless  numbers  through  either  of  our 
hearts  were  poured  out  in  heaven, 
angels  would  stand  aghast  at  the  sight, 
&c.  To  the  omniscient  God  alone 
would  the  sight  not  be  surprising.  He 
alone  knows  what  is  in  the  heart  of 
man  ;  and  what  He  knows  of  it  He  has 
described  in  brief  but  terribly  expressive 
terms.  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things,  and  desperately  wicked,"  (fee. 

III.  Let  us  take  a  similar  view  of  our 
sins  of  omission.  Our  sins  of  omission 
are  by  far  the  most  numerous,  and  by 
no  means  the  least  criminal  offences  of 
which  we  are  guilty.  Speak  of  God's 
perfections,  His  glory,  His  goodness  to 
us,  and  of  our  obligations  to  Him. 
Does  He  not  deserve  to  be  loved,  and 
feared,  and  served  with  all  the  heart, 
and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength  ?  Yet 
from  Him  we  have  all  withheld  our 
affections  and  services.  Our  whole 
lives  present  one  unbroken  series  of 
duties  neglected,  of  favours  not  acknow- 
ledged. And,  oh,  how  do  they  appear 
when  we  review  them  in  the  light  of 
God's  countenance  !  .  .  , 

While  God's  law  requires  us  to  love 
Him  with  all  the  heart,  it  also  requires 
us  to  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves. 
And  this  general  command  virtually 
includes  a  great  number  of  subordinate 
precepts,  precepts  which  prescribe  the 
duties  of  the  various  relations  that  sub- 
sist between  us  and  our  fellow- creatures. 
How  far  have  we  obeyed  these  precepts  % 
,  .  .  Oh,  how  much  more  might  we  have 
done,  than  we  actually  have  done,  to 
promote  the  temporal  and  eternal  hap- 
piness of  all  with  whom  we  are  con- 
nected ! 

Nor  do  our  sins  of  omission  end  here. 
There  is  another  Being  whom  we  are 
under  infinite  obligations  to  love,  and 
praise,  and  serve  with  supreme  affection. 
This  Being  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
considered  as  our  Redeemer  and  Saviour, 
who  has  bought  us  with  His  blood.  We 
are  required  to  feel  that  we  are  not  our 

41 


PSALM  XO. 


EOMILETJC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


own,  but  His ;  to  prefer  Him  to  every 
eartlily  object,  to  rely  upon  Him  with 
implicit  confidence,  to  live,  not  to  our- 
selves, but  to  Him,  and  to  honour  Him 
even  as  we  honour  the  Father.  Every 
moment,  then,  in  which  we  neglected  to 
obey  these  commands,  we  were  guilty  of 
a  new  sin  of  omission.  .  .  .  How  grossly 
have  we  failed  in  performing  this  part 
of  our  duty  1  How  must  the  manner  in 
which  we  have  treated  the  beloved  Son 
appear  in  the  sight  of  God  ! 

A  daj  is  approaching  in  which  you 


will  be  constrained  to  see  your  sins  as 
they  appear  in  the  light  of  God*8 
countenance.  When  that  day  arrives, 
His  eternal  Son,  the  appointed  Judge, 
will  be  seen  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  (fee.  ...  Be  persuaded  now  to 
come  to  the  light,  that  your  deeds  may 
be  reproved,  and  set  in  order  before 
you ;  exercise  such  feelings  respecting 
them,  and  so  judge  yourselves,  that 
you  may  not  be  condemned  of  the 
Lord  on  that  day. — £,  Pay  son  j  D.D. 
Abridged, 


Life  an  Exclamation. 
{Verse  9.) 


"  We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale  that  is 
told." 

The  word  translated  "  tale "  occurs 
twice :  in  Job  xxxvii.  2,  "  Hear  atten- 
tively the  noise  of  His  voice,  and  the 
sound  that  goeth  out  of  His  mouth  ;'* 
and  Ezek.  ii.  10,  "  And  there  was  writ- 
ten therein  lamentations,  and  mourningy 
and  woe."  In  the  first  passage  the 
reference  is  to  the  thunder,  which  is 
the  voice,  the  utterance,  the  grand 
soliloquy  of  God.  In  the  second  pas- 
sage the  word  describes  the  broken 
accents  of  grief,  the  abrupt  and  incom- 
plete exclamation  of  deep  and  over- 
whelming sorrow.  So  when  life  is 
described  in  the  text,  the  meaning  is 
that  it  is  a  brief  and  broken  exclama- 
tion, a  hurried  voice,  a  short  and  start- 
ling sound  which  is  soon  lost  in  the 
silence  of  eternity. 

I.  The  main  idea  of  the  text  is  the 
transientness  of  life :  it  has  the  brevity 
of  a  cry.  And  does  not  this  accord 
with  fact  %  The  utterances  may  be  of 
different  lengths,  but  life  is  always  short. 
Some  lives  have  only  one  word,  some 
several,  yet  is  each  an  exclamation. 
Some  have  the  completeness  of  finished 
sentences  ;  some  fail  in  the  midst ;  some 
have  only  a  beginning,  rather  intimate 
that  there  is  something  to  be  said  than 
say  it  Then  is  life  short,  indeed,  when 
man  dies,  not  because  he  has  exhausted 
a  force  so  much  as  because  he  has  met 
with  an  obstruction.  And  yet  how 
often  is  this  the  case  I      The  days  are 


" cut  off : "  "the  sun  goes  down  while  it 
is  yet  day:"  "the  flower  fadeth."  Why 
did  they  live  at  all?  What  was  the 
reason  of  their  being  1 

And  then,  also,  is  life  short  when, 
though  its  voice  fails  not  at  the  com- 
mencement of  its  utterance,  it  is  broken 
off  in  the  midst,  and  gives  no  complete 
expression  to  the  deep  meaning  with 
which  it  is  charged.  And  }et  how 
often  is  it  as  an  unfinished  cry  !  How 
often  do  men  pass  away  before  they 
have  half  revealed  the  siornificance  of 
their  being ! 

But  the  brevity  assigned  to  life  in 
the  text  belongs  to  all  life,  and  not  to 
any  lives  in  particular.  It  is  brevity 
which  marks  it  as  a  whole,  marks  it  in 
its  longest  term.  .  .  . 

Tilings  are  long  and  short  in  com- 
parison. The  sense  of  duration  is  not 
absolute.  The  insect  that  lives  but  a 
day  has,  or  might  have,  the  feelings 
with  which  we  regard  seventy  years.  .  .  . 
And  what  those  transient  creatures  are 
to  us,  that  should  we  be  to  others  pro- 
portionably  longer-lived  than  we.  Sup- 
pose a  being  to  live  two  millions  of 
years,  he  would  look  down  on  our  ex- 
istence of  seventy  years  with  the  same 
feelings  as  those  with  which  we  regard 
the  creature  of  a  day.  It  is  only  eter- 
nity that  is  really  long  —  absolutely 
long.  Compared  with  that,  all  time  is 
short.  Whatever  can  cease  is  as  nothing 
to  that  which  never  ceases  ;  it  is  simply 
impossible   to    compare  them.  .  .  .  Life 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XO. 


may  seem  long  while  it  is  going  on,  ko. 
But  what  is  life  when  put  against  inter- 
minable years ! 

We  may  appropriate  both  terras,  the 
transient  and  the  endless.  We  may 
connect  together  the  life  that  is  but  as  a 
broken  exclamation,  and  the  life  that  is 
as  an  everlasting  voice.  I  said  we  may 
connect  them  together,  but  the  solemn 
truth  is,  that  they  are  connected  together 
independently  of  our  act  or  thought. 
That  besides  which  life  is  vanity  will 
take  its  character  from  life.  Eternity 
makes  life  nothing,  and  yet  everything  j 
sinks  it  to  utter  insignificance,  and  yet 
invests  it  with  inconceivable  importance. 
Consider  the  two  as  contrasted,  and  life 
vanishes  in  the  presence  of  eternity. 
Consider  the  two  as  related,  and  life  par- 
takes of  the  augustness  and  avvfulness  of 
eternity. 

II.  If  life  is  transient  as  a  cry,  it  is 
2k  Qxy  full  of  meaning.  The  importance 
of  utterances  does  not  depend  on  their 
length ;  it  is  not  how  long  it  takes  to 
express  a  thing,  but  the  nature  of  the 
thing  expressed,  which  decides  the  great- 
ness of  the  expression.  A  few  words 
may  reveal  a  world  of  meaning.  ...  It 
is  the  fulness  of  the  heart  which  seeks 
relief  in  cries,  and  that  which  makes 
them  short  makes  them  significant. 
Then  do  fewest  words  suffice  when  many 
words  are  felt  to  be  too  few.  Life  is  a 
cry,  but  what  does  it  not  reveal  ?  The 
broken  speech  of  our  earthly  days  is  the 
voice  of  souls.  It  shows  what  we  are 
as  souls ;  our  principles,  habits,  <fec.  .  .  . 
And,  showing  what  we  are,  it  shows  also 
what  we  shall  be,  what  we  shall  be  for 
ever.  And  it  does  more  than  show  what 
we  shall  be,  it  helps  to  make  us  it. 

This  is  the  view  of  life  I  wish  you  to 
take.  . . .  Regarded  alone,  we  may  despise 
it ;  we  may  be  angry  with  it ;  we  may 
say,  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow 
we  die  j "  we  may  give  way  to  despond- 
ency and  depression ;  but,  regarded 
along  with  what  it  indicates  and  pre- 
pares for,  it  wUl  excite  us  to  holy  dili- 
gence, gird  up  our  loins  for  hope  and 
service.  Thus  regarded,  its  very  vanity 
will  only  make  it  more  precious,  and  we 
shall  tremble  to  neglect  the  brief  period 
which  is  the  seedtime  of  eternity.  .  . 


I  ask  you,  whose  life  is  so  evanescent, 
yet  so  significant,  what  are  you  saying  1 
what  is  the  meaning  of  that  living  word 
which   issues  forth,  consciously   or  un- 
consciously, from  your  hearts  1     Many 
different  cries  proceed   from    our  com- 
mon nature.     Life  in  some  is  a  cry  of 
wonder,  an  expression  of  amazement  at 
this  mysterious  universe,  and  their  own 
mysterious  being.      Life  in  some  is  a 
cry  of  pairiy  .   .  .  grief  from    physical 
suffering,  grief  from  adversities  of  lot, 
grief  from  social  pressure  on  the  heart's 
affections.     Life  in  some  is  a  cry  oijoy, 
the  rapid,  incoherent  speech  of  ecstatic 
feeling.     I  do  not  ask  which  of  these 
your  life  is,  nor  does  it  much  signify  in 
relation  to  the   most  important  of   all 
matters.    Be  it  the  expression  of  wonder, 
pain,  or  joy,  it  may  be  sad  or  glorious  ; 
it   may  be   the  wonder  of  a  believing 
or  a  sceptical  spirit ;  it  may  be  the  pain 
of  a  patient  or  angry  spirit ;  it  may  be 
the  joy  of  a  spirit  whose  portion  is  the 
world,  or  whose    portion    is   the  Lord. 
But  I  do  ask  you,  what  is  the  temper 
and  the  form  of  your  life  1    With  many, 
it  is  but  an  oath;  a,  revelation  of  enmity 
against  God  and  godliness  •  a  forgetful- 
ness  of  all  that  should  be  remembered, 
a  neglect  of  all  that  should  be  cared  for, 
a  dislike  of  all  that  should  be  loved,  a 
disobedience  of  all  that  should  be  sub- 
mitted to.     But   there  are  many   with 
whom  life  is  a  'prayer  ;  its  exclamations 
are  like  ejaculatory   supplications;  the 
pouring  out  of  the    heart  in  adoration, 
petition,   praise ;  the  expression  of  de- 
pendence, desire,  devotion,  &c. 

Let  me  ask  you,  what  are  you  and 
what  are  you  likely  to  be  in  that 
eternity  which  is  so  speedily  to  succeed 
the  days  which  are  as  a  shadow  1  .  .  . 
Life  nmst  be  sinful  if  your  heart  be  not 
renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  must  be 
wretched  if  you  be  not  reconciled  to 
God  by  the  death  of  His  Son.  Time, 
which  is  so  short,  is  the  season  for  con- 
version, salvation  ;  and  without  these, 
when  it  is  passed,  you  will  find  your- 
selves in  an  eternity  for  which  no  pre- 
paration has  been  made.  Everlasting 
life  dates  from  regeneration,  not  from 
death ;  we  cannot  have  the  life  im- 
mortal if  we  be  not  born  agam.     Dying 

43 


PSALM  xa 


BOMJLETIO  COMMENT  ART:  PSALMS, 


in  sin,  your  destiny  must  be  destruction ;  period.      This    evanescent    life  is  big 

without  God  now,  you  will  be  without  with  the  fortunes  of  eternity,  and  you 

God  for  ever.     Oh  I  if  you  have  not  yet  are  deciding  what  they  shall   be.      Be 

yielded  your  soul  to   the  Gospel,  .  .  .  wise,  repent,  accept  the  atonement,  go 

let  me  entreat  you  to  awaken  to  the  in  the  way  of  life,  <fec. — A.  J,  Morris. 

transient   nature   of   this   probationary  Abridged. 


Human  Frailty  an  Incentive  to  Seek  the  Divine  Blessing. 

(Verses  12-17.) 


The  Psalmist  passes  from  meditation 
to  supplication.  Having  meditated 
upon  the  eternity  of  God  and  the 
transientness  and  misery  of  man's 
life  upon  earth,  and  traced  man's  suf- 
ferings to  his  sins,  he  here  proceeds  to 
implore  the  blessings  of  the  eternal 
and  unchangeable  God  upon  His  frail 
creature — man.     He  asks  from  God — 

L  Help  in  forming  a  correct  estimate 
of  life.  "  So  teach  us  to  number  our 
days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts 
unto  wisdom." 

It  would  have  been  reasonable  to 
have  concluded,  that  since  man's  life  is 
so  short  and  sad  he  would  form  a  true 
estimate  of  it.  Yet  this  be  does  not. 
"All  men  count  all  men  mortal  but 
themselves."  Though  life  is  so  un- 
certain, yet  every  man  acts  as  though 
he  had  a  certain  future  guaranteed  unto 
him.  Though  life  is  so  brief,  yet  each 
man  acts  as  though  he  had  a  long 
earthly  future  before  him.  A  correct 
estimate  of  life  must  include  two 
things — 

1.  That  it  is  brief.  "■  Behold,  Thou 
hast  made  my  days  as  an  handbreadth ; 
and  mine  age  is  as  nothing  before  Thee : 
verily  every  man  at  his  best  state  is 
altogether  vanity."  (See  remarks  on 
**  the  extreme  brevity  of  man's  life 
upon  earth,"  verses  1-6.) 

2.  That  it  is  preparatory.  This  world 
is  a  great  school,  and  our  life  in  it  is 
educational.  We  are  here  to  prepare 
characters  for  eternity ;  primarily  and 
pre-eminently,  but  not  exclusively,  our 
own ;  and  to  help  others  in  the  forma- 
tion and  development  of  noble  char- 
acters. What  a  vast  and  important 
work  of  preparation  for  eternity  has  to 
be  done  in  this  brief  life  !     How  much 

'  have  we  to  do  in  and  for  ourselves/    In 
44 


us  there  are  angry  passions  to  be  quelled, 
evil  habits  whose  power  must  be  broken, 
besetting  sins  to  be  conquered.     And  we 
have  so  much  to  acquire :  our  deficiencies 
and  imperfections  are  so  numerous,  our 
moral  power  is  so  feeble,  our  spiritual 
aspirations  are   so  irregular  and  weak. 
Verily,   our  preparation  for  eternity  is 
advanced  only  a  little  way.     We  have 
much  to  do  before  our  spiritual  educa- 
tion   M'ill   be    anything   like    complete. 
Then  we  have  much  to  do  for  others. 
The  parent  has  many  plans  which  he 
wants  to  see  carried  out  concerning  his 
children.     The  Christian  minister  feels 
that  in  the  exposition  and  application 
of  Divine  truth,  and  in  the  oversight  of 
the  souls  committed  to  his  charge,  he 
has  a  vast  and  unspeakably  important 
work  yet  to  do.     Every  man  who  takes 
an  interest  in  his  fellow-man  must  feel 
that  he  has  much  to  do  in  helping  to 
remove  the  ignorance  and  sin  and  suffer- 
ing of  men,  by  helping  them  to  acquire 
knowledge,  and  by  leading  them  to  the 
Saviour    from    sin   and    the    Healer    of 
suffering.     When  life  is  thus  estimated 
men    will    "apply    their    hearts    unto 
wisdom." 

"  'Tis  not  for  man  to  trifle !     Life  is  brief, 

And  sin  is  here. 
Our  age  is  but  the  falling  of  a  leaf, 

A  dropping  tear. 
We  have  no  time  to  sport  away  the  hours, 
All  must  be  earnest  in  a  world  like  ours. 

'*  Not  many  lives,  but  only  one  have  we — 
One,  only  one ; 
How  sacred  should  that  one  life  ever  be — 

That  narrow  span  ! 
Day  after  day  filled  up  with  blessed  toil, 
Hour  after  hour  still  bringing  in  new  spoil." 

— Bona/r, 


/ 


The  Psalmist  supplicates — 

n.  The  mercy  of  God  in  life. 


He 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XO. 


prays    that   God   would    exercise    His 
mercy  towards  them — 

1.  In  the  removal  of  His  anger, 
•'  Return,  0  Lord,  how  long  1  and  let 
it  repent  Thee  concerning  Thy  servants. '* 
The  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  were 
visited  with  some  severe  expressions  of 
the  wrath  of  God  by  reason  of  their  sin. 
Their  long,  and  mournful,  and  apparently 
fruitless  wanderings  in  the  wilderness 
were  a  punishment  from  God  because  of 
gin.  For  a  long  time  they  had  been 
bearing  the  heavy  judgments  ef  the 
Lord ;  so  they  cry  unto  Him,  "  How 
long  ?  "  How  long  shall  Thy  wrath  lie 
heavily  upon  us?  The  petition  of  this 
verse  is  very  similar  to  a  petition  in  a 
former  prayer  of  Moses  :  "  Turn  from 
Thy  fierce  wrath,  and  repent  of  this 
evil  against  Thy  people."  *'  According 
to  the  usual  phraseology  of  Scripture/* 
says  Calvin,  **God  is  said  to  repent, 
when,  after  dissipating  sadness,  and 
giving  again  occasions  for  joy,  He 
appears  as  if  He  had  changed.*'  Yet 
really  there  is  no  change  in  God.  Re- 
pentance is  impossible  to  Him.  But 
when  man  turns  to  Him  in  repentance. 
He  turns  to  man  in  mercy.  When  He 
withdraws  His  anger  it  is  not  because  a 
change  has  taken  place  in  Him  ;  but 
because  man  has  changed,  and  taken  a 
different  position  in  relation  to  His  law 
and  government.  So  Moses  prays  that 
God  would  turn  in  mercy  to  them,  and 
bring  His  judgments  upon  them  to  an 
end. 

2.  In  the  communication  of  satisfaction 
to  them.  "  O  satisfy  us  early  with  Thy 
mercy."  Literally,  "  Satisfy  us  in  the 
morning  with  Thy  mercy."  In  the 
Scripture  suffering  and  distress  are  fre- 
quently set  forth  by  the  emblem  of 
night.  Morning  is  an  emblem  of  salva- 
tion and  joy.  (Comp.  Job  xi.  17;  Ps. 
XXX.  5.)  If  God  in  mercy  appeared  to 
the  Israelites,  that  appearance  would  be 
to  them  as  the  dawn  of  a  joyous  morn- 
ing. They  pray  for  satisfaction  in  the 
mercy  of  God.  Under  the  displeasure 
of  God  there  can  be  no  satisfaction.  If 
any  soul  is  satisfied  out  of  God,  that 
soul  is  dead.  In  His  favour  is  life. 
Only  in  God  can  the  human  soul,  with 
its  unutterable   yearnings,  its  quench- 


less aspirations,  and  its  profound  crar* 
ings,  find  satisfaction  and  repose. 

3.  In  granting  gladness  to  them.  In 
the  petitions  for  gladness  three  things 
demand  our  attention.  (1)  They  seek 
gladness  as  a  result  of  mercy.  "Satisfy 
us  early  with  Thy  mercy ;  That  we  may 
rejoice  and  be  glad."  The  night  of 
their  mourning  would  end,  and  the  day 
of  their  joy  would  dawn,  when  God  satis- 
fied them  with  His  mercy.  From  the 
conscious  possession  of  God's  favour  the 
deepest,  highest,  purest,  divinest  joy 
springs.  (2)  They  seek  gladness  as  a 
life-long  experience.  "All  our  days." 
Much  of  sin,  gloom,  and  suffering  had 
been  in  their  past  life ;  they  desire  that 
in  all  their  future  life  there  may  be 
the  Divine  mercy  and  holy  joy.  It  is 
the  privilege  of  the  child  of  God  *'  to 
rejoice  evermore."  "  Your  joy  no  man 
taketh  from  you."  (3)  They  seek  glad- 
ness in  proportion  to  their  afflictions, 
"Make  us  glad  according  to  the  days 
wherein  Thou  hast  afflicted  us,  and  the 
years  wherein  we  have  seen  evil."  It 
is  a  principle  of  God's  providential  deal- 
ings that  light  and  darkness,  happiness 
and  distress,  in  human  life  shall  bear 
some  proportion  to  each  other.  "  In 
the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful,  but  in 
the  day  of  adversity  consider  :  God  also 
hath  set  the  one  over  against  the  other." 
He  balances  the  varying  experiences  of 
our  lives.  The  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness had  many  days  of  His  displeasure ; 
they  entreat  as  many  days  of  His 
favour.  They  had  passed  through 
years  of  mournful  wandering  ;  they 
pray  for  a  corresponding  number  of 
years  of  peace  and  joy.  The  Psalmist 
entreats — 

III.  The  manifestation  of  God's 
power  and  grace  in  life.  "Let  Thy 
work  appear  unto  Thy  servants,  and  Thy 
glory  unto  their  children.  And  let  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us." 
Here  is  a  prayer — 

1.  That  God  wotUd  work  manifestly  on 
their  behalf  "Show  to  Thy  servants 
Thy  doing,"  is  really  a  prayer  for  the 
interposition  of  God  on  their  behalf ; 
that  He  would  display  His  great  power 
in  introducing  them  to  prosperity.  Moses 
knew  how  mighty  in  working  Jehovah 

4^ 


FBALHXa 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


Is,  and  so  he  prays  that  He  would  -work 
for  them  and  for  their  salvation. 

2.  That  God  would  grant  unto  them 
of  His  grace,  "  Show  Thy  glory  unto 
their  children.  And  let  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us."  God's 
glory  consi-^s  of  His  goodness.  When 
Moses  pi.Lc.i,  "I  beseech  Thee,  show 
me  Thy  glory,"  the  Lord  answered,  "  I 
will  make  all  My  goodness  pass  before 
thee."  He  is  "  glorious  in  holiness," 
glorious  in  grace.  It  is  probable  that 
they  prayed  that  God's  glory  may  be 
manifested  to  their  children,  because 
God  had  promised  to  lead  their  children 
into  the  land  into  which  by  reason  of  sin 
they  entered  not.  That  the  glory  of 
Divine  grace  and  strength  may  be 
displayed  to  their  children,  even 
though  themselves  may  not  see  it,  they 
earnestly  desire.  It  has  been  well 
pointed  out  *'  that  this  prayer  was 
answered.  Though  the  first  generation 
fell  in  the  wilderness,  yet  the  labours 
of  Moses  and  his  companions  were 
blessed  to  the  second.  These  were  the 
most  devoted  to  God  of  any  generation 
that  Israel  ever  saw.  It  was  of  them 
that  the  Lord  said,  'I  remember  thee, 
the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of 
thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest  after 
Me  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was 
not  sown.  Israel  was  holiness  unto  the 
Lord,  and  the  first  fruits  of  His  in- 
crease.' It  was  then  that  Balaam  could 
not  curse,  but,  though  desirous  of  the 
wages  of  unrighteousness,  was  compelled 
to  forego  them,  and  his  curse  was  turned 
into  a  blessing."  "  And  let  the  beauty 
of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us  "  is  also 
a  petition  for  the  favour  of  God ;  that 
the  beauty  of  the  Divine  character  may 
be  revealed  in  them,  and  be  revealed  by 
them  to  others.  If  the  grace  of  God 
dwell  richly  in  us,  it  will  radiate  from 
us  in  lives  of  spiritual  beauty  and  power. 
The  Psalmist  prays  for — 

IV.   The  establishment  of  human 


work  in  life.  "  Establish  Thou  the 
work  of  our  hands  upon  us;  yea,  the 
work  of  our  hands  establish  Thou  it." 

This  petition,  in  its  relation  to  Moses, 
has  a  very  touching  significance.  He 
was  to  die  without  seeing  the  result  of 
the  great  work  of  his  life.  The  millions 
whom  he  led  from  Egyptian  slavery 
remained  slaves  in  spirit  throughout 
life ;  and,  because  they  were  slaves  and 
not  men,  they  were  not  permitted  to 
enter  the  promised  land.  Moses  him- 
self may  see  it,  but  must  not  enter 
therein.  To  a  superficial  observer  his 
work  must  have  appeared  useless,  and 
his  life  a  failure  of  most  magnificent 
faculties.  But  his  life  was  no  failure; 
his  work  was  not  in  vain.  That  which 
he  had  commenced  was  carried  forward 
to  glorious  completion.  Dr.  James 
Hamilton  has  truly  remarked,  that  *'for 
forty  years  it  had  been  the  business  of 
Moses  to  bring  Israel  into  a  right  state 
politically,  morally,  religiously ;  that  had 
been  his  work.  And  yet,  in  so  far  as  it 
was  to  have  any  success  or  enduringiiess, 
it  must  be  God's  work.  *  The  work  of 
our  hands '  do  Thou  establish ;  and  this 
God  does  when,  in  answer  to  prayer.  He 
adopts  the  work  of  His  servants,  and 
makes  it  His  own  *  work,'  His  own 
*  glory,'  His  own  *  beauty.'"  Human 
efforts  in  a  good  cause,  when  they  are 
made  earnestly  and  in  humble  dependence 
upon  the  blessing  of  God  for  success,  can- 
not be  in  vain.     God  will  establish  them. 

Conclusion. — *'  If  man  be  ephemeral, 
God  is  eternal."  And  through  Christ 
man  may  dwell  in  God,  and  be  made  a 
partaker  of  His  character  and  blessed- 
ness. In  ourselves  we  are  insignificant, 
vain,  worthless — bewildering  and  mourn- 
ful enigmas ;  but  in  God  we  rise  into 
harmony,  holiness,  power,  usefulness ; 
life  grows  deep  in  significance,  brilliant 
in  prospect,  and  divine  in  destiny. 
Through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  let 
every  man  seek  to  become  one  with  God. 


An  All-important  Numeration. 
(Verse  12.) 

L  The  Teacher.     The   eternal  Lord  subject.      "Our    days,"    their   number, 

God,  their     importance,    &c,    He     knoweth 

1.    He    thoroughly    understands    the  perfectly. 
46 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  xa 


2.  He  is  ihorovghly  acquainted  with 
(he pupils.  Our  circumstances,  tempera- 
ment, aptitude  or  inaptitude  as  learners, 
He  knoweth  right  well. 

3.  He  has  great  influence  over  the 
pupils.  He  can  influence  our  under- 
standing, direct  our  judgment,  work 
conviction  in  us. 

n.  The  pupils.  Frail  men.  Strange 
that  we  should  need  teaching  on  this 
subject.  The  remarkable  frailty  and 
the  unspeakable  importance  of  human 
life  is  constantly  proclaimed  by — 

1.  The  voice  of  history.  All  the 
generations  of  the  past  have  gone  *'  the 
way  to  dusty  death." 

2*  The  scenes  and  circumstances  of 
life.  Crowded  cemeteries,  funeral  pro- 
cessions, bereaved  families. 

3.  Our  own  experience.  Infirmities, 
pains,  diseases,  announce  our  frailty. 
Yet  we  need  that  God  should  teach  us  in 
this  matter.  This  need  indicates  disorder 
in  our  moral  judgment,  disinclination  to 
receive  the  fact  of  our  frailty,  <fec. 

III.  The  lesson.  "  To  number  our 
days."  *'It  is  to  take  the  measure  of 
our  days  as  compared  with  the  work  to 


be  performed,  with  the  provision  to  be 
laid  up  for  eternity,  with  the  preparation 
to  be  made  for  deaths  with  the  precau- 
tion to  be  taken  against  judgment.  It 
is  to  estimate  human  life  by  the  pur- 
poses to  which  it  should  be  applied,  by 
the  eternity  to  which  it  must  conduct, 
and  in  which  it  shall  at  last  be  absorbed." 
He  numbers  his  days  well  who — 

1.  Mourns  the  time  past  which  has 
been  misspent. 

2.  Diligently  uses  time  present. 

3.  Trusts  the  time  future  entirely  it 
God. 

IV.  The  end.  "  That  we  may  apply 
our  hearts  unto  wisdom."  This  wisdom 
is  not  speculative,  but  practical;  not  in- 
tellectual, but  moral. 

1.  True  religion  is  wisdom. 

2.  True  religion  requires  application 
of  heart. 

3.  2%e  remembrance  of  life*s  transient- 
ness  is  calculated  to  promote  this  ap- 
plication. 

**  Therefore,  "  So  teach  us  to  number 
our  days,"  <kc. 

(See  a  fine  sermon  on  this  verse,  by  F, 
W.  Kobertson.     Sermons,  vol.  iv.) 


The  Mercy  of  God  Solicited. 
{Verse  U.) 


On  these  words  the  following  observa- 
tions may  be  founded: — 

I.  All  men  have  sinned  against  God, 
and  therefore  need  mercy. 

EL  The  consideration  that  life  is  short 
and  uncertain,  has  a  remarkable  ten- 
dency to  impress  this  important  truth 
upon  the  mind. 

m.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  one  to  im- 
plore the  mercy  of  God  by  fervent  prayer. 


IV.  The  mercy  of  God  is  the  only 
satisfying  portion. 

V.  We  ought  not  only  to  desire  that 
this  mercy  may  be  granted,  but  should 
pray  that  it  may  be  imparted  "  early." 

VI.  The  possessor  of  God's  mercy  is 
qualified  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  all  his 
days.  —  "  The  Young  Minister's  CoTn- 
panion,'' 


The  Three  Petitions. 
{Ferses  16,  17.) 


Here  are  three  petitions.  Let  us  look 
at  them  in  their  logical  order  of  thought, 
rather  than  their  poetic  expression. 

I.  The  first  petition  asks  for  some 
visible  results  from  the  work  attempted. 
"  Let  Tljy  work  appear."  Is  not  this  a 
most  natural  and  lawful  petition  ?     The 


worker  longs  to  see  some  fruit  of  his 

work,  some  positive  testimony  that  he 
has  not  toiled  in  vain.  Do  not  most 
men  ardently  desire  this,  no  matter  what 
the  nature  of  their  work  'i  The  states- 
man wishes  it,  the  merchant,  the  farmer, 
the  teacher,  and  why  not  the  Christian  ? 

47 


EVALKSOL 


MOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  P8ALM8. 


But  the  Christian  is  sometimes  tempted 
to  carry  his  desire  too  far.  God  may, 
therefore,  think  fit  to  withhold  from  his 
sight  no  small  portion  of  the  actual 
result,  lest  the  servant  forget  whose  the 
work  really  is,  and  what  is  his  true  rela- 
tion to  it.  He  so  deals  with  us  that  our 
patience  may  take  root  and  grow.  He 
disappoints  our  desire  for  visible  results 
to  draw  us  nearer  to  Himself,  to  deepen 
our  trust,  <kc.  He  helps  us  to  under- 
stand what  we  are  so  slow  to  learn, 
that,  from  the  very  character  of  our 
work,  we  never  can  see  in  this  world 
more  than  a  few  conspicuous  ears.  Yet 
*'  the  work  of  our  hands  " — all  of  it — 
will  hereafter  "appear,"  not  a  grain  of 
it  lost,  not  a  single  product  of  that  grain 
hidden  or  obscured.  We  may,  there- 
fore, still  continue  to  oflfer  the  petition 
to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  for  some 
visible  results  of  our  sowing  ;  but  do  not 
let  us  be  discouraged  if,  for  reasons  best 
known  to  Him,  our  prayer  is  not 
answered  here  and  now. 

II.  The  second  petition  asks  for  the 
itcbbility  of  the  work.  And  is  not  this 
as  natural  as  the  desire  that  the  work 
should  *'  appear  "  ?  No  one  wishes  that 
the  thing  upon  which  he  has  bestowed 
his  deepest  thought,  his  severest  and 
most  conscientious  labour,  should  be 
scattered  and  lost.  It  depends, 
humanly  speaking,  upon  the  character 
of  the  work,  how  long  it  will  endure. 
It  is  so  in  material  works.  .  .  .  Good 
honest  work,  even  if  it  be  not  of  the 
highest  type,  is  the  only  durable  work. 
But  what  work  can  compare  in  value 
with  *'  turning  men  to  righteousness  ] " 
Many  Christian  workers,  however, 
tremble  for  the  future  of  their  work. 


Losing  faith  in  the  power  of  its  living 
energy,  they  have,  as  they  thought, 
"  established  "  it,  lest  it  should  die  out 
and  be  no  more  seen  ;  with  what  results 
a  hundred  damaging  facts  patent  to  our 
eyes  declare.  The  work,  in  its  root  of 
life,  is  not  man's  but  God's ;  hence  the 
appropriateness  of  the  second  petition, 
"Establish  Thou  the  work  of  our  hands," 
<fec.  The  repetition  of  the  prayer  is  for 
the  sake  of  emphasis.  He  began  the 
good  work ;  He  alone  can  make  it  con- 
stant and  firm.  "Establish  Thou  it," 
set  it  up,  as  a  throne  is  set  up,  as  a  city 
is  founded,  as  an  altar  is  reared,  <fec. 

III.  The  third  petition  asks  for  the 
succession  and  expansion  of  the  work,  for 
its  widest  possible  influence.  The  beauty 
and  glory  have  come  upon  us  Thy 
servants.  Let  them  also  descend  upon 
our  children.  This  is  the  parent's  wish 
and  continual  prayer.  We  pray  "  that 
our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up  in 
their  youth,"  (fee.  The  sons  of  Christians 
are  the  hope  of  the  Church,  The 
children  of  Christians  are  the  best 
workers  in  the  Church  to-day  ;  in  the 
home,  in  the  school,  in  the  sanctuary,  in 
the  mission-field. 

But  the  petition  is  for  our  descend- 
ants, near  or  remote  ;  for  all  who  shall 
follow  us  in  that  grand  and  never-broken 
procession  through  the  ages  of  living 
men.  Nothing  less  than  this  expresses 
the  fulness  of  the  prayer,  "  Thy  king- 
dom come  ;  Thy  will  be  done  as  in 
heaven  so  in  earth." 

Two  cautions  we  shall  all  do  well  to 
heed  —  1.  Prayer  without  work  is 
mockery.  2.  Work  without  prayer  is 
vain. — J.  Jackson  Goadhy,  Abridged 
from  "  The  Evangelical  Magazine^* 


PSALM   XOI. 

Introduction, 

There  is  no  title  prefixed  to  this  Psalm.  We  know  not  who  Is  the  •uthor  of  ii 
Th;%  conjecture,  which  has  been  made  by  some,  that  it  was  written  by  Moses,  is  very  inade- 
quately sustained.  Neither  do  we  know  the  time  or  occasion  of  its  composition.  The  Psalm 
is  general  in  its  character,  and  applies  to  the  whole  Church. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  Psalm  is  the  frequent  change  of  persons,  from  which  some 
have  inferred  that  it  was  composed  for  singing  by  alternate  choirs.  The  explanation  of  Heng- 
stenberg  seems  to  us  more  reasonable  :  "  That  the  Psalmist  speaks  at  one  time  from  his  own 
person  to  the  soul  of  the  righteous  one  who  is  in  danger,  and  revives  its  courage,  while  at 
another  time  he  expresses  confidence  from  the  soul  of  the  righteowa  man :  and  thus  in  that 

48 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARr  :  PSALMS, 


PBALH  XOI. 


pleasant  alternation  which  forms  the  characteristic  peculiarity  of  the  Psalm,  he  employs  at  one 
time  the  thou  in  the  character  of  teacher^  and  at  another  time  the  /  in  the  character  of  scholar. 
....  The  call  of  instruction  in  Scripture  (this  is  the  meaning  of  the  alternation),  ought 
ilways  to  be  responded  to  by  the  acknowledgment  of  the  hearer." 

For  our  homiletical  purpose  we  shall  divide  the  Psalm  thus  : — The  safe  hiding-place  of 
ihe  godltj  (verses  1  and  2),  The  inviolable  security  of  the  godly  (verses  3-10),  The  angelic  minif 
aters  ofilu  godly  (yerses  11-13),  The  glorious  privileges  of  the  godly  (verses  14-16). 


The  Safe  Hiding-Place  of  the  Godly. 
(Verses  1,  2.) 


Into  these  two  verses  is  condensed 
the  contents  of  the  whole  Psalm.  The 
statement  of  the  first  verse  expresses  in 
brief  what  is  afterwards  set  forth  with 
some  particularity, — the  safety  of  him 
who  places  his  trust  in  God.  And  in 
the  second  verse  the  Poet  expresses  his 
own  firm  assurance  of  his  safety  in 
Jehovah  his  God.  We  have  in  the 
text — 

I.  An  implication  of  danger.  That 
the  Psalmist  was  sensible  of  danger  is 
clear  from  the  fact  that  he  regarded 
God  as  a  "refuge"  and  a  ** fortress," 
The  godly  are  in  peril  by  reason  of — 

1.  The  trials  of  life.  Bodily  pains, 
mental  perplexities,  spiritual  sorrows 
and  struggles,  involve  danger  to  those 
who  pass  through  them.  The  very 
nature  of  trial,  i.e.,  testing,  involves  the 
idea  of  possible  failure.  Bodily  pain 
may  result  in  petulance  or  bitterness  of 
spirit,  mental  perplexities  may  lead  to 
a  paralysing  unbelief,  spiritual  conflicts 
may  issue  in  loss,  and  even  in  defeat. 
The  godly  soul  is  in  danger  and  needs  a 
"  refuge." 

2.  Spiritual  adversaries.  The  good 
man  has  to  contend  with  foes.  His 
"  adversary  the  devil  as  a  roaring  lion 
goeth  about,  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour.'*  He  is  hated  by  the  world. 
Its  spirit  and  principles,  many  of  its 
practices,  many  of  its  amusements,  and 
much  of  its  literature,  are  opposed  to 
the  interests  and  even  the  life  of  the 
godly  soul.  Temptation  to  evil  is  a 
great  and  sad  fact  in  this  world.  More- 
over, the  good  man  finds  that  in  himself 
there  are  "  fleshly  lusts  which  war  against 
the  soul."  His  life  is  a  great  moral 
battle.  Numerous  and  powerful  forces 
are  arrayed  against  him.  Seductive 
influences  also  are  brought  to  bear  upon 

TOL.  n.  ] 


him  to  lead  him  astray.  His  life  is 
one  of  peril.  He  needs  a  ^^ fortress** 
from  which  he  may  hurl  defiance  at  his 
foes. 

IL  An  assurance  of  safety.  "He 
that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High  shall  abide  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty.     Notice  here : 

1.  The  condition.  To  realise  this 
safety  the  godly  man  must  "  dwell  in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High." 
■)/lD.    which   is    here   translated    *'  the 

secret  place,'*  signifies  primarily  a  veil, 
a  covering,  then,  what  is  secret,  then,  a 
hiding-place,  protection.  The  latter  we 
take  to  be  the  meaning  in  this  place. 
The  godly  soul  dwells  in  the  hiding- 
place,  i.e.,  in  the  protection  of  the  Most 
High.  His  trust  he  reposes  in  God. 
He  looks  to  Him  for  protection  from  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  wicked,  and  for  sup- 
port and  shelter  in  the  storms  of  lite. 
To  assure  his  safety  the  good  man  must 
"  dwell "  in  the  hiding-place  of  the 
Most  High.  The  literal  rendering  is, 
"  He  that  sitteth  in  the,"  &c.  He  dwells 
in  quietude,  he  finds  rest  there,  he  is 
settled  there.  "God's  children  should 
not  come  to  God's  secret  place  as  guests 
to  an  inn,  but  as  inhabitants  to  their 
own  dwellings."  Speaking  without  any 
figure,  the  condition  of  spiritual  safety 
is  constant  trust  in  God  as  our  Protec- 
tor. "  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord 
shall  be  as  mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be 
removed,  but  abideth  for  ever." 

2.  The  promise.  "Shall  abide  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty."  The 
rendering  in  the  margin  is  "  shall  lodge." 
Hengstenberg  translates;  ^^ spends  the 
night,"  Tlie  idea  is,  that  that  is  his 
home,  the  place  where  he  passes  his 
nights.  Under  the  shadow  is  explained 
by  some   by  the  bird  who   hides   her 

49 


PSALM  XOI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


young  ones  under  her  wings  for  their 
protection.  Others  explain  it  as  indi- 
cating the  great  nearness  of  God  to  His 
people,  and  their  consequent  safety.  We 
must  be  and  continue  very  close  to  a 
person  for  his  shadow  to  fall  constantly 
upon  us.  Thus  to  abide  under  His 
shadow  is  to  realise  His  constant  pre- 
sence, and  to  be  always  secure  in  His 
protection.  The  names  of  God  which 
are  here  used  set  forth  the  ground  upon 
which  this  assurance  of  the  godly  man 
is  based:  "the  Most  High,"  "the  Al- 
mighty." What  power  can  harm  the 
man  who  is  protected  by  the  constant 
presence  of  the  Supreme  and  Omnipo- 
tent Being  1  In  the  time  of  tempta- 
tion, affliction,  and  darkness,  we  shall 
pass  the  night  under  His  shadow.  And 
in  the  toil  and  battle  of  the  day,  with 
its  heat  and  burden,  we  shall  rest  secure 
beneath  the  Aliuighty's  shade.  In  His 
nearness  to  us  our  safety  lies.  While 
we  are  under  His  shadow  no  evil  can 
befall  us.  Distance  from  Him  means 
danger.  Closeness  to  Him  means  entire 
security. 

III.  An  expression  of  confidence. 
"  I  will  say  of  the  Lord,  He  is  my  re- 
fuge and  my  fortress ;  my  God  j  in  Him 
will  I  trust."     Consider  here — 

1.  The  aspects  in  ivhich  God  is  re- 
garded. He  is  spoken  of  as  a  ^^  Refuged 
God  is  the  refuge  of  His  people  from 
the  storms  of  life.  In  tiraes  of  suffering 
and  trial  they  find  safety  and  comfort 
in  Him.  He  is  also  a  ^^ fortress."  The 
idea  of  this  word  is  different  from  that 
of  a  refuge.  The  refuge  was  a  quiet 
and  secure  hiding-place  ]  the  fortress  is 
a  place  of  defence  against  foes,  which  is 
strong  to  resist  the  attacks  of  opposing 
forces.  In  life's  warfare  God  is  the 
stronghold  of  His  people  ;  He  is  their 
shield.  "  0  God  the  Lord,  the  strength 
of  my  salvation,  Thou  hast  <jovered  my 
head  in  the  day  of  battle."  Having 
His  protection  we  are  invulnerable.  In 
life's  storms  He  is  the  safe  and  quiet 
shelter  of  His  people.  "  Aly  soul 
trusteth  in  Thee  :  yea,  in  the  shadow 
of  Thy  wings  will  I  make  my  refuge, 
until  these  calamities  be  overpast."  The 
Psalmist  also  speaks  of  the  Lord  as  his 


"God;"    the  object  of  His  worship; 

One  who  is  worthy  of  all  obedience  and 
affection,  all  reverence  and  confidence, 
all  praise  and  glory.  Jehovah  was  to 
the  Psalmist  all  that  a  man  expects  in 
his  God. 

2.  The  confidence  which  is  expressed  in 
Him.  The  Psalmist's  confidence  in 
God  is  manifest  (1)  In  his  resolve  to 
trust  Him.  "  In  Him  will  I  trust." 
The  Psalmist  confidently  leaves  His  in- 
terests in  the  hands  of  God.  Believing 
in  His  power,  goodness,  and  faithfulness, 
he  trusts  Him — confides  in  Him.  (2) 
In  the  appropriating  nature  of  his  faith. 
He  says,  "  My  refuge,  my  fortress,  my 
God."  There  is  little  or  no  strength  or 
encouragement  to  be  drawn  from  be- 
lieving in  the  Lord  as  a  refuge  and  a 
fortress  unless  we  realise  our  interest  in 
Him.  But  when  faith  is  in  vigorous 
exercise  and  we  claim  God  as  our  own, 
then  are  we  inspirited  and  strengthened. 
Can  we  look  to  God  and  say,  "  My  re- 
fuge, my  fortress,  my  God"?  (3)  In 
the  declaration  of  his  confidence,  **  I 
will  say  of  the  Lord,"  <kc.  He  was  de- 
termined to  proclaim  his  confidence  in 
God.  He  believes,  and,  therefore,  he 
speaks.  Men  are  ready  enough  now-a- 
days  to  speak  of  their  doubts.  But  he 
is  the  noble  man  and  the  useful  man 
who  can  intelligently  and  reverently 
speak  of  his  faith  ;  who  says,  "  1  know 
whom  I  have  believed,"  &c.;  and  who  is 
**  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to 
every  man  that  asketh  him  a  reason  for 
the  hope  that  is  in  him  with  meekness 
and  fear."  Great  was  the  confidence  of 
the  Psalmist  in  God,  and  his  great  con- 
fidence he  declares  unto  others. 

Conclusion. — We  also  are  exposed  to 
trials  and  dangers,  and  need  a  refuge 
and  a  defence.  Our  safety  is  in  God 
alone.  Having  Him  for  our  God  we 
are  beyond  the  reach  of  any  real  harm. 
We  secure  His  protection  by  trusting  in 
Him.  By  faith  we  dwell  in  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High,  and  are  ever 
secure  under  His  shadow.  Do  not  fear 
or  hesitate  to  trust  God  fully  and  for 
ever.  Commit  yourself  with  confidence 
into  His  hands,  and  you  shall  dweU 
safely  by  Him  for  ever. 


50 


EOMJLBTW  CfOMMENTARY:  PSALMS,  psalm  xoi. 


The  Inviolablk  Security  of  the  Godly. 

(Verses  3-10.) 

In  these  verses  the  Poet  sets  forth  In  such  a  protector  we  do  well  to  trust 

with  a  measure  of  particularity  what  he  and  rejoice.     He  is  wise  to    baffle   the 

has  already  expressed  briefly  and  gene-  crafty   designs  of  the  cunning  fowler ; 

rally.     He  expresses  in  joyous  song  his  tender  to  shelter  us  from  the  storm  and 

strong  confidence  that  he  is  safe  from  tempest;    and  strong  to  defend  us  in 

dangers   of  every  kind,    because  he  is  the  day  of  battle. 
protected  by  Qod.    The  inviolable  security         II.   As    gloriously   complete.      The 

of  the  ffodly  is  here  reY)reseuted —  Psalmist  labours  to  set  forth  the  com- 

L  As  effected  by  God.     "  Surely  ffe  pleteness  of  the  safety  of  the  godly  man. 

shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the  He  represents  him  as  being — 
fowler,  and  from  the  noisome  pestilence.  1.  Safe  from  all   'perils.     It  is  per- 

He  shall  cover  thee  with  His  feathers,  haps  impossible  to  assert  with  certainty 

and  under  Ris  wings  shalt  thou  trust :  what  the  Psalmist  meant  by  each  of  the 

His    truth   shall    be    thy    shield    and  phrases  and  figures  he  employed.     "  The 

buckler."    The  Psalmist  felt  that  he  had  snare   of  the  fowler^''   indicates   danger 

for  protector  no  less  a  being  than  God  arising  from  the  craft  and  cunning  of 

Himself.      Two  features  of  the  Divine  enemies.     The  great  enemy  of  God  and 

protection  are  here  brought  into  view.  man  is  especially  signified.     The  Lord 

1.  Its  tenderness.  "  He  shall  cover  delivers  His  people  from  "  the  wiles  of 
thee  with  His  feathers,  and  under  His  the  devil."  ^^  The  noisome  pestilence.^* 
wings  shalt  thou  trust."  The  young  There  is  a  difference  in  both  the  trans- 
birds  under  the  wing  of  their  mother  lations  and  the  interpretations  of  this 
are  tenderly  guarded.  (See  our  notes  clause.  Perowne  translates — "  The  de- 
on  Psalm  Ivii.  1,  and  Ixiii.  7.)  Gott-  vouring  pestilence."  Barnes — "The/a^a^ 
hold  tells  how  that  during  a  fire  at  pestilence  ]  the  pestilence  that  spreads 
Delft,  in  Holland,  certain  storks,  finding  death  in  its  march."  Hengstenberg — 
it  impossible  to  preserve  their  brood,  "  The  pestilence  of  wickedness."  And 
placed  themselves  upon  the  nest,  spread  Matthew  Henry  says — **  The  contagion  \\ 
over  them  their  wings,  and  so  perished  of  sin  is  the  noisome  pestilence."  We  ^ 
with  them  in  the  flames.  "  Under  these  think  the  latter  view  the  correct  one. 
wings,"  says  Bernard,  "  four  blessings  The  first  clause  of  the  verse  (ver.  3)  we 
are  conferred  upon  us.  For  under  these  regard  as  representing  the  subtle  temp- 
wings  we  are  concealed:  under  these  we  tations  of  Satan,  and  the  second  the 
are  protected  from  the  attacks  of  the  ruinous  contagion  of  sin.  God  delivers 
hawks  and  kites,  which  are  the  powers  from  both  all  who  trust  in  Him.  Heng- 
of  the  air:  under  these  a  salubrious  shade  stenberg,  as  we  think  with  great  pro- 
refreshes  us,  and  wards  off  the  over-  bability,  interprets  verse  6  as  setting 
powering  heat  of  the  sun  :  under  these  forth  the  safety  of  the  godly  from  the 
also  we  are  nourished  and  cherished."  attacks  of  men,  and  verse  6  as  setting 

2.  Its  effectiveness.  Wings  and  feathers  forth  their  safety  from  sickness.  Per- 
indicate  the  tender  and  loving  character  owne,  on  verse  5,  says — "  Terror  by 
of  the  Divine  protection.  Yet  wings  night  (comp.  Song  of  Sol.  iii.  8,  Prov. 
and  feathers  are  weak  and  may  be  easily  iii.  23-26),  in  allusion,  probably,  to 
broken.  But  the  Divine  protection  is  night  attacks  like  those  of  Gideon 
as  strong  as  it  is  tender,  as  efficient  as  (Jndg.  vii.),  a  favourite  artifice  of 
it  is  gracious.  "  His  truth  shall  be  thy  Oriental  warfare  ;  or  perhaps  to  a 
shield  and  buckler."  God's  word,  and  destruction  like  that  of  Sennacherib " 
His  faithfulness  to  His  word,  are  as  And  it  has  been  pointed  out  on  verse  6, 
armour  to  His  people,  preserving  them  that  *'  the  diseases  of  all  hot  climates, 
from  the  onslaughts  of   their  enemies,  and  especially  where  vegetation  is  highly 

61 


nAJMXCL 


EOMILSTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


luxuriant,  and  marslies  and  miry  swamps 
are  abundant,  proceed  from  the  accumu- 
lating vapours  of  the  nightj  or  from  the 
violence  of  the  sun's  rays  at  mid-day. 
The  beriberi  of  Ceylon,  the  spasmodic 
cholera  and  jungle-fever  of  India,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  fevers  of  inter- 
tropical climates,  especially  that  called 
the  yelUw-fever,  chiefly  originate  from 
the  firit  of  these — *  the  pestilence  that 
walketh  in  darkness  ;'  while  sunstrokes, 
apoplexies,  inflammations  of  the  brain, 
and  liver  complaints  of  most  kinds, 
proceed  from  the  second,  *the  destruc- 
tion that  wasteth  at  noonday.*  And  it 
is  in  allusion  to  this  double  source  of 
mischief  that  the  Psalmist  exclaims  most 
beautifully  on  another  occasion  (Ps. 
cxxi.  6),  *The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee 
by  day,  nor  the  moon  by  night.* "  The 
seventh  verse  seems  to  refer  to  warlike 
relations,  and  to  express  the  security  of 
the  godly  in  battle.  And  in  verse  10, 
where  the  plague  is  mentioned  as  not 
coming  nigh  the  dwelling  of  the  right- 
eous, there  is,  perhaps,  an  allusion  to  the 
exemption  of  the  Israelites  from  the 
plagues  of  Egypt.  But,  leaving  the 
examination  of  details,  let  us  take  hold 
/  pi  the  main  idea  of  the  Poet,  that  the 
l^odly  are  safe  from  perils  of  all  kinds 
|Und  from  all  perils.  "The  variety  of 
figures  employed  shows  that  the  Psalmist 
is  thinking  of  peril  of  every  kind,  coming 
from  whatever  source,  and  that  he  paints 
all  dangers  and  fears  vividly  to  the  eye 
of  his  mind,  in  order  to  express  the 
more  joyfully  his  confidence  that  none 
of  these  things  can  move  him,  that  over 
all  he  is  more  than  conqueror.  It  is  St. 
Paul's  fervid  exclamation,  *If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?'  ex- 
pressed in  rich  poetry.**  From  all  the 
assaults  of  Satan,  from  the  fatal  con- 
tagion of  moral  evil,  from  the  attacks 
of  enemies  both  by  night  and  by  day, 
from  hurtful  diseases,  from  every  plague, 
from  all  evil,  the  godly  man  is  preserved. 
2.  Safe  at  all  times.  "  By  night,  by 
day ;  in  darkness,*'  and  "  at  noonday  ** 
the  Divine  protection  is  alike  exercised. 
"  He  that  keepeth  thee  will  not  slumber. 
Behold,  He  that  keepeth  Israel  shall 
neither  slumber  nor  sleep  ^  .  The  sun 
■hall  not  smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the 
62 


moon  by  night.  .  .  .  The  Lord  shall 
preserve  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming 
in  from  this  time  forth,  and  even  foi 
evermore.*'  The  guardianship  of  God 
is  unremitting,  constant,  and  unchange- 
able. They  who  trust  in  Him  are  at  all 
times  safe  in  His  keeping. 

3.  Raised  above  the  fear  of  danger. 
"  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  terror 
by  night ;  nor  for  the  arrow  that  flieth 
by  day ;  nor  for  the  pestilence  that 
walketh  in  darkness;  nor  for  the  de- 
struction that  wasteth  at  noonday.'*  A 
stout  heart  may  well  be  excused  if  it 
were  afraid  of  perils  such  as  these,  and 
especially  when  they  approach  us  in 
darkness  and  at  night.  In  the  darkness 
of  night  evil  is  apt  to  assume  an  exag- 
gerated character.  Imagination  increases 
its  terrors.  If  we  could  clearly  see  the 
perils  which  threaten  us  they  would  lose 
much  of  their  terror-inspiring  power. 
But  the  godly  man,  trusting  in  the 
Lord,  shall  not  be  afraid  of  the  terrors 
of  the  night  or  the  perils  of  the  day. 
In  the  midst  of  dangers  he  shall  walk 
calmly  because  of  his  trust  in  the  all- 
sufficient  protection  of  God. 

But  is  all  this  true  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact 
that  pestilence  seizes  the  saint  as  well  as 
the  sinner  ?  Does  not  the  plague  enter 
the  dwelling  of  the  good  man  as  well  as 
that  of  the  evil  %  It  is  unquestionable 
that  the  godly  are  not  exempt  from  "  the 
ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.**  Loss,  sick- 
ness, suffering,  death,  fall  to  their  lot 
even  as  to  others.  What,  then,  does 
the  Psalmist  mean  in  these  verses  1 
How  are  we  to  understand  them  ? 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  we  are 
interpreting    poetry,    not   prose.      The 
sacred   poets  of  the    Hebrews,   like  all 
other  poets,  used  figurative  and  rhetorical 
language.     And  to  interpret,  their  poems 
in  the  same  way  ae  we  interpret  an  his- 
torical document,  or  a  logical  treatise, 
or  an  apostolic  letter,  would  be  utterly 
misleading.     The  plain  truth  expressed^ 
in  these  verses  is,  that  God  is  the  Pro-^ 
tector  of  His  people,  and  that  they  ar« 
secure  who  put  their  trust  in  Him.    Nor 
is  it  difficult  to  show  that  in  times  of] 
pestilence  and  peril  the  position  of  the] 
godly  man  is  far  superior  to  that  of  th< 
migodly.      We    may    mention   at   least 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  maim  loi. 


three   things   in  which   this  is  clearly  patience ;"   that   out   of  affliction   and 

manifest.     (1)  Faith  in  God  is  a  great  conflict   the   saints    often    bring    great 

safeguard  against   disease   and  danger.  spoil  of  spiritual  treasures ;  that  "  these 

Stier  states  that  some  years  ago  a  dis-  light   afflictions,  which  are   but   for    a 

tinguished  physician  in  St.  Petersburg  moment,    are  working   for   him    a   far 

recommended   this  Psalm    as   the  best  more  exceeding  and   eternal  weight  of 

defence  against  the  cholera.     And  Tho-  glory."     He  has  gracious  support  in  all 

luck  admirably  says — "  As  the  general  his  trials  and   afflictions  ;   and,    being 

who  carries  within  him  the  conviction  sanctified  by  God,  great  blessings  accrue 

that  he  is  called  to  a  great  work,  whilst  to  him  by  means  of  them.     And  to  the 

the  bullets  fall  thick  as  hail  about  him,  godly  men  of  this  Christian  age  death 

stands  with  calm  eye  and  firm  foot,  and  is  not  an  evil ;  it  signifies  not  loss,  but 

says :  I  know  that  the  bullet  is  not  yet  gain ;  it  is  the  gate  of  life  ;  it  is  birth 

cast  which  can  strike  me,  so  stands  the  into  a  higher  and  diviner  form  of  life, 

man  of  prophetic  faith  in  the  hour  of  It  is  true,  then,  that  no  real  evil  can 

danger,   with   the   conviction    that   the  befall  the  godly  soul  who  is  trusting  in 

thunderbolt   will   turn   aside   from   his  the  Lord.     And  if  suffering  and  sorrow 

head,  and  the  torrent  dry  up  at  his  feet,  and  loss  should  be  his  portion,  God  will 

and  the  arrows  fall  blunted  from  his  educe  from  them  blessings  of  transcen- 

breast,  because  the  Lord  wills  it"     Faith  dent  and  perpetual  value.     " We  know 

in  God  is  the  great  condition  of  calm-  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 

ness   and  courage    in  time   of   danger.  to  them  that  love  God." 

(2)  The  godly  man  observes  the  laws  of  III.  As  conditionated  by  trust  in 

health.     Pestilence  and  disease  find  their  God.      The  godly  man  is  thus   secure 

victims  chiefly  amongst  the  intemperate  because    he   has   made    the    Lord    his 

and  licentious,  who  by  their  sinful  habits  refuge,  and  the  Most  High  his  habita- 

are  predisposed  to  their  attacks,  and  un-  tion.      (See  notes  on  the  condition  of 

able   to   resist   their  power.      But  the  safety  in  the  preceding  homily.)     This 

godly   man,  by   reason  of    his   life   of  verse  (the  9th)  is  in  substance  a  repeti- 

virtue,     temperance,     and     cleanliness,  tion  of  the  first  verse.      If   we  would 

often  escapes  the  most  deadly  diseases  secure  the  protection  of  God  we  must 

without    any    attack,    or    if    attacked  trust  Him  fully  and  constantly, 

frequently  recovers.     (3)  Suffering  and  Conclusion. — 1.    Let  the  godly  ever 

death  wear  a  different  aspect  to  the  godly  trust  and  rejoice  in  their  Protector.     2. 

man  from  that  which  they  present  to  the  Sinner y  seek   and   secure  this  protection 

wicked.      He   knows   that   suffering   is  while  you  may.     "  Let  the  wicked  for- 

educational ;  "  that  tribulation  worketh  sake  his  way,"  &c 

Thb  Esward  op  the  Wicked. 
(Verse  8.) 

These  words  suggest —  Divine  rule  is  not  always  manifest  in 

I.  That  there    is   a   difference  be-  this  world.     If   the  present  were  our 

tween  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous  only   state   of   being,   there   are   many 

and  the  wicked.     The   same   external  things   which   we   could   not   reconcile 

afiiictions  and  trials  may  befall  them ;  with    the    fact    that    God    reigns     in 

but  to  the  righteous  they  are  educational^  righteousness. 

to  the  wicked  they  are  punitive — "the  IV.  That  the  righteousness  of  the 

reward,"  <kc.  Divine  rule  will  ultimately  be  clearly 

n.  That  the  Divine  rule  in    this  manifest  to  all.    The  godly  with  their 

world  is  righteous.     Under  it  the  godly  eyes    "shall    see    the   reward    of    the 

are  protected  by  God,  while  the  wicked  wicked."     There   is   a   state  where   all 

are  punished.  the  apparent  inequalities  of   the  moral 

m.  That  the  righteousness  of  the  government  of  our  world  will  be  clearly 

53 


TCAUIXCI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


rectified.  "  Woe  unto  the  wicked  !  it 
shall  be  ill  with  him ;  for  the  reward 
of  his  hands  shall  be  given  him." 

V.  The  weak  and  fearful  believer, 
notwithstanding  his  fears,  shall  not 


perish  with  the  wicked.  "  Only  with 
his  eyes  shall  he  see  the  reward  of  the 
wicked,"  while  he  himself  shall  enjoy 
the  glorious  inheritance  of  the  good. 


Ths  Akoelio  Ministers  of  the  Godlt. 
{Verses  11-13.) 


In  pursuance  of  the  main  topic  the 
Poet  here  speaks  of  angels  as  charged 
by  God  to  help  and  defend  His  people. 
Literally   the    word    angel    signifies    a 
messenger,  and  may  be  used  personally 
or   impersonally.       It   is   used   in    the 
Scriptures  to    designate   ordinary    mes- 
sengers, prophets,    Christian   ministers, 
<kc.      In    this   place  it  denotes   super- 
human  spirits — angels,  as  the  word  is 
commonly  understood  at  present.     From 
the  representations  of  the  holy  Word  it 
is  clear  that  the  angels  rank  high  in  the 
scale  of  being.     They  are  said  to  possess 
great   power.      *' Angels   that   excel  in 
strength."       "  Mighty    angels.''      And 
most  astonishing  achievements  of  power 
are   attributed    to    them.       They   also 
possess    great     intelligence.       This     is 
plainly   implied   in   the    words  of   the 
Lord — "  But   of    that    day   and    hour 
knoweth   no  man,  no,   not  the   angels 
of  heaven,   but  My  Father  only."     It 
is  also   implied  in  the  statement  that 
they  are  "full  of  eyes  before  and  be- 
hind," and  "  full  of  eyes  within."     The 
amazing  power  that  they  wield  is  chiefly 
the  power  of  intelligence  and  wisdom. 
They  also  possess  complete  moral  purity. 
They   are    spoken   of  in    the   Bible  as 
"  saints,"     "  holy   ones,"    and    "  holy 
angels."     Dwelling  in  that  world  where 
not   even  the  shadow  of   moral   defile- 
ment  can    enter,  and   standing   in  the 
immediate  presence  of  God,  they  must 
be  entirely  free  from  even  the  smallest 
moral    stain    or    imperfection.       Their 
power,  intelligence,    purity,  diflfer  from 
ours  in  this,  that  they  are   perfect  in 
kind.     They  differ  from  those  of  God  in 
this,  that  they  are  imperfect  in  degree. 
There  is  before  the  angels  a  career  of 
constant  progress,  both  moral  and  intel- 
lectual, through  all  eternity.     Moreover, 
they  are  represented  as  interested  in  the 


affairs  of  this  world,  and  as  actively 
employed  by  God  in  connection  with 
those  affairs.  *'  They  are  represented  as 
being,  in  the  widest  sense,  agents  of 
God's  providence,  natural  and  super- 
natural, to  the  body  and  to  the  soul. 
Thus  the  operations  of  nature  are  spoken 
of  as  under  angelic  guidance  fulfilling 
the  will  of  God.  .  .  .  More  particularly, 
however,  angels  are  spoken  of  as  min- 
isters of  what  is  commonly  called  the 
'  supernatural,'  or  perhaps  more  correctly 
the  *  spiritual '  Providence  of  God ;  as 
agents  in  the  great  scheme  of  the 
spiritual  redemption  and  sanctification 
of  man."  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  "  is 
said  to  **  encamp  round  about  them 
that  fear  Him,  and  to  deliver  them." 
They  are  represented  as  watching  over 
Christ's  little  ones ;  as  rejoicing  over  a 
penitent  sinner;  as  bearing  the  spirits 
of  the  redeemed  into  Paradise ;  and  as 
"ministering  spirits"  for  the  spiritual 
guidance  and  help  of  the  heirs  of  salva- 
tion. And  in  the  text  they  are  said  to 
be  charged  by  God  to  uphold  and  aid 
His  people.  That  they  should  thus 
minister  to  the  godly  is  in  the  highest 
degree  reasonable.  (1)  From  the  inte- 
rest which  they  take  in  man  (Luke  xv. 
10;  1  Pet  i.  12).  (2)  Inasmuch  as  a 
fallen  angel  led  man  to  his  ruin,  and 
still  by  malign  influences  seeks  our  de- 
struction, does  it  not  seem  appropriate 
and  reasonable  that  holy  angels  should 
aid  us  in  every  virtuous  and  worthy 
effort?  (3)  It  is  the  law  of  God's 
universe  that  His  creatures  should 
minister  to  each  other.  All  things  and 
all  beings  are  made  for  service.  The 
higher  order  of  beings  are  made  to 
minister  to  the  lower — the  strong  to 
help  the  weak,  the  enlightened  to 
instruct  the  ignorant,  <kc.  Our  Lord 
''came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  JUJl. 


to  minister."  "I  am  among  you,"  He 
said,  *'  as  He  that  serveth."  God  is  the 
Great  Minister  of  all  His  creatures. 
How  reasonable  then  that  angels  should 
minister  to  men  !  If  we  are  asked  in 
what  way  angels  minister  to  men?  or, 
how  they  serve  us  ]  we  may  with  strict 
fairness  decline  to  reply.  We  may 
accept  a  fact  without  being  able  to 
explain  its  mode.  All  men,  indeed,  do 
80  in  many  things.  So  we  accept  as 
true  the  statement  that  angelic  beings 
aid  men,  though  we  are  unable  to  ex- 
plain by  what  method  they  do  so.  But 
may  it  not  be  that  they  aid  us  by  sug- 
gesting to  our  mind  thoughts,  reasons, 
and  motives  to  action,  and  by  awaken- 
ing emotions  in  our  souls  ?  (fee.  Any 
way,  we  thankfully  accept  and  rejoice 
in  their  ministry  as  a  precious  reality. 

"  Oh  I  th'  exceeding  grace 
Of  highest  God  that  loves  His  creatures  so, 
And  all  His  works  with  mercy  doth  embrace, 
That  blessed  angels  He  sends  to  and  fro, 
To  serve  to  wicked  men,  to  serve  His  wicked 
foe. 

"How  oft  do  they  their  silver  bowers  leave, 
To  come  to  succour  us  that  succour  want  I 
How  oft  do  they  with  golden  pinions  cleave 
The  flitting  skies,  like  flying  pursuivant, 
Against  foul  fiends  to  aid  us  militant ! 
They  for  us  fight,  they  watch  and  duly  ward, 
And  their  bright  squadrons  round  about  us 

plant ; 
And  all  for  love,  and  nothing  for  reward. 
Oh  !  why  should  heavenly  God  to  men  have 

such  regard  1 " — Spenser. 

In  the  text  the  angelic  ministers  of  the 
good  are  said  to  be — 

I.    Commissioned  by    God.       "He 

shall  give  His  angels  charge  over  thee." 

1.  l^hei/  are  ''^His  angels."  He  called 
them  into  being.  He  sustains  them. 
The  most  mighty  and  glorious  of  their 
number  is  dependent  upon  Him.  He  is 
sovereign  over  them  all.  Loyally  and 
reverently  they  acknowledge  His  sove- 
reign right  over  them. 

2.  They  are  commissioned  hy  Him. 
He  allots  to  them  their  respective  duties. 
They  "do  His  commandments,  hearken- 
ing unto  the  voice  of  His  word."  They 
are  "  His  hosts,  ministers  of  His  that  do 
His  pleasure."  The  *'  charge  "  which  in 
the  text  they  are  said  to  receive  is  more 
than  a  mere  direction  or  order ;  it  is  a 
Bolemn    command.       All    the    angelic 


ministers  of  the  godly  obey  His  behests  j 
they  serve  under  Him, — they  are  carry- 
ing out  His  purposes. 

This  angelic  ministry  is — 

n.  Exercised  for  the  godly  as  indi- 
viduals. "He  shall  give  His  angels 
charge  over  thee."  God  is  profoundly 
solicitous  for  the  well-being  of  each  one 
of  His  people.  He  does  not  overlook 
the  individual  in  the  multitude.  He 
cares  for  every  godly  soul  with  a  care  as 
complete  and  constant  as  though  He  had 
no  other  soul  to  care  for.  So  in  the 
ministry  of  His  angels  unto  men  He 
gives  them  charge  not  simply  of  His 
Church  or  of  the  communities  which 
compose  it,  but  of  every  individual 
member  who  trusts  in  Him.  So  that 
every  true  believer  may  say,  "  In  my 
lonely  labour,  and  sorrow,  and  conflict, 
when  far  removed  from  human  help  and 
fellowship,  my  angelic  helpers  still  have 
me  in  their  charge,  and  are  still  near  to 
help  me."  Thus  an  angel  ministered 
to  Elijah  (1  Kings  xix.  4-8) ;  to  Daniel 
(Dan.  vi.  22);  to  Peter  (Acts  xii.  7-10). 

This  angelic  ministry  is — 

III.  Exercised  for  the  godly  only 
when  they  are  in  their  true  path. 
"  To  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways."  It  is 
significant  that  when  Satan  quoted  this 
verse  in  the  temptation  of  our  Lord,  he 
omitted  this  clause.  Had  he  quoted  the 
whole  verse,  his  temptation  would  have 
refuted  itself.  '*  The  '  ways  '  spoken  of 
in  the  Psalm  are  the  '  ways '  of  obedi- 
ence and  duty,  not  the  *  ways '  of  pre- 
sumption or  self-seeking."  In  the  ways 
which  God  has  prescribed  for  us  to  walk 
in  we  shall  find  safety  and  support  even 
when  the  way  is  roughest  and  we  are 
feeblest.  But  if  we  step  out  of  the 
way,  we  forfeit  the  help  of  the  angel 
ministers.  If  we  are  out  of  the  way, 
their  business  is  not  to  help  us  but  to 
oppose  us,  if  haply  their  opposition  may 
lead  us  to  retrace  our  ste})s  and  re-enter 
our  true  path.  So  long  as  we  are  in  our 
way  we  are  sure  of  the  Divine  help  and 
protection,  for  His  angels  will  not  fail 
in  their  charge  ;  but  if  we  are  out  of 
our  way,  we  are  exposed  to  dangers 
from  every  quarter.  The  path  of  duty 
is  the  path  of  safety. 

The  angelic  ministry  is — 


55 


PSALM  XOL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


IV.  Exercised  for  the  godly  always 
when  they  are  in  their  true  path. 

"  To  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways."  God 
calls  men  to  tread  different  ways.  He 
also  calls  the  same  person  to  tread 
different  ways  at  different  times.  There 
are  the  ways  of  arduous  duty,  and  of 
severe  trial,  and  of  peaceful  progress, 
&c.  God's  way  for  one  man  is  the  way 
of  patient  endurance.  He  calls  him  to 
suffer ;  His  way  for  another  man  is  the 
way  of  constant  and  perhaps  difficult 
service,  He  calls  him  to  work  ;  His  way 
for  vast  numbers  is  that  of  quietly  and 
faithfully  discharging  "  the  daily  round 
and  common  tasks "  of  life,  He  calls 
them  to  diligence  and  faithfulness.  In 
all  the  paths  of  life  which  He  calls  us  to 
tread  our  angelic  ministers  are  near  for 
our  help.  When  our  path  lies  by  the 
rippling  waters  of  gentle  streams, 
beneath  azure  skies,  amid  beauteous 
scenes  and  with  genial  breezes,  they  keep 
us  in  our  way.  And  when  we  travel 
the  steep  and  rugged  way,  beneath 
heavy  clouds  and  amid  furious  storms, 
they  bear  us  up  on  their  hands  lest  we 
dash  our  foot  against  a  stone.  In  the 
thronged  and  dusty  way  of  life's  busy 
scenes,  and  in  the  retired  and  peaceful 
paths  of  quiet  service,  they  keep  us. 
"  To  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways." 

V.  By  means  of  the  exercise  of  this 
angelic  ministry  the  godly  are  enabled 
to  surmount  all  the  hindrances  and 
conquer  all  the  foes  that  beset  their 
way.  "  They  shall  bear  thee  up  on 
their  hands,  lest  thou  dash  thy  foot 
against  a  stone.  Thou  shalt  tread  upon 
the  lion  and  adder ;  the  young  lion  and 
the  dragon  shalt  thou  trample  under 
foot."  "By  the  *lion  and  adder,'" 
says  Perowne,  "  there  is  no  need  to 
understand  exclusively,  or  chiefly,  the 
powers  of  darkness,  the  evil  spirits.  As 
by  '  a  stone  '  all  hindrances,  so  by  *  the 
lion  and  dragon '  all  hostile  powers  are 
denoted,"  By  means  of  this  angelic 
ministry  the  godly  are — 

1.  Preserved  from  falling.  "They 
shall  bear  thee  up  on  their  hands,  lest 
thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone." 
One  great  object  of  the  ministry  of 
angels  is  to  guard  the  good  If^st  they 
stumble  and  fall  into  sin.  They  aid  us 
56 


to  overcome  the  hindrances  of  life.  **  If 
we  cannot  have  the  way  smoothed,  it 
answers  every  purpose  if  we  have  angels 
to  bear  us  up  on  their  hands." 

2,  Enabled  to  conquer  the  most  power- 
fulfoes.  "The  lion  "  and  "  the  young 
lion  "  represent  enemies  of  great  strength 
and  violence.  Satan  is  said  to  go  about 
"  as  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour."  The  most  powerful  ene- 
mies of  the  good  cannot  cope  with  one 
of  the  angels  of  God.  One  angel  of  the 
Lord  in  one  night  smote  one  hundred 
and  eighty-five  thousand  Assyrians. 
The  man  who  trusts  in  the  Lord,  look- 
ing upon  the  most  numerous  and  most 
powerful  enemies,  in  full  assurance  of 
victory  may  say,  "  Fear  not ;  for  they 
that  be  with  us  are  more  than  they  that 
be  with  them."  Our  helpers  are  more 
numerous  and  more  powerful  than  our 
enemies. 

3.  Enabled  to  conquer  the  most  cun- 
ning foes.  "  The  adder  "  and  "  the 
dragon "  represent  enemies  of  great 
secrecy  and  cunning.  Satan  is  desig- 
nated a  serpent  and  a  dragon.  "And 
the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old 
serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan, 
which  deceiveth  the  whole  world."  St, 
Paul  speaks  of  the  "  wiles  of  the  devil.'* 
Many  of  the  foes  against  which  the 
godly  have  to  contend  in  society  to-day 
seek  to  gain  their  victory  not  by  strength 
but  by  subtlety,  not  by  force  but  by 
fraud.  But  our  angelic  helpers  aid 
us  in  this  respect  also.  We  have  assur- 
ance of  complete  victory  over  both 
"  the  roaring  lion "  and  the  "  old  ser- 
pent." Triumphantly  we  shall  tread 
our  foes  under  our  feet.  Over  both  the 
might  of  opposition  and  the  cunning  of 
temptation  we  shall  be  more  than  con- 
querors. 

Conclusion.  1.  Our  subject  affords 
encouragement  to  trust  in  God.  How 
numerous  and  efficient  are  the  agencies 
He  employs  to  save  us  !  2.  Our  sub- 
ject reveals  the  dignity  of  (he  godly  man. 
Angels,  the  highest  beings  in  creation, 
the  holy,  the  glorious,  the  powerful,  are 
employed  by  God  to  serve  him.  Child 
of  God,  realise  thy  dignity,  walk  wortliily 
of  it.  3.  Our  subject  calls  us  to  the 
service  of  others.  Angels  serve  us,  Christ 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  ZOI. 


serves  us  now  in  heaven,  the  Holy  Ghost  tures  is  our  duty  and  privilege.     Let 

serves,  the  Heavenly  Father  serves,  God  us  secure  the   blessedness  of  unselfish 

is  the  great  servant  of  all.       To  serve  and  hearty  service. 
God  by  ministering  to  our  fellow-crea- 


The  Foes  and  Yictort  of  the  Good. 
{Verse  13.) 


L  The  foes  of  the  good.  These  are — 

1.  Numerous,     "  The  lion  and  adder, 
the  young  lion  and  the  dragon." 

**  Angels  your  march  oppose, 
Who  still  in  strength  excel, 
Tour  secret,  sworn,  eternal  foeg, 
Countless,  iu visible." 

—a  We$ley, 

The  enemies  of  the  good  in  human 
society,  in  commerce,  in  amusements, 
in  literature,  are  very  many.  And  to 
these  and  the  countless  evil  spirits 
must  be  added  the  "  fleshly  lusts  which 
war  against  the  soul." 

2.  Various,  *'The  lion,"  whose 
strength,  courage,  and  ferocity  are  pro- 
verbial. The  word  which  is  translated 
"  adder  "  signifies  "  a  poisonous  snake." 
**The  young  lion"  is  mentioned  as  parti- 
cularly fierce  and  violent.  And  the 
word  which  is  translated  '*  the  dragon," 
signifies  here  a  "  land  serpent  of  a  power- 
ful and  deadly  kind."  Thus  varied  are 
the  foes  of  the  godly  man.  The  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil  are  all  arrayed 
against  him.  He  has  to  battle  with  the 
syren  enticements  of  temptation  and  the 
fierce  attacks  of  persecution,  <kc. 

3.  Terrible.  "The  lion,  adder,  young 
lion,  and  dragon  "  are  very  terrible  foes 
to  the  traveller.  If  once  they  have  him 
in  their  power,  they  will  destroy  him. 
The  foes  of  the  godly  soul  are  to  be 
dreaded  for   their   malignity,  subtlety. 


and  power.  He  is  a  fool  who  thinks 
lightly  of  the  forces  of  evil  which  are 
working  and  fighting  in  this  world. 

II.  The  victory  of  the  good.  This 
is— 

1.  Complete.  '  (1)  Over  all  foes. 
"  The  lion  and  adder,  the  young  lion 
and  the  dragon  "  shall  all  be  vanquished. 
The  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  per- 
secutions and  seductions,  inward  foes 
and  outward,  shall  all  be  overcome  by 
the  man  who  trusts  in  God.  (2)  Over 
all  foes  completely.  *'  Thou  shalt  tread 
upon  the  lion  and  adder,  the  young  lion 
and  the  dragon  shalt  thou  trample  under 
feet."  "  His  meaning  is,  thou  shalt  in- 
tentionally tread  upon  them  like  a  con- 
queror, thou  shalt  tread  upon  them  to 
testify  thy  dominion  over  them.  You 
shall  have  power  to  overcome  whatso- 
ever may  annoy  you."  "  The  God  of 
peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your  feet 
shortly."  The  Christian  will  come  out 
of  life's  conflicts  "more  than  a  con- 
queror "  through  Christ. 

2.  Certain.  (1)  Because  angels  aid 
us  against  our  foes.  They  are  intelligent, 
powerful,  swift,  glorious  allies.  (2)  Be- 
cause God  guarantees  it.  *'  Thou  shalt 
tread,"  &c.  Here  is  no  perhaps,  but  a 
certain  promise  from  Him  who  is  the 
truth.  Take  courage  then,  brother,  in 
life's  battles.  Trust  and  fight,  and  a 
glorious  victory  wiU  be  yours. 


The  Glorious  Privileges  of  the  Godlt. 

{Verses  U  16.) 


The  inspired  poet  in  these  verses  repre- 
sents God  Himself  as  declaring  the  high 
privileges  of  His  servants.  We  have 
here — 

I.  Some  features  in  the  character  of 
the  godly. 

I.  Love  to  God,     **  Because  he  hath 


set  his  love  upon  me."  The  good  man 
loves  God  with  the  love  of  gratitude — 
loves  Him  because  of  what  He  has  done 
and  is  still  doing  for  him.  **We  love 
Him  because  He  first  loved  us."  When 
we  reflect  upon  the  evils  from  which  He 
delivers  us,  and  the  blessings  He  bestowp 

»7 


PtALMXOL 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


upon  us,  and  the  glory  which  awaits  us 
in  the  future,  our  heart  glows  with  grati- 
tude and  affection  to  Him.  The  good 
man  loves  God  with  the  love  of  esteem 
also, — loves  Him  because  of  what  He  is 
in  Himself.  The  love  which  springs 
from  gratitude  is  first  in  order  of  time 
in  the  spiritual  history  of  most  men  ',  but 
the  love  which  springs  from  esteem  is 
first  in  order  of  excellence.  To  love 
Him  because  of  the  divine  beauty  of 
His  character  and  life,  is  a  far  higher 
thing  than  to  love  Him  because  of  the 
benefits  which  we  have  received  from 
Him,  or  which  He  has  promised  to 
bestow  upon  us. 

**  My  God,  I  love  Thee,  not  because 
I  hope  for  heaven  thereby  ; 
Nor  because  they  who  love  Thee  not 
Are  lost  eternally. 

••  Not  with  the  hope  of  gaining  aught, 
Nor  seeking  a  reward, 
But,  as  Thyself  hast  lovM  me, 
0  ever-loving  Lord. 

•*  So  would  I  love  Thee,  blessed  Lord, 
And  in  Thy  praise  will  sing, 
Because  Thou  art  my  loving  God, 
And  my  redeeming  King. " 

— Xavier, 

The  expression,  **  Set  His  love  upon 
me,"  indicates  fixedness  of  affection.  God 
requires  from  us  an  intense  single-hearted 
love.  **Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,  and  with 
all  thy  mind."  Our  supreme  love  must 
be  fixed  upon  God.  There  is  encourage- 
ment for  us  in  this  verse.  '*It  is  not 
because  of  perfect  love  that  God  will 
deliver.  It  is  to  the  will  to  love  and 
serve — it  is  to  the  setting  the  heart  that 
the  promise  is  made — to  the  full  pur- 
pose of  hpart,  that  is  set  to  cleave  unto 
the  Lord.       Do  we  love  God  supremely  ? 

2.  Knowledge  of  God.  "  He  hath 
known  my  name."  Knowledge  of  God 
and  love  to  God  are  closely  connected. 
We  must  have  some  knowledge  of  God 
before  we  can  love  Him.  A  true  know- 
ledge of  God  leads  to  trust  in  Him. 
"  They  that  know  Thy  name  will  put 
their  trust  in  Thee."  To  know  God's 
name  is  to  know  Himself.  Proficiency 
in  this  knowledge  is  attainable  only  to 
the  man  who  loves  God.  As  we  must 
have  some  knowledge  of  God  before  we 
5i 


can  love  Him,  so  we  must  love  Him 
before  we  can  know  much  of  Him. 
"  Every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of  God, 
and  knoweth  God.  He  that  loveth  not 
knoweth  not  God;  for  God  is  love." 
We  can  know  the  heart  of  God  only  as 
we  love  Him.  Where  the  keen  intellect 
fails  to  discover  any  trace  of  God,  He  is 
clearly  and  preciously  manifest  to  the 
pure  and  loving  heart. 

3.  Prayer  to  God,  "  He  shall  call 
upon  Me."  The  godly  soul  cannot  live 
without  prayer.  In  times  of  need  he 
calls  upon  God  for  grace  to  help  him.  In 
the  enjoyment  of  blessing  He  calls  upon 
God  in  grateful  praise.  At  all  times  he 
acknowledges  his  dependence  upon  God. 
And  there  are  seasons  when  prayer 
grows  into  holy  and  blessed  communion, 
in  which  there  are  no  petitions,  but  an 
intense  and  blessed  realisation  of  the 
presence  of  God,  and  adoration  of  Him, 
which  humbles  and  purifies  and  streng- 
thens the  spirit. 

II.  Some  of  the  glorious  privileges 
of  the  godly. 

1.  Deliverance  from  danger.  The 
assurance  is  twice  given,  "  I  will  deliver 
him."  The  good  man  has  enemies  to 
contend  with,  but  God  will  deliver  him 
out  of  their  hands,  and  give  him  the 
victory  over  them.  The  good  man  is 
exposed  to  dangers,  but  God  delivers 
him  safely  out  of  them  all. 

2.  Exaltation  and  consequent  safety, 
"  I  will  set  him  on  high."  I  will  place 
him  out  of  the  reach  of  danger.  God 
raises  those  who  trust  Him  above  the 
stormy  sea  of  this  life,  places  them  on 
an  immovable  rock,  where  the  threaten- 
ing and  thundering  waves  cannot  reach 
them.  "He  shall  dwell  on  high;  his 
place  of  defence  shall  be  the  munitions 
of  rocks."  God  thus  exalts  His  people 
above  the  perils  of  life,  because  they 
know  His  name  and  confide  in  Him. 

3.  Answers  to  prayer.  "I  will 
answer  him."  The  answer  to  prayer  is 
not  necessarily  the  granting  of  our  re- 
quests. *'It  may  be  a  refusal,  an  ex- 
planation, a  promise,  a  conditional 
grant."  Excellently  says  Matthew 
Henry,  "  I  will  answer  by  promises 
(Ixxxv.  8),  answer  by  providences, 
bringing  in  seasonable  relief,  and  answer 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  ZOI. 


by  graces,  strengthening  them  with 
strength  in '  their  souls  ;  thus  He 
answered  Paul  with  grace  sufficient." 
True  prayer  is  always  answered  by  God, 
and  answered  in  infinite  wisdom  and  love. 

4.  The  presence  of  God  in  trouble, 
"  I  will  be  with  him  in  trouble."  The 
good  man  is  not  exempted  from  trouble, 
but  supported  in  the  midst  of  trouble. 
The  celebrated  William  Dawson  says, 
"  At  other  times  God  will  leave  them 
in  the  hands  of  angels  :  *  He  shall  give 
His  angels  charge  over  thee  to  keep 
thee,'  <fec.  But  when  they  are  in  trouble, 
I  will  say  to  the  angels,  *  Stand  aside, 
I  will  take  care  of  them  Myself.  I  will 
be  with  them  in  trouble."  So  He 
speaks  to  His  people :  '  When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be 
with  thee,'  <fec.  When  languishing  in 
sickness.  He  will  make  His  bed  and 
his  pillow  ;  when  travelling  through  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  the  Lord 
will  be  with  him,  and  enable  him  to 
sing,  *  I  will  fear  no  evil ;  for  Thou  art 
with  me,'  &c.  Thus  He  is  with  them 
as  their  physician  and  nurse,  in  pain 
and  sickness  ;  as  their  strength  in  weak- 
ness ;  as  their  guide  in  difficulty  ;  their 
ease  in  pain ;  and  their  life  in  death." 

6.  2^he  conference  of  distinguished 
honour.  "  I  will  honour  him."  God 
honours  His  people  in  this  life  by  de- 
livering them  from  danger  and  trial,  by 
sustaining  them  in  suffering  and  sorrow, 
and  by  raising  them  into  the  most  ex- 
alted relationships.  **  Now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God."  In  the  life  that  is  to 
come  God  will  honour  them  by  raising 
them  to  the  iiighest  dignities,  the  most 
delightful  fellowships,  the  most  glorious 
service,  and  to  His  own  immediate  pre- 
sence. "  To  him  that  overcometh  I  will 
give  to  sit  will)  Me  in  My  throne,"  <fec. 
''  We  know  that  when  He  shall  appear 
we  shall  be  like  Him,"  &c. 

6.  Satisfaction  with  the  duration  of 
their  life  upon  earth,  "  With  long  life 
will  I  satisfy  him."  "  The  special  promise 
of  long  life  at  the  close,"  says  Perowne, 
"  as  a  temporal  blessing,  is  in  accordance 
with  the  general  character  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Still  it  is  possible  that  men 
like  the  Psalmist,  full  of  faith  in  God, 
attached   a   deeper  and  more  spiritual 


meaning  to  promises  and  hopes  like 
these,  than  was  attached  to  them  by 
the  majority  of  their  countrymen." 
Matthew  Henry's  exposition  seems  to 
us  admirable.  "(1)  They  shall  live 
long  enough ;  they  shall  be  continued 
in  this  world  till  they  have  done  the 
work  they  were  sent  into  this  world  for, 
and  are  ready  for  heaven,  and  that  is 
long  enough.  Who  would  wish  to  live 
a  day  longer  than  God  has  some  work 
to  do,  either  by  him  or  upon  him  1  (2) 
They  shall  think  it  long  enough ;  for 
God  by  His  grace  shall  wean  them 
from  the  world  and  make  them  willing 
to  leave  it.  A  man  may  die  young,  and 
yet  die  full  of  days,  satur  dierum — satis- 
fied with  living.  A  wicked  worldly 
man  is  not  satisfied,  no,  not  with  long 
life  ;  he  still  cries,  Give,  give.  But  he 
that  has  his  treasure  and  heart  in 
another  world  has  soon  enough  of  this  ; 
he  would  not  live  always."  The  good 
man's  life  upon  earth  is  a  completed 
thing,  whether  he  die  young  or  live  to 
become  a  centenarian.  He  knows  that 
his  life  is  ordered  by  infinite  Wisdom, 
and  whenever  it  ends  he  is  satisfied. 

7.  Full  salvation,  "  And  show  him 
My  salvation."  When  the  good  man's 
life  upon  earth  is  ended,  God  will  admit 
him  to  the  enjoyment  of  His  complete, 
glorious,  and  everlasting  salvation  in 
heaven.  Here  we  catch  glimpses  of  His 
salvation ;  there  we  shall  see  it  fully 
and  clearly  revealed.  Here  we  know 
its  power  and  blessedness  in  part ;  here- 
after we  shall  know  them  in  their  com- 
pleteness. Here  we  conquer  and  have 
to  battle  again  ;  there  the  warfare  is 
all  over,  and  the  victory  is  glorious  and 
endless.  Here  we  partake  of  His  salva- 
tion in  the  kingdom  of  grace  ;  there  in 
the  kingdom  of  glory. 

Conclusion.  1.  Have  we  these  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  the  godly  f 
Do  we  love,  know,  and  pray  to  God  1 
2.  Do  you  who  have  them,  value  and 
rejoice  in  your  exalted  privileges  ?  3. 
And  you  who  do  not  bear  the  marks  of 
the  godly  man,  what  is  your  hope  ? 
Through  Jesus  Christ  every  man  may 
attain  to  this  supreme  love  to  God,  this 
blessed  knowledge  of  Him,  and  this 
hallowed  communion  with  Him. 

59 


MALHxan. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  P8ALM8. 


Long  Life. 
{Verse  16.) 


**  With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him." 
The  present  life  is  not  a  vain  thing,  but 
a  thing  of  solemn  reality ;  not  a  trifling 
thing,  but  a  thing  of  stupendous  import- 
ance ;  it  ought  not  to  be  a  mean  thing, 
but  a  thing  of  sublimity  and  honour. 

L  Long  life  is  desirable. 

1.  Because  of  the  obedience  which  we 
may  reiider  to  God,  In  this  world  we 
obey  God  in  the  face  of  many  difficulties 
and  much  temptation.  In  heaven  all 
influences  combine  to  aid  its  inhabitants 
in  their  joyous  obedience  and  service. 
But  here,  alas  !  it  is  very  diflferent.  Yet 
obedience  in  a  state  like  the  present 
develops  some  of  the  noblest  elements 
of  character,  and  is  specially  well-pleas- 
ing to  God. 

2.  Because  of  the  service  we  may  ren- 
der to  our  race.  In  heaven  holiness  is 
universal  and  supreme.  In  hell  evil 
holds  undisputed  sway.  Upon  earth 
good  and  evil  are  present,  and  in  con- 
flict. Here  we  may  labour  for  the 
cause  of  righteousness  and  truth  as  we 
cannot  in  any  other  state  of  being. 

•*  Awake,  my  zeal ;  awake,  my  love, 
To  serve  my  Saviour  here  below, 
In  works  which  perfect  eaints  above^ 
And  holy  angels  cannot  do. 
Awake,  my  charity,  to  feed 
The  hungry  soul,  and  clothe  the  poor  ; 
In  heaven  are  found  no  sons  of  need  ; 
There  all  these  duties  are  no  more." 

—WatU. 

3.  Because  of  the  reward  which  we 
may  obtain.  Obedience  and  service 
rendered  in  this  life  will  be  appropri- 
ately and  proportionately  rewarded  in 
the  life  to  come.  Therefore  it  is 
natural  and  right  to  desire  to  live  long 
that  we  may  obey  long,  and  serve  long, 
and  reap  a  rich  reward. 

XL  The  tendency  of  true  religion  is 


to  promote    long  life.      "Keep  My 

commandments ;  for  length  of  days,  and 
long  life,  and  peace  shall  they  add  to 
thee.  Length  of  days  is  in  her  (Wis- 
dom's) right  hand."  The  truly  religious 
man  lives  virtuously,  temperately,  culti- 
vates cleanliness,  and  avoids  all  violent 
passions,  and  such  a  life  contributes  in- 
calculably to  the  prolongation  of  life. 

III.  A  true  estimate  of  the  length 
of  life  is  not  formed  by  simply  num- 
hering  its  months  and  years.  *'  They 
only,"  said  Sheridan,  *'have  lived  long 
who  have  lived  virtuously.*'  "  He  lives 
long,"  said  Fuller,  "  that  lives  well ;  and 
time  misspent  is  not  lived,  but  lost." 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  yeara ;  in  thought!, 

not  breaths ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs.     Ha 

most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  th« 

best." — Bailey, 

**  He  liveth  long  who  liveth  well  I 
All  other  life  is  short  and  vain ; 
H«  liveth  longest  who  can  tell 
Of  living  most  for  heavenly  gain* 

•*  He  liveth  long  who  liveth  well  1 
All  else  is  being  flung  away  ; 
He  liveth  longest  who  can  tell 

Of  true  things  truly  done  each  day.** 

— Bonalf, 

IV.  A  truly  godly  man  at  the  close 
of  life  will  be  satisfied  with  its  length 
as  determined  by  God,  whatever  that 
length  may  be.  **  My  times  are  in  Thy 
hand."  Our  days  are  determined,  the 
number  of  our  months  is  with  Him; 
and  He  orders  all  things  welL  *'In 
short  measures  life  may  perfect  be." 

Conclusion. — Let  us  see  to  it  that, 
by  the  help  of  God,  we  live  well  and 
earnestly;  and  thankfully  leave  the 
length  of  our  life  with  Him, 


PSALM     XOIL 

Introduction. 

Supeneription. — **A  Ptalm  or  Song  for  the  Sabbath-day."  It  so  far  combines  the  properties 
of  both  a  psalm  and  a  song  that  either  name  may  be  applied  to  it.  This  psalm  was  appointed 
for  use  in  the  temple  service  on  the  Sabbath-day.  By  reason  of  its  contents  it  is  well  adapted 
for  use  in  the  public  worship  of  God.  "It  celebrates,"  says  Perowne,  " in  joyful  strain  the 
greatness  of  God's  works,  and  especially  His  righteous  government  of  the  world,  as  manifested 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  wicked,  and  the  prosperity  and  final  triumph  of  the  righteous.     7he 

60 


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HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XOIL 


apparerU  success  of  the  ungodly  for  a  time  is  admitted,  but  this  is  a  mystery  which  worldly  men, 
whose  understanding  has  become  darkened,  cannot  penetrate  (ver.  6). 

The  Psalm,  therefore,  touches  upon  the  same  great  principles  of  the  Divine  government  which 
are  laid  down  in  such  Psalms  as  the  first,  the  thirty-seventh,  the  forty-ninth,  and  the  seventy- 
third.  But  here  there  is  no  struggle  with  doubt  and  perplexity,  as  in  the  seventy-third  ;  the 
Poet  is,  beyond  all  doubt,  above  all  perplexity  j  he  has  not  fallen  down  to  the  low  level  of  the 
brutish  man  (comp.  Ixxiii.  22  with  ver.  6  of  this  Psalm)  ;  he  is  rejoicing  in  the  full  and  perfect 
conviction  of  the  righteousness  of  God." 

Both  the  author  of  the  Psalm  and  the  occasion  of  its  composition  are  unknown. 

For  our  Homiletical  purpose  we  shall  divide  the  psalm  thus  : — The  good  man's  cdehratton  of 
the  praise  of  Ood,  vers.  1-7  ;  and,  The  rejoicing  of  the  good  man  in  the  government  of  Qod^  vers. 


8-16. 


The  Good  Man's  Celebration  of  the  Praise  of  God. 


(  Verses 

In  these  verses  the  Poet  brings  before 
us  the  celebration  of  the  praise  of  God, 
and  presents  for  our  consideration 
several  of  the  principal  features  of  this 
celebration.     We  have — 

I.  The  ground  of  this  exercise.  "  For 
Thou,  Lord,  hast  made  me  glad  through 
Thy  works :  I  will  triumph  in  the  works 
of  Thy  hands.  O  Lord,  how  great  are 
Thy  works  !  and  Thy  thoughts  are  very 
deep."  The  works  of  which  the  Psal- 
mist is  speaking  are  not  God's  works  in 
creation,  but  His  moral  government  of 
the  world ;  those  doings  by  which  He 
brought  salvation  to  His  people,  and 
destroyed  His  and  their  foes.  God's 
works  in  creation  are  great,  and  His 
thoughts  which  are  embodied  therein 
are  very  deep  ]  but  these  are  not  the 
works  of  which  the  Psalmist  here  speaks. 
"  What  kind  of  works  and  thoughts  the 
Psalmist  means,"  says  Hengstenberg, 
"is  particularly  intimated  in  verse  7, 
which  should  be  distinguished  from 
verses  5  and  6  as  by  inverted  commas. 
It  is  the  works  and  counsels  of  God  for 
the  deliverance  of  His  people,  a  deliver- 
ance which  is  secured  by  the  destruction 
of  the  wicked,  their  enemies."  Now 
concerning  these  works  the  Psalmist 
says  that  they  are — 

1.  Great  in  themselves.  "O  Lord, 
how  great  are  Thy  works ! "  The 
Psalmist,  as  he  contemplated  God's 
doings  in  the  moral  government  of  the 
world,  was  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of 
their  vastness,  and  greatness,  and  depth 
of  significance.  The  greatness  of  the 
works  of  God  in  providence  appears  from 
considerations  such  as  these  :  (1)  The 
extent  of  the  sphere  in  which  He  works. 
His  operations  are  not  limited  to  any 


1-7.) 

country  or  countries,  or  to  any  particular 
race  or  class  of  men.  His  moral  go- 
vernment of  our  world  extends  over  the 
whole  world  and  the  entire  human  race. 
(2)  The  duration  of  the  time  through 
which  Ue  works.  He  began  this  work 
with  the  beginning  of  time,  He  has 
continued  it  through  all  the  ages  and 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  human 
history,  and  He  will  continue  it  for 
ever.  To  us,  who  *'  are  but  of  yesterday 
and  know  nothing,  because  our  days 
upon  earth  are  as  a  shadow,"  how  in- 
comprehensibly great  are  works  which 
are  wrought  in  so  extensive  a  sphere 
and  through  so  vast  a  period  !  (3)  The 
grandeur  of  the  objects  for  which  He 
works.  His  aim  is  the  eradication  of 
evil,  the  extinction  of  sin  and  suffering, 
the  universal  reign  of  truth,  righteous- 
ness, and  love.  Glorious  object !  (4) 
llie  wonderful  methods  He  employs  in 
His  works.  Out  of  evil  he  educes  good. 
He  maketh  the  \^  rath  of  man  to  praise 
Him.  He  overrules  the  evil  designs 
and  doings  of  rebellious  angels  and  men 
for  the  accomplishment  of  His  own 
gracious  and  sublime  purposes.  By 
means  of  suffering  and  sacrifice  He 
enriches  the  race  with  divine  and  ines- 
timably precious  blessings.  He  saves 
mankind  by  means  of  the  Cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  When  we  consider 
God's  moral  government  of  the  world  in 
the  way  we  have  so  very  briefly  indi- 
cated, we  speedily  receive  overwhelming 
impressions  of  its  greatness;  we  grow  lost 
in  wonder;  we  can  but  exclaim:  How  vast 
and  wonderful  and  Divine  are  Thy  works! 
The  Psalmist  represents  these  works  as — 
2.  Embodiments  of  profound  tho  ightt. 
*'  Thy  thoughts  are  very  deep."     God 

61 


fiSaiMSOZL 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


governs  the  world  by  a  wise'  and  bene- 
volent design.     All  His  works  existed 
first    as  thoughts    in    His  own    'n finite 
mind.     Creation,  with  its  innumerable 
wonders,  and  its  glory  and  grandeur,  is 
an  embodiment  of  ideas  of  the  Divine 
mind.     And  the  moral  government  of 
the    world    is    an    expression    of    the 
thoughts  of  His  mind  and  the  determi- 
nations of  His  will.      *'  God's  counsels 
as  much  exceed  the  contrivances  of  our 
wisdom  as  His  works  do  the  eflforts  of 
our  power."     *'  There  is  no  sea  so  deep 
as  these  thoughts  of  God."      He  **is 
wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in 
working."     "  As  the  heavens  are  higher 
than  the  earth,  so  are  My  ways  higher 
than  your  ways,  and  My  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts."     "  0  the  depth  of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge of  God  ! "  <fec.     Our  puny  minds 
are  speedily  baffled  in  the  attempt  to 
comprehend  the  thoughts  of  God.   God's 
works  are  regarded  by  the  Psalmist  as — 
S.  An  expression  of  His  loving-kind- 
ness  and  faithfulness.     "  To  show  forth 
Thy  loving-kindness  in  the  morning,  and 
Thy  faithfulness  every  night."     These 
attributes  of  the  Divine  Being  are  con- 
spicuously displayed  in  His  moral  go- 
vernment of  the  world.     He  manifests 
His  loving-kindness    in   delivering    His 
people  from  oppression  and  danger,  in 
leading  them  during  their  earthly  pil- 
grimage, in  making  all  things  work  to- 
gether for  their  good,  and  in  crowning 
their  life  with  His  love.     His  mercy  is 
manifest  also  in  His  treatment  of  the 
wicked,  in  His  expostulations  with  them, 
in  His  great  patience  with  them,  in  His 
provision  for  their  salvation,  and  in  His 
desire  to  save  them.     He  manifests  His 
truth  ov  faithfulness  in  fulfilling  His  en- 
gagements,  in   keeping    His   promises. 
This  He  does  in  the  government  of  the 
world.    There  have  been  times  when,  to 
the  limited  view  of  man.  His  promises 
seemed  to  fail,  but  in   His  own  wise 
time  He  has  made  good  His  word.     We 
cannot  take  a  comprehensive  survey  of 
Hi*  work  without  discovering  abundant 
illustrations  of  both  His  mercy  and  His 
truth.     And  it  is  fitting  that  we  should 
make  mention  of  them  in  our  praises. 
The  Poet  represents  God's  works  as — 
62 


4.  Not  understood  by  the  wicked, 
"A  brutish  man  knoweth  not;  neither 
doth  a  fool  understand  this."  The 
term  "brutish  man"  (literally,  a  man- 
brute)  indicates  a  terrible  degradation 
of  human  nature.  A  man,  as  having 
been  created  in  God's  image ;  a  brutish 
man,  because  he  has  debased  himself  to 
brutehood.  Man  umst  either  soar  or 
sink.  Possibilities  of  unutterable  de- 
gradation and  possibilities  of  unspeak- 
able glory  are  within  each  one  of  us. 
As  man  degrades  himself  into  brutality, 
his  power  of  recognising  the  Divine  be- 
comes ever  less  and  less,  until  he  is 
utterly  incapable  of  understanding  the 
ways  and  works  of  God.  The  wicked 
man  is  spoken  of  here  as  **  a  fooL"  Sin 
is  folly.  Neither  the  "brutish  man" 
nor  the  "fool"  can  understand  the 
moral  government  of  God.  "Were 
God's  thoughts  less  deep  and  glorious, 
did  He  repay  the  wicked  at  every  par- 
ticular transgression  immediately  with 
His  punishment,  and  did  He  bestow 
salvation  immediately  upon  the  righteous 
according  to  the  canon  which  Job's 
friends  with  their  limited  views  lay 
down,  the  government  of  the  world 
would  become  plain  even  to  the  dark 
eye  of  ungodliness.  But  its  depth 
makes  it  a  secret^  the  understanding  of 
which  very  often  in  times  of  conflict  is 
withheld  even  from  the  pious,  as  is 
manifest  from  the  example  of  Job  and 
the  author  of  the  seventy-third  Psalm, 
and  in  which  there  is  always  much  that 
may  be  learned."  The  Psalmist  speaks 
of  God's  works  as — 

5.  A  source  of  gladness  to  the  good, 
"Thou,  Lord,  hast  made  me  glad 
through  Thy  work ;  I  will  triumph  in 
the  works  of  Thy  hands."  The  godly 
man  rejoices  in  the  moral  government 
of  God.  It  appears  to  him  in  aspects 
of  righteousness  and  benevolence  and 
wisdom,  which  the  brutish  man  and  the 
fool  are  totally  unable  to  perceive. 
Many  a  glorious  chapter  in  the  history 
of  God's  providential  dealings  with  our 
race  fills  the  heart  of  His  people  with 
gladness;  and  they  exult  in  his  sove- 
reignty, and  in  His  mighty  and  gra- 
cious deeds. 

II.   The  manner  of  this  exercisdi 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


eSALM  XOIL 


**To  give  thaiils  unto  the  Lord,  and  to 
eing  praises  uuto  Thy  name,  0  Moit 
High  .  .  .  upon  an  instrument  of  ten 
strings,  and  upon  the  psaltery ;  upon 
the  liarp  with  a  solemn  sound."  The 
Most  High  was  praised  in  holy  song 
with  accompaniment  of  instrumental 
music.  There  are  persons  who  are  so 
prejudiced  (as  it  appears  to  us)  that  they 
would  exclude  all  instrumental  music 
from  the  public  worship  of  God.  They 
allege  that  it  is  mechanical,  not  spiritual ; 
and,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  used  in  the 
worship  of  Him  who  is  a  Spirit,  and 
who  requires  spiritual  worship.  But 
may  not  the  mechanical  assist  the 
spiritual  1  To  us  it  seems  that  instru- 
mental music,  when  it  does  not  super- 
sede, but  supplements  vocal  music; 
when  it  is  not  a  substitute  for  spiritual 
worship,  but  a  minister  to  it,  is  of  great 
service.  It  is  certain  that  in  the 
temple-service  of  the  Jews,  the  details 
of  which  were  of  Divine  appointment, 
instrumental  music  was  used.  And  in 
the  prophetic  and  symbolic  descriptions 
of  the  worship  of  heaven  contained  in 
the  Apocalypse,  instrumental  music  is 
introduced.  Instrumental  music  un- 
questionably aids  us  in  our  attempts  to 
give  vocal  musical  utterance  to  our 
praise  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  whatever, 
in  the  nature  of  things,  why  it  should 
in  the  smallest  degree  diminish  the 
spirituality  of  our  praise. 

III.  The  seasons  for  this  exercise. 

1.  The  Lord's  Day.  This  Psalm  is 
entitled  "a  Psalm  or  Song  for  the 
Sabbath-day."  The  day  of  rest  is  a 
season  eminently  suited  to  meditation 
upon  the  great  and  glorious  works  of 
God  in  providence,  and  to  praise  Him 
because  of  them.  In  its  quiet,  in  our 
freedom  from  the  demands  and  duties  of 
business,  in  its  high  and  holy  associa- 
tions and  enjoyments,  in  these  and  other 
characteristics  of  the  day,  we  see  how 
eminently  suited  it  is  for  the  celebration 
of  the  praise  of  God. 

2.  The  morning.  "To  show  forth 
Thy  loving-kindness  in  the  morning." 
There  is  no  season  more  favourable  to 
worship  than  the  morning.  The  air  is 
fresh  and  invigorating,  and  the  spirit  is 
refreshed  by  the  repose  and  sleep  of  the 


night.  Praise  should  be  the  natural 
expression  of  the  heart  every  morning, 
because  of  God's  loving-kindness.  We 
read  of  our  Lord  that  "  in  the  morning, 
rising  up  a  great  while  before  day.  He 
went  out,  and  departed  into  a  solitary 
place,  and  there  prayed." 

3.  The  evening*  *'  To  show  forth  Thy 
faithfulness  in  the  evening."  As  we 
praise  Him  in  the  morning  for  the 
mercies  of  the  night,  so  in  the  evening 
we  should  praise  Him  for  His  faithful- 
ness during  the  day.  When  the  work  of 
the  day  is  done,  and  we  have  retired 
from  life's  strain  and  toil,  it  is  fitting 
that  we  should  recollect  the  mercy  and 
truth  of  God  to  us,  and  praise  Him  for 
them.  Evening,  with  its  quiet  and  re- 
pose, is  well  suited  for  meditation,  and 
meditation  should  lead  to  grateful 
praise. 

IV.  The  excellence  of  this  exercise. 
"  It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  unto 
the  Lord,"  &c. 

1.  Because  it  is  right.  Our  praise  is 
due  to  God.  He  has  a  right  to  our 
worship.  He  is  supremely  great,  and 
therefore  we  should  reverence  Him  ; 
supremely  gracious,  and  therefore  we 
should  be  grateful  to  Him ;  supremely 
excellent,  therefore  we  should  love  Him; 
supremely  glorious,  therefore  we  should 
adore  Him.  Not  to  praise  Him  indi- 
cates the  basest  ingratitude  on  our  part,  \ 
and  defrauds  Him  of  His  right. 

2.  Because  it  tends  to  lessen  life's 
cares  and  sorrows.  The  man  who  is 
mindful  of  the  mercies  he  receives  in 
life,  and  notes  thankfully  the  truth  of 
God  to  him,  will  ever  find  matter  for 
praise.  In  every  life,  not  excepting  the 
most  tried  and  sorrowful,  there  are 
many  things  to  be  thankful  for.  This 
will  be  obvious  in  the  case  of  the  health- 
ful and  prosperous.  But  look  at  the 
case  of  the  afflicted  and  sorrowful,  and 
even  here  there  are  matters  for  thank- 
fulness,— in  the  recollecti(jn  of  seasons  of 
health  and  joy,  in  the  hope  of  tliat  state 
in  which  pain  and  grief  are  unknown,  in 
the  presence  of  friends  and  the  support 
of  God  in  affliction,  and  in  the  blessings 
of  salvation.  To  remember  these  things 
with  gratitude  and  praise,  will  lighten 
life's  burdens  and  soothe  life's  sorrows. 

63 


MALM  XOII. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


3.  Because  it  elevates  the  spirit  of  the 
worshipper.  Gratitude  is  strengthened 
by  expressing  it.  If  our  praise  of  the 
mercy  and  truth  of  God  be  sincere,  by 
the  expression  of  it  we  ourselves  shall 
in  a  measure  become  like  Him  in  these 
respects.  Worship  is  transforming.  We 
become  like  the  object  or  being  whom  we 
truly  worship.  Thus  by  the  worship  of 
God  we  are  being  changed  into  His  image. 
"  It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  unto 
the  Lord,"  for  it  purifies,  enriches,  and 
exalts  our  being. 

4r.  Because  it  is  acceptable  unto  God, 
When  our  praise  is  sincere  and  spiritual, 
the  Lord  takes  pleasure  in  it.  He  loves 
to  be  worshipped  by  His  intelligent 
creatures ;  not  from  any  delight  in 
self-aggrandisement,  nor  for  any  other 
selfish  reason,  but  because  such  worship 
calls  into  exercise  the  noblest  faculties 
of  His  creatures,  and  exalts  and  blesses 
them.  In  this  way  our  worship  gratifies 
the  Divine  Being.  The  Most  High  is 
pleased  to  accept  the  praise  of  thankful 
hearts. 


CoNCLiTSiON. —  Is  God's  moral  go 
vernment  of  the  world  to  us  a  ground  of 
praise  1  There  are  many  who,  in  their 
short-sightedness  and  unbelief,  perceive 
little  but  inequalities  and  anomalies  in 
it,  and  criticise  and  complain  of  its 
administration.  They  forget  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  sphere  in  which  it  operates, 
and  the  long  ages  through  which  it 
operates,  and  their  own  incompetence  to 
comprehend  the  work  of  the  great  God ; 
and  so  when  "  the  workers  of  iniquity 
do  flourish "  they  are  offended,  or  at 
least  sorely  tried  and  perplexed.  But 
to  the  devout  believer  this  government 
presents  a  very  different  aspect.  The 
flourishing  of  the  wicked  he  perceives 
to  be  only  brief,  very  brief,  and  to  be 
followed  by  destruction.  God's  works 
are  so  great,  and  His  thoughts  so  pro- 
found, as  to  fill  him  with  humble  and 
reverent  wonder;  and  His  meicy  and 
truth  are  so  conspicuous  as  to  enkindle 
his  gratitude  and  praise.  Is  this  the 
case  with  usi  He  doeth  all  things 
welL     Let  us  trust  Him,  praise  Him, 


Encouragements  to  Holy  Song. 


(Verse  1.) 

"It  is  a  good  thing  to  sing  praises 
unto  Thy  name,  O  Most  High." 

I.  Singing  is  the  music  of  nature. 
Isa.  xliv.  23;  Psa.  Ixv.  13;  1  Chron. 
xvi.  33.  The  air  is  the  bird's  music-room, 
where  they  chant  their  musical  notes. 

II.  Singing  is  the  music  of  ordi- 
nances.     The  Rabbis  tell  us  that  the 


3.  In  their  greatest  flight  (Isa.  xlii 
10  and  11). 

4.  In  their  greatest  deliverances  (Isa. 
Ixv.  14). 

5.  In  their  greatest  plenties.  In  all 
these  changes  singing  hath  been  their 
stated  duty  and  delight. 

IV.  Singing  is  the  music  of  angels. 


Jews,  after  the  feast  of  the  passover  was      (Job.  xxxviii.   7;  Luke  ii.  13;  Rev.  v. 
celebrated,  sang  Psalm  cxL  and  the  five  f  ol-      11,  12). 


lowing  Psalms  ;  and  our  Saviour  and  His 

apostles  "  sang  an  hymn  "  immediately 

after  the  blessed  Supper  (Matt.  xxvi.  30). 

III.  Singing  is  the  music  of  saints. 


V.  Singing  is  the  music  of  heaven. 

(Rev.  XV.  3).  Here  the  saints  laboured 
with  drowsy  hearts  and  faltering 
tongues ;    but    in    glory    these    impedi- 


1.  They  have  performed  this  duty  in  ments  are  removed,  and  nothing  is  left 
their  greatest  numbers  (Psa.  cxlix.  1).  to  jar  their  joyous  celebration. — John 

2.  In  their  greatest  straits  (Isa.  xxvi.  Wells,  abridged  from  Tlie  Treasury  of 
Id).  David, 

The  Subjects  and  Seasons  of  Pbaise. 
{Verse  2,) 

The  Poet  here  sets  before  us,—  1.    The  '' loving  -  kindness'*   of  God. 

I.  The  subjects  of  praise.  The  loving-kindness  or  mercy  of  God  to 
64 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


rSALM  XOIL 


man  is  manifest  in  His  forbearance  with 
fiinners,  in  His  forgiveness  of  sinners,  in 
His  compassion  towards  the  sorrowful, 
and  in  the  rich  provision  He  has  made  for 
us  in  nature,  providence,  and  redemption. 

2.  The  ''faithfulness''  of  God.  The 
faithfulness  or  truth  of  God  is  seen  in 
His  performing  the  promises  which  He 
has  made,  in  keeping  His  covenant  with 
His  people.  We  may  observe  its  mani- 
festations in  the  operations  of  nature, 
in  the  administration  of  His  moral 
government,  and  in  the  salvation  of 
souls. 

These  subjects  of  praise  are  inex- 
haustible. The  loving-kindness  and 
truth  of  God  are  infinite.  We  are  ever 
receiving  additional  illustrations  and 
expressions  of  them.  These  subjects  of 
praise  are  elevating  in  their  irifluence 
upon  us.  We  cannot  sincerely  praise 
God  for  His  loving-kindness  and  truth 
without  growing  ourselves  in  truthful- 
ness and  love. 

II.  The  seasons  of  praise. 

1.  "/t*  the  morning."  Because  (1) 
The  state  of  the  mind  is  favourable.  By 
the  mercy  of  God  we  have  been  pre- 
served through  the  night,  and  should 
therefore  be  grateful  to  Him.  The 
mind  has  been  refreshed  by  the  sleep 
of  the  night,  and  is  therefore  fitted  to 
praise  God  with  freshness  and  spirit. 
(2)  The  time  of  the  day  is  suitable. 
There  is  a  freshness  in  the  morning  air 
which  stimulates  us  to  worship.  In  the 
morning,  before  we  are  immersed  in  the 
business  of  the  day,  we  can  praise  God 
with  freedom  from  interruption.  (3) 
It  is  needful  as  a  preparation  for  the 
engagements  of  the  day.  We  may  have 
difficulties  to  encounter,  temptations  to 
battle  with,  disappointments  to  endure, 
and  we  need  the  calmness  and  strength 


which  accrue  from  worship  to  enable  us 
to  meet  these  things. 

2.  In  the  evening.  "Every  night." 
Because  (1)  It  is  helpful  to  the  mind 
and  heart  after  the  toils  and  trials  of  the 
day.  (2)  Because  the  time  is  favour- 
able. Evening,  with  its  shade,  and 
stillness,  and  rest,  is  a  favourable  season 
for  reflection.  (3)  The  blessings  of  the 
day  and  the  needs  of  the  night  incite  to 
it.  There  is  much  in  every  day  which 
ought  to  be  recollected  at  night  with 
gratitude;  and  such  recollection  will 
hel[)  us  to  rest  calmly  in  the  protection 
of  God.  And  this  we  should  do  "  every 
night."  New  illustrations  of  faithful- 
ness should  be  followed  by  new  songs  of 
praise.  "As  thou  wouldst  have  God 
prosper  thy  labour  in  the  day  and 
sweeten  thy  rest  in  the  night,  clasp 
them  both  together  with  thy  morning 
and  evening  devotions.  He  that  takes 
no  care  to  set  forth  God's  portion  of 
time  in  the  morning,  doth  not  only 
rob  God  of  His  due,  but  is  a  thief  to 
himself  all  the  day  after,  by  losing  the 
blessing  which  a  faithful  prayer  might 
bring  from  heaven  on  his  undertakings. 
And  he  that  closeth  his  eyes  at  night 
without  prayer,  lies  down  before  his 
bed  is  made." 

There  are  some  who  interpret  the 
"  morning"  as  signifying  prosperity  and 
joy,  and  the  '*  night,"  adversity  atid 
grief.  And  we  shall  do  well  in  the 
brightness  of  prosperity  gratefully  to 
recognise  and  praise  the  loving-kindness 
of  God  ;  and  in  the  night  of  adversity 
the  thankful  recollection  of  the  faith- 
fulness of  God  will  encourage  and 
strengthen  us. 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord ;  for  it  is  good 
to  sing  praises  unto  our  God  ;  for  it  is 
pleasant ;  and  praise  is  comely." 


Ebligious  Gladness. 
(Verse  Vf 


I.    Gladness  as  the  gift   of  God. 

"  Thou,  Lord,  hast  made  me  glad."  All 
true  joy  proceeds  from  the  ever  blessed 
God.  The  gladness  which  comes  not 
from  Him  is  illusory,  short-lived,  and 
often  leaves  dissatisfaction  and  pain. 

VOL.  II.  E 


II.  Gladness  as  arising  from  the  con 
templation  of  God's  works.  "  Through 
Thy  work."  God's  work  is  eminently 
calculated  to  inspire  gladness  by  reason 
of  the  power,  wisdom,  goodness,  and 
delight    in    beauty    which    it    reveals. 

65 


MALMZOn. 


BOMILBTW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


This  is  true  of  creation,  providence,  re-  joy,    because,"  &c.     Perowne :  "  I  will 

demption.  rejoice  in  giving  praise,  for,"  &c.      If 

IIL  Gladness  finding  expression  in  God  has  given  ns  joy,  it  is  meet  that 

devout  song.     "  I  will  triumph  in  the  we  should  give  Him  praise, 
works  of  Thy  hands."     "  I  will  sing  for 

The  Temporal  Prosperitt  of  the  ^^icked. 

(Verse  7.) 


I.  Temporal  prosperity  is  not  a  cri- 
terion of  character.  Kich  man  and 
Lazarus  the  beggar.  The  prosperous 
"fool." 

II.  Temporal  prosperity  is  not  an 
evidence  of  the  Divine  favour. 

IIL  Temporal  prosperity  is  of  un- 


certain   duration.      ''Spring    as    the 

grass,"  which  speedily  perishes. 

IV.  The  temporal  prosperity  of  the 
wicked  is  followed  by  eternal  ruin. 
"  That  they  shall  be  destroyed  for  ever." 
**  The  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy 
them." 


The  Kejoioing  of  the  Good  Man  in  the  Government  of  God. 

(Verses  8-15.) 


The  Poet,  having  celebrated  the  praise 
of  God  because  of  His  doings  in  the 
moral  government  of  the  world,  proceeds 
to  show  what  these  doings  are  in  rela- 
tion to  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 
In  His  just  rule  God  destroys  the  wicked 
and  blesses  the  righteous,  and  this  to 
the  Psalmist  affords  matter  for  rejoicing. 
There  are  two  leading  ideas  here : 

L  God  is  the  Supreme  Ruler.  "  But 
Thou,  Lord,  art  Most  High  for  ever- 
more." Perowne:  "And  Thou,  0  Jeho- 
vah, art.(throned)  on  high  for  evermore." 
'*  This  verse,  consisting  of  but  one  line, 
expresses  the  great  central  fact  on  which 
all  the  doctrine  of  the  Psalm  rests.  This 
is  the  great  pillar  of  the  universe  and  of 
our  faith."     God  is  supreme,  because — 

1.  He  is  the  greatest  Being.  How 
unspeakably  great  is  God  !  We  have 
no  words  or  symbols  adequate  to  set 
forth  His  greatness  and  glory.  The 
prophet  Isaiah,  in  language  of  wondrous 
sublimity,  endeavours  to  set  it  forth 
(Isa.  xl.  12-31). 

2.  He  is  the  best  Being.  He  is  not 
only  supremely  great,  but  supremely 
good.  In  every  moral  attribute  He  is 
perfect.  "God  is  good."  "God  is 
light"     "God  is  love." 

3.  He  is  tlie  Creator  and  Sustainer, 
"  It  is  He  that  hath  made  us,  and  not 
we   ourselves."     And   He   who   created 

66 


still  sustains  His  creations.  "  By  Him 
were  all  things  created  ;  and  He  is  be- 
fore all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things 
consist."  Here,  then,  we  have  the  reason 
of  His  supremacy.  It  is  real,  a  thing 
of  being  and  character  and  doing.  He 
is  the  Supreme  Ruler  because  He  is 
supremely  great  and  good,  and  because 
as  Creator  and  Sustainer  He  has  the 
most  absolute  right  over  His  creatures. 
"  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all." 

II.  God's  supreme  rule  is  unchange- 
ably righteous.  To  the  Psalmist  this 
was  a  deep  conviction.  "  The  Lord  is 
upright  j  my  Rock  in  whom  there  is  no 
unrighteousness."  His  rule  is  righteous. 
Though  for  a  while  the  wicked  may 
flourish  and  the  righteous  be  in  adver- 
sity, yet  God's  great  plan  of  government 
and  its  administration  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether.  "A  God  of  truth, 
without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  He." 
His  rule  is  unchangeably  righteous.  The 
Psalmist  says,  He  is  "  my  rock."  As  a 
rock  He  is  firm,  abiding,  immutaV)le. 
**  God  can  no  more  be  moved  or  removed 
from  doing  righteously  than  a  rock  can 
be  removed  out  of  its  place."  This  un- 
changing righteousness  of  (Jod's  moral 
government  the  Psalmist  exhibits  afi 
manifest  in — 

I.  The  destruction  of  the  wicked. 
"  For,  lo,  Thine  enemies,  O  Lord,  for, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  XCII. 


lo,  Thine  enemies  shall  perish  ;  all  the 
workers  of  iniquity  shall  be  scattered. 
Mine  eye  also  shall  see  my  desire  on 
mine  enemies,  and  mine  ears  shall  hear 
my  desire  of  the  wicked  that  rise  up 
against  me."  Matthew  Henry  very  pro- 
perly points  out  concerning  the  eleventh 
verse  that  "  in  the  Hebrew  it  is  no  more 
than  this,  My  eye  shall  look  on  my  ene- 
mies, and  mil  ears  shall  hear  of  the 
wicked.  He  does  not  say  what  he  shall 
see,  or  what  he  shall  hear,  but  he  shall 
see  and  hear  that  in  which  God  will  be 
glorified,  and  in  which  he  will  therefore 
be  satisfied.'*  Concerning  the  wicked 
and  their  destruction  let  us  note — (1) 
The  enormity  of  their  character.  They 
are  "  enemies"  of  God  and  "  workers  of 
iniquity."  To  be  an  enemy  of  God  is 
to  be  hostile  to  truth,  righteousness, 
love  ;  to  oppose  our  highest  Benefactor. 
It  implies  extreme  moral  depravity. 
The  term  "  workers  of  iniquity "  im- 
plies terrible  activity  in  evil.  (2)  The 
unity  of  their  efforts.  It  is  implied  that 
the  wicked  have  banded  themselves  to- 
gether in  their  hostility  to  the  Lord.  So 
Milton  represents  fallen  angels— 

**  Devil  with  devil  damned  firm  concord  holds." 

And  the  Psalmist  says,  "  The  rulers  take 
counsel  together  against  the  Lord,"  &c. 
(3)  The  utter  dissolution  of  their  unity, 
"  All  the  workers  of  iniquity  shall  be 
scattered."  The  cohesion  of  the  wicked 
in  the  pursuit  of  any  object  is  not  of 
long  continuance.  When  God  arises 
against  them  they  shall  be  scattered 
like  chaff  before  the  tempest,  or  like  a 
demoralised  and  rabble  army  before  a 
mighty  and  disciplined  host.  (4)  Their 
certain  destruction.  "  For,  lo.  Thine 
enemies,  0  Lord,  for,  lo,  Thine  enemies 
shall  perish."  The  repetition  of  the  word 
"  lo"  is  emphatic,  and  indicates  the  cer- 
tainty of  their  destruction.  Men  must 
either  loyally  submit  themselves  to  God 
or  be  crushed  by  Him. 

2.  The  salvation  of  the  righteous.  The 
Poet  evidently  dwells  with  delight  and 
triumph  upon  this  part  of  his  theme, 
and  gives  to  us  several  particulars  of  the 
salvation  and  blessedness  of  the  right- 
eous. (1)  Their  strength  and  honour. 
"My  horn  shalt  Thou  exalt  like    the 


horn  of  an  unicorn."  The  horn  is  the 
symbol  of  power.  The  righteous  are 
blessed  with  true  strength.  They 
"walk  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God." 
He  upholds  them  and  honours  them. 
(2)  Their  refreshment  and  comfort, 
**  I  shall  be  anointed  with  fresh  oil." 
"  Fresh  oil,"  or  green  oil,  is  the  best  oil. 
God  by  His  grace  will  refresh  His  people 
when  they  are  weary,  and  comfort  and 
cheer  them  when  they  are  depressed  and 
sorrowful.  Our  Lord  gives  "the  oil  of 
joy  for  mourning."  Tiie  godly  may  be 
sorely  tried  for  a  time,  but  in  due  season 
they  shall  be  visited  by  choicest  refresh- 
ment and  joy.  (3)  Their  Divine  plant- 
ing. They  are  "  planted  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord."  "  To  be  planted  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  is  to  be  fixed  and  rooted  in 
the  grace  communicated  by  the  ordi- 
nances of  Divine  worship.  Unless  wg 
are  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
we  cannot  flourish  in  His  courts."  Heng- 
stenberg's  note  is  excellent :  "  By  the 
house  of  the  Lord  we  can  only  under- 
stand the  external  sanctuary ;  in  it, 
however,  the  servants  of  God  dwell 
spiritually  with  him,  and  are  cared  for 
by  Him  with  paternal  love.  There  lies 
at  the  bottom  an  abbreviated  compari- 
son :  these  spiritual  trees  flourish  in  the 
house  of  God  as  the  natural  trees  when 
they  are  planted  in  a  rich  soil  (Isa.  v.  1), 
or  by  rivers  of  water  (Ps.  i.  3)."  They 
draw  their  supplies  from  God.  They 
live  by  Him  and  in  Him.  (4)  l^heir 
flourishing  growth,  "The  righteous 
shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree,"  <kc. 
(verses  12-14).  "The  date-palm  and 
the  cedar  are  selected  as  the  loveliest 
images  of  verdure,  fruitfulness,  unde- 
caying  vigour  and  perpetuity."  They 
flourish  perennially.  "  Throughout  the 
year,  in  the  winter's  cold  as  in  the 
summer's  heat,  the  palm  contirmes 
green."  The  growth  of  the  godly  soul 
is  a  continuous  thing.  "  He  shall  be  as 
a  tree  planted  by  the  waters,  and  that 
spreadeth  out  her  roots  by  the  river, 
and  shall  not  see  when  heat  cometh,  but 
her  leaf  shall  be  green  ;  and  shall  not 
be  careful  in  the  year  of  drought,  neither 
shall  cease  from  yielding  fruit."  They 
flourish  notwithstanding  oppression.  "  It 
has   been   said  of   the   palm  tree.  Sub 

67 


PIALMXOU. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


pondere  crescit — The  more  it  is  pressed 
down  the  more  it  grows  :  so  the  righteous 
flourish  under  their  burdens, — the  more 
they  are  afflicted  the  more  they  mul- 
tiply." "  We  glory  in  tribulations  also, 
knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  pa- 
tience/' &c.  They  grow  eternally.  The 
growth  of  the  cedar  must  be  counted  not 
by  years,  but  by  centuries.  The  godly 
soul  will  continue  to  grow  for  ever. 
God  will  ever  have  more  of  Himself  to 
reveal  unto  us.  And  we  shall  ever  con- 
tinue to  grow  in  likeness  to  Him.  The- 
soul  has  unlimited  capacities  for  growth. 
(6)  Their  continued  fruitfulness.  ^'They 
shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age." 
The  palm-tree  yields  about  three  hundred 
pounds'  weight  of  dates  annually.  It 
has  been  known  to  produce  even  six 
hundred  pounds*  weight.  Age  makes 
other  things  decay,  but  the  godly  soul 
flourishes  and  is  fruitful  in  age.     "They 


have  their  fruit  unto  holiness."  Their 
last  days  are  rich  in  the  results  of  a  long 
experience,  and  their  efforts  to  do  good 
are  wise,  and  are  sustained  bj  a  deep 
faith  in  God.  Both  in  their  life  and  in 
their  work  they  are  fruitful. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Let  us  not  waver  in 
our  faith  in  the  wise  and  righteous  and 
beneficent  moral  government  of  God. 
Under  it  evil  men  may  flourish  for  a 
time  in  temporal  prosperity,  but  God 
will  destroy  all  workers  of  iniquity. 
Good  men  for  a  time  may  be  sorely 
afflicted,  but  God  will  sustain  them  in 
their  afflictions,  make  their  afflictions 
the  occasion  of  blessing,  and  crown  them 
with  everlasting  joy.  2.  What  is  our 
relation  to  this  government  ?  Aie  we 
enemies  or  loyal  subjects?  Let  those 
who  are  enemies  submit  to  Jehovah  at 
once,  and  let  His  subjects  rejoice  in 
His  gracious  rule. 


The  Palm  Tree  an  Analogue  of  the  Kighteous. 

{Verse  12.) 


"  The  righteous  shall  flourish  like  the 
palm  tree." 

The  palm  is  an  analogue  of  the 
righteous — 

I.  In  its  resolute  upward  growth* 
It  is  tall,  slender,  and  erect.  Dr.  Thom- 
son says  that  "  neither  heavy  weights 
which  men  place  upon  its  head,  nor  the 
importunate  urgency  of  the  wind,  can 
sway  it  aside  from  perfect  uprightness." 
It  seeks  to  rise  as  far  as  possible  from 
earth  and  as  near  as  possible  to  heaven. 
The  good  man's  affections ' are  set  "on 
things  above;"  his  "citizenship  is  in 
heaven."  While  He  was  yet  in  this 
world  our  Lord  spake  of  Himself  as 
"  the  Son  of  Man  which  is  in  heaven." 
And  His  followers  are  not  of  this  world 
even  as  He  was  not  of  the  world. 

**  A  man  on  earth  devoted  to  the  skies, 
Like   ships  on  seas,  while  in,  above,  the 
world." 

II.  In  its  growth  despite  of  hind- 
rances. It  flourishes  where  other  trees 
would  wither  and  die.  "  On  the  nor- 
thern borders  of  the  Great  Desert,  at 
the  foot  of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  the 
groves   of  date  palms    form    the  great 

68 


feature  of  that  parched  region,  and  few 
trees  besides  can  maintain  an  existence. 
The  excessive  dryness  of  this  arid  tract, 
where  rain  seldom  falls,  is  such  that 
wheat  refuses  to  grow,  and  even  barley, 
maize,  and  Caffre  corn  afford  the  hus- 
bandman only  a  scanty  and  uncertain 
crop.  The  hot  blasts  from  the  south 
are  scarcely  supportable  even  by  the 
native  himself,  and  yet  here  forests  of 
date  palms  flourish."  The  palm  "  does 
not  rejoice  overmuch  in  winter's  copious 
rain,  nor  does  it  droop  under  the  drought 
and  the  burning  sun  of  summer."  It 
will  grow,  and  grow  upwards,  even  if 
heavy  weights  are  placed  upon  its  head. 
A  picture  this  of  the  godly  soul.  The 
influences  that  try  him  and  threaten  to 
crush  him  are  powerless  to  do  so.  By 
the  grace  of  God  they  even  promote  his 
growth.  He  grows  rich  by  loss,  strong 
by  trial,  patient  by  tribulation,  joyous 
by  suffering. 

III.  In  its  perennial  verdure.  It  is 
an  evergreen.  The  godly  soul  shall 
trrow  and  flourish  without  interniissioii. 
Progress  is  the  rule  of  its  life.  The 
goal  attained  to-day  will  be  the  start 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  XOII. 


ing-point  of  to-morrow  (Psa,  i.  3 ;  Jer. 
xvii.  8). 

IV.  In  its  fruitfulness.  On  an  ave- 
rage the  palm  yields  from  three  to 
four  liundred  pounds'  weight  of  dates 
annually,  and  has  been  known  to  pro- 
duce six  hundred  pounds'  weight.  Tlie 
godly  soul  produces  the  fruits  of 
obedience,  purity,  charity,  and  helpful- 
ness to  others.  "  Fruit  unto  holiness." 
"Herein  is  My  Father  glorified,  that 
ye  bear  much  fruit."  '*  They  shall  still 
bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age." 

"  But  how  to  secure  the  realisation  of 
this  2^romi8e?  1.  Who  is  the  righteous? 
(1  John  iii.  7).  Righteousness  does  not 
consist  in  profession  (Matt.  vii.  21); 
nor  is  righteousness  a  state  of  opinion  ; 
nor  is  it  a  state  of  feeling.  It  is  a  state 
of  character.  The  righteous  man  is 
marked  by  this,  that  his  settled  prin- 
ciples, his  customary  desire,  is  to  do, 


not  what  is  pleasant,  not   what   is  ad- 
vantageous to  self,  but  what  is  ri<:ht. 

2.  "But  how  are  we  to  attain  this 
habit  0/  mind  and  life  1  Not  inherent 
righteousness,  but  the  possession  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  indwelling;  this  puts  us 
into  a  condition  to  receive  the  blessin^ 
(Rom.  viii.  U;  Gal.  v.  16). 

3.  "  But  how  to  obtain  the  possession  of 
this  Divine  indwelling  power  of  becoming 
righteous  1  Is  there  not  an  obstacle 
at  the  very  threshold  ?  What  are  we  to 
say  to  our  past  sin  %  How  can  that  be 
removed  ?  It  may  have  been  com- 
mitted long  ago;  but  the  guilt  of  sin 
remains  after  the  sin  has  been  com- 
mitted. That  guilt  can  only  be  re- 
moved by  free  pardon.  It  is  only  as 
'  freely  justified  by  grace'  that  we  can 
enter  upon  the  path  of  spiritual  bless- 
ing. So  we  are  brought  to  the  foot  of 
the  cross."  % 


The  Cedab  an  Analogue  of  Soul  Growth. 

{J erst  12.) 


"He    shall    grow    like  a   cedar    in 

Lebanon." 

Trees  are  a  precious  gift  of  God  to  us. 
How  useful  1  They  yield  food,  shade, 
fuel,  material  for  furniture,  building, 
&c.  How  beautiful  I  What  sym- 
metry, sublimity,  variety,  we  see  in 
them  !  They  also  present  many  spiri- 
tual analogies.  Here  the  cedar  is  used 
as  an  emblem  of  the  progress  of  the 
soul. 

L  The  cedar  grows  not  by  repres- 
sion, hut  hy  development.  By  develop- 
ing its  forces  the  cedar  grows  from  the 
little  germ.  Everything  that  aids 
that  development  aids  its  growth.  So 
with  the  soul.  We  cannot  grow  by 
attempting  to  crush  our  nature,  our 
desires,  affections,  &c.,  but  by  their 
right  development.  Not  by  self-mor- 
tification and  fighting  against  the  evil, 
but  by  the  cultivation  of  the  good.  In 
ourselves  we  are  to  "  overcome  evil 
with  good.'*  Wisely  and  harmoniously 
developing  our  powers,  we  grow. 

II.  The  cedar  grows  by  the  appro- 
priation and  subordination  of  the  out- 
ward elements.     Eain,  dew    sunlight, 


gases,  minerals,  all  are  appropriated  by  the 
cedar,  and  used  to  promote  its  growth : 
it  assimilates  them  to  its  own  substance. 
It  subordinates  the  outward  elements. 
Stormy  wind  and  hail  and  rain  and 
frost  all  help  its  growth.  The  storm 
that  threatened  to  sweep  it  away 
leaves  it  more  firmly  rooted  and  more 
majestically  spread  than  it  found  it. 
The  hurricane  that  tests  it  promotes  its 
stability  and  strength.  So  with  the 
godly  soul, — to  its  own  character  it  as- 
similates thoughts,  impressions,  beauties, 
&c.  It  makes  all  things  help  its  pro- 
gress. Gentle  influences  help  its  growth. 
The  ministry  of  prosperity, — success, 
friendship,  health,  joy — promotes  its 
progress.  Trying  influences  also  help 
its  growth  and  strength.  The  ministry 
of  adversity, — failure, desertion, sickness, 
grief — promotes  its  firmness,  strength, 
and  heroism.  "Tribulation  worketh 
patience,'*  <kc.  We  may  make  the  most 
adverse  circumstances,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  aid  us  in  the  true  development  of 
our  souls. 

III.  The  iCedar  grows  slowly.  We 
may  form  some  idea  of  the  slowness  of 

'  <i9 


WAiMjea, 


MOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


its  growth  from  the  fact  that  it  continues 
to  grow  for  centuries.  Many  generations 
come  and  go,  but  it  grows  on.  The  pro- 
cesses of  the  Divine  economy  seem  slow 
to  us.  The  preparation  of  the  world  for 
man  ;  of  the  race  of  men  for  the  Sa- 
viour ;  and  now  of  the  race  for  glory,  - 
all  seem  so  slow.  The  greatest  and  best 
of  things  mature  very  gradually.  So 
with  the  soul.  Proneness  to  impatience 
is  a  mark  of  imperfection.  How  im- 
patiently the  child  awaits  the  promised 
pleasure  !  Much  less  is  the  impatience 
of  the  man.  The  wise  and  good  man  is 
truly  patient.  Patience  with  thyself, 
my  brother ;  thy  growth  is  not  like  that 
of  the  gourd,  but  that  of  the  cedar, — 
very  gradual. 

**  We  have  not  wings,  we  cannot  soar ; 
But  we  have  feet  to  scale  and  climl]^ 
By  slow  degrees,  by  more  and  more, 
The  cloudy  summits  of  our  time. 

"  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight ; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night." 

— Longfellow, 

IV.  The  cedar  grows  by  ceaseless 
activities.  The  sap,  which  is  the  life  of 
the  tree,  is  ever  active  :  from  the  roots  it 
passes  through  the  trunk  and  through 
every  branch,  leaf,  and  fibre ;  then  from 
the  leaves  it  returns  through  branches  and 
trunk  to  the  roots,  bearing  nourishment, 


strength,  <fec.      So  with  the  souL      By 

earnest  thought,  devout  feeling,  divine 
worship,  holy  activity,  &c.,  we  grow. 

V.  The  cedar  grows  to  immense 
size  and  magnificence.  Very  great  and 
grand  they  are.  The  soul  is  destined  to 
grow  into  great  strength  and  beauty. 
What  great  and  glorious  beings  John 
and  Peter  and  Paul  must  have  grown 
into !  How  great  and  glorious  are 
Isaiah  and  David  and  Abraham  and 
Enoch  by  this  time !  And  yet  they 
have  not  reached  the  goal.  **It  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  they  shall  be." 
"  Perfect  as  our  Father  in  heaven  is 
perfect," — that  is  the  end  of  our  pro- 
gress. We  shall  grow  into  spiritual 
might,  nobility,  beauty,  and  glory. 
Cedars  are  most  royal  trees  :  under  the 
smile  of  God  we  shall  grow  into  royal 
beings. 

VI.  The  cedar  grows  during  long 
ages.  There  are  cedars  growing  now 
that  have  been  growing  while  scores  of 
generations  of  men  have  come  and  gone 
from  the  earth.  While  they  live  they 
grow.  So  with  the  soul.  Long  as  it  lives 
it  grows.  But  the  cedars  are  not  ever- 
lasting ;  their  life  and  growth  must  end. 
But  there  is  no  end  to  the  growth  of 
the  soul !  We  shall  live  and  grow  for 
ever.  To  advance  from  grace  to  grace, 
from  strength  to  strength,  from  glory  to 
glory  for  evermore, — that  is  our  destiny. 


The  Old  Aos  of  Piety. 
(Verse  14.) 


"  They  shall  still  bring  forth  fruit  in 
old  age." 

The  subject  to  which  the  text  invites 
us  is,  the  old  age  of  piety,  as  distinguished 
from  the  old  age  of  the  ivorldling. 

I.  The  old  age  of  the  Christian  is 
the  old  age  of  a  life  of  faith  and  com- 
munion with  God.  Amid  the  infirmi- 
ties of  decaying  nature  the  good  man's 
judgment  may  begin  to  fail,  his  active 
energy  for  one  work  and  another  may 
fail,  but  his  faith  fails  not,  and  the 
charity — the  holy  love — which  is  com- 
munion with  God,  "  never  faileth." 

II.  The  old  age  of  the  Christian,  as 
distinguished  from  the  old  age  of  the 

70 


ungodly,  is  characterised  by  hope.    To 

him,  indeed,  as  to  others,  old  age  is  the 
evening  of  life,  its  dim  light  still  fading 
into  darkness.  But  to  him  faith  opens 
a  vista  through  which  the  soul  looks 
forth  in  hope  beyond  the  deepening 
shadows  around  him. 

III.  The  old  age  of  the  Christian  is 
one  of  cheerfulness.  How  beautiful  is 
an  unrepining,  bright,  cheerful  old  age  ! 
How  doubly  beautiful  when  that  calm, 
bright  cheerfulness,  lighting  up  the 
evening  of  life,  is  caught  from  heaven, 
and  is  none  other  than  the  cheerfulness 
of  a  mind  at  peace  with  God,  and  in  com- 
munion with  His  boundless  blessedness ! 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  xoin. 


IV.  The  old  age  of  the  Christian,  as 
distinguished  from  that  of  the  un- 
godly, is  characterised  by  affection. 

The  old  man's  sympathies  with  those 
around  him  are  less  easily  awakened 
than  they  once  were ;  and,  as  he  grows 
older,  he  feels  less  and  less  interest  in 
any  of  his  friends,  save  those  who 
happen  to  be  essential  to  his  comfort. 
The  Christian  in  his  old  age  is  not  ex- 
empted from  this  tendency.  But  in  his 
case  there  is  a  counteracting  power.  His 
faith  and  hope,  the  habitual  cheerfulness 
of  his  spirit,  and  the  communion  of  his 
Boul  with  the  infinite  love  of  God,  are 
like  a  constant  cordial  to  his  nature, 
that  keeps  his  mind  elastic  and  quickens 
his  better  sympathies. 

V.  The  old  age  of  the  Christian  is 
characterised  to  the  last  by  usefulness. 
How  many  ways  does  God  find  to  make 
His  children,  amid  the  infirmities  of  de- 


clining age,  useful  to  others  I  They 
shall  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age,  to 
show  that  God  is  faithful  to  them  that 
trust  in  Him.  How  persuasive  is  the 
testimony  which  they  give  for  God  and 
for  godliness  out  of  their  long  experi- 
ence !  How  winning  are  their  words  of 
counsel  and  invitation  ! 

Lessons. — 1.  The  consideration  of  the 
beauty  and  happiness  of  piety  in  old  age 
is  an  argument  to  the  young  to  remember 
their  Creator  in  the  days  of  their  youth. 
2,  Our  subject  addresses  itself  powerfully 
to  those  who  ai^e  old,  or  are  growing  oldy 
without  piety.  What  a  night  is  that 
which  is  gathering  around  you  !  3. 
The  subject  should  lead  us  all  to  a  grate- 
ful acknowledgment  of  the  grace  of  God 
in  the  examples  which  we  are  permitted 
to  see  of  aged  and  venerable  pietp, — L. 
Bacon,  Z>.i>.,  Abridged. 


PSALM    XOIIl 

Introduotiok. 

The  author  of  this  Psalm  and  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  written  are  nnlmown. 

**  The  sum  and  substance  of  this  Psalm,"  says  Perowne,  "is  contained  in  the  eighth  verse 
of  the  preceding  Psalm.  It  celebrates  the  majesty  of  Jehovah  as  Ruler  of  the  universe.  He  is 
Creator  of  the  world.  He  has  been  its  King  from  everlasting  :  it  rests  upon  Him  and  is 
stayed  by  His  might.  All  the  powers  of  nature  obey  Him,  however  lawless  they  may  seem,  as 
all  the  swelling  and  rage  of  men,  of  which  those  are  but  a  figure,  must  obey  Him.  But  His 
majesty  and  His  glory  are  seen,  not  only  in  controlling  the  powers  of  nature  and  whatsoever 
exalteth  and  opposeth  itself  against  Him,  but  in  the  faithfulness  of  His  word,  and  in  the  holiness 
of  His  house." 

As  to  the  date  of  the  composition  it  appears  from  verse  5  that  it  was  composed  after  the 
building  of  the  Temple,  and  probably  before  its  destruction  by  the  Chaldeana. 


Jehovah  the  Kino. 


The  opening  words  of  the  Psalm,  as 

Hengstenberg  has  pointed  out,  do  not 
refer  to  the  constant  government  of 
God,  but  to  a  new  and  glorious  manifes- 
tation of  His  dominion.  "  The  Lord 
reigneth  "  is  a  similar  form  of  expression 
to  that  which  the  Jews  used  to  announce 
the  ascent  to  the  throne  of  a  new  sove- 
reign (2  Sam.  XV.  10  ;  2  Kings  ix.  13). 
It  refers  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in 
His  kingdom ;  and  might  have  been 
used  with  great  propriety  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Babylon  and  the  emancipation  of 
Israel.  But  when  His  glory  and  sove- 
reignty shall  be  fully  displayed  and  ac- 


knowledged, the  expression  shall  be  used 
with  an  emphasis  and  fulness  of  mean- 
ing unknown  before.  (See  Rev.  xi.  15, 
17  ;  xix.  6.)  The  Poet  sets  before  us — 
I.  The  majesty  of  the  King.  "  The 
Lord  reigneth,  He  is  clothed  with  ma- 
jesty." The  glory  with  which  Jehovah 
clothes  Himself  forms  the  opposition 
to  the  pomp  and  pride  of  earthly  kings, 
and  is  an  antidote  against  the  fear  of 
them.  The  glory  of  earthly  sovereigns 
is  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  His. 
His  is  the  majesty  of  meekness,  the  glory 
of  grace,  the  beauty  of  holiness.  He 
reigns  in  righteousness  and  love  to  bless 

71 


PSALM  xom. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


and  save  men.  Yet  He  is  terrible  to 
His  foes.  Let  not  His  loyal  subjects 
fear  the  pomp  and  glory  of  their  enemies; 
for  He  has  but  to  manifest  His  majesty, 
and  theirs  shall  vanish. 

II.  The  might  of  the  King.  "  The 
Lord  is  clothed  with  strength,"  &c. 
Perowne  :  "  '  Jehovah  hath  clothed.  He 
hath  girded  Himself  with  strength.'  In 
the  second  member  of  the  verse,  the 
verb  is  rythmically  repeated,  and  the 
noun  '  strength  *  really  belongs  to  both 
verbs."  The  strength  of  the  king  is 
manifested — 

1 .  In  the  stahility  of  the  world.  *'  The 
world  also  is  established  that  it  cannot 
be  moved."  The  stability  of  the  world 
is  regarded  as  the  effect  of  the  Divine 
rule  and  power.  The  same  power  which 
created  the  world  sustains  it  in  its 
regularity  and  stability.  The  **  sure 
and  firm  set  earth"  is  an  emblem  of 
the  moral  government  of  God  in  its 
firmness  and  security.  So  in  the  time 
of  peril  and  opposition  the  people  of 
God  need  not  fear,  for  no  violence  can 
shake  His  throne.  **  That  there  is  any 
stability,  either  in  the  world  or  in  the 
Church,  is  the  Lord's  doings,  and  He  is 
to  be  adored  for  it.** 

2.  In  the  subjugation  of  His  enemies. 
*'  Tlie  floods  have  lifted  up,  0  Lord,  the 
floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice,"  <fec. 
(vers.  3  and  4).  We  have  here  (1)  The 
tumultuous  opposers  of  His  reign.  *'  The 
floods"  are  introduced  as  the  symbol  of 
the  tumultuous  nations  and  peoples  which 
lift  themselves  up  against  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  Like  angry  waves  of  the 
sea  men  have  rasped  against  the  anointed 
King.  As  the  breakers  roar  in  thunder 
and  dash  in  fury  against  the  shore,  so 
devils  and  men  have  hurled  defiance  at 
the  throne  of  God.  The  heathen  still 
rage  against  the  Lord  and  against  His 
Anointed  and  against  His  Church.  (2) 
The  calm  Sovereign.  "  The  Lord  on  high 
is  mightier  than  the  noise  of  many  waters, 
yea,  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the  sea." 
The  construction  of  the  fourth  verse  is 
not  very  clear.  Perowne  has  a  valuable 
critical  note  on  it.  The  translation  which 
he  adopts  is  :  "  More  than  the  voices  of 
many  waters,  the  glorious  breakers  of 
the  sea,  Jehovah  on  high  is  glorious.'* 

72 


Hengstenberg  :  "  Than  the  roice  of 
many  waters,  than  the  glorious  waves 
of  the  sea,  more  glorious  in  the  height 
is  the  Lord."  However  we  construe  the 
verse  the  main  idea  is  the  same.  As 
the  furious  waves  dash  asjainst  the 
rocky  shore  and  fall  back  spent,  while 
the  shore  remains  calm  and  unmoved, 
so  Jehovah  is  unmoved  by  all  the  fierce 
opposition  of  all  the  rebels  against  His 
government.  He  is  greater,  stronger, 
more  glorious  than  all  the  powers 
arrayed  against  Him  and  His  Church. 
The  Lord  is  calm  in  His  assured  right 
to  reign.  He  has  no  misgivings  as  to 
the  authority  by  which  He  governs. 
Earthly  sovereigns  may  doubt  the 
validity  of  their  authority,  but  Jehovah 
never  can  do  so.  The  Lord  is  calm  in 
His  assured  power  to  reign.  With 
infinite  ease  He  can  control  and,  if  He 
see  fit,  entirely  quell  every  storm  in 
His  universe.  Let  not  the  Church, 
then,  fear  the  might  of  the  world. 
High  over  it  all,  ruling  it  as  He  pleases, 
is  the  Lord  omnipotent  and  all-glorious. 

III.  The  eternity  of  the  King  and 
of  His  kingdom.  "  Thy  throne  is 
established  of  old ;  Thou  art  from 
everlasting."  Margin  :  "  Thy  throne  ia 
established  from  then."  Hengstenberg : 
*'  The  throne  of  wickedness  has  no 
*then';  it  is  of  yesterday,  like  a  mush- 
room sprung  out  of  the  earth."  God's 
throne  is  eternal.  In  earthly  kinirdoms 
and  empires  the  throne  is  frequently 
shaken  to  its  base.  By  the  death  of 
kings,  or  of  their  wise  advisers,  or  be- 
cause of  the  attacks  of  foes,  earthly 
governments  and  dynasties  are  som^ 
times  overthrown.  But  the  throne  of 
God  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting. 
The  King  also  is  eternal.  "  Thou  art 
from  everlasting."  This  eternity  includes 
omnipotence.  He  who  is  *'  from  ever- 
lasting" is  also  '*  to  everlasting."  When 
human  crowns  and  thrones  have  crum- 
bled into  dust  He  shall  reign  in  glory. 
(See  remark  on  Ps.  xc.  2.) 

IV.  The  truth  of  His  testimonies. 
"Thy  testimonies  are  very  sure."  Per- 
owne :  "  The  transition  is  abrupt,  from 
the  majesty  of  God  as  seen  in  His 
dominion  in  the  world  of  nature,  to  His 
revelation   of   Himself    in    His   Word. 


BOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  XCIV 


At  the  same  time  there  is  a  connection 
between  the  two,  as  in  Ps.  xix.  God  who  . 
rules  the  world,  He  whose  are  the  king- 
dom, and  the  power,  and  the  glory  for 
ever,  has  given  His  testimonies  to  His 
people,  a  sure  and  faithful  word."  His 
testimonies  in  this  place  are  especially 
His  promises  of  salvation  and  victory  to 
His  people.  The  promises  of  so  majestic 
and  mighty  a  Sovereign  cannot  fail. 
"The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure." 
The  truth  of  His  testimonies  is 

1.  A  rebuke   to  the  unbelief  of  His 
tubjects. 

2.  An  encouragement  to  their  faith. 

3.  A  warning  to  rebels  against  His 
govemmenL 


V.  The  purity  of  His  court 
"  Holiness  becometh  Thine  house,  O 
Lord,  for  ever."  The  King  has  Him- 
self come  to  dwell  among  His  people, 
making  them  and  His  house  holy.  The 
Church  of  God  should  be  cleansed  from 
all  sin  and  fully  consecrated  to  Him. 
In  His  heavenly  court  the  purity  is 
perfect  and  perpetual ;  and  ultimately 
the  earthly  court  will  be  absorbed  into 
the  heavenly,  which  will  abide  for  ever. 

Conclusion. — I.  Let  the  people  of 
God  trust  and  rejoice  in  their  King. 
He  reigns  securely,  gloriously,  eternally, 
for  their  salvation.  2.  Let  His  enemiei 
submit  themselves  to  Him,  "Kiss  the 
Son,  lest  He  be  angry,"  &c. 


PSALM    XCIV. 

LfTRODUCTION. 

^  There  is  no  superscription  to  this  Psalm.  There  is  no  indication  of  its  authorship,  of 
the  period  at  which  it  was  written,  or  of  the  circumstances  to  which  it  refers.  There  are  many 
of  these  anonymous  hymns  in  God's  Book,  nameless  utterances,  voices  of  the  night  of  weeping, 
shouts  from  the  mountain  tops  of  thought,  prayers  unto  the  God  of  Life,  which  belong  to  no 
individual,  can  be  fathered  on  no  solitary  period,  but  descend  as  an  heirloom  to  successive 
ages,  and  enrich  every  generation.  As  the  circumstances,  the  victories,  the  shortconiiirjs,  and 
the  possibilities  of  man  are  continually  being  repeated,  so  the  religious  experiences  of  the  Church 
do  often  reappear  in  its  history,  and  we  may  receive  the  inspired  utterances  of  them  in  one  age 
as  almost  equally  appropriate  to  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  another  age." — Dr.  H.  R.  Reynolds. 

*'  This  Psalm,  as  may  be  easily  apprehended,  is  a  prayer  of  all  the  pious  children  of  God, 
and  of  spiritual  people,  against  all  their  persecutors,  so  that  it  may  be  used  by  all  pious  godly 
people  from  the  beginning  till  the  end  of  the  world." — Luther, 


A  Cry  for  Judgment. 
(Verses  1-7.) 


Consider^ 

I.  The  complaint  of  the  Ohurch. 

**Lord,  how  long  shall  the  wicked,  how 
long  shall  the  wicked  triumph?"  &c. 
(vers.  3-7).  The  poet  complains  to  the 
Lord  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church,  and 
manies  mention  of — 

1.  2'heir  general  character,  "  The 
wicked  ...  the  workers  of  iniquity.'* 
They  are  depraved  in  character,  and 
diabolic  in  conduct.  "Mark  the  ter- 
rible energy  implied  in  the  designation, 
*  workers  of  iniquity.'  Reference  is  not 
made  to  men  who  make  a  pastime  of 
iniquity,  or  who  occasionally  commit 
themselves  to  its  service,  but  to  those 
who  toil  at  it  as  a  business.  As  the 
merchant  man  is   industrious  in  com- 


merce, as  the  philosopher  is  assiduous 
in  study,  as  the  artist  is  indefatigable  in 
elaboration,  so  those  slaves  of  iniquity 
toil  in  their  diabolic  pursuits  with  an 
ardour  which  the  most  powerful  remon- 
strance seldom  abates.  They  are  always 
ready  to  serve  their  master." — Parker. 

2.  Their  arrogant  triumph  (vers. 
3,  4.)  "How  long  shall  the  wicked 
triumph  1  They  belch  out,  they  speak 
arrogant  things ;  all  the  workers  of  ini- 
quity carry  themselves  proudly." — 
Ferowne's  trans.  In  the  first  line  of 
verse  4,  the  two  verbs  have  one  noun  as 
the  object — they  pour  forth  hard,  or, 
proud  speeches.  The  enemies  of  the 
people  of  God  were  triumphant  over 
them,  and  were  proud  and  insolent  in 

73 


rSALM  XOIV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


their  triumph.  It  is  not  seldom  that 
the  wicked  in  their  prosperity  and 
power  have  arrogantly  lorded  it  over 
the  righteous.  Prosperity,  apart  from 
Divine  grace,  engenders  presumption, 
and  fancied  self-sufficiency,  and  self- 
boasting. 

3.  Their  oppresnon  and  cruelty  (vers. 
6,  6.)  The  word  which  in  the  A.V. 
is  translated,  "they  break  in  pieces," 
Perowne  and  Hengstenberg  translate, 
"they  crush."  The  wicked  oppressed 
the  people  and  heritage  of  the  Lord. 
How  frequently  was  this  the  case  in  the 
history  of  the  chosen  people !  How 
frequently  has  it  been  so  in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  Church  !  The  Psalmist 
complains  of  cruelty  as  well  as  oppres- 
sion. "  They  slay  the  widow,"  <fec. 
**  The  widow  and  the  fatherless  are 
mentioned,  as  often,  as  particular  in- 
stances of  those  whose  misery  ought  to 
excite  compassion,  but  whose  defence- 
lessness  makes  them  the  easy  prey  of 
the  wicked." — Perowne.  This  is  in- 
variably represented  in  Scripture  as  a 
crime  of  great  enormity,  and  especially 
abhorrent  to  God.  See  Exod.  xxii. 
21-24. 

4.  Their  practical  Atheism.  "  Yet 
they  say  the  Lord  shall  not  see,  neither 
shall  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it."  "  The 
Divine  names,"  says  Alexander,  "  are, 
as  usual,  significant.  That  the  self- 
existent  and  eternal  God  should  not  see, 
is  a  palpable  absurdity ;  and  scarcely 
less  so,  that  the  God  of  Israel  should 
suffer  His  own  people  to  be  slaughtered 
without  even  observing  it."  We  need 
not  suppose  that  they  uttered  this  blas- 
phemy in  words,  but  it  was  expressed 
in  their  conduct.  Their  atheism  was 
not  theoretical,  but  practical.  This 
practical  atheism  is  very  prevalent  and 
pernicious  at  the  present  time.  Im- 
mense numbers  utter  "  the  Apostles* 
Creed"  regularly,  who  exclude  God 
from  almost  every  province  of  their  life. 
In  the  formation  of  their  plans,  in  the 
management  of  their  business,  in  their 
relations  to  society,  <fec,  God  is  not  in 
all  their  thoughts. 

n.   The    appeal    of   the    Ohurch. 
**  O  Lord  God,  to  whom  vengeance  be- 
loDgeth,"  <fec.   (Tera.    1-3).      Let  it  be 
74 


noted  at  once  and  closely  that  the  ap- 
peal is  for  justice,  not  for  revenge.  **  I 
do  not  think  that  we  sufficiently  attend 
to  the  distinction  that  exists  between 
revenge  and  vengeance.  *  Revenge,'  says 
Dr.  Johnson,  *  is  an  act  of  passion,  ven- 
geance of  justice,  injuries  are  revenged, 
crimes  avenged.'  .  .  .  The  call  which 
the  Psalmist  here  makes  on  God,  as  a 
God  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  is 
no  other  than  if  he  had  said,  *  O  Gfod, 
to  whom  justice  belongeth  ! '  Ven- 
geance indeed  is  not  for  man,  because 
with  man's  failings  and  propensities  it 
would  ever  degenerate  into  revenge.  *  I 
will  be  even  with ^ him,' says  nature  ;  *I 
will  be  above  him,*  says  grace  I"— 
Bouchier, 

1.  Judgment  is  the  prerogative  of  God 
alone,  "  O  Lord  God,  to  whom  ven- 
geance belongeth."  The  two  names  of 
the  Divine  Being  which  the  Psalmist 
uses,  JSl  and  Jehovah^  recognise  God  as 
almighty,  self-existent,  and  alone  en- 
titled to  take  vengeance.  Literally  it 
is,  "  God  of  vengeances,"  the  plural  in- 
dicating that  there  is  in  God  a  fulness 
of  vengeance  for  His  persecuted  people ; 
and  the  repetition  of  the  appeal  denotes 
the  earnestness  with  which  it  is  made. 
"  To  Me  belongeth  vengeance  and  re- 
compense." **  Avenge  not  yourselves, 
but  rather  give  place  unto  wrath  ;  for 
it  is  written,  Vengeance  is  Mine ;  I  will 
repay,  saith  the  Lord."  The  vindication 
of  His  people  and  the  punishment  of 
their  enemies  is  His  sole  prerogative. 
He  will  render  righteous  judgment  to 
the  wicked.  He  alone  has  the  right  to 
do  so. 

2.  Judgrnent  is  sometimes  apparetUlp 
long  delayed.  "Lord,  how  long  shall 
the  wicked,  how  long  shall  the  wicked 
triumph  1 "  The  persecution  seems  to 
the  Psalmist  to  have  been  of  long  con- 
tinuance. He  would  fain  know  when 
it  would  end.  Our  time  of  suflfering 
and  trial  always  seems  long  and  weari- 
some. In  the  night  of  weeping  and 
waiting,  wearily  drag  the  hours,  and  we 
cry,  "  How  long  'i "  In  due  season  God 
will  appear,  &c, 

3.  Judgment  is  earnestly  invoked. 
Here  Is  a  cry  for  the  manifestation  of 
God,     "  Bhow  Thyself."     Margin,  as  in 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PftALMXOt?. 


Heb.y  **  Shine  forth."  It  is  an  appeal 
to  God  to  manifest  Himself  as  a  God  of 
righteous  retributions.  Here  is  a  cry 
for  the  judgment  of  God.  *'  Lift  up 
Thyself,  thou  judge,"  &c.  God  is  con- 
ceived as  sitting  at  ease,  and  entreated 
to  arise  and  execute  judgment,  and  to 
give  a  just  recompense  to  those  enemies 
of  His  people  who,  having  got  the  upper 
hand,  exulted  proudly  over  them.  Here 
is  a  cry  for  His  speedy  interposition^ 
"  Lord,  how  long  ?  "  <kc. 

CoNCLUsioN.^r-Deep  in  the  heart  of 
man  is  the  sense  of  justice,  the  conyic- 


tion  that  there  is  a  judge  of  all  the 
earth  who  will  do  right.  Oppressed 
humanity  in  all  ages  and  in  all  lands 
has  cried  to  heaven  for  judgment.  That 
cry  will  certainly,  sooner  or  later,  meet 
with  a  full  response. 

"  The  sun  of  justice  may  withdraw  hisbeamg 
Awhile  from  earthy  ken,  and  sit  concealed 
In  dark  recess,  pavilioned  round  with  clouds: 
Yet  let  notguilt  presumptuous  rear  her  crest, 
Nor  virtue  droop  despondent :  soon  these 

clouds, 
Seeming  eclipse,  will  brighten  into  day, 
And  in  majestic  splendour  He  will  rise, 
With  healing  and  with  terror  on  His  wings.** 

— (3".  BaUy, 


The  Folly  of  Practical  Atheism. 
(Verses  8-11.) 


The  Psalmist  addresses  not  the  theo- 
retical, but  practical  atheists.  He  speaks 
to  men  who  acknowledged  the  existence 
of  God,  and  His  creatorship,  and  His 
government  of  the  world ;  but  who 
thought  that  He  did  not  see  and  would 
not  recompense  their  conduct.  This  is 
the  atheism  which  is  the  most  prevalent 
and  perilous  in  the  present  day.  The 
folly  of  such  atheists  is  seen — 

I.  In  supposing  that  God  does  not 
ohserve  their  conduct.  "He  that 
planted  the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear  1  He 
that  formed  the  eye,  shall  He  not  see  1 " 
The  principle  upon  which  this  interro- 
gation is  based  is  this,  that  an  effect 
cannot  be  greater  than  its  cause.  The 
picture  with  the  beauty  of  which  we  are 
charmed  is  not  greater  than  the  concep- 
tive  and  executive  power  of  the  artist 
who  produced  it.  He  saw  it  mentally 
long  before  we  saw  it  visually.  "  This 
argument,"  says  R.  Watson,  *'  is  as  easy 
as  it  is  conclusive,  obliging  all  who 
acknowledge  a  first  cause,  to  admit  His 
perfect  intelligence,  or  to  take  refuge 
in  atheism  itself.  It  fetches  not  the 
proof  from  a  distance,  but  refers  us  to 
our  bosoms  for  the  constant  demonstra- 
tion that  the  Lord  is  a  God  of  know- 
ledge, and  that  by  Him  actions  are 
weighed."  And  Tillotson :  "We  find 
in  ourselves  such  qualities  as  thought 
and  intelligence,  power  and  freedom, 
&c.,  for  which  we  have  the  evidence  of 
consciousness  as  much  as  for  our  own 


existence.     Indeed,  it  is  only  by  our 

consciousness  of  these,  that  our  exist- 
ence is  known  to  ourselves.  We  know, 
likewise,  that  these  are  perfections,  and 
that  to  have  them  is  better  than  to  be 
without  them.  We  find  also  that  they 
have  not  been  in  us  from  eternity.  They 
must,  therefore,  have  had  a  beginning, 
and  consequently  some  cause.  Now 
this  cause,  as  it  must  be  superior  to  its 
eflfect,  must  have  those  perfections  in  a 
superior  degree ;  and  if  it  be  the  First 
Cause,  it  must  have  them  in  an  infinite 
or  unlimited  degree,  since  bounds  or 
limitations,  without  a  limiter,  would  be 
an  effect  without  a  cause."  If  we  see 
and  hear  and  know,  then  God  does  so 
in  a  much  greater,  indeed,  in  an  infi- 
nite degree.  His  knowledge  is  clear 
and  distinct,  ours  is  dim  and  confused ; 
His  is  intimate  and  thorough,  ours  is 
partial  and  superficial  ;  His  is  universal 
and  in  fallible,  ours  uncertain  and  limited. 
"  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of 
man."  How  foolish,  then,  to  imagine 
that  God  does  not  hear  the  arrogant 
speech,  or  see  the  oppressive  deed,  or 
note  the  wickedness  of  men  ! 

II.  In  supposing  that  God  will  not 
recompense  their  conduct.  "  He  that 
chastiseth  the  heathen,  shall  not  He 
correct  1 "  "  There  is,"  says  Perowne, 
"  a  change  in  the  argument.  Before  it 
was  from  the  physical  constitution  of 
man  ;  now  it  is  from  the  moral  govern- 
ment of  the  world."     The  idea  seema 

76 


paalm  XQVr. 


BOM  1  LET W  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS, 


to  be  that  even  the  heathen  are  governed 
by  God.     He  has  revealed  to  them  by 
means  of  creation  "  His  eternal  power 
and  Godhead  ;  "  His  law  He  has  "  writ- 
ten  in    their    liearts ;  their   conscience 
also  bears  witness  "  for  Him.     They  are 
subject  to  His  control.     He  visits  them 
in  mercy  ;  and  He  reproves  them  with 
judgment.     Is  it  not  folly  then  to  sup- 
pose that  He  will  overlook  the  injuries 
inflicted  upon  His  own  people  by  those 
who  have  a  clearer  and  fuller  revelation 
than   the    heathen  1     Every   additional 
illustration  of  the  judgment  of  God  im- 
parts increased  force  to  the  already  con- 
clusive evidence,  that  God  will  correct 
those  who  break  His  law  and  oppress 
His  people. 

The  Psalmist  mentions  two  things 
which  considerably  strengthen  his  argu- 
ment. 

1 .  That  tJie  evil  complained  of  was  of 
long  continuance.  *'  Ye  fools,  when  will 
ye  be  wise  1 "  The  inquiry  implies 
that  their  folly  had  existed  for  a  long 
period.  During  that  period  they  had 
been  "  treasuring  up  unto  themselves 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  re- 
velation of  the  righteous  judgment  of 
God."  If  they  repent  not,  that  accumu- 
lated wrath  will  surely  burst  upon  them. 

2.  That  God  knows  not  only  words 
and  actions,  but  thoughts  and  purposes 


also.  "  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts 
of  man,  that  they  are  vanity."  He  has 
set  "our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  His 
countenance."  The  thoughts  that  He 
would  not  see  and  judge  for  these  sins 
He  knew.  All  thoughts  of  arrogance 
and  oppression  He  knew.  Let  them 
not  imagine  that  He  did  *' not  see"  or 
"regard"  their  conduct;  for  even 
their  hearts  were  known  unto  Him. 
"  Thoughts  are  words  to  God,  and  vain 
thoughts  are  provocations." 

Conclusion. — L  Here  is  warning  to 
practical  atheists.     You    are  acting  as 
though    God  had    nothing   to  do  with 
some  departments  of  your  life  and  con- 
duct.    You  do  things  in  business,  or  in 
politics,  or  in  pleasure,  which  will  not 
bear  His  scrutiny.     You  say  in  prac- 
tice, "  The  Lord  shall  not  see,  neither 
shall    God   regard    it."     But    He   does 
see  ;  and  "  know  thou,  that  for  all  these 
things   God  will  bring  thee  into  judg- 
ment."    Your  practical  atheism  is  utter 
folly.     2.  Here  is  encouragement  to  the 
oppressed  righteous.     You    cannot  pass 
beyond  the  region  of  God's  knowledge. 
He  is  acquainted  with  all  your  afflic- 
tions.    His  love  and  power  are  as  great 
as  His  knowledge.     He  will  sustain  you 
in    all   your  afflictions  ;  and  when  He 
ariseth    for    judgment  He   will   trium- 
phantly vindicate  you. 


The  Blessedness  of  the  Divinely-Instructed  Man. 

(Verses  12-15.) 


The  Psalmist,  having  complained  of 
the  enemies  of  the  Church  and  appealed 
to  God  for  judgment,  and  having  warned 
the  enemies  of  the  folly  of  their  conduct, 
proceeds  in  these  verses  to  speak  of  the 
blessedness  of  the  people  of  God,  even 
in  the  midst  of  the  oppressions  to  which 
they  were  subjected.  "  Blessed  is  the 
man,"  <fec.  The  good  man  is  here  repre- 
sented as  blessed, — 

I.  Because  of  the  instruction  which 
he  receives.  '*  Blessed  is  the  man 
whom  Thou  chastenest,  O  Lord,  &c." 
(vers.  12,  13).  The  word  which  is 
here  rendered  "chastenest"  does  not 
mean  to  afflict  or  punish ;  but  to  in- 
Btruct,  to  admonish,  <kc.  Perowne  ren- 
76 


ders  it,  "  instructest ;  "  and  Hengsten- 
berg,  "  admonish  est.  *'  He  says,  "Those 
who  allow  themselves  to  be  admonished 
and  taught  by  the  Lord  stand  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  foolish  among  the  people, 
who  go  to  school  with  the  blind  ungodly 
heathen" 

1.  The  Teacher,  "  Thou  instructest, 
O  Lord."  As  a  Teacher,  the  Lord  is 
incomparable,  supreme,  perfect.  (1) 
In  the  exteiit  of  His  attainments.  AH 
things  are  known  to  Him.  His  re- 
sources are  inexhaustible.  "  His  under- 
standing is  infinite."  (2)  In  His  method 
of  instruction.  His  knowledge  of  each 
pupil  is  perfect.  He  knows  the  facul- 
ties, capacities,  attainments,  &c.,  of  each 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  xottr. 


one  'y  and  adapts  His  communications 
and  methods  of  instruction  to  each 
one.  The  Lord  is  an  infallible,  perfect 
Teacher. 

2.  The  Text-hook.  ''Out  of  Thy 
law."  By  means  of  His  Word,  God 
teaches  His  people  the  great  principles 
of  His  government.  "  The  law  appears 
here,"  says  Hengstenberg,  **  as  the 
means  which  God  uses  in  this  instruc- 
tion, the  fountain  out  of  which  He 
draws  it,  and  then  satisfies  with  it  by 
His  Spirit  the  thirsty  soul.  It  comes 
into  notice  in  connection  with  its  doc- 
trine of  recompense,  and  its  rich  consola- 
tory promises  for  the  people  of  the  Lord, 
whose  end  is  always  salvation."  The 
Word  of  God  is  the  best  expositor  of 
His  Providence. 

3.  The  end  of  the  instruction. 
"That  Thou  mayest  give  him  rest,"  &c. 
Perowne,  as  we  think,  expounds  truly  : 
**  This  is  the  end  of  God's  teaching,  that 
His  servant  may  wait  in  patience,  un- 
moved by,  safe  from  the  days  of  evil 
(com  p.  xlix.  5),  seeing  the  evil  all  round 
him  lifting  itself  up,  but  seeing  also  the 
secret,  mysterious  retribution,  slowly  but 
surely  accomplishing  itself.  In  this  sense 
the  *  rest  *  is  the  rest  of  a  calm,  self-pos- 
sessed spirit,  as  Isa.  vii.  4;  xxx.  15;  xxxii. 
17."  The  Divinely-instructed  man  has 
such  views  of  the  Divine  administration 
as  inspire  him  with  confidence  and  calm- 
ness, even  when  the  wicked  arrogantly 
triumph  over  him.  God  has  taught  him 
out  of  His  law  that  the  pit  is  being 
digged,  into  which,  if  he  repent  not,  the 
wicked  will  fall  and  perish.  So  the 
good  man  has  inward  rest  in  the  midst 
of  outward  affliction  and  persecution. 
He  is  not  the  creature,  but  the  con- 
queror of  circumstances.  His  enemies 
may  oppress  him,  but  they  cannot  in- 
vade his  peace,  <fec. 

II.  Because  of  the  faithfulness  of 
Ck)d.  *'  For  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off 
Hia    people,"    &c.      The    Divinely-in- 


structed man  is  in  covenant  relation 
with  God,  by  virtue  of  which  he  is  both 
secure  and  blessed.  He  is  blessed,  for 
God  will  never  forsake  him.  "The 
Lord  may  perhaps  forsake  His  people 
for  a  time  (comp.  Jud.  vi.  13  ;  Isa.  ii. 
6),  as  a  righteous  punishment  for  forsak- 
ing Him,  Deut.  xxxii.  16,  but  not  for 
ever." — Hengstenberg.  The  righteous 
are  God's  "inheritance,"  and  He  will  not 
give  up  His  title  to  it,  nor  suffer  it  to 
be  wrested  from  Him.  "  For  a  small 
moment  have  I  forsaken  thee  ;  but  with 
great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee,"  <kc., 
Isa.  liv.  7,  8.  Ble>«sed,  indeed,  is  the 
man  who  has  the  assurance  that  what- 
ever may  befall  him,  God  will  not  for- 
sake him.  Being  sure  of  his  interest  in 
God,  he  will  want  no  good  thing. 

IIL  Because  of  the  righteousness 
of  His  judgments.  "But  judgment 
shall  return  unto  righteousness,"  &c. 
There  are  times  when  judgment  seems 
turned  aside  from  righteousness,  such 
as,  when  the  wicked  triumph  and  the 
good  are  oppressed.  But  at  the  proper 
time  these  apparent  perversions  will  be 
seen  in  their  true  light,  and  righteous- 
ness will  be  seen  to  be  supreme.  Even 
in  appearance,  judgment  and  justice  can- 
not always  fail.  It  nmst  sooner  or  later 
appear  in  its  true  character  as  perfect 
righteousness.  In  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day  this  manifestation  of  the 
righteousness  of  the  Divine  rule  will  be 
on  a  grand  scale.  This  manifestation  of 
the  righteousness  of  God's  judgments 
will  be  viewed  with  satisfaction  by  the 
righteous.  "All  the  upright  in  heart 
shall  follow  it.''  They  will  approve  ofit^ 
avow  their  attachment  to  it.  They  will 
rejoice  in  it.  They  shall  follow  it  with 
joyous  hearts  and  triumphant  songs. 

Conclusion. — Blessed,  indeed,  is  the 
Divinely-instructed  man  ;  for  he  has 
rest  in  the  midst  of  trouble,  an  ever- 
lasting interest  in  God,  and  a  glorious 
prospect  in  the  judgment. 


A  Declaration  op  Confidence  in  God. 
{Verses  16-23.) 


The  Psalmist  now  applies  the  general 
doctrine  of  the  Psalm  to  his  own  case, 


and  the  result  is  this  clear  declaration  of 
sublime  trust  in  God.     Here  is — 

77 


fSALM  XOIV. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


I.  Confidence  in  the  midst  of  for- 
midable enemies.  It  is  an  easy  matter 
to  declare  a  triumphant  trust  when  we 
are  free  from  trial  and  danger.  But  the 
Poet  was  threatened  and  afflicted  by  un- 
scrupulous and  powerful  enemies  when 
he  uttered  these  trustful  and  brave 
words. 

1.  His  enemies  were  evil  in  character. 
**  The  evil  doers,  .  .  .  the  workers 
of  iniquity."     See  remarks  on  verse  4. 

2.  His  enemies  were  in  positions  of 
atUhority.  They  occupied  "the  throne" 
or  judgment  seat.  They  were  **  not 
common  assassins  or  thieves,  but  tyrants 
who,  under  a  false  pretext  of  justice, 
oppressed  the  Church.  The  throne  of 
the  king,  the  seat  of  the  judge,  which  is 
consecrated  to  God,  they  stained  or  de- 
filed with  their  crimes." — Perowne.  The 
people  of  God  have  often  had  wicked 
kings,  and  corrupt  and  cruel  judges  for 
their  enemies. 

3.  His  enemies  acted  legally. 
**  Which  frameth  mischief  by  a  law." 
They  enacted  wicked  laws,  or  pro- 
pounded wicked  interpretations  of  the 
law.  Iniquity  is  never  so  daring  as 
when  it  is  supported  by  the  sanctions  of 
law.  A  thing  may  be  right  legally,  yet 
utterly  wrong  morally,  and  right  morally, 
yet  wrong  legally.  We  have  a  notable 
example  of  this  in  the  life  of  Daniel 
(Dan.  vi.  7). 

4.  His  enemies  were  confederate  in 
council  and  action.  "  They  gather  them- 
selves together,"  <fec.  The  enemies  of 
Daniel  afford  an  illustration,  Dan.  vi. 
6,  11,  15.  Surely  the  enemies  of  the 
Psalmist  were  sufficiently  formidable  to 
have  aroused  his  fears.  Yet  he  un- 
falteringly declares  his  confidence. 

II.  Confidence  in  the  midst  of  many 
and  anxious  thoughts.  The  Psalmist 
speaks  of  "  the  multitude  of  his 
thoughts  within  him."  Perowne  :  "In 
the  multitude  of  my  anxious  thoughts 
within  me.*'  "  Anxious  thoughts,  or 
*  perplexities,*  lit.  '  divided  or  branching 
thoughts,'  whether  doubts  or  cares." 
He  was  fully  alive  to  the  dangers  of 
his  position.  His  thoughts  were  anxiotis 
and  perplexed.  They  were  also  multi- 
tudinous. Luther :  "  He  speaks  of  the 
many  thoughts  which  one  has  in  such  a 
78 


state  of  despair,  how  he  could  or  might 
come  out  of  it.  Then  he  thinks  this 
way  and  that  way,  and  visits  all  holes 
and  corners,  but  finds  none."  Yet  faith 
triumphs  over  these  anxious  thoughts. 
Notwithstanding  his  deep  solicitude,  he 
expresses  his  firm  confidence  in  God  and 
His  Providence.  He  is  anxious,  yet 
victorious. 

III.  Confidence  in  the  Divine  sup- 
port. *'  Unless  the  Lord  had  been  my 
help,  my  soul  had  soon  dwelt  in  silence," 
&c.  (vers.  17,  18).     Notice  here — 

1.  The  danger y  and  the  need  of  help, 

(1)  He  was  in  danger  of  death.  His 
soul  was  nearly  dwelling  in  silence.  The 
grave  is  represented  as  a  place  of  silence. 
He  was   near  to  **  the  gates  of  death." 

(2)  He  was  also  in  danger  of  falling. 
He  felt  his  feet  slipping.  When  the 
soul  is  painfully  exercised  as  to  the 
Divine  administration  of  human  afi'airs, 
there  is  danger  of  falling  into  unbelief 
and  rebellion,  or  of  sinking  into  despair. 

(3)  The  danger  was  imminent.  His 
soul  was  already  near  to  the  land  of 
darkness  and  silence,  and  his  feet  were 
slipping. 

2.  The  failure  of  human  help,  **  Un- 
less the  Lord  had  been  my  help,"  <fec. 
There  are  times  when  human  help  fails 
for  want  of  faithfulness  ;  and  times 
when  it  fails  for  want  of  ability.  There 
are  experiences  in  life  in  which  the 
truest  and  most  devoted  of  human 
helpers  are  powerless  to  sympathise 
with  or  aid  us. 

3.  The  sufficiency  of  the  Divine  help. 
The  Lord  was  the  Helper  of  the 
Psalmist,  and  His  mercy  held  him  up. 
The  help  of  the  Lord  was  (1)  sufficient. 
It  saved  him  from  falling  and  from 
death.  (2)  Seasonable.  It  was  afforded 
when  he  was  near  '*  the  silent  land," 
when  his  feet  were  slipping.  (3)  Gror- 
dous.  It  was  the  expression  of  His 
mercy.  He  saves  us  in  His  loving- 
kindness.  So  the  Psalmist  proclaims 
his  confidence  in  God,  <fec. 

IV.  Confidence  in  the  Divine  pro- 
tection. '*  The  Lord  is  my  defence ; 
and  my  God  is  the  Rock  of  my  refuge." 
Perowne  :  "  Jehovah  hath  been  a  high 
tower  for  me."  The  Psalrjist  is  confi- 
dent of — 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  P8ALM3. 


PSALM  XOIV. 


1.  The  Security  of  the  Divine  Protec- 
tion. Jeliovah  was  his  "  higli  tower." 
In  Him  he  would  be  raised  far  above 
the  reach  of  danger.  He  was  "  the  Rock 
of  his  refuge,"  in  the  clefts  of  which  he 
may  safely  hide. 

2.  IVie  Stability  of  the  Divine  Pro- 
tection, *'  The  Kock  '*  is  firm,  strong, 
immovable.  It  stands  securely  and 
calmly  amid  the  driving  winds,  and 
pelting  storms,  and  surging,  thundering 
seas.  The  soul  that  trusts  in  Jehovah 
may  exult,  for  she  is  inviolably  and 
eternally  safe. 

V.  Confidence  in  the  Divine  retri- 
bution. ''  Shall  the  throne  of  iniquity 
have  fellowship  with  Thee  ?  .  .  .  . 
He  shall  bring  upon  them  their  own 
iniquity,"  &c.  Here  is  a  threefold  assur- 
ance : — 

1.  God  has  no  fellow. ^hip  with  the 
Ufiched.  He  will  have  no  alliance  with 
injustice,  even  when  it  is  sanctioned  by 
human  laws.  He  has  no  complicity 
with  evil.  All  His  arrangements  are 
utterly  hostile  to  it. 

2.  God  will  cut  off  the  persistently 
wicked.  "  He  shall  cut  them  off  in  their 
own  wickedness,"  (fee.  A  terrible  retribu- 
tion awaits  the  workers  of  iniquity. 

3.  God  ivill  cut  off  the  persistently 
wicked  hy  means  of  their  own  wickedness. 
"  He  shall  bring  upon  them  their  own 
iniquity."  *'  It  is  an  ill  work  wicked 
ones  are  about ;  they  make  fetters  for 
their  own  feet,  and  build  houses  for  to 


fall  upon  their  own  heads;  so  mis- 
chievous is  the  nature  of  sin  that  it 
damnifies  and  destroys  the  parents  of 
it." — Greenhill.  "A  man  cannot  be 
more  miserable  than  his  own  wickednesa 
will  make  him  if  God  visit  it  upon 
him." — M.  Henry. 

VI.  Confidence  in  the  Lord  a  source 
of  joy,  even  in  the  midst  of  dangers 
and  anxieties.  We  have  reserved  this 
consideration  to  the  last,  because  it 
seems  to  us  the  crowning  triumph  and 
glory  of  confidence.  Even  in  the  midst 
of  oppression,  peril,  and  multitudinous 
anxieties,  the  trust  of  the  Psalmist 
brought  joy  to  his  soul.  *'  Thy  com- 
forts delight  my  soul."  Meditation  on 
the  perfections  of  God,  trust  in  His  pro- 
mises, and  the  realisation  of  His  pre- 
sence, are  Divine  comforts  which  ex- 
ceedingly rejoice  the  soul.  "They  not 
only  pacify  the  mind,  but  they  joy  it  ; 
they  do  not  only  satisfy  it,  but  ravish 
it  ;  they  not  only  quiet,  but  delight  it. 
They  not  only  take  away  the  present 
grief,  but  likewise  put  in  the  room  and 
place  of  it  most  unspeakable  comfort 
and  consolation,  as  the  sun  does  not  only 
dispel  darkness,  but  likewise  brings  in 
a  glorious  light  in  the  stead  of  it." — T. 
Horton.  Thus,  by  faith  in  God,  the 
Boul  is  "  more  than  conqueror  "  over  all 
hostile  powers  without,  and  anxious 
thoughts  and  fears  within.  Let  us  cul- 
tivate such  faith.  For  such  faith  let 
us  pray.     "  Lord,  increase  our  faith.'' 


The  Summons  to  Holy  Work. 
{Vene  16.) 


We  may  regard  these  words  as  parallel 
at  least  to  those  of  the  Judges  and  Law- 
givers of  Israel,  who  when  the  very  exist- 
ence of  Israel  as  a  nation  was  trem- 
bling in  the  balance,  and  when  devoted- 
ness  and  loyalty  were  demanded  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  called  with 
trumpet-voice  to  the  brave  and  true- 
hearted  among  them  to  be  "  on  the 
Lord's  side,"  and  ** cursed  bitterly"  those 
who  would  not  come  "  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

L  Let  us  review  a  few  character- 
UticB  of  the  evildoers. 


1.  Look  at  the  number  of  the  evil- 
doers. Not  more  than  one-seventh  of 
the  human  race  is  evtn  nominally  Chris- 
tian ;  and  among  these  Christians  are 
reckoned  all  the  populations  of  Austria, 
France,  Russia,  America,  and  S[)ain ; 
the  Greeks,  the  Copts,  and  the  Arme- 
nians ;  the  priest-ridden  inhabitants  of 
Brazil  and  Mexico,  and  all  the  crowds  of 
our  English  cities;  the  Sabbath-breakers, 
the  despisers  of  God's  love,  the  haters  of 
God's  law,  the  drunkard,  the  harlot,  the 
miser,  the  dotard,  and  the  fool.  .  .  . 
Turn  to  the  six-sevenths  of  this  world's 

79 


2BMM  XOIT. 


EOMILETW  COMMENTAttY :  PSALMB, 


population.  .  .  .  We  are  passing 
out  of  Goshen  into  Egyptian  dark- 
ness. 

2.  The  variety  of  the  evildoers.  In 
one  place  there  is  subtle  speculation,  in 
another  gross  vice  ;  here  utter  indiffer- 
ence, there  wild  fanaticism ;  in  one  tribe 
crushing  ignorance,  in  another  daring 
philosophy  and  luxuriant  imagina- 
tion. .  .  ,  The  regiments  of  the 
prince  of  this  world  wear  various  uni- 
forms ;  the  mutineers  in  God's  army  are 
widespread  and  bear  divers  colours  : 
they  speak  a  hundred  dialects  or 
tongues,  and  are  scattered  over  the 
whole  world, 

3.  They  are  closely  organised.  There 
are  subtle  links  of  faith  that  bind  the 
millions  of  the  East,  and  move  them  in 
vast  masses.  In  China  .  .  .  there 
is  abundant  organisation,  and  much  coin- 
cidence of  action.  In  India,  with  all 
the  varieties  of  faith  that  prevail,  there 
are  great  and  startling  signs  of  combina- 
tion against  God  and  His  Christ. 

4.  The  depravity  of  these  evildoers. 
It  is  not  the  mere  ignorance  which 
heathendom  reveals  which  constitutes 
their  chief  danger  or  our  main  responsi- 
bility, but  it  is  the  fearful  corruption  of 
man  under  these  various  forms  of  Christ- 
less,  Godless  life.  In  these  lands  of 
which  we  are  speaking  there  is  no  public 
opinion  against  sins  of  the  foulest,  most 
unmentionable  kinds. 

II.  Consider  the  course  which  God 
has  taken  with  these  evildoers,  and 
also  what  is  involved  in  the  appeal 
here  uttered.  "  Who  will  rise  up  for 
Me  against  the  evildoers  *?  "  *'  Who  is 
on  the  Lord's  side  1  "  By  these  appeals 
God  seems  to  tell  us  that  He  is  not 
going  to  crush,  or  destroy,  or  convert, 
or  save  these  evildoers  by  any  fiat  of 
omnipotence,  by  any  touch  of  His  im- 
perial sceptre.  His  method  has  always 
been  to  teach  men  by  men  ;  to  uproot 
error  by  truth  ;  to  conquer  darkness  by 
light ;  to  drive  out  hatred  by  love. 
Nature  has  unveiled  her  charms,  &c., 
to  men  first,  and  afterwards  to  nations. 

80 


God's  greatest  acts  of  revelation  have  been 
made  through  human  minds.  When  He 
intends  to  reach  the  hearts  and  conquer 
the  wills  of  men  by  His  love,  He  calls 
the  sons  of  men  to  His  help  against  the 
mighty.  It  is  not,  however,  that  God 
is  weak  and  needs  our  help,  but  that  for 
infinitely  perfect  reasons  He  chooses 
thus  to  conquer  His  enemies,  &c.  "  Who 
will  rise  up  for  Me  against  the  evil- 
doers 1 "  The  evildoing  is  done  against 
Him. 

III.  Examine  the  response  which  is 
made  to  this  appeal.  Nature  is  ready 
to  rise  up  for  God  against  the  evildoers. 
Tremendous  ocean  once  heaved  from  his 
rocky  bed,  and  in  the  roaring  of  his 
billows  said,  *'  I  will  sweep  the  accursed 
race  of  man  from  the  face  of  the  earth," 
,  .  .  And  the  lust  of  rule,  the  spirit 
of  conquest,  the  demon  of  war,  have 
come  up  before  Him.  And  they  have 
said  one  to  another,  "  We  will  go  and 
make  inroads  on  these  hoary  supersti- 
tions ;  we  will  bring  the  civilisation  of 
distant  tribes  together,"  <fec.  .  .  . 
The  enemies  of  the  Lord  have  fought 
against  each  other,  and  the  wrath  of 
man  has  been  made  to  praise  Him.  But 
He  needs  other  and  nobler  service. 
Led  by  Death  himself.  Cholera,  Plague, 
Famine,  and  Madness  have  often  risen  up 
against  the  evildoers.  .  .  .  And 
now  a  peaceful  group  come  smiling  on, 
confident  in  their  strength,  instinct  with 
hope  and  promise — they  are  Science  and 
Commerce,  Civilisation  and  Law.  .  .  , 
But  powers  like  these  cannot  reach  the 
root  of  the  evil.  In  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  there  is  the  only  stay  of  human 
corruption,  the  only  rival  to  the  world's 
fascinations,  the  only  power  which  is 
merciful  to  the  sinner  while  it  is  just  to 
his  sin.  It  is  God's  method  to  over- 
whelm and  subdue  the  heart  of  man,  to 
change  the  evildoer,  not  by  His  threats, 
but  by  His  amnesty — not  by  the  thunder 
of  law,  but  by  the  sovereign  pleading  of 
love.  How  shall  we  obey  the  summons 
of  the  text  I — Abridged  from  "  Notes  of 
the  Christian  Life,"  by  Dr.  Beyuolds. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XOIT^ 


A  Common  Incident  of  the  Journey. 
(Verse  18.) 


^  My  foot  slippeth." 

The  whole  verse  is,  "When  I  said,  My 
foot  slippeth  ;  Thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  held 
me  up."  Here  we  have  one  of  the  sim- 
plest forms  of  prayer,  the  bare  statement 
of  danger.  The  child's  cry,  without  in- 
troduction or  finis.  The  soul  in  peril  can 
seldom  say  much,  but  that  which  is  said 
is  generally  expressive.  Take,  for  ex- 
ample, these  words  :  they  imply  faith  in 
the  presence  of  One  able  to  help — abhor- 
rence of  the  sin  to  which  he  is  tempted — 
and  confidence  in  His  willingness  to  save. 

This  experience  is  a  common  one. 
All  of  us  are,  at  some  time,  found  in 
slippery  places.  They  are  of  various 
kinds,  more  or  less  dangerous.  There 
are  many  things  incident  to  ourselves 
which  render  them  the  more  perilous. 
And  we  have  the  same  method  for  pre- 
servation the  Psalmist  enjoyed.  Let  us 
notice  each  of  these  points. 

I.  Some  slippery  places.  We  are 
the  more  exposed  to  falling  when  we 
are  brought  into  circumstances  of — 

1.  Poverty  and  want.  Christ  was 
tempted  when  He  hungered. 

2.  Of  annoyance  and  vexation,  Moses 
•mote  the  rock  in  anger. 


3.  Of  dejection  and  perplexity.  Ps. 
Ixxiii.  2,  3. 

4.  Of  sore  bereavement  and  trial.    Job. 

II.  Some  things  concerning  the 
traveller,  rendering  these  the  more 
perilous. 

1.  The  absence  of  the  staffs  or  negli- 
gence in  its  use.  Learn  the  promises 
and  use  them. 

2.  The  foot  ill-shod. 

3.  Drowsiness.  "  Watch  and  pray, 
that,"  (fcc. 

4.  Carelessness. 

6.  The  lantern  untrimmed  or  insecure^ 
so  that  it  goes  out  or  burns  dimly. 

III.  The  sure  means  for  preserva- 
tion. We  have  simply  to  cry  to  the 
Deliverer.  How  absurd  would  it  be 
for  a  traveller  to  wait  a  moment  before 
he  cried  for  help,  or  took  means  to  ex- 
tricate himself  from  peril!  Yet  some 
are  content  merely  to  cry,  "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation,"  when  the  Sabbath 
service  is  performed. 

The  secret  of  a  secure  and  blessed 
life  is  constant  ejaculatory  prayer.  The 
moment  danger  is  even  anticipated,  to 
ask  for  timely  assistance.  —  R.  A, 
Griffin. 


Tbb  Comforts  of  Christians  under  either  Worldly  or 

Spiritual   Trials. 

{Verse  19.) 


Consider— 

I.  Some  of  the  distressing  thoughts 
which  are  apt  to  oppress  the  mind  of 
a  good  man.  They  may  he  considered 
as  relating  to — 

L  The  stale  of  the  world.  When  a 
good  man  surveys  the  general  prevalence 
of  irreligion  and  impiety,  when  he  con- 
siders how  few  there  are,  comparatively, 
who  seek  after  God,  or  are  moved  by 
any  imj)ression  of  a  serious  nature,  he 
cannot  but  be  affected.  "  I  beheld  the 
transgressors,  and  was  grieved,"  <fec. 
(Ps.  cxix.  158,  53).  When,  again,  he 
considers  whither  such  a  course  must 
tend,  and  in  what  it  will  possibly  issue, 

VOL.  U.  » 


the    prospect    is    still    more    alarming. 
"Wide  is  the  gate,"  <fec.  (Matt.  vii.  13). 

2.  The  state  of  the  Church.  The  pal- 
pable inconsistency  between  the  lives  of 
numerous  professors  of  religion,  and  the 
real  import  of  that  profession,  is  the 
subject  of  much  distressing  reflection  to 
the  sincere  follower  of  Christ.  '*  Many 
walk  of  whom  1  have  told  you  often," 
(fee.  (Phil.  iii.  18,  19). 

3.  His  state  as  an  individual.  *'  The 
heart  knoweth  his  own  bitterness,"  <fec. 
We  may  advert  to — 

(1)  Trials  of  a  worldly  nature.  Under 
these  religion  neither  demands  nor  boasts 
a  perf^^ct  insensibility.      The  Psalmist 

^1 


FB^LMX0T. 


BOMILBTJC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


displayed  great  vicissitude  of  feeling, 
arising  from  this  quarter ;  he  mourned 
under  the  calumny  and  oppression  of  his 
enemies,  and  gave  utterance  to  cries  and 
tears  under  his  affliction.  Ps.  xlii.  9, 
10.     Job  is  another  example. 

(2)  Trials  of  a  spiritual  nature. 
When  we  consider  our  low  attainments 
in  religion,  compared  with  our  opportu- 
nities, our  latent  corruption,  and  our 
frequent  miscarriages  and  failures,  we 
are  often  tempted  to  call  in  question 
the  reality  of  our  religion,  and  to  fear 
that,  after  all,  we  are  only  "  almost 
Christians." 

Under  the  hidings  of  God*s  counten- 
ance how  many  painful  thoughts  arise  ! 

In  the  prospect  before  him ;  in  the 
contemplation  of  the  dangers  and  temp- 
tations which  still  await  him  j  while  he 
feels  himself  nothing  but  frailty  and 
weakness,  bow  apt  is  he  to  apprehend 
some  fatal  overthrow  !  He  is  ready  to 
cry,  '*  I  shall  never  see  the  King  in  His 
beauty,  nor  behold  the  land  which  is  so 
far  off." 

II.  The  consolations  of  God  opposed 
to  these  uneasy  thoughts. 

1.  Such  as  arise  from  the  disordered 
sttUe  of  the  world.     On  this  subject  great 


consolation  springs  from  the  conviction 
that  the  Lord  reigneth.  There  sit  at 
the  helm  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and 
goodness.  Tiiey  are  in  perpetual  opera- 
tion ;  and,  in  the  final  result,  they  will 
appear  with  ineffable  splendour  and 
beauty. 

2.  Under  painful  apprehensions  re- 
specting the  state  of  the  Churchy  the  com- 
forts of  God  are  neither  few  nor  small. 
Reflect :  it  is  incomparably  more  His 
care  than  ours.  As  the  Saviour  bought 
it  with  His  blood.  He  will  not  fail  to 
guide  and  govern  it  in  the  best  manner 
possible.  His  interpositions  in  its  favour 
afford  a  pledge  of  what  He  will  still 
accomplish.  Isa.  xliii.  3,  4  ;  Matt.  xvi. 
18.  Afflictions  are  designed  to  purify 
the  Church. 

3.  Under  the  distressing  thoughts 
arising  from  the  state  of  a  Christian,  as 
an  individual^  the  Divine  comforts  are 
proposed.  Affliction  and  privations  are 
all  ordered  in  infinite  wisdom,  and  pro- 
ceed from  the  purest  benignity;  they 
will  issue  in  our  advantage,  and  they 
will  be  but  of  short  duration.  "  Weep- 
ing may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy 
Cometh  in  the  morning." —  Robert 
Hall, — A  bridged. 


PSALM     XCV. 

Introduction. 

"  This  Psalm  is  one  of  a  seriei  intended  for  the  Temple  worship,  and  possibly  composed 
for  some  festal  occasion.  Both  the  joyfulness  of  its  opening  rerses,  and  its  general  character, 
in  which  it  resembles  the  81st  Psalm,  would  render  it  suitable  for  some  of  the  great  national 
feasts. 

**  As  to  the  date  of  its  composition  nothing  certain  can  be  said.  The  LXX  call  it  a  Psalm 
of  David  ;  and  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  making  a  quotation  from  the  Psalm, 
uses  the  expression  *  in  David,'  but  this  is  evidently  only  equivalent  to  saying  *  in  the  Psalms^' 
In  the  Hebrew  it  has  no  inscription. 

**  It  consists  of  two  very  distinct  parts  : — 

**I.  The  first  is  an  invitation  to  a  jovful  public  acknowledgment  of  God's  mercies.  Vers. 
1-7. 

"II.  The  second  (beginning  with  the  last  member  of  verse  7  to  the  end)  is  a  warning  to  the 
people  against  the  unbelief  and  disobedience  through  which  their  fathers  had  perished  in  the 
wilderness. " — Perowne, 


An  Invitation  to  Worship. 

(Ferses  1-7.) 

The  Psalmist,   in  this  invitation  to  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord,"  Sec,  vera, 

worship,  brings  before  us —  1,  2,  6.    We  are  exhorted  to  worship — 
L  The  method  of  worship,    **Ocome,  I.  Jo'^vlly,     "Let  us  mak^  a  joyful 

8? 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  XOF. 


noise."  **  Spiritual  joy  is  the  heart  and 
Boul  of  thankful  praise."  In  drawing  near 
to  God  in  worship  we  have  many  and  for- 
cible reasons  for  rejoicing  in  Him.  By 
holy  delight  in  His  worship  we  honour 
Him,  and  commend  His  service  to  others. 

2.  Readily.  **Let  us  come  before 
His  presence."  Margin,  as  in  Heb., 
**Let  us  prevent  His  face."  Hengsten- 
berg  :  '*Let  us  anticipate  His  presence.'* 
Perowne  :  "  Let  us  go  to  meet  His  face/' 
He  says,  **  Such  is  the  proper  and  strict 
rendering  of  the  word.  *  Come  before  * 
does  not  sufficiently  express  the  forward- 
ness, the  ready  alacrity,  which  are  really 
denoted  by  the  verb."  The  exhortation 
of  the  Psalmist  presupposes  unreadiness 
to  worship,  and  implies  that  worship 
should  be  offered  with  pleasure  and  zeaL 

3.  Gratefully.  "  With  thanksgiving." 
In  worship  we  should  gratefully  recog- 
nise God's  gracious  dealings  with  us. 
For  all  the  blessings  which  God  in  His 
mercy  bestows  upon  us,  He  expects  and 
requires  to  be  thanked.  He  bestows 
them  freely  and  generously  for  our  good, 
and  He  would  have  us  give  the  glory 
to  Him.  Thankfulness  of  heart  is  one 
of  the  great  impulses  to  worship. 

4.  lieverently.  "  Let  us  worship  and 
bow  down  ;  let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord 
our  Maker."  **  All  the  expressions  here 
employed  denote  a  posture  of  profound 
reverence  in  worship,  and  the  passage 
is  a  standing  rebuke  of  all  irreverent 
postures  in  prayer. " — Barnes.  Reverence 
of  feeling  should  be  expressed  in  reverent 
attitudes.  If  we  are  duly  sensible  of 
the  immeasurable  distance  between  us 
and  God,  humility  and  sacred  reverence 
will  fill  our  hearts  and  be  expressed  in 
our  words  and  attitude  in  worshipping 
Him.  In  the  worship  of  God  joy  should 
be  wedded  to  seriousness,  gratitude  to 
humility,  confidence  to  reverence,  and 
«eal  to  holy  awe. 

II.  The  motives  of  worship.  '*  For 
the  Lord  is  a  great  God,"  (fee.  The 
Psalmist  invites  to  worship — 

\.  Because  Jehovah  is  Supreme.  "The 
Lord  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  King 
above  all  Gods."  The  word  ''gods"  is 
sometimes  applied  to  angels,  sometimes 
to  judges,  and  sometimes  to  heathen 
deities.     It  is  used   in  this  place  t() 


designate  the  latter.  We  are  not  to 
suppose  that  the  Psalmist  credited  these 
heathen  deities  with  any  real  existence 
or  power.  **For  all  the  gods  of  the 
nations  are  idols."  '*  He  is  merely  con- 
trasting heathen  objects  of  worship, 
clothed  in  the  imagination  of  their 
worshippers  with  certain  attributes,  and 
the  one  true  supreme  Object  of  worship, 
who  is  really  all,  and  more  than  all, 
which  the  heathen  think  their  gods  to 
be."  —  Perowne.  Probably  the  sur- 
rounding idolatrous  nations  regarded 
Jehovah  as  some  small  local  deity,  far 
inferior  to  their  "  gods."  The  Psalmist 
here  declares  that  in  His  perfections  He 
is  exalted  far  above  the  highest  position 
ascribed  to  the  gods  of  the  heathen. 
Let  us  worship  Him  because  He  is  sup- 
preme  over  all,  the  Ruler  over  all. 

2.  Because  He  is  the  Creator  and 
Proprietor  of  all  things.  "In  His 
hand  are  the  deep  places  of  the  earth," 
<fec.  The  second  clause  of  verse  4  is 
variously  rendered.  Alexander  says, 
"  The  word  translated  '  strength '  is 
plural  in  Hebrew,  and  seems  properly 
to  mean  fatiguing  exertions,  from  which 
some  derive  the  idea  of  strength,  others 
that  of  extreme  height,  which  can  only 
be  reached  by  exhausting  effort."  Mar- 
gin :  "The  height  of  the  hills  are  His." 
Perowne :  "  The  heights  of  the  mountains 
are  His."  So  also  Hengstenberg.  "The 
exertions,"  or  "heights  of  the  moun- 
tains "  is  parallel  with  "  the  searchings," 
or  "  deep  places  of  the  earth ; "  and  it 
"  is  a  poetical  expression  for  the  highest 
summits  of  the  mountains,  which  can 
be  reached  only  by  exertion."  Here 
are  two  ideas  (1)  Jehovah  is  Creator  of 
all  things.  Mountain  summits  and 
cavern  depths,  sea  and  land,  all  were 
made  by  Him.  (2)  He  is  the  Proprietor 
and  Sovereign  of  all  things.  Creator- 
ship  affords  the  highest  and  most  valid 
claim  to  Proprietorship  and  Sovereignty. 
By  indisputable  right  Jehovah  is  the 
absolute  Owner  and  Ruler  of  all  things. 
"However  deep  man  may  penetrate 
into  the  depths,  or  however  high  he  may 
ascend  into  the  heights,  he  is  still  withir. 
the  dominions  of  God,  and  never  comes 
beyond  His  boundaries." 

3.  Because  of  ffi»  relations  to  ffis 

»3 


P8ALM  xov.  UOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 

people,     (1)  J3c  is  their  Creator,     "Je-  special  manifestations  of  His  presence, 
hoyah  our  Maker."     He  has  made  us  special  communications  of  His  loving- 
capable  of  worship,  and  to  Him  alone  kindness,  <fec.     We  have  made  {)romises 
our  worship  should  be  offered.     (2)   He  of    consecration    and    service,   &c.     (4) 
is  the  Source  of  their  salvation.     *'  The  He  exercises  the  most  watchful  care  over 
Rock  of  our  salvation."     *'  God  is  called  them.      They  are  *'  the  people  of  His 
the  Rock  of  salvation  as  being  its  un-  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  His  hand." 
changeable     foundation     and    faithful  He  is  their  Shepherd, — a  relation  in  vol  v- 
author."       Our    salvation    is    entirely  mg  g^ndance,  government,  protection,  Kndi 
owing  to  Him.     Its  origin,  its  outwork-  provision.   (See  an  outline  on  Ps.  Ixx.  20.) 
ing,  &c.,  are  all  due  to  Him.     There-  Conclusion.    Worship  such  as  this — 
fore     gratitude    urges    us    to    worship  spontaneous,  joyous,  grateful,  reverent — 
Him.     (3)  He  is  in  covenant   relation  is  not  only  our  duty,  but  our  precious 
with  them.     "  He  is  our  God,  and  we  and    exalted    privilege.      It   calls  into 
are  the  people  of  His  pasture,"    God  had  exercise   the    noblest   faculties   of    our 
covenanted  with  them  that  they  should  being ;  it  engages  the  thoughts  and  af- 
obey  Him,  and  promised  them,  saying,  fections  upon  the  most  sublime  themes  ; 
"I  will  walk  among  you,  and  will  be  it  brings  the  spirit  into  the  presence  of 
your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  My  people."  the  Supremely  Great  and  Good  ;  and  it 
We  who  have  "  made  a  covenant  with  transforms    it   into    the  Divine   image. 
Him    by  sacrifice  "  are   under   special  Therefore,  "  O  come,  let  us  worship  and 
obligations  to  worship  Him.     We  have  bow  down,"  &c. 

A  Warning  against  Unbelief. 

(Ver$es  7  (last  clause)  to  11.) 

The  Psalmist,  speaking  by  the  Holy  lief  of  every  kind  and  every  degree 
Ghost,  here  holds  up  the  unbelief  and      may  be  said  to  tempt  God.     For  not  to 

disobedience    of   the    Israelites    in  the  believe  on  the  evidence  which    He  has 

wilderness  as  a  warning  to  their  de-  seen  fit  to  give,  is  to  provoke  Him  to 
scendants  in  his  day.     Consider —  give   more,  oflTering  our  possible  assent 

L  The  ensample  of  human  sin.  if  proof  were  increased  as  an  induce- 
"  Your  fathers  tempted  Me,"  &c.  Notice,      ment  to  Him  to  go  beyond  what  His 

1.  The  sin  itself.  The  root-sin  of  wisdom  has  prescribed.  And  if  in  this, 
which  Israel  was  guilty  in  the  wilder-  and  the  like  sense,  God  may  be  tempted, 
ness  was  unbelief.  This  is  distinctly  what  can  be  more  truly  said  of  the 
stated  by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  Israelites,  than  that  they  tempted  God 
the  Hebrews.  (Heb.  iii.  18, 19.)  Here  it  in  Massah  1 " — H.  Melville.  And  Spur- 
is  spoken  of  as  (1)  Tempting  God.  Two  geon  :  *'  Not  to  acquiesce  in  the  will  of 
instances  of  this  are  mentioned  inverse  8.  God  is  virtually  to  tempt  Him  to  alter 
"Harden  not  your  heart,  as  atMeribah,  His  plans  to  suit  our  imperfect  views  of 
as  in  the  day  of  Massah  (trial)  in  the  how  the  universe  should  be  governed." 
wilderness."     ^*  Meribah,    *  striving*  or      "They   tempted    the    Lord,   saying.  Is 

*  provocation  ;*  Massah,  *  temptation,*  the  Lord  among  u*  or  not  1 "  (2)  Dis- 
or  'trial.*  From  Exod.  xvii.  1-7  it  obedience  of  God.  "They  have  not 
would  appear  that  both  names  were  known  My  ways."  God's  ways  are  the 
given  to  the  same  locality.  But  accord-  ways  which  He  prescribed  for  them  to 
ing  to  Num.  xx.  1-13,  the  names  were  walk  in.  In  matters  of  practical  reli- 
given  to  two  different  places  on  different  gion,  not  to  know  the  ways  of  God  im- 
occasions.  Comp.  also  Dent,  xxxiii.  8."  plies  the  not  walking  in  them.  The 
— Ferowne.  (See  Alford  on  Heb.  iii.  Israelites  were  guilty  not  only  of  dis 
8.)  "  Your  fathers  tempted  by  way  of  obedience,  but  of  oft-repeated  acts  of  re- 
frial — 'tempted     (Me)    in    trying*    or      bellion  in  the  wilderness.     Unbelief  l3 

*  proving  (Me. J  '  ''-^ Alford^       •'  Uub§-     the  parent  of  4isQbedienc€: 

^4 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  XOV. 


2.  Hieir  persistency  in  sin.     *^  It  is  a 

people  that  do  err  in  their  heart."  Heb. : 
*'  A  people  of  wanderers  in  heart."  "  I 
understand  xa^dJa  here,"  says  Stuart, 
"as  used  according  to  the  Hebrew  idiom 
(in  which  it  is  often  pleonastic,  at  least  it 
seems  so  to  us),  so  that  the  phrase  im- 
ports simply,  Thej/  always  err^  i.e.,  they 
are  continually  departing  from  the  right 
way."  Or,  if  it  be  taken  to  mean  that 
their  sins  were  deep-rooted,  not  mere 
errors  of  judgment,  but  the  utterances 
of  a  heart  far  estranged  from  God,  still 
their  persistency  in  evil  comes  into  view. 
Disobedience  and  rebellious  murmurings 
were  not  exceptional  in  their  case. 
Strong,  indeed,  were  their  proclivities 
to  evil.  Nor  are  we  aware  of  any  im- 
provement, until  the  adult  population 
that  came  out  of  Egypt  had  passed 
away  by  death. 

3.  The  aggravation  of  their  sin. 
**  Saw  My  work."  They  had  seen  His 
wonders  in  Egypt  and  His  marvellous 
doings  for  them  at  the  Red  Sea.  In  the 
miraculous  supply  of  manna,  and  in  the 
stream  from  the  rock  that  followed 
them,  they  had  incontestable  proofs  of 
God's  powerful  and  gracious  presence 
with  them,  and  yet  in  their  unbelief 
"they  tempted  the  Lord,  saying,  Is  the 
Lord  among  us,  or  not  1 "  The  works 
of  the  Lord  which  they  had  seen  should 
have  inspired  them  with  an  all-conquer- 
ing faith.  But  through  their  perversity 
His  works  aggravated  their  sin,  in- 
creased their  guilt.  (Num.  xiv.  22,  23.) 
n.  The  ensample  of  Divine  j  udgment. 
The  Lord  was  not  unmindful  of  their 
sin.  He  saw  and  was  grieved.  "  Forty 
years  long  was  I  grieved  with  this  gene- 
ration." The  word  rendered  "  grieved  " 
is  expressive  of  loathing  and  disgust. 
Hengstenberg  renders  it  "disgusted." 
For  forty  years  their  conduct  was  such 
that  the  Lord  could  not  but  regard 
them  with  displeasure  and  aversion. 
And  in  His  anger  He  sware  that  they 
should  not  enter  into  the  promised  land. 
In  God's  wrath  there  is  nothing  re- 
vengeful, passionate,  or  stormy.  It  is 
a  calm,  just,  holy  anger  against  sin. 
Their  rebellions  had  been  many  and 
heinous.  All  the  means  used  for  their 
moral  improvement  h(id grievously  failed. 


Warnings  and  entreaties,  the  richest 
mercies  and  the  most  startling  and 
solemn  judgments,  had  produced  no 
lasting  impression  for  good.  So  Jehovah 
solemnly  resolves  and  declares  that  they 
shall  not  enter  into  His  rest.  (Num. 
xiv.  21-23,  28-35;  Deut.  i.  34,  35.) 
Meditate  on  this  judgment.  Think  of 
the  wondrous  works  wrought  on  their 
behalf,  the  design  of  which  they  en- 
tirely frustrated,  so  far  as  that  genera- 
tion was  concerned  ;  the  years  wasted 
in  apparently  fruitless  wanderings  ;  the 
expectations  which  perished  ;  the  rest 
which  they  forfeited  ;  rest  from  slavery 
and  from  wandering,  rest  as  a  free 
people  in  a  goodly  land,  &c. 

III.  The  improvement  to  be  made 
of  these  ensamples.  "To-day  if  ye 
will  hear  His  voice,"  &c.     Consider — 

1.  The  import  of  heai^ing  His  voice. 
It  is  not  mere  hearing ;  but  hearing 
with  attention,  faith,  and  obedience. 
Hearing  is  of  no  avail  without  believing, 
and  faith  which  is  not  followed  by 
action  in  harmony  therewith  is  unreal, 
dead.  Attend  to,  believe,  and  obey  His 
voice.  The  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  Psal- 
mist, indicates  one  sin  as  particularly 
incompatible  with  proper  attention  to 
the  Divine  voice.  "  Harden  not  your 
heart."  In  this  case,  to  harden  the 
heart,  is  to  disregard  the  Divine  pre- 
cepts and  warnings,  to  neglect  the  Divine 
voice,  and  persist  in  disobedience.  "Arr> 
old  man,  one  day  taking  a  child  on  his 
knee,  entreated  him  to  seek  God  now — 
to  pray  to  Him,  and  to  love  Him  ;  when 
the  child,  looking  up  at  him,  asked, 
*  But  why  do  not  you  seek  God  1 '  The 
old  man,  deeply  affected,  answered,  '  I 
would,  child  ;  but  my  heart  is  hard — 
my  heart  is  hard.'  " — Arvine.  "  The 
pirate  Gibbs,  whose  name  for  many 
years  was  a  terror  to  commerce,  was 
finally  captured,  and  executed  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  He  acknowledged  before 
his  death,  that,  when  he  committed  the 
first  murder,  his  conscience  made  a  hell 
within  his  bosom  ;  but,  after  he  had 
sailed  for  years  under  the  black  flag,  his 
conscience  became  so  blunted,  he  could 
rob  a  vessel,  murder  all  its  crew,  and 
then  lie  down  as  peacefully  to  rest  as 
9».  infaut  in  its  cradle." — Diet  of  lUu$, 

8§ 


FSAUf  XOT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


%  The  time  for  hearing  His  voice. 
•*  To-day."  Now.  This  day  of  grace, 
wliich  may  be  lost.  "  If  we  put  ofif  re- 
pentance another  day,  we  have  a  day 
more  to  repent  of,  and  a  day  less 
to  repent  in." — Mason.  "  He  that 
hath  promised  pardon  on  our  repent- 
ance hath  not  promised  life  till  we  re- 
pent."—  Quarles.  '*  You  cannot  re- 
pent too  soon,  because  you  know 
not  how  soon  it  may  be  too  late." — 
Fuller. 

3.  The  arguments  for  hearing  His 
voice.  (1)  Inattention  to  God's  voice  ex- 
tludes  from  His  rest.  A  glorious  rest  is 
provided  for  the  people  of  God.  Rest 
from  guilt,  sin,  sorrow,  suffering,  anxiety, 
wearisome   tolL      The  rest  of  holiness. 


love,  delightful  activities,  satisfied  affec- 
tions, <fec.  Heaven.  Unbelief  excludes 
from  this  rest.  "  There  can  be  no  rest 
to  an  unbelieving  heart."  Heb.  iii.  12, 
18,19.  (2)  Godis  deeply  solicitous  that 
we  should  attend  to  His  voice.  He  says, 
**  To-day,  oh  that  ye  would  hear  His 
voice  !"  He  knows  the  worth  of  the 
soul,  the  blessedness  and  glory  of  the 
rest,  the  loss  and  sin  and  woe  involved 
in  exclusion  from  it ;  and  hence  His 
solicitude  that  we  should  hear  His  voice, 
<kc. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Let  the  people  of 
God  beware  that  they  provoke  Him  not 
by  their  unbelief  or  ingratitude^  <fec.  2. 
Let  the  unbeliever  hear  God's  voice^  be- 
lieve,  and  be  saved  to-day,  now. 


Sinners  Entreated  to  Hear  God's  Voice, 


Verses  7,  8.  "  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear 
His  voice,  harden  not  your  heart." 

I  would  press  the  importance,  the 
necessity,  of  immediately  becoming  re- 
ligious : — 

I.  Because  of  the  shortness  and  un- 
certainty of  life.  You  are  mortal;  it 
is  appointed  to  all  men  once  to  die. 
You  are  fraily  and  may  die  soon  and 
suddenly.  Those  who  enjoy  the  most 
vigorous  health  are  most  exposed  to 
many  of  those  diseases  which  arrest  their 
victims  by  surprise,  and  cut  short  the 
thread  of  life  as  in  a  moment.  See  the 
risk  of  delay.  You  stake  your  soul 
without  any  equivalent ;  for  if  life  should 
be  spared  you  gain  nothing ;  but  should 
it  be  cut  short,  you  lose  all,  you  are 
ruined  for  eternity. 

II.  Because  you  cannot  properly,  or 
even  lawfully,  promise  to  give  what  is 
not  your  own.  To-morrow  is  not  yours ; 
and  it  is  yet  uncertain  whether  it  ever 
will  be.  To-day  is  the  only  time  which 
you  can  properly  give  to  God. 

m.  Because  if  you  defer  the  com- 
mencement of  a  religious  life,  though 
but  till  to-morrow,  you  must  harden 
your  hearts  againit  the  voice  of  God. 
God  commands  and  exhorts  you  to 
commence  a  religious  life  immediately. 
If  you  do  not  comply,  you  must  refuse, 
Im  there  is  no  medium.      And  this  ftct 


of  disobedience  to  God's  commands 
tends  most  powerfully  to  harden  the 
heart ;  for  after  we  have  once  disobeyed, 
it  becomes  more  easy  to  repeat  the  dis- 
obedience. If  you  disobey,  you  must 
assign  some  excuse  to  justify  your  dis- 
obedience, or  your  consciences  will  re- 
proach you  and  render  you  uneasy  ;  if 
no  plausible  excuse  occurs,  you  will  seek 
one ;  if  none  can  readily  be  found,  you 

will  invent   one This  tends 

most  powerfully  to  harden  the  heart. 

IV.  If  you  do  not  commence  a  re- 
ligious life  to-day,  there  is  great  reason 
to  fear  that  you  will  never  commence 
it.  The  very  causes  which  induce  you 
to  defer  its  commencement,  render  it 
highly  improbable  that  you  will  ever 
become  religious.  You  allege,  perhaps, 
that  you  are  not  able  to  become  re- 
ligious, or  that  you  cannot  give  your 
minds  to  it,  or  you  know  not  how  to 
begin.  Now,  all  these  causes  will  operate 

with  equal  force  another  day 

Every   day's   delay  will  render  it  more 
difficult. 

V.  Because,  after  a  time,  God  ceases 
to  strive  with  sinners  and  to  afford 
them  the  assistance  of  His  grace.  He 
gives  them  up  to  a  blinded  mind,  a 
seared  conscience,  and  a  hard  heart. 
Thus  He  dealt  with  the  old  world ;  the 
wicked  sons  of  Eli;    the  Jews  in  tht 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  xon. 


tfme  of  Isaiah  (vi.  9,  10) ;  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem  in  our  Saviour's 
time  (Luke  xix.  41,  42). 

VI.  Because  you  are,  while  you  de- 
lay, constantly  making  work  for  re- 
pentance ;  you  are  doing  what  you 
mean  to  be  sorry  for  ;  you  are  building 
up  to-day  what  you  mean  to  throw 
down  to-morrow.  How  irrational  and 
absurd  is  this  !  I  will  not  now  hear 
God's  voice,  but  I  mean  to  mourn,  to  be 
grieved  for  it  hereafter.  Could  you  say 
this  to  your  fellow-creatures  without 
blushing  1 


vil.  Because  it  is  the  express  com- 
mand of  God.  "  God  now  comniandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent."  And 
the  Holy  Gliost  saith,  Obey  God's  com- 
mand, hear  His  voice  to-day,  and  do  not 
harden  your  hearts  against  it.  Dare  any 
of  you  trample  on  a  known  command  of 
God? 

Conclusion. — What,  after  all,  is 
there  so  very  irksome,  or  disagreeable, 
in  a  religious  life,  that  you  should  wish 
to  defer  its  commencement  ?  If  you 
must  begin  some  time,  why  not  begin  to- 
day 1 — Br,  E.  Pay  son, — Abridged, 


PSALM    XOVL 

Introduction. 

This  Psalm  has  no  snperscription  in  the  Hebre^r.  But  in  the  Septnagint  and  in  the  Ynl' 
gate  it  has  the  following,  "  When  the  house  was  built  after  the  captivity.  An  ode  by  David." 
There  is  a  great  similarity  between  this  Psalm  and  the  great  festal  hymn  which  "David  deli- 
vered, to  thank  the  Lord,  into  the  hand  of  Asaph  and  his  brethren  "  on  the  day  when  the  ark 
was  brought  into  the  sanctuary  in  Zion.  It  indeed  almost  exactly  corresponds  to  that  portion 
of  the  Psalm,  on  the  placing  of  the  ark  in  Zion,  which  is  contained  in  1  Chron.  xvi.  23-33.  It 
is  probable  that  the  original  Psalm  was  composed  by  David,  for  use  on  the  occasion  mentioned 
above,  and  that  it  is  recorded  in  1  Chron.  xvi.  8-36,  and  that  this  Psalm  was  selected  from  it 
for  use  at  the  dedication  of  the  second  temple. 

We  regard  the  Psalm  as  setting  before  us  a  picture  of— - 


The  World's  most  Joyous  Day. 


We  have  here  a  picture  of  a  day  of 
blessing  and  glory  for  our  world  such  as 
never  yet  has  dawned  upon  it,  but  most 
assuredly  will  dawn  in  God's  own  ap- 
pointed time.  The  Poet  portrays  two 
grand  features  of  the  world's  most 
joyous  day.     It  will  be — 

I.  A  day  when  the  relations  of 
the  Lord  to  the  world  shall  be  rightly 
apprehended.  What  are  those  rela- 
tions 1 

1.  He  alone  is  God  of  the  toorld. 
This  is  clear  from  (1)  The  nothingnest 
of  heathen  deities  and  the  reality  and 
power  of  Jehovah.  "All  the  gods  of 
the  nations  are  idols,  but  the  Lord  made 
the  heavens."  The  heathen  deities  were 
nonentities,  nothings.  They  had  no  real 
existen.ce.  They  existed  only  in  the 
imaginations  of  their  worshippers  (Tsa. 
xli.  23,  24.)  Even  when  the  objects  of 
the  worship  of  the  heathen  have  a 
real  existence,  such  as  the  heavenly 
bodies,  yet  they  have  no  existence  as 


gods,  no  existence  which  renders  them 
fit  objects  of  homage.  But  the  Lord 
is  real  and  living  and  powerful.  He 
"  made  the  heavens."  In  their  creation 
He  has  manifested  His  power  and  glory 
to  all  the  world,  and  given  proof  that 
He  is  the  true  God  and  entitled  to  the 
worship  of  His  creatures.  (2)  The 
greatness  of  Jehovah.  "  The  Lord  is 
great,  and  greatly  to  be  praised."  Gk)d 
is  great  in  His  thoughts  and  purposes, 
in  power  and  action,  in  glory  and  domi- 
nion. His  greatness  is  so  pre-eminent 
that  Masillon  well  said,  *'  God  alone  is 
great."  (3)  The  glory  of  Jehovah. 
"  Honour  and  majesty  are  before  Him, 
strength  and  beauty  are  in  His  sanc- 
tuary." Wherever  He  pleases  to  mani- 
fest Himself  there  true  glory  is  dis- 
played. All  that  is  really  mighty  and 
majestic,  glorious  and  beautiful,  is  found 
in  Him  in  full  perfection,  and  flows 
from  Him.  Holiness  and  wisdom,  truth 
and  love  constitute  His  strength,  beauty, 

87 


PSALM  XOVI. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


and  majesty.  He  has  displayed  His 
glory  in  the  heavens  which  He  created  ; 
but  it  shines  most  brightly  '*in  His 
sanctuary,"  in  the  Church  militant  and 
in  the  Church  triumphant.  In  the 
world's  most  joyous  day  the  Lord  shall 
be  recooi;nised  throughout  the  world  as 
the  only  true  God,  incomprehensibly 
great  and  glorious. 

2.  His  salvation  is  for  all  the  world. 
**  Show  forth  His  salvation  from  day  to 
day.  Declare  His  glory  among  the 
heathen,  His  wonders  among  all  people." 
In  the  bright  day  which  is  drawing  near, 
His  salvation  will  be  published  amongst 
all  nations  and  all  peoples.  "  Salva- 
tion" from  the  night  of  heathen  dark- 
ness, from  sin  and  all  its  terrible  conse- 
quences. "  Salvation  "  to  holiness,  love, 
life  immortal,  into  the  image  of  God, 
and  to  the  vision  of  God.  "  Salvation  " 
for  all  the  world  as  opposed  (1)  to  the 
restrictions  of  Judaism.  *'  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,"  (kc.  (Mark  xvi.  15,  16). 
"  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,'*  &c. 
(Acts  X.  34,  35).  (2)  I'o  the  limitations 
of  human  creeds.  Our  narrow  systems 
of  theology  cannot  restrict  the  fulness 
of  the  grace  of  God.  The  river  of  the 
water  of  life  refuses  to  be  pent  in  the 
limited  channels  which  men  have 
scooped  out  for  it.  It  flows  in  streams 
broad  and  deep,  for  the  life  and  refresh- 
ment of  all  men.  Salvation  is  free  for 
all  men.  '*  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth," 
<kc.  (Isa.  Iv.  1,  2).  "•  Whosoever  be- 
lieveth,"  <kc.  *'The  Spirit  and  the 
Bride  say.  Come,*'  &c.  (Rev.  sxii.  17). 
In  the  glorious  day  approaching,  the 
freedom  and  universality  of  salvation 
will  be  recognised,  <kc. 

3.  He  is  the  King  of  all  the  world. 
"  Say  among  the  heathen  that  the  Lord 
reigneth,"  &c.  *'  *  Jehovah  is  King,'  lit. 
*hath  become  King,'  hath  taken  to  Him- 
self His  great  power  and  reigned." 

"  He  shall  reign  from  pole  to  pole 
With  illimitable  sway." 

Under  His  reign  the  earth  will  become 
calm  and  stable.  Agitated  and  shaken 
by  the  sins  and  strifes  of  men,  it  shall 
become  peaceful  and  orderly  under  the 
sway  of  Jehovah.  In  the  joyous  day 
pf  which  our  Po©t  sings,  the  reign  of 


the  Lord  shall  be  proclaimed  in  all  tK© 
world,  recognised  in  all  the  world,  and 
its  blessings  enjoyed  in  all  the  world. 

4.  He  is  the  Judge  of  all  the  world, 
*'  He  shall  judge  the  people  righteously. 
He  cometh.  He  cometh  to  judge  the 
earth,"  <fec.  Judging  is  probably  used 
here  for  ruling.  Two  prominent  features 
of  the  Divine  rule  and  judgment  are 
here  specified — (1)  Righteousness.  The 
laws  of  His  kingdom  and  their  admini- 
stration harmonise  with  eternal  truth 
and  equity.  (2)  Faithfulness.  His 
administration  will  accord  with  the 
truth  of  His  own  character,  and  the 
declarations  of  His  will.  "  It  is  a  judg- 
ment which  is  to  issue  in  salvation." 
"  It  is  not  a  retributive,  but  a  gracious 
judging,  by  which  controversies  are  ad- 
justed and  prevented,  and  the  law  of 
love  is  introduced  into  the  lives  of  the 
people."  In  the  world's  most  joyous 
day  the  Lord  will  be  heartily  recognised 
as  the  gracious  Ruler  and  Judge  of  all 
men. 

II.  A  day  when  the  relations  of 
the  Lord  to  the  world  shall  be  duly 
celebrated.  In  the  day  portrayed  by 
the  Psalmist  the  gracious  relations  of 
Jehovah  to  all  men  will  not  only  be 
understood,  but  appreciated  and  praised. 

L  He  will  be  universally  wor- 
shipped. "All  the  earth"  shall  sing 
unto  Him.  **  All  flesh  shall  come  to 
worship  before  Me,  saith  the  Lord." 
"  From  the  rising  of  the  sun,  even  unto 
the  going  down  of  the  same,  My  name 
shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles,"  (fee. 
(Mai.  i.  11).  *'As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  every  knee  shall  bow  to  Me,  and 
every  tongue  shall  confess  to  God." 

2.  He  will  be  enthusiastically  wor- 
shipped. Three  times  the  Poet  calls 
upon  the  people  to  '*  Sing  unto  the 
Lord,"  and  three  times  to  "  Give  unto 
the  Lord  glory."  The  repetition  indi- 
cates urgency  and  zeal.  The  whole  soul 
of  the  Poet  is  in  the  exhortation.  In 
the  grand  coronation  day  the  Lord  tha 
King  shall  be  worshipped  with  entire 
heartiness,  and  with  intensest  enthu* 
siasm. 

3.  He  will  be  joyously  worshipped. 
"O  sing  unto  the  Lord  a  new  song," 
&c.     The  **  n«w  song  "  is  "  one  which 


HOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XCtl, 


ehall  be  the  fit  expression  of  all  the 
thoughts  and  hopes  and  triumphs  of 
the  new  and  glorious  age  which  is 
about  to  dawn.  It  is  the  glad  welcome 
given  to  the  King  when  He  enters  His 
kingdom."  So  great  is  the  joy  of  the 
world  that  even  the  inanimate  creation 
is  represented  as  sharing  in  it.  "  Let 
the  heavens  rejoice,"  <fec.  (vers.  11,  12). 
"  With  the  coming  of  Jehovah  and  the 
setting  up  of  His  kingdom,  all  the  broken 
harmonies  of  creation  shall  be  restored. 
Not  '  the  sons  of  God '  only,  but  the 
whole  creation,  is  still  looking  forward 
to  the  great  consummation  (Rom,  viii. 
2\)"—Perowne. 

4.  He  will  he  reverently  worshipped. 
"  O  worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of 
holiness,  fear  before  Him,  all  the  earth." 
"  *  Bow  yourselves  before  Jehovah  in 
holy  pomp,  tremble  before  Him  all  the 
earth/  *  Pomp,'  or  '  array,'  but  the  word 
denotes  all  that  lent  solemnity  and  im- 
pressiveness  to  the  service." — Perowne. 
In  the  glorious  day  which  the  Psalmist 


foresaw,  the  Lord  will  be  worshipped 
with  all  that  is  expressive  of  admiration 
and  veneration.  There  will  be  notiiinsr 
unbecoming  in  the  worship  offered  unto 
Him.  All  the  earth  will  approach  and 
pay  homage  to  Him  in  the  beauty  of 
pure,  loving,  adoring  spirits. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Here  is  a  word  of 
Exhortation.  For  the  advent  of  this 
most  joyous  day  for  the  world,  let  us  be 
untiring  both  in  work  and  in  prayer. 
2.  Here  is  a  word  of  Inspiration.  This 
bright  day  will  surely  dawn.  The  world 
advances  not  to  the  darkness  of  night, 
but  to  the  splendours  of  a  glorious  and 
unfading  noontide.  Therefore,  take 
heart,  ye  faithful  watchers,  and  brave 
workers,  and  earnest  suppliants.  The 
cause  to  which  you  are  devoted  must 
triumph.  The  mountain  tops  are 
already  bathed  in  glory ;  and  soon  the 
whole  world  will  be  flooded  with  radi- 
ance, and  break  forth  into  the  tremendous 
and  exultant  shout,  "  Hallelujah,  the 
Lord  reigneth." 


The  Objbot,  Obligation,  and  Expression  of  Worship. 

{Verse  8.) 


Consider — 

L  The  grand  Object  of  worship. 
"The  Lord."  He  is  the  Creator  and 
Sustainer  of  all  things.  "The  Lord 
made  the  heavens."  He  is  the  true  and 
rightful  Proprietor  of  all  things  and 
beings.  He  has  a  claim  upon  our  wor- 
ship. We  o^ight  to  worship  Him.  He 
is  supremely  great  and  glorious.  His 
glory  consists  of  His  goodness.  His 
worship  should  be  attractive,  delightful. 
He  is  the  only  true  Object  of  worship. 
He  alone  is  perfect.  Worshipping  any 
other  object  our  being  will  not  be  deve- 
loped, or  will  be  developed  injuriously. 
His  worship  is  quickening,  purifying, 
exalting,  <fec. 

II.  The  solemn  obligation  of  wor- 
ship. '*  The  glory  due  unto  His  name." 
"  Due "  is  supplied  by  our  translators. 
But,  if  we  omit  it  and  read,  "  The  glory 
of  His  name,"  the  text  still  sets  forth 
the  obligatoriness  of  worship.  Worship 
is  not  optional,  but  binding. 

1.  It  is  due  to  Him  because  of  what 


He  is.  He  is  supremely  great,  and 
should,  therefore,  be  reverenced ;  su- 
premely gracious,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  loved ;  supremely  glorious,  and  should, 
therefore,  be  humbly  adored,  &c.  Think 
of  what  He  is,  and  then  ask  yourself. 
How  much  is  due  unto  Him  1 

2.  It  is  due  to  Him  because  of  what 
He  does.  His  is  the  glory  of  creation, 
providence,  redemption.  How  much  He 
has  done  for  us  !  How  much  of  gi  ati- 
tude,  &c.,  we  owe  to  Him  !  '*  On  His 
head  are  many  crowns." 

III.  The  appropriate  expression  of 
worship,  "  Bring  an  offering,"  <fec. 
"  '  Bring  presents.'  *  Presents  '  (the 
collective  sing,  for  the  plural),  in  allusion 
to  the  Oriental  custom  which  required 
gifts  to  be  brought  by  all  who  would  be 
admitted  to  the  presence  of  a  king." — 
Perowne.  Hengstenberg  :  **  The  *  bring 
offerings '  is  used  of  the  bringing  of 
gifts  of  allegiance  to  earthly  sovereigns." 
The  derivation  and  usage  of  the  word 
minchah — "  offering  "  —  point    to  that 

69 


PSALM  XOVIL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT AJtr.  P>:<ALMii. 


idea  of  sacrifice,  which  represents  it  as  a 
Eucbaristic  gift  to  God  our  King.  Let 
us  express  our  worship  in  offerings  of — 

1.  Grateful  praise.     "  Whoso  oflfereth 
praise  glorifieth  Me." 

2.  Generous  contributions,     (Pro v.  xi.      thank-offerings  to  Him. 
24,  25 ;  1  Cor.  ix.  6-ll.> 


3.  Devoted  service.      (Acts   xx.   24  j 

Phil.  ii.  30.) 

The  great  Sin-Offering  has  been  made. 
Our  obligations  to  the  Lord  are  im- 
mense.     Let    us    heartily    bring    ouB 


PSALM    XOVIL 

Introduction. 

This  is  another  of  the  series  of  Psalms  which  celebrate  the  advent  of  Jehovah  as  King, 

There  are  seven  in  the  series,  the  ninety-third  being  the  first,  and  the  hundredth  the  last. 
The  ninety-fourth  is  not  one  of  the  series.  We  know  neither  the  author  by  whom,  nor  the 
occasion  on  whicli,  this  Psalm  was  composed.  The  series  may  **  have  been  composed  with 
reference  to  the  same  occasion,  and  may  have  been  designed  to  be  used  together.  They  are 
similar  in  their  contents  and  structure;  and  they  refer  to  the  same  thing — the  sovereignty  or 
the  supremacy  of  God."  This  one  may  be  taken  as  presenting  two  themes  for  Homiletic  treat, 
ment, — The  Features  and  EflFects  of  the  King's  Advent,  verses  1-9  ;  and  The  Character, 
Privileges,  and  Duties  of  the  King*s  Subjects,  verses  10-12. 


The  Features  and  Effects  of  the  King's  Advent. 

{Verses  1-9.) 


Let  us  notice — 

I.  The  features  of  the  King's  ad- 
vent. The  description  of  the  coming  of 
the  King  is  full  of  poetic  grandeur.  It  re- 
presents His  advent  as  characterised  by — 

1.  Awful  Majesty.  "  Clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  Him.  A  fire 
goeth  before  Him,"  &c.,  verses  2-5.  The 
images  in  these  verses  are  suggested  by 
the  theophany  at  the  giving  of  the  law 
on  Sinai.  God  is  often  represented  in 
the  Holy  Word  as  coming  vi^ith  clouds 
and  fire,  and  inspiring  the  world  with  awe 
and  dread.  Ps.  xviii.  7-15 ;  1.  1-6;  Hab. 
iii.  3-16.  The  object  of  these  represen- 
tations is  to  set  forth  the  greatness,  and 
subliinity,  and  glory  of  God.  More- 
over, the  awful  phenomena  which  ac- 
companied the  giving  of  the  law  were 
designed  to  deeply  impress  the  people 
with  the  august  and  glorious  presence 
of  the  Divine  Lawgiver  and  Judge. 
So  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  reign  and 
judge  in  the  world  will  be  with  such 
majesty  and  glor}?^,  that  the  most  exalted 
amongst  men  will  be  as  nothing  in  His 
presence,  and  holy  awe  or  unspeakable 
fear  will  fill  men's  hearts. 

2.  Widest  conspicuousness.  "  All  the 
people  see  His  glory."  The  glory  of 
the  Lord  here  is  the  revelation  of  His 

90 


being  and  character  through  His  works 
of  righteousness  and  grace.  "  The  glory 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together." 

3.  Perfect  righteousness.  "Righteous- 
ness and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of 
His  throne  ....  The  heavens  declare 
His  righteousness."  Righteousness  is 
here  represented  (1)  As  the  basis  of  His 
government.  It  is  the  "  establishment," 
or  "  foundation  of  His  throne."  This 
affords  a  guarantee  of  the  stability  and 
permanence  of  His  rule.  (See  remarks 
on  Ps.  Ixxxix.  14.)  (2)  As  clearly 
manifested.  *'  The  heavens  declare  "  it. 
"  It  is  as  conspicuous  and  illustrious  as 
the  heavens  themselves."  (See  remarks 
on  Ps.  1.  6.)  The  advent  of  the  King 
will  be  in  righteousness,  with  the  ut- 
most conspicuousness,  and  with  awful 
majesty. 

"  The  Lord  shall  come  I  the  earth  shall  quake ; 
The  mountains  to  their  centre  shake  ; 
And,  withering  from  the  vault  of  night, 
The  stars  withdraw  their  feeble  light. 
The  Lord  shall  come  !  a  glorious  form, 
With  wreath  of  flame  and  robe  of  storm, 
On  cherub  wings,  and  wings  of  wind, 
Appointed  Judge  of  all  mankind." — Heber, 

II.  The  effects  of  the  King's  ad- 
vent.     '*The   Lord  reigneth,    let   the 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS.  psalm  xcvii. 


earth  rejoice/'  &c.     The  effects  of  the  powerlessness  and  worthlessiiess  of  these 

reign    of   Jehovah    differ    in    different  idols.     In  that  solemn  day,  many  will 

classes  of  character.  find  their  gods — those  things  on  which 

1.  It  should  occasion  joy  to  all.  '*Let  their  hearts  are  set — to  be  mere  idols, 
the  earth  rejoice,  let  the  multitude  of  shams,  and  mockeries.  (3)  Gladness  to 
the  isles  be  glad."  It  should  be  a  His  people.  "Zion  heard,  and  was 
source  of  inexpressible  gladness  to  all  glad,"  <fec.  The  people  of  God  rejoice, 
men  that  the  world  is  not  anarchic ;  because  of  the  utter  abolition  of  idols, 
that  it  is  not  ruled  by  Satan,  or  by  and  the  supremacy  of  Jehovah.  Some 
heartless  fate,  or  by  blind  physical  expositors  think  that  "  the  daughters  of 
forces  and  laws,  but  by  the  Lord.  He  Judah  "  are  introduced  here,  because  of 
rules  all  things  in  perfect  righteousness  "  a  custom  familiar  in  Judea,  of  form- 
and  wisdom  and  goodness.  Rejoice;  ing  choral  bands  of  maidens  after  a 
for  the  Supremely  Good  is  the  Supreme  victory  or  some  happy  circumstance." 
King.  (See  Exod.  xv.   20,  21 ;  1  Sam.  xviii 

2.  It  does  occasion  (1)  Destruction  to  6,  7.)  But  the  designation  seems  to  us 
His  foes*  "A  fire  goeth  before  Him,  to  denote  the  smaller  cities  of  Judah, 
and  bumeth  up  His  enemies  round  that  surrounded  Jerusalem  as  the 
about."  When  He  comes  to  judge  and  mother  city.  So  that  "  Zion  and  the 
reign  He  will  destroy  all  His  foes.  He  daughters  of  Judah "  represent  the 
will  put  down  all  opposition.  Men  whole  of  Judah.  All  the  people  of  the 
must  either  bow  to  His  sceptre,  or  be  Lord  rejoice  in  His  coming  to  reign, 
slain  by  His  sword.  (2)  Confusion  to  Two  reasons  are  assigned  for  their  joy. 
idolaters.  "  Confounded  be  all  they  His  judgments.  "  Rejoiced  because  of 
that  serve  graven  images,"  &c.  Per-  Thy  judgments."  (See  remarks  on  Ps. 
owne  and  Hengstenberg  translate, —  xlviii.  11.)  His  supremacy.  '*For 
**  Ashamed."  "It  is  a  shame,"  says  Thou,  Lord,  art  high  above  all  the  earth," 
the  former,  *' arising  from  the  discovery  &c.     (See  remarks  on  Ps.  xcv.  3.) 

of  the  utter  vanity  and  nothingness  of  Conclusion. — What  to  us   will  be 

the  objects  of  their  trust."     They  boast  the  effect  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  as 

in  nonentities  and  serve  mere  images ;  King  and  Judge  1 

and  when  the  Lord  cometh  to  judge  and  ,,-^,      ^,              .  ,^        ,  j       l  i. 

•     Ai-          i.u    ^T.          Ml    /              X  "When  Thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  Shalt  come, 

reign  in  the  earth,  they  will  discover  to  to  fetch  Thy  ransomed  people  home, 

their   shame   and   confusion   the    utter  Shall  I  among  them  stand >" 

The  Keign  of  God. 

Ver.  1.  "  The  Lord  reigneth ;  let  the  text ;  and  by  this  is  meant  the  direo- 

earth  rejoice."  tion   and   control   which   He   exercises 

The  text  calls  us  to  consider —  over  moral  agents,  over  every  rational 

L  The  subjects  of  the  Divine  being.  The  circumstances  of  trial  in 
government.  Everything  that  God  which  He  places  them,  the  assistance 
has  made  is  subject  to  His  government.  He  affords  them,  and  the  rewards  or 
The  universe  of  matter;  and  all  the  punishments  He  assigns  them,  are  all 
beings,  rational  and  animal,  which  He  comprehended  in  this.  Angels  are 
has  caused  to  inhabit  it.  .  .  .  This  under  this  government.  .  .  .  The 
great  work  of  sustaining  and  directing  earth  is  the  great  theatre  of  their  ex- 
all  nature  is  called  His  natural  govern-  ertions,  they  are  put  under  Christ,  and 
ment.  By  virtue  of  this  government  are  employed  both  in  judgment  and 
the  powers  of  nature  are  made  instru-  mercy.  Devils  are  under  the  moral 
ments  in  the  conduct  of  His  moral  government  of  God.  They  are  not 
government,  for  the  reward  or  punish-  finally  judged,  but  suffered  to  mix  with 
ment  of  His  creatures.  human  kind.     Heaven  and  hell  struggle 

The  moral  government  of  God  is  that  for   the  soul  of  man.      Between  these 

which  is  principally  contemplated  in  the  orders  of  beings  is  man,  to  whom  the 

91 


f^ALU  ZGVn. 


BOM  I  LET  I C  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


Divine  government  seems  to  stand  in  a 
special  relation ;  and  principally  for 
this  reason,  that  he  is  the  subject  of 
redemption.  The  earth  is  the  great 
theatre  chosen  for  the  display  of  the 
Divine  perfections  in  a  course  of  moral 
government.  Here  the  grand  struggle 
of  adverse  powers  and  principles  takes 
place,  &c.  The  human  race,  as  subject 
to  the  Divine  government,  are  to  be 
considered  as  distributed  into  nations, 
and  as  individuals.  Nations  are  under 
a  peculiar  kind  of  government.  They 
are  considered  as  having  a  kind  of  unity 
as  collective  bodies.  They  have  their 
rewards  and  punishments  in  this  life. 
The  sins  of  one  generation  are  visited 
upon  another.  Yet  nations  are  not 
governed  by  a  rigid  law  of  works ;  for 
Christ  is  an  intercessor  for  them.  The 
good  pray  and  prevail  in  behalf  of  the 
wicked.  Individuals  are  also  under 
the  Divine  government.  "  Every  man 
must  give  an  account  of  himself  to 
God."  Offers  of  mercy  are  made  to 
him.  Rules  of  conduct  assigned.  Re- 
tribution annexed  to  conduct.  (Rom. 
ii.  6-11.)  Men  are  under  direction  and 
influence,  as  well  as  control. 

II.  Certain  characters  which  mark 
His  administration. 


1.  It  is  sovereign  and  uncontrolled, 
Dan.  iv.  35 ;  v.  21.  This  gives  cer- 
tainty to  the  Divine  government,  and 
makes  it  the  hope  and  joy  of  good 
men. 

2.  It  interferes  not  with  human  liberty. 
We  are  so  free  from  constraint,  that 
our  actions  are  properly  our  own.  We 
have  the  freedom  of  moral  agents.  We 
feel  that  we  are  free. 

3.  It  is  a  mediatorial  government. 
It  is  in  the  hands  of  Jesus,  the  Mediator 
between  God  and  man  ;  and  it  is  exer- 
cised specially  with  reference  to  the  great 
end  of  His  mediatorial  office,  the  re- 
demption of  man,  and  the  reconciling  of 
the  world  to  Himself. 

III.    The  demand  which  is  made 
upon  our  grateful  joy. 
'*  Let  the  earth  be  glad." 

1.  As  Christians,  we  shall  rejoice 
toith  holy  joy^  not  with  vain  mirth.  God 
will  be  sanctified  in  His  worshippers. 

2.  We  should  rejoice,  too,  with  trem- 
bling. Much  is  given  to  us,  and  much 
is  required. 

3.  If  we  are  individually  interested  in 
Him  that  reigneth,  we  may  well  rejoice; 
for  all  the  perfections  of  the  Godhead  are 
engaged  in  our  behalf — R.  Watson. 
— Abridged. 


God's  Wats,  though  often  Inscrutable,  are  Righteous  and  Just, 

(Jerse  2.) 


Two  propositions  are  contained  in  this 
text. 

I.  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Grod."  The  appearances  of  God 
to  the  saints  in  old  times  are  the  origin 
of  the  figure  in  the  text.  These  appear- 
ances were  all  accompanied  with  clouds 
and  darkness.  Exod.  xiv.  19,  20  ;  xix. 
16,  18,  20 ;  1  Kings  viii.  10,  11  ;  Matt, 
xvii.  5  ;  2  Pet.  i.  17.  Clouds  are 
emblems  of  obscurity  ;  darkness  of  dis- 
tress. The  works  of  God's  providence 
are  often  obscure  and  productive  of  dis- 
tress to  mankind,  though  "  righteousness 
and  judgment  are,"  <kc.  In  the  affairs 
of  nations  we  see  the  interference  of 
Divine  Providence  ;  yet  it  is  surrounded 
with  "  clouds  and  darkness."  So  it  is 
also  in  instances  of  a  sraaller  kind  :  it  is 
92 


thus  in  the  removal  of  the  most  eminent, 
holy,  and  useful  characters,  that  while 
we  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God,  we 
say  *' clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Him."  If  we  look  into  the  book 
of  history  we  shall  perceive  much  dis- 
order in  earthly  scenes,  much  confusion 
in  the  affairs  of  men ;  and  was  this  to 
be  expected  from  a  God  of  order  and 
wisdom  1  Again,  look  at  Christianity. 
How  little  has  been  done  by  it  com- 
pared with  what  might  have  been  anti- 
cipated from  its  Divine  principles,  the 
character  of  its  Author,  and  from  the 
interest  it  possesses  in  the  heart  of 
God !  Paganism  yet  strikes  deep  its 
roots  in  various  lands.  Even  in  Chris- 
tendom, how  little  have  the  known  and 
blessed  effects  of  the  Gospel  been  mani 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  psalm  xovii. 

fested  !     Where  genuine  Christianity  is  tures  of  mercy  which  we  have  reason  to 

taught,  how  small,  how  slow,  has  been  admire. 

its  progress  ;  how  few  converted  to  God  !  2.  The  Divine  Being  was  not  bound 
Ac.  And  persons  of  real  piety  give  way  in  justice,  either  to  prevent  the  disordered 
to  prejudice  and  party  zeal,  which  pre-  state  of  man,  or  to  correct  it  when  it  had 
vent,  in  a  great  measure,  the  operation  taken  place.  From  what  we  know  of 
and  effect  of  pure  Christianity.  A  great  the  nature  of  God  and  of  man,  it  may 
part  of  the  world  is  no  better  than  if  be  safely  affirmed  tbat  it  cannot  be  re- 
Christ  had  never  come  to  save  man-  quired  of  the  Divine  Governor  to  secure 
kind,  and  the  Gospel  had  never  been  the  obedience  of  His  creatures  any  fur- 
proclaimed.  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are  ther  than  the  law,  as  a  motive,  is  cal- 
round  about  Him."  culated  to  have  an  effect  upon  rational 

II.    Righteousness   and   Judgment  minds. 
are  the  habitation    of    His   throne.  3.  The  whole  of  those  evils  that  form 

Righteousness  is  an  essential  perfection  clouds  and  darkness  round  about  God, 

of  the  Divine  Being.     If  there  had  been  are  either  the  penal  or  natural  effect  of 

no  creatures  for  Him   to  govern,    He  moral  evil. 

would  have  had  an    unchangeable  and  4.   Those  that  receive  the  grace  of  Jesus 

invincible  love  of  rectitude.     Judgment  Christ   are  still  in  such  a  situation  as 

is   the   application  of  the  principle   of  renders  a  great  part  of  their  trials  and 

righteousness  in  His  government  of  His  miseries  necessary.     Many  of  the  evils  of 

creatures    and    their    actions  ;  it    is   a  a  depraved  nature  still  remain,  and  need 

development   of   His   rectitude   in    the  to  be  subdued  and  removed.     Besides, 

management  of  the  affairs  of  His  great  the  virtues  and  excellencies  must  be  per- 

empire.       The  throne  of  God  is  built  fected  in  the   same   way  in   which  the 

and  stands  firm  upon  these  principles ;  Captain  of  our  salvation  was  perfected  : 

they  are   the  place,  the  basis,  and  the  he  must  be  conformed  to  Christ,  and  have 

foundation    of   His    throne.       Though  fellowship  with  Him  in  His  sufferings, 
much    obscurity   must    necessarily  en-  5.   The  moral  evils  of  man,  and  the 

velope  the    government    of   an   infinite  depravity  of  human  nature,  are  often,  in 

mind,  yet  some  considerations  may  be  a  great  measure,  corrected  and  subdued 

suggested,  which  will  serve  to  quell  all  hy  the  natural  evils  of  life,  which  thus  are 

our  anxieties,  and  afford  us  repose  under  made  the  means  of  conducting  to  repent- 

all  the  darkness,  beneath  His  protecting  ance,  reformation,  and  happiness.     "Our 

power.  His  all-directing  wisdom,  and  His  light  affliction  "  may  work  for  us  **  a  far 

paternal  goodness.  more  exceeding   and  eternal  weight  of 

1.  The  dispensations  of  God  towards  glory ;   while  we  look,"  <kc.  (2  Cor.  iv 

man  are  regulated  by  the  consideration  17,  18). 

of  his  being  a  fallen  and  disordered  creor  6.  The  light  of  prophecy  dispels  many 

ture.     This    must  be  kept  in    view   to  of  those  clouds  which  would   otherwise 

account  for  the  severities  in  the  Divine  obscure,  for  the  present,  the  government 

dealings  with  him.     Yet,  notwithstand-  and  the  throne  of  tJie  Deity, — R,  Hall, 

ing  the  severities  of  God,  there  are  mix-  — Abridged, 

The  Kingdom  of  Chbist. 

{Verses  6-9.) 

From  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  we  glorious  exaltation  as  Messiah.     It  is  to 
find  that  this  Psalm  is  a  prophetical  de-  this  latter  truth  that  we  shall  now  con- 
scription of  the  Messiah  ;  and  from  that  fine  our  attention, 
application  of  it  we  deduce  two  impor-  I.  The  interesting  fact  to  which  the 
tant  truths  concerning  the  Christ ;  one,  prophecy  refers. 

respecting  the    dignity  of  His  person,  The  Psalm  is  introduced  with  a  cele- 

"the  first  begotten;"   the  other,  His  bration  of  the  government  of  Jehovah. 

93 


PSALM  xcvii.  EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY ;  PSALMA 


"The  Lord  reigneth."  The  Psalmist  11.  The  important  events  flowing 
refers  to  the  government  of  Him  who  is  from  the  accomplishment  of  this  pro- 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  who  is  re-  phecy. 

ceived  up  into  glory.     His  appearing  in  1.  The  Revelation  of  Messiah*8  righte- 

our  world  was  a  veiling  of  His  glory,  ousness.     The  heavens  literally  attested 

....    His  resurrection  was  a  reappear-  Christ's  righteousness  in  the  voice  from 

ing  in  glory ;  in  His  ascension  He  ex-  heaven  at  His  baptism,  and  when  He 

hibited  the  dignity  of  His   Godhead  ;  appealed  to  His  Father,  saying,  "Father, 

and  on  entering  heaven  He  sat  down  on  glorify  Thy  Son."     The  Gospel,  which  is 

the  throne  of  His  Father,  to  administer  from  heaven,  displays  the  righteousness 

the  affairs  of  that  kingdom  which  He  of  Christ. 

had   now   established,  the  duration  of         2.  The  manifestation  of  His  glory , 

which  is  to  have  no  end.  mercy  and  truth  here  meet  together.     To 

1.  In  the  exaltation  of  Christ  we  have  Christ  belongs  the  glory  of  revealing  the 
abundant  proof  of  the  acceptance  of  His  Father  to  the  world  ;  of  opening  a  new 
sacrificey  and  that  it  answered  all  the  iwr  way  of  access  to  God;  of  peopling 
poriant  purposes  for  which  it  was  de-  heaven  with  new  and  holy  inhabitants. 
signed.  His  death  was  sacrificial ;  that  3.  The  conversion  of  idolaters, 
sacrifice  was  expiatory  in  its  nature,  and  "  Confounded  be  all  they,"  &c.  This 
was  accepted  by  the  Father.  He  is  ex-  is  not  a  malediction,  but  a  prediction  of 
alted,  but  it  is  as  a  sacrifice — as  High  the  overthrow  of  idolatry  by  the  Gospel 
Priest — as  Mediator — as  a  Prince  and  a  Let  this  light  be  diffused,  and  darkness 
Saviour,  to  give  repentance  and  remis-  cannot  remain, 

sion  of  sins.  4.  The  presentation  of  universal  horn- 

2.  Christ  by  His  exaltation  is  invested  age.  *'  Worship  Him  all  ye  gods."  The 
toith  mediatorial  power  and  dominion,  apostle  quotes  from  the  LXX.,  "Let 
In  PhiL  ii.  6-11,  you  have  a  proper  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  Him.** 
view  of  the  dominion  of  Christ.  It  is  Christ  shall  receive  the  homage  of  ador- 
mediatorial  dominion.     All  things  are  ing  multitudes.     Rev.  vii.  9-12. 

put  under  Him  ;  there  is  not  a  creature  5.  The  joyous  exultation  of  the  Church, 

in  the  whole  range  of  being  who  does  "Zion  heard,  and  was  glad,"  <fec.     The 

not  yield  a  willing  or  an  unwilling,  a  triumphs  of  Christ  are  the  glory  and  the 

conscious  or  an  unconscious,  homage  to  joy  of  the  Church.     When  He  shall  have 

Him.     He  employs  all  things  to  accom-  subdued  the  nations,  then  the  whole  host 

plish  the  purposes  of  His  mercy.     To  of  the  redeemed,  with  all  the  ranks  of 

the  salvation  of  men  He  subordinates  angels,  will  burst  forth  in  one  loud,  pro- 

everything,  human  affairs,  opposition  of  longed,  eternal  song  :  "  Hallelujah  !  the 

devils,   ministry  of  angels,   the  whole  Lord   God    omnipotent  reigneth." — L. 

universe  1  Abridged  from  ^*  Sketches  of  Sermons.** 

The  Chabaoteb,  Pbiyileges,  and  Duty  of  the  King's  Subjects. 

{Verses  10-12.) 

The  Poet  here  brings  into  view —  2.  They  are  devout     **  His  saints." 

I  The  Clliara4$ter  of  the  King's  snb-  The  idea  of  the  word  is  not  holiness,  but 

jects.  piety.     *'  The  pious,  God-worshipping.*' 

1.    They   are    sincere    and  upright.  The  subjects  of  the  Lord  add  piety  to 

"  The  righteous,  ....     the  upright  in  sincerity.     They  are  devout  as  well  as 

heart.**     "  There  is  not  a  just  man  upon  true. 

earth,  that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not."  8.  They  ^^Iwe  the  L<yrd.**     Love  to 

**  There  is  none  righteous."  The  Psalmist  Gk)d  is  with  them  not  obedience  to  a 

clearly  means  the  upright,  the  sincere  command ;  but  a  holy  privilege,  a  deep 

and  single-hearted.     Not  the  upright  in  and  divine  joy.     They  are  loyal-hearted 

profession,  but  "  the  upright  in  heart."  subjects   of  Jehovah.     They  obey  the 
94 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


psALif  xovn. 


King  because  tbey  lore  Him.     Are  these 
features  of  character  found  in  us  1 

II.  The  privileges  of  the  King's 
subjects. 

1.  Preservation  from  evil.  "  He  pre- 
serveth  the  souls  of  His  saints."  He 
guards  their  lives.  They  are  immortal 
till  their  work  be  done,  and  His  plan  in 
their  life  be  fully  developed.  He  pre- 
serves them  also  from  sin,  from  apostacy, 
and  from  despair  even  under  the  severest 
trials. 

2.  Deliverance  from  enemies.  "  He 
delivereth  them  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
wicked."  The  Lord  frequently  baffles 
the  designs  of  evil  men  against  His 
people.  He  will  not  allow  their  enemies 
to  do  them  any  real  harm ;  and  ulti- 
mately He  will  triumphantly  deliver 
them  out  of  their  power. 

3.  Bestowal  of  gladness.  **  Light  is 
sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for 
the  upright  in  heart."  "  Light "  is 
synonymous  with  joy.  "  To  be  *  sown  ' 
is  to  be  scattered  abroad,  the  point  of 
the  comparison  being  only  the  rich- 
ness of  the  gift.*' — Hengstinherg.  So 
Perowne  takes  *'  the  verb  *  sown  '  in 
the  sense  of  'scattered,*  'diffused.*" 
And  Venema  :  "  Light  is  said  to  be 
scattered  when  the  rising  sun  spreads 
his  rays  in  every  direction." 

"Now  morn,  her  rosy  stdps  in  th'  eastern 
clime 
Adyancing,   sow'd  the  earth    with  orient 
pearl." — Milton. 

"Sometimes  through  secular  instru- 
ments," says  Beecher,  "  God  makes  us 
joyful,  for  He  employs  the  whole  world 
to  work  out  His  purposes ;  but  some- 
times, by  simply  breathing  upon  the 
spirit  of  His  people,  He  makes  them 
joyful.  You  cannot  tell  why  you  are  so 
musical  at  times.  On  some  days  you 
are  full  of  music.     There  are  some  hours 


that  seem  radiant  above  all  other  hours, 
when  you  are  lifted  up  above  the  or- 
dinary pattern  of  joy.  And  when  these 
appear  jimong  God's  people,  it  is  not  an 
unfair  thing  to  infer  that  they  are  signs 
and  manifestations  of  Christ's  presence 
with  them."  Again  :  "  There  are  joys 
which  long  to  be  ours.  God  sends  ten 
thousand  truths,  which  come  about  us 
like  birds  seeking  inlet  j  but  we  are 
shut  up  to  them,  and  so  they  bring  us 
nothing,  but  sit  and  sing  awhile  upon 
the  roof,  and  then  flee  away."  Let  us 
open  hand  and  heart  for  the  reception 
and  enjoyment  of  our  privileges. 

III.  The  duty  of  the  King's  subjects. 

1.  To  "  hate  evil"  **  Ye  that  love 
the  Lord,  hate  evil."  Love  to  God  must 
be  manifested  in  holiness  of  life  and 
hatred  of  evil.  Love  to  God  and  the 
love  of  sin,  or  even  tolerance  of  sin,  are 
incompatible.  Sin  is  the  "  abominable 
thing  which  He  hates." 

2.  To  thanhfully  "  rejoice  in  the 
Lord?^  "  Bejoice  in  the  Lord,  ye 
righteous,"  <fec.  We  have  here :  (1) 
Rejoicing  in  the  Lord.  Not  in  gaiety, 
riches,  honours,  <fec.  ;  but  in  the  Lord, 
— in  His  grace,  in  His  friendship,  in 
His  perfections,  in  Himself.  He  is  the 
wisest,  the  holiest,  the  most  generous  of 
beings.  {2)  Rejoicing  thanhfully.  *'Give 
thanks  at  the  remembrance  of  His  holi- 
ness." Hengstenberg  :  "  Praise  His 
holy  memorial."  Perowne  :  "  Give 
thanks  to  His  holy  name."  The  holi- 
ness of  the  Divine  Being  should  com- 
mand our  adoring  and  grateful  praise. 
(3)  Rejoicing  as  a  duty.  Phil.  iii.  1  ; 
iv.  4.  "  Joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost "  is  one 
of  the  "  fruits  of  the  Spirit."  By  our 
rejoicing  we  honour  God,  and  commend 
His  religion  to  men.  Let  us  regard  this 
devout  rejoicing  as  both  our  duty  and 
our  privilege. 


The  Character  and  Portion  of  God's  Pboplb. 
{Verses  10,  11.) 

Walk   through    the   Old   Testament         I.  The  character  or  description  of 

with  the  light  of  the  New.     This  whole      God's  people. 

Psalm  is  a  prophecy  of  Christ.    The  ex-  1.  I'hey  are  "  the  righteous."    Agene- 

cellency  and  glory  of  His  kingdom — the      ral  term,  a  righteous  God  will  have  a 
ch&racter  and  blessedness  of  His  people,      righteous  people.     Equally  true  in  th« 

96 


FBAUixcnni. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY'  PSALMS, 


•ense  of  perfection  and  sinlessness,  that 
"  there  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one  ; " 
but  as  contrasted  with  the  wicked,  they 
are  righteous,  and  to  be  thus  distin- 
guished. 

2.  Thei/  are  "  His  saints.^*  His 
sanctified  ones,  set  apart,  dedicated  to 
Him.  A  term  of  reproach  in  the  world, 
to  be  "  a  saint "  is  to  be  a  hypocrite,  in 
the  cant  of  fashion,  but  it  is  **the  highest 
style  of  man."  "  His  saints,"  His  own 
chosen  ones,  *'  loved  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,"  called,  converted, 
<kc.  Made  holy,  sanctified  by  the  Spirit, 
&c.  "  Saint"  is  a  term  not  peculiar  to 
the  servants  of  God  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  but  a  definition  of 
every  one  who  is  in  a  state  of  salvation. 

3.  The^  are  ^^  upright  in  heart." 
Christian  integrity,  how  excellent !  The 
world  affects  it,  talks  much  of  honour, 
virtue,  justice,  high-mindedness  —  a 
shallow  blustering  spirit  ; — and  one  of 
their  own  has  said,  "  Every  man  has 
his  price."  But  the  Christian  is  "up- 
right in  heart,"  in  his  inner  man,  sim- 
plicity, self-denying  integrity,  which 
seek's  not  man's  applause,  resisting 
temptation,  strong  in  the  grace  of  God. 

4.  They  "  love  the  Lord."  Love, 
glowing,  tender,  pure,  as  the  love  of 
God — whence  it  springs — casting  out 
fear,  terror,  and  everything  that  sepa- 
rates from  a  loving  Father,  this  is  the 
love  of  believers.  (Matt.  xxii.  36-38  ; 
Rom.  xiii.  10.)  They  love  God,  and 
therefore  love  His  people.  His  house, 
His  Sabbath,  His  Word,  and  all  His 
ordinances. 

6.  They  ^'hate  m7."  This  follows 
of  moral  necessity,  they  who  love  must 
hate  ;  if  they  love  God  they  must  hate 
evil,  because  they  cannot  serve  two  mas- 
ters so  different  from  each  other  (Matt, 
vi.  24).  In  proportion  as  they  love  the 
one  they  will  hate  the  other  (Rom,  xii. 
9).  Sin  is  the  enemy  which  disturbs  their 
peace,  stops  their  mouth  in  prayer  (Ps. 
Ixvi.  18),  separates  from  God  ;  so  they 
must  ever  hate  it. 

n.  The  blessed  portion  of  such 
people.  This  is  indicated  by  their  very 
titles.  But  there  are  special  blessings 
here. 

1.  "  He  prestTveth  the  souls  of  His 
96 


saints"  Not  to  the  exclusion  of  their 
bodies,  which  are  His  care  in  this  world, 
"the  temples  of  His  Spirit,"  and  in  death 
they  sleep  in  hope  of  His  resurrection 
and  final  glory ;  but,  because  the  soul  is 
the  nobler  part,  "  He  preserveth  them." 

This  implies  danger,  many  perils 
here  to  the  soul.  It  implies  that  they 
cannot  preserve  their  own  souls  with  all 
care,  vigilance,  prayer,  faith,  love — the 
soul  is  a  helpless  thing  without  God. 

Many  precious  promises  to  this  effect. 
(See  Ps.  xxiii.  3  ;  John  xvii.  11 ;  2  Tim. 
i.  12;  iv.  17,  18;  1  Peter  i.  5.) 

2.  "  He  delivereth  them  out  of  the  hand 
of  the  wicked. ^^  This  implies  that  they 
are  surrounded  by  the  wicked,  and  as  it 
were  in  their  hands — and  so  they  are. 
Satan,  as  a  roaring  lion,  seeks  to  devour 
them,  desires  "  to  have  them  and  sift 
them,"  or  he  ensnares  them  with  his 
"  wiles "  and  "  devices,"  he  puts  evil 
into  their  hearts,  and  leads  them  astray. 
His  people,  too,  "  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one,"  do  his  work  on  earth  by 
persecuting  His  people,  tempting  them 
to  sin,  "  putting  the  bottle  to  them,"  and 
suggesting  pollution,  and  then,  if  they 
succeed,  they  mock  them  as  the  devils 
do  ! 

"  He  delivereth  them  out  of  their 
hands."  That  is  enough.  God  looks 
on.  He  sees  all,  He  restrains  the  wrath  of 
the  wicked,  He  makes  a  way  by  which 
His  people  escape.      (See  Ps.  cxxiv.) 

3.  Their  final  blessedness :  "  Light  is 
sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for 
theupright  in  heart.^^  Beautiful  figure  ! 
this  life  is  often  a  time  of  darkness,  but 
it  is  the  seed-time  of  light.  When  the 
believer  is  sowing  dark  tears,  sighs, 
sorrows,  trials,  temptations,  all  is  cheer- 
less ;  but  these  are  seeds  of  light. 
"  Light  is  sown  for  him,"  it  will  come 
up,  it  will  shine  forth  by  and  by,  it  may 
be  a  long  winter,  and  a  backward  spring, 
and  even  harvest  time  may  be  cheerless, 
but  it  will  come  at  last  !  (See  Ps.  xxx. 
5,  and  John  xvl  20-22.) 

If  you  would  have  the  believer's 
^^  portion  "  you  must  bear  the  believer's 
"  character."  Study  these  definitions 
of  the  people  of  the  Lord,  rest  not  until 
you  can  appropriate  them,  ^.nd  then  "  all 
things  are  yours." — F.  dose,  D.D. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


rSALM  XOTm. 


PSALM    XC  VIII. 

Introduction. 

"  This  Psalm  is  little  more  than  an  echo  of  Psalm  xcvi.  Ita  subject  is  the  last  grsat 
revelation,  the  final  victory  of  God,  when  His  salvation  and  His  righteousness,  the  revelation 
of  which  He  has  promised  to  the  house  of  Israel,  shall  be  manifested  both  to  His  own  people, 
and  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  inscription  of  the  Psalm  in  the  Hebrew  is  only  the 
single  word  Mizmor,  *  Psalm.'  Both  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  Psalm,  are  taken  from  Psalm 
xcvi.  The  rest  of  it  is  drawn  chiefly  from  the  latter  portion  of  Isaiah." — Perowne.  **  In  the 
first  strophe,  verses  1-3,  after  a  short  exhortation  to  praise  the  Lord,  the  object  of  the  praise  is 
given — the  Lord  has  redeemed  His  people  in  a  wonderful  manner.  The  second  strophe,  verses 
4-6,  shows  how  this  praise  is  to  be  rendered  :  all  means  which,  in  every  place,  are  within 
reach,  ought  to  be  employed  for  the  purpose.  The  third  stanza  says  by  whom  the  praise  should 
be  given  :  by  the  whole  earth." — Hengstenberg. 


An  Exultant  Hymn. 


We  have  here — 

I.  Exultation  for  the  most  excellent 
reasons.  Regarding  the  Psalm  as  a 
prophecy  of  the  Messiah  and  His 
glorious  salvation,  we  have  here  an  ex- 
hortation to  praise  Him  because — 

1.  His  works  are  wonderful.  *'  He 
hath  done  marvellous  things."  The  life 
and  work  of  our  Lord  upon  earth  were 
marked  by  the  most  wonderful  features. 
His  life  was  marvellous  in  its  spiritual 
beauty  and  power.  His  character  had 
no  flaw  in  it,  it  was  perfect.  His  words 
were  marvellous.  "  Never  man  spake 
like  this  man."  His  works  were  mar- 
vellous. Nature  in  her  wildest  moods 
obeyed  His  word.  At  the  expression 
of  His  will  diseases  fled.  At  the  utter- 
ance of  His  command  the  dead  started 
into  life  again.  How  marvellous  were 
His  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  ! 
And  the  salvation  which  He  has 
wrought,  in  its  design,  in  its  accom- 
plishment, and  in  its  results,  is  gloriously 
wonderful.  ''  His  name  shall  be  called 
Wonderful." 

2.  The  Lord's  works  are  benevolent. 
His  works  are  designed  not  to  surprise 
and  startle  men,  but  to  save  them. 
"  The  Lord  hath  made  known  His  sal- 
vation, His  righteousness  hath  He 
openly  showed  in  the  sight  of  the 
heathen."  '*  *  Righteousness,^  parallel 
with  *  salvation,'  as  so  frequently  in  the 
lattei  portion  of  Isaiah." — Perowne. 
"  For  the  people  of  the  Lord,  '  salva- 
tion '  is  the  expression  of  *His  righteous- 
ness,'  which  gives   to   ever^  one   His 

YOU  n. 


own :    He    has   promised    them    salva- 
tion."— Hengstenberg.     The  great  object 
of  our  Lord's  mission  was  to  save  men 
from  sin.      "  The  Son  of  Man  is  come 
to  seek  and  to   save    that   which   was 
lost."       "  Christ    Jesus    came  into    the 
world    to    save    sinners."      He  imparts 
pard(m    to    the    guilty,    peace    to    the 
troubled,  holiness  to  the  sinful,  life  to 
the  dead,  joy  to  the  miserable.     He  is 
the  Saviour.      He  *'  hath   made   known 
His  salvation  "  and  "  openly  showed  His 
righteousness."     Not  only  has  He  pro- 
claimed   His   salvation,  but    gloriously 
displayed  it.     He   has  proved    liimself 
"  mighty   to    save."     The    triumphs  of 
the    Gospel    are    countless   in    number, 
gracious  in  character,  surprising  in  their 
magnitude,  and  ever  growing  in  extent. 
3.   The  Lord's  works  are  accomplished 
by  Himself  alone.     *'  His  rif?hthand  and 
His  holy  arm   hath  gotten  Him  the  vic- 
tory."    Literally  :  "  Hath  wrought  sal- 
vation     for      Him."        Hengstenberg : 
*' Have  helped  Him."  Perowne:  "*Hath 
gotten  Him  salvation,'  or  *  the  victory,' 
as  in  E.  V.    (Comp.  xliv.  4;  Isa.  lix.  16; 
Ixiii.  5.)     I  have  preferred  here  the  for- 
mer   rendering,    because    in    the.    next 
verse  the   noun   occurs   from   the  same 
root,  and  there  the  rendering  *  salvation  ' 
is,    I    think,   preferable    to    *  victory.'" 
Christ   Jesus    our    Lord    alone    accom- 
plished   salvation    for    us.       He    alone 
efi'ected  the  atonement.     He  alone  saves 
the  sinner.     In  the  pursuit  of  holiness 
He  supplies  the  motive  and  imparts  the 
power.     From  beginning  to  end  salva- 

a  97 


nALMXOYin. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


tlon  is  His  sole  work  ;  and  to  Him  alone 
be  all  the  praise. 

4.  The  Lord's  works  are  accomplished 
in  accordance  vnth  His  covenant.  "  He 
hath  remembered  His  mercy  and  His 
truth  toward  the  house  of  Israel.*' 
"  *  Loving  -  kindness  .  .  .  faithfulness,' 
the  two  attributes  expressive  of  God's 
covenant  relation  to  His  people." — 
Perowne.  The  salvation  wrought  by 
the  Lord  is  in  fulfilment  of  His  gracious 
purposes  and  promises.  His  word  can- 
not fail.  His  promises  are  gloriously 
reliable.  He  promises  to  save  "  whoso- 
ever believeth,"  and  He  will  do  so.  He 
has  covenanted  "to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  Him," 
and  He  will  keep  His  covenant  for  ever. 

5.  The  Lord's  works  are  accomplished 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  human  race, 
"  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the 
salvation  of  our  God."  Not  for  the  Jews 
alone  is  salvation  wrought,  but  for  all 
peoples.  Christ  "died  for  all"  Sal- 
vation is  suited  to  the  needs  of  all  men ; 
our  Lord  commissioned  His  Church  to 
proclaim  it  to  all ;  and  it  is  free  for  all. 
Salvation  is  for  man  as  man,  without 
distinction  of  nationality  or  race,  <fea 

Here,  then,  we  have  surely  the  most 
excellent  reasons  for  exultation. 

II.  Exultation  with  the  fullest  ex- 
pression. Verses  4-6.  The  expres- 
sion should  be — 

L  Joyful.  "  Make  a  joyful  noise 
unto  the  Lord,  and  rejoice."  Salvation 
is  a  source  of  joy,  and  should  be  cele- 
brated in  glad  songs. 

2.  Hearty,  "  Make  a  loud  noise." 
"The  word  here  used  is  expressive  of 
irrepressible  joy."  Our  praise  for  sal- 
vation should  be  the  full-toned  utter- 
ance of  thankful  and  rejoicing  hearts. 

3.  Religious.  "  Sing  praise,  sing  unto 
the  Lord  .  .  .  with  the  voice  of  a 
Psalm  .  .  .  before  the  Lord,  the  King." 
The  praise  is  to  God  ;  the  exultation  is 
because  of  His  wondrous  works;  the 
song  is  sacred  as  well  as  triumphant, 
reverent  as  well  as  loud. 

4.  With  all  suitable  aids.  "With 
the  harp,  with  trumpets  and  sound  of 
comet."  "  Trumpets,"  Chatzotzerothy  the 
straight  trumpets  used  by  the  priests 
for  giving  signals  (Num.  x.  2-10;  1 

98 


Chron.  XV.  24-28).  "  Comet,"  shophar, 
a  loud  sounding  instrument,  made  of 
the  horn  of  a  ram  or  of  a  chamois  (some- 
times of  an  ox),  and  used  by  the  Jews 
for  announcing  the  Jubilee  (Lev.  xxv. 
9),  for  proclaiming  the  new  year,  for 
the  purposes  of  war  (Jer.  iv.  5-19),  and 
for  the  sentinels  at  the  watch  towers  to 
give  notice  of  the  approach  of  an  enemy 
(Ezek.  xxxiil  4,  5).  The  joy  of  salva- 
tion is  so  great  that  words  and  human 
voices  are  inadequate  to  express  it,  and  so 
various  musical  instruments  were  used  as 
aids  in  its  expression.  Our  celebration  of 
the  great  things  which  the  Lord  hath  done 
for  us  should  be  with  such  intense  and 
ardent  affection  that  all  means  will  seem 
inadequate  duly  to  express  that  affection. 

III.  Exultation  in  the  widest  ex- 
tent. Verses  7-9.  In  verses  7  and  8 
the  Psalmist  calls  for  universal  praise  ; 
and  in  verse  9  he  gives  the  reason  for  it. 
(See  remarks  on  Ps.  xcvi.  11-13).  "As 
the  whole  creation,  both  animate  and 
inanimate,  has  groaned  beneath  the 
weight  of  the  curse,  so  shall  the  whole 
creation  partake  of  the  great  deliver- 
ance," and  unite  in  the  exultant  cele- 
bration. "The  Psalm,"  says  Barnes, 
**  calls  for  universal  praise.  The  very 
reading  of  the  Psalm,  so  joyous,  so 
jubilant,  so  animated,  so  exalting,  is 
fitted  to  awaken  the  mind  to  praise ;  to 
rouse  it  to  thankfulness ;  to  fill  it  with 
joy.  One  cannot  read  the  Psalm  with- 
out being  a  happier  man  ;  without  being 
lifted  above  the  world  ;  without  lofty 
views  of  God  ;  without  a  feeling  that  He 
is  worthy  of  this  universal  praise ;  without 
recognising  that  we  are  in  a  world  where 
the  mind  should  be  joyful ;  that  we  are 
under  the  dominion  of  a  God  whose  reign 
should  fill  the  mind  with  gladness." 

Conclusion. — 1.  Are  we  by  faith  per- 
sonally interested  in  the  salvation  which 
Christ  has  wrought  ?  Do  we  know  Him 
as  our  Saviour  ?  2.  Are  we  rejoicing  in 
His  salvation  ?  Salvation  should  fill  our 
hearts  with  music  and  our  mouths  with 
song.  3.  Are  we  doing  all  in  our  power 
to  diffuse  throughout  the  world  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Lord  Christ  and  His  salvo- 
tion  ?  Let  us  never  cease  from  our  evan- 
gelistic eflforts  till  "  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  have  seen  the  salvation  of  our  God." 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XOIX. 


PSALM    XOIX 

Introduction. 

• 

This  Psalm  is  one  of  the  series  of  Psalms  which  celebrate  the  Kingship  of  Jehovah.  **  All 
these  Psalms,"  says  Perowne,  **  alike  tell  of  the  setting  up  of  a  Divine  kingdom  upon  earth.  All 
alike  anticipate  the  event  with  joy.  One  universal  anthem  bursts  from  tlie  whole  wide  world 
to  greet  the  advent  of  the  righteous  King.  Not  Zion  only  and  the  daughters  of  Judah  are 
glad,  but  the  dwellers  in  far-off  islands  and  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Even  inanimate  nature 
sympathises  with  the  joy ;  the  sea  thunders  her  welcome,  the  rivers  clap  their  hands,  the 
trees  of  the  wood  break  forth  into  singing  before  the  Lord.  In  all  these  Psalms  alike  the  joy 
springs  from  the  same  source,  from  the  thought  that  on  this  earth,  where  might  has  so 
long  triumphed  over  right,  a  righteous  King  shall  reign,  a  kingdom  shall  be  set  up  which  shall 
be  a  kingdom  of  righteousness^  and  judgment,  and  truth. 

^  "  In  this  Psalm,  not  only  the  righteous  sway  of  the  King,  but  His  awful  holiness,  forms  the 
subject  of  praise,  and  the  true  character  of  His  worshippers  as  consecrated  priests,  holy,  set 
apart  for  His  service,  is  illustrated  by  the  examples  of  holy  men  of  old,  like  Moses,  Aaron,  and 
Samuel." 


The  Supbemaot  of  the  Lord  in  the  Church  and  the  State. 

(F«r«e#l-5.) 


The  Psalmist  celebrates — 

1.  The  supremacy  of  the  Lord  in 

the  Church.     Verses  1-3. 

1.  The  Lord  dwells  in  the  Church. 
"He  sitteth  throned  upon  the  cheru- 
bim." The  sitting  implies  rest  and 
permanence;  that  Jehovah  is  not  a 
transient  guest,  but  an  abiding  resident 
there.  "  The  Lord  hath  chosen  Zion, 
he  hath  desired  it  for  His  habitation. 
This  is  My  rest  for  ever;  here  will  I 
dwell,  for  I  have  desired  it."  In  a 
special  manner  the  Lord  dwells  in  the 
Church.  He  specially  manifested  Him- 
self in  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  Jewish 
Temple,  "  The  Temple  was  the  royal 
palace,  and  the  Holy  of  Holies  was  the 
presence-chamber.'*  And  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  He  is  specially  present. 
Here  He  manifests  the  perfections  and 
glory  of  His  character  more  fully  than 
elsewhere — (1)  In  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners. (2)  In  the  communications  of  His 
grace  which  He  makes  to  His  people, 
(See  remarks  on  Ps.  Ixxvi.  2 ;  Izzx.  1 ; 
and  Ixxxvii.) 

2.  TJie  Liyrd  is  Supreme  in  the  Church. 
"  The  Lord  reigneth  ;  He  sitteth  throned 
upon  the  cherubim;  the  Lord  is  great 
in  Zion,  and  He  is  high  above  all  the 
people."  The  Lord  rules  in  His  Church. 
He  is  sovereign  there.  His  will  is 
loyallj  obeyed  there.     And  He  is  sup- 


reme in  the  hearts  of  His  people.  He 
has  manifested  His  greatness  in  the 
Church, — the  greatness  of  His  power, 
wisdom,  righteousness,  and  grace.  And 
He  who  rules  in  Zion  rules  in  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  He  is  exalted 
above  all  the  peoples.  The  Psalmist 
speaks  of  His  "great  and  terrible  name," 
or,  "great  and  fearful  name."  The 
Lord's  name  is  equivalent  to  the  Lord 
himself  in  His  revealed  holiness.  His 
name  is  "  terrible "  to  His  enemies, 
"  holy  "  to  His  people,  "  great "  to  both, 
and  should  be  held  in  awe  and  reverence 
by  all  men.  Let  the  Church  of  this  age 
ask  herself  two  questions. 

First.  Does  the  Lord  dwell  in  her 
midst?  Are  the  tokens  of  His  presence 
manifest  ?  Are  sinners  converted  to 
Him?  Do  her  members  live  as  mem- 
bers of  a  society  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  and  in  the  constant  presence 
of  the  Lord  and  King  1 

Second.  Is  the  Lord  supreme  in  her  ? 
In  some  Churches  Acts  of  Parliament  are 
supreme,  in  others  rigid  creeds  and  for- 
mulae, in  others  respectability  and 
fashion,  in  others  sacraments  and  cere- 
monies. Ob,  for  the  day  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  His  spirit  and 
principles,  shall  be  supreme  in  every 
community  of  His  professed  followers  ! 

IL  The   supremacy  of  the  Lord  in 

99 


FBALM  XOIX. 


EOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


the  state.  Verses  4,  5.  Two  pro- 
minent features  of  this  supremacy  are 
mentioned  by  the  Poet — 

1.  Power.  "The  King's  strength.'* 
"  This  verse,  as  regards  construction,  is 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  preceding 
one." — Hengstenherg.  Perowne  says  : 
"  Others  carry  on  the  construction  from 
the  last  verse,  taking  the  words  *  He 
(or,  it)  is  holy/  as  parenthetical,  thus : 
*  They  shall  praise  Thy  great  and  fear- 
ful Name  (it  is  holy),  and  the  might  of 
the  King  who  (or,  which)  loveth  righte- 
ousness/ It  must  be  confessed  that, 
but  for  the  words  of  the  refrain,  which 
it  is  awkward  to  take  thus  parentheti- 
cally, the  sense  and  the  construction  are 
better  preserved  by  this  rendering." 
Christ  is  an  almighty  King  both  in 
Himself,  and  in  and  for  all  who  believe 
in  Him. 

2.  Righteousness^  This  is  the  great 
thing.  His  strength  is  mentioned,  be- 
cause it  is  perfectly  righteous.  His 
omnipotence  expresses  itself  only  in 
righteousness.  We  have  here  —  (1) 
Righteousness  in  the  heart  of  the 
King.  "  Loveth  judgment."  "  He 
loveth  righteousness  and  judgment." 
"  The  Lord  loveth  judgment,  and  for- 
saketli  not  His  saints."  (2)  Righteous- 
ness in  His  legislation.  "  Thou  dost 
establish  equity."  He  has  established 
rectitude  as  the  great  eternal  law  of 
His  government.  "  The  law  is  holy." 
(3)  Righteousness  in  His  administra- 
tion. "  Thou  executest  judgment  and 
righteousness  in  Jacob."  Under  the 
reign  of  Jehovali  the  executive  is  as  just 
as  the  legislative.  All  the  laws  and  all 
the  administration  tend  to  the  establish- 
ment of  righteousness. 

Learn  here  the  Divine  idea  of  reli- 
gion in  the  state.  The  government  of 
a  country  is  religious  when  the  king 
rules  in  righteousness,  when  Parliament 
strives  to  abolish  all  unrighteous  laws 
and  to  enact  righteous  ones,  when  magi- 
strates and  judges  seek  to  administer 


the  laws  justly,  and  when  venality  and 
corruption  are  swept  from  all  its  de- 
partments and  oflBces. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  relation 
of  the  King  both  to  the  Church  and  to 
the  State  which  is  brought  into  pro- 
minence, viz.,  His  Holiness.  **  He  is 
holy."  Charnock  well  says:  *'As  His 
holiness  seems  to  challenge  an  excellency 
above  all  His  other  perfections,  so  it  is 
the  glory  of  all  the  rest  j  as  it  is  the 
glory  of  the  Godhead,  so  it  is  the  glory 
of  every  perfection  in  the  Godhead  ;  as 
His  power  is  the  strength  of  them,  so 
His  holiness  is  the  beauty  of  them.  .  .  . 
As  sincerity  is  the  lustre  of  every  grace 
in  a  Christian,  so  is  purity  the  s[)len- 
dour  of  every  attribute  in  the  Godhead. 
His  justice  is  a  holy  justice,  His  wisdom 
a  holy  wisdom.  His  arm  of  power  a 
*  holy  arm,'  His  truth  or  promise  a  *  hoi} 
promise.'  *  Holy  and  true  '  go  hand  in 
hand.  *  His  name,'  which  signifies  all 
His  attributes  in  conjunction,  is  holy.'  " 

III.  The  holy  supremacy  of  the  Lord 
as  a  reason  for  worship.  "  Let  them 
praise  Thy  name  ;  for  it  is  holy.  Exalt 
ye  the  Lord  our  God,  and  worship  at 
His  footstool ;  for  He  is  holy."  Holiness 
is  the  summation  of  all  moral  perfec- 
tions ;  therefore  we  should  worship  the 
Lord.  He  is  supreme  not  only  in  posi- 
tion, but  in  character ;  therefore  we 
should  adore  Him.  We  should  exalt 
Him— 

1.  With  reverent  fear.  "Let  the 
people  tremble  ;  let  the  earth  be  moved." 
Amyraldus  points  out  that  the  fear 
which  proceeds  from  simple  reverence, 
as  well  as  that  which  arises  from  appre- 
hension of  evil,  produces  trembling.  So 
the  first  verse  may  apply  to  the  Church 
as  well  as  to  the  world.  With  awe  ap- 
proach THE  Holy  One. 

2.  With  profound  humility.  "  Wor- 
ship at  His  footstool."  As  weak  and 
dependent  creatures,  and  especially  as 
sinful  creatures,  it  behoveth  us  to  dra^ 
near  to  Him  with  deep  self-abusement 


100 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  XCIX. 


Examples  or  the  Holy  Sovereignty  of  God  akd  the  becoming 

Worship  of  His  People. 

(Verses  6-9., 


The  connection  of  these  verses  with 
the  foregoing  is  not  very  clear.  It  is 
not  easy  to  trace  with  certainty  the  con- 
tinuity or  the  relation  of  thought.  The 
relation  suggested  by  Perowne  seemt*  to 
us  the  most  probable  with  which  we  are 
acquainted.  **  The  great  subject  of  the 
Psalmist's  praise  is  the  holiness  of  God. 
It  is  a  holy  God  whom  he  calls  upon  all 
men  to  worship.  It  is  *  a  holy  foot- 
stool,' *  a  holy  mountain/  before  which 
they  bow  down  ;  it  is  therefore  a  holy 
worship  which  they  must  render.  Such 
was  the  worship  of  His  saints  of  old : 
and  then  likewise  Jehovah  manifested 
His  holiness  both  in  '  forgiving '  and  in 
*  taking  vengeance.'  "     Consider — 

I.  The  examples  of  the  becoming 
worship  of  man.  **  Moses  and  Aaron 
among  His  priests,  and  Samuel,"  <fec.  Of 
these  Aaron  only  was  a  priest  in  the 
usual  acceptation  of  the  term.  But 
Moses  discharged  the  priestly  duties 
before  Aaron  entered  upon  his  office 
(Exod.  xl.  22-27),  and  he  consecrated 
Aaron  and  his  sons.  Samuel  also  exercised 
priestly  functions  (1  Sam.  ix.  12,  13; 
and  vii.  9).  But  the  feature  of  the 
priestly  office  which  is  here  brought  into 
view  is  intercession,  calling  upon  God. 
"Among  them  that  call  upon  His 
name,"  is  an  explanation  of  '*  among 
His  priests."  Examples  of  this  calling 
upon  God  in  intercession  by  Moses  are 
recorded  in  Exod.  xvii.  11,  12  ;  xxxii. 
30-32 ;  Ps.  cvi.  23  ;  and  by  Samuel,  1 
Sam.  vii.  8,  9  ;  xii.  16-19,  23.  And  a 
signal  example  of  the  efficacy  of  Aaron's 
intercession  is  recorded  in  Num.  xvi. 
47,  48.  These  distinguished  saints 
worshipped  God — 

1.  In  earnest  prayer.  Intercessions 
and  pleadings  such  as  theirs — so  bold, 
yet  so  reverent ;  so  confident,  yet  so 
humble  —  greatly  honour  the  Lord. 
Their  living  faith  in  Himself  and  their 
sincere  and  deep  trust  in  His  mercy 
were  well-pleasing  to  Him.  "  He  that 
oometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is, 


and  that  He  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  Him." 

2.  In  holy  lives.  "  They  kept  His 
testimonies  and  the  ordinances  that  He 
gave  them."  They  gave  to  God  the 
praise  not  only  of  the  lip,  but  of  the 
life.  *'  Thanksgiving  is  good,  but 
thanks-living  is  better."  A  holy  life  is 
the  true  expression  of  a  reverent  heart. 
The  worship  of  a  holy  life  excels  the 
purest  and  most  reverent  worship  of 
prayer  and  praise;  because  (1)  it  is 
constant f  and  (2)  it  is  more  infiuential. 

Let  us  imitate  these  high  examples 
of  worship. 

II.  The  examples  of  the  holy  sove- 
reignty of  God.  "  He  answered  them. 
He  spake  unto  them  in  the  cloudy  pil- 
lar. Thou  answeredst  them,  0  Lord  our 
God,"  (fee.  The  Lord's  holy  sovereignty 
was  manifest  in  His  answers  to  the 
prayers  of  His  servants.  He  answered 
them — 

1.  By  His  communications  unto  them. 
"He  spake  unto  them  in  the  cloudy 
pillar."  These  words  are  strictly  appli- 
cable only  to  Moses  and  Aaron.  But 
the  cloudy  pillar  may  be  taken  as  a 
figurative  expression  denoting  Divine 
revelation  generally,  taken  from  one  of 
its  original  forms.  The  Lord  frequently 
communicated  with  Moses  (Exod.  xvi. 
10-12  ;  xxiv.  15-18,  et  at)  ;  and  with 
Aaron  (Num.  xii.  5-8).  Moreover  the 
Lord  often  spoke  to  Samuel.  Even  in 
childhood  the  voice  of  the  Lord  was 
addressed  to  him  ;  and  He  continued  to 
communicate  with  him  through  a  long 
life.  In  thus  responding  to  the  wor- 
ship of  His  servants  the  Lord  mani- 
fested His  gracious  condescension,  &c. 

2.  By  granting  the  forgiveness  for 
which  they  pleaded,  "  Thou  wast  a  God 
that  forgavest  them."  These  ancient 
saints  interceded  with  the  Lord  on  be- 
half of  the  sinful  people,  when  His 
wrath  was  kindled  against  them  (Exod. 
xxxii.  11-14,  31,  32;  Num.  xvi.  47,  48; 
1  Sam.  vii.  9),  and  in  answer  to  their 

101 


HJALM  xoix.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


prayers   He   forgave   the    sins   of  the  lions.     In  that  portion  of  their  history 

people.     In  their  own  personal  history  we  see  the  intercession  (Num.  xiv.  13- 

there   are  no    remarkable   examples  of  19),  the  forgiveness  (20,   21),  and  the 

the  forgiving  mercy  of  the  Lord ;  but  judgment   (22,  23).     Thus   God  mani- 

there  are  in  their  intercessions  for  the  fested  His  grace  in  hearing  prayer,  His 

people.    The  Divine  supremacy  is  merci-  mercy  to  the  offenders,  His  anger  against 

ful  and  gracious.     The  King  has  "no  sin,  and  His  holiness  in  all. 
pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked;  Conclusion. — 1.  How  holy  are  all 

but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  the  doings  of  God  I     Holiness  has  been 

and  live,"  defined*' the  symmetry  of  the  soul;" 

3.  By  inflicting  judgment  on  their  evil  and  all  the  attributes  and  operations  of 

doings.      "Thou    tookest  vengeance  of  God    are   gloriously   symmetrical,  they 

their  inventions,"  or  "doings."     There  harmonise;  the  harmony  is  holiness, 
is  perhaps  an  allusion  here  to  the  punish-  2.  How  great  is  the  power  of  prayer  / 

ment  of  the  whole  adult  population  of  "  Prayer    is    the    slender    nerve    that 

Israel  for  their  murmurings  and  rebel-  moveth  the  muscles  of  Omnipotence." 

Pardon  with  Punishment. 
(Verse  8.) 

"Thou   wast  a   God  that  forgavest  in  the  fashion  in  which  the  sovereign 

them,  though  Thou  tookest  vengeance  pardons  a  culprit  who  has   been   sen- 

of  their  inventions."  tenced  to  be  hanged.     Such  pardon  im- 

A  very  great  and  grave  mistake  about  plies  nothing  as  to  the  feelings  of  either 

the  whole  relations  of  forgiveness  and  the  criminal  or  the   monarch.      There 

retribution,  and    about  the  whole  cha-  need  neither  be  pity  on  the  one  side  nor 

racter  of  that  Divine  nature  from  which  penitence  on  the  other.     The  true  idea 

they  both  flow,  is  implied  and  concen-  of  forgiveness  is  to  be  found  not  in  the 

trated,  as  it  were,  in  that  little  word  region  of  law  only,  but  in  the  region  of 

"  though."     It  is  no  part  of  the  original  love  and  Fatherhood.     The  forgiveness 

Psalm,  and  the  rendering  is  a  case  of  of  God  is  over  and  over  again  set  forth 

interpretation,  rather  than  of  translation,  in  Scripture  as  being — a  father^ s  f  orgive- 

What  the  Psalm  says  is  this  :  "  Thou  ness.     "  Your  heavenly  Father  will  for- 

wast  a  God  that  forgavest  them,  and  give  you  your  trespasses.*'     Let  us  re- 

Thou  tookest  vengeance  of  their  inven-  member  our  own  childhood,  our  chil- 

tions."      There  is  no  apparent  antagon-  dren,  and  how  we  do  with  them 

ism  here  even  hinted  at  between  pardon,  Not  putting  up  the  rod,  but  taking  your 

forgiveness,  and  punishment,  but  they  child  to  your  heart,  is  your  forgiveness. 

are  both  regarded  as  parts  of  one  great  Th©  blessing  of  forgiveness  is  not  fully 

whole,  and  as  flowing  from  the  holy  love  comprehended  when  it  is  thought  of  as 

of  God,  which  the  whole  Psalm  cele-  shutting  up  some  outward  hell,  or  the 

brates.  quenching  of  its  flames.     It  goes  much 

"  Vengeance  *' !  The  modern  notion  deeper  than  this,  and  means  the  un- 
attached to  revenge  is  by  no  means  to  troubled  communion  of  love  and  delight 
be  found  in  the  word  which  is  here  em-  between  the  reconciled  father  and  the 
ployed.  What  the  Old  Testament  meant  repentant  child.  The  slave  may  dread 
by  vengeance  is  precisely  that  public  the  rod,  but  the  child  dreads  the  father's 
justice  to  which  the  modern  notion  of  closed  heart.  And  pardon  is  the  open 
revenge  is  diametrically  opposed.  heart  of  God,  full  of  love,  unaverted  by 

Notice, —  any  consequences  of  my  sin,  unclosed  by 

I.    That  forgiveness  is,  at  bottom,  any  of  my  departures  from  Him. 
the  undisturbed  communication  of  the         II.    That  such  pardon  does  neces- 

love  of  God  to  sinful  man.     We  are  far  sarily    sweep    away   the    one    true 

too  apt  to  think  that  God  pardons  men  penalty  of  sin.     I  have  been  maintain- 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


MALM  a 


Ing  that  the  proper  notion  of  pardon  is 
not  the  removal  of  penalty,  and  that  is 
absolutely  true  if  you  think  of  penalty 
only  as  being  external  and  arbitrarily 
inflicted.  But  it  is  not  true  when  we 
come  into  the  spiritual  region.  What 
is  the  penalty  of  sin  1  "  The  wages  of 
sin  is  death."  What  is  "  death  "  'i  The 
wrenching  away  of  a  dependent  soul 
from  God.  How  is  that  penalty  ended  1 
When  the  soul  is  united  to  God  in 
the  threefold  bond  of  trust,  love,  and 
obedience.  The  communication  of  the 
love  is  the  barring  of  the  hell.  The 
one  true  penalty  of  sin  is  to  be  torn 
asunder  from  God  by  our  own  evil  de- 
sires, and  therefore  the  outflow  of  His 
love  to  us  sinners  is  really  the  cancelling 
of  the  sorest  penalty  and  true  wages  of 
unrighteousness.  The  real  penalty  passes 
away  where  the  love  is  welcomed  and 
received. 

III.  That  the  pardoning  mercy  of 
God  leaves  many  penalties  unremoved. 
*'  Thou  forgavest  them,  and  Thou 
tookest  vengeance  of  their  inventions." 
Forgiveness  and  punishment  are  both 
parts  of  one  process,  they  both  come 
from  one  source,  the  One  heart  which 
is  all  holiness  and  all  love.  Let  me  re- 
mind you  of  historical  illustrations  that 
may  help  to  bring  this  idea  out  a  little 
more  clearly.  Aaron,  see  Num.  xx.  24  ; 
Moses,  see  Deut.  xxxii.  48-51  ;  David, 
see  2  Sam.  xii.  7-14.  The  old  state- 
ment, "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap,"  is  absolutely  true, 
universally  true.  God  loves  us  too 
well,  not  to  punish  His  children  when 
they  sin,  and  He  loves  us  too  well  to 
annihilate,  were  it  possible^  the  secondary 
consequences  of  our  transgressions.  The 
two  sides  of  the  one  truth  must  both  be 
recognised — that  the  deepest  and  the 
primary  penalties  of  our  evil,  which  are 
separation  from  God,  and  the  painful 
consciousness  of  guilt,  are  swept  away 


— and,  also,  that  other  results  are  aUowed 
to  remain,  which,  being  allowed,  may  be 
blessed  and  salutary  for  the  transgres- 
sors. If  you  waste  your  youth,  no  re- 
pentance will  send  the  shadow  back 
upon  the  dial,  or  recover  the  ground  lost 
by  idleness,  or  restore  the  constitution 
shattered  by  dissipation,  or  give  again 
the  resources  wasted  upon  vice,  or  bring 
back  the  fleeting  opportunities. 

IV.  That  pardoning  love  so  modifies 
the  punishment  that  it  becomes  an 
occasion  for  solemn  thankfulness. 
Whatever  painful  consequences  of  past 
sin  may  still  linger  about  our  lives,  or 
haunt  our  hearts,  we  may  be  sure  of  two 
things  about  them  all — that  they  come 
from  Forgiving  Mercy,  that  they  come 
for  our  profit.  It  is  no  harsh, — no,  nor 
even  only  a  righteous  Judge  who  deals 
with  us.  We  are  chastened  by  a  Father's 
hand,  "  When  we  are  judged,  we  are 
chastened  of  the  Lord,  that  we  should 
not  be  condemned."  The  stroke  of  con- 
demnation will  never  fall  upon  our  par- 
doned hearts.  That  it  may  not,  the 
loving  strokes  of  His  discipline  must 
needs  accompany  the  embrace  of  His 
forgiveness.  And  so  the  pains  change 
their  character,  and  become  things  to  be 
desired,  to  be  humbly  welcomed,  to  be 
patiently  borne  and  used,  and  even  to 
be  woven  into  our  hymns  of  praise. 

Brethren  !  you  know  where  and  how 
the  pardon  is  to  be  found.  In  Christ 
is  all  the  Divine  forgiveness  treasured. 
Trust  in  Him,  and  there  is  no  condem- 
nation for  you. 

You  have  before  you  an  alternative — 
either  you  will  be  separated  from  your 
sins  by  God's  pardon  in  Christ  and 
God's  chastisement  of  love ;  or^  clutch- 
ing your  sins,  refusing  to  let  Him  cast 
them  all  away,  you  will  be  separated  by 
them  utterly  from  God,  and  so  fall  into 
the  death  which  is  the  wages  and  punish- 
ment of  sin. — A.  Maclaren,  D.D. 


P  S  A  L  M      a 

Introduction. 

This  Psftlm  completes  the  series  of  Royal  Psalms,  and  *'  may  be  regarded  as  the  Doxology 
which  closes  the  strain.  We  find  lingering  m  It  notes  of  the  same  great  harmony.  It  breathes 
the  same  gladness  ;  it  is  filled  with  the  same  hope,  that  all  nations  shall  bow  down  before 
Jehovah,  and  confess  that  Hd  is  Qod." — Perowne. 

103 


FSALMO. 


EOMILSTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


Of  all  the  Psalms  in  the  collection  this  rises  to  the  highest  pitch  of  gladness  ;  it  breathes 
the  broadest  spirit  of  charity,  and  expresses  the  highest  mood  of  devout  joy.  On  the  ground 
of  our  common  humanity  as  the  children  of  the  one  Creator- Father,  all  men  are  summoned  to 
the  exultant  worship  of  the  Lord. 

The  superscription  to  the  Psalm  is  Ulij^/  "liDtD    "  A  Psalm  of  praise."     Luther  :   *  A 

Psalm  of  thanksgiving."      Perowne  :  **A  Psalm  for  the  thank-offering."  ,  .  •  **  To  denote 
that  the  Psalm  was  to  be  sung  during  the  offering  of  thank-offerings." 


A  Psalm  of  Universal  Praise. 


We  have  here — 

I.  The  reasons  of    praise    to  the 
Lord.     These  are  of  two  classes — 

1.  Because  of  what  He  is  in  Himself, 
•'  The  Lord  He  is  God,"  is  the  grand 
reason.     The  gods  of  the  nations  were 
idols,  vanities,  nonentities.     Jehovah  is 
God,  supremely  great,  supremely  good ; 
the  self-existent,  the  fountain  of  being 
and    well-being,    the    infinitely    perfect 
and    ever-blessed  God.       Therefore  He 
should    be    praised.       It   is    right   and 
seemly  that  mental  and  moral  greatness 
should    be    reverenced,    that    goodness 
should    be   loved,    &c.     But   the   Poet 
states  some  particulars  of  His  character. 
(1.)  He  is  good.    "The  Lord  is  good." 
"He  is  benevolent." — Barnes.  "Gracious, 
kind." — Ferowne.      *'  The   word    never 
means  kind  ;  and  this  sense  is  expressly 
excluded  here  by  the  circumstance  that 
it  is  not  only  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  ; 
but  also  His  faithfulness  towards  those 
who   have  received  His  promises,  that 
appears  here  as  the  expression  of  His 
goodness.     For  the  last  two  propositions 
are   merely   the    development    of    the 
first." — Hengstenherg,     Fuerst  gives  the 
primary    meaning    of    ^ilO,    as  xaXoj, 
pulcheVy  beautiful.     It  seems  to  us  that 
the  Poet  intends  to  include  in  this  word 
"  good  "  all  the  meanings  given  above. 
The    Lord    is    gracious  and    righteous, 
just  and  merciful,  faithful  and  almighty. 
Infinite  perfection  and  beauty  are  His. 
"  To  say  that  God  is  in  Himself  a  com- 
pacted universe  of  sweetnesses,  beauties, 
and    splendours,  is   to    speak  very  un- 
worthily, for  endless  universes  lie  hidden 
in  the  bosom    of  the  Infinite   nature. 
The    heavens   must    improve,    and   the 
creatures  must  mature,  in  wisdom  and 
holiness,   yet  for  ages  of    ages,   before 
they  will  be  capable  of  reflecting  the 
higher,  not  to  say  the  highest,  beauties 
of  *  the  Father  of  lights.'     Beauty  is  the 

104 


robe  of  holiness  :  the  more  holiness  the 
more  beauty.  To  all  eternity  we  can 
imagine  the  first  and  loveliest  of  all 
God's  creatures  praying :  *  Let  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon 
us.' "  A  being  of  such  spiritual  excel- 
lence should  receive  the  heartiest,  holiest 
praise  of  all  creatures. 

(2.)  He  is  merciful.  "  His  mercy  is 
everlasting.'*  This  is  included  in  His 
goodness.  God's  goodness  in  forgiving 
offenders  and  relieving  sufferers  we  de- 
nominate His  mercy.  God's  mercy  is 
His  goodness  in  relation  to  sinners. 
This  mercy  is  everlasting.  The  glorious 
results  of  it  will  be  enjoyed  for  ever. 
Being  sinners  we  should  praise  Him 
for  His  mercy. 

(3.)  He  is  faithful,  "His  truth  en- 
dureth  to  all  generations."  He  is  true 
in  Himself.  "A  God  of  truth,  and 
without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  He." 
He  is  true  in  His  dealings  with  others. 
He  fulfils  all  His  promises.  And  He 
will  be  true  for  ever.  No  changes,  how- 
ever great,  can  produce  any  change  in 
Him.  Here  then  we  have  another  reason 
for  praise. 

2.  Because  of  what  He  is  in  relation 
to  others.  "  He  hath  made  us,  and  not 
we  ourselves,"  &c.  (1)  He  made  us 
His  people.  He  is  our  Creator.  He 
called  us  into  being.  But  the  Psalmist 
means  more  than  that,  as  will  be  seen 
if  we  read  the  verse  without  the  words 
interpolated  by  the  translators :  "  He 
hath  made  us,  and  not  we  ourselves, 
His  people."  Not  merely  has  He 
created  us,  but  He  has  made  us  what 
we  are,  viz..  His  people.  "By  grace 
are  ye  saved  through  faith ;  and  that 
not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift  of  God  : 
not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast. 
For  we  are  His  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works."  (2) 
He  shepherds  us  as  His  people.     "  The 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  0. 


sheep  of  His  pasture."  *'  The  Lord  is 
my  shepherd."  As  a  shepherd  He  ruleSf 
guvhii,  protects,  and  provides  for  His 
people.  It  is  theirs  to  trust,  follow^  and 
obey  ]l\m.  (SeeoutlinesonPs.  Ixxvii.  20; 
Ixxx.  1.)  Here  we  have  most  sufficient 
reasons  Or  praise.  He  has  made  us 
what  we  are ;  and  He  will  not  forget 
the  work  of  His  own  hands,  or  forsake 
His  people.  He  knows  us  intimately, 
and  cares  for  us,  and  provides  for  us,  as 
the  shepherd  for  his  sheep.  And  He  is 
supremely  good,  and  merciful,  and  true  ; 
and  He  is  so  through  all  ages  and 
through  all  changes.  Surely  then  it 
becomes  us  to  praise  Him  with  glad  and 
grateful  hearts. 

II.  The  extent  of  praise  to  the 
Lord.  "  All  ye  lands."  Literally,  as 
in  the  margin  :  "  All  the  earth."  Not 
simply  the  Jew,  but  all  people.  The 
Lord  is  the  Creator  and  Sustainer  of  all 
men ;  the  bountiful  Benefactor  of  all 
men ;  therefore  all  should  praise  Him. 
He  is  the  Redeemer  of  all  men.  "  He 
died  for  all ; "  therefore  by  all  should 
His  praise  be  celebrated.  The  glorious 
day  draws  near  when 

**  Earth,  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues, 
Shall  fill  His  courts  with  sounding  praise." 

III.  The  character  of  praise  to  the 
Lord.     It  should  be — 

1.  Joyous.  *'  Make  a  joyful  noise 
unto  the  Lord."  Hengstenberg  :  "  Shout 


for  joy  to  the  Lord."  Perowne  :  "  *  Shout 
aloud  unto  Jehovah  : '  used  of  the  wel- 
come given  to  a  king  who  enters  his 
capital,  or  takes  possession  of  the  throne, 
as  in  xcviii.  4-6  ;  Ixvi.  1."  "  Serve  the 
Lord  with  gladness,  come  before  His 
presence  with  singing."  Our  worship 
of  the  Lord  should  be  cheerful  and  song- 
ful, the  utterance  of  rejoicing  hearts. 
He  is  honoured  by  our  joyous  praise. 
**  Cheerfulness  credits  religion." 

2.  Grateful.  *'  Enter  into  His  gates 
with  thanksgiving,  and  into  His  courts 
with  praise  ;  be  thankful  unto  Him,  and 
bless  His  name."  The  previous  verse 
contains  abundant  reasons  for  grateful 
praise.  And  in  this  verse  all  nations 
are  invited  to  share  in  those  glorious 
privileges.  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul ;  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits." 

3.  Practical.  *' Serve  the  Lord  with 
gladness."  "  By  serving  Him  here  we 
are  not  to  understand  merely  the  wor- 
ship of  God."  We  serve  Him  by  loyally 
obeying  His  commands,  (fee.  Such  ser- 
vice we  should  render  spontaneously, 
heartily,  joyously.  "  Thy  statutes  have 
been  my  song,"  <kc. 

Conclusion. — "  The  great  lesson  of 
the  Psalm  is  this,"  says  Mr.  S.  Cox, 
"  Be  unselfish  and  catholic  towards 
man,  trustful  and  reverent  towards  God, 
and  pure,  deep,  religious  joy  will  b« 
yours," 


The  Sin  and  Folly  of  being  Unhappy. 
(Verse  2.) 


**  Serve  the  Lord  with  gladness." 
Let  us  consider  the  sin  and  folly  of 
being  unhappy,  especially  of  rendering 
unhappy  service  to  God.      His  yoke  is 
easy,  and  His  burden  light. 

I.  God  is  happy.  He  is  the  blessed 
God,  in  whom  are  the  fountains  of  all 
gladness.  Hence  that  expression,  "  the 
joy  of  God,"  is  one  denoting  the  joy  that 
is  in  God,  even  more  than  the  joy  He 
gives.  Clirist  was  a  man  of  sorrows 
during  His  earthly  life,  because  He  was 
bearing  our  sins.  But  He  sorrowed 
that  we  might  not  sorrow,  but  rejoice. 
He  served  the  Father  in  sorrow,  that  we 
might- serve  Him  with  gladness. 


II.  The  angels  are  happy.     They 

are  the  blessed  angels.  They  only  know 
what  sorrow  is  by  seeing  it  in  us  when 
they  come  to  minister  to  us.  They 
drink  always  of  the  rivers  of  pleasures, 
which  are  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
Sometimes  their  joy  rises  higher,  as 
when  they  shouted  for  joy  over  the 
new-made  world,  or  as  when  they  are 
called  on  to  join  in  the  joy  of  God  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth.  They  serve 
the  Lord  with  gladness. 

III.  Forgiven  men  are  happy.  This 
is  David's  testimony  :  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  whose  transgression  is  forgiven." 
These  are   a  twofold  class — (1)  those 


F8ALH0. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


who  have  departed  and  are  with  Christ; 
(2)  those  who  are  still  here.  Of  that 
latter  section  of  redeemed  men  we  say 
they  are  happy,  though  imperfect,  be- 
cause they  are  forgiven.  They  are  in 
an  evil  world,  and  have  much  evil  with- 
in them  —  many  trials,  sore  warfare, 
great  feebleness, — yet  they  are  happy. 
Why  ?  Because  forgiven.  The  favour 
of  Grod  rests  on  them.  They  know  it, 
and  find  that  in  His  favour  is  life.  Be- 
ing forgiven,  and  knowing  this,  they 
serve  the  Lord  with  gladness. 

It  would  appear,  then,  not  only  that 
there  is  happiness  in  heaven  with  God 
and  the  holy  angels,  but  that  there  is 
happiness  here  on  earth,  and  that  we 
may  be  partakers  of  it.  The  basis  and 
the  beginning  of  that  happiness  must 
be  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the 
favour  of  God.  These  are  attainable  ; 
they  are  presented  to  us  as  free  gifts; 
we  are  besought  to  accept  them  ;  we 
cannot  reject  them  without  sinning. 
Let  me  notice  then — 

I.  We  can  only  be  unhappy  by  re- 
fusing pardon.  The  pardon  is  provided, 
and  it  is  preached  to  the  sons  of  men — 
(1)  It  is  a.  free  pardon  ;  (2)  a  righteous 
pardon  ;  (3)  a  present  pardon  ;  (4)  a 
comprehensive  pardon,  covering  all  sin ; 
(5)  it  is  to  be  had  in  simply  believing 
what  God  has  told  us  about  the  pro- 
pitiation of  His  Son.  .  .  .  Then  must 
not  the  absence  of  this  pardon  be  the 
fruit  of  our  own  rejection  of  it;  and 
not  God's  sovereignty  or  unwillingness  1 
We  are  unhappy,  not  simply  because 
we  are  sinful  and  foolish,  but  because 
we  are  resolutely  indulging  in  the  sin 
and  folly  of  rejecting  God's  gift,  and  so 
of  refusing  to  be  happy. 

II.  We  can  only  be  unhappy  by  re- 
fusing Christ.  It  is  not  Christ  refusing 
us  (He  never  did  so),  but  it  is  our  refus- 


ing Christ,  that  keeps  us  unhappy.  He 
is  God's  free  gift  to  us ;  a  gift  which  wo 
are  not  merely  at  liberty  to  accept,  but  ( 
which  we  refuse  at  our  peril.  Persist- 
ence  in  the  rejection  of  Christ  is  the  true 
cause  of  all  the  unhappiiiess  of  earth. 

III.  We  can  only  be  unhappy  by 
determining  not  to  turn.  God  says, 
*'  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  ;  why  will  ye  die  ?  " 
turn  and  live.  It  is  vain  for  us  to  throw 
the  blame  off  ourselves,  and  say,  "  I 
want  to  turn,  but  I  cannot,  and  God 
will  not  help  me."  This  is  not  true. 
*'  I  am  most  willing  to  be  converted, 
but  God  will  not  convert  me,"  is  just  as 
if  the  drunkard  were  to  say,  "  I  am  most 
willing  to  give  up  drinking,  but  God 
will  not  help  me  to  be  sober ; "  or  the 
swearer,  "  I  am  most  anxious  to  cease 
swearing,  but  I  cannot,  and  God  will 
not  give  me  the  power."  Whatever, 
then,  the  solemn  truth  of  God's  sove- 
reignty may  be  (and  He  would  not  be 
God  were  He  not  Sovereign),  it  is  not 
that  sovereignty  that  is  hindering  you 
from  turning,  but  your  own  determina- 
tion not  to  do  so.  Your  not  turning  is 
the  cause  of  your  unhappiness;  you 
cannot  be  happy  till  you  turn. 

In  like  manner  it  is  with  all  of  us. 
We  might  be  always  happy,  were  we 
always  receiving  the  gifts  which  Christ 
presents  to  us ;  crediting  the  Divine 
testimony  as  to  the  sufliciency  of  the 
great  sacrifice,  and  the  freeness  of  the 
great  love. 

Unhappiness  thus  is  wilful.  *'  Ye 
will  not  come  to  Me."  It  profiteth 
nothing.  It  does  not  liberate,  or 
strengthen,  or  sanctify,  or  comfort.  To 
be  unhappy  is  our  folly  and  our  sin. 
When  happy,  no  toil  is  irksome,  no 
trouble  or  annoyance  is  felt.  Be  happy 
then  in  God,  <fec. — H.  Bonar,  D.D, — 
Abridged  from  "  Light  and  Truth," 


I.  God  is  tme. 

He  is  true  in  His  very  nature.  There  is 
no  deceit,  falsehood,  norerrorin  the  essen- 
tial nature  of  God.    Whatever  makes  men 


The  Eternal  Truth  of  God. 

( Verse  5,  last  clause.) 

He  is  true  to  His  nature.  We  are 
not  always  true  to  ourselves.  I  have 
known  a  generous  man  who,  in  a  pet, 
has  acted  very  ungenerously.     But  the 


untruthful,  nothing  of  the  kind  can  ope-      Lord  is  always  true  to  Himself. 
rate  with  God.  He  it  true  in  action.     He  has  been 

106 


HO  M I  LET  I C  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  CI. 


true  to  the  mahing  a/  the  eternal  cove- 
nant. 

He  has  been  true  to  all  His  purposes. 
Whatever  God  resolved  to  do  He  has 
done.  "  Hath  He  said  it,  and  shall  He 
not  do  it  1 " 

He  is  true  to  His  promises.  There  is 
not  a  promise  which  God  has  made,  but 
what  either  He  has  kept  it,  or  else,  being 
dated  for  the  future,  He  will  keep  it 
when  the  time  appointed  comes. 

He  is  true  to  all  His  published  Wordy 
which  He  has  made  known  to  us  in 
Holy  Scripture. 

He  is  true  in  every  relation  that  He 


sustains.  As  a  King,  a  Judge,  a  Father, 
a  Friend,  et  al. 

He  is  true  to  every  man,  to  every 
woman,  in  the  world. 

II.  God  is  true  in  all  generations. 

He  has  been  true  in  the  past.  The 
whole  of  history,  sacred  and  profane, 
goes  to  prove  that. 

He  is  true  still — true  to-night. 

He  will  be  true. 

Since  God  is  true,  ye  children  of  God, 
why  do  ye  mistrust  Him  1  Ye  sinners, 
why  do  you  belie  Him  by  your  unbelief  1 
— C»  H,  Spur g eon, — Abridged, 


PSALM    CL 

Introduction. 

According  to  the  superscription,  this  Psalm  was  composed  by  David.  Three  different  times 
in  his  life  have  been  suggested  as  the  occasion  to  which  the  Psalm  refers.  First,  when,  upon 
the  death  of  Saul,  David  began  to  reign  in  Hebron  over  Judah  ;  second,  when  he  began  to 
reign  "in  Jerusalem  overall  Israel  and  Judah  ;  **  and  third,  when  he  brought  up  the  ark  of  the 
Lord  from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  into  the  city  of  David.  It  is  impossible  to  determine 
which,  or  whether  either  of  these  suggestions,  is  correct.  Perowne  thinks  that  the  Psalm  was 
written  in  the  early  part  of  David's  reign,  whilst  the  ark  was  in  the  house  of  Obed-edom.  The 
Psalm  has  been  entitled,  **  The  godly  purposes  and  resolves  of  a  king;"  and  **  Speculum, 
Regis**  a  mirror  for  kings.  Matthew  Henry  calls  it  "  The  Householder's  Psalm."  In  it  David 
gives  us  the  rules  which  he  laid  down  for  the  regulation  of  his  household  and  court.  In  this 
aspect  the  Psalm  has  a  universal  application  ;  for  the  principles  which  are  good  in  a  palace 
are  good  also  in  a  cottage,  and  the  virtues  which  adorn  a  peasant's  humble  household  will  in- 
erease  the  lustre  of  a  king's  brilliant  court. 

A  PiOTURB  OF  A  Pious  Home. 


In  this  picture  of  a  pious  household 
the  Poet  gives  prominence  to  three  of  its 
main  features. 

I.  Its  worship.  "I  will  sing  of 
mercy  and  judgment,"  <fec. 

1.  Praise  for  the  Divine  providence. 
"  I  will  sing  of  mercy  and  judgment," 
Ac.  Here  are  two  ideas — (1)  God^e 
providence  is  varied  in  its  dispensations. 
He  visits  us  with  both  mercies  and  judg- 
ments. He  makes  us  acquainted  with 
"  the  dark  and  stormy  day  ; "  and  "  He 
maketh  us  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures, 
and  leadeth  us  beside  the  still  waters." 
(2)  God's  providence  is  benevolent  in  its 
character.  Both  "  mercy  and  judgment,*' 
rightly  understood,  are  themes  for  praise. 
"What,"  inquires  Stowell,  "is  judg- 
ment itself  but  mercy  with  a  sterner 
aspect  1  And  what  are  the  chidings  of 
judgment  but  the  sterner  tones  of  the 


voice  of  a  Father's  love  %  For  even 
judgment  is  one  of  the  *  all  things '  that 

*  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God.*" 

2.  Prayer  for  the  Divine  presence. 
"  Oh  when  wilt  Thou  come  unto  me  % " 
David  longs  for  the  presence  and  help 
of  God.  "  The  question  bursts  forth 
from  the  heart,  moved  and  stirred  to  its 
inmost  centre,  as  it  thinks  of  all  the 
height   and  depth   of   that   resolve   to 

*  walk  in  a  perfect  way.'  How  shall  a 
frail  son  of  man  keep  his  integrity  t 
The  task  is  too  great  for  his  own 
strength,  honest  and  sincere  as  the 
resolution   is,   and  therefore   he   cries, 

*  When  wilt  Thou  come  unto  me  1  '— 
come  to  be  my  abiding  guest — come  not 
only  to  dwell  in  Zion,  in  Thy  tabernacle, 
but  with  me  Thy  servant,  in  my  house 
and  in  my  heart,  giving  me  the  strength 

107 


FSALM  OL 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


and  the  grace  that  I  need." — Perowne. 
Great  and  blessed  is  the  influence  of 
family  worship.  Thrice  blessed  is  the 
home  in  which  the  presence  of  God  is 
graciously  realised. 

11.  Its  head.  The  head  of  the 
family,  as  sketched  by  the  Poet,  mani- 
fests— 

1.  Gircumspectness  of  conduct.  **I 
will  behave  myself  wisely  in  a  perfect 
way.'*  "And  David  behaved  himself 
wisely  in  all  his  ways  j  and  the  Lord 
was  with  him.'*  He  resolves  to  exercise 
**  prudence,  not  sapience  ;  not  wise  con- 
templation, but  wise  action.  It  is  not 
wise  thoughts,  or  wise  speaking,  or  wise 
writing,  or  wise  gesture  and  counten- 
ance, will  serve  the  turn,  but  wise  be- 
haviour :  the  former  are  graceful,  but 
the  other  needful."  It  behoves  heads  of 
families  to  "  walk  circumspectly.'* 

2.  Integrity  of  heart  "  I  will  walk 
within  my  house  with  a  perfect  heart." 
Literally  :  "  In  the  perfectness,  or  integ- 
rity, of  my  heart.*'  Again  he  says : 
*'  A  froward  heart  shall  depart  from  Me." 
U^pJ?  =  perverse,    perverted:    with  ^^7 

(as  here)  =  a  corrupt  heart. — Fuerst. 
The  heart  in  this  place  is  the  centre  of 
moral  life.  The  Psalmist  resolves  not 
to  tolerate  corruption  in  his  heart ;  but 
to  walk  within  his  house  with  an  up- 
right heart,  *'  in  the  blamelessness  of 
his  heart."  He  who  would  order  his 
household  wisely  should  cultivate  purity 
in  his  feelings,  intentions,  motives. 

3.  RighXeousness  of  aim.  "  I  will  set 
no  wicked  thing  before  mine  eyes.*' 
Margin  :  *'  Thing  of  Belial."  Perowne  : 
"  Vile  thing^  lit.  '  thing  of  villany.'  The 
noun  is  that  which  is  wrongly  rendered 
in  the    A.  V.    of  the   historical  books, 

*  Belial/  as  if  it  were  a  proper  name. 
It  is  really  a  compound  noun  meaning 

*  that  which  profiteth  not.'  "  The  head 
of  the  pious  home  will  not  entertain 
evil  projects,  or  follow  wicked  aims,  or 
imitate  morally  worthless  examples. 
WheiW  the  aims  of  the  head  of  a  house- 
hold are  righteous  and  noble,  and  are 
worthily  followed,  his  influence  in  this 
respect  is  unspeakably  and  immeasur- 
ably good. 

4.  Uatrtd  of  evil.  "  I  hate  the  work 
of  them  that  turn  aside;  it  shall  not 

lOS 


cleave  to  me.**  Perowne  :  "  I  hate  the 
sin  of  unfaithfulness.*'  The  idea  of  the 
words,  and  also  of,  "  I  will  not  know  a 
wicked  person,*'  is  hatred  of  evil.  Sin 
he  abhors.  "  Hatred  of  sin  is  a  good 
sentinel  for  the  door  of  virtue."  The 
Psalmist  knew  that  he  might  be  tempted, 
but  resolved  that  he  would  not  yield  to 
temptation.  Evil  might  be  presented 
to  him,  but  it  should  not  cleave  unto 
him.  He  refuses  to  listen  to  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  tempter,  and  frees  him- 
self from  his  hold.  Such  are  the  out- 
lines of  the  portrait  of  the  head  of  a 
pious  home.  This  is  how  he  appears 
in  his  own  family.  "  How  fares  it 
with  your  family  1  Do  you  sing  in  the 
choir  and  sin  in  the  chamber  1  Are  you 
a  saint  abroad  and  a  devil  at  home  ? 
For  shame !  What  we  are  at  home, 
that  we  are  indeed.  He  cannot  be  a 
true  saint  whose  habitation  is  a  scene 
of  strife,  nor  he  a  faithful  minister 
whose  household  dreads  his  appearance 
at  the  fireside.** — Spurgeon. 

III.  Its  servants.     Verses  5-7.   We 
have  here — 

1.  The  rejected.     These  comprehend 
three     classes.       (1)    The     Slanderer, 
"  Whoso  privily  slandereth   his  neigh- 
bour, him  will  I  cut  off"."     "  In  order 
to  constitute  slander,"  says  Robertson, 
"  it   is   not   necessary   that   the    word 
spoken  should  be  false — half  truths  are 
often  more  calumnious  than  whole  false- 
hoods    It  is  not  even  necessary  that  a 
word   should   be   distinctly  uttered;  a 
dropped    lip,    an    arched   eyebrow,    a 
shrugged  shoulder,  a  significant  look,  an 
incredulous  expression  of  countenance, 
nay,  even    an    emphatic    silerce,   may 
do  the  work ;  and  when  the  light  and 
trifling  thing  which  has  done  the  mis- 
chief has  fluttered  off,   the  ven^m    is 
left  behii^d,  to  work  and  rankle,  to  in- 
flame hearts,  to  fever  human  existence, 
and   to   poison    human   society  at  the 
fountain    springs    of    life."     The    wise 
householder  will  keep  the  slanderer  out 
of  his  family.     The  cowardice,  malice^ 
and    terribly    pemicious    influe^ice    of 
slander  are  potent  reasons  for  doing  so. 
(2)  The  proud,     "  Him   that  hath  an 
high  look  and  a  proud  heart  will  not  I 
suffer."     Literally  :  "  Whoso  is  wide  of 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALlf  OL 


heart,"  i  e.,  inflated  with  pride,  haughty, 
arrogant.  A  man  of  overbearing  con- 
ceit and  "  vaulting  ambition  "  is  foolish; 
he  is  ignorant,  unreal,  blown  out  with 
empty  pretensions.  He  is  wicked.  Pride 
IB  sin  as  well  as  folly.  "  Every  one 
that  is  proud  in  heart  is  an  abomination 
to  the  Lord."  He  is  mischievous,  **  Only 
by  pride  cometh  contention/'  There- 
fore the  haughty  and  ambitious  are  ex- 
cluded from  the  pious  home.  Humility 
is  essential  both  to  piety  and  to  peace. 
(3)  The  deceiver.  "  He  that  worketh 
deceit  shall  not  dwell  within  my  house, 
he  that  telleth  lies  shall  not  tarry  in  my 
sight."  Hebrew,  as  in  margin  :  "  Shall 
not  be  established."  Hengstenberg : 
**  Shall  not  continue  beside  me." 
"  Liars,"  says  Epictetus,  "  are  the  cause 
of  all  the  sins  and  crimes  in  the  world." 
From  the  pious  home  deceivers  must  be 
excluded,  whether  they  deceive  by  tell- 
ing lies  or  by  acting  lies,  whether  simu 
lators  or  dissimulators,  all  insincere 
persons  must  be  kept  without  the  sacred 
precincts  of  the  godly  family. 

2.  The  accepted.  **  Mine  eyes  shall 
be  upon  the  faithful  of  the  land,  that 
they  may  dwell  with  Me :  he  that 
walketh  in  a  perfect  way,  he  shall  serve 
Me."  The  servants  of  the  pious  home, 
as  described  by  David,  are  characterised 
by  (1)  Fidelity.  "The  faithful  of  the 
land  ;  "  the  true  and  trustworthy.  It 
is  implied  here  that  those  who  are 
faithful  to  God  will  be  faithful  to  man. 
David  says,  "His  eyes  shall  be  upon 
them."  "There  is  an  eye  of  search,  and 
an  eye  of  favour :  the  one  is  for  the 
seeking  and  finding  them  out,  that  they 
may  serve  ;  the  other  for  countenancing 
of  their  persons,  and  rewarding  of  their 
service."  (2)  Integrity.  "  He  that 
walketh  in  a  perfect  way."  This  does 
not  signify  a  sinless  or  perfect  man,  but 
one  who  is  sincere  and  upright.  There 
is  an  obvious  reference  to  the  second 
verse.  The  Psalmist  would  have  for  his 
servants  those  who  were  actuated  by  the 
same  pure  motives,  and  pursued  the  same 
upright  coarse  as  himself.     "  A  godly 


servant,"  says  Gurnall,  'Ms  a  greatei 
blessing  than  we  think  on.  He  can 
work,  and  set  God  on  work  also,  for 
his  master's  good  (Gen.  xxiv.  12),  *0 
Lord  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  I 
pray  Thee,  send  me  good  speed  this  day, 
and  show  kindness  unto  my  master.' 
And  sure  he  did  his  master  as  much 
service  by  his  prayer  as  by  his  prudence 
in  that  journey." 

IV.  He  who  is  the  head  of  a  pious 
home  will  do  his  utmost  to  banish 
wickedness  from  the  world.  This  we 
may  fairly  infer  from  the  last  verse. 
Piety  begins  in  the  heart,  extends  to 
the  home,  then  goes  out  to  bless  the 
world.  "  I  will  early  destroy,"  says  the 
Psalmist,  "  all  the  wicked  of  the  land," 
(fee.  Perowne  :  "  Every  morning  will  I 
destroy,"  <kc.  There  is  here  probably 
an  allusion  to  the  Eastern  custom  of 
holding  courts  of  justice  in  the  morn- 
ing. (2  Sam.  XV.  2  ;  Jer.  xxi.  12 ; 
Zeph.  iii.  5.)  The  "  every  morning " 
indicates  the  persistency  of  the  efforts 
of  the  Poet-King  to  uproot  evil  from 
society.  With  unwearied  zeal  he  would 
seek  to  purge  the  land  of  its  iniquities. 

Conclusion. — The  Psalmist  in  this 
Psalm  sets  us  an  example  we  shall  do 
well  to  imitate.  1.  In  his  intolerance. 
The  Psalm  "  is  full  of  a  stern  exclusive- 
ness,  of  a  noble  intolerance,  not  against 
theological  error,  not  against  uncourtly 
manners,  not  against  political  insubor- 
dination, but  against  the  proud  heart, 
the  high  look,  the  secret  slanderer,  the 
deceitful  worker,  the  teller  of  lies. 
These  are  the  outlaws  from  king  David's 
court ;  these  are  the  rebels  and  heretics 
whom  he  would  not  suffer  to  dwell  in 
his  house  or  tarry  in  his  sight." — Bean 
Stanley.  Let  us  copy  him  in  this  re- 
spect. 2.  In  his  piety.  His  was  piety 
in  the  heart,  in  the  home,  in  the  world. 
His  religion  was  sincere  and  thorough. 
Let  us  imitate  him  in  this,  especially  in 
showing  piety  at  home.  "  To  Adam," 
says  Hare,  "  paradise  was  home.  To 
the  good  among  his  descendants,  home 
is  paradise." 


109 


niALM  on.  HOMILETIC  COM  MEN  TAR  T :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OIL 

iNTBODUOnOH. 

It  ii  impoiiible  to  determine  on  what  occasion  and  by  whom  this  Psalm  was  composed. 
Prof.  Alexander  and  Hengstenberg  regard  it  as  a  composition  of  David.  But  from  internal 
evidence,  especially  in  verses  13-22,  we  should  conclude  that  it  was  written  during  the  Baby- 
lonian exile,  and  probably  near  its  close,  when  the  faithful  were  animated  by  hopes  of  returning 
shortly  to  their  own  land.  It  has  been  attributed  to  Nehemiah,  Jeremiah,  Daniel,  and  others 
of  the  prophets  of  the  period  of  the  captivity.  But  attempts  to  determine  the  authorship  of 
the  Psalm  are  vain.  Perowne  points  out  that  the  ''  Psalm  is  clearly  individual,  not  national, 
and  must  have  been  intended  for  private  rather  than  liturgical  use,  as  the  inscription  seems 
designed  to  inform  us.  This  inscription  is  peculiar ;  it  stands  quite  alone  among  the  titles 
prefixed  to  the  Psalms,  and  marks  the  circumstances  under  which  it  should  be  used.  In  all 
other  instances  the  inscriptions  are  either  musical  or  historical."  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
Tenes  25-27  of  this  Psalm  are  quoted  as  addressed  to  the  Mesiiah. 

The  Affliotions  of  Lifb  and  the  Besoubos  or  the  (Iodlt. 

The  Superscription, 

The    superscription    to    this    Psalm  His  soul  was  full  of  affliction,  like  ** 

suggests  the  following  observations, —  yessel   overcharged  with   new  wine   of 

I.  Human  life  is  characterised  by  strong  liquor,   that    bursts   for   vent" 

great  afflictions.      The  text  speaks  of  Great  sorrows  must  find  expression,  or 

"  the  afflicted,  when  he  is  overwhelmed."  the  brain  would  reel  into  madness,  and 

We  are  sometimes  sorely  distressed —  the    heart   would   break    or  sink  into 

1.  In  ourselves f  by  reason  of  physical  despair.  The  prayer  of  the  Poet  was 
disease  and  suffering,  mental  depression  the  cry  of  a  bursting  heart.  In  great 
and  conflict,  <fec.  affliction  we  have  need  of  patience,  of 

2.  /»  owr /amt7*w,  by  the  sinful  lives  trust  in  God,  of  sustaining  grace,  &c 
of  some  of  its  members,  e.g.y  the  pro-  We  obtain  these  by  prayer. 

digal  son ;  by  sorely  straitened  circum-  <«  My  ending  is  despair, 

stances,  by  the  bereavements  of  death.  Unless  I  be  relieved  by  prayer  | 

^^  Which  pierces  so,  that  it  assaults 

3.  In  our  social  circle,  by  the  unfaitli-  ^•'^y  ^^e"'  *^^  ^^^^""^sth^" 
fulness  of  professed  friends,  <fec.  P«w«. 

4.  In  the  Church,  when  its  vitality  HI.  In  great  afflictions  the  godly 
and  power  seem  to  decline,  &c.  man  has  a  great  resource.     He  pours 

5.  In  the  nation,  by  reason  of  national  out  his  complaint  before  the  Lord  in 
sins,  or  calamities,  or  judgments,  e.g.,  prayer. 

the  Jews  in  Babylon.  1.  The  Lord  hears  the  complaifU  of 

We  do  not  speak  of  ordinary  or  trifling  His  people  (Ps.  iv.  3 ;  xxxiv.  4). 
afflictions,  but  of  exceptional  and  severe  2.  The  Lord  hears  the  complaint  of 

ones.     The  Psalmist  speaks  of  himself  His    people    sympathetically.       "  The 

as  "  overwhelmed."     He  was,  as  it  were,  Lord  is    very    pitiful    and   of    tender 

**  covered  with  darkness,  affliction,  grief,  mercy." 

His  soul  was  enshrouded  in  gloom  and  3.  The  Lord  graciously  responds  to 
sorrow."  From  such  sufferings  the  true  the  complaint  of  His  people,  "  Call 
and  good  are  not  exempt.  Job,  David,  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble :  I  will 
Paul,  et  al.,  are  examples.  deliver  thee,'*  <fec.  His  ear  is  ever 
n.  Great  afflictions  are  characterised  open;  His  heart  always  sympathetic; 
by  great  needs.  The  Psalmist  in  his  His  grace  always  all-sufficient.  There- 
sufferings  felt  a  great  need  of  utterance  fore,  "  Trust  in  Him  at  all  times ;  ye 
of  his  trovMe,  H«  indicates  this  by  the  people,  pour  out  your  heart  before  Him 
words  :  "  ponreth  out  his  complaint"  God  is  a  refuge  for  us.'' 
110    - 


MOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PIALM  OIL 


Thb  Lament  of  a  Distressed  Patriot. 
{Yena  1-11.) 


In  theM  Terses  we  have  the  wail  of  a 
sadly  troubled  soul.  Let  us  consider 
the  miseries  of  the  Poet  as  they  are  ex- 
pressed in  this  bitter  cry  to  the  Lord. 

L  His  distress  was  very  great. 
This  appears  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  lamentation.  Every  feature  of  the 
distress  makes  manifest  its  intensity. 
The  more  prominent  of  these  features 
we  shall  call  attention  to.  In  the 
superscription  he  speaks  of  himself  as 
**  overwhelmed "  with  trouble,  and  in 
verse  9,  he  says,  "I  have  eaten  ashes 
like  bread,  and  mingled  my  drink  with 
weeping."  He  is  smitten  down  to  the 
ground  by  the  greatness  of  his  grief,  or, 
like  Job  in  his  sore  afflictions,  he  pro- 
strates himself  in  dust  and  ashes  by 
reason  of  his  great  distress,  and  as  an 
expression  of  that  distress.  Persons  in 
great  grief  are  frequently  represented  as 
seated  or  prostrate  on  the  ground. 

"  My  griefs  so  great, 
That  no  supporter  but  the  huge  firm  earth 
Can  hold  it  up  :  here  I  and  sorrow  sit." 

— Shakespeare, 

He  uses  another  figure  to  express  the 
intensity  of  his  misery.  So  full  was 
his  heart  of  sorrow  that  his  tears  fell 
copiously  and  constantly,  so  that  they 
were  mingled  with  his  drink.  By  his 
posture  and  his  tears  he  expresses  the 
depth  of  his  distress. 

II.  His  distress  was  absorbing.  *'  I 
forget  to  eat  my  bread."  Many  are  the 
recorded  instances  of  persons  in  great 
grief  being  altogether  oblivious  of  meal- 
time or  of  hunger.  Grief  takes  away 
the  appetite  for  food.  But  that  is  not 
the  meaning  of  the  Psalmist  here.  He 
was  so  absorbed  in  grief,  his  distress 
so  completely  engrossed  his  attention, 
that  everything  else  was  forgotten  (1 
Sam.  i.  7,  8 ;  xx.  34  ;  Job.  xxxiii.  20 ; 
Ps,  cvii.  18 ;  Dan.  vi.  18).  His  "  sorrow 
is  so  intentive  to  that  it  sorrows  for,  that 
it  cannot  intend  to  think  anything  else." 
Great  sorrows  are  so  absorbing  as  to  cause 
those  who  are  experiencing  them  to  be 
forgetful  even  of  the  needs  of  life. 

IIL   His  distress  was  consuming. 


The  Psalmist  expresses  this  by  several 
figures,  "  My  days  are  consumed  lik« 
smoke,  and  my  bones  are  burned  as  an 
hearth."  Hengstenberg  and  Perowne  : 
"  As  a  firebrand."  "  The  point  of  com- 
parison with  the  smohe  is  the  fleeing 
past,  the  disappearing."  The  bones  are 
mentioned  as  the  most  substantial  part 
of  the  body,  and  they  were  being  con- 
sumed as  the  brand  is  when  placed  on 
the  fire.  "  My  heart  is  smitten  and 
withered  like  grass."  Adam  Clarke : 
"  The  metaphor  here  is  taken  from  grass 
cut  down  in  the  meadow.      It  is  first 

*  smitten^   with    the    scythe^   and   then 

*  withered '  by  the  sun.  Thus  the  Jews 
were  smitten  with  the  judgments  of 
God ;  and  they  are  now  withered  under 
the  fire  of  the  Chaldeans.^^  "  By  reason 
of  the  voice  of  my  groaning,  my  bones 
cleave  to  my  skin.'*  Hengstenberg  and 
Perowne,  literally :  "  My  bone  cleaveth 
to  my  flesh."  The  expression  describes 
a  state  of  weakness  and  relaxation  of 
the  bones,  brought  on  by  severe  pain, 
in  which  they  lose  their  force  and  power 
of  vigorous  motion  (Job  xix.  20).  The 
Psalmist  uses  one  other  expression  to  set 
forth  the  consuming  nature  of  his  dis- 
tress. **  My  days  are  like  a  shadow  that 
declineth."  His  time  of  life  seemed  to 
him  like  the  lengthening  shades  of  even- 
ing, which  show  the  near  approach  of 
night.  The  figure  beautifully  and 
pathetically  suggests  the  nearness  of  ad- 
vancing death.  To  the  Poet  it  seemed 
that  life  was  fast  passing  away  under  his 
heavy  afflictions. 

IV.  His  distress  was  isolating.  **  I 
am  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness,  I 
am  like  an  owl  of  the  desert,"  &c.  (verses 
6,  7).  The  pelican  is  a  bird  which  dwells 
in  solitude  far  from  the  habitations  of 
men ;  it  is  most  sombre  and  austere  in 
disposition,  and  is  a  most  expressive 
illustration  of  solitude  and  melancholy. 
The  "  owl  of  the  ruins  "  is  also  a  striking 
emblem  of  desolation. 

**  From  yonder  ivy-mantled  tower. 
The  moping  owl  doeg  to  the  moon  complain 
Of  such  as,  wand'ring  near  her  tecret  hower, 
Holeet  her  ancient  solitaxy  reign.'' — Qra/ji, 

Ul 


FSALM  Oil. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


"  Sparrow "  is  not  in  this  place  a 
good  rendering  of  "liDiS.     The  sparrow 

is  not  a  solitary  melancholy  bird. 
Naturalists  state  that  the  Blue  Thrush 
is  the  particular  ^SBI  which  sits 
alone  on  the  kouse-top.  This  bird  is 
of  a  dark  blue  colour.  More  than 
a  pair  of  them  are  scarcely  ever  seen 
together.  It  is  fond  of  sitting  alone 
upon  the  house-top,  uttering  its  note, 
which  to  a  human  ear  is  monoton- 
ous and  melancholy.  Thus  the  Poet 
represents  the  isolating  power  of  his 
miseries.  Deep-rooted  sorrow  is  natur- 
ally reserved.  "  A  small  grievance 
makes  us  beside  ourselves  ;  a  great  sor- 
row makes  us  retire  within  ourselves." 
— Richter. 

V.  His  distress  occasioned  reproaches 
from  his  enemies.  *'  Mine  enemies  re- 
proach me  all  the  day,"  &c.  On  the 
reproaches  of  the  enemies,  see  remarks 
on  Ps.  xlii.  3.  Perowne  :  "  '  Made 
their  oaths  hy  me^  t.e.,  when  they  curse, 
choose  me  as  an  example  of  misery,  and 
imprecate  upon  themselves  or  others  my 
misfortunes — say,  *  God  do  to  me,  to 
thee,  as  He  has  done  to  this  man.'" 
And  Hengstenberg  :  *' '  They  swear  hy 
me,'  inasmuch  as  they  say,  'May  God 
let  it  go  with  you  as  it  does  with  that 
miserable  man'  "  (comp.  Num.  v.  21-27  ; 
Jer.  xxix.  22;  Isa.  Ixv.  15;  Ps.  xliv. 
14).  The  distresses  of  the  godly  are 
greatly  aggravated  when  they  are  made 
the  occasion  of  revilings  from  their 
foes. 

VI.  His  distress  was  regarded  as  an 
expression  of  the  Divine  anger.  ''  Be- 
cause of  Tliine  indignation  and  Thy 
wrath  ;  for  Thou  hast  lifted  me  up  and 
cast  me  down."  The  figure  of  the  second 
clause  is  taken  from  a  storm  of  wind, 
which  seizes  and  carries  upward  its  ob- 
ject, and  then  hurls  it  to  the  ground. 
So  God  in  wrath  seemed  to  have  seized 
the  Psalmist,  borne  him  aloft,  and  then 
dashed  him  down.  In  the  opinion  of 
the  Psalmist,  it  is  sin  which  has  thus 
provoked  the  Lord  to  anger.  It  is  note- 
worthy, as  Delitzsch  points  out,  that  the 
two  nouns  "  indignation  "  and  "  wrath  " 
are  in  the  Hebrew  the  strongest  which 
the  language  possesses.  It  is  true  that 
the  Chaldean  captivity  was  permitted  by 

112 


God,  because  His  people  by  their  heinous 
and  oft-repeated  sins  had  provoked  Him 
to  anger.  The  Chaldeans  were  uncon- 
sciously the  instruments  by  which  He 
effected  His  purpose  to  chastise  His 
faithless  people.  But  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  in  individual  cases  the 
measure  of  suffering  indicates  the  mea- 
sure of  sin  and  ill-desert.  The  bitterest 
ingredient  in  the  miseries  of  the  Poel 
arose  from  his  impression  that  thosa 
miseries  were  the  expression  of  th« 
Divine  anger. 

VII.  His  distress  was  not  hopeless. 
He  lifted  his  troubled  soul  to  God  in 
prayer  (verses  1,  2).     He  prays  for, — 

1.  Divine  audience.  "  Hear  my 
prayer,  O  Lord,  and  let  my  cry  come 
unto  Thee.  .  .  .  Incline  Thine  ear 
unto  me."    (See  remarks  on  Ps.  Ixxxviii. 

2-)     . . 

2.  Divine  acceptance.  **  Hide  not  Thy 
face  from  me."  (See  remarks  on  Ps. 
xxvii.  9  ;  Ixix.  17.)  It  is  a  request  that 
God  would  look  favourably  upon  him, 
and  regard  his  supplications. 

3.  Divine  and  speedy  answer.  "  In 
the  day  when  I  call  answer  me  speedily." 
The  Psalmist  believed  in  answers  to 
prayer,  and  immediate  ones  too.  Such 
urgency  of  prayer,  when  united  with 
humility  and  patience,  is  well  pleasing 
to  God. 

The  patriotic  Poet  was  sore  troubled 
and  distressed  ;  but  he  was  neither  de- 
stroyed nor  despairing.  The  night  was 
dark,  but  the  stars  were  not  all 
quenched. 

VIII.  His  distress  was  patriotic. 
If  we  understand  the  Psalm  aright,  the 
Psalmist  does  not  lament  his  own  woes 
merely,  but  the  woes  of  his  people,  the 
desolation  of  his  country,  and  the  ruins 
of  their  temple. 

**  Fallen  is  thy  throne,  0  Israel  1 

Silence  is  o'er  thy  plains  ; 
Thy  dwellings  all  lie  desolate, 

Thy  children  weep  in  chains! 
Where  are  the  dews  that  fed  thee 

On  Etham's  barren  shore  ? 
That  fire  from  heaven  which  led  thflO 

Now  lights  thy  path  no  more. 

**  Lord  !  Thou  didst  love  Jerusalem-^ 
Once  she  was  all  Thy  own  ; 
Her  love  Thy  fairest  heritage 
Her  power  Thy  glory's  thron«^ 


SOMtLETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALMOn. 


Till  evil  came  and  blighted 

Thy  long-loved  olive-tree  ; 
And  Salem's  shrines  were  lighted 

For  other  gods  than  Thee." — Moore, 

These  were  the  woes  which  distressed 
the  Psalmist.     His  was  no  selfish  grief ; 


but   the  sorrow  of  a  patriotic,  philan- 
thropic, and  godly  soul. 

Conclusion. — While  God  continues 
to  hear  and  answer  prayer,  we  may  hope 
for  deliverance  even  from  the  deepest 
distresses. 


The  Hope  of  a  Distressed  Patriot. 
(Verses  12-22.) 


Consider— 

I.  The  object  of  his  hope.  What 
is  it  that  the  troubled  and  patriotic  Poet 
hopes  for  1 

1.  For  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple. 
*'  Thou  shalt  arise,  and  have  mercy  upon 
Zion.  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up 
Zion,  He  shall  appear  in  His  glory." 
The  Temple  which  had  stood  upon  Zion 
was  now  in  ruins.  To  the  pious  and 
patriotic  Jew,  of  all  places  in  his  Father- 
land, Jerusalem  was  the  most  highly 
esteemed,  and  of  all  places  in  Jeru- 
salem the  Temple  upon  Zion  was  the 
holiest  and  dearest.  Hence  the  great 
longing  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple 
and  the  restoration  of  its  services. 

2.  For  the  emancipation  of  the  cap- 
tives. "  To  hear  the  groaning  of  the 
prisoner ;  to  loose  those  that  are  ap- 
pointed unto  death."  By  "  the  prisoner  " 
we  understand  the  whole  nation,  whose 
captivity  is  looked  upon  as  an  imprison- 
ment. ''Those  that  are  appointed  unto 
death,"  or  "  the  sons  of  death,"  "  may 
mean  either  those  who  were  sentenced 
to  death ;  those  who  were  sick  and 
ready  to  die;  or  those  who,  in  their 
captivity,  were  in  such  a  state  of  priva- 
tion and  suffering  that  death  appeared 
inevitable." — Barnes.  The  verse  clearly 
points  out  the  emancipation  of  the  cap- 
tives as  one  of  the  great  objects  desired 
and  hoped  for. 

3.  The  restoration  of  the  people  to  their 
own  land  and  worship.  They  longed 
to  "  declare  the  name  of  the  Lord  in 
Zion,  and  His  praise  in  Jerusalem,"  and 
to  "  gather  together  to  serve  the  Lord." 
The  pious  Jews  longed  to  assemble  again 
in  the  city  of  their  fathers,  and  there 
celebrate  the  worship  of  the  Lord  their 
God  as  in  former  days. 

To  the  truly  religious  man   the  loss 
VOL,  n. 


of  national  independence  is  great,  sub- 
jection to  foreign  rule  is  a  galling  yoke ; 
but  the  loss  of  religious  privileges  is  felt 
to  be  far  greater,  and  the  desire  for  their 
recovery  will  be  more  intense  than  for 
the  recovery  of  national  independence. 

IL  The  ground  of  his  hope.  In 
whom  does  the  troubled  and  patriotic 
Poet  hope  1  Has  he  a  good  reason  for 
his  hope  ] 

1.  It  is  directed  to  God.  Verses  12, 
13,  16,  19.  He  hopes  that  God  will 
interpose  on  behalf  of  His  captive  and 
afflicted  people.  For  a  long  time  it 
had  seemed  as  though  God  regarded 
them  not,  but  the  Psalmist  is  confident 
that  He  is  now  interested  in  their  wel- 
fare. From  His  holy  height  He  was  in- 
tently viewing  them ;  and  speedily  He 
would  arise  and  have  mercy  upon  them. 
When  our  hope  in  all  others  fail,  we 
may  yet  hope  in  God. 

2.  It  rests  in  His  character  and  per- 
fections. (1)  In  His  eternal  and  un- 
changeable sovereignty.  ''  Thou,  O  Lord, 
shalt  endure  for  ever ;  and  Thy  remem- 
brance unto  all  generations."  Heng- 
stenberg:  "Thou,  O  Lord,  art  en- 
throned for  ever,  and  Thy  memorial 
from  generation  to  generation."  "  The 
sitting,"  he  says,  "is  no  empty  remain- 
ing, but  a  sitting  as  king,  a  sitting  on 
a  throne"  (comp.  Ps.  ix.  7;  xxix.  10). 
And  Perowne :  "  Thou,  O  Jehovah, 
sittest  throned  for  ever,  and  Thy  memo- 
rial is  to  all  generations."  In  this 
thought  the  Psalmist  found  his  great 
consolation.  His  own  life  might  pass 
away,  generations  of  men  might  pass 
away ;  but  the  Lord  would  never  pass 
away.  Man  and  his  fortunes  may 
change,  and  all  earthly  things  may  ap- 
pear unstable ;  but  the  Lord  changes 
not,  and  His  throne  is  stable  and  per- 

H  lis 


PBALif  on. 


MOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


manent.  He  Is  eternally  and  unchange- 
ably supreme,  and  the  covenanted  God 
and  helper  of  His  people.  (2)  In  His 
mercy.  "  Thou  shalt  arise,  and  have 
mercy  upon  Zion ;  for  it  is  time  to 
favour  her.'*  The  hope  of  deliverance 
is  built  upon  the  grace  of  God.  The 
misery  of  their  condition  would  move 
the  mercy  of  His  disposition.  (3)  In 
His  regard  for  prayer  *'  He  will  re- 
gard the  prayer  of  the  destitute,  and 
not  despise  their  prayer."  Perowne  : 
"  He  hath  turned  to  the  prayer  of  the 
poor-destitute."  He  adopts  the  render- 
ing of  the  P.  B.  v.,  "poor-destitute," 
"  because  the  word  expresses  utter 
nakedness  and  destitution."  The  Psal- 
mist represents  himself  and  others  as 
entirely  destitute  of  all  human  means 
of  help,  and  expresses  his  confidence 
that  God  would  graciously  attend  to  the 
prayer  of  such  suppliants.  "  Whomso- 
ever God  neglects,  He  will  listen  to  the 
cry  of  those  wlio  are  forsaken  and  desti- 
tute." He  will  not  only  **  not  despise 
their  prayer,"  He  will  favourably  receive 
and  answer  it.  In  all  these  respects  the 
confident  hope  of  the  Psalmist  was  cer- 
tainly well  founded.  He  who  thus 
trusts  in  the  Lord  shall  never  be  put  to 
shame. 

III.  The  strength  of  Ms  hope.  He 
speaks  of  the  interposition  of  the  Lord 
on  their  behalf  in  accents  of  steady  con- 
fidence. The  strength  of  his  hope  is 
manifest  in — 

L  His  assured  declarations  of  Divine 
favour  toward  them,  "  Thou  shalt  arise 
and  have  mercy,"  &c.  He  utters  no 
perchance  or  perad venture. 

2.  His  declaration  of  the  nearness  of 
that  favour.  "The  time  to  favour  her, 
yea,  the  set  time,  is  come."  There  may 
be  a  reference  here  to  the  seventy  years 
of  captivity  prophesied  by  Jeremiah. 
The  Psalmist  himself  states  one  reason 
upon  which  his  conclusion,  that  the  set 
time  for  the  manifestation  of  the  Divine 
favour  had  come,  was  based,  viz. ,  the  deep 
interest  manifested  by  the  people  in  the 
state  of  Zion.  "  Thy  servants  take  plea- 
sure in  her  stones,  and  favour  the  dust 
thereof."  Even  the  ruins  of  the  Temple 
were  dear  to  them,  and  its  very  dust 
was  sacred.  This  affectionate  interest  the 
114 


Psalmist  regarded  as  a  token  that  the 
time  of  deliverance  and  restoration  was 
at  hand.  "  There  are  usually  some  pre- 
vious intimations  or  indications  of  what 
God  is  about  to  do.  '  Coming  events 
cast  their  shadows  before.*  Even  the 
Divine  purposes  are  accomplished 
usually  in  connection  with  human 
agency,  and  in  the  regular  course  of 
events  ;  and  it  is  frequently  possible  to 
anticipate  that  God  is  about  to  appear 
for  the  fulfilment  of  His  promises.  So 
it  was  in  the  coming  of  the  Saviour.  So 
it  was  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  the  Romans." — Barnes. 

(3.)  His  declaration  of  it  as  even  then 
present.  Verses  16,  17.  "'Shall 
build,'  *  shall  appear,'  *  will  regard,' '  and 
will  not  despise.'  These  futures,  in  the 
original,  are  all  present ;  *  buildeth,  ap- 
peareth,  regardeth,  and  despiseth  not.* 
The  Psalmist,  in  his  confidence  of  the 
event,  speaks  of  it  as  doing." — Horsier/. 
His  confidence  is  so  great  as  to  annihi- 
late time  and  make  the  future  present 
to  him,  and  coming  events  accomplished 
realities. 

IV.  The  results  anticipated  from 
the  fulfilment  of  his  hope. 

1.  Grateful  J01/ to  His  people.  Their 
reverence  and  love  for  the  holy  city  and 
Temple,  manifested  by  their  interest 
even  in  its  ruins,  would  be  gratified, 
and  they  would  "declare  the  name  of 
the  Lord  in  Zion,  and  His  praise  in 
Jerusalem."  "  When  the  Lord  turned 
again  the  captivity  of  Zion  ,  .  .  our 
mouth  was  filled  with  laughter,  and  our 
tongue  with  singing  .  .  ,  The  Lord 
hath  done  great  things  for  us ;  we  are 
glad." 

2.  Fear  to  the  nations.  '*  So  the 
heathen  shall  fear  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  Thy 
glory."  "  When  the  Lord  turned  again 
the  captivity  of  Zion  .  .  .  then  said 
they  among  the  heathen.  The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  them." 

3.  Instruction  and  encouragement  to 
posterity.  "  This  shall  be  written  for 
the  generation  to  come  ;  and  the  people 
which  shall  be  created  shall  praise  the 
Lord."  The  Divine  deliverance  and 
blessing  should  be  recorded,  and  future 
ages  should  derive  instruction  therefrom. 


EOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS,  psalm  on. 

The  manifestations  of  the  faithfulness  building  of  His  TempU  would  be  the 
and  mercy  of  God  in  one  age  are  helpful  glorifying  of  His  name, 
to  the  faith  of  all  succeeding  ages.  As  Conclusion. — 1.  When  the  Church 
the  evidence  to  His  truth  and  grace  is  in  the  lowest  conditiorif  it  may  he  re- 
grows  more  voluminous  and  irresistibly  vived  hy  the  Lord.  2.  When  the  Church 
conclusive,  His  praise  also  should  grow  is  in  a  low  condition,  the  faithful  should 
in  fulness  and  resonance  and  hearti-  care  for  her  the  more  solicitovsly,  and 
ness.  pray  for  her  the  more  earnestly.  Verses 
4.  Glory  to  God.  In  the  restoration  14-17.  3.  When  the  faithful  are  thus 
of  His  people  His  glory  would  be  mani-  solicitous  and  prayerful,  the  Lord  will 
festtoall, — both  to  His  people  and  to  all  speedily  arise  for  the  revival  of  Bis 
the  nations, — obseryed  by  all,  respected  Church.  Verses  13,  14.  4.  The  revival 
by  all,  and  celebrated  by  His  people.  The  of  the  Church  will  be  followed  hy  the  most 
restoration  of  His  people  and  the  re-  blessed  results, 

A  Revival  of  the  Churoh,  and  Stmptoms  which  pbioeds  dp. 

(Verses  13,  14.) 

By  unanimous  consent,  Zion  is  con-         (2)  Union,     There  may  be  unity  of 

fiidered  a  type  of  the  Christian  Church,  eflfor*   with    a   great  variety   of  name^ 

which  is  a  body  of  Christly  men;  and  method,  and /orm.     The  union  of  which 

if  we  take  these  words  as  the  Psalmist's  God  is  the  Author  is  frequently  spoken 

statement  with  regard  to  the  revival  of  of  in  the  Bible  (Ps.  cxxxiii  ;  John  xiii. 

the  Christian  Church,  we   propose   to  84,  35 ;  xvii.  21). 
make  two  statements.  (3)  Prosperity.      The   conversion  of 

I.  There  is  a  favourable  time  to  sinners.     That  Church  is  happy  which 

promote  the  revival  of  the  Ohurch.  is  favoured  with  deliverance,  union,  and 

The  revival  of  religion,  important  at  all  prosperity, 
times,  is  especially  so  at  this  period.  3.   The  time  when  the  revival  of  the 

1.  7^he  source  to  which  the  Church  Church  may  be  expected.  The  text 
must  look  for  a  revival.  "  Thou  shalt  speaks  of  a  set  or  appointed  season  fof 
arise,  and  have  mercy  upon  Zion."  At  the  salvation  of  Zion.  **  The  time  to 
a  suitable  time,  and  in  a  wonderful  favour  her,  yea,  the  set  time,  is  come.* 
manner,  God  did  arise  and  deliver  His  The  deliverance  of  the  Jews  from  their 
people.  "  The  Lord,"  said  they,  "  hath  captivity  was  foretold  (Isa.  xiv.  1,  2; 
done  great  things  for  us."  The  teach-  Jer.  xxv.  11,  12;  xxxii.  36-39).  How 
ings  of  the  Bible,  which  relate  to  this  wonderfully  Jehovah  brought  about  the 
theme,  are  regular  and  uninterrupted  in  deliverance  of  His  people  from  Babylon 
setting  forth  this  grand  principle,  that  at  the  set  time  !  He  influenced  Cyrus 
the  Lord  alone  can  revive  the  Church,  andDarius,heathenprinces,  to  forward  it, 
and  add  to  her  such  as  shall  be  saved.  He  raised  up  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  &c. 
(Ps.  Ixxx.  1-3;  Ixxxv.  6;  Isa.  11  3;  IE.  That  the  revival  of  the  Church 
Hab.  iii.  2 ;  Zech.  iv.  6).  is  always  preceded  by  certain  infal- 

2.  The  nature  of  that  revival  which  lible  signs.  "  For  Thy  servants  take 
iAe  Church  may  expect.  The  words  pleasure  in  her  stones,  and  favour  the 
•*  meruy  "  and  "  favour  "  suggest —  dust  thereof." 

(1)    Deliverance.      Though   the  cha-  1.  Solemn    humiliation    before   OoeL 

lacter   of   the  Church  is  of  such  tran-  Before   the  Jews  were   delivered  from 

Bcendent  excellence  that  it  ought  to  win  the    Babylonish    captivity,   they    were 

the  admiration  of  every  beholder,  yet,  humbled    before   G^od    on    account   of 

alas  !  such  is  the  depravity  <)f  the  heart,  their  transgressions.      The  nation  was 

thatopposition,violence,  and  blood,  have  ashamed  and  cured  of  its  idolatry,  and 

marked  her  progress  ;  but  to  the  present  never  since  then  has  it  bent  its  knees  at 

the  Almighty  hath  been  her  helper.  an  idol's  shrine  (Ezra  iz.  6,  7 ;   x.  1  ^ 

116 


WALM  Cil.  BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSA  IMS. 


Dan.  ix.  7-11).     Is  there  this  spirit  of  cxxxvii.  5,  6).     So  it  is  in  a  revival  of 

humiliation    before    God    in     modern  religion.     When  God  is  about  to  visit 

churches  1  His  people  in  mercy,  everything  iu  re- 

2.  Special^     importunatey      believing  gard  to  the  Church  is  loved. 

prayer.      What    beautiful    instructions  4.    Activity    and    self-denying  efforts 

and  examples  we  have  in  the  Bible  of  in  GodCs  cause.     The  Jews  showed  their 

the  value  of  such  prayer  (Isa.  Ixii.   1  ;  love  to  Jerusalem  in  a  practical  manner. 

Ezek.  xxxvi.  37;  Luke  xi.  5-10).  (Neh.  iv.  6.)     They  work  despite  the 

3.  Affection  for  the  ordinances  of  God^s  scorn  of  their  foes. 

House.     The  principal  evidence  we  have  Let  these  signs  exist  in  any  church, 

that  the   Almighty  was   about  to  visit  and  the  fruit  will  soon  appear.       She 

His  people  in  Babylon  was  the  deep  in-  shall  increase  in  purity  and  influence, 

terest  they  had  in  Zion.    They  loved  the  "  Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the 

very  stones,  and  even  the  dust  of  their  fir  tree,"  <fec.  (Isa.lv.  13). — t/.  WUeman^ 

beloved,  though  dilapidated  Zion  (Ps.  in  "  The  Study," 

A  Sunday  School  Sermon — Our  Responsibility 

TOWARDS    THE    YOUNQ. 

{Verse  18.) 

"This  shall  be  written  for  the  genera-  past  ages  known  of  our  paper  and  ink, 

tions  to  come."  what  a  wonderful  preservation  of  kuow- 

The  antecedent  to  the  word  "  this  "  ledge  we  would  have  had  ! 
are  the  truths  contained  in  the  verses         I.  What  has  been  written  ? 
from  1  to  13.  1.   Observe   the  nature  of  this  hnow- 

1.  That  the  Lord  will   have   mercy  ledge   of  God  which  was  tvritten.      It 
upon  Zion.  concerns  God's  faithfulness  and  ability 

2.  That  the  heathen   shall   fear  the  in  the  performance  of  all  He  has  pro- 
name  of  the  Lord.  mised.     We  cannot   bear  testimony  to 

3.  That  He  will  build  up  Zion.  faithfulness    until   we   have   tested   it. 

4.  That  He  will  regard  the  prayer  of  When  we  have  tested  God,  we  can  bear 
the  destitute.  testimony.     Faithfulness  implies  obliga- 

These  were  the  promises  that  were  to  tion.     He  who  makes  a  promise  comes 

be  written  for  the  generations  to  come,  under  obligation.     In  this  God  differs 

Why  written  ?      That   they   might   be  from  man.     He  was  under  no  obligation 

preserved  and  handed  down.  to  come  under  obligation ;  but  having 

Tradition  is  uncertain,  imperfect,  &c.  promised,  He  has  come  under  obligation, 

The  New  Testament  declares  that  these  and    Christians  everywhere  bear  testi- 

things  were  written  for  our  instruction.  mony  to  His  faithfulness  and  His  ability 

We  have  the  fulfilment  of  this  text  to  perform  fully  all  He  has  freely  pro- 
to-day.       Nearly    nine    hundred   years  mised. 

before  the  coming  of  Christ  an  Assyrian  2.    What   God   has   promised.       The 

monarch  conceived  the  idea  of  a  national  great  thing  is  the  salvation  worked  out 

library  of  books  or  tablets  of  burnt  clay,  through  atonement;  the  establishment 

Hundreds  of  years  afterward  the  library  of  a  Church  ;  that  this  salvation  should  , 

was    destroyed.      Recently   a    London  be  made  known  unto  the  ends  of  the 

newspaper,  three  thousand  years   after  world  ;  that  the  heathen  people  should 

the    establishment  of  the  library,   and  come  to  know  Him.     Salvation  can  be  ' 

many  centuries  after  its  destruction,  has  wrought  outonly  through  this  atonement.  ! 

explorations  made,  and   many  tablets,  It    is  loose  thinking  that  makes  men 

and  fragments  of  tablets,  are  recovered  imagine  that  education,  culture,  political 

and  translated,  and  in  them  the  Book  of  economy,  can  lift  up  the  world.     The 

Genesis  has  corroboration.     That  which  fear  of  the  Lord  lifts  up  man.     Christ 

k   written  is   permanent.      Had  those  made  little  or  nothing  of  the  culture  of  ' 
116 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Malm  on. 


the  Pharisee,  but  much  of  righteousness, 
and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Gbost. 
He  builds  up  His  Zion  even  as  He  has 
promised. 

II.  Our  duty. 

What  shall  we,  who  have  received  ao 
much,  do  for  the  generations  to  come — 
for  the  generation  now  coming?  Fathers, 
members  of  Churches,  what  record  are 
you  making  for  the  generation  coming  1 
The  special  work  of  the  Sunday-school  is 
to  take  care  of  the  children  of  the  nation. 

1.  Let  us  be  faithful  to  our  otm 
children.  They  are  the  jewels  of  the 
Church.  We  draw  the  children  into 
Sabbath-school,  not  to  render  needless 
the  home  instruction,  but  to  supplement 
this  instruction,  by  bringing  the  weight 
of  the  personal  influence  of  others  upon 
your  children. 

2.  We  want  to  take  care  of  the 
children  grown  up  into  youth.  The 
most  critical  period  in  the  life  of  man 
is  when  he  is  breaking  away  from  home. 
How  many  of  the  children  at  this  age 
become  vagranU  among  the  churches, 


wandering  here  and  there,  receiving  but 
little  benefit  and  giving  none.  The 
class  most  largely  reached  are  the  chil- 
dren of  believing  parents. 

3.  We  have  a  great  work  to  do 
among  the  children  near  W5,  those  who 
are  to  be  our  fellow-citizens.  There  is 
enough  of  ignorance  and  criminality 
around  us.  These  evils  must  be  re- 
strained by  knowledge,  by  virtue,  or 
social  ruin  is  inevitable. 

4.  We  must  do  all  possible  for  the 
children  of  the  entire  country.  If  we 
would  have  the  nation  Christian,  we 
must  work  and  bear  the  burdens.  Wt 
have  the  opportunity. 

One  practical  additional  word.  How 
many  of  you  who  are  giving  your 
money,  year  by  year,  to  the  cause  of 
Christ,  are  giving  yourselves^  your  love^ 
your  time  f  You  who  are  young,  I  be- 
seech you  dedicate  the  energies  of  your 
youth  to  this  service.  When  you  are 
passing  from  earth,  what  then  will  be  of 
value  save  what  Christ  is  to  you  t — John 
Hall,  D.D. 


A  Great  Contrast  and  Consolation. 
(FtfTM*  23-28.) 


We  have  Id  this  section  of  the 
Psalm — 

I.   A  great  contrast.     On  the  one 

hand,  we  have  the  weakness  and  short- 
ness of  human  life  upon  earth,  and  the 
changeful  ness  and  transitoriness  of 
nature  itself ;  and  on  the  other,  we  have 
the  eternity  and  immutability  of  God. 

First  :  Let  us  look  at  man  and  nature. 
And— 

1.  At  mavLS  lift  upon  earth.  It  is 
here  represented  as — (1)  Weak.  "  He 
weakened  my  strength  in  the  way." 
In  the  journey  of  life  the  strength 
even  of  the  most  robust  in  course 
of  time  is  diminished  until  it  is 
superseded  by  weakness.  While  others 
by  reason  of  afflictions  are  speedily 
brought  low.  Probably  the  Psal- 
mist speaks  here  in  the  name  of  the 
chosen  people.  God  had  weakened  their 
strength,  had  reduced  them  by  afflic- 
tions, (fee.  How  frail  is  human  life  upon 
•arth  I     (2)  Brief.    '*  He  shortened  my 


days."  It  seemed  to  the  Poet  that  God 
was  about  to  cut  off  his  life  speedily. 
(On  the  brevity  of  human  life  upon  earth, 
see  Homily  on  Ps.  xc.  1-6.) 

2.  Let  US  look  at  nature,  (1)  It  is 
changeful.  "  Thou  shalt  change  them, 
and  they  shall  be  changed."  The  heavens 
and  the  earth  seem  unchangeable  and 
permanent.  Sometimes  they  are  so  re- 
presented in  Scripture.  "  He  hath  also 
stablished  them  for  ever."  "  The  ever- 
lasting mountains  and  the  perpetual 
hills."  Yet  from  the  testimony  of 
geology  and  astronomy  we  know  that 
they  change.  And  as  compared  with 
the  Lord,  the  most  unchangeable  and 
abiding  things  are  changeable  and  tran- 
sient. In  the  future  a  stupendous 
change  awaits  the  entire  material  crea- 
tion. (2)  It  is  transitory.  *' They  shall 
perish."     (Comp.  2  Pet.  iii.  10.) 

"Melted  into  air,  into  thin  air: 
And,  like  the  baaeless  fabric  of  this  vision. 
The  cloud-capp'd  towers,  the  gorgeous  palacei, 

117 


MALM  on. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  which  it  inherit,  shall  dissolve ; 
And,  like  this  insubstantial  pageant  faded, 
Leare  not  a  rack  hohind." ^Shakespeare* 

Second:  Lei  U8  look  at  the  Divine 
Being. 

1.  He  existed  before  the  world.  This 
is  clearly  implied  in  verse  25. 

2.  He  created  the  world.  "  Of  old 
hast  Thou  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
earth,  and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of 
Thy  hands." 

3.  He  is  eternal.  **Thou  shalt  en- 
dure." *'This"  (says  Stuart,  on  Heb. 
i.  12)  "  would  be  true,  if  it  was  spoken 
merely  with  reference  to  the  future,  and 
should  be  construed  as  having  respect 
only  to  eternity  a  parte  posty  as  it  is 
technically  called,  i.e.,  eternity  to  come. 
But  as  it  stands  here,  in  connection  with 
having  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
xar*  ct^X'^^i  ^^  ^^^  hardly  be  understood 
to  mean  less  than  absolute  eternity,  or 
eternity  a  parte  ante  et  a  parte  postJ* 
(On  each  of  these  points  concerning 
"  the  Divine  Being,"  see  Homily  on  Ps. 
xc.  1-6.) 

4.  He  is  unchangeable.  *'Thou  art 
the  same."  From  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting there  is  no  variation  in  God. 
His  vesture,  that  in  which  He  manifests 
Himself,  may  be  changed  by  Him,  but 
He  changes  not.  "  Thou  art  the  same 
in  essence  and  nature,  the  same  in  will 
and  purpose,  Thou  dost  change  all  other 
things  as  Thou  pleasest :  but  Thou  art 
immutable  in  every  respect,  and  receivest 
no  shadow  of  change,  though  never  so 
light  and  small." — Gharnock.  Here, 
then,  is  a  tremendous  contrast — 

**  Great  God,  how  infinite  art  Thoa  I 
What  worthless  worms  are  we  I " 

IL  A  great  consolation. 

1.  -45  regards  himself.  "  O  my  God, 
take  me  not  away  in  the  midst  of  my 
days ;  Thy  years  are  throughout  all 
generations."  It  is  the  lot  of  the  wicked 
to  be  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  their  days. 


"Bloody  and  deceitful  men  shall  not 
live  out  half  their  days."  With  such 
men  the  Poet  desired  to  have  no  part 
either  living  or  dying.  He  seems  also 
to  long  to  be  spared  to  witness  the  re- 
storation of  his  people.  And  he  finds 
consolation  in  the  eternity  of  God,  which 
he  pleads.  That  eternity  is  introduced 
"  here  for  two  reasons  :  (1)  Asa  ground 
of  consolation,  that  God  was  ever  the 
same  ;  that  whatever  might  happen  to 
men,  to  the  Psalmist  himself,  or  to  any 
other  man,  God  was  unchanged,  and  that 
His  great  plans  would  be  carried  forward 
and  accomplished.  (2)  As  a  reason  for 
the  prayer.  God  was  eternal  He  could 
not  die.  He  knew  in  its  perfection  the 
blessedness  of  life — life  as  such ;  life 
continued;  life  unending.  The  Psalmist 
appeals  to  what  God  Himself  enjoyed  as 
a  reason  why  life — so  great  a  blessings 
should  be  granted  to  him  a  little  longer. 
By  all  that  there  was  of  blessedness  in 
the  life  of  God,  the  Psalmist  prays  that 
that  which  was  in  itself— even  in  the 
case  of  God — so  valuable,  might  yet  a 
little  longer  be  continued  to  him."— 
Barnes. 

2.  As  regards  the  Church.  "The 
children  of  Thy  servants  shall  continue, 
and  their  seed  shall  be  established  before 
Thee."  Because  God  is  unchangeable 
and  eternal  His  purposes  cannot  be  frus- 
trated, and  His  Church  shall  abide,  the 
witness  and  the  monument  of  His  love. 
"  From  the  eternity  of  the  Head  we  may 
infer  the  perpetuity  of  the  body."  The 
stability  and  welfare  of  the  Church  are 
guaranteed  by  the  eternity  and  immut- 
ability of  the  Lord.  So  the  Poet  finds 
strength  in  his  weakness;  he  rests  in 
the  Everlasting  Arms. 

Conclusion. — 1.  To  us  personally  let 
the  greatness  of  God  be  both  awe-inspiring 
and  trust-inspiring.  Let  us  not  only 
fear,  but  hope  in  Him.  2.  Let  us  rejoice 
in  the  security  of  the  Church  of  ChritL 
"  Because  I  Uye  ye  shall  live  also.'' 


Gk)D  IN  Nature. 

(Verses  25-27.) 
directly  opposes    two     **Thou," 


This  pastaga   directly  opposes    two 
popular  errors : — 

First :  That  maUer  is  self-arij^inatscL 
118 


all  material  forms  are  traced 
to  a  spiritual  creative  agency. 

Second:  That  matter  is  eUmoL  ''They 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


FSALlf  OU. 


Bhall  perish."  The  destruction  of  the 
material  universe  is  placed  as  the  anti- 
thesis of  the  Divine  duration — ''  but 
Thou  remainest ;  "  as  surely,  therefore, 
as  God  shall  continue  to  "  remain,"  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  shall  perish. 

This  passage  I  regard  as  presenting 
the  Divine  Being  in  four  sublime  and 
impressive  aspects — 

I.  The  Divine  Being  as  intimately 
acquainted  with  all  portions  of  the 
universe.  I  take  the  words  "founda- 
tion "  and  "  heavens  "  as  representative 
terms.  The  lowest  depth  and  the  loftiest 
height  are  signified.  There  is  not  a 
shadow  in  the  caverns  of  solitude  which 
He  has  not  projected,  nor  is  there  a  curve 
in  the  heavens  which  owes  not  its  grace- 
fulness to  His  touch.  Not  only  is  God 
acquainted  with  places,  but  with  the 
most  subtle  laws  which  operate  in  the 
minutest  fibres  of  the  stupendous  fabric. 

God*s  perfect  acquaintance  with  the 
universe  supplies : — 

First :  A  guarantee  of  the  perfect 
safely  of  the  good.  They  can  never  pass 
beyond  the  sweep  of  His  beneficent  in- 
fluence. He  knows  how  every  change 
will  affect  them,  and  they  know  that  all 
agencies  will  be  controlled  with  a  view 
to  their  final  security  and  happiness, 
(Ps.  xci.  5-7.) 

Second  :  An  unutterable  terror  to  the 
evil.  They  can  never  pass  beyond  the 
scrutiny  of  God's  blazing  eye. 

The  great  practical  deduction  of  the 
argument  is  this,  viz.  : — The  supreme 
importance  of  being  right  vdth  this  dread 
Spirit.  You  cannot  escape  Him.  If 
you  are  to  spend  eternity  with  any  being, 
mutual  sympathy  is  essential  to  enjoy- 
ment. You  must  spend  eternity  under 
the  eye  of  God,  <fec. 

II.  The  Divine  Being  as  the  sove- 
reign Proprietor  of  the  universe. 
He  who  created  has  a  right  to  the  pos- 
session.   Four  deductions  are  obvious : — 

First :  That  our  possession  is  a  mere 
stewardship.  Yours  is  a  representative 
ownership. 

Second  :  That  our  possession  involves 
corresponding  responsibility.  Our  five 
talents  are  bestowed  that  they  may  be 
•elf-multiplied. 

Third  :  That  our  possession  forms  no 


ground  of  arrogance.     "  What  hast  thou 
that  thou  hast  not  received  ? " 

Fourth  :  That  our  possession  should 
awaken  earnest  solicitude.  "  Why  hast 
God  trusted  me  with  so  much  1  "  should 
be  the  rich  man's  anxious  inquiry. 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  God  is  the  one 
Proprietor  of  all  things,  we  should  re- 
member two  great  facts  : — 

First :  That  we  are  only  tenants-aU 
will.  We  have  no  lease  of  life  or  pro- 
perty. 

Second  :  That  God  may  Justly  remind 
man  of  the  Divine  claim.  Can  you 
wonder  that  the  true  Proprietor,  should 
occasionally  assert  His  right  by  sending 
the  hail-storm  or  the  lightning  to  smite 
the  earth*?  Were  the  Divine  Being 
never  to  assert  His  claim,  man  might 
indulge  the  thought  that  he  was  the  ter- 
minating centre  of  all  things. 

ni.  God  as  the  all-transforming 
Spirit  of  the  universe.  **  As  a  vesture 
shalt  Thou  change  them,  and  they  shall 
be  changed."  You  have  marked  the 
spring  as  it  has  unfolded  its  mantle,  and 
hung  it  gracefully  on  the  shoulders  of 
the  hills,  and  spread  its  gift  of  flowers 
on  the  lap  of  the  grateful  earth;  that 
is  a  manifestation  of  God's  all-transform- 
ing power  1  You  have  marked  the 
blustering  winter,  as  it  has  torn  off  that 
verdant  robe,  and  blown  out  the  floral 
lights  ;  that,  too,  is  a  display  of  God's 
all-changing  power.  This  same  Spirit 
is  also  the  ^^ar^transforming  agent.  He 
who  garnishes  the  heavens  beautifies  the 
soul.  ...  As  no  human  skill  could 
beautify  the  earth  with  the  treasures  of 
spring,  so  no  mortal  power  could  have 
provided  the  robe  of  righteousness  with 
which  every  soul  must  be  clad  ere  it 
enter  heaven. 

IV.  The  Divine  Being  as  the  all- 
surviving  Spirit  of  the  universe. 
"  They  shall  perish,  but  Thou  shalt  en- 
dure ;  Thou  art  the  same,  and  Thy  years 
shall  have  no  end." 

From  this  assurance  we  may  draw  two 
lessons — 

First :  That  matter  is  not  a  necessary 
condition  of  spiritual  existence.  All  we 
know  of  spirit  now  is  associated  with 
matter.  If  we  speak  of  the  "  divinity 
stirrmg  within  us^''  it  stirs   within  • 

119 


NalM  Ottl. 


HOMlLETtC  COMMENTARY :  PSAlMS. 


tenement  of  clay.  If  we  speak  of  God, 
it  is  ill  connection  with  the  material 
forms  of  the  outer  universe;  but  the 
plain  meaning  of  our  text  is  that  spirit 
may  exist  independent  of  such  expres- 
sion. Matter  is  dependent  on  spirit, 
but  spirit  may  survive  the  total  anni- 
hilation of  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 

Second  :  That  the  Divine  existence  is 
incapable  of  change,  "  Thou  art  the 
same."  Simple  words  these,  and  yet 
there  is  only  one  Being  in  the  universe 
to  whom  they  are  applicable.  To  God 
alone  can  we  truthfully  say,  **  Thou 
ART  THE  SAME ! "  Other  beings  are  not 
the  same  in  knowledge ;  you  are  con- 
tinually increasing  your  information,  but 
to  the  Divine  knowledge  no  contribution 
can  be  added.  Other  beings  are  not  the 
Bame  in  affection;  your  affection  deepens 


or  withdraws  according  to  the  current  of 
circumstances,  but  the  Divine  love  knows 
no  mutation.  Other  beings  are  not  the 
same  in  enjoyment  ;  your  joys  are  fickle 
as  an  April  day,  but  the  ever- blessed 
God  can  know  neither  increase  nor  dimi- 
nution of  felicity. 

He  who  made  the  atonement  foi 
human  guilt  is  the  Being  of  whom  oui 
text  speaks  :  Christ  is  the  all-renewing 
and  all-surviving  Spirit ! 

Have  I  those  before  me  who  profess 
to  worship  God  in  nature  %  Let  me  as- 
sure you  that  admiration  of  nature  will 
not  atone  for  the  neglect  of  Christ.  God 
knows  those  only  who  have  a  living  faith 
in  the  merits  of  the  Saviour's  sacrifice 
— Joseph  Parker,  D.D.  Abridged  from 
the  "  Cavendish  Pulpit** 


PSALMCIIL 

Introduction. 

This,  M  appears  from  the  superscription,  is  one  of  David's  Psalms.  It  is  a  Psalm  of  great 
beauty  and  preciousness,  and  has  been  a  great  favourite  of  devout  souls  in  all  ages.  The  ful- 
ness of  the  mercy  of  God  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  enrichment  of  the  soul,  and  Hia 
tender,  fatherly  pity  for  His  frail  and  dying  children,  are  here  gracefully  and  gratefully  cele- 
brated. It  must  have  been  composed  at  a  time  when  the  Poet's  soul  was  filled  with  precioui 
and  grateful  recoUectionB  of  Divine  benefits,  and  with  strong  and  tender  confidence  in  God. 


God  blessing  Man  and  Man  blessing  God. 
(Verses  1-5.) 


L  God  blessing  man.  Verses  3-5. 
The  Psalmist  mentions  a  number  of  bles- 
sings which  he  has  received  from  God. 

1.  Forgiveness.  "  Who  forgiveth  all 
thine  iniquities."  "  Thine  iniquities," 
says  John  Pulsford,  "  are  in-equities. 
There  is  nothing  just  or  right  in  thee. 
Thy  very  nature  is  an  in-equity,  bring- 
ing forth  nothing  but  in-equities.  In- 
equities towards  thy  God,  in-equities 
towards  thy  neighbour,  and  in-equities 
towards  thyself,  make  up  the  whole  of 
thy  life.  Thou  art  a  bad  tree,  and  a 
bad  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit." 
Notice  the  completeness  of  His  forgive- 
ness. Our  iniquities  are  more  than  can 
be  remenibe:  d,  and  are  very  heinous, 
but  He  forgiveth  them  all.  The  con- 
tinuousness  of  His  forgiveness.  "He 
forgiveth."  Within  us  are  tendencies 
120 


to  sin  and  around  us  are  temptations. 
Our  life  is  sadly  marred  by  transgres- 
sions and  shortcomings,  we  need  re- 
peated forgivenesses,  multiplied  par- 
dons; and  God  bestows  them.  He  con- 
tinues to  forgive. 

2.  Healing.  "  Who  healeth  all  thy 
diseases."  The  primary  reference  is  to 
bodily  sicknesses.  (Com p.  Exod.  xv. 
26  ;  Deut.  xxix.  22).  But  we  cannot 
regard,  that  as  the  exclusive  reference. 
*'  Corruption  and  disease  have  a  spiritual 
origin.  All  material  corruption  was 
preceded  by  spiritual  corruption.  All 
diseases  were,  and  are,  spiritual  to  begin 
with.  Disease  is  a  state  of  in-equity 
in  the  body,  but  it  is  only  the  in-equity 
that  pre-existed  in  spirit,  fulfilling  itself 
in  matter.  The  Divine  art  of  healing 
therefore  lies  in  the  forgivene^  of  tb« 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OIIL 


redeemeth 
Hengsten- 
PerowTie  : 


soul's  iniquities.  Eeraove  the  iniqui- 
ties of  the  soul,  and  universal  healing 
comes  in.  Christ  healeth  all  thy  dis- 
eases, by  forgiving  all  thy  iniquities." — - 
Pulsford.  Bodily  diseases  are  analogues 
of  spiritual  disorders  and  infirmities. 
He  heals  all  these. 

3.  liedemption.  "  Who 
thy  life  from  destruction." 
berg :  *'  From  the  grave." 
"  ''From  the  'pit^  including  death,  the 
grave,  Hades."  David  had  many  mar- 
vellous deliverances  from  danger  and 
death  which  were  worthy  of  celebration. 
The  Lord  redeems  the  soul  from  sin, 
and  from  the  penalty  of  sin,  spiritual 
and  eternal  death.  He  will  ransom  His 
people  from  the  power  of  the  grave,  and 
endow  them  with  endless  and  blessed  life, 

4.  Coronation.  **  Who  crowneth  thee 
with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mer- 
cies." *'  The  love  of  God  not  only  de- 
livers from  sin,  disease,  and  death  :  He 
makes  His  children  kings,  and  weaves 
their  crown  out  of  His  own  glorious 
attributes  of  loving-kindness  and  tender 
mercies." — Perovme.  "  He  heaps  upon 
redeemed  sinners  untold  riches  from  His 
full  heart ;  and  shows  to  them  tlie 
softest  ways  of  His  love.  Mercies  are  the 
softnesses  of  eternal  love,  but  tender 
mercies  are  unutterable  endearments 
from  the  heart  of  hearts." — Pulsford. 

5.  Satisfaction.  "  Who  satisfieth  thy 
mouth  with  good  things."  There  is 
diversity  of  opinion   as  to  how  ^"TJ^  — 

which  is  rendered  "  mouth "  in  the 
A.  V.  and  in  the  P.  B.  V.— should  be 
rendered.  See  Perowne's  critical  note, 
and  Barnes  in  loco.  But  there  is  no 
dispute  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  clause. 
God  satisfieth  the  souls  of  His  servants. 
He,  and  He  alone,  can  satisfy  the  deep 
needs,  and  respond  to  the  boundless 
desires  of  the  soul.  Out  of  God  the 
wants  of  man's  great  and  awful  soul  can 
never  be  satisfied.  By  His  presence  and 
grace  He  fills  it  with  delightful  satisfac- 
tion. "  He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  and 
nlleth  the  hungry  soul  with  goodness." 
(Comp.  Ps.  Ixiii.  5;  Isa.lv.  1,  2;  Iviii.  11.) 
6  Invigoration.  "So  that  thy  youth 
is  renewed  like  the  eagle's."  There  is 
no  reference  here  to  the  fable  of  the 
eagle   renewing  its   youth  in  old  age. 


There  is  perhaps  an  allusion  to  the 
moulting  of  its  plumage  periodically, 
whereby  its  strength  and  activity  are 
increased.  As  the  Christian  derives  his 
life  from  Christ,  that  life  can  never  be- 
come feeble  or  old.  Living  in  Christ, 
he  will  flourish  in  immortal  youth.  His 
eternal  life  will  be  an  eternal  progression 
towards  the  perfection  of  youthful  vigour 
and  beauty. 

Such  are  the  great  and  inestimable 
blessings  which  the  Lord  confers  upon 
His  servants.  It  is  important  that  we 
should  notice  that  these  blessings — 

1.  Are  adapted  to  man^s  deepest 
needs.  Forgiveness,  satisfaction,  redemp- 
tion. 

2.  Tend  to  promote  his  perfection 
and  blessedness f  which  can  be  found 
only  in  connection  with  the  loving- 
kindness  and  tender  mercy  of  the  Lord. 

n.  Man  blessing  God.  (Vers.  1,2.) 
God  blesses  man  with  gifts  ;  man  blesses 
God  with  praise.  The  Psalmist  blesses 
the  Lord — 

1.  With  his  soul,  "  Bless  the  Lord,  O 
my  soul."  Not  merely  with  the  tongue 
or  pen,  but  with  the  heart  and  soul. 

2.  With  his  entire  spiritual  being. 
"  And  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  His 
holy  name."  David  "  would  enlist  every 
thought,  faculty,  power,  the  heart  with 
all  its  affections,  the  will,  the  conscience, 
the  reason,  in  a  word,  the  whole  spiritual 
being,  all  in  man  that  is  best  and  highest, 
in  the  same  heavenly  service." — Perowne. 

3.  With  recollection  of  His  benefits, 
"Forget  not  all  His  benefits."  The 
Psalmist  thoughtfully  recalls  the  bless- 
ings he  has  received  from  God,  and  is 
thereby  the  more  urgently  incited  to 
praise  Him.  We  are  s;idly  prone  to 
cherish  the  memory  of  injuries,  and  to 
neglect  the  memory  of  benefits.  Let 
us,  like  the  Psalmist,  strive  to  recollect 
the  blessings  we  have  received  of  the 
Lord,  that  thereby  our  praise  might  be 
more  grateful  and  hearty. 

4.  With  reverent  admiration  of  His 
character.  '*  Bless  Plis  holy  name." 
God's  holiness  consists  of  all  the  perfec- 
tions of  His  character  in  harmonious 
and  beautiful  union.  David  praised 
the  Lord  not  merely  because  of  the 
benefits  he  had  received  from  Him,  but 


rSALMCOZi 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSltMS. 


because  of  His  own  glorious  perfections. 
He  praised  His  beneficence,  and  adored 
His  holiness. 

Conclusion. — Let  us  learn  from  this 
subject — 

1.  The  motives  of  Divine  praise.  Why 
should  I  bless  the  Lord  %  (1)  Because 
of  what  He  does  for  me — "  benefits." 
(2)  Because  of  what  He  is — *'holy." 

2.  The  model  of  Divine  praise.  How 
shall  I  bless  the  Lord?  (1)  Heartily. 
(2)  With  all  my  powers  and  affections. 


3.  The  means  of  Divine  praise.  By 
what  means  can  I  thus  bless  the  Lord? 
Recall  His  benefits,  and  the  heart  will 
grow  warm  with  gratitude,  <fea 

4.  The  hlesse<In€ss  of  Divine  praise. 
It  brings  holy  cheer  to  the  troubled 
spirit.  It  is  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  To 
the  man  whose  soul  is  filled  with  praise 
this  world  is  a  "  scene  of  Divine  mani- 
festation, a  teni[)le  filled  with  heavenly 
voices  and  traces  of  the  feet  of 
God." 


Man's  Remembrance  of  the  Lord's  Benefits. 
(Verse  3.     "  Forget  not  all  His  benefits.") 


Consider — 

L  The  benefits  of  God.     Who  can 

enumerate  them  1  He  gives  ms, physical 
benefits ;  e.g.^  food,  raiment,  health, 
&c.  Social  benefits,  e.g.^  friends,  &c. 
Intellectual  benefits,  e,g.,  His  own  reve- 
lation in  nature,  history,  and  the  Bible, 
books,  (fee.  AS^iW^waZ  benefits,  e.g.,  par- 
don, help,  &c.  His  gifts  are  innumer- 
able. They  are  also  very  rich.  He 
gives  not  only  kindness  and  mercy,  but 
**  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies." 
"  The  difi"erence  between  mere  kindness 
and  '  loving-kindness,'  between  mere 
mercy  and  '  tender  mercy,'  is  the  dif- 
ference between  a  flower  without  frag- 
rance and  a  flower  that  is  fragrant." — 
Parker. 

Rightly  viewed  the  benefits  of  God 
must  call  forth  our  wonder,  admiration, 
gratitude. 

II.  The  benefits  of  God  may  be  for- 
gotten. In  what  sense  1  Not  abso- 
lutely. Memory  treasures  all  things, 
loses  nothing.  Like  the  records  made 
with  invisible  ink,  not  seen  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  invisible  perhaps 
for  years,  yet  when  brought  under  the 
influence  of  heat  appearing  distinctly  ; 
BO  with  memory,  <kc.  But  we  treasure 
that  in  our   memory  in  which  we  are 


most  interested.  The  miser  remembera 
anything  that  will  assist  him  in  accu- 
mulating money.  The  grateful  heart 
remembers  benefits.  But  in  depraved 
human  nature  there  is  a  sad  tendency  to 
forget  benefits.  Too  frequently  injuries 
are  treasured,  benefits  are  forgotten.  A 
thankless  heart  receives  benefits,  and 
does  not  recognise  them  as  such,  acknow- 
ledges no  obligation,  <fec.  All  are  prone 
to  fail  somewhat  in  treasuring  and  keep- 
ing in  view  the  Divine  benefits. 

IIL  The  benefits  of  God  should  not 
be  forgotten. 

1.  Because  of  the  gratitude  we  owe  to 
God  for  them.  Hengstenberg  :  '*  He 
who  has  been  blessed  and  refuses  to 
bless  has  sunk  from  the  state  of  a  man 
to  that  of  a  beast."  Has  he  not  sunk 
lower  than  some  beasts  1  Every  bless- 
ing involves  the  obligation  to  gratitude 
and  praise. 

2.  Because  of  the  confidence  they  are 
calculated  to  inspire.  Every  benefit  we 
receive  increases  our  obligation  and  en- 
couragement to  trust  in  the  Lord. 
Parker  :  "  The  atheism  of  anticipation, 
should  be  corrected  by  the  gratitude  of 
retrospection.  He  who  reviews  the  past 
thankfully  may  advance  to  the  future 
hopefully." 


Spiritual  Diseases  Healed. 

{Verse  3.) 

L  Why  sin  is  called  a  disease.  the  creature.    (Gen.  i.  31,  and  vi.  5,  com- 

1,  As  it  destroys  the  moral  beauty  of     pared  j  Job  xlii.  1-6 ;  Psa.  xxxviii.  3-8.) 
1S2 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  P8ALM  om. 


%  Ai  it  excites  pain.     (Psa.  li.   8  ;  1.  His  pardoning  mercy  through  thi 

Acts  ii.  37  ;  1  Cor.  xv.  56.)  redemption  of  Christ.     (See  text.     Isa. 

S.  As  it  disables  from  duty,     (Isa.  I  liii.  6',  Rom.  iii.  23-26.) 

5;  Rom.  vii.  19.)     To  God.  To  man.  2.  The  sanctifying  influences  of  graxie, 

4.  As  it  deprives  men  of  good  sound  (Eiek.  xxxvl  25-27  ;  Heb.  x.  16.) 
reason.     (Isa.  v.  20.)     It  stupifies  the  3.  The  means  of  grace.     (Ephes.  iv, 
faculties.  11-13.) 

5.  As  it  is  infectiotts,  4.   The  resurrection  of  the  body.     (1 

6.  As  it  leads  to  death.     (Rom.  v.  13,  Thess.  iv.  16,  17  ;  Phii.  iii.  10,  11.) 

21  ;  vi.  16,  23.)  5.   The  case  of  an  ignorant,  insensible 

n.  The  variety  of  sinful  diseases  to  sinner  is  very  deplorable. 

which  we   are   subject.      "All   thine  6.  The  case  of  a  real  Christian  is  very 

iniquities,  all  thy  diseases."     (Mark  viL  hopeful.     His  sinful  disease  is  radically 

21-23;  Rom.  i.  29-31  ;  Gal.  v.  19-21.)  healed.     The  completion  of  his  cure  is 

Ahnost  as  many  as  the  bodily  diseases  certain. 

mentioned  in  the  bills  of  mortality.  7.  The  glory  of  Christ,  as  the  physician 

III.    The    remedy    by  which   God  of  souls,  is  great  indeed,     (Rev.  i.  6,  6). 

heals  these  diseases.  — F.  .  .  .  B.,m"  Skeletons  of  Sermons." 

The  Infinity,  Expressions,  and  Objects  of  the  Divinb  Mbroy. 

(Verses  6-14.) 

The  Poet  having  celebrated  the  mercy  "  The  Lord  executeth  righteousness  and 

of  God   to  hiuiself,  proceeds  in    these  judgment  for  all  that  are  oppressed." 

verses  to  celebrate  His  mercy  to  IsraeL  We  have  here  (1)  The  sufferings  of  the 

Consider —  Church.     The  people  of  God  have  often 

L  The  Infinity  of  the  Divine  mercy,  been  grievously  oppressed  and  per- 
"  As  the  heaven  is  high  above  the  secuted.  (2)  The  champion  of  the 
earth,  so  great  is  His  mercy  toward  Church.  The  Lord  defends  the  cause 
them  that  fear  Him.**  The  Psalmist  of  His  people,  interposes  for  their  deli- 
uses  a  figure  of  the  greatest  extent  which  verance.  He  humbles  the  pride  of  the 
the  world  affords  in  order  to  set  forth  oppressor,  and  exalts  the  oppressed  into 
the  immensity  of  the  mercy  of  God.  It  safety  and  honour. 
is,  like  Himself,  infinite.  As  we  imagine  2.  In  His  general  dealings  with  His 
nothing  higher  or  vaster  than  the  people.  "  He  hath  not  dealt  with  us 
heavens,  so  the  favour  of  God  exceeds  after  our  sins  ;  nor  rewarded  us  accord- 
cur  highest  thoughts,  and  surpasses  our  ing  to  our  iniquities." — See  Homiletic 
most  extensive  and  expressive  figures.  sketch  on  this  verse. 
All  the  measures  of  the  universe  are  in-  3.  In  the  long  delay  of  His  anger, 
adequate  to  set  forth  the  infinite  love  of  **  Slow  to  anger."  The  Lord  has  long 
God.  (Compare  Ps.  xxxvi.  5  ;  Ivii.  10).  patience  even  with  tlie  most  provoking 
He  is  **  plenteous  in  mercy."  "  Above  sinners.  He  restrains  His  wrath  that  the 
the  mountains  of  our  sins  the  floods  of  wicked  may  have  longer  time  and  more 
His  mercy  rise.  All  the  world  tastes  of  frequent  opportunities  for  repentance. 
His  s[)aring  mercy,  those  who  hear  the  Though  His  anger  ever  burns  against 
Gospel  partake  of  His  inviting  mercy,  sin,  yet  in  mercy  to  the  sinner  He  bears 
the  saints  live  by  His  saving  mercy,  are  much,  and  bears  long  with  him,  that  he 
preserved  by  His  upholding  mercy,  are  might  yet  be  saved, 
cheered  by  His  consoling  mercy,  and  4.  In  the  transient  duration  of  His 
will  enter  heaven  through  His  infinite  anger.  "  He  will  not  always  chide, 
and  everlasting  mercy." — Spurgeon.  neither    will    He    keep    His    anger  for 

II.  The  expressions  of  the  Divine  ever."     "  I  will  not  contend  for  ever, 

mercy.     It  is  manifest —  neither  will   I  be  always  wrotli,"   «kc. 

\.  In  His  vindication  of  the  oppressed.  (Isa,    Ivii.    16).     "The   hecond  clause," 

123 


FIALH  Oin. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


says  Hengstenberg,  "  depends  upon 
Lev.  xix.  18,  *  Thou  sLalt  not  avenge, 
nor  bear  any  grudge  against  the  child- 
ren of  thy  people.'  Nahum  i.  2  again 
depends  upon  the  passage  before  us : 
*  The  Lord  will  take  vengeance  on  His 
adversaries,  and  He  keepeth  wrath  * 
(not  assuredly  for  His  people,  of  whom 
the  declaration  of  the  Psalmist  holds 
true,  but  still)  *  for  His  enemies.' " 
God  will  manifest  His  displeasure 
towards  His  people  if  they  sin  against 
Him,  and  will  punish  them  for  their 
sins  ;  but  when  chastisement  has  ac- 
complished its  mission,  He  will  again 
manifest  His  loving-kindness.  His 
'*  anger  is  so  slow  to  rise,  so  ready  to 
abate." 

5.  In  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  "  As  far 
as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath 
He  removed  our  transsjressions  from  us." 
The  great  point  here  is  the  completeness 
of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  by  God.  On 
this  point  see  remarks  o  Ps.  Ixxxv.  2. 
"  When  sin  is  pardoned,"  says  Char- 
nock,  "  it  is  never  charged  again ;  the 
guilt  of  it  can  no  more  return  than 
east  can  become  west,  or  west  become 
east." 

6.  In  His  fatherly  compassion.  "Like 
as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the 
Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  Him.*' 
Matthew  Henry  well  says  :  "  The  father 
pities  his  children  that  are  weak  in 
knowledge  and  instructs  them,  pities 
them  when  they  are  froward  and  bears 
with  them,  pities  them  when  they  are 
sick  and  comforts  them  (Isa.  Ixvi.  13), 
pities  them  when  they  have  fallen  and 
helps  them  up  again,  pities  them  when 
they  have  offended,  and,  upon  their 
submission,  forgives  them,  pities  them 
when  they  are  wronged  and  gives  them 
redress ;  thus  *  the  Lord  pities  them 
that  fear  Him.' "  Nay,  much  more 
than  *'thus;"  "  for  He  is  the  *  Father 
of  all  mercies,'  and  the  Father  of 
all  the  fatherhoods  in  heaven  and 
earth." 

7.  In  His  fatherly  consideration. 
"He  knoweth  our  frame,  He  remem- 
bereth  that  we  are  dust."  He  is  ac- 
quainted with  "  our  fashioning  ; "  the 
manner  in  which  we  are  formed,  and  the 
materials  of  which  we  are  made;  He 

124 


knows  how  weak  we  are,  and  exercisea 
a  kindly  consideration  towards  us.  He 
is  not  exacting  in  His  demands  upon 
us,  but  is  pitiful  to  our  weakness. 

8.  In  the  revelation  which  He  made 
to  His  people.  *'  He  made  known  His 
ways  unto  Moses,  His  acts  unto  the 
children  of  Israel."  This  verse  refers 
to  Exod.  xxxiii.  13,  where  Moses  says 
to  the  Lord,  "I  pray  Thee,  if  I  have 
found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  show  me  now 
Thy  way,  that  I  may  know  Thee,  that 
I  may  find  grace  in  Thy  sight ;  and 
consider  that  this  nation  is  Thy  people. 
And  He  said,  My  presence  shall  go  with 
thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest."  God 
made  Himself  known  in  the  guidance 
and  protection  of  His  people,  and  in  the 
many  mighty  acts  which  He  wrought 
on  their  behalf.  The  children  of  Israel 
saw  His  acts.  His  marvellous  doings  for 
them.  But  Moses  saw  the  principles 
underlying  those  acts,  and  the  methods 
of  the  Divine  administration.  This 
revelation  the  Psalmist  rightly  regards 
as  an  expression  of  God's  mercy.  Varied 
and  countless  are  the  manifestations  of 
His  mercy  to  us. 

III.  The  objects  of  the  Divine  mercy. 
To  all  men  upon  earth  the  mercy  of 
God  extends.  Holy  angels  need  not 
the  Divine  mercy,  apostate  angels  need 
it,  but  receive  it  not.  Man  both  needs 
and  receives  it.  Of  all  men  upon  earth 
we  may  say, — "  The  Lord  is  slow  to 
anger,  and  plenteous  in  mercy.  He 
hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins, 
nor  rewarded  us  according  to  our  ini- 
quities." But  in  this  Psalm  the  people 
of  God  are  specially  mentioned  as  the 
objects  of  His  mercy.  Thrice  His 
mercy  is  said  to  be  upon  "  them  that 
fear  Him."  And  the  Psalmist  in  the 
eighteenth  verse  gives  a  further  descrip- 
tion of  them  :  "  To  such  as  keep  His 
covenant,  and  to  those  that  remember 
His  commandments  to  do  them."  Holy 
fear  is  expressed  in  obedience.  Excel 
lently  says  Perowne  on  verse  17  :  "For 
the  third  time  God's  mercy  and  loving- 
kindness  is  said  to  be  upon  *  them  that 
fear  Him,'  as  if  to  remind  us  that  there 
is  a  love  within  a  love,  a  love  which 
they  only  know  who  have  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious,  who  fear  Him  and 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


HALM  can. 


walk  in  His  ways,  as  well  as  a  love 
which  *  maketh  the  sun  to  shine,  and 
sendeth  rain  upon  the  just  and  the  un- 
just.' In  the  next  verse  there  is  the 
same  limitation,  *  To  such  as  keep  His 
covenant/  and  to  those  who  not  only 
know  but  *  do '  His  will.  The  blessings 
of  the  covenant  are  no  inalienable  right ; 
tnancipio  nulli   datur ;  children's  chil- 


dren can  only  inherit  its  blessings  by 
cleaving  to  it." 

Conclusion. — Are  we  of  those  who 
are  thus  designated  ?  Do  we  reverently 
"fear  Him'M  Let  those  who  do  re- 
joice in  the  manifold  expressions  of  His 
mercy  toward  them.  Let  those  who  do 
not,  accept  the  offer  of  pardoning  mercy, 
trust  His  grace,  d^c 


Thb  Mebot  of  God  in  thb  Afflictions  of  Man. 

{VertelO,) 


Consider — 

L  The  views  which  this  declaxar 
tion  presents  to  us  of  the  Divine  cove- 
nant. 

1.  He  hat  not  dealt  with  us  at  our 
tins  deserve.  Do  they  not  deserve 
banishment  from  God,  the  forfeiture 
of  His  parental  relation  to  us,  the  exe- 
cution of  His  righteous  sentence  upon 
us  ?  When  is  it  that  afflictions  appear 
heavy  ?  When  sin  is  felt  lightly.  When 
is  it  that  afflictions  appear  light  1  When 
sin  is  felt  to  be  heavy.  ,  ,  .  We  know 
the  light  we  have  resisted,  the  convic- 
tions we  have  disregarded,  the  mercies 
we  have  received  and  forgotten,  and  the 
impressions  against  which  we  have  re- 
belled. .  ,  .  And  then  in  proportion  to 
our  actual  knowledge  of  God,  our  ex- 
perience of  the  Divine  mercy,  our  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Divine  goodness,  is 
the  aggravation  of  our  guiltiness. 

2.  He  has  not  dealt  with  us  as  He  hat 
dealt  Ufith  others.  Look  at  the  conduct 
of  a  righteous  and  holy  God  towards 
fallen  angels ;  .  .  .  the  antediluvian 
world  ;  .  .  .  the  cities  of  the  plain  ; . . . 
the  ancient  Israelites  for  their  back- 
slidings.  Look  at  others  for  the  pur- 
pose of  deepening  your  gratitude  and 
raising  your  admiration  of  the  Divine 
mercy  towards  you. 

3.  His  dealings  towards  ut  have 
always  been  mingled  with  mercy  even  in 
the  severest  dispensations.  Had  He  "  re- 
warded us  according  to  our  iniquities," 
there  would  have  been  no  mercy  and  no 
hope — no  termination,  no  diminution,  no 
alleviation  of  suffering.  When  we  think 
of  the  mercy,  mingled  with  all  His 
judgments  a«d  chastenings,  have  we  not 


reason  to  adopt  the  language  of  th« 

Psalmist  in  the  text  ? 

4.  There  is  mercy  in  the  support  we 
have  under  affliction.  He  does  not 
allow  us  to  suffer  alone.  .  .  .  What 
consolation  is  mingled  in  the  cup  of 
suffering  placed  in  our  hands !  what 
promises !  what  supports  1  what  pre- 
cious, everlasting  consolation  and  good 
hope  through  grace  ! 

5.  There  is  mercy  in  the  removal  of 
affliction.  How  often  do  we  find  the 
God  of  grace  and  of  providence  won- 
drously  interposing  to  remove  affliction 
by  unexpected  means,  by  unthought-of 
alleviations,  by  circumstances  of  which 
we  had  not  the  least  conception,  &c. 

6.  The  mercy  which  it  displayed  in 
the  results  of  His  dispensations.  He  in- 
tends, by  blighting  the  gourd,  to  bring 
us  to  the  shadow  of  the  tree  of  life — by 
cutting  off  the  stream,  to  bring  us  nearer 
to  the  fountain  of  living  waters — by 
putting  the  taint  of  bitterness  in  our 
earthly  comforts,  to  bring  us  to  taste 
that  He  is  gracious.  It  is  the  end  of 
His  dispensations  to  make  us  more 
humble,  more  watchful,  more  spiritual, 
more  holy,  more  alive  to  God  and  eter- 
nity. In  the  school  of  trial  God  pre- 
pares His  children  for  their  inheritance. 

II.  The  practical  uses  we  should 
make  of  this  declaration. 

1.  It  should  lead  us  faithfully  to  in- 
quire what  has  been  the  efect  of  chasten- 
ing and  trial  on  us  ?  When  the  rod  is 
upon  you,  what  is  the  course  you  pur- 
sue ?  Where  do  you  get  rid  of  your 
troubles  1  Are  you  brought  to  God's 
throne  ?  Are  you  brought  to  humility, 
to  self-abasement,  to  penitential  sorrow ! 

125 


fSALM  OHL 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Are  you  brought  to  feel  there  is  no 
mystery  in  the  rod,  that  all  the  mystery 
is  in  the  mercy  towards  you  1 

2.  It  should  excite  adoring  gratitude 
for  the  love,  the  patience,  the  wisdom, 
and  the  faithfulness  of  our  Father  in 
heaven. 

3.  It  should  teach  us  to  cherish  humble 
confidence.  '*A11  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God."  "  All 
His  paths  are  mercy  and  goodness."  '*  I 
will  trust  in  Him,  and  not  be  afraid," 


4.  It  should  lead  us  to  exercise  unrem 
served  submission.  The  submission  of 
patience,  the  submission  of  obedience, 
ought  to  be  the  result  of  these  views  of 
the  Divine  character. 

5.  Let  there  be  practical  imitation  of 
the  Divine  conduct  in  our  temper  towards 
others — in  patience,  forbearance,  for- 
giveness. "  Be  ye  imitators  of  God,  as 
dear  children,  and  walk  in  love,  as  Christ 
also  hath  loved  us." — Br.  Fletcher, — 
Abridged  from  "  The  Preacher,** 


God's  Mercy  and  Man's  Frailty — ^A  Contrast. 

(Verses  15-18.) 


The  contrast  between  man's  frailty 
and  transitoriness  and  God's  unchange- 
ableness  and  eternity,  which  we  found 
in  Ps.  xc.  1-6,  is  here  repeated.  The 
similarity  of  thought  and  expression  is 
so  great  that  Hengstenberg  says,  '*  That 
David  without  doubt  drew  it  from 
Moses."  As  most  of  the  ideas  occurring 
in  this  passage  were  considered  in  our 
Homily  on  Ps.  xc.  1-6,  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  present  the  outline  of  our  sub- 
ject here,  and  refer  the  reader  to  that 
homily.  The  chief  points  of  the  contrast 
seem  to  be  these — 

I.  The  frailty  of  man's  life  upon 
earth,  and  the  mercy  of  God.  How 
frail  is  human  life  here  1  As  the  hot 
and  burning  east  wind  destroys  the  grass 
and  the  flower,  so  sickness,  sorrow,  suf- 
fering speedily  cut  short  man's  career. 
The  flower  with  its  beauty  and  fragrance 
soon  fades  and  dies,  and  man  in  his 
glory  of  corporeal  beauty,  mental  ability, 
geniality  of  temper,  and  holiness  of  heart 
and  life,  soon  passes  away.  But  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord  is  not  a  weak,  perish- 
able thing.  It  is  great,  glorious,  abiding. 
Here  is  consolation  and  strength  and 
inspiration  for  man.  He  is  frail ;  but 
he  may  take  refuge  in  the  rich  and  all- 
sufficient  mercy  of  God. 

II.  The  brevity  of  man's  life  upon 
earth,  and  the  eternity  of  the  mercy 
of  God.  As  for  the  life  of  man,  *'the 
wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone. 
But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting."  The  loving- 
kindness  of  the  Lord  is  eternal  as  His 

126 


own  Being.  Man,  saddened  with  the 
transciency  of  human  strength  and 
beauty  and  life,  here  is  rest  for  thee  in 
the  eternal  mercy  of  God  !  Here  is  what 
we,  as  sinners,  need  ;  and  it  is  here  in 
inexhaustible  and  unchangeable  fulness 
and  freeness. 

III.  The  final  departure  of  man  from 
the  earth,  and  the  eternal  mercy  of  God 
present  with  him  wherever  he  may  he." 
"  It  is  gone,  and  the  place  thereof  shall 
know  it  no  more."    Man  goes  hence  to 

**The  undiscover'd  country,  from  whose  bourne 
No  traveller  returns." 

It  is  a  saddening  and  a  solemn  con- 
sideration that  at  death  we  leave  this 
worLl  never  to  return  to  it.  The  farm, 
the  shop,  the  office,  the  study,  the  home, 
the  Sunday  school,  the  Church  will 
"  kn(jw  us  no  more  "  when  we  have  trod 
"  the  way  to  dusty  death."  We  shall 
have  gone  from  earth  for  ever.  But 
gone  where  ?  Ay,  where  1  How  shall 
we  fare  when  we  have  taken  the  last,  the 
lonely,  the  irretraceable  journey  ?  These 
considerations  won  Id  be  in  supportably 
mysterious  and  painful,  but  for  this  fact : 
Wherever  we  may  be,  the  loving-kindness 
of  the  Lord  will  be  present  luilh  us.  "  The 
mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him." 
We  do  not  leave  that  behind  us.  We  do 
not  travel  into  any  region  where  it  ceases 
to  be  present  and  operative.  Having 
that  upon  us,  all  nmst  be  well,  <fec. 

IV.  The  final  departure  of  good  men 
from  the  earth,  and  the  eternal  mercy 
of  God  resting  upon  their  descendants. 


BOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oin. 


Gk>od  men  pass  away  for  ever,  but  the 
loving-kindness  of  the  Lord  is  continued 
to  their  posterity.  Church  members  die, 
but  the  Church  remains.  God's  *^  right- 
eousness is  unto  children's  children." 
The  covenant  of  mercy  extends  from 
generation  to  generation,  provided  that 
they  do  not  violate  their  interest  in  it. 
For  here  is  the  limiting  condition  :  "  To 


such  as  keep  His  covenant,  and  to  those 
that  remember  His  commandments  to  do 
them." 

God  will  not  forget  or  fail  in  His  part 
of  the  covenant ;  let  man  also  rem^^mber 
and  keep  his ;  and  then  he  may  take  to 
himself  the  consolation,  and  inspiration, 
and  strength  of  the  contrast  we  have  been 
considering. 


The  Glorious  Reign  and  Praise  of  the  Lord, 

{Verses  19-22.) 


I.  The  glorious  reign  of  the  Lord. 
"  The  Lord  hath  prepared  His  throne  in 
the  heavens,  and  His  kingdom  ruleth 
over  all."     Here  are  three  ideas — 

1.  The  stability  of  His  reign.  **  The 
Lord  hath  prepared  His  throne."  Per- 
owne  :  **  Jehovah  hath  established  His 
throne."  His  throne  is  firm  and  stable. 
All  the  rage  and  rebellion  of  earth  and 
hell  cannot  shake  it.  "  His  dominion  is 
an  everlasting  dominion." 

2.  The  majesty  of  His  reign.  "His 
throne  in  the  heavens."  The  heavens 
are  the  most  vast  and  sublime  portion 
of  the  universe.  In  them  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  is  most  conspicuously  and 
splendidly  displayed.  His  throne  is  said 
to  be  established  there  to  indicate  its 
loftiness  and  majesty. 

3.  The  universality  of  His  reign. 
"  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all."  He 
rules  in  all  places.  The  heavens,  the 
earth,  and  the  seas  are  subject  to  His 
sway.  The  regularity  and  order  of  the 
universe  proclaim  His  sovereignty.  He 
rules  over  all  creatures.  He  is  the 
Creator,  Sustainer,  and  Sovereign  of  all 
creatures.  He  rules  over  all  persons. 
Holy  angels  delight  to  do  His  will.  He 
is  supreme  in  the  world  of  men.  And 
devils  cannot  sever  their  connection  with 
His  authority.  He  controls  Satan  him- 
self. 

IL  The  glorious  praise  of  the  Lord. 
The  Poet  began  the  Psalm  by  calling 
upon  His  soul  to  bless  the  Lord  for  His 
benefits ;  he  proceeded  to  celebrate  His 
goodness  to  all  "  them  that  fear  Him  " ; 
now  he  summons  the  entire  universe  to 
unite  in  ascribing  blessing  to  Him  ;  and 
he  concludes  by  calling  upon  his  own 


soul  to  join  in  the  praise.     The  praise  of 
the  Lord  is  celebrated  by — 

1.  Holy  angels.  "  Bless  the  Lord,  ye 
His  angels,"  <fec.  (verses  20,  21).  In 
speaking  of  these  angelic  beings,  the 
Psalmist  brings  into  view — (1)  Their 
great  power.  They  "  excel  in  strength." 
Margin  and  Perowne  :  "  Mighty  in 
strength."  Hengstenberg  :  "  Strong 
warriors."  The  deeds  ascribed  to  them 
in  Scripture  indicate  their  amazing 
might.  But  in  our  text  the  strength 
which  is  spoken  of  is  clearly  intellectual 
and  moral  chiefly.  They  are  mighty  to 
do  the  will  of  God,  and  grow  stronger 
by  doing  it.  (2)  Their  ready  obedience. 
They  **do  His  commandments,  hearken- 
ing unto  the  voice  of  His  word."  They 
wait  and  listen  for  the  intimations  of  His 
will,  and  then  hasten  to  carry  them  out. 
They  are  prompt  in  obedience  to  Him, 
and  eager  to  "  do  His  pleasure."  (3) 
Their  immense  numbers.  "  All  His 
hosts."  God's  angels  are  multitudinous. 
There  are  vast  armies  of  them.  (4) 
Their  Divine  service.  "Ministers  of 
His,  that  do  His  pleasure."  They  are 
His,  for  He  made  and  sustains  them; 
His,  for  He  employs  them  in  His  ser- 
vice ;  His,  for  they  are  reverently  and 
lovingly  loyal  to  Him.  These  glorious 
beings  bless  the  Lord  by  reverently  cele- 
brating His  perfections. and  joyfully  obey- 
ing His  behests.  They  praise  Him  both 
by  song  and  by  service. 

2.  The  unintelligent  creation.  "  Bless 
the  Lord  all  His  works,  in  all  places  of 
His  dominion."  All  His  works  praise 
Him  as  they  answer  the  end  for  which 
they  were  created.  Sun,  moon,  and 
stars  by  diflfusing  light  and  heat,  and  by 

127 


rsALM  oiT.  SOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


unfolding  their  beauty  and  glory,  praise  songful  in  praise  of  the  Lord,  shall  my 

Him.     The  earth  by  its  verdure,  fruit-  tongue   be  silent  1      While   others  are 

fulness,    <fec.,    praises    Him.       All    His  glowing  with  enthusiasm,  shall  my  heart 

works  throughout  the  universe  unite  to  be   cold?      "Bless    the    Lord,   O    my 

bless  Him.  soul."      While  others  gladly  obey  and 

3.  Redeemed  men.     "Bless  the  Lord,  serve  Him,  shall  my  service  be  wanting"? 

O  my  soul."     The  Poet  ends  the  Psaltn  Shall  I  praise  Him  in  words  and  not  in 

as  he  began  it  by  calling  upon  his  own  deeds  ]     Rather  let  my  ears  be  attentive 

soul  to  bless  the  Lord.     We  who  know  to  hear   His    commands,   and   my   feet 

His  redeeming  love  have  the  most  mov-  swift  and  my  hands  dexterous  to  obey 

ing  and  mighty  reasons  for  celebrating  them.     Let  us  all  praise  Him,  both  in 

His  praise.  song  and  in  service,  with  lips  and  with 

Conclusion. — While  the  universe  is  lives. 


PSALM    OIV. 

Introduction. 

"This  Psalm,"  Bays  Calvin,  " differs  from  the  last,  in  that  it  neither  treats  of  God'i 
cpecial  mercies  bestowed  on  His  Church,  nor  lifts  us  to  the  hope  of  a  heavenly  life  ;  but  paint- 
ing for  us  in  the  frame  of  the  world,  and  the  order  of  nature,  the  livinjj  image  of  God's 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  exhorts  us  to  praise  Him,  because  in  this  our  frail  mortal  life 
He  manifests  Himself  to  us  as  a  Father."  In  the  former  Psalm  God  is  praised  as  the  God  of 
grace,  in  this  as  the  God  of  nature — the  Creator  and  Sustainer  of  the  universe. 

"In  its  main  outline  the  poem  follows  the  story  of  creation  contained  in  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis.  There  manifestly  is  the  source  whence  tlie  Psalmist  drew.  Meditating  on  that 
sublime  description,  itself  a  poem,  he  finds  in  it  his  subject  aud  his  inspiration.  And  yet  the 
Psalm  is  not  a  mere  copy  of  the  original.  Breathing  the  same  lofty  spirit,  ii  has  a  force  and 
an  originality  of  its  own.  In  some  respects  the  Psalm,  even  more  strikingly  than  the  early 
record,  exhibits  the  infinite  greatness,  the  order,  the  life  of  the  universe.  Rut  the  creation  of 
Genesis  is  a  creation  of  the  past;  the  creation  of  the  Psalm  is  a  creation  of  the  present.  The 
one  portrays  the  beginning  of  the  eternal  order,  the  other  its  perpetual,  living  spectacle. 
Hence,  too,  the  Ode  has  far  more  animation  than  the  Record.  The  latter  is  a  picture  of  still 
life;  the  former  is  crowded  with  figures  full  of  stir  and  movement."  ...  In  the  Psalm  "we 
have  a  picture  which  for  truth  and  depth  of  colouring,  for  animation,  tenderness,  and  beauty, 
has  never  been  surpassed." — Perowne. 

In  the  Hebrew  the  Psalm  has  no  superscription ;  and  there  are  no  means  for  determining 
by  whom  or  when  the  Psalm  was  composed. 

The  Majesty  of  God  in  Creation. 

(Verses  1-6.) 

The  Psalmist  expresses  his  thoughts      "  Hail,  holy  light,  oflTspring  of  heaven  first- 

and  feelings   in  a  strain  of  poetry  of  ^  f^u',  -n,^       i        .       ,  u 

%  ,  ,.     .^  TT    1     1    •  Or  of  th  Eternal  co-eternal  beam, 

unsurpassed      sublimity.        Underlying  j^^y  i  express  thee,  unblamed  f    Since  God 
the  glorious  imagery  of  these  verses  is  is  light, 

the  brilliant  display  in   which   Eastern  And  never  but  in  unapproached  light, 

princes   delighted,   in  their   robes   and         JT^I^'  ^""T  ^*^^"'X'  ."^T!*^  ^^^"^ '"  ^^^^*    ,. 
^      .  1    ^^      1      .         mi  '     ^  Bright  effluence  of  bright  essence  uicreate. 

equipages  and  attendants,      i he  majesty 

of  the  appearance  of  the  Divine  King,  But  the  reference  in  the  text  is  not  to 

Jehovah,  far  exceeds  their  most  gorgeous  the  unapproachable,  the  concealing  light, 

displays.     The  Poet  sets  before  us —  but  to  the  revealing  light.     In  the  light 

I.  The  glorious  vesture  of  the  Lord,  which  daily  shines  upon  us  God  unfolds 

**  Thou  coverest  Thyself  with  light  as  to  us  glimpses  of  His  glory.      He  ap- 

with  a  garment."      St.  Paul  represents  parels   Himself   with  light.       There  is 

the  Lord  as   *' dwelling  in  the  light."  nothing  in  the  universe  so  fitted  to  be 

And  Milton —  the  robe  of  Qod  as  light. 

128 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :   PSA  IMS. 


PSALM  orr. 


1.  Light  i$  an  emhlem  of  His  own 
nature.  "  God  is  light."  "  Light  unites 
in  itself  purity  and  clearness,  and  beauty 
and  glory,  as  no  other  material  object 
does  :  it  is  the  condition  of  all  material 
life,  and  growth,  and  joy  ;  and  the  ap- 
plication to  God  of  such  a  predicative 
requires  no  transference.  He  is  Light, 
and  the  Fountain  of  light  material  and 
light  ethical.  In  the  one  world,  dark- 
ness is  the  absence  of  light ;  in  the  other, 
darkness,  untruthfulness,  deceit,  false- 
hood, is  the  jibsence  of  God." — Afford. 

2.  Light  is  essential  to  life  and 
growth.  Without  it  the  earth  would 
speedily  become  one  vast  sepulchre. 

3.  Light  is  pure  and  purifying, 
Milton  :  "  Light  ethereal,  first  of  things, 
quintessence  pure." 

4.  Light  is  joy -inspiring. 

**  Prime  cheerer,  light ! 
Of  all  material  beings,  first  and  best !  '* 

— Thomson. 

How  fitting,  then,  for  to  be  the  robe  of 
Deity. 

II.  The  splendid  palace  of  the  Lord. 

"  Thou  spreadest  out  the  heavens  like  a 
curtain,"  <fec.  (verses  2  and  3).  The  heavens 
are  the  expanse  or  firmament  which  God 
has  spread  to  divide  the  waters  which 
are  under  it  from  the  waters  which  are 
above  it.  And  in  the  waters  which  are 
above  it  God  is  represented  as  laying 
the  beams  of  His  chambers,  the  floor  of 
His  palace.  His  palace  He  has  built 
above  the  expanse  in  the  lofty  and 
glorious  heavens.  He  has  fixed  His 
abode  in  the  most  exalted  and  brilliant 
place  in  the  universe.  The  most  stately 
and  magnificent  of  earthly  palaces  is 
mean  in  comparison  of  this. 

III.  The  suhlime  chariot  of  the 
Lord.  "  Who  maketh  the  clouds  His 
chariot,  who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of 
the  wind."  "  The  clouds  appear  as  the 
chariot  of  God,  because  He  drives  them 
about  at  His  pleasure,  as  a  king  his 
car." — Hengstenherg.  Jehovah  came  "in 
a  thick  cloud"  at  Sinai.  God  appeared 
in  "  a  bright  cloud "  upon  Hermon  at 
the  Transfiguration.  In  the  last  day  He 
will  "  come  with  clouds."  On  the  sub- 
lime aspects  of  clouds,  and  their  fitness 
to  inspire  reverence  towards  God,  see 
a  fine   passage   in   Buskin's    "  Modern 

TOL.  II, 


Painters^*  (L  Pt.  ii.  sec.  3,  ch.  iv.  j 
35-38).  He  "  walketh  upon  the  wings 
of  the  wind,"  controlling  and  directing 
them  as  He  will,  and  they  obey  Him  as 
horses  do  an  earthly  king,  except  that 
the  winds  never  contest  His  authority  or 
deviate  from  His  will. 

IV.  The  wonderful  messengers  of 
the  Lord.  Verse  four  is  of  disputed 
interpretation.  Some  of  the  ablest  com- 
mentators renders  it :  "  Who  maketh  the 
winds  His  messengers,  the  flaming  fire 
His  ministers."  But  in  this  rendering 
the  order  of  the  w^ords  is  inverted.  Per- 
owne  :  *'  The  natural  order  in  Hebrew, 
as  in  English,  is  verb,  object,  predicate, 
and  no  instance  has  as  yet  been  alleged 
in  which  the  predicate  stands  after  the 
verb  before  the  object.  Unless  the 
grammatical  difficulty  can  be  removed, 
we  must  render,  *  He  maketh  His  mes- 
sengers winds.  His  ministers  a  flaming 
fire  ;  *  i.e.,  *  He  clothes  His  messengers 
with  the  might,  the  swiftness,  the  all- 
pervading  subtilty  of  wind  and  fire.'  *' 
Alford  advocates  this  view.  See  Per- 
owne's  "  Critical  Note "  in  loco,  and 
Alford  on  Heb.  i.  7.  The  Lord  has 
countless  messengers.  He  can  use  any 
of  His  creatures  as  His  servants  ;  and 
He  can  clothe  His  messengers  with 
the  attributes  of  wind  and  fire.  His 
attendants  are  characterised  by  power 
and  celerityy  like  the  "  wind ; "  by 
purity y  like  the  "  fire ; "  and  by  per- 
vasiveness, like  both  "wind"  and  "fire." 
The  most  numerous  and  splendid  re- 
tinue of  earthly  princes,  or  all  their  re- 
tinues combined,  are  as  nothing  when 
compared  with  the  countless  and  wonder- 
ful messengers  of  the  Lord. 

V.  The  firm  footstool  of  the  Lord. 
"  He  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth, 
that  it  should  not  be  removed  for  ever." 
Margin  :  "  He  hath  founded  the  earth 
upon  her  bases."  "  The  earth  is  held  as 
firm  by  the  omnipotence  of  God,  with- 
out a  foundation,  as  if  it  had  one ;  He 
has  given  to  the  earth,  which  is  propped 
up  by  nothing,  a  firm  existence,  like  a 
building  which  rests  on  a  solid  foun- 
dation."— Hengstenherg.  Job  ;  *'  He 
hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing."  Mil- 
ton :  "  And  earth  self-balanced  from  her 
centre  hung."  Ovid  :  "  Fonderibui 
I  129 


fSALM  OIT. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


kbraia  suis^^ — poised  by  its  own  weight. 
Yet  it  is  immovably  firm  and  secure. 
How  unsearchable  is  His  wisdom,  and 
how  unlimited  His  power,  who  thus 
wonderfully  sustains  the  world  !  And 
how  glorious  is  His  majesty  as  mani- 
fested in  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ! 

Our  text  warrants  the  following  re- 
marks : — 

First :  The  universe  is  a  Divine  crea- 
tion. It  is  not  eternal,  not  self-origi- 
nated, not  the  product  of  chance  or  fate ; 
but  it  is  the  creation  of  the  Almighty. 

Second:  The  creative  energy  of  the 
Lord  is  in  continual  exercise.  The  parti- 
ciples denote  continued  action,  and  teach 
us  to  regard  the  exercise  of  the  creative 
energy  of  the  Lord  as  a  present  thing. 
Every  morning  God,  as  it  were,  arrays 
Himself  anew  in  His  robe  of  light,  <fec. 
The  Supreme  Worker  is  ever  working. 
Creation  is  a  continuous  process. 


Third  :  That  the  Divine  creations  are 
effected  with  consummate  ease.  With  the 
same  ease  with  which  a  man  spreads  out 
a  tent  curtain,  God  spreads  the  expanse 
of  heaven — nay,  with  far  greater  ease : 
*'  He  spake,  and  it  was  done,"  &c. 

Fourth  :  The  universe  is  invested  with 
profound  signifLcance.  To  the  devout 
student  it  is  a  revelation  of  infinite  wis- 
dom, almighty  power.  Divine  beneficence, 
&c. 

Fifth  :  The  universe  is  invested  with 
Divine  sanctity.  It  is  the  garment  of 
the  great  God — a  scene  of  Divine  mani- 
festation. Rightly  understood  the  earth 
is  a  temple,  instinct  with  the  presence 
and  resounding  with  the  voice  of  God. 
Therefore,  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul. 
O  Lord,  my  God,  Thou  art  very  great ; 
Thou  art  clothed  with  honour  and  ma 
jesty." 


The  Praise  of  the  Lord, 
( Verse  1.) 


L  The  Lord  should  be  praised  with 
the  souL  *'  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul." 
"  The  Lord  looketh  at  the  heart." 

II.  The  Lord  should  be  praised  be- 
cause of  His  attributes.  "  O  Lord,  my 
God,  Thou  art  very  great."  We  should 
honour  Him  not  only  from  motives  of 
gratitude,  but  from  motives  of  esteem. 
In  Himself  He  is  worthy  of  all  homage. 

Ill  The  Lord  should  be  praised  be- 
cause of  His  work  in  creation.  This 
is  a  great  hymn  of  creation.  His  works 
in  nature  are  worthy  of  praise.  We 
should  regard  them  with  admiration  and 
reverence  for  the  Great  Worker.  We  do 
well  to  celebrate  the  glories  of  redemp- 


tion,  but  not  to   the  exclusion  of  the 
glories  of  creation. 

IV.  The  Lord  should  be  praised 
both  for  what  He  reveals  and  what 
He  conceals  of  Himself.  "Thou  art 
clothed  with  honour  and  majesty." 
Creation  is  the  vesture  of  Deity.  *'  Na- 
ture half  reveals  and  half  conceals  the 
Soul  within."  We  should  be  thankful 
for  both  the  hiding  and  the  disclosing. 
Both  are  merciful. 

V.  That  man  is  best  qualified  for 
this  service  "  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 
*'  0  Lord,  my  God."  He  who  trusts 
in  and  communes  with  God  will  find 
praise  a  natural  and  joyous  service. 


Creation  a  Eevelation  of  the  Lord. 

if^erses  6-18.) 

These   verses   suggest   the   following  they  fled,  at  the  voice  of  Thy  thunder 

observations  : —  they  hasted   away,"  <fec.    (verses  7-10). 

L  The  work  of  the  Lord  in  creation  His  control  over  the  waters  is  seen  (1) 

displays   His   absolute   power.      This  in   setting  boundaries  for  them.       The 

is  manifest —  Psalmist   represents  the  earth   as   com- 

1.  Over  the  waters,  "At  Thy  rebuke  pletely  enveloped  in  water.  "Thou 
130 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


F8ALM  OIT. 


eoverest  it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  gar- 
ment ;  the  waters  stood  above  the  moun- 
tains."    And  Milton — 

"  The  earth  was  formed,  but  in  the  womb  as  yet 
Of  waters,  embryon  immature  involved, 
Appeared  not  :  over  all  the  face  of  earth 
Main  ocean  flowed." 

At  the  command  of  God  the  water  finds 
its  appointed  place  and  is  confined  there. 
This  is  very  poetically  represented  as 
"  the  effect  of  the  Divine  rebuke  and 
thunder:  thrown  into  a  state  of  tumul- 
tuous excitement,  the  waters  quickly 
again  ascend  the  mountains,  their  high 
abode,  from  which  the  rebuke  of  God 
had  brought  them  down ;  but  unable  to 
keep  themselves  there  they  go  down  to 
the  valleys,  until  they  find  themselves 
in  their  proper  situation,  and  enter  into 
the  place  where  God  designs  them  to 
be." — Hengstenherg.  And  there  God 
imprisons  them.  *'  Thou  hast  set  a 
bound  that  they  may  not  pass  over,  that 
they  turn  not  again  to  cover  the  earth." 
Though  the  waters  of  the  sea  are  higher 
than  the  earth,  yet  is  it  confined  in  its 
"decreed  place"  by  the  command  of 
God.  He  says,  *'  Hitherto  shalt  thou 
come,  but  no  further ;  and  here  shall 
thy  proud  waves  be  stayed."  The 
Lord's  control  over  the  waters  is  seen  (2) 
in  distributing  them.  "  He  sendeth  the 
springs  into  the  valleys,  which  run  among 
the  hills.  God  has  wisely  and  wonder- 
fully distributed  the  waters,  and  in  so 
doing  has  provided  for  the  watering  of 
the  earth  and  the  creatures  that  dwell 
thereon."  The  way  in  which  this  is  done 
is  among  the  most  wonderful  and  most 
benevolent  in  nature, — by  that  power  de- 
rived from  heat,  by  which  the  waters  of 
the  ocean,  contrary  to  the  natural  law  of 
gravitation,  are  lifted  up  in  small  par- 
ticles— in  vapour — and  carried  by  the 
clouds  where  they  are  needed,  and  let 
fall  upon  the  earth  to  water  the  plants, 
and  to  form  fountains,  rivulets,  and 
streams — and  borne  thus  to  the  highest 
mountains,  to  be  filtered  through  the 
ground  to  form  springs  and  streams  b'5- 
low." — Barnes. 

2.  Over  the  earth.  **  He  causeth  the 
grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for 
the  service  of  man."  The  fruitfulness 
of  the  earth  is  an  effect  of  the  Divine 


power.  The  earth,  with  its  mountains 
and  valleys,  barren  rocks  and  fruitful 
fields;  the  seas  and  lakes,  the  rivers  and 
streams ;  and  the  heavens,  with  its 
wind-driven  clouds  and  its  glorious  orbs, 
all  display  the  almighty  power  of  the 
Creator.    . 

II.  The  work  of  the  Lord  in  creation 
displays  His  delight  in  beauty.  In 
this  poem  of  creation  the  Psalmist  brings 
into  view  the  mountains  and  valleys, 
the  seas  and  rivers,  the  fountains  and 
streams,  the  herbs  and  trees,  the  beasts 
and  birds  ;  and  all  these  contribute  to 
the  beauty  of  the  world.  That  God 
delights  in  the  beautiful  in  form  and 
in  colour  is  clearly  manifested  in  His 
works.  It  is  possible  to  conceive  a 
world  in  which  utility  alone  was  aimed 
at,  and  beauty  entirely  ignored.  But 
such  a  world  would  form  a  complete 
contrast  to  the  creations  of  God.  To 
take  only  one  feature,  think  of  the 
wonderful  beauty  and  sublimity  of  the 
mountains.  *'  Loveliness  of  colour,  per- 
fectness  of  form,  endlessness  of  change, 
wonderfulness  of  structure,  are  precious 
to  all  nndiseased  human  minds ;  and 
the  superiority  of  the  mountains  in  all 
these  things  to  the  lowlands  is  as 
measurable  as  the  riches  of  a  painted 
window  matched  with  a  white  one,  or 
the  wealth  of  a  museum  compared  with 
that  of  a  simply  furnished  chamber. 
They  seem  to  have  been  built  for  the 
human  race,  as  at  once  their  schools  and 
cathedrals  ;  full  of  treasures  of  illumi- 
nated manuscript  for  the  scholar,  kindly 
in  simple  lessons  to  the  worker,  quiet 
in  pale  cloisters  for  the  thinker,  gloricms 
in  holiness  for  the  worshipper.  These 
great  cathedrals  of  the  earth,  with  their 
gates  of  rock,  pavement  of  cloud,  choirs 
of  stream  and  stone,  altars  of  snow,  and 
vaults  of  purple,  traversed  by  the  con- 
tinual stars  1  "  (See  the  whole  passage, 
of  which  the  foregoing  is  only  a  frag- 
ment, in  E/Uskin's  "  Modern  Fainters^^ 
IV.  pt.  V.  ch.  XX.  §  3,  4,  5,  9).  The 
beauty  of  creation  (1)  increases  our 
obligations  to  the  Creator ;  (2)  should 
incite  to  holiness,  which  is  spiritual 
beauty.  God's  delight  in  spiritual 
beauty  is  greater  than  His  delight  in 
material  beauty. 

131 


rSALNCIT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


III.  The  work  of  the  Lord  in  crea- 
tion displays  His  great  law  of  service. 
Everything  which  He  has  made  has  its 
uses.  Everything  has  relations,  is 
dependent,  and  is  designed  to  be  niinis- 
trant.  The  sea  is  made  to  serve  man 
by  supplying  the  air  with  ozone,  man 
with  food,  (fee.  Fountains  and  streams 
water  the  earth,  and  quench  the  thirst 
of  men  and  animals.  The  earth  pro- 
duces food  in  abundance  for  man  and 
beast,  and  wine  for  the  rejoicing  of 
man's  heart.  And  birds,  trees,  moun- 
tains, rocks,  all  have  their  uses.  Useful- 
ness as  well  as  beauty  characterises  all 
the  creations  of  the  Divine  Hand. 

"  Oh  !  not  in  vain  doth  He  create 

Aught  from  His  affluent  love  proceeding  ; 
The  meanest  hath  appointed  state, 

If  only  for  the  mightiest's  needing. 
The  meteor  and  the  thunder-stone 
Have  use  and  mission  of  their  own." 

— PunsJum, 

Man  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  "We 
are  created  by  God  to  serve  others.  A 
useless  man  is  a  self-perversion  of  the 
idea  of  the  Creator.  He  frustrates  the 
Divine  idea  of  his  life.  Are  we  ful- 
filling our  part  in  the  universal  law  of 
service  1 

IV.  The  work  of  the  Lord  in  crea- 
tion displays  His  regard  for  all  His 
creatures.  Verses  11-18.  There  is  no 
uncared-for  creature.  The  wild  asses, 
the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  the  cattle,  the 
wild  goats,  the  conies,  all  are  provided 
for  by  God.  The  earth  produces  the 
endless  varieties  and  the  immense 
quantities  of  food  required  for  the  crea- 
tures that  dwell  upon  it.  And  in  trees, 
rocks,  mountains,  &c.,  they  find  suitable 
homes.  "  Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air  : 
for  they  sow  not,"  &c.  (Matt.  vi.  26.) 

V.  The  work  of  the  Lord  in  crea- 
tion displays  His  supreme  regard  for 
man.  "And  wine  that  maketh  glad," 
&c.  God  gives  to  man  not  only  the 
necessaries    but    the  luxuries  of    life. 


Here  is  "bread"  for  his  lustenance. 
Here  is  "  wine "  for  his  enjoyment. 
"  Here  is  wine,"  says  Matthew  Henry, 
"that  makes  glad  the  heart,  refreshes 
the  spirits,  and  exhilarates  them,  when 
it  is  soberly  and  moderately  used,  that 
we  may  not  only  go  through  our  busi- 
ness, but  go  through  it  cheerfully.  It 
is  a  pity  that  that  should  be  abused  to 
overcharge  the  heart,  and  unfit  men  for 
their  duty,  which  was  given  to  revive 
their  heart  and  quicken  them  in  their 
duty."  Here  is  "  oil "  expressive  of 
gladness.  On  festive  occasions  they 
were  accustomed  to  anoint  their  heads 
with  oil.  The  face  is  said  to  shine 
because  the  radiancy  of  joy  is  seen 
there.  The  face  shines  not  because  of 
the  "oil,"  but  because  the  heart  is  glad. 
God  gives  to  man  not  only  support  in 
life,  but  joy.  He  manifests  special 
regard  for  man's  interests.  At  the 
Creation  He  gave  him  dominion  over  the 
earth  with  all  its  tenants  and  all  its 
productions.  In  Christ  He  has  dis- 
played His  interest  in  human  well-being 
in  a  still  clearer  and  more  conclusive 
manner. 

Conclusion.  —  The  subject  sup- 
plies— 

1.  An  argument  for  humility.  We 
are  dependent  creatures.  We  have  no 
resources  but  such  as  are  in  God. 

2.  An  argument  for  obedience.  We 
are  parts  of  a  great  and  orderly  system, 
having  intimate  relations  and  depen- 
dencies, and  designed  for  mutual  service. 
Let  us  not  violate  the  order  and  har- 
mony; let  us  fulfil  our  service,  <fec. 

3.  An  argument  for  gratitude.  The 
Divine  regards  claim  suitable  and  pro- 
portionate acknowledgment. 

4.  An  argument  for  trust.  The  Lord 
cares  for  "  the  wild  asses  "  ;  will  He  not 
much  more  care  for  man  who  was  made 
in  His  own  image  1 — for  man,  redeemed 
by  the  precious  blood  of  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ  ? 


The  Uses  of  the  Seasons. 

{Verses  19-23.) 

The  Psalmist  here  refers  to  the  work     in  the  Mosaic  record.      The  sun  and 
of  creation  on  the  fourth  day,  as  stated      moon  were  appointed  not  only  to  give 
132 


EOMILBTJC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


NALMOIT. 


light,  but  for  the  measurement  and 
division  of  time,  and  the  indication  of 
seasons.  Of  these,  two— night  and  day 
— are  mentioned,  and  their  uses  pointed 
out. 

L  The  uses  of  day. 

1.  The  day  is  the  season  of  work  for 
man.  "  Man  goeth  forth  unto  his  work 
and  to  his  labour."  Labour  is  a  Divine 
institution,  and  the  day  is  the  fitting 
time  for  engaging  in  it.  (1)  Man  is 
urged  to  work  by  his  necessities.  He 
needs  food,  raiment,  a  dwelling ;  and  to 
obtain  these  he  must  work.  He  has 
to  encounter  difficulties,  he  requires 
knowledge  and  skill ;  and  to  acquire 
these  he  must  work.  He  needs  pardon, 
moral  purity,  and  power ;  and  for  these 
also  he  must  work.  (2.)  Man  is  fitted 
for  work  by  his  faculties.  He  has  arms 
and  hands  admirably  adapted  for  labour, 
brain  for  mental  exertion,  and  the  soul 
with  its  wondrous  fjicultiea  for  spiritual 
effort,  (3)  Man  is  commanded  to  work 
by  his  Maker.  Unfallen  man  was  placed 
in  a  garden  "  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it." 
"Six  days  shalt  thou  labour"  is  a  Divine 
command.  "This  we  commanded  you, 
that  if  any  man  would  not  work  neither 
should  he  eat."  God  Himself  is  the 
Supreme  Worker.  "  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto  and  I  work."  "  The  law  of 
nature  is,"  says  Ruskin,  "  that  a  certain 
quantity  of  work  is  necessary  to  produce 
a  certain  quantity  of  good,  of  any  kind 
whatever.  If  you  want  knowledge,  you 
must  toil  for  it ;  if  food,  you  must  toil 
for  it;  and  if  pleasure,  you  must  toil 
for  it.  But  men  do  not  acknowledge 
this  law,  or  strive  to  evade  it,  hoping 
to  get  their  knowledge,  and  food,  and 
pleasure  for  nothing ;  and  in  this  effort 
they  either  fail  of  getting  them,  and 
remain  ignorant  and  miserable,  or  they 
obtain  tbem  by  making  other  men  work 
for  their  benefit ;  and  then  they  are 
tyrants  and  robbers."  And  Carlyle : 
"All  true  work  is  sacred;  in  all  true 
work,  were  it  but  true  hand-labour, 
there  is  something  of  divineness.  La- 
bour, wide  as  the  earth,  has  its  summit 
in  heaven."  Again — "  The  modern 
majesty  consists  in  work.  What  a  man 
can  do  is  his  greatest  ornament,  and  he 
always  consults  his  dignity  by  doing  it." 


The  day  is  the  season  for  work.  Our 
Lord  recognised  this  fact  in  His  pregnant 
utterance,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of 
Him  that  sent  me  while  it  is  day :  the 
night  Cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." 

2.  The  day  is  the  season  of  retirement 
for  wild  beasts.  "  The  sun  ariseth,  they 
gather  themselves  together,  and  lay 
them  down  in  their  dens."  We  see  in  this 
( 1  )An  evidence  ofman^s  original  sovereignty 
"  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon 
the  earthy  The  wild  beasts  still  have 
some  dread  of  him,  and  hide  themselves 
in  their  dens  during  the  hours  of  the 
day  when  he  is  most  abroad.  (2)  An 
arrangement  for  mavUs  safety.  The 
sluggard  cannot  excuse  himself  from 
daily  labour  by  saying,  "  There  is  a  lion 
in  the  way." 

IL  The  uses  of  night. 

1.  Night  is  the  season  of  rest  for  man, 
**  Labour  until  the  evening."  Man  was 
not  fitted  for  incessant  toil  He  needs 
frequent  rest.  And  night  is  the  season 
marked  out  by  God  for  this.  Its  shade 
is  a  relief  after  the  brightness,  and  its 
cool  after  the  heat  of  the  day.  These 
conduce  to  sleep ;  and  so  man  is  invigo- 
rated for  further  toil 

**  Night  is  the  time  for  rest ; 

How  sweet  when  labours  close. 
To  gather  round  an  aching  heart 
The  curtain  of  repose, 
Stretch  the  tired  limbs,  and  lay  the  head 
Upon  our  own  delightful  bed," 

T,  Montgomery, 


2.  Night  M  the  season  of  activity  for 
wild  beasts.  "It  is  night,  wherein  all 
the  beasts  of  the  forest  do  creep  forth. 
The  young  lions  roar  after  their  prey, 
and  seek  their  meat  from  God."  Ob- 
serve: (1)  Their  dependence  upon  God, 
They  seek  their  food  from  Him.  "  The 
roaring  of  the  young  lions,  like  the 
crying  of  the  young  ravens,  is  inter- 
preted asking  their  meat  of  God," 
"The  natural  cries  of  the  distressed 
creatures  are  in  substance  nature's 
prayer  to  its  Maker  for  relief  and  help." 
Here  we  have  a  hint  on  prayer.  If  God 
so  interprets  the  cries  of  the  young  lions, 
shall  He  not  much  more  regard  favour- 
ably the  broken  cries  of  His  children*? 
(2)  God^s  provision  for  them.  He  makes 
the  darkness  in  which  they  go  forth  in 

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PSiXM  OIT. 


HOMILBTW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


quest  of  food,  and  He  provides  the 
food  for  them ;  otherwise  they  would  go 
forth  in  vain.  Here  is  a  hint  on  Provi- 
dence. Shall  the  Lord  provide  for  the 
beasts  of  the  forest,  and  shall  He  not 
much  more  supply  all  the  needs  of  His 
people  who  trust  in  Him  ? 

III.  The  moral  uses  of  the  seasons. 
By  them  He  teaches  us — 

1.  The  measwement  of  time.  "  He 
has  made  the  very  universe  to  be  the 
clock  of  the  universe,  and  admonish 
every  mortal  heart  of  the  sure  and 
constant  passage  of  time.  We  are  not 
left  to  our  inward  judgments.  Time 
has  its  measures  without,  in  the  most 
palpable  and  impressive  visitations  of 
the  senses.  Every  twilight  tells  us  that 
a  day  is  gone,  and  that  by  a  sign  as  im- 
pressive as  the  blotting  out  of  the  sun  ! 
.  ,  .  One  season  tells  us  that  another 
is  gone ;  and,  when  the  whole  circle 
of  seasons  is  completed  and  returned 
into  itself,  the  new  year  tells  us  that 
the  old  is  gone.     And  a  certain  number 


of  these  years,  we  know,  is  the  utmost 
bound  of  life." 

2.  The  preciousness  of  time.  He 
appointed  the  sun  and  moon  for  signs 
and  for  seasons  to  "  declare  to  every 
creature,  in  every  world,  the  certain 
flight  of  time,  and  signify  its  sacred 
value.  The  gems  He  has  buried  in  the 
sands  of  His  rivers  ;  on  the  gold  He 
has  piled  His  mountains  of  rock  ;  the 
pearls  He  has  hid  in  the  depth  of  the 
sea  ;  but  time, — time  is  out  on  the  front 
of  all  created  magnificence."  Thus  He 
silently  proclaims  to  us  constantly  "  that 
time  is  the  most  precious  of  His  gifts." 

3.  The  fitness  of  certain  times  for 
certain  duties.  "  The  tradesman  ob- 
serves the  seasons.  The  husbandman 
watches  them  for  his  life.  Whatever  we 
do,  must  be  done  in  its  time.  You  can- 
not plant  in  the  winter,  nor  gather  fruit 
in  the  spring.  God's  times  are  set,  and 
the  seasons  of  His  mercy  all  ordained 
from  the  beginning.  There  is  no  time  of 
salvation  but  the  time  of  God '. "  * 


The  Lord  and  His  Universe. 

{Verses  2i^Z0,) 


In  these  verses  there  is  allusion  to  the 
work  of  the  fifth  day  of  creation  ;  and 
an  expression  of  devout  admiration  of 
the  number  of  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  wisdom  displayed  therein.  The  Poet 
very  clearly  sets  forth  certain  aspects  of 
the  relation  of  the  Lord  to  the  universe. 

I.  The  Lord  as  the  Creator  of  all 
things.  *'  O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy 
works!"  &c.  The  Divine  creations  are 
here  represented  as  characterised  by — 

1.  Their  multitudinousness.  "OLord, 
how  manifold  are  Thy  works !  .  .  . 
This  great  and  wide  sea  wherein  are 
things  creeping  innumerable,  both  small 
and  great  beasts."  The  earth,  the  air, 
and  the  sea  all  teem  with  life,  in  end- 
less variety.  The  sea  with  its  life  is 
specially  mentioned  here.  In  its  depths 
there  is  abundant  life  *'  of  thins^s  small 
and  great,  a  life  of  the  coral  insect,  as 
well  as  of  the  whale,  and  also  a  life  on 
its  surface,  where  *  go  the  ships'  carrying 


the  thoughts  and  the  passions,  the  skill 
and  the  enterprise  of  human  hearts." 

2.  Their  wisdom.  "In  wisdom  hast 
Thou  made  them  all."  Every  creature 
which  God  has  made,  in  its  adaptations 
to  the  ends  of  its  existence,  presents  the 
most  admirable  indications  of  the  wis- 
dom of  its  Creator.  How  immeasur- 
ably great  the  wisdom  represented  in 
the  whole  of  His  countless  and  infinitely 
varied  productions  ! 

3.  Their  greatness.  *'  This  great  and 
wide  sea."  To  us  the  earth  seems  vast, 
the  sea  vaster.  But  when  the  astrono- 
mer discourses  to  us,  we  are  overwhelmed 
with  the  vastness  of  the  heavens,  and  the 
earth  and  sea  shrink  into  comparative 
littleness  and  obscurity. 

4.  Their  usefulness.  To  some  persons 
the  sea  seems  a  great  waste.  It  is  really 
far  otherwise.  It  is  the  great  highway 
of  the  world,  and  from  its  waters  man 
draws  a  great  portion  of  his  food.     In 


*  See  a  very  Buggestive  and  striking  Sermon  by  Dr.  Bushnell  on  *'  The  Great  Time-Keeper." 
Gen.  L  14. 
134 


BOMJLETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OIV. 


all  the  creations  of  God  there  is  no  use- 
less creature,  no  useless  thing. 

5.  Their  continuity.  "  Thou  sendest 
forth  Thy  Spirit,  they  are  created  ;  and 
Thou  re  lie  west  the  face  of  the  earth." 
The  miracle  of  creation  is  constantly 
going  on  in  the  world.  Men  die,  but 
man  remains.  **  Generation  passeth 
away,  and  generation  coineth."  Life  suc- 
ceeds death.  Out  of  the  grave  of  winter 
ariseth  the  bright  and  blooming  spring. 

II.  The  Lord  as  the  Proprietor  of 
aU  things.  "Tlie  earth  is  full  of  Thy 
riches  " — literally,  "  Thy  possessions." 
All  things  in  earth,  air,  and  sea  belong 
unto  the  Lord.  The  fact  of  creatorship 
establishes  the  most  indefeasible  claim 
to  proprietorship.  The  fact  of  the  Lord's 
proprietorship  of  all  things  should — 

1.  Inspire  us  with  gratitude.  How 
bountifully  has  He  enriched  us  out  of 
His  storehouse  ! 

2.  Teach  us  humility.  Our  utter  de- 
pendence upon  the  Divine  resources 
should  strip  us  of  every  vestige  of  pride. 

3.  Encourage  our  confidence.  The 
resources  of  the  Lord  are  inexhaustible. 
Depending  upon  Him  we  can  never  lack 
support. 

III.  The  Lord  as  the  Sustainer  of  all 
things.  *' These  wait  all  upon  Thee,  that 
Thou  may  est  give  them  their  meat  in  due 
season."  All  creatures  are  dependent  up- 
on His  bounty.  He  supplieth  the  wants 
of  all  creatures.  The  Divine  support  of 
the  universe  is  marked  by  three  things  : 

\.  Regularity.  "He  gives  them  their 
meat  in  due  season."  As  want  returns 
the  Divine  provision  is  bestowed. 

2.  Ease.  *'  Thou  openest  Thine  hand, 
they  are  filled  with  good."  The  susten- 
ance of  the  entire  universe  imposes  not 
the  slightest  strain  upon  His  resources. 
He  has  but  to  '*  open  His  hand,"  and 
the  needy  millions  are  satisfied. 

3.  Plenteousness.  '*  They  are  filled 
with  good."     In  the  dispensation  of  His 


gifts  the  Lord  is  bounteous.  He  giveth 
to  all  His  creatures  liberally,  and  they 
are  satisfied. 

IV.  The  Lord  is  the  absolute  Sove- 
reign of  all  things. 

1 .  In  His  hand  are  Joy  and  trouble. 
He  opens  His  hand,  and  His  creatures 
are  satisfied.  "  In  His  favour  is  life," 
and  joy.  He  hides  His  "  face,  they 
are  troubled."  Let  Him  avert  His  face 
and  withdraw  the  tokens  of  His  favour, 
and  His  creatures  are  terrified ;  they  are 
filled  with  consternation,  as  of  one  in  the 
presence  of  inevitable  and  utter  ruin. 
His  smile  is  the  joy  and  beauty  of  the 
universe ;  His  frown  would  blast  and 
terrify  it  into  death. 

2.  In  His  hand  are  life  and  death. 
*'  Thou  takest  away  their  breath,  they 
die,  and  return  to  their  dust.  Thou 
sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit,  they  are 
created."  When  God  withdraws  His 
support  from  any  of  His  creatures, 
death  instantly  supervenes.  He  is  "  the 
God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh."  All  life 
has  its  origin  in  Him,  and  is  in  His 
hand.  "  In  Him  we  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being."  Over  the  birth  and 
death  of  individuals,  over  the  coming 
and  going  of  generations,  He  presides  in 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness. 

Conclusion. — What  is  our  acquaint- 
ance with  this  great  Being  1  To  know 
Him  simply  as  Creator,  Sustainer, 
and  Sovereign,  is  not  enough  for  us. 
We  have  violated  the  order  of  the 
Creator,  abused  the  bounty  of  the  Sus- 
tainer, and  defied  the  authority  of  the 
Sovereign.  But  blessed  be  His  name. 
He  who  is  the  Creator  of  all  things  is 
also  the  Saviour  of  men.  Do  we  know 
Him  as  such'?  Our  most  urgent  neces- 
sity and  imperative  duty  is  first  to  ap- 
proach the  Hedeemer  by  faith  ;  and  then, 
without  any  faltering  of  the  tongue  or 
misgiving  of  the  heart,  we  may  join  in 
this  Hymn  of  Creation. 


Voices  of  Creation. 

(Verses  24,  27,  28.) 

There  are  three  preliminary  points —       able  to  moral  culture.     The  Psalmist  is 
First :  That  this  world  is  not  un/avoitr-      hoiy  on  a  planet  which  has  been  cursed, 

135 


PBATiM  OIT. 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


and  even  through  the  darkness  of  the 
Divine  frown  can  see  gloamings  and 
blazings  of  true  glory. 

Second  :  That  all  agencies  are  under 
the  control  of  an  Infinite  Intelligence. 
All  forces  are  under  the  management  of 
Divine  wisdom  and  paternal  love.  Our 
Father  knows  every  tempest  that  sweeps 
through  the  air — notes  every  dew-drop 
that  quivers  on  the  opening  flower — and 
is  acquainted  with  every  breeze  that 
stirs  the  atmosphere. 

Third  :  That  the  Divine  resources  are 
equal  to  every  exigency.  The  necessities 
of  nature  are  endless.  In  all  parts  of 
the  universe  there  are  mouths  opened, 
eyes  upturned,  and  hands  outstretched 
to  a  central  Being.  And  what  is  His 
reply  to  this  million-tongued  appeal  ? 
"  Thou  openest  Thine  hand,  they  are 
filled  with  good."  Note  the  sublime 
ease  which  is  here  indicated.  Compare 
it  with  the  anxiety  and  fretfulness  of 
man  when  besieged  with  numerous 
appeals.  The  Divine  Benefactor  simply 
"  open^  His  hand^*  and  the  universe  is 
satisfied. 

The  Psalm  suggests — 

I.  That  the  Divine  existence  is  to 
constitute  the  central  fact  in  all  our 
contemplations  of  the  universe.  God 
was  the  central  fact  in  the  Psalmist's 
contemplations.  This  fact  serves  three 
purposes — 

First :  It  disproves  the  speculations 
of  Pantheism.  Pantheism  teaches  the 
identity  of  God  and  nature ;  but  in  this 
Psalm  we  have  more  than  fifty  references, 
by  noun  or  pronoun,  to  the  existence 
and  attributes  of  a  personal  agent.  The 
Psalmist  distinctly  teaches  the  existence 
of  a  Being  who  is  infinitely  above  the 
powers  and  glories  of  nature,  and  for 
whose  pleasure  they  are  and  were 
created. 

Second  :  It  undermines  the  material- 
istic theory.  This  theory  teaches  the 
non-existence  of  mind.  What  we  call 
mind,  it  denominates  a  refinement  of 
matter.  The  entire  Psalm,  however, 
proclaims  and  celebrates  the  presence  of 
Infinite  Mind. 

Third  :  It  invests  the  universe  urith  a 
mystic  sanctity.     Everywhere  we  beliold 
the  Divine  handiwork.     As  the  architect 
136 


embodies  his  genius  in  the  stupendous 
temple  or  noble  mansion,  so  has  God 
materialised  His  wisdom  and  power  iu 
the  physical  creation.  To  me  the  wind 
becomes  sacred,  as  I  remember  that  it 
is  written,    "  He  "Walketh  upon  the 

WINGS  OF  THE  WIND." 

II.  That  the  principle  of  depen- 
dence is  everywhere  developed  in  the 
universe.  "  These  all  wait  upon  Thee," 
(fee.  The  Psalmist  ignores  the  presence 
of  "  chance,"  or  "  accident ; "  in  his 
view  God  is  enthroned,  and  the  Divine 
dominion  is  over  all  !    We  infer,  then — 

First  :  The  existence  of  an  absolutely 
self-dependent  power.  Finite  conception 
is  totally  unequal  to  the  comprehension 
of  such  an  existence  .  .  .  Our  want  of 
comprehension,  however,  does  not  affect 
the  sublime  doctrine  of  God's  infinite 
independence. 

Second  :  The  special  mission  of  each 
part  of  the  universe.  The  Psalmist  in 
his  wide  excursion  and  minute  observa- 
tion detects  nothing  that  is  wanting  in 
purpose. 

Third  :  The  profound  humility  hy 
which  every  intelligence  should  he  charac- 
terised. Seeing  that  we  are  dependent 
on  God  for  "  life,  and  breath,  and  all 
things,"  it  becometh  us  to  dwell  in  the 
dust  of  humility.  Men  of  genius  ! 
Men  of  money/  What  have  you  that 
ye  have  not  received  % 

III.  That  a  devout  contemplation 
of  the  universe  is  calculated  to  in- 
crease man's  hatred  of  sin.  Having 
beheld  the  symmetry,  the  adaptation, 
and  the  unity  of  the  Divine  works,  the 
Psalmist  directs  his  gaze  to  the  moral 
world,  and,  beholding  its  hideous  de- 
formity and  loathsomeness,  he  exclaims, 
"  Let  the  sinners  be  consumed  out  of 
the  earth,  and  let  the  wicked  be  no 
more  ; "  as  though  he  had  said,  "There  is 
one  foul  blot  on  this  glorious  picture ; 
one  discordant  note  in  this  enrapturing 
anthem.  Let  this  spot  be  removed,  and 
the  picture  will  be  perfect;  bring  this 
note  into  harmony,  and  the  melody  will 
be  soul-enthralling  "...  I  would  con- 
sume the  sinner  by  consuming  his 
wickedness.  Christ  came  to  consume 
the  sinner  by  taking  away  the  sin  of  th« 
world. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY.  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OIT. 


Conclusion. — First  :  God  must  he 
the  central  fact  in  your  being.  Second : 
What  is  the  higliest  relationship  you 
sustain  to  the  Creator  ?  You  must 
sustain  one  relationship  to  God,  viz., 
that  of  a  dependant.  The  worm  beneath 
your  feet,  if  gifted  with  utterance,  would 
say,  "I,  too,  am  a  dependant."  I  call 
you  to  be  the  suns  and  daughters  of  the 
Lord  Almighty.  Third  :  2%is  beneficent 
Creator  also  reveals  Himself  as  marHs 


Saviour,  You  revere  the  God  of 
nature ;  I  ask  you  to  accept  Him  as 
the  God  of  salvation.  Fourth :  The 
extinction  of  sin  should  be  the  good  marHs 
supreme  object.  '*  He  who  conveiteth 
the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way 
shall  save,"  <fec.  "They  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  for 
ever  and  ever." — Joseph  Parker,  D.D. — 
Abridged  from  **  The  Cavendish  Pulpit^ 


The  Renewal  of  the  Face  of  the  Earth  an  iLLUSTRATioir 
OF  THE  Renewal  of  the  Soul. 

{Verse  30.     "  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  iearth.*') 


The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the  earth 
which  takes  place  every  spring  speaks 
to  us  (1)  Of  the  presence  of  God.  He 
eflfects  the  great  and  beautiful  change. 
"  Thou  renewest."  (2)  Of  the  faithful- 
ness of  God.  (Gen.  viii.  22.)  Every 
returning  spring  is  an  additional  witness 
to  the  Divine  constancy.  (3)  Of  the 
tenderness  of  God.  How  tender  are  the 
young  leaf,  the  primrose,  and  the  violet ! 
Faintly,  yet  truly,  they  mirror  forth  the 
tenderness  of  God.  "  The  Lord  is  very 
pitiful  and  of  tender  mercy."  **  Thy 
gentleness  hath  made  me  great."  (4) 
Of  the  Divine  delight  in  beauty.  AH 
the  beauty  of  the  season  is  an  outflow 
of  the  Divine  beauty  ;  it  tells  us  that 
God  loves  beauty,  that  "  God  is  beauty 
and  love  itself."  We  regard  the  renewal 
of  the  face  of  the  earth  as  an  illustration 
of  the  renewal  of  the  soul. 

I.  The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the 
earth  succeeds  to  the  dreary  and 
seemingly  dead  state  of  nature  in 
winter.  Black,  bleak,  barren,  and 
lifeless  is  the  aspect  of  the  earth  in 
winter.  The  unrenewed  soul  is  '*  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins."  Apart  from 
the  renewing  influence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  there  is  no  beauty,  no  love,  no 
life  in  the  human  soul. 

n.  The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the 
earth  is  marked  by  life  and  freshness. 
Buds,  leaves,  blossoms,  grass,  all  are 
fresh  and  new  in  spring.  The  man  who 
has  passed  from  the  winter  of  sin  and 
death  into  the  spring  of  life  and  grace  is 
**  a  new  creation,  old  things  have  passed 


away,  all  things  have  become  new.** 
He  is  *'  created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto 
good  works ; "  he  enters  upon  a  new 
career,  having  new  sympathies,  new 
purposes,  new  delights,  new  fellowships, 
new  conduct. 

III.  The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the 
earth  is  very  gradual.  Only  by  slow 
degrees  does  spring  vanquish  winter, 
and  cover  the  earth  with  the  proofs  of 
her  gracious  reign.  So  is  it  with  the 
renewal  of  the  soul.  Though  the  soul 
is  quickened  into  divine  life,  yet  the 
full  beauty  and  promise  of  the  spiritual 
spring  will  not  be  manifest  until  many 
a  battle  has  been  waged  with  the  sinful 
tendencies  and  habits  that  formerly 
ruled  in  us.  The  work  of  God  both  in 
nature  and  in  grace  is  very  gradual. 

IV.  The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the 
earth  is  irresistible.  However  reluc- 
tant winter  may  be  to  relinquish  his 
reign  in  favour  of  spring,  relinquish  it 
he  must.  So  with  the  renewed  soul. 
Its  progress  may  be  very  gradual,  but  it 
is  certain.  If  the  life  of  grace  is  in 
the  soul,  it  will  produce  the  flowers  and 
fruits  of  grace. 

V.  The  renewal  of  the  face  of  the 
earth  is  initiatory  to  a  glorious  season 
of  maturity.  Spring  prepares  the  way 
for  the  bright  and  beauteous  summer, 
and  the  bounteous  and  beneficent 
autumn.  This  is  the  spring-time  of 
our  spiritual  life.  And  God  will 
lead  us  on  into  the  summer  and 
autumn,  into  the  beauty  and  perfection 
of   our   life.     Only    we    must   use    th« 

137 


MALM  OIT. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


spring-time  and  its  opportunities  well,  world  is  not  yet,  but  it  comes  on  apace. 

If  we  would  reap  bountifully  we  must  (Isa.  Ixi.  11 ;  Ps.  Ixxxv.  11.)    The  whole 

sow  bountifully.  world    shall  be    arrayed    in    the   fresh- 

The  most  glorious  of  all  renewals  is  ness  and  beauty  of  spiritual  and  divine 

yet  in  the  future.    The  spring-time  of  the  life. 


The  Harmony  of  Creation  Restored. 
{Verses  31-35.) 


The  Poet  brings  the  Psalm  to  a  close 
with  the  expression  of  the  desire  that 
the  glory  of  God  may  be  universal  and 
perpetual.  In  so  doing  he  presents  for 
our  consideration — 

I.  The  glory  of  the  Lord  in  His 
works.  ''  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
endure  for  ever,"  &c. 

1.  He  manifests  His  great  power  in 
His  works.  *'  He  looketh  on  the  earth, 
and  it  trembleth  ;  He  toucheth  the  hills, 
and  they  smoke."  When  the  Lord 
came  down  upon  Sinai  "  the  smoke  as- 
cended as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and 
the  whole  mountain  quaked  greatly." 
So  great  are  His  majesty  and  power  that 
He  has,  as  it  were,  merely  to  look  upon 
the  earth,  and  it  is  awed  and  fearful 
before  Him  ;  He  has  but  to  touch  the 
mountains,  and  they  smoke  as  with  His 
wrath.  By  His  omnipotence  He  sus- 
tains the  universe,  and  in  a  moment  He 
could  blot  it  out  of  existence. 

2.  He  realises  joy  in  His  works.  "  The 
Lord  shall  rejoice  in  His  works."  When 
He  created  the  world,  He  looked  upon 
His  works  with  complacency,  and  pro- 
nounced them  "  very  good."  He  still 
rejoices  in  the  order,  beneficence,  and 
beauty  of  His  creations.  In  His  re- 
demptive works  also  He  realises  great 

joy. 

3.  He  is  praised  hy  His  intelligent 
and  loyal  creatures.  "  I  will  sing  unto 
the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live  ;  I  will  sing 
praise  to  my  God  while  I  have  my  be- 
ing." With  joy  the  godly  man  resolves — 

**  111  praise  Him  while  He  lends  me  breath; 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers : 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last, 

And  immortality  endures." — Watts. 


4.    This  glory  is  perpetual, 
13ft 


<( 


The 


glory  of  the  Lord  shall  endure  for  ever.* 
The  glory  of  man  and  of  his  worka 
passeth  away,  but  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shall  continue  and  increase  for  ever. 

II.  The  joy  of  the  righteous  in  the 
Lord.  "My  meditation  of  Him  shall 
be  sweet ;  I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord." 
Hengstenberg:  "  May  my  meditation  be 
acceptable  unto  Him."  Perowne  :  "Let 
my  meditation  be  sweet  unto  Him." 
The  desire  of  the  Psalmist  is  that  his 
meditation  on  the  works  of  the  Lord 
may  be  an  acceptable  offering  unto  Him. 
He  rejoiced  in  the  Lord.  All  his  joys 
centred  in  the  Lord.  Such  joys  are 
pure.  They  are  one  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  (Gal.  v.  22.)  Strengthen^ 
ing.  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your 
strength."  Constant.  "  That  My  joy 
might  remain  in  you,  and  your  joy 
might  be  full."  "  Your  joy  no  man 
taketh  from  you."  Perpetual.  "  In 
Thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy  ;  at  Thy 
right  hand  there  are  pleasures  for  ever- 
more." "This  is  the  truest,  highest 
harmony  of  creation  ;  God  finding  plea- 
sure in  His  creatures,  His  reasonable 
creatures  finding  their  joy  in  Him." 

III.  The  desire  of  the  righteous 
concerning  the  wicked.  "  Let  the 
sinners  be  consumed  out  of  the  earth, 
and  let  the  wicked  be  no  more."  The 
glorious  harmony  of  creation  "  has  been 
rudely  broken  ;  the  sweet  notes  of  the 
vast  instrument  of  the  universe  are 
'jangled  out  of  tune.'  Sin  is  the  discord 
of  the  world.  Sin  has  changed  the  order 
(xo'tf.ao;)  into  disorder.  Hence  the  pro- 
phetic hope  that  sinners  shall  be  con- 
sumed, that  the  wicked  shall  be  no  more, 
that  thus  the  earth  shall  be  purified,  the 
harmony  be  restored,  and  God  once 
more,  as  at  the  first,  pronounce  His 
creation  '  very  good,'  " — Perowne.  The 
eradication  of  ovil  should  be  the  earnest 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


FSALBI  CV. 


desire  of  every  good  man.     (See  the  re-  creation  shall  be  restored.     The  *'  Very 

marks  of  Dr.  Parker  on  this  point  in  his  good  "  of  ancient  time  shall  again   be 

sermon  on  "Voices  of  Creation,"  on  a  heard;    and  lieard  over  a  world  never 

preceding  page.)  more    to  be  marred  by  sin.     For   the 

Conclusion.       Here   is   a    glorious  realisation  of  this  prospect  let  us  pray 

prospect.       The   broken  harmonies  of  and  labour. 


PSALM     OV. 

Introduction. 

"Thii  Psalm,"  says  Perowne,  **  like  the  78th  and  the  106th,  has  for  its  theme  the  early  history 
of  Israel,  and  God's  wonders  wrought  on  behalf  of  the  nation  ;  but  it  differs  from  both  those  Psalms 
in  the  intention  with  which  it  pursues  this  theme.  The  78th  Psalm  is  didactic  :  its  object  is 
to  teach  a  lesson  ;  it  recalls  the  past  as  conveying  instruction  and  warning  for  the  present. 
The  106th  Psalm  is  a  psalm  of  penitential  confession.  The  history  of  the  past  appears  in  it 
only  as  a  history  of  Israel's  sin.  In  this  Psalm,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mighty  acts  of  Jehovah 
for  His  people,  from  the  first  dawn  of  their  national  existence,  are  recounted  as  a  fitting  subject 
for  thankfulness,  and  as  a  ground  for  future  obedience.  Those  interpositions  of  God  are  specially 
dwelt  upon  which  have  a  reference  to  the  fulfilment  of  His  promise,  which  exhibit  most  clearly 
His  faithfulness  to  His  covenant.  Hence  the  series  begins  with  the  covenant  made  with  Abra- 
ham, tracing  all  the  steps  in  its  fulfilment  to  the  occupation  of  the  promised  land."  Neither 
the  author  of  the  Psalm  nor  the  occasion  on  which  it  was  composed  is  known. 


The  Works  and  Worship  of  the  Lord, 
{Verm  1-7.) 


Let  us  consider— 

I.  The  worship  of  the  Divine  Being. 

The  Psalmist  calls  upon  Israel  to  cele- 
brate the  worship  of  Jehovah,  in — 

1.  Thankful  praise,  **  Oh  give  thanks 
unto  the  Lord,  call  upon  His  name. 
Sing  unto  Him,  sing  psalms  unto  Him. 
Glory  ye  in  His  holy  name."  The  rea- 
sons for  this  praise  are  the  Lord's  glori- 
ous deeds,  afterwards  mentioned  in  the 
Psalm,  and  His  holiness.  God  should 
be  thankfully  and  joyfully  praised  be- 
cause of  His  perfections  and  works. 

2.  Trustful  prayer.  Here  is  prayer 
for  Divine  strength  :  "  Seek  the  Lord 
and  His  strength."  Only  as  we  are 
strengthened  by  the  Lord  are  we  able  to 
perft)rm  the  duties  and  endure  the  trials 
of  life.  For  Divine  favour :  "  Seek 
His  face  evermore;"  i.e.,  Seek  His 
favour.  (See  a  sketch  on  Ps.  Ixxx.  3.) 
Here  is  perpetual  prayer:  "Ever- 
more." The  godly  soul  will  seek  the 
favour  of  the  Lord  through  all  time  and 
all  eternity,  and  will  progress  in  the  en- 
joyment of  that  favour  evermore.  Here 
is  prayer  vrith  gladness  of  heart.  *'  Let 
the  heart  of  them  rejoice  that  seek  the 


Lord."  Barnes  :  "  Let  their  heart  re- 
joice, {a)  because  they  are  permitted  to 
seek  Him,  (fi)  because  they  are  inclined 
to  seek  Him,  (c)  because  they  have  such 
a  God  to  come  to, — one  so  mighty,  so 
holy,  so  good,  so  gracious."  And,  may 
we  not  add  ?  because  of  the  encourage- 
ment which  His  former  deeds  afford  us 
in  seeking  Him. 

IL  The  character  of  the  Divine 
works.  The  deeds  to  which  the  Psalmist 
refers  are  those  wrought  on  behalf  of 
His  people.     He  represents  them  as — 

1.  Marvellous.  "  His  wondrous  work*, 
,  .  .  marvellous  works  that  He  hath 
done."  The  deeds  mentioned  in  this 
Psalm  (verses  27-41)  were  fitted  to  ex- 
cite wonder  and  admiration. 

2.  Significant.  In  verse  5,  Perowne 
does  not  translate  "  His  wonders,"  as 
in  the  A.V.,  but  "His  tokens."  The 
miracles  which  He  wrought  were  not  only 
surprising  but  instructive.  His  doings  in 
the  [)ast  were  a  foundation  on  which 
to  base  a  joyful  hope  for  the  future. 
They  abounded  in  encouragement  and  in 
warning. 

3.  Judicial.       "The    judgments    of 

139 


fSALMcnr. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


His  mouth."  "  The  wonders  of  God  in 
Egypt  were  exactly  so  many  judicial 
decisions  of  God  in  the  case  of  Israel 
against  the  Egyptians,  or  of  the  Church 
of  God  against  the  world." 

III.  The  treatment  of  the  Divine 
works.  The  Poet  calls  upon  the  people 
to— 

1.  Remember  them,  **  Remember  His 
marvellous  works."  The  doings  of  God 
on  behalf  of  His  people,  both  pro- 
vidential and  redemptive,  should  never 
be  forgotten  by  them.  To  forget  them 
would  involve  (1)  base  ingratitude  to 
God  ;  (2)  foolish  disregard  of  the  advan- 
tage of  remembering  them.  The  recollec- 
tion of  them  would  tend  to  strengthen 
faith,  promote  obedience,  <fec. 

2.  Ponder  them,  "  Talk  of  all  His 
wondrous  works."  Both  Hengstenberg 
and  Perowne  translate,  *'  Meditate," 
<kc.  Reflection  must  follow  recollection. 
(See  a  sketch  on  Ps.  Ixxvii.  11,  12.) 

3.  Publish  them.  "  Make  known  His 
deeds  among  the  people."     Declaration 


should   follow   reflection.     (See  on  Pa. 
Ixxvii.  11,  12.) 

IV.  The  people  of  the  Divine  choice. 
**  Ye  seed  of  Abraham  His  servant,  ye 
children  of  Jacob  His  chosen.  He  is  the 
Lord  our  God."  "jffw  chosen,  plural,refer- 
ring  to  the  people,  not  to  Jacob.  It  is  on 
this  ground,  because  they  are  Jacob's  chil- 
dren, heritors  of  the  covenant  and  the 
promises,  that  they  are  bound  beyond 
all  others  to  *  remember  *  what  God 
had  done  for  them." — Perowne.  As  the 
chosen  people  of  God,  they  were  the 
heirs  of  His  promises,  and  so  His 
mighty  deeds  in  the  past  were  pledges 
of  His  omnipotent  help  in  the  future. 
Being  the  people  of  God,  theirs  was  the 
privilege  of  His  protection  and  support 
and  salvation.  And  theirs  was  the 
duty  of  praising  His  name,  publishing 
His  deeds,  and  performing  His  com- 
mands. 

Let  the  people  of  God,  in  this  age  of 
Gospel  grace,  be  mindful  of  both  their 
privileges  and  their  responsibilities. 


Spiritual  Jots. 
( Verse  3.     "  Let  the  heart  of  them  rejoice  that  seek  the  Lord.'*) 


Here  is  a  generic  term  for  God's  people 
— *Hhey  seek  the  Lord^^ — definite,  yet 
comprehensive  ;  it  may  be  applied  to 
the  awakened  sinner  —  he  ^^  seeks  the 
Lord*^ — to  the  professing  Christian — 
all  his  life  he  is  '*  seeking  the  Lord^^ — 
and  the  matured,  departing  believer  can 
do  no  more  ;  he  dies,  "  seeking  the 
Lord^^^  nor  will  he  fully  find  Him  until 
he  sees  Him  as  He  is  in  glory, — "I 
shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with 
Thy  likeness."  To  such  persons  it  is 
that  the  Psalmist  addresses  the  exhor- 
tation of  the  text :  "  Let  the  heart  of 
them  rejoice,"  (fee.     Observe — 

I.  That  it  is  God's  will  that  His 
people  should  be  happy.  We  might 
show  that,  notwithstanding  all  the 
disturbing  causes,  the  goodness  of  God 
in  desiring  His  creatures*  happiness 
appears  in  the  animate  world  and 
among  men  in  general,  but  the  text 
limits  it  to  His  own  people. 

1.  C(msider  what  God  has  done  to 
promote  and  secure  the  happiness  of  His 
140 


people.  He  has  redeemed  them  from 
sin,  guilt,  and  corruption  by  the  death, 
and  passion,  and  glorification  of  His 
dear  Son.  That  Son  lives  to  intercede 
for  them,  and  supplies  them  with  all 
grace  out  of  His  fulness  in  glory.  To 
comfort,  cheer,  animate,  as  well  as  to 
sanctify  them,  His  Holy  Spirit  dwells 
in  them.  "All  things  are  theirs." 
They  have  abounding  consolation  and 
Divine  joys,  and  "  peace  which  passeth 
all  understanding."  See  Ps.  Ixxxiv. 
11. 

2.  The  exhortations  to  joy  and  peace 
abound  in  Holy  Scripture.  It  is  a 
duty,  as  well  as  a  privilege,  for  believers 
to  be  happy.  See  Ps.  xxxiii.  1 ;  John 
xvi.  22  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  14  ;  Eph.  iv.  4. 

II.  Still  in  all  ages  God's  people 
have  been  for  the  most  part  a  sad  and 
sorrowing  people. 

It  is  often  assumed  that  their  portion 
in  this  world  is  usually  a  sorrowful  one. 
Large  portions  of  sadness  were  adminis- 
tered to  Jacob,  to  Joseph,  to  Moses,  to 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY'  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OT. 


Dayid,  Elijah,  Jeremiah — to  say  nothing 
of  Job  himself.     See  Acts  xiv.  22. 

And  of  modern  Christiaiis  it  ih  sion- 
stantly  alleged  that  they  are  gloomy  and 
melancholy, — and  there  is  much  in  them 
to  justify  the  world's  accusation,  as 
happy  and  rejoicing  believers  are  rather 
the  exception  than  the  rule  among  per- 
sons of  piety. 

in.  How  is  this  to  be  accounted 
for  ?  God  has  made  a  rich  provision  for 
His  people's  happiness,  but  they  are  not 
happy, — why  is  this  1 

May  it  not  he  accounted  for  by  their 
trials,  temptations,  afflictions  f  Certainly 
not  1  because  God  sends  corresponding 
help  and  grace  ;  all  persons  of  experi- 
ence would  attest  that  the  happiest  and 
most  rejoicing  Christians  are  to  be  found 
among  those  who  are  most  deeply  afflic- 
ted.    See  2  Cor.  i.  5. 

Does  not  God  sometimes  withhold 
spiritual  consolations  from  His  faithful 
and  consistent  people  ?  He  does  so. 
See  Isa.  1.  10.  But  such  cases  are  rare, 
and  the  time  of  shadows  short,  and 
speedily  lead  to  stronger  exercises  of 
faith  and  surer  joys.  The  absence  of 
religious  joy  and  peace  is  chiefly  to  be 
accounted  for — 

1.  In  some  instances  by  the  hollowness 
of  religious  profession.  The  heart  is 
not  true  and  right  with  God, — some 
secret  passion,  appetite,  lust,  desire,  is 
allowed  or  indulged  i^i.  There  can  be 
no  real  happiness  in  religion  while  an 
idol  is  in  the  heart.  See  Matt.  vi.  24  ; 
1  John  iii.  21. 

2.  Where  there  is  not  direct  heart 
treachery  nor  self-deception  there  may  he 
an  unsuccessful  conflict  with  indwelling 
«M*.  See  Rom.  vii.;  2  Cor.  v.  4  ;  Gal. 
▼.  17.  Natural  character,  impure  or 
sceptical,  or  vain,  passionate,  and 
revengeful — and  the  workings  of  these 
destroy  peace  of  mind. 

3.  Defective  views  of  God^s  all-sufficient 
grace; — labour  as  slaves,  as  hirelings. 


as  legalists — forgetting  that  He  who 
purchased  forgiveness  secured  grace. 
See  John  xv.  4 ;  Rom.  vii.  25  ;  2  Cor. 
xii.  8,  9. 

4.  Errors  as  to  the  ground  and  source 
of  a  believe?'' s  rejoicing.  Our  joy,  peace, 
comfort,  (fee,  must  spring  not  from  our 
growth  in  grace,  nor  from  anything  in 
us  nor  done  by  us,  but  in  and  out  of 
Christ  alone — and  all  our  sorrows  are 
intended  to  drive  us  to  this.  (Ps.  v. 
11,  12  ;  Isa.  xii.  1-3  ;  Ixi.  10,  11  ; 
Hab.  iii.  18.)  So  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. (Phil.  iv.  4.)  God  in  Christ  is 
the  only  abiding  source  of  happiness  to 
His  people. 

1.  Let  all  sincere  Christians  believe 
that  a  sorrowful  experience  is  a  defective 
and  imperfect  condition  of  soul.  Better 
be  sad  than  indifferent,  slumbering,  <kc. 
But  a  melancholy,  gloomy,  downcast, 
doubting  state  is  not  the  normal  condi- 
tion of  a  believer. 

2.  Let  all  search  and  see  whether  any 
allowed  sin^  or  inconsistency,  or  idol, 
remain  in  their  hearts.  There  can  be 
no  peace,  no  success,  no  joy,  till  this 
Achan  is  stoned  and  burnt. 

3.  Let  no  one  be  satisfied  until  he  is 
both  happy  and  holy.  Both  within  your 
reach. 

Are  you  afflicted? — no  matter  from 
what  source,  rejoice.  "  Suffer  affliction 
with  people  of  God,"  &c. 

Consolation  tvithheld  f  Wait,  and 
watch,  and  pray — and  look  for  the 
Spirit,  and  search  for  Christ  until  you 
find  Him. 

Corruptions  f  **  Nothing  too  hard 
for  the  Lord."  Union  with  Christ  by 
His  Spirit  alone  subdues  them. 

Confused  ideas  ?  perplexed  views  t 
doubt?  See  Isa.  liv.  13.  Pray  for 
light,  &c. 

Happiness,  present  Jiow,  immediate,  in 
store  for  you.  "  My  soul  doth  magnify 
the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  rejoiceth  in  God 
my  Saviour." — F.  Close,  D.D, 


The  Faithful  Promiser, 

{Verses  8-16.) 

The  Poet  here  sings  of  the  covenant      and  the   early  stages  of  its  fulfilment. 
of  the  Lord  with    His  ancient  people.      In  doing  this  he  brings  out  several  truths 

141 


PSALM  or. 


BOMILETW  COMMENT  ART:  PSALMS, 


of  universal  application  as  to  God  and 
His  engagements  with  man,  on  which 
we  may  profitably  reflect. 

I.  The  Lord's  rememhrance  of  His 
promises.  "  He  hath  remembered  His 
covenant  for  ever."  God  cannot  forget 
anything.  All  the  tilings  which  He  hath 
promised  He  will  perform,  though  tedious 
ages  may  intervene  between  the  giving 
of  the  promise  and  its  fulfilment.  If 
God  were  to  forget  His  engagements  He 
would  cease  to  be  God.  "  If  God  were 
to  forget  for  one  moment,"  says  Mac- 
donald,  "  the  universe  would  grow  black 
— vanish — rush  out  again  from  the  realm 
of  law  and  order  into  chaos  and  night.'* 
His  infinite  intelligence,  His  unchange- 
ableness  and  His  past  doings  afford 
ample  guarantees  of  the  Lord's  unfailing 
remembrance  of  His  promises. 

II.  The  perpetuity  of  His  promises. 
"The  word  which  He  commanded  to  a 
thousand  generations."  Hengstenberg 
translates  :  "  The  word  which  He  or- 
dained," &c.  Perowne  :  **  The  word 
which  He  confirmed,"  &c.  **  A  thousand 
generations"  means  innumerable  gene- 
rations, always.  As  the  Psalmist  says, 
the  covenant  is  "  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant." "  For  the  gifts  and  calling  of 
God  are  without  repentance."  **  Heaven 
and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  My  words 
shall  not  pass  away."  The  promises  of 
of  God  are  to  all  generations.  This  is  a 
glorious  truth.  Promises  of  pardon, 
sufficient  grace,  eternal  and  blessed  life 
to  every  believer  in  the  Lord,  are  for 
man  in  all  ages  and  in  all  lands. 

IIL  The  confirmation  of  His  pro- 
mises. "  The  covenant  which  He  made 
with  Abraham,  and  His  oath  unto  Isaac, 
and  confirmed  the  same  unto  Jacob  for 
a  law,  and  to  Israel  for  an  everlasting 
covenant."  For  the  confirmation  to 
Isaac,  see  Gen.  xxvi.  3-6  ;  and  to  Jacob, 
Gen.  xxviii.  13-15  ;  and  to  Israel,  Gen. 
XXXV.  9-1 2.  In  the  experience  of  every 
generation  God  confirms  the  truth  of 
His  promises.  Every  age,  as  it  passes 
away  from  this  world,  leaves  behind  it 
an  additional  volume  testifying  most 
conclusively  to  the  faithfulness  of  God. 

IV.  The  recipients  of  His  promises. 
Concerning  these  the  Psalmist  indicates 
three  characteristics,     They  are — 
142 


1.  Believers  of  the  Divine  Word.  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  eminent  for 
faith.  (Hel).  xi.  8,  9,  17-21.)  God 
required  the  Israelites  to  believe  His 
word  and  obey  His  commands.  The 
blessings  of  salvation  are  promised  to 
those  who  believe. 

2.  Consecrated  to  the  Divine  service, 
**  Mine  anointed."  The  patriarchs  were 
not  anointed  ;  but  the  Poet  uses  the 
language  of  his  own  day  to  set  forth  the 
idea  that  they  were  called  and  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  God.  Those 
who  truly  believe  the  word  of  God,  and 
accept  the  offers  of  His  grace,  devote 
themselves  to  His  service.  To  them  the 
promises  of  protection,  sanctification, 
and  the  heavenly  inheritance  are  made. 

3.  Recipients  of  Divine  communica- 
tions. "  My  prophets."  "  A  good 
instance,"  says  Perowne,  "  of  the  wide 
signification  of  this  word.  It  is  derived 
from  a  root  signifying  to  boily  to  bubble 
up.  The  prophet  is  one  in  whose  soul 
there  rises  a  spring,  a  rushing  stream  of 
Divine  inspiration.  In  the  later  language 
he  not  only  receives  the  Divine  word,  but 
he  is  made  the  utterer  ofit^  the  organ  of 
its  communication  to  others.  But  in 
the  earlier  instances,  as  in  that  of  Abra- 
ham, his  official  character  does  not 
distinctly  appear,  though  doubtless,  like 
Noah,  he  was  *a  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness,' and  taught  his  own  family  (and 
through  them  ultimately  the  whole 
world)  the  way  of  the  Lord.  See  Gen. 
xviii.  19.  Here  the  prophet  means 
little  more  than  one  to  whom  God 
speaks,  one  with  whom  He  holds  con- 
verse, whether  by  word,  or  vision,  or 
dream,  or  inner  voice.  (Comp.  Num. 
xii.  6-8.)  We  approach  nearest  to  what 
is  meant  by  styling  the  |)atriarchs  pro- 
phets when  we  read  such  ))as8ages  as 
Gen.  xviii.  17  :  'And  Jehovah  said.  Shall 
I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  which 
I  do  1 '  or  again,  the  pleading  of  Abra- 
ham for  Sodom,  in  verses  23—33  of  the 
same  chapter.  It  is,  indeed,  as  plead- 
ing with  God  in  intercession  that  Abra' 
ham  is  termed  a  prophet  in  Gen.  xx.  7. 
The  title  is  thus  very  similar  to  that  of 
the  'Friend  of  God'  (Isa.  xli.  8;  2 
Chron.  XX.  7 ;  James  ii.  23)."  The 
people  of  God,  in  whose  experience  His 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


ISALMOT. 


gracious  promises  are  fulfilled,  are  in 
communication  with  Him.  He  speaks 
to  them  by  His  Word  and  by  His  Spirit. 
They  have  fellowship  with  Him.  Such 
are  three  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
recipients  of  the  promises  of  the  Lord. 

V.  The  fulfilment  of  His  promises. 

1.  God's  promises  will  be  fulfilled  how- 
ever great  the  apparent  improbability. 
When  God  promised  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  the  patriarchs,  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promise  seemed  utterly  improbable.  At 
that  time  they  were  (1)  veri/  **/ew  in 
number,'*  Was  it  likely  that  they  would 
ever  be  able  to  take  possession  of  the 
land  ?  or  that  their  seed  would  ever  be 
**  as  the  stars  of  the  heaven  "  for  multi- 
tude 1  (2)  They  were  strangers  in  that 
land.  They  did  not  unite  themselves 
with  the  people  of  the  land,  or  acquire 
property  there.  (3)  They  were  wan- 
derers. "  They  went  from  one  nation  to 
another,  from  one  kingdom  to  another 
people."  They  had  no  fixed  residence. 
They  were  exposed  to  frequent  dangers. 
How  improbable  that  the  land  promised 


to  them  should  ever  be  theirs !  Yet  the 
Lord  fulfils  His  promise,  and  gives  them 
the  land.  The  things  which  appear  to 
man  improbable,  or  even  impossible,  God 
accomplishes,  if  He  has  promised  to  do 
so.  Apply  this  to  the  perfection  of  in- 
dividual  cha7'acter,  to  the futui^e  tHumphs 
of  Christianity  in  the  world,  <fcc. 

2.  God's  promises  will  be  fulfilled 
though  their  fulfilment  may  necessitate 
the  control  of  the  greatest  powers.  "  He 
suffered  no  man  to  do  them  wrong  ;  yea, 
He  reproved  kings  for  their  sakes."  See 
Gen.  xii.  10-20;  xx.  1-7.  The  Lord  con- 
trols the  mightiest  as  well  as  the  meanest 
powers,  for  the  protection  of  His  people 
and  the  fulfilment  of  His  promises. 

Conclusion.  1.  Warning  to  the 
wicked.  God  will  inflict  the  punishment 
which  He  has  denounced  against  sin. 
2.  Encouragement  (1)  to  the  repentant 
sinner.  The  promises  of  forgiveness  and 
grace  are  gloriously  reliable.  (2)  To  the 
people  of  God.  However  improbable, 
apparently,  not  one  good  thing  of  all  that 
He  hath  promised  shall  faiL 


Historical  Surprises, 


{Verses  16-24.) 


From  the  16th  verse  to  the  38th  verse 

the  Psalmist  gives  an  outline  of  the 
history  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  exhibiting  in 
it  the  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  purposes 
and  the  working  of  the  Divine  power. 
In  the  verses  under  consideration  at 
present  we  have  several  surprises  of  the 
Divine  providence. 

I.  A  famine  driving  the  people  from 
the  land  promised  to  them,  yet  contri- 
buting to  their  possession  of  it.  "  He 
called  for  a  famine  upon  the  land ;  He 
brake  the  whole  staff  of  bread."  The 
famine  referred  to  is  that  which  occur- 
red in  the  time  of  Jacob,  and  which 
occasioned  his  migration  into  Egypt. 
This  famine  was  no  chance  occurrence  ; 
it  came  not  merely  by  the  operation  of 
material  laws ;  God  called  for  it ;  He 
ordered  it.  By  reason  of  it  "  Israel 
alfto  came  into  Egypt,  and  Jacob  so- 
journed in  the  land  of  Ham."  Thus 
tiiey  departed  from  the  promised  land  ; 


and  so  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  was 
rendered  apparently  more  unlikely  than 
ever.  Yet  in  the  providence  of  God  their 
absence  from  the  land  of  Canaan  contri- 
buted to  their  ultimate  possession  of  it. 
While  in  Egypt  they  increased  in  num- 
ber, in  power,  in  intelligence,  &c. 

II.  A  slave  becomes  the  saviour  of 
a  country  and  of  the  chosen  people. 
Notice  here — 

1.  The  sin  of  man.  *'  Joseph  was 
sold  for  a  servant,"  or  slave.  Joseph's 
position  as  a  slave  in  Egypt  was  brought 
about  by  the  envy  and  jealousy,  the 
hatred  and  cruelty,  of  his  brethren. 

2.  The  providence  of  God.  **  He 
sent  a  nmn  before  them."  God  so  or- 
dered events  that  Joseph  was  taken  into 
Egypt,  and  there  wondrously  enabled  to 
preserve  the  people  of  that  land  from 
perishing  by  famine,  and  to  arrange  for 
the  reception  and  support  of  Israel  and 
his  family.      Joseph's  position  in  Egypt 

U3 


rsALM  or. 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


was  not  an  accident  or  a  freak  of  for- 
tune. "  Be  not  grieved,  nor  angry  that 
ye  sold  me  liither ;  for  God  did  send  me 
before  you  to  preserve  life.  Ye  thought 
eyil  against  me  ;  but  God  meant  it  unto 
good,  to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day, 
to  save  much  people  alive."  The  brethren 
of  Joseph  were  free  in  their  wickedness 
in  selling  him  ;  they  were  guilty,  in 
the  sight  of  God,  of  jealousy,  hatred, 
cruelty.  God's  overruling  of  man's  sin 
does  not  extenuate  his  guilt.  **  Surely 
the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Thee,"  <kc. 
In  the  providence  of  God,  the  detested 
slave  became  the  honoured  saviour  of 
nations. 

III.  A  prisoner  is  made  the  ruler 
over  the  land. 

1.  Imprisonment  as  the  result  of  the 
wickedness  of  another.  Joseph  was  im- 
prisoned despite  his  own  virtue,  and  by 
reason  of  the  sins  of  his  master's  wife. 
(Gen.  xxxix.  7-20.) 

2.  Imprisonment  painful  to  the  suf- 
ferer, "  Whose  feet  they  hurt  with 
fetters;  he  was  laid  in  iron."  Margin, 
as  in  the  Heb.  :  **  His  soul  came  into 
Iron."  P.  B.  V.  :  "The  iron  entered  into 
his  soul "  is  a  very  expressive  render- 
ing, but  it  is  incorrect.  Perowne  points 
out  that  in  this  verse  we  have  a  picture 
of  an  imprisonment  much  more  severe 
"than  that  given  in  Gen.  xxxix.  20-23, 
xL  4.  But  it  may  refer  to  the  earlier 
stage  of  the  imprisonment,  before  he  had 
won  the  confidence  of  his  gaoler,  or  it 
may  be  tinged  with  the  colouring  of 
poetry."  But  even,  under  the  least  un- 
favourable circumstances,  imprisonment 
is  painful  to  an  upright  man.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  severe  trials  to  the  soul  of 
such  a  man.  Moreover,  in  the  case  of 
Joseph,  imprisonment  was  a  trial  of  his 
faith.  *'  The  word  of  the  Lord  tried 
him."  God  bad  promised  to  the  family 
of  which  he  was  a  member  the  posses- 
sion of  Canaan ;  and  to  him,  in  his 
dreams,  exaltation  and  honour  had  been 
promised.  So  the  saying  or  promise  of 
God  is  said  to  try  him,  because  during 
the  years  of  his  suffering  and  imprison- 
ment it  teste^i  his  faith  and  patience. 
Would  God  make  good  His  word  and 
raise  him  to  honour  ?  was  an  inquiry 
which  often  pressed  itself  upon  Joseph. 


3.  Imprisonment  Divinely  overruled, 

Joseph's  imprisonment  was  overruled  by 
God  to  promote  the  accomplishment  of 
purposes  the  most  important  and  bene- 
volent. The  Psalmist  mentions  (1)  The 
means  by  ivhich  his  release  was  brought 
about.  "  Until  the  time  that  his  word 
came."  The  "word"  is  the  word  of 
Joseph  by  which  he  interpreted  to  the 
servants  of  Pharaoh  their  dreams  in  the 
prison.  The  verification  of  his  inter- 
pretation of  the  dreams  and  his  release 
from  prison  are  regarded  as  cause  and 
effect.  (2)  The  wisdom  which  he  dis- 
played, Joseph  manifested  such  wisdom 
in  interpreting  the  dreams  of  Pharaoh, 
and  advising  him  as  to  the  measures  to 
be  adopted  to  provide  for  the  people 
during  the  years  of  famine,  that  the 
elders  of  Egypt  were  instructed  by  him. 
"  To  teach  his  senators  wisdom,"  is  not 
to  be  interpreted  that  he  literally  in- 
structed them  in  the  art  of  politics.  He 
displayed  a  wisdom  superior  to  theirs,  by 
which  they  were  instructed.  (3)  The 
power  with  which  he  was  invented.  As  a 
result  of  the  wisdom  which  he  mani- 
fested, Pharaoh  "  made  him  lord  of  his 
house  and  ruler  of  all  his  substance," 
(fee.  The  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  kingdom  was  placed  entirely  under 
his  control.  The  most  complete  authority 
was  given  unto  him.  (Gen.  xli.  44.) 
Wonderful  are  the  changes  brought  about 
in  the  providence  of  God,  and  wonder- 
ful the  means  by  which  they  are  brought 
about  ! 

IV.  A  subject  people  growing 
stronger  than  a  sovereign  people. 
"  He  increased  His  people  greatly,  and 
made  them  stronger  than  their  enemies.'* 
(Exod.  i.  7-9.)  This  increase  in  number 
and  power  the  Poet  attributes  to  God. 
The  virtues  of  a  godly  character  promote 
the  growth  and  progress  of  a  people. 
We  have  an  illustration  in  the  growth 
of  the  Christian  provinces  of  Turkey  in 
Europe,  while  the  dominant  Mahom- 
medans  are  decaying. 

Conclusion.  From  these  surprises 
in  the  outworking  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence, let  us  learn  to  trust  God  amid 
its  mysteries.  1,  Let  those  who  are  con- 
demned  and  suffer  wrongfully  trust  Him* 
In   due  time  He  will  vindicate    them, 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  or. 


even  as  He  did  Joseph.  2.  When  the 
current  of  events  seem  opposed  to  His 
avowed  purposes  and  promises j  let  us 
trust  Rim,     He  oft  moves  in  a  way  that 


is  mysterious  to  us.  But  He  will  ac- 
complish His  purposes  and  fulfil  Hig 
promises. 


A  Cruel  Persecution  and  a  Glorious  Emancipation. 

(Verses  25-SS.) 


In  these  verses  the  Psalmist  gives  us 

a  glimpse  of — 

I.  Israel  persecuted  in  Egypt.     We 
see  here 

1.  The  root  of  the  persecution,  "  He 
turned  their  heart  to  bate  His  people." 
The  hostility  of  the  Egyptians  to  the 
Israelites  is  here  ascribed  to  God.  Now 
we  know  that  God  is  not  in  any  sense 
the  author  of  moral  evil.  "  God  is 
light."  Hence  the  statement  of  the 
Psalmist  has  occasioned  much  diflSculty. 
The  difficulty  is  of  the  same  kind  as 
when  it  is  said  that  the  Lord  hardened 
the  heart  of  Pharaoh.  (See  Homiletic 
Commentary y  Critical  Note,  on  Exodus 
vii.  3.)  We  shall  do  well  to  bear  in 
mind  three  facts.  (1)  Pharaoh  and 
his  people  were  free  in  what  they  did  to 
the  Israelites.  (2)  The  Lord  mani- 
fested His  disapprobation  of  their  con- 
duct. (3)  Yet,  "  nothing — not  even 
the  human  will,  free  as  it  is — is  inde- 
pendent of  God  ;  and  not  even  the  worst 
passions  of  men  are  outside  of  His  plan, 
or  independent  in  such  a  sense  that  He 
does  not  afford  the  opportunity  for  their 
development  and  display."  God  so 
ordered  events  that  the  Egyptians  be- 
came the  enemies  of  His  people,  and 
rendered  their  removal  to  another  land 
necessary.  The  goodness  of  the  Lord 
to  the  Israelites  exasperated  the  Egyp- 
tians against  them.  "Though  God  is 
not  the  author  of  the  sins  of  men,  yet 
He  serves  His  own  purposes  by  them." 
The  root  of  the  persecution  was  the 
hatred  of  the  Eg}  ptians.  The  growing 
number  and  power  of  the  Israelites 
aroused  the  jealousy,  suspicion,  and 
hatred  of  the  Egyptians.  Hatred  is 
incipient  murder. 

2.  The  manner  of  the  persecution. 
"To  deal  subtilly  with  his  servants." 
The  word  which  is  here  rendered  •*  to 

vou  u.  fc 


deal    subtilly,*'    in    Gen.    xxxvii.    18, 

is  rendered  *'they  conspired  against.*' 
There  is  a  reference  to  Exod.  i.  10 : 
"  Come  on,  let  us  deal  wisely  with  them, 
lest  they  multiply,"  (fee.  So,  with 
diabolic  cunning  and  cruelty,  the  male 
children  were  ordered  to  be  slain  as  soon 
as  they  were  born,  and  the  burdens  of 
the  people  were  grievously  increased. 
"  Malice  is  crafty  to  destroy:  Satan  has 
the  serpent's  subtlety  with  his  venom." 
n.  Israel  emancipated  from  "Egypt, 
God  listened  to  the  cries  of  His  op- 
pressed people  and  delivered  them. 
Their  emancipation  was  effected  by  the 
Lord  God — 

1.  £t/  human  instruments.  He  em- 
ployed Moses  and  Aaron  to  accomplish 
this  great  work.  They  were  (1)  Divinely 
commissioned.  "  He  sent  Moses  His 
servant,  Aaron  whom  He  had  chosen." 
They  were  not  popular  agitators,  but 
men  of  distinguished  abilities,  called  of 
God  to  a  great  work.  (2)  Divinely 
authenticated.  "  They  showed  His  signs 
among  them,  and  wonders  in  the  land 
of  Ham."  (Conip.  Exod.  iv.  28,  30; 
X.  2 ;  Psalm  Ixxviii.  43.)  (3)  Obedient 
to  the  Divine  commission.  *'They  re- 
belled not  against  His  words."  At  first 
Moses  was  unwilling  to  undertake  the 
mission ;  but  afterwards  he  and  Aaron 
shrank  not  from  the  task,  but  faithfully 
performed  the  bidding  of  the  Lord. 
Unmoved  by  fear  of  Pharaoh,  or  by  pity 
for  his  people,  they  did  the  work  which 
the  Lord  committed  to  them. 

2,  By  overcoming  the  most  persistent 
resistance  on  the  part  of  Pharaoh.  Pha- 
raoh would  not  obey  the  Divine  com- 
mand until  the  Lord  had  visited  him 
and  his  people  and  country  with  terrible 
plagues.  Verses  28-36.  (See  Homiletic 
Commentary  on  Psahn  Ixxviii.  42-53, 
and  Exod.  viu-xii.) 

145 


PSALM  OV. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENT  ART:  PSALMS, 


3.  In  circumstances  favourable  to  His 
people.  They  were  brought  out  of 
Egypt  with  (1)  Wealth.  "  He  brought 
them  forth  with  silver  and  gold."  In 
Exodus  xii.  35  it  is  said,  "  They  bor- 
rowed of  the  Egyptians  jewels  of  silver 
and  jewels  of  gold."  ''  Borrowed  "  is 
an   unhappy  rendering,  as  the   word — 

y\^^ — signifies  to  pem-trate^  to  ash  pres- 
sing l^,  to  require,  to  request,  to  heg,  <kc. 
(2)  Health,  *'  There  was  not  one  feeble 
person  among  their  tribes."  Perowne : 
"  There  was  none  among  their  tribes 
that  stumbled."  Notwithstanding  their 
afflictions,  the  people  were  healthy  and 
hardy  when  they  left  Egypt.  (3)  Re- 
sped,      *' Egypt  was  glad  when  they 


departed;  for  the  fear  of  them  fell 
upon  them."  The  Lord  had  so  pleaded 
their  cause  that  they  were  regarded  by 
the  Egyptians  as  under  the  special  pro- 
tection of  God.  The  Egyptians  were 
afraid  of  them,  and  realised  a  great 
feeling  of  relief  when  they  had  gone 
out  from  amongst  them.  (4)  Joy, 
*'He  brought  forth  His  people  with 
joy,  His  chosen  with  gladness"  (verse 
43).  God  exchanged  their  cry  by  reason 
of  their  burdens,  for  glad  songs  by  reason 
of  their  deliverance. 

Conclusion.     Our  subject  speaks — 

1.  Encouragement  to  the  oppressed, 

2.  Warning  to  the  oppressor, 

3.  Hope  for  the  future  of  the  race, 
**  The  Lord  reigneth." 


Divine  Blessings  in  Human  Pilgrimage, 
(Ferses  39-45.) 


In  these  verses  the  Psalmist  briefly 
refers  to  the  goodness  of  God  to  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  and  their 
inheritance  of  Canaan,  and  states  the 
reason  why  He  had  so  dealt  with  them, 
and  His  purpose  in  His  dealings  with 
them.  This  portion  of  the  poem  may 
be  used  as  illustrating  the  blessings  of 
God  in  the  p)il9'^i''^<^9^  <^f  human  life. 
These  blessings  are — 

1.  Adapted  to  human  needs.  The 
needs  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  repre- 
sent the  needs  of  human  life.  The  Divine 
blessings  were  adapted  to  those  needs. 

\.  Direction.  "He  spread  a  cloud 
for  a  covering,  and  fire  to  give  light  in 
the  night."  "  In  the  daytime  He  led 
them  with  a  cloud,  and  all  the  night 
with  a  light  of  fire."  See  Exodus  xiii. 
21.  "The  way  of  man  is  not  in  him- 
self ;  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to 
direct  his  steps."  "  In  all  thy  ways 
acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  direct 
thy  paths."  He  does  so — (1)  by  the 
teachings  of  His  Word ;  (2)  by  the 
influences  of  His  Spirit  ;  (S)  by  the 
indications  of  circumstances. 

2.  Protection.  In  the  burning  wilder- 
ness the  cloud  was  a  protection  to  the 
people  against  the  heat  of  the  sun  by 
day  ;  and  by  night  the  fire  shielded  them 
from  the  attacks  of  wild  beasts.     God 

146 


is  the  sure  defence  of  His  people.  "Who 
is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  fol- 
lowers of  that  which  is  good?" 

3.  Provision.  "They  asked,  and  He 
brought  quails,  and  satisfied  them  with 
the  bread  of  heaven.  He  opened  the 
rock,  and  the  waters  gushed  out;  they 
ran  in  the  dry  places  like  a  river."  (On 
verse  40,  see  Homiletic  Commentary  on 
Ps.  Ixxviii.  24-29 ;  and  on  verse  41, 
see  Homiletic  Commentary  on  Ps.  IxxviiL 
15,  16.)  God  provides  for  His  people 
all  needful  things  for  the  body.  Of  the 
righteous  the  Lord  says,  "  Bread  shall 
be  given  him,  his  waters  shall  be  sure." 
"  No  good  will  He  withhold  from  them 
that  walk  uprightly."  (Matt.  vi.  30-32). 
Spiritually  His  provisions  are  adapted 
to  all  our  needs.  "As  thy  days,  so 
shall  thy  strength  be."  "  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee;  for  My  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness." 

4.  Possession.  "  He  gave  them  the 
lands  of  the  heathen,  and  they  inherited 
the  labour  of  the  people."  (See  Homi- 
letic  Covimentary  on  Ps.  Ixxviii.  55.) 
Durinoj  the  wanderiniis  in  the  wilder- 
ness  the  Israelites  looked  forward  to 
the  possession  of  Canaan  as  the  end  of 
their  wanderings,  tlieir  rest  and  home. 
A  glorious  inheritance  awaits  the  good 
at  the  end   of  their   pilgrimage, — "an 


nOMlLETlC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


rSALH  OVl. 


inlieritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled, 
and  that  fadeth  not  away,  is  reserved  in 
heaven  "  for  them.  This  is  an  inspira- 
tion during  the  pilgrimage,  <kc. 

n.  Adequate  to  human  needs.  ''  He 
satisfied  them."  "The  waters  ran  in 
the  dry  places  like  a  river."  The  Divine 
provision  for  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness was  abundant.  No  one  lacked 
anything.  Having  the  Lord  with  them, 
they  had  all-sufficiency.  So  in  the  pil- 
grimage of  human  life  the  Divine  pro- 
visions are  adequate  to  every  need, 
*'  God  shall  supply  all  your  need  accord- 
ing to  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ 
Jesus."  '*  God  is  able  to  make  all  grace 
abound  toward  you,  that  ye,  always  hav- 
ing all-sufficiency  in  all  things,  may 
abound  to  every  good  work."  "  He  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above 
all  that  we  ask  or  think."  His  wisdom 
is  adequate  to  our  direction ;  His  wisdom 
and  power  to  our  protection  ;  His  re- 
sources for  our  provision,  &c. 

III.  Guaranteed  by  Divine  faithful- 
ness. "For  He  remembered  His  holy 
promise,  and  Abraham  His  servant." 
It  is  said  of  Israel  in  Egypt:  "And 
God  heard  their  groaning,  and  God 
remembered  His  covenant  with  Abra- 
ham," &c.  (Exodus  ii.  24,  25).  "  Be- 
cause the  Lord  loved  you,  and  because 
He  would  keep  the  oath  which  He  had 
sworn  unto  your  fathers,  hath  the  Lord 


brought  you  out  with  a  mighty  hand," 
<fec.  They  were  unworthy  and  unfaith- 
ful, but  God  did  these  great  things  for 
them  because  of  His  word  to  their 
fathers.  The  faithful  promises  of  God 
guarantee  to  us  the  blessings  we  need 
during  our  pilgrimage.  Harvest  may 
be  blighted  \  fountains  may  be  dried 
up  j  all  finite  resources  may  faiL 

**  If  this  fail, 
The  pillar'd  firmament  is  rottennesi, 
And  earth's  base  built  on  stubble.'* 

IV.  Bestowed  for  the  most  worthy 
purpose.  The  end  of  all  God's  dealings 
with  the  Israelites  was  "  that  they  might 
observe  His  statutes,  and  keep  His  laws." 
His  design  was  that  Israel  should  be  a 
holy  nation,  representing  Him  in  the 
world,  and  claiming  the  world  for  Him  as 
His  own.  The  final  cause  of  all  the  bles- 
sings He  confers  upon  His  people  now 
is  their  conformity  to  His  will.  We 
are  redeemed,  called,  guided,  guarded, 
sustained,  and  animated  with  hopes 
of  heaven,  all  with  a  view  to  our  holi- 
ness. 

The  blessings  of  God  in  the  pilgrimage 
of  life— 

V.  Call  for  devout  praise.  "  Praise 
ye  the  Lord."  He  has  done,  and  is 
ever  doing,  great  things  for  us ;  and  to 
Him  let  us  ascribe  the  praise.  Halle- 
lujah I 


PSALM     OVL 
Introduction. 

*'Thi8  ig  the  first  of  a  series  of  Hallelujaii  Psalms  :  Psalms  of  which  the  word  Hallelujah  la, 
sa  it  were,  the  inscription  (cvi.,  cxi.-cxiii.,  cxvii.,  cxxxv.,  cxlvi.-cl.).  As  in  the  last  Psalm, 
80  here  the  history  of  Israel  is  recapitulated.  In  that  it  was  turned  into  a  thanksgiving;  in 
this  it  forms  the  burden  of  a  confession.  There  God's  mighty  acts  for  His  people  were  cele- 
brated with  joy  ;  here  His  people's  sin  is  humbly  and  sorrowfully  acknowledged.  Nothing  is 
more  remarkable  in  these  great  historical  Psalms  than  the  utter  absence  of  any  word  or 
aentiment  tending  to  feed  the  national  vanity.  All  the  glory  of  Israel's  history  is  confessed  to 
be  due,  not  to  her  heroes,  her  priests,  her  prophets,  but  to  God;  all  the  failures  which  ara 
written  upon  that  history,  all  discomfitures,  losses,  reverses,  the  sword,  famine,  exile,  nrc  re- 
cognised as  the  righteous  chastisement  which  the  sin  of  the  nation  has  provoked.  This  is  the 
strain  of  such  Psalms  as  the  78th,  the  105th,  the  106th.  This  is  invariably  the  tone  assumed 
by  all  the  divinely-instructed  teachers  of  the  people,  by  the  prophets  in  their  great  sermons,  bj 
the  poets  in  their  contributions  to  the  national  liturgy. 

**  From  verse  47  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  the  Psalm  is  of  the  date  of  the  Exile,  or  was 
written  shortly  after  the  return  of  the  first  company  of  exiles." — Perowne. 

Hengstenberg  :  **  The  situation  is  described  exactly  in  verses  46  and  47;"  and  *' is  thai 
towards  the  end  of  the  captivity." 

The  author  of  the  Psalm  is  not  known. 

147 


rSALMOTL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARr:  PSALMS, 


Ohabaotbristios  of  the  Blbssed  Peopul 
{Vertes  1-5.) 


"  The  first  five  verses,**  says  Perowne, 
"  seem  to  stand  alone,  and  to  have  little 
or  no  direct  connection  with  the  rest  of 

the  Psalm The  first  verse,  no 

doubt,  is  of  the  nature  of  a  doxological 
formula,  such  as  we  find  in  some  other 
of  these  later  Psalms.  But  the  second 
and  third  verses  have  an  immediate  bear- 
ing on  what  follows.  What  so  fitting 
to  introduce  the  confession  of  a  nation's 
sin  and  ingratitude  as  the  rehearsal  of 
God's  goodness  manifested  to  it,  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  blessedness  of 
those  who,  instead  of  despising  that  good- 
ness, as  Israel  had  done,  walked  in  the 
ways  of  the  Lord,  keeping  judgment  and 
doing  righteousness  (verse  3)1  Or,  again, 
what  more  natural  than  that  the  sense 
of  the  national  privilege,  the  claim  of  a 
personal  share  in  that  privilege,  should 
spring  in  the  heart  and  rise  to  the  lips 
of  one  who  felt  most  deeply  the  national 
sin  and  ingratitude?" 

We  regard  these  verses  as  presenting 
to  us  certain  characteristics  of  the  blessed 
people. 

L  They  are  a  worshipping  people. 

1.  They  have  exalted  views  of  the  Divine 
greatness  and  glory.  "  Who  can  utter 
the  mighty  acts  of  the  Lord  1  who  can 
show  forth  all  His  praise  ? "  The  acts 
of  the  Lord  are  so  many,  so  greaty  so 
marvellous^  and  so  glorious,  that  man  is 
unable  adequately  to  celebrate  them. 
"  The  transcendent  greatness  of  the 
deeds  of  God  ought  not  to  keep  us  back 
from  praising  Him,  but  contains  in  it  the 
strongest  motive  to  praise  ;  the  farther 
oflf  the  goal  is,  the  more  earnestly  must 
we  strive." — Hengstenherg. 

2.  They  appreciate  the  Divine  benefits. 
**  He  is  good.  His  mercy  endureth  for 
ever,"  The  goodness  here  mentioned  is 
not  so  much  the  excellence  of  His  own 
nature,  as  His  gracious  dealings  with 
man.  The  manifestations  of  His  mercy 
and  generosity  were  so  numerous,  so  con- 
stant, so  glorioua,  that  the  Poet  was 
moved  by  admiration,  and  desired  to  give 
God  the  honour  of  them. 

3.  They    praise   tlte    Divine   Being 

148 


*'  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  O  g!ve  thanki 
unto  the  Lord."  Worship— the  adora- 
tion of  the  Divine  excellence,  and  bene- 
ficence, and  beauty — is  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  the  highest  blessedness.  The 
true  worship  of  the  true  God  is  the  hea- 
ven of  the  soul. 

II.  They  are  a  righteous  people. 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  keep  judgment, 
and  he  that  doeth  righteousness  at  all 
times."  For  moral  beings  there  can  be 
no  blessedness  except  that  which  is  based 
upon  righteousness  of  principle  and  of 
practice.  Conscience  will  not  admit  of 
blessedness  on  any  other  condition.  The 
Psalmist  speaks  of  habitual  righteous- 
ness. If  we  would  be  truly  blessed, 
righteousness  must  be  not  an  occasional 
but  a  constant  disposition  of  heart  and 
rule  of  conduct.  The  blessed  man  is  one 
who  '*  doeth  righteousness  at  all  times." 
Barnes  points  out  that  "  the  Psalm  is 
designed  to  illustrate  by  contrast;  that 
is,  by  showing,  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Hebrew  people,  the  consequences  of  dit- 
obedietice,  and  thus  implying  what  would 
have  been,  and  what  always  must  be,  the 
consequences  of  the  opposite  course  " 

III.  They  are  the  Lord's  people. 
We  cannot  be  truly  blessed  without  a 
hearty  recognition  of  our  true  relation  to 
God.  When  by  faith  and  consecration 
we  are  His  people,  great  is  our  blessed- 
ness. Concerning  the  people  of  God  and 
their  blessedness  the  Poet  indicates — 

1.  2^he  source  of  all  their  blessings, 
"  Remember  me,  O  Lord,  with  the  favour 
of  Thy  people."  All  our  blessings  flow 
from  the  unmerited  and  free  '*  favour  " 
of  the  Lord. 

2.  The  sum  of  all  their  blessings,  "  Oh 
visit  me  with  Thy  salvation."  "  Salva- 
tion" includes  pardon  for  past  sin,  "grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need,"  and  eternal  and 
blessed  life. 

3.  The  result  of  all  their  blessings,  (1 .) 
Gladness  to  man.  "  That  I  may  rejoice 
in  the  gladness  of  Thy  nation."  The 
favour  of  God  is  joy-inspiring.  (2.) 
Glory  to  God.  "  That  I  may  glory  with 
Thine  inheritance."     The  people  of  God 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


rsALMon. 


glory  not  in  their  wisdom,  wealth,  or 
power,  but  in  their  relation  to  Him. 
In  Him  they  make  their  boast.  To  Him 
they  ascribe  their  praise. 


Conclusion. — 1.  Ood  ha%  a  people 
who  are  in  a  special  manner  Sis,  2.  To 
these  people  lie  imparts  special  blessings. 
3.  Are  we  of  the  number  of  these  people  f 


The  Favour  of  God  Desired. 


Verse  4.  **  Remember  me,  O  Lord, 
with  the  favour  of  Thy  people." 

I.  That  the  Lord  has  a  people,  who 
in  a  different  way  from  others  are  His. 
They  are  so  by  adopting  love,  Rom.  ix. 
25  ;  by  renewing  grace,  Eph.  ii.  10;  by 
voluntary  consent,  2  Cor.  vii.  5  ;  by 
public  avowal,  Isa.  xliv.  5  ;  by  inward 
testimony,  1  John  v.  19,  Rom.  viii. 
16 ;  by  divine  appropriation,  Zech.  xiil 
9,  and  by  open  evidence,  2  Cor.  iil  2,  3. 

IL  That  to  these  He  bears  a  peculiar 
and  distinguished  favour.  While  others 
are  the  recipients  of  common  mercies, 
they  have  blessings  of  a  peculiar  and 
pre-eminent  description,  so  that  the 
congratulation  given  by  Moses  to  the 
Israelites  is  applicable  to  the  Lord's 
people  in  every  age  and  place.  (Deut. 
xzziii.  29.) 


III.  That  to  he  remembered  of  God 
with  this  favour  is  infinitely  desirable. 
And  why  is  this  the  case  1  Because  it 
sweetens  the  comforts  of  life ;  because  it 
quickens  us  in  the  performance  of  duty ; 
because  it  yields  relief  in  scenes  of  sor 
row  and  suffering  ;  and  because  it  is  the 
ground  of  all  our  hope. 

IV.  That  those  who  would  have  the 
Divine  favour  must  pray  for  it.  "  God 
is  ready  to  bestow  His  favour  upon  us 
(1  John  iv.  10,  Rom.  viii.  32),  but 
application  on  our  part  must  be  made 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  37) ;  and  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  duty  leaves  without  excuse 
those  persons  who  refuse  to  comply  with 
it.  Let  us  never  despise  a  favour  so 
freely  offered,  so  greatly  needed ;  a 
favour  which  may  be  obtained  on  terms 
so  easy." — W,  Sleigh. 


The  Lord's  Goodness  and  Man's  Sin. 

(Verses  6-U.) 


In  these  verses  the  Psalmist  begins 
the  confession  of  the  sin  of  the  Israelites 
as  manifested  in  their  history.  Let  us 
notice — 

I.  Man's  sin  notwithstanding  the 
Lord's  goodness.  Verses  6-8.  We 
have  here — 

1.  The  sins  acknowledged.  (1) 
Thoughtlessness.  "  Our  fathers  under- 
stood not  Thy  wonders  in  Egypt." 
Perowne  :  "  Our  fathers  in  Egypt  con- 
sidered not,"  &c.  The  marvellous  and 
glorious  deeds  of  the  Lord  in  their 
behalf  they  saw  but  did  not  consider, 
and  therefore  did  not  understand  them. 
"  They  thought  the  plagues  of  Egypt 
were  intended  for  their  deliverance, 
whereas  they  were  intended  also  for 
their  instruction  and  conviction,  not 
only  to  force  them  out  of  their  Egyp- 
tian slavery,  but  to  cure  them  of  their 
inclination    to    Egyptian    idolatry,    by 


evidencing  the  sovereign  power  and 
dominion  of  the  God  of  Israel  above 
all  gods,  and  His  particular  concern  for 
them." — M.  Henry.  Want  of  con- 
sideration is  a  sin  frequently  charged 
against  Israel,  and  to  which  men  arb 
painfully  prone  in  our  own  day.  We 
see  the  Divine  wonders,  receive  the 
Divine  benefits,  but  do  not  reflect  on 
their  significance,  (kc.  (2)  Forgetful- 
ness.  "  They  remembered  not  the 
multitude  of  Thy  mercies."  Although 
the  wonders  in  Egypt  were  so  many 
and  great,  yet  they  made  so  small  an 
impression  upon  the  people  on  whose 
behalf  they  were  wrought  that  they 
were  speedily  forgotten  by  them. 
"  Eaten  bread  is  soon  forgotten."  (3) 
Rebellion.  "  But  provoked  Him  at  the 
sea,  at  the  Red  Sea.  Hengstenberg  and 
Perowne  translate:  "rebelled  at.  the  sea." 
(See  Exod.  xiv.  10-12.)     Notwitlistand- 

149 


PSALM  OTI 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PS  AIMS, 


ing  all  the  mighty  works  that  had 
been  wrought  for  their  deliverance  from 
Egypt,  oil  the  first  approach  of  danger 
they  distrusted  the  Lord,  and,  like 
craven-hearted  slaves,  they  murmured 
against  the  servant  of  the  Lord.  They 
distrusted  the  power,  mercy,  and  faith- 
fulness of  God.  Observe  the  gradation 
and  connection  of  their  sins.  Want  of 
reflection  upon  the  mercies  of  God  leads 
to  forgetfulness  of  those  mercies,  and 
forgetfulness  of  His  mercies  leads  to 
distrust,  &C.  Evil  is  terribly  pro- 
gressive. 

2.  The  aggravation  of  their  sins. 
Many  were  the  "  wonders  "  wrought  on 
their  behalf,  yet  they  failed  to  consider 
them.  The  Lord  bestowed  upon  them 
a  "  multitude  of  mercies  ; "  it  is  sinful 
to  forget  one  of  His  loving-kindnesses ; 
yet  they  forgot  a  '*  multitude  "  of  them. 
The  sin  of  their  rebellion  also  was 
aggravated  by  the  place  in  which  they 
were  guilty  of  it.  It  was  "  at  the  Ked 
Sea,'*  directly  after  their  emancipation 
from  Egypt,  when  the  wonders  of 
power  and  grace  which  God  had 
wrought  for  them  should  have  been 
fresh  in  their  minds,  and  a  powerful 
inspiration  to  faith. 

3.  The  confession  of  their  sins. 
"  We  have  sinned  with  our  fathers, 
we  have  committed  iniquity,  we 
have  done  wickedly/'  Here  is  (1)  A 
deep  sense  of  great  and  manifold  trans- 
gressions. This  is  impressively  indi- 
cated by  the  three  verbs.  (2)  -4  sad 
successiveness  of  sin.  "  We  have  sinned 
with  our  fathers.'*  The  sins  of  the 
fathers  had  been  reproduced  in  the 
children,  generation  after  generation ; 
•o  that  the  nation  as  a  whole  was 
regarded  by  the  Psalmist  as  guilty 
before  God. 

In  most  of  the  points  which  we  have 
touched  upon  the  sins  of  the  Israelites, 
notwithstanding  the  goodness  of  the 
Lord,  represent  the  sins  of  the  men  of 
our  age  and  country.  (Show  this, 
and  urge  confession). 

n.  The  Lord's  goodness  notwith- 
standing man's  sin.  Verses  8-12. 
Though   the    sins    of    Israel   were    so 


aggravated,  yet  the  Lord  continued  to 
manifest  His  mercy  to  them. 

1.  His  goodriess  was  displayed  in  their 
salvation.  The  deliveran(e  here  re- 
ferred to  was  a  very  remarkable  one. 
It  was  (1)  A  deliverance  from  extreme 
danger.  They  were  shut  in  by  the 
mountains,  the  sea,  and  the  Egyptians. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape. 
(2)  A  deliverance  marvellously  effected, 
A  path  was  opened  through  the  sea, 
whose  waters  stood  as  guardian-walls 
on  either  hand  of  them.  (3)  A  deliver- 
ance effected  with  the  utmost  ease.  The 
Poet  represents  the  sea  as  "dried  up" 
at  the  *'  rebuke  "  of  the  Lord.  Nature 
is  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  Divine  will 
(4)  A  deliverance  gloriously  complete. 
Israel  not  only  crossed  over  in  safety, 
but  "  the  waters  covered  their  enemies, 
there  was  not  one  of  them  left." 

2.  His  goodness  was  displayed  for 
His  own  glory.  "  He  saved  them  for 
His  Name's  sake,  that  He  might  make 
His  mighty  power  to  be  known."  Not- 
withstanding their  offences  He  saved 
them  because  of  what  He  is  in  Himself, 
— a  being  of  unchanging  truth  and 
mercy  ;  and  that  the  glory  of  His  power 
might  be  manifested. 

3.  The  display  of  His  goodness  awoke 
them  to  a  transient  exercise  of  faith  and 
praise.  "  Then  believed  they  His 
words ;  they  sang  His  praise."  (See 
Exod.  xiv.  31  ]  XV.  1.)  For  a  time 
distrust  gave  place  to  faith,  and  mur- 
muring to  praise.  But  it  was  only  for 
a  little  time  ;  for  "  both  the  faith  and 
the  song  are  mentioned,  not  in  praise  of 
their  conduct,  but  only  as  still  further 
proof  that  whatever  impressions  were 
produced,  whether  by  God's  judgments 
or  His  mercies,  were  but  temporary 
and  on  the  surface.  The  goodness  of 
Israel  was  like  the  dew,  early  gone." — 
Perowne, 

Conclusion. — This  scene  from  He- 
bre\v  history  presents  to  us  (1) 
Admonition.  Let  us  not  sin  against 
that  Being  who  is  ever  manifesting  so 
much  goodness  to  us.  (2)  Encourage- 
ment. God  does  not  **  deal  with  Ui 
after  our  sins,'*  <bc. 


IJ^O 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  0VL 


Sin  in  its  Root,  Expressions,  and  Punishments. 

(Verses  13-23.) 


We  now  come  to  the  confession  of  the 
transgressions  of  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness  ;  and  in  tlie  verses  now 
before  us  three  of  their  oiffences  are 
mentioned.  As  the  Homiletic  sugges- 
tions arising  out  of  these  sins  and  their 
punishments  will  be  brought  out  in 
treating  of  their  history  as  recorded  in 
Exodus  and  Numbers,  we  shall  simply 
deal  with  the  points  suggested  by  the 
Psalmist. 

I.  Sin  in  its  root.  "  They  soon 
forgat  His  works  .  .  .  They  forgat  God 
their  Saviour,  which  had  done  great 
things  in  Egypt  ;  wondrous  things  in 
the  land  of  Ham ;  terrible  things  by 
the  Red  Sea.''  (See  our  remarks  on 
verse  7,  and  on  Ps.  Ixxviii.  11,  12.) 
The  small  impression  which  the  greatest 
mercies  and  most  marvellous  deliver- 
ances made  upon  them  is  astonishing. 
Bad  as  men  are,  it  is  not  often  that 
favours  so  extraordinary  are  forgotten 
so  quickly.  "  They  made  haste,  they 
forgat  His  works."  They,  as  it  were, 
manifested  impatience  to  rid  themselves 
of  the  recollection  of  His  glorious  deeds 
wrought  for  them.  Even  the  mighty 
miracles  in  Egypt  and  at  the  Ked  Sea 
passed  away  from  them  as  tales  that 
were  told.  Had  they  retained  in  their 
mind  the  great  things  which  God  had 
done  for  them,  they  would  have  bad  in 
these  things  such  a  revehttion  of  His 
character  as  would  have  precluded  the 
committal  of  their  offences  against 
Him.  Forgetfulness  of  deeds  of  marvel- 
lous mercy  and  power  wrought  on  their 
behalf,  and  of  Him  who  wrought  them, 
was  the  root  from  which  their  base 
rebellion  sprang. 

II.  Sin  in  its  expressions.  From  the 
root  of  forgetfulness  of  God  there  sprang 
ui)  some  base  and  pernicious  branches. 
Here  are  tliree  heinous  sins — 

1.  Their  sin  as  regards  the  Divine 
provision.  *'  They  waited  not  for  His 
counsel ;  but  lusted  exceedingly  in  the 
wilderness,"  (fee.  *'  They  were  not  con- 
tent," says  Perowne,  "to  exercise  a 
j/Atient  dependence  upon  God,  leaving  it 


to  Him  to  fulfil  His  own  purposes  in 
His  own  way,  but  would  rather  rule  Him 
than  submit  themselves  to  His  rule." 
( See  Homiletic  Commentari/  on  Ps.  Ixxviii. 
17,  18.) 

2.  77ieir  sin  as  regards  the  Divinely- 
appointed  leaders.  *'  They  envied  Moses 
also  in  the  camp,  and  Aaron  the  saint  of 
the  Lord."  (Num.  xvi.  1-3.)  The  re- 
ference in  this  place  is  rather  to  the 
rebellion  which  resulted  from  the  envy, 
than  to  the  envy  itself.  Aaron  is  de- 
nominated "the  saint,"  or  *'the  holy 
one  of  Jehovah,"  because  of  his  priestly 
oflSce.  It  is  an  official,  not  a  personal 
designation.  The  leaders  of  the  insur- 
rection claimed  that  the  whole  congrega- 
tion was  "  holy,"  that  they  were  all  set 
apart  and  consecrated,  and  were  there- 
fore on  an  equality  with  Moses  and 
Aaron.  Rebellion  against  the  Divinely- 
appointed  leaders  was  equivalent  to  re- 
bellion against  Him  who  appointed 
them. 

3.  Their  sin  as  regards  the  Divine 
Person.  "They  made  a  calf  in  Horeb, 
and  worshipped  the  molten  image.  Thus 
they  changed  their  glory  into  the  simili- 
tude of  an  ox  that  eateth  grass."  (Exod. 
xxxii.)  **  They  made — contrary  to  the 
prohibition  in  Exod.  xx.  4,  5 — a  calf^ 
intended  to  represent  an  ox  (comp.  verse 
20).  They  would  gladly  have  made  an 
ox,  but  they  were  not  able  to  get  this 
length,  so  contemptible  was  the  whole 
undertaking.  The  name  *  calf '  is  every- 
where used  in  contempt;  the  worshippers 
without  doubt  called  it  a  bull ;  according 
to  Philo  they  made  *a  golden  bull.'" — 
Hengstenherg.  "  Their  glory  "  was  the 
Lord  God,  and  they  changed  Him  for 
the  likeness  "  of  an  ox  that  eateth 
grass."  (Comp.  Iloni.  i.  23.)  The  in- 
tention of  the  people  na  as  to  worship  God 
under  the  symbol  of  the  calf,  but  as  this 
symbolising  was  utterly  incompatible 
with  the  nature  of  Jehovah,  and  opposed 
to  His  express  command,  it  was  regarded 
by  God  as  bartering  Him  for  the  image, 
the  renunciation  of  Jehovah  for  the 
model  of  a  calf.     Miserable  and  terribly 

151 


PtALV<WI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY  PSALMS, 


fiinful  absurdity  to  exchange  the  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth  for  a  calf-like  model  of 
a  grass-eating  ox  !  The  sin  which  began 
in  forgetfulness  of  God  ended  in  idolatry. 
The  development  of  evil  is  from  bad  to 
worse,  and  is  sometimes  fearfully  rapid. 

II.  Sin  in  its  punishments.  We  have 
here — 

1.  Punishment  corresponding  with  sin, 
(On  the  punishment  of  those  who  lusted 
for  flesh  in  the  wilderness  see  Homiletic 
Commentary  on  Ps.  Ixxviii.  30,  31). 
"  He  gave  them  their  request,  but  sent 
leanness  into  their  soul."  The  "  soul " 
here  means  the  animal  soul,  the  physical 
life.  The  Lord  gratified  their  sinful 
desire,  and  in  so  doing  and  by  the  same 
means  punished  their  sin ;  for  they  ate 
until  there  came  on  a  wasting  sickness 
which  led  to  alarming  mortality.  But 
althousfh  the  "  soul  "  is  here  used  with 
its  physical  meaning,  **  the  figurative 
sense  is  equally  true,  and  equally  per- 
tinent. The  very  heart  and  spirit  of  a 
man,  when  bent  only  or  supremely  on 
the  satisfaction  of  its  earthly  desires 
and  appetites,  is  always  dried  up  and 
withered.  It  becomes  a  lean,  shrunk, 
miserable  thing,  always  craving  more 
food,  yet  drawing  thence  no  nourish- 
ment, *  magnas  inter  opes  inops,* " — 
Feroume, 

"  Heaven  is  most  just,  and  of  oar  pleasant 
vices 
Makes  instrnments  to  ecourge  us." 

— Shakespeare, 

In  the  rebellion  against  Moses  and 
Aaron  we  note  a  correspondence  between 


the  sin  and  its  punishment  In  the  re- 
bellion against  Moses,  who  was  the  ruler 
in  all  affairs  of  state,  "  Dathan  and 
Abiram,  as  princes  of  the  tribe  of  Reuben, 
Jacob's  eldest  son,  would  claim  to  be 
cnief  magistrates,  by  the  so- much-admired 
right  of  primogeniture."  And  for  re- 
belling against  *'  the  civil  authority  they 
were  punished  by  the  earth,  which  opened 
and  swallowed  them  up,  as  not  fit  to  go 
upon  God's  ground,  because  they  would 
not  submit  to  God's  government." — M, 
Renry.  In  the  rebellion  against  Aaron, 
which  took  place  among  the  Levites  and 
was  headed  by  Korah,  "  a  fire  wag 
kindled  in  their  company,  a  flame  burnt 
up  the  wicked."  *'  These  had  sinned  by 
fire  and  were  punished  by  fire  like  the 
sons  of  Aaron"  (Lev.  x.  2).  (Comp. 
Num.  xvi.  1-35.) 

2.  Punishment  averted  by  intercession. 
When  the  people  made  and  worshipped 
the  golden  calf,  God  "said  that  He  would 
destroy  them,  had  not  Moses  His  chosen 
stood  before  Him  in  the  breach,  to  turn 
away  His  wrath,  lest  He  should  destroy 
them."  Moses  is  here  compared  to  a 
brave  soldier  who,  when  a  breach  has 
been  made  in  the  walls  of  the  fortress 
which  he  is  defending,  plants  himself  in 
the  breach,  and  so  keeps  back  the  in- 
vaders. (Comp.  Exod.  xxxii.  11-14.) 
God  would  have  destroyed  the  people,  if 
Moses  had  not  interposed  and  interceded 
for  them.     See  here — 

1.  l^he  power  of  prayer. 

2.  The  greatness  of  the  Divine  mercy, 

3.  An  illustration  of  the  intercession  of 
Christ  for  our  race. 


Forgetfulness  of  the  Divine  Works. 
{Verse  13. — "But  they  soon  forgot  His  works.") 


I.  That  the  works  of  God  are 
supremely  worthy  of  an  attentive 
review,  and  a  thankful  remem- 
brance. 

1.  What  did  they  forget  ?  His  works. 
Review  all  their  variety — the  creation, 
the  appointment  of  a  salvation,  the  work 
of  redemption,  the  works  of  Providence  ; 
they  are  to  be  considered  in  their  peculiar 
aspect,  whether  prosperous  or  adverse. 
Review  their  multitude  ;  they  are  to  be 
152 


considered  in  their  meaning.    Providence 
is  our  daily  preacher. 

2.  What  sort  of  recollection  should  it 
be  /  Not  a  mere  notional  recollection — 
a  recollection  accompanied  with  suitable 
emotions — astonishment,  gratitude,  love, 
and  heartfelt  consideration.  It  must  be 
a  devotional  and  practical  recollection. 

3.  Why  are  these  works  to  be  remem- 
bered ?  Because  they  are  God's  works ; 
because  they  are  all-important ;  because 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  CVl. 


the  least  of  them  is  the  purchase  of  in- 
finite price. 

II.  That  there  is  in  human  nature  a 
strange  tendency  to  forget  the  vorks 
of  God. 

This  is  no  calumny  on  human  nature. 
It  is  the  express  statement  of  Scripture, 
and  is  confirmed  by  daily  experience.  It 
arises  from — 

1.  2^he  injury  the  memory  has  stis- 
tained  hy  the  Fall  :  it  retains  what  is 
impure,  but  not  what  is  holy. 

2.  I'he  bias  of  our  mind  is  directed  to 
tarihly  things. 

3.  The  secret  disinclination  to  conr- 
template  a  subject  in  which  God  is  inti- 
mately concerned. 

III.  The  sinfulness  and  danger  of 
thus  forgetting  the  works  of  God. 

1.  It  arises  out  of  a  sinful  state  of 
mind,  and  it  is  culpable  forgetfulness. 

2.  It  is  an  actual  transgression  of 
God's  Word.  (Deut.  iv.  9  :  1  Chron. 
xvi.  12.) 

3.  It  involves  in  it  the  commission  of 
other  sins — inconsideration  and  ingrati- 
tude. 

4.  They  who  forget  their  mercies  forfeit 
thim^ 


5.  God  has  denounced  fearful  Judg- 
ments on  such.     (Ps.  ix.  17.) 

IV.  What  are  the  best  means  of  pre- 
serving in  our  minds  a  grateful  sense 
of  the  Divine  goodness  ? 

1.  Seek  that  you  be  renewed  and  sancti- 
fied. 

2.  Attention  will  much  assist  in  the 
recollection  of  mercies,     (Prov.  iv.  20.) 

3.  Meditation  cannot  be  done  in  a 
crowd  ;  then  seek  solitude. 

4.  Order  and  arrangement  are  like 
cells  in  which  our  mercies  may  be  de- 
posited and  called  out  in  order. 

5.  Strive  to  maintain  lively  affections 
towards  God  ;  for  what  we  love  we  do 
not  easily  forget. 

Lessons  :  1.  How  mistaken  are  those 
who  suppose  that  forgetfulness  is  not  a 
sin  ! 

2.  Here  a  wide  field  is  opened  for  the 
exercise  of  repentance. 

3.  Reprove  those  who  have  a  good 
memory  for  their  calamities  and  a  bad 
one  for  their  mercies. 

4.  Address  those  who  will  not  re- 
collect. God  will  not  forget. — George 
Clayton. — From  *'  The  Homiletic  Quar- 
terly," 


The  Granting  op  Selfish  Desires  an  Injury  to  the  Soul. 

(Verse  l^.) 


The  history  of  the  event  referred  to  is 
given  in  Num.  xi. 

I.  Many  things  which  are  good  in 
themselves  may  not  be  good  for  us 
individually.  Material  wealth  is  good  ; 
but  upon  attaining  it  some  men  have 
become  spiritually  bankrupt.  (Luke  xil 
15-21.)  Popularity  may  be  a  good 
thing ;  but,  having  gained  it,  many  a 
man  has  lost  his  integrity,  independence, 
heroism.  How  this  view  of  things  cor- 
rects the  prevalent  notion  of  success  in 
life  !  **  Success  in  life,"  says  the  world, 
"is  getting  on  in  business,  making 
money  quickly,  living  well "  (by  which 
is  meant  eating  and  drinking  luxuri- 
ously), "  mixing  in  good  society."  How 
shallow,  false,  ruinous !  These  things 
may  not  only  consist  with  spiritual 
poverty,  imbecility,  and  ruin,  but  very 
frequently  lead  to  them. 


II.  Many  things  may  he  good  for 
us  at  one  time  and  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances which  may  not  he  good 
for  us  at  another  time  and  under 
other  circumstances.  The  flesh  which 
the  Israelites  desired  would  have  been 
good  for  them  when  they  arrived  in 
Canaan  ;  but  in  the  wilderness,  where 
they  should  have  been  satisfied  with  the 
Divinely-provided  manna,  it  proved  a 
terrible  curse. 

III.  The  most  fervent  prayers  are 
not  always  most  acceptable.  The 
motive  and  the  character  of  the  fervour 
must  be  taken  into  consideration.  Fer- 
vent prayers  are  sometimes  only  the 
passionate  cries  of  selfish  hearts — the 
determined  pursuit  of  an  object  of  sel- 
fish desire. 

IV.  God  may  grant  the  passionate 
desire  of  a  selUsh  heart  with  terrible 

153 


PSALM  OTI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


results.  He  may  give  the  fancied  good 
which  is  so  eagerly  demanded,  and  it 
may  prove  to  be  a  direful  injury.  It 
was  so  in  the  case  before  us.  Instances 
are  numerous  in  which  unsubmissive 
requests  have  been  granted  with  most 
painful  results. 

V.  God  may  refuse  to  grant  the 
request  of  even  a  good  man,  and  the 
refusal  may  be  a  blessing.  It  was  in 
love  that  the  Lord  refused  the  repeated 
request  of  St.  Paul  for  the  removal  of 
the  **  thorn  in  the  flesh."  That  tor- 
turing thorn  was  the  means  of  prevent- 
ing the   spiritual    pride   which    might 


otherwise  have  effected  his  overthrow. 

(1  Cor.  xii.  7-9.) 

**  We,  ignorant  of  ourselves, 
Beg  often  our  own   harms,   which  the  wise 

powers 
Deny  us  for  our  good  ;  so  find  we  profit 
By  losing  of  our  prayers." — Shakespeare. 

VI.  The  wisest,  holiest,  most  accept- 
able prayer  is  for  conformity  with  the 
will  of  God.  "  Not  my  will,  but  Thine 
be  done,"  expresses  the  true  spirit  of 
acceptable  prayer. 

"  Covet  earnestly  the  best  gifts." 
Seek  those  things  which  are  pure 
blessings  for  all  persons,  at  all  times 
and  under  all  circumstances. 


A  Sad  Picture  of  Human  Perversity, 
(FcriM  24-27.) 


The  sinful  perversity  of  the  Israelites 
appears  here  in  several  mournful  aspects. 

I.  Despising  the  choicest  inherit- 
ance. '*They  despised  the  pleasant 
land."  Margin :  "  A  land  of  desire." 
Perowne  :  "  They  rejected  the  desirable 
land."  (Deut.  viii.  7-9;  xi.  9.)  The 
Israelites  frequently  manifested  a  desire 
to  return  to  Egypt.  The  good  land 
before  them  had  few  attractions  for 
them.  God  calls  men  to  holiness,  com- 
munion with  Himself,  heaven.  All  who 
do  not  heartily  respond  to  His  call  de- 
spise the  most  glorious  inheritance. 

II.  Disbelieving  the  best  authenti- 
cated word.  "  They  believed  not  His 
word."  They  had  proved  the  reliable- 
ness of  the  word  of  God  ;  yet  they  did 
not  believe  it  as  regards  the  land  which 
He  had  promised  to  them.  They  pre- 
ferred to  accept  the  testimony  of  the 
unbelieving  and  cowardly  spies.  (Num. 
xiv.  1-6,  10.)     We  have  here — 

1.  Uvibelief  dishonouring  God. 

2.  Unbelief  exclvding  man  from  his 
inheritance.  Man's  unbelief  has  kept 
him  out  of  many  "  a  good  land." 

III.  Murmuring  against  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  wisest  and  kindest  of 
beings.  They  *'  murmured  in  their 
tents."  This  they  did  repeatedly.  (Num. 
xiv.  2,  3,  27.)  "They  complained  of 
Moses,  of  their  food,  of  the  hardships 
of  their  journey,  of  God.     They  did  this 

154 


when  *  in  their  tents  ;*  when  they  had 
a  comfortable  home  ;  when  safe  ;  when 
provided  for;  when  under  the  direct 
Divine  protection  and  care.  So  men 
often  complain ;  perhaps  oftener  when 
they  have  many  comforts  than  when 
they  have/er^." — Barnes. 

rV.  Disobeying  the  commands  of 
the  most  sovereign  authority.  "  They 
hearkened  not  unto  the  voice  of  the 
Lord."  Unbelief  of  God's  word  speedily 
leads  to  refusal  to  listen  to  His  voice 
and  disregard  of  His  commands.  They 
disobeyed  their  Creator,  Sustainer,  Sove- 
reign, and  generous  Benefactor  —  not 
only  the  greatest,  but  the  best  being. 
His  will  is  supremely  binding.  Yet 
they  disobeyed  it. 

V.  Receiving  deserved  punishment. 
"  Therefore  He  lifted  up  His  hand 
against  them,  to  overthrow  them  in  the 
wilderness."  The  lifting  up  of  the  hand 
is  the  gesture  of  swearing.  "  Ye  shall 
not  come  into  the  land  which  I  lifted  up 
My  hand  to  make  you  dwell  therein  " 
(Num.  xiv.  30).  "  I  lifted  up  My  hand 
also  to  them  in  the  wilderness,"  &c, 
(Ezek.  XX.  23).  *'  I  sware  in  My  wratli, 
They  shall  not  enter  into  My  rest."  It 
is  fitting  that  they  who  despise  their 
inheritance  shall  not  enter  upon  it. 

VI  Entailing  misery  upon  their 
posterity.  "  He  lifted  up  His  hand 
to  overthrow  their  seed  also  among  the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OVI. 


nations,  ami  to  scatter  them  in  the 
lands."  "The  result  of  their  rebellion 
and  murmuring  would  not  terminate 
with  them.  It  would  extend  to  their  pos- 
terity, and  the  rebellion  of  the  fathers 
would  i)e  remembered  in  distant  genera- 
tions. The  overthrow  of  the  nation,  and 
its  captivity  in  Babylon,  was  thus  one  of 


the  remote  consequences  of  their  rebellion 
in  the  wilderness." — Barnes. 

Conclusion.  1.  Shun  sin;  for  by 
committing  it  you  may  hand  down  to 
your  descendants  a  heritage  of  woe,  2. 
*'  Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any 
of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief^*  6ie, 
(Heb.  iii.  12;  iv.  1  and  11). 


Passages  from  the  History  of  a  Eebellious  People, 

{Verses  28-33.) 


The  heart  grows  weary  and  sad  as  we 
follow  this  narrative  with  its  abounding 
unbelief,  ingratitude,  meanness,  and  re- 
bellion. The  picture  which  the  Poet 
draws  of  Israel  is  painfully  sombre,  yet 
it  is  true.  In  no  portion  of  it  has  he 
inserted  too  much  shadow.  We  have  in 
these  verses — 

I.  An  incorrigibly  rebellious  people. 

1.  Here  is  idolatry.  "  They  joined 
themselves  also  unto  Baal-Peor,  and  ate 
the  sacrifices  of  the  dead."  "Baal  was 
the  name  of  an  idol ;  Peor  was  the  name 
of  a  mountain  in  Moab  where  tlie  idol 
was  worshipped."  "The  sacrifices  of 
the  dead "  are  the  sacrifices  offered  to 
idols,  in  contradistinction  from  the  living 
God  (Num.  XXV.  1-3). 

2.  Here  is  adultery.  The  worship  of 
Baal-Peor  was  connected  with  licentious 
rites.  Fuerst :  "  Baal  of  the  shame 
uncoveHng,  in  whose  honour  virgins 
yielded  up  their  innocence."  (Num. 
XXV.  1-6.) 

3.  Here  is  rebellious  murmuring, 
**They  angered  Him  also  at  the  Waters 
of  Strife"  (Num.  xx.  1-5,  13).  Here 
in  tlie  fortieth  year  of  their  wandering 
they  are  still  an  unbelieving,  complain- 
ing, rebellious  {)eople. 

II.  A  brave  man  acting  as  minister 
of  justice  in  a  critical  time.  "  Then 
stood  up  Phinehas  and  executed  judg- 
nieut,  and  so  the  plague  was  stayed" 
(Num.  XXV.  5-8). 

1.  Here  is  a  brave  act  of  Justice. 
Moses  had  commanded  the  judges  of 
Israel  to  stay  the  idolaters ;  but  they 
seemed  to  have  been  deficient  in  the 
strength  and  courage  necessary  to  enable 
them  to  obey  the  command ;  they  only 
stand  and  weep.     At  this  critical  mo 


ment,  with  zeal  and  courage  and  energy, 
Phinehas  rose  up  and  slew  two  of  the 
offenders  of  the  first  rank. 

2.  A  brave  act  of  Justice  staying  the 
Divine  vengeance.  "  And  so  the  plague 
was  stayed."  This  act  of  justice  was 
propitiatory ;  it  appeased  and  turned 
away  the  wrath  of  God.  "National 
justice  prevents  national  judgments." 

3.  A  brave  act  of  Justice  recognised  and 
rewarded  by  God.  "And  that  was 
counted  unto  him  for  righteousness  unto 
all  generations  for  evermore"  (Num. 
XXV.  10-13).  Perowne  says:  "It  was 
looked  upon  as  a  righteous  act,  and  re- 
warded accordingly.  .  .  .  This  verse  has 
given  occasion  to  whole  disquisitions  on 
the  subject  of  justification,  with  which 
it  really  has  nothing  to  do,  though  at 
least  the  language  is  in  perfect  accord- 
ance with  that  of  St.  James  (ii.  20-26). 
The  reward  of  this  righteousness  was 
the  perpetual  continuance  of  the  priest- 
hood in  the  family."  Hereafter  the 
position  of  Phinehas  and  his  posterity 
was  one  of  marked  distinction  and 
honour. 

III.  A  holy  man  sinning  and  suffer- 
ing by  reason  of  the  sin  of  others.  "It 
went  ill  with  Moses  for  their  sakes ;  be- 
cause they  provoked  his  spirit,  so  that 
he  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips." 
Through  the  sin  of  the  people  Moses  lost 
his  self-control,  was  betrayed  into  the 
utterance  of  unbecoming  and  rash  words, 
and  to  undue  assumption  of  power ;  and 
in  consequcjce  was  not  permitted  to 
enter  the  promised  land.  (Num.  xx. 
7-12.) 

1.  Their  provocation  of  Moses  agra- 
vated  the  guilt  of  the  7'ebellious  people. 

2    Their  provocation  does  not  exonerate 


nALMOTI. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Moses  from  guilt.  Provocation  is  not 
compulsion. 

3.  God  punishes  sin  even  in  the  best  of 
men,  in  whom  it  is  a  great  exception. 

IV.  The  great  God  contending 
against  human  sin. 

1.  By  the  plague,  because  of  the  idolatry 
and  licentiousness  of  the  people.  *'  The 
plague  brake  in  upon  them."  "Those 
that  died  in  the  plague  were  twenty  and 
four  thousand." 

2.  By  the  exclusion  of  Moses  from  the 
promised  land.     God  is  the  determined 


antagonist  of  moral  evil.  The  arrange- 
ments of  the  material  universe,  the  work- 
ings of  Piovidence,  and  the  grand  aim 
of  redemption,  are  all  utterly  hostile  to 
sin.  The  voice  of  God  to  man  concern- 
ing sin  in  all  history  is,  "  Oh,  do  not  this 
abominable  thing  which  I  hate  ! "  From 
the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  He 
utters  this  entreaty  in  a  manner  that 
ought  to  arrest  the  attention  and  secure 
the  compliance  of  all  men.  Let  us 
listen  to  His  voice,  and  heartily  striTO  to 
comply  with  His  entreaty. 


Sm  IN  ITS  Progress,  Pollution,  and  Punishment, 

{Verses  Zi-iZ.) 


In  these  verses  we  have — 

1.  Sin  in  its  progress.     Here  is — 

L  Disobedience.  *'They  did  not  de- 
stroy the  nations  concerning  whom  the 
Lord  commanded  them."  (For  the  com- 
mand and  its  reasons  see  Homiletic  Gorw- 
mentary  on  Exod.  xxiii.  27-33 ;  xxxiv. 
11-16;  Num.  xxxiii.  50-56.)  Though 
the  command  was  express,  solemn,  and 
repeatedly  proclaimed,  yet  they  did  not 
obey  it  by  driving  out  or  destroying  the 
Canaanites. 

2.  Evil  associations.  They  "  were 
mingled  among  the  heathen  and  learned 
their  works."  By  intermarriage  and 
commerce  they  became  mixed  up  among 
the  Canaanites,  and  conformed  to  their 
evil  customs  and  practices.  Had  they 
not  first  been  guilty  of  disobedience, 
they  could  not  have  been  guilty  of  enter- 
ing into  these  prohibited  and  evil  as- 
sociations. 

3.  Idolatry.  "They  served  their  idols, 
which  were  a  snare  unto  them  "  (Judg. 
ii  11-13).  God  had  warned  them  that, 
if  they  did  not  drive  out  the  Canaanites, 
they  would  be  snared  by  them  and  drawn 
into  their  idolatrous  customs.  And  this 
result  very  speedily  appeared. 

4.  Offering  human  sacrifices.  "  Yea, 
they  sacrificed  their  sons  and  their 
daughters  unto  devils,  and  shed  innocent 
blood/*  Ac.  Hengstenberg :  "And  of- 
fered their  sons  and  their  daughters  to 
the  lords.*'  Perowne  :  "  And  they  sa- 
crificed their  sons  and  their  daughters 
to  false  gods."     Heb.  DHtt^  «  lords  :  it 

me 


is  here  used  to  designate  the  gods  of  tho 

Canaanites.  God  had  strictly  prohibited 
the  ofi'ering  of  these  sacrifices  (Deut.  xii 
29-32;  xviii.  10).  Yet  they  offered 
them,  thus  adding  to  their  idolatry  the 
most  unnatural  and  horrible  murder. 
Now,  mark  their  progress  in  evil.  **  The 
way  of  sin,"  says  Matthew  Henry,  "is 
down  hill  ;  omissions  make  way  for 
commissions ;  when  they  neglect  to  de- 
stroy the  heathen,  the  next  news  we 
hear  is,  *  They  were  mingled  among  the 
heathen,  made  leagues  with  them,  and 
contiacted  an  intimacy  with  them,  so 
that  they  learned  their  works.'  .  .  .  The 
beginning  of  idolatry  and  superstition, 
like  that  of  strife,  is  as  the  letting  forth 
of  water,  and  there  is  no  villany  which 
those  that  venture  upon  it  can  be  sure 
they  shall  stop  short  of,  for  God  justly 
gives  them  up  to  a  reprobate  mind." 
Avoid  the  first  step  in  evil  courses. 

These  sins  are  still  flourishing  in  dif- 
ferent forms.  The  professed  people  of 
God  are  still  guilty  of  disobedience  in 
many  things,  and  of  conformity  to  the 
world  in  many  customs  that  are  ques- 
tionable, and  in  some  which  are  unmi». 
takably  evil ;  they  are  often  found  bow- 
ing at  the  shrines  of  mammon  and 
fashion,  and  still  they  sacrifice  their 
sons  and  daughters  to  idols.  "Among 
us  such  sacrifices  take  place  by  careless 
bringing  up  of  children,  when  parents 
encourage  them,  for  example,  in  pride 
and  other  sins,  offer  them  to  the  god  of 
the  world,  carefully  inculcate  the  maxims 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OTI. 


of  the  world,  and  fill  them  with  love  of 
vanity  and  show." — Berleh. 

II.  Sin  in  its  pollution.  * '  The  land  was 
polluted  with  blood.  Thus  were  they  de- 
filed with  their  own  works,  and  went  a 
whoring  after  their  own  inventions." 
The  very  soil  itself  is  here  represented 
as  polluted  and  accursed  by  reason  of 
the  sin  of  the  people.  The  religious 
pra  tices  which  they  had  adopted  be- 
came a  source  of  terrible  contamination 
and  corruption  to  their  nature.  Their 
very  worship  was  spiritual  whoredom. 
This  corrupting  tendency  of  sin  is  one 
of  its  most  fearful  characteristics.  It 
effects  a  terrible  deterioration  in  man's 
moral  and  religious  nature. 

III.  Sin  in  its  punishment.  Verses 
40-43. 

1.  Their  punishment  was  long  delayed. 
"Many  times  did  He  deliver  them." 
The  reference  is  to  the  deliverances 
effected  on  their  behalf  during  the  time 
of  the  judges,  and  afterwards  during  the 
time  of  the  kings.  Judges  ii.  11-19 
furnishes  a  clear  exposition  of  verse  43. 
The  Lord  was  loath  to  leave  them  in  the 
hands  of  their  enemies,  or  to  send  them 
into  captivity.  He  is  "  slow  to  anger, 
and  plenteous  in  mercy.  He  hath  not 
dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  re- 
warded us  according  to  our  iniquities." 

2.  Their  punishment  was  an  expres- 
sion of  Divine  anger.  "  Therefore  was 
the  wrath  of  the  Lord  kindled  against 
His  people,  insomuch  that  He  abhorred 
His  own  inheritance."  God's  anger 
burns  against  sin  and  against  the  work- 
ers of  iniquity.  God  pities  the  sinner 
as  a  man,  and  seeks  to  save  him,  but  as 
a  worker  of  iniquity  He  abhors  him. 
Sin  persisted  in  renders  the  people  of 
God  an  offence  and  abomination  unto 
Him.  Nothing  shows  the  enormity  of 
Bin  more  than  this,  that  it  renders  those 


who  were  once  well-pleasing  in  His  sight 
loathsome  unto  Him. 

3.  Their  punishment  corresponded  with 
their  sin.       *' He  gave   them   into    the 
hand  of  the  heathen,"  &c.   (verses  41, 
42).       This  punishment  the  Lord  had 
threatened  them  with  if  they  failed  to 
drive  out  the  Canaanites.   (Num.  xxxiii. 
55,  56.)      And  it  came  to  pass  accord- 
ing to  His   word.      Their  punishment 
grew  out    of    their    sin,    and    was   its 
natural    result.      In   opposition  to  the 
will  of  God,  they  intermingled  with  the 
heathen    and    adopted  their  worst  cus- 
toms;  and,  after  long  forbearance  and 
many  deliverances,  God  at  length  aban- 
doned them  to  the  heathen,   who   led 
them   into    captivity,  and  tyrannically 
lorded  it  over  them.     They  had  forsaken 
the   Lord,  and   given    their    hearts   to 
heathen  customs,  and  after  "long  pa- 
tience "  the  Lord  forsook  them,  leaving 
them    to    the    heathens,    whose    ways 
they  so  much  admired.    *'  Sinners  often 
see  themselves  ruined  by  those  by  whom 
they  have  suffered  themselves  to  be  de- 
bauched.    Satan,  who  is  a  tempter,  will 
be  a  tormentor.     The  heathen  *  hated 
them.'      Apostates  lose  all  the  love  on 
God's  side,  and  get  none  on  Satan's." 
Thus  a  man's  punishment  is  not  a  some- 
thing tacked  on  to  his  sin,  but  ever  grows 
out  of  his  sin.    The  wicked  man  collects 
the  fuel  for  his  own  hell-fire. 

Conclusion.  The  chief  Lessons  of 
our  subject  are  : — (1)  Do  not  e7iter  upon 
an  evil  course.  (2)  If  any  one  find  him- 
self already  in  the  way  of  evil,  let  him 
retrace  his  steps  at  once.  *'  Let  the 
wicked  forsake  his  way,"  <fec.  (3)  The 
surest  means  of  guarding  against  evil 
courses  is  to  walk  diligently  in  the  way 
prescribed  by  God.  He  will  give  us  wis- 
dom and  strength  so  to  do,  if  we  ask 
Him. 


Stages  from  Misery  to  Exultation. 
{Verses  44-47.) 
The  Poet  now  presents  to  us  another      gets  His  loving-kindness  and  His  truth 


aspect  of  the  dealings  of  the  Lord  with 
His  people.  He  visited  them  in  anger, 
because  of  then-  ungodly  counsels  and 
iniquitous  practices.     But  He  never  for- 


concerning  them.  Soon  as  their  suffer- 
ings led  them  to  cry  unto  Him,  He  sent 
them  relief.  The  Psalmist  indicates  the 
stages  from  misery  to  exultation. 

157 


PBALMCm. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY ;  PSALMS. 


I.  Misery  leading  to  a  cry  for  mercy. 
"He  heard  their  cry."  In  their  pro- 
sperity they  had  forgotten  the  Lord,  had 
forsaken  Him  for  idols.  In  their  misery 
they  cried  to  Him  for  relief.  This  is 
common.  Sometimes  the  cry  is  the 
utterance  of  mere  selfishness.  In  this 
case,  when  the  suffering  is  removed,  men 
pursue  their  old  course  of  ingratitude 
and  rebellion.  Sometimes  the  cry  is 
the  utterance  of  penitence.  In  this  case 
the  sin  which  caused  the  suffering  is  felt 
more  keenly  than  any  outward  affliction. 
Reformation  of  life  is  the  result.  In 
the  former  case  the  cry  is  worthless  and 
mean ;  in  the  latter  it  indicates  that 
suffering  has  led  to  gracious  results. 

II.  A  cry  for  mercy  securing  the 
Divine  regard.  *'He  regarded  their 
affliction  when  He  heard  their  cry." 

1.  God  heard  their  cry.  The  cry  of 
distress,  the  sigh  of  unutterable  sorrow, 
the  whispered  longing  of  the  heart,  the 
reverent  prayer  of  devout  worship,  all 
are  heard  by  God.  This  is  a  fact 
fraught  with  consolation,  inspiration, 
and  strength. 

2.  God  graciously  regarded  their  cry, 
"  He  remembered  for  them  His  cove- 
nant, and  repented  according  to  the  multi- 
tude of  His  mercies."  Perowne  ;  "  And 
pitied  them  according  to  the  greatness 
of  His  loving-kindness."  "  God's  re- 
pentance is  not  a  change  of  His  will, 
but  of  His  work.  Repentance  with  man 
is  the  changing  of  his  will ;  repentance 
with  God  is  the  willing  of  a  change. 
Mutatio  reij  non  Dei ;  effecttis,  non  affec- 
tus  ;  facii^  non  consilii."  In  answer  to 
their  cry  the  Lord  turned  to  them  in 
mercy.  Man  may  forget  Him,  but  He 
never  forgets  His  covenant.     Great  is 


the  sin  of  man ;  but  the  mercy  of  God 
is  incomparably  greater.  The  reason  of 
His  loving-kindness  to  the  Jews,  and  to 
all  men,  is  to  be  found  in  the  perfec- 
tions of  His  own  nature. 

III.  The  Divine  regard  securing  re- 
lief from  trouble.  "He  made  them 
also  to  be  pitied  of  all  those  that  car- 
ried them  captive."     N(^tice  here — 

1.  The  power  of  God  over  all  men. 
He  made  the  hearts  of  the  oppressors  of 
His  people  to  relent  towards  them,  so 
that  they  treated  them  with  kindness. 
"  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  water  :  He  turn- 
eth  it  whithersoever  He  will."  Even  so 
can  He  turn  the  hearts  of  all  men. 

2.  The  kindness  of  God  to  His  people. 
He  influenced  the  hearts  of  their  oppres- 
sors in  their  favour.  He  employs  His  power 
to  promote  the  interests  of  His  Church. 

IV.  Relief  from  trouble  awakening 
prayer  for  complete  salvation.  "  Save 
us,  0  Lord  our  God,  and  gather  us  from 
among  the  heathen,"  &c.  "  The  grace 
of  God,  already  shown  to  His  people,*' 
says  Perowne,  "  leads  to  the  prayer  of 
this  verse — a  supplication  for  which  the 
whole  Psalm  has  prepared  the  way.  The 
language  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  Psa^m  was  written  in  exile,  though 
the  same  prayer  might  also  have  been 
uttered  by  one  of  those  who  returned 
in  the  first  caravan,  on  behalf  of  his 
brethren  who  were  still  dispersed." 

1 .  The  beginning  of  the  work  of  Divine 
grace  is  an  encouragement  to  eocpect  and 
pray  for  full  salvation, 

2.  The  Divine  praise  should  ever  he 
regarded  as  the  grand  end  of  salvation. 
The  glory  of  redemption  is  due  wholly 
and  solely  to  God  in  Christ. 


DOXOLOOT. 

{Verse  i^,) 

This  Doxology  marks  the  close  of  the  xli.   13;  on  that  to  the  second  book, 

fourth  book  of    the   Psalms.      For  its  Psalm  Ixxii.  18-20;  and  on  tl^t  to  the 

Homiletic  suggestions  see  a  Sketch  on  third  book,  Psalm  Ixxxix.  52i 
the  Dozology  to  the  first  book,  Psalm 


158 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OTIL 


PSALM    CVIL 

Introduction. 

Many  expositors  are  of  opinion  that  this  Psalm  was  written  to  celebrate  the  return  of  tht 
Jews  from  the  Babylonian  exile.  This  opinion  is  based  chiefly  on  verses  2  and  3.  But  the 
Psalm  as  a  whole  does  not  seem  to  us  to  favour  such  a  conclusion.  Perowne  says :  **  It  is 
obvious  that  this  Psalm  is  not  historical.  It  describes  various  incidents  of  human  life,  it  tells 
of  the  perils  which  befall  men,  and  the  goodness  of  God  in  delivering  them,  and  calls  upon  all 
who  have  experienced  His  care  and  protection  gratefully  to  acknowledge  them  ;  and  it  is 
perfectly  general  in  its  character.  The  four  or  five  groups,  or  pictures,  are  so  many  samples 
taken  from  the  broad  and  varied  record  of  human  experience.  Such  a  Psalm  would  have  beeA 
admirably  adapted  to  be  sung  in  the  Temple-worship,  at  the  offering  of  the  thank-offerings. 

"  But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Psalm  was  written,  or 
the  particular  occasion  for  which  it  was  intended,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  great  lesson 
which  it  inculcates.  It  teaches  us  not  only  that  God's  Providence  watches  over  men,  but  that 
His  ear  is  open  to  their  prayer.  It  teaches  us  that  prayer  may  be  put  up  for  temporal  deliver- 
ance, and  that  such  prayer  is  answered.  It  teaches  us  that  it  is  right  to  acknowledge  with 
thanksgiving  such  answers  to  our  petitions.     This  was  the  simple  faith  of  the  Hebrew  Poet." 

The  author  of  the  Psalm  is  not  known. 


Distressed  Travellers  and  their  Divine  Helper. 

{Verses  1-9.) 


It  is  probable,  as  Perowne  suggests, 
that  the  first  three  verses  are  "  a  litur- 
gical addition,  framed  with  particular 
reference  to  the  return  from  Babylon, 
and  prefixed  to  a  poem  originally 
designed  to  have  a  wider  scope."  The 
Psalm  begins  with  the  same  liturgical 
formula  as  the  preceding  ;  and  the 
Poet  proceeds  to  represent  the  people  of 
God  as — 

1.  Redeemed  hy  Him,  "Let  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  say  so,  whom  He 
hath  redeemed  from  the  hand  of  the 
enemy."  The  allusion  is  probably  to 
the  deliverance  of  the  Jews  from  the 
captivity  in  Babylon.  The  people  of 
God  now  are  redeemed  from  sin  by 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  They 
have  had  precious  experiences  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord,  and  are  under 
special  obligations  to  praise  Him. 

2.  Gathered  hy  Him.  "  Gathered 
them  out  of  the  lands  from  the  east, 
and  from  the  west,  from  the  north,  and 
from  the  south."  The  Lord  gathered 
the  exiles  out  of  all  the  lauds  into 
which  they  had  been  driven  in  the  day 
of  their  distress.  He  gathers  men  now 
into  His  Church.  And  He  is  gathering 
His  people  to  their  home  in  heaven. 
From  all  lands  they  are  being  assembled 
in  our  Father's  home  on  high. 

Then  the  Poet  proceeds  to  represent  the 


people  as  distressed  travellers,  relieved 
by  Divine  goodness,  and  calls  upon 
them  to  praise  the  Lord.     Consider — 

I  The  distressed  travellers.  "  They 
wandered  in  the  wilderness,"  <fec. 

1.  They  were  travellers  through  a 
pathless  desert,  '*  They  wandered  in 
the  wilderness  in  a  solitary  way."  "  A 
solitary  way "  is  not  a  correct  transla- 
tion. Perowne  :  "  In  a  pathless  waste." 
Hengstenberg  :  "  The  pathless  desert.*' 
A  wilderness  is  a  scene  of  dreary  deso- 
lation ;  and  in  this  case  the  travellers 
are  represented  as  having  no  path  along 
which  to  travel  through  this  dreary 
desert.  The  track  is  lost,  perhaps 
obliterated  by  some  violent  sand-storm. 

2.  They  were  travellers  through  a 
homeless  desert.  *'  They  found  no  city 
to  dwell  in."  There  were  no  habitable 
places  in  the  wilderness  through  which 
they  journeyed. 

3.  They  were  travellers  through  an 
inhospitable  desert.  "  Hungry  and 
thirsty,  their  soul  fainted  in  them." 
Their  life  was  faint  and  exhausted  by 
reason  of  hunger  and  thirst.  We  have 
here  a  picture  of  the  pilgrimage  of  life. 
Apart  from  Divine  guidance,  man  is  a 
traveller  who  has  lost  his  way ;  the 
track  is  clean  gone  ;  he  is  perplexed, 
bewildered.  In  this  world  there  is  no 
place    of    bet  tied    residence    for    man. 

159 


psALH  ova. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


"  Here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but 
we  seek  one  to  come."  And  unless 
man  look  to  God  for  support,  he  will 
find  in  this  world  nothing  to  sustain  his 
spiritual  nature,  nothing  to  satisfy  the 
hunger  and  thirst  of  the  soul. 

II.  The  all-sufficient  Helper.  The 
Lord  interposed  in  their  need,  and 
delivered  them  from  all  their  distresses. 

1.  The  Divine  help  was  granted  in 
answer  to  prayer.  "  Then  they  cried 
unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  He 
delivered  them  out  of  their  distresses." 
Perowne  :  "  So  it  ever  is  :  only  the 
pressure  of  a  great  need  forces  men  to 
seek  God.  Prayer  is  not  only  the 
resource  of  good  men,  but  of  all  men 
in  trouble.  It  is  a  natural  instinct 
even  of  wicked  men  to  turn  to  God  at 
such  times."  The  fact  that  all  men 
thus  cry  to  God  in  their  distresses 
implies — Faith  (1)  in  the  existence  of 
God  ;  "  that  He  is."  (2)  In  His  power 
to  help  His  creatures  ;  that  He  is  able 
to  relieve  the  distressed.  (3)  In  His 
regard  for  His  creatures ;  that  He  is 
interested  in  their  welfare.  (4)  In  His 
accessibleness  to  His  creatures ;  that  they 
may  approach  Him  in  prayer  ;  *'  that 
He  is  a  Rewarder  of  them  that  dili- 
gently seek  Him."  Prayer  is  a  great 
and  glorious  reality.  There  is  One 
who  hears  and  answers  prayer. 

2.  The  Divine  help  was  adequate  to 
their  need.  They  were  in  a  "  pathless 
desert,"  and  He  granted  to  them  direc- 
tion,  guidance.  "  He  led  them  forth  by 
the  right  way."  They  were  in  a  home- 
less desert,  and  He  directed  them 
homeward.  "  He  led  them  forth  by 
the  right  way,  that  they  might  go  to  a 
city  of  habitation."  They  were  fainting 
in  an  inhospitable  desert,  and  He  gave 
them  abundant  provision.  "  For  He 
satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  and  filleth 
the  hungry  soul  with  goodness." 
Both  the  hunger  and  the  thirst  He 
effectually  relieves.  And  still  for  all 
who  seek  Him  there  is  all-sufficient  help 


in  Him.  He  is  the  infallible  Guide 
through  life.  His  smile  transforms  a 
barren  wilderness  into  a  richly  provided 
banqueting  house.  And  he  has  prepared 
for  us  a  home,  peaceful  and  permanent, 
beautiful  and  blessed. 

III.  The  manifest  obligation.  *'  Oh 
that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for 
His  goodness,  and  for  His  wonderful 
works  to  the  children  of  men." 

1.  God^s  gracious  doings  for  man  are 
wonderful.  "  His  goodness,  and  His 
wonderful  works  to  the  children  of 
men."  They  are  wonderful  in  them- 
selves, and  in  their  object.  "  The 
children  of  men"  are  unworthy  of  the 
least  of  His  favours.  Yet  He  guides 
them,  sustains  them,  <kc. 

2.  Men  are  prone  to  overlook  the 
gracious  doings  of  God  for  them.  His 
mercies  often  "  lie 

Forgotten  in  unthank fulness, 
And  without  praises  die." 

Men  have  to  be  urged  to  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  praise  of  their  Divine  Bene- 
factor.     "  Oh  that  men  would,"  (fee. 

3.  Men  are  under  tJie  most  sacred 
obligation  to  celebrate  the  gracious 
doings  of  God  for  them.  God  rightly 
expects  that  those  who  receive  His 
mercy  will  celebrate  His  praise.  He 
requires  this.  Gratitude  urges  to  this. 
Not  to  thank  Him  is  to  maidfest  ex- 
treme baseness. 

**  The  stall-fed  ox,  that  is  grown  fat,  will  know 
His  careless  feeder,  and  acknowledge  too ; 
The  generous  spaniel  loves  his  master's  eye, 
And  licks  his  fingers  though  no  meat  be  by  ; 
But  man,  ungrateful  man,  tliat'sbornand  bred 
By  Heaven's  immediate  power  ;  maintained 

and  fed 
By  His  providing  hand  ;  observed,  attended, 
By    His    indulgent   grace ;    preserved,  de- 
fended 
By  His  prevailing  arm  :  this  man,  1  say, 
Is  more  ungrateful,  more  obdure  than  they. 
Man,  0  most  ungrateful  man,  can  ever 
Enjoy  Tliy  gift,  but  never  mind  the  Giver  ; 
And  like  the  swine,  though  pampered  with 

enough, 
His  eyes  are  never  higher  than  the  trough  ! " 

— F.  Quarle$, 


The  Way   of  the   Redeemed. 
(Verse  7.   *'  He  led  them  forth  by  the  right  way.") 

I.  The  way  of  the  redeemed.  I.Long.  II,  The  rectitude  of  the  way.      Itj 

2.  Difficult.  3.  Lonely.  4.  A  desert  way.      is  the  "right  way."    Consider — 1.  T/iatl 
160 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  ovn. 


U  is  the  Divine  way,  "  He  led  them 
forth"  as  a  shepherd  his  flock.  2.  To 
what  it  leads.  "  The  city  of  habitation." 
Two  lessons.  1.  Take  an  enlarged  view 
of  tlie  Divine  conduct.  Think  of  the 
goal,  as  well  as  of  the  way  which  leads 


to  it.  The  way  is  painful ;  but  consider 
why  you  are  called  to  tread  it.  Remem- 
ber the  end  of  it  all.  2.  Ever  seek  the 
Divine  guidance.  God  goes  before  ;  fol- 
low, trust  Him. — W.  M.,  in  The  Pulpit 
Analyst. 


The  Afflicted  Captives  and  their  Glorious   Emancipatob. 

(Verses  10-16.) 


We  have  in  these  verses — 

I.  The  picture  of  a  painful  capti- 
vity. "  Such  as  sit  in  darkness  and  in 
the  shadow  of  death,  being  bound  in 
affliction  and  iron."  The  Poet  repre- 
sents the  captivity  as  characterised  by — 

1.  Distress.  They  *'sit  in  darkness." 
The  dark  prison-house  is  an  emblem  of 
misery.  To  the  patriotic  and  pious 
Jews  the  Babylonian  Captivity  was  a 
source  of  much  trouble  and  distress. 

2.  Apprehension.  '*  In  the  shadow  of 
death."  Death  seemed  to  stand  fully 
disclosed  to  their  view,  and  to  cast  his 
chilling  and  fearful  shadow  upon  them. 
The  captives,  in  their  distress,  were  as 
men  constantly  menaced  by  death. 

3.  Painful  restriction.  "  Bound  in 
affliction  and  iron."  The  captives  were 
not  literally  bound  thus;  but  their  dis- 
tress seemed  to  them  like  that  of  the 
man  who  is  held  in  iron  fetters. 

The  most  terrible  captivity  is  moral 
— the  bondasre  of  sin.  The  wicked  man 
is  in  darkness  ;  the  beauties  of  the  spiri- 
tual universe — of  truth,  righteousness, 
love, — he  sees  not.  "  The  second 
death  "  projects  its  dread  shadow  over 
him.  He  is  the  slave  of  sinful  appe- 
tites, habits,  and  passions ;  is  *'  holden 
with  the  cords  of  his  sins."  Physical 
captivity  is  a  calamity  ;  moral  captivity 
is  a  crime.  Death  will  terminate  the 
former ;  it  has  no  power  to  affect  the 
latter.  The  man  who  dies  in  sin  enters 
eternity  a  manacled  slave. 

II.  The  reason  of  this  painful  cap- 
tivity. '*  Because  they  rebelled  against 
the  words  of  God,  and  contemned  the 
counsel  of  the  Most  High."  "The 
words  of  God  "  are  His  commands  de- 
livered unto  them  in  His  law,  and  by 
His  servants  the  prophets.  "  The  coun- 
sel  of   the    Most  High "  is  the  advice 

VOL.  U, 


which  was  given  to  them  by  the  p/ro- 
phets  of  the  Lord.  Their  pauiful  cap- 
tivity was  the  result  of  their  wilful 
disobedience.  The  Poec  In  this  versa 
exhibits  sin  in  two  aspects-  — 

1.  Sin  in  its  guilt.  It  is  rebellion 
against  the  authority  ot  the  greatest  and 
holiest  Being — the  Si^.preme  Being. 

2.  Sin  in  its  folbj.  It  is  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  couufjei  of  the  wisest  and 
kindest  Being.  "God  will  command 
nothing  which  He  would  not  advise^  and 
which  it  would  not  be  wisdom  to  obey." 

III.  The  desig/i  of  this  painful  capti- 
vity. "He  brought  down  their  heart  with 
labour  ;  they  tell  down,  and  there  was 
none  to  help."  Their  heart  had  proudly 
risen  up  in  vAbellion  against  God  and 
contempt  of  His  counsel,  and  their 
captivity  w&b  designed  by  its  sufferings 
to  subdue  their   pride.     7l!2^  here   rem 

T    T 

dered  "labour,"  signifies  also  afflic- 
tion, trouble.  God  sought  to  humble 
them  for  th^ir  sins,  to  show  them  their 
own  helplessness,  and  that  their  strength 
and  succour  were  in  Him  alone.  Afflic- 
tions are  tea^ihers.  The  man  who  is  not 
altogether  foolish,  when  visited  by  them, 
will  strive  to  ascertain  and  appropriate 
the  lessons  which  they  have  to  impart. 

IV.  The  deliverance  from  this  pain- 
ful captivity — 

1.  Was  effected  in  answer  to  prayer. 
"  Then  they  cried  unto  the  Lord,"  <fec 
(See  remarks  on  ver.  6.) 

2.  Was  effected  by  the  Lord.  "  Hb 
brought  them  out,"  &c.  "He  hath 
broken  the  gates,"  &c.  In  the  deliverance 
of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  cleaiiy  displayed.  Our  Lord 
proclaims  liberty  to  the  captives  of  evil, 
and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them 
that  are  bound  by  sin.  There  is  no 
power  in  the  universe,  but  that  of  God 

L  161 


rtiLv  cm. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


!n  Christ  Jesus,  that  can  emancipate  the 
slaves  of  sin. 

3.  Was  gloriously  complete,  **  He 
brought  them  out  of  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death,  and  brake  their  bands 
in  sunder.  He  hath  broken  the  gates 
of  brass,  and  cut  the  bars  of  iron  in  sun- 
der." The  delivery  was  as  great  as  the 
distress.  *' '  The  gates  of  brass  '  refer 
probably  to  Babylon  ;  and  the  idea  is 
that  their  deliverance  had  been  as  if  the 
brazen  gates  of  that  great  city  had  been 
broken  down  to  give  them  free  egress 
from  their  captivity."  (Comp.  Isa.  xlv. 
2.)  The  Poet  mentions  three  features  of 
their  deliverance,  which  taken  together 
strikingly  exhibit  its  completeness. 
Their  fetters  were  riven  asunder,  they 


were  brought  out  of  their  cold  and 
gloomy  prison,  and  the  city  gates  were 
broken  down,  so  that  they  could  go  forth 
entirely  from  the  land  of  their  captivity. 

4.  Demanded  graieful  acknowledg- 
ment. **  Oh,  that  men  would  praise  the 
Lord,"  <fec.     (See  remarks  on  ver.  8.) 

Conclusion. — This  subject  has  a 
practical  and  urgent  application  to  all 
moral  captives,  all  slaves  of  sin.  Yours 
is  a  bondage  far  more  terrible  than  that 
of  Israel  in  Babylon.  But  from  bon- 
dage such  as  yours  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
great  and  glorious  Emancipator.  From 
your  dark  prison-house  cry  unto  Him  for 
deliverance,  and  you  shall  speedily  walk 
forth  a  free  man  in  the  bright  universe 
of  God. 


Human  Sickness  and  Divine  Healing^ 
(Vtrsei  17-22.) 


Consider — 

I.  Human  sickness.    It  is  here  set 

forth— 

1.  In  its  cause.  **  Fools  because  of 
their  transgression,  and  because  of  their 
iniquities,  are  afflicted."  Perowne*s  trans- 
lation is  better :  "  Foolish  men,  because 
of  the  way  of  their  transgression  and  be- 
cause of  their  iniquities,  bring  affliction 
upon  themselves."  The  chief  ideas  here 
are  two:  (1)  Wickedness  is  folly.  The 
transgressor  is  a  "fool."  The  foolish- 
ness is  not  intellectual,  but  moral.  The 
wicked  are  *'  fools"  because  of  the  moral 
infatuation  of  their  conduct;  they  de- 
spise counsel ;  they  are  heedless  of  warn- 
ing ;  they  betray  their  own  interests  ; 
they  will  only  be  brought  to  reason  by 
chastisement.  (2)  Wickedness  leads  to 
sickness.  The  Psalmist  expressively 
indicates  that  the  suffering  was  self- 
produced  ;  the  sufiFerers  had  brought  it 
upon  themselves.  Many  physical  afflic- 
tions are  the  direct  result  of  sin.  Glut- 
tony and  drunkenness  lead  to  untold  sick- 
ness and  suffering.  All  suffering  results 
from  sin.  Abolish  moral  evil,  and  physi- 
cal evil  would  soon  be  utterly  unknown. 

2.  In  its  effect.  "  Their  soul  abhorreth 
all  manner  of  meat,  and  they  draw  near 
unto  the  gates  of  death."  The  Psalmist 
describes  the  sufferer  as  loathing  food, 

162 


turning  from  it  in  disgust,  and  drawing 
near  to  death.  Sheol,  the  realm  of 
death,  he  represents  as  a  city  which  is 
entered  through  gates.  And  the  sufferer 
is  solemnly  near  to  those  gates ;  in  a 
little  while,  unless  relief  be  imparted  to 
him,  he  will  have  passed  through  them 
for  ever. 

II.  Divine  healing.  This  the  Poet 
exhibits  as — 

1.  Effectedin  answer  to  prayer,  "Then 
they  cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble," 
&c.  (See  remarks  on  ver.  6.)  "  Prayer 
is  a  salve  for  every  sore." 

2.  Effected  with  supreme  ease,  **  He 
sent  His  word  and  healed  them."  Per- 
owne  detects  here  "  the  first  glimmering 
of  St.  John's  doctrine  of  the  agency  of 
the  personal  Word.  The  Word  by  which 
the  heavens  were  made  (xxxiii.  6)  is 
seen  to  be  not  merely  the  expression  of 
God's  will,  but  His  messenger  mediating 
between  Himself  and  His  creatures."  At 
the  command  of  the  Lord  diseases  flee. 
He  has  but  to  utter  His  word,  and  the 
result  is  achieved.  Doubtless  many 
have  been  "  lifted  up  from  the  gates  of 
death"  by  God  in  answer  to  prayer. 
And  in  all  cases  of  restoration  from  sick- 
ness to  health,  "  whatever  means  may  be 
used,  the  healing  power  comes  from  Qod, 
and  is  under  His  control." 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  ovn. 


3.  Demanding  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment, **  Oh  that  men  would  praise  the 
Lord  for  His  goodness,"  (fee.  (See  re- 
marks on  ver.  8.) 

CoNCLiTSioN. — This  sketch  of  human 
disease  and  Divine  healing  may  fairly  be 
regarded  as  a  parable  of  sin  and  salva- 
tion, 1.  Sin  produces  an  awful  deteriora- 
tion in  human  nature^  and,  *'  when  it  is 


finished,  bring eth  foHh  death.**  2.  The 
Lord  is  the  almighty  and  all-mercifvl 
Saviour  from  sin.  3.  Frayer  is  the  con- 
dition of  deliverance  from  sin.  "  Who- 
soever shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  saved."  "Seek  ye  the  Lord 
while  He  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon 
Him  while  He  is  near," 


Distressed  Seamen  and  the  Sovereign  of  the  Sea. 

(Verses  23-32.) 


This  **  is  the  most  highly  finished,  the 
most  thoroughly  poetical,  of  each  of  the 
four  pictures  of  human  peril  and  deliver- 
ance. It  is  painted  as  a  landsman  would 
paint  it,  but  yet  only  as  one  who  had  him- 
self been  in  *  perils  of  waters  '  could  paint 
the  storm — the  waves  running  mountains 
high,  on  which  the  tiny  craft  seemed  a 
plaything,the  helplessness  of  human  skill, 
the  gladness  of  the  calm,  the  safe  refuge 
in  the  haven.*' — Perowne.     Notice — 

L  God's  sovereignty  over  the  sesu 
"  He  commandeth  and  raiseth  the  stormy 
wind,  which  lifteth  up  the  waves  thereof." 
Again  :  "  He  maketh  the  storm  a  calm, 
so  that  the  waves  thereof  are  still."  The 
force  and  fury  of  the  storm  are  not  blind, 
irresponsible,  reckless  things.  They  are 
not  merely  the  outworking  of  natural 
laws.  Behind  the  laws  there  is  the  Law- 
giver. Behind  the  force  of  the  winds 
and  waves  there  is  the  Force  of  all  forces 
— the  great  God.  The  old  Hebrew  poets 
and  prophets  spake  literal  truth  when 
they  represented  the  ocean  as  entirely 
under  the  sway  of  Jehovah. 

**  Who  lifts  up  on  high 
The  ocean's  maddening   waves,   tremendooi 

sight  ? 
Or  bids  them  sleep  along  the  feeble  sands  f 
*Ti8  God  alone."— Pollok. 

To  regard  Qod  as  the  Buler  of  the  seft 
Is— 

1.  Philosophic.  It  is  unsatisfactory 
to  tell  me  that  certain  laws,  or  forces  of 
Nature,  or  certain  combinations  of  her 
elements,  are  the  cause  of  storms  and 
calms.  But  it  is  thoroughly  reasonable 
to  attribute  them  to  the  Creator  and 
Lord  of  Nature,  a  Being  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  almighty  power. 


2.  Scriptural.  The  Bible  ascribes  all 
the  phenomena  of  Nature  to  the  agency 
of  the  Divine  Being. 

3.  Assuring,  It  is  some  satisfaction 
to  know  that  the  furious  elements  are 
not  governed  by  blind  laws  or  stony- 
hearted fate,  but  by  the  wise  and  holy 
God.  When  the  angry  ocean  engulfs 
hundreds  of  human  beings,  much  sorrow 
and  distressing  mystery  are  the  result. 
Yet  the  sorrow  and  distress  would  be  far 
greater  if,  in  the  dreadful  storm,  we  be- 
held only  the  work  of  mere  laws  or 
relentless  fate.  But  God  is  wise,  and 
strong,  and  kind.  We  know  His  will 
is  good.  We  bow  reverently  before  the 
mystery,  and  wait  for  more  light.  It  is 
assuring  to  know  that  our  Father  rules 
the  winds  and  waves. 

II.  Man's  impotency  when  the  sea 
rebels  against  him.  *'  They  mount  up 
to  the  heaven,"  &c.  (verses  26,  27). 
Man  has  great  power  over  the  sea.  He 
employs  it  in  his  service.  To  a  great 
extent  he  can  control  it  even  in  its 
angry  moods.  In  its  depths  he  hides 
the  medium  of  communication  with  far 
distant  lands.  He  can  navigate  it  in 
almost  all  weathers.  Yet  there  are  limits 
to  man's  power  over  the  sea,  and  when 
he  attains  these  limits,  his  impotence  is 
complete.  There  is  a  **  Hitherto  sbalt 
thou  come,  but  no  farther,"  and  when 
man  has  reached  that  boundary,  if  he 
attempt  to  advance  beyond,  the  sea  will 
whelm  him. 

How  great  is  man  /  See  how  he  curbs 
the  elements  and  employs  them  in  his 
service. 

How  insignificant  is  man  I  See  bow 
the  stormy  waves  sport  with  him,  bufl'et 

163 


FSALM  OYU. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


him,  engulf  him.  When  the  ocean  speaks 
in  thunder,  and  surges  in  might  and  fury, 
men's  souls  are  "melted  because  of 
tr(iuble.  They  reel  to  and  fro,  and 
stagger  like  a  drunken  man,  and  are  at 
their  wit's  end." 

But  even  when  impotent  and  defeated 
by  the  warring  elements,  man  is  greater 
than  they ;  for  he  is  conscious  of  his  im- 
potence and  defeat,  while  they  know  not 
of  their  triumph. 

III.  Man's  resource  when  the  sea 
rebels  against  him.  "Then  they  cry 
unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble."  In  the 
storm,  when  Jonah  was  fleeing  from 
Joppa  to  Tarshish,  "  the  mariners  were 
afraid,  and  cried  every  man  unto  his 
god."  In  the  storm  on  the  sea  of  Galilee, 
when  the  disciples  of  Christ  thought 
they  were  perishing,  they  cried,  "  Lord, 
save  us :  we  perish."  Even  the  pro- 
fessed atheist  ceases  the  insane  boast  of 
atheism  and  cries  to  God  for  mercy  in 
the  storm  when  hope  of  deliverance  by 
mere  human  skill  is  gone.  In  a  heavy 
storm,  when  wreck  seemed  inevitable, 
the  captain  of  a  ship  inquired  anxiously 
— "Is  there  a  praying  man  on  board  ?  " 
But  no  one  responded.  He  inquired 
again.  And  eventually  it  was  found 
that  there  was  a  person  on  board,  who 
had  formerly  been  a  Wesley  an,  but  who 
had  cast  away  his  confidence.  '*  Can 
you  pray  ?  "  said  the  captain  to  him.  *'  I 
could  once,  sir,"  he  tremblingly  replied, 
**but  I  have  left  off  praying."  "Try 
again,"  said  the  captain.  And  all  the 
crew  bowed  down  to  that  Almighty  Being 

'*  Who  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky, 
And  calms  the  roaring  seas  ;  *' 

whilst  the  poor  backslider  tried  to  pray, 
and  did  pray,  fervently,  powerfully,  and 
successfully  •  for  the  storm  subsided  and 
the  vessel  was  preserved. 

How  affecting,  in  the  wreck  of  the 
London^  to  find  the  people  gathering 
round  the  Rev.  Mr.  Draper,  and  in  prayer 
to  God  learning  how  to  sink  into  the 
deep,  not  with  the  wild  shriek  of  despair, 
or  the  heartless  indifference  of  stoicism, 
or  the  atheistic  excitement  of  epicure- 
anism, but  with  the  calm  heroism  of 
Christian  faith  !  Prayer  to  God  is  the 
resource  of  imperilled  mariners.  That 
164 


men  thus  cry  to  God  in  their  trouble,  as 
by  an  instinct  of  their  being,  suggests — 

1.  The  absurdity  of  atheism.  Atheism 
is  a  contradiction  of  the  consciousness  of 
man  as  man. 

2.  2^ he  reality  of  prayer.  The  existence 
of  the  instinct  which  leads  men  to  cry  unto 
the  Lord  in  their  distresses,  suggests  that 
there  is  some  One  who  hears  prayer,  that 
the  utterance  of  petition  is  not  in  vain. 

But  is  it  only  when  you  are  at  your 
wit's  end  that  you  cry  unto  God  %  Do 
you  ignore  Him  when  "  the  south  wind 
blows  softly,"  yet  cry  unto  Him  when 
the  wild  tempest  raves  ?  Is  such  con- 
duct worthy  of  you  ?  What  right  have 
you  to  expect  that  He  whom  you  seek 
only  when  you  are  in  trouble  will  answer 
your  selfish  cry  ? 

IV.  God's  answer  to  man's  cry.  "  He 
bringeth  them  out  of  their  distresses," 
&c.  Sometimes  this  is  true  literally. 
The  heathen  mariners  on  their  voyage  to 
Tarshish  in  the  storm,  with  their  dim 
lights  as  to  religion,  cried  earnestly  to 
their  gods,  and  the  true  God  directed 
them  as  to  how  they  should  proceed  so 
as  to  secure  the  allaying  of  the  storm. 
The  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  cried  to 
Him  in  the  tempest,  and  He  hushed  it 
into  peace.  We  could  cite  numerous  in- 
stances of  modern  times,  in  which  earnest 
prayer  in  the  storm  has  been  followed  by 
a  calm.  But  God  does  not  always  liter- 
ally allay  the  storm,  and  save  from  it 
those  who  cry  unto  Him.  He,  however, 
calms  the  inward  tempest,  so  that  the 
waves  of  anxiety  and  terror  are  still. 
He  did  so  in  those  on  board  the  London, 
who  sank  in  the  act  of  worship.  If  He 
does  not  avert  the  calamity  in  answer  to 
the  prayer  of  the  imperilled,  He  nerves 
them  for  the  calamity,  in  their  case  takes 
away  the  sting  and  evil  of  it,  and  makes 
it  the  occasion  of  blessing  to  them.  In 
answer  to  the  cry  of  "  those  in  peril  on 
the  sea,"  God  does  not  always  bring  the 
ship  into  the  desired  haven ;  but  '*  He 
bringeth  them  unto  their  desired  haven,*' 
— that  calm  haven  where  no  storm  raves, 
but  all  is  peaceful,  serene,  and  blessed. 

V.  Man's  obligation  for  God's  inter- 
position. "  Oh,  that  men  would  praise 
the  Lord  for  His  goodness,"  <fcc.  (See 
remarks  on  ver.  8.) 


BOMILETJC  COMMENTART:  PSALMS. 


PBALM  OTn. 


Terrestrial  Revolutions, 
{Vers€$  33-43.) 


"The  character  of  the  Psalm,"  says 
Perowne,  "  cLanges  at  this  point.     We 
have  no  longer  distinct  pictures  as  be- 
fore :    the    beautiful   double    refrain    is 
dropped,    the   language   is    harsher  and 
more  abrupt.     Instead  of  fresh  examples 
of  deliverance  from   peril,  and  thanks- 
giving for  God's  mercies,  we  have  now 
instances  of  God^s  providential  govern- 
ment   of   the    world   exhibited    in    two 
series  of  contrasts.     The  first  of  these  is 
contained  in  verses  33-39,  and  expresses 
a    double    change — the    fruitful    well- 
watered    land    smitten,    like    the    rich 
plain   of  Sodom,   with  desolation,   and 
changed  into   a  salt-marsh  ;  and  anon, 
the  wilderness  crowned  with  cities,  like 
Tadmor    (of   which    Pliny    says,    vasto 
amhitu  arenis  includit  agros)^  and  made 
fertile  to  produce  corn  and  wine.     The 
second   is   contained   in  verses   40,   41, 
and  expresses  the  change  in  the  fortunes 
of  man  (as  the  last  series  did  those  of 
countries)— Viz.  ^  how  the  poor  and  the 
humble  are  raised,  and  the  rich  and  the 
proud  overthrown." 

Here  are  three  chief  points  for  con- 
sideration : — 

1.  Revolutions  in  countries.    Verses 
33-39.     Here  is— 

1.  A  picture  of  a  fertile  land  reduced 
to  barrenness.  "■  He  turneth  rivers  into 
a  wilderness,"  &c.  (verses  33,  34).  (1) 
This  change  was  effected  by  God.  "  He 
turneth,"  <fec.  He  can  dry  up  rivers, 
and  make  the  fruitful  plain  a  salt  waste 
or  sandy  desert.  (2)  This  change  was 
eflfected  by  God  by  reason  of  the  wicked- 
ness of  its  inhabitants.  *'  For  the  wicked- 
ness of  them  that  dwell  therein."  There 
is  an  allusion  here  to  the  destruction  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the  change 
of  "  the  plain  well  watered  everywhere, 
as  the  garden  of  the  Lord,"  into  a  salt 
sea  and  a  salt  soil  on  which  nothing 
grows.  «  If  the  land  be  bad,  it  is  be- 
cause the  inhabitants  are  so." 

2.  A  picture  of  a  barren  land  made 
fertile.  (Verses  35-38.)  The  35th 
verse  is  taken  from  Isa.  xli.  18.  The 
ftricj  wilderness   is   transformed  into  a 


well-watered  country,  the  barren  desert 
into  a  scene  of  fruitfulness  and  beauty  • 
where  solitude  reigned,  a  populous  city 
is  found ;  and  where  no  life  was,  both 
human  and   animal   life   increases  and 
multiplies.        This     transformation     is 
brought   about   by— (1)  The  labour  of 
man.     "  They  prepare   a  city  for  habi- 
tation;  and  sow  the  fields,   and  plant 
vineyards,  which  may  yield  fruits  of  in- 
crease."    Labour  is  an  eternal  and  im- 
mutable condition  of  prosperity  both  for 
individuals  and  for  communities.     (2) 
The  blessing  of  God.     The  Divine  bless- 
ing precedes   and  prepares  for  human 
labour.       <'He    turneth    the   wilderness 
into  a  standing  water,"  <kc.    The  Divine 
blessing   succeeds   and    crowns   human 
labour.      ''He    blesseth    them    also,    so 
that   they   are   multiplied,"   <fec.     Some 
expositors  have  connected  these  verses 
with   certain   historical  events;  but,  as 
Perowne  points  out,  "  the  language  em- 
ployed is  far  too  general  to  be  limited 
to   one   event.     It  describes  what  fre- 
quently has  occurred.     The  histories  of 
Mexico  and  of  Holland  might  furnish 
examples  of  such  a  contrast."     Matthew 
Henry   says:  "The    land    of    Canaan, 
which  was  once  the  glory  of  all  lands 
for  fruitfulness,   is  said    to   be   at  this 
day  a  fruitless,  useless,  worthless  spot 
of  ground,  as  was  foretold  (Deut.  xxix. 
23).     This  land  of  ours,  which  formerly 
was  much  of  it  an  uncultivated  desert, 
is  now  full  of  all  good  things." 

3.  A  reminder  that  the  temporal  pros- 
perity of  communities  is  inconstant  and 
uncertain.  "  Again,  they  are  minished 
and  brought  low  through  oppression, 
aflaiction,  and  sorrow."  (1)  The  most 
prosperous  communities  are  not  exempt 
from  calamities.  (2)  The  most  pros- 
perous communities  are  sometimes 
brought  low  by  calamities.  Barnes : 
"  God  so  deals  with  the  race  as  in  the 
best  manner  to  secure  the  recognition 
of  Himself ; — not  always  sending  pros- 
perity, lest  men  should  regard  it  as  a 
thing  of  course,  and  forget  that  it 
comes   from   Him; — and   not    makirg 

U6 


PSALM  cvin. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


the  course  of  life  uniformly  that  of 
disappointment  and  sorrow,  lest  they 
should  feel  that  there  is  no  God  pre- 
siding over  human  affairs.  He  visits 
now  with  prosperity,  and  now  with  ad- 
versity ; — now  with  success  and  now 
with  reverses,  showing  that  His  agency 
is  constant,  and  that  men  are  wholly 
dependent  on  Him."  Matthew  Henry  : 
"  Worldly  wealth  is  an  uncertain  thing, 
and  often  those  that  are  filled  with  it, 
ere  they  are  aware,  grow  so  secure  and 
sensual  with  it  that,  ere  they  are  aware, 
they  lose  it  again." 

IL  Bevolutions  in  human  life.  Here 
is — 

1.  The  humiliation  of  the  highest. 
"  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes, 
and  causeth  them  to  wander  in  the 
wilderness  where  there  is  no  way."  If 
men  of  exalted  rank  do  evil  and  dis- 
honour God  He  will  bring  them  down 
from  their  elevation,  make  them  to  be 
scorned  of  men,  and  reduce  them  to 
helpless  embarrassment.  "  He  bringeth 
the  princes  to  nothing,  He  maketh  the 
judges  of  the  earth  as  vanity." 

2.  The  exaltation  of  the  lowest,  "  Yet 
setteth  He  the  poor  on  high  from  afflic- 
tion, and  maketh  him  families  like  a 
flock."  God  exalts  the  poor  above  their 
enemies,  and  out  of  the  reach  of  their 
troubles.  He  raises  them  from  suffer- 
ing and  adversity  into  joy  and  prosperity. 
He  blesses  them  with  large  increase  in 
their  families, — "  maketh  families  like 
a  flock,"  a  figure  denoting  a  great  multi- 
tude. Amongst  the  Hebrews  large 
families  were  accounted  a  blessing. 
Over  all  these  revolutions  God  presides. 


"  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  alL"    "  God 

is  to  be  acknowledged,**  says  Matthew 
Henry,  **both  in  setting  up  families  and 
in  building  them  up.  Let  not  princes 
be  envied,  nor  the  poor  despised,  for 
God  has  ways  of  changing  the  condition 
of  both." 

III.  The  salutary  impression  of  such 
revolutions.  The  Psalmist  represents 
the  result  as  threefold. 

1.  To  the  righteous,  joy,  "  The  right- 
eous shall  see  it  and  rejoice."  The 
manifestation  of  God's  righteous  govern- 
ment of  the  world  is  a  source  of  glad- 
ness to  the  upright. 

2.  To  the  wickedy  silence,  "All  ini- 
quity shall  stop  her  mouth."  **  The 
Divine  dealings  shall  be  manifestly  so 
just,  and  so  worthy  of  universal  approval, 
that  even  though  the  wicked  are  disposed 
to  complain  against  God,  they  will  be 
able  to  find  nothing  which  will  justify 
them  in  such  complaints." — Barnes. 

3.  To  the  thoughtfulf  increased  ac- 
quaintance with  God.  "  Whoso  is  wise 
and  will  observe  these  things,  even  they 
shall  understand  the  loving-kindness  of 
the  Lord."  (1)  In  the  revolutions  in 
human  history  there  is  a  manifestation 
of  the  goodness  of  God,  His  rule  is 
beneficent.  (2)  This  manifestation  of 
the  goodness  of  God  is  perceived  only  hy 
the  attentive  observer  of  those  revolutions. 
The  significance  of  God's  works  and 
ways  cannot  be  discovered  by  a  glance, 
or  by  the  superficial  observer.  But  he 
who  will  consider  them  attentively  and 
reverently,  shall  find  in  them  sufficient 
reason  for  intelligent  and  hearty  con* 
fidence  in  Him. 


PSALM  ovm 

Introduction. 

**  This  Psalm  consists  of  portions  of  two  others,  the  first  half  of  it  being  taken  from  the 
57th  Psalm,  verses  7-11,  and  the  latter  half  from  the  60th,  verses  5-12.  It  bears  the  name  of 
David,  because  the  original  passages  both  occur  in  psalms  ascribed  to  him  as  their  author 
But  there  is  no  reason  for  concluding  that  these  fragments  were  thus  united  by  David  himselC 
Some  later  poet  probably  adapted  them  to  circumstances  of  his  own  time  ;  possiblj  wished  thai 
to  commemorate  some  victory  over  Edom  or  Philistia." — Perovmt. 

As  the  whole  of  the  Psalm  has  already  been  expounded  in  **The  HomUetieai  Commentarf" 
on  Psalms  57  and  60,  it  will  be  sufficient  if  in  this  place  we  suggest  a  method  of  developing  its 
mainPhomiletic  ideas.     The  Psalm  affords  an  excellent  irllostration  of— 
166 


HOMILSTW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS  psalm otm. 


The  Complete  Triumph  op  the  Christian  Life. 

The     Christian    life    is    a    warfare.  Thou     exalted,    O    God,     above     the 

Every  spiritually-renewed    man  has  to  hearens,    and  Thy  glory  above  all  the 

do  battle   with   fleshly  lusts   and    evil  earth."     The   heart  which   is    fixed   to 

tendencie.s    in    his   own    nature,    with  praise  God    would  exalt    Him  in   the 

corrupt     opinions     and      practices     in  highest  degree  and  widest  extent      He 

society,  and  with  the  temptations  of  the  is   worthy   the    praise   of    the   highest 

devil,      ihe  renewed  man  is  assured  of  intelligences  of  heaven,  and  of  all  upon 

ultimate  victory  in  this  conflict.     And  earth. 

this  Psalm  very  suitably  represents  the  How  does  this    praise    promote   the 

spiritual     attitude     of     the    Christian  complete  victory  of  the  Christian  life? 
warrior,  who,   although  he  has  gained  First :  It  honours  God,     "  Them  that 

many  conquests,  is  not  yet  completely  honour   Me,    I    will   honour "      If  we 

victorious,  but  in  the  strength  of  God  honour   Him    with    sincere  'praise    He 

IS    pressing   on   to   the   full   and   final  will  honour  us  with  courage    strength 

triumph      The  complete  triumph  of  the  triumph. 

Christian  life  is-        ^  Second  :    It  strengthms  faitK      As 

I.  Promoted  by  praise  to  God.     The  we  heartily  celebrate  the  Divine  mercy 

Poet   begins  his  Psalm  with  praise  to  and  truth,  our  faith  in  them  will  grow 

Orod.     Observe  the  main  features  of  his  itronger.       And     in     moral     conflicts 

praise      It  is—  nothing  nerves  the  heart  with   heroism 

1-    ^^«w<5   from   a   confident    heart,  and  the  arm  with  power  like  faith  in 

O  God,  my  heart  is  fixed."     A  fixed  God.     In   the  warfare  of  the  spiritual 

heart  is  one  which  is  firm  and  fearless  life  if  we  would  "  wax  valiant  in  fight 

by  reason  of  its  confidence  in  God.     Its  and   turn  to  flight  the  armies  of   the 

praise  would  be  unfaltering  and  fervent.  aliens,"  it  must  be  '*  through  faith.'' 
«J'   ^^^*^*  ^^^^  ^^*  noUest   powers.  11.   Promoted  by  consideration  of 

Even  with  my  glory."    By  his  "glory"  the  triumphs  already  achieved.     The 

the  Poet  means  his  soul,  with  all  the  Poet  calls  to  mind  the  victories  already 

capacities  and  faculties  which  belonged  won.     "  I    will    rejoice,    I    will   divide 

to  him  as  an  intelligent  being,  created  Shechem   and    mete  out    the  valley  of 

in   the   Divine  image.      The  praise  of  Succoth.     Gilead  is  mine,  Manasseh  is 

God  should  engage  the  noblest  powers  mine,  Ephraim  also  is  the  strength  of 

of    our    being.       Soulless    worship    is  mine  head,  Judah  is  my  lawcriver  Moab 

repugnant  to  Heaven.  is  my  washpot."     Shechem  on  the  west 

^^  3.  Praue  m  the  most  public  manner,  of  Jordan,   and   Succoth  on  the  east ; 

"I  will  praise   Thee,   O   Lord,   among  Gilead  (including   the  region  occupied 

the  people  ;  and  I  will  sing  praises  unto  by  the  tribes  of  Gad  and  Reuben),  and 

Thee  among  the  nations."     The  peoples  Manasseh  on  the  east,  and  Ephraim  and 

of  the  whole  earth  alone  constitute  a  Judah  on  the  west,   are  mentioned  as 

sufficient  auditory  for  the  praise  which  representing  the  whole  land  of  Canaan, 

the  Psalmist  would  oflfer.  The    powerful    tribe    of     Ephraim    is 

4.  Praise  because  of  God's  covenant  represented  as  "the  strength  of  his 
relationship.  "  For  Thy  mercy  is  great  head,"  i.e.,  the  great  protection  of  the 
above  the  heavens,  and  Thy  truth  most  vital  interests  in  battle.  Judah 
reacheth  unto  the  clouds."  The  mercy  is  spoken  of  as  the  lawgiver,  probably 
and  truth  of  God  are  the  attributes  which  in  reference  to  the  ancient  prediction, 
are  celebrated  by  Hebrew  poets  and  "The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from 
prophets  as  marking  His  covenant  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his 
relationship  with  His  people.  These  feet  until  Shiloh  come."  All  this  land 
are  conspicuous,  exalted^  vast  as  the  of  Canaan  was  subdued.  Moab  also 
heavens.  ^aa  conquered.     *'  Moab  is  my  wash- 

5.  Praise  of  universal  extent,     "  Be  pot "   expresses   the   reduction   of    the 

167 


Malm  cvin. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Moabites  to  a  state  of  utter  servitude. 
"  The  Moabites  became  David's  servants, 
and  brought  gifts"  (2  Sam.  viii.  2). 

But  the  victory  of  Israel  was  not  com- 
plete. Edom  was  still  unconquered.  But 
its  subjugation  is  anticipated.  "  Over 
Edoui  will  I  cast  my  shoe."  In  the  pre- 
ceding clause  Moab  is  described  as  a 
mean  vessel  in  which  the  feet  are  washed, 
and  now  Edom  is  described  as  a  servant 
of  the  lowest  grade  to  whom  the  sandals 
are  thrown  to  be  removed  or  to  be  cleaned. 
Or  the  figure  may  mean  the  placing  of 
the  foot  upon  Edom  in  token  of  its  com- 
plete subjection.  The  idea  undoubtedly 
is  that  Edom  should  be  completely  van- 
quished by,  and  subjected  to,  Israel. 

But  how  would  the  consideration  of 
past  triumphs  promote  the  complete 
victory  1 

First :  Their  consideration  reveals  the 
fact  that  many  an  enemy  which  seemed 
too  mighty  for  us  has  been  vanquished  hy 
believing  effort.  The  Israelites  had  con- 
quered the  fierce  and  strong  Canaanites. 
Could  they  not  also  conquer  the  formid- 
able Idumeans?  In  the  Christian  life 
we  look  back  upon  many  a  difficulty  over- 
come, many  a  temptation  successfully  re- 
sisted, many  a  foe  slain,  and  are  en- 
couraged to  hope  and  contend  for  the  full 
and  final  conquest.  Past  victories  are 
an  earnest  of  future  and  entire  triumph. 

Second  :  Their  consider ationbrings  into 
clear  and  impressive  light  the  faithful- 
ness and  sufficiency  of  God  as  our  Helper, 
He  had  made  good  His  promise  to  Israel 
in  their  past  triumphs,  which  they  had 
achieved  by  virtue  of  His  help ;  and,  as 
He  changes  neither  in  His  faithfulness 
nor  in  His  power  to  help,  would  He  not 
enable  them  to  vanquish  the  Idumeans  ] 
In  the  past  of  our  individual  Christian 
life  He  has  been  our  unfailing  Helper 
and  Supporter.  **  Having  obtained  help 
of  God,  we  continue  unto  this  day."    Our 


past  triumphs  are  due  to  His  assistance. 
And  as  we  review  them,  remembering 
His  unchangeableness,  we  are  encouraged 
boldly  to  encounter  future  diflSculties  and 
enemies.  John  Newton  very  clearly  ex- 
presses this  thought — 

"His  love  in  time  past 
Forbids  me  to  think,'*  &c 

III.  Assured  by  God.     We  discover 

this  assurance  in — 

1.  H is  interest  in  His  people.  David 
speaks  of  Israel  as  His  "  beloved." 
"  That  Thy  beloved  may  be  delivered." 
God  loves  His  people  ;  and  that  love  is 
a  guarantee  of  their  ultimate  and  com- 
plete triumph  over  all  their  foes. 

2.  His  power  to  give  His  people  the 
victory.  "  Save  with  Thy  right  hand. 
....  Through  God  we  shall  do  vali- 
antly ;  and  He  shall  tread  down  our 
enemies."  **  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord 
doeth  valiantly."  "No  weapon  that  is 
formed  against  thee  shall  prosper."  "  The 
God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under 
your  feet  shortly."  To  those  who  be- 
lievingly  prosecute  this  warfare  God  gives 
the  victory. 

3.  His  promise  to  give  His  people  the 
victory.  "  God  hath  spoken  in  His  holi- 
ness." The  holiness  of  God  is  the  pledge 
that  He  will  perform  His  promises.  He 
has  promised  to  those  who  believe  on 
Him  the  victory  over  all  their  foes  ;  and 
what  He  has  promised  He  will  perform, 
for  His  word  is  both  almighty  and  un- 
chanoreable. 

Conclusion.  Here  is  encouragement 
for  the  Christian  soldier.  Ours  is  not  a 
doubtful  battle.  The  Lord  is  on  our 
side  ;  therefore  we  must  conquer.  Here 
is  counsel  for  the  Christian  soldier.  If 
we  would  conquer  we  must  be  found  in 
the  way  of  duty.  Trust  and  fight,  watch 
and  pray,  so  shall  you  come  off  at  lasfe 
more  than  conqueror  through  Christ. 


The  Greatness  of  God's  Mercy. 
(Verse  4. — "  Thy  mercy  is  great  above  the  heayens.") 

A  thing  may  be  radically  evil  in  itself,  painful   thing,   yet   under   the   glorious 

and  yet  may  by  a  superior  power  be  made  government  of  God  it  is  so  overruled  as 

the  occasion  of  good.     The  entrance  of  not  to  prove  an  unmixed  evil.     Some  of 

tin  into  the  world  was  a  most  evil  and  the  most  glorious  representations  of  the 

168 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OYIIL 


character  of  God  have  been  occasioned  by 
the  sin  of  mankind.  This  is  true  of  His 
mercy.  Sin  did  not  originate  His  mercy, 
but  was  the  occasion  of  its  display. 
Mercy  is  the  form  which  the  goodness  of 
God  assumes  to  the  sinful  and  wretched. 
It  is  the  disposition  of  God  to  pardon 
sinners  and  to  relieve  sufferers.  Our 
text  sets  forth  the  greatness  of  the  Mercy 
of  God.     This  is  seen — 

I.  In  the  blessings  of  daily  life.  The 
use  of  the  word  "■  mercy"  implies  suffer- 
ing and  sin  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom 
it  is  applied.  Man  is  a  sinner  :  sin 
deserves  misery,  death.  But  there  is 
much  enjoyment  in  the  world.  Every 
day  we  receive  innumerable  blessings. 
What  a  proof  of  His  mercy  !  Life  itself 
is  a  gift  of  God's  mercy.  His  mercy 
crowns  the  life  of  hell-deserving  rebels 
with  joy  !  It  becomes  us  to  receive 
every  comfort  and  joy  as  a  proof,  not 
only  of  God's  goodness,  but  of  His 
mercy.  *'It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies 
that  we  are  not  consumed,"  &c. 

II  In  the  grand  end  for  which  it  is 
manifested.  Why,  when  sin  entered  our 
world,  did  mercy  also  appear?  Why  does 
God  continue  our  life  here?  Why  does 
He  in  countless  ways  maidfest  His  mercy 
to  men  1  in  order  that  man  may  be  de- 
livered from  sin,  and  be  established  in  a 
state  of  holiness.  Salvation,  the  restora- 
tion of  man  to  God,  is  the  grand  pur- 
pose of  Divine  mercy.  How  transcen- 
dently  great !     How  Divine ! 

III.  In  the  numerous  and  glorious 
means  by  which  it  seeks  to  accomplish 
this  end.     These  are — 

1.  The  incarnation,  life^  ministry, 
sufferings,  death,  resurrection,  and  inter- 
cession of  the  Son  of  God.  The  great 
blessing  of  salvation  could  not  have  been 
obtained  apart  from  Christ.  He  is  the 
great  Gift  of  mercy,  the  great  Channel 
of  mercy,  the  great  Minister  of  mercy. 
This  gift  transcends  that  of  salvation. 
That  our  redemption  should  be  through 
the  blood  of  Christ  is  a  wonderful  dis- 
play of  mercy.  Wonderful  that  mercy 
should  seek  our  salvation  ;  more  wonder- 
ful that  such  means  should  be  employed 
to  secure  it.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  greatest 
gift  of  the  mercy  of  God. 

2.  The  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,     He 


strives,  calls,  convinces,  converts,  estab- 
lishes, sanctifies  men — all  in  mercy,  and 
all  with  a  view  to  their  salvation.     In 
this  we  have  a  great  display  of  mercy. 
He    is   distinguished,  glorious,  divine  ; 
and  He  is  the  gift  of  God's  mercy  to  us.' 
3.  The  ministry  of  the  Gospel  preacher. 
God  hath  sent  forth  ambassadors  to  be- 
seech men  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  recon- 
ciled unto  Him.     Every  true  preacher 
of  the  Gospel  is  a  gift  of  Divine  mercv 
to  men.    Every  Gospel  sermon  is  a  proof 
of  God's  mercy  to  those  who  hear  it. 

4.^  The  arrangements  of  Providence. 
God's  providence  is  a  great  institution 
of  mercy,  a  vast  organisation  of  mercy 
in  constant  operation  to  secure  the  salva- 
tion of  men.  All  the  circumstances,  scenes, 
and  events  of  life  are  ordered  or  controlled 
by  mercy  for  the  salvation  of  men. 

How  various  and  glorious,  then,  are 
the  means  and  agencies  which  God  in 
His  mercy  uses  to  secure  the  salvation 
of  mankind  !  These  means  and  agencies 
are  devised  by  Mercy,  bestowed  by 
Mercy,  employed  by  Mercy,  for  a  most 
mercifid  end. 

IV.  In  the  vast  multitudes  to  whom 
it   extends.      It  extends   to   all  men. 
God  in  mercy  gave  Christ  a  Saviour  for 
all  men.       His  salvation  is  adequate  to 
the  needs  of  all,  suited  to  the  needs  of 
all,  offered  to  all,  smd  free  for  all.    Like 
the  heavens  which  encompass  all,  and 
pour  their  light  and  warmth  on  all  and 
freely,  so  God's  mercy  embraces  all,  and 
freely  offers  to  all  her  ample  provisions. 
Countless  multitudes  have   been  saved 
by  mercy.     The  trophies  of  her  saving 
power  are  ever  passing  into  the  realms 
of  the   blessed.       This  great   mercy   is 
equal  to  all  the  sin  and  misery  of  our 
sinful  and  suffering  race — nay,  it  tran- 
scends the  sin  and  suffering.     It  meets 
the  needs  of  the  worst  sinners.     Manas- 
seh,  Mary  Magdalene,  the   dying   male- 
factor, Saul  the  j)ersecutor,  found  mercy, 
and  through  mercy  entered  heaven.    At 
present  it  is  more  than  sufficient  for  the 
vilest.     It  is   sufficient  for  all  sinners 
that  are  now  and  will  yet  arise,  until  its 
grand  end  is  accomplished,  the  race  re- 
stored, and  God  glorified  in  man.      His 
mercy  is  infinite.     "He   delighteth  in 
mercy."    He  "is  rich  in  mercy."    "Oh, 

169 


FSALM  CIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  is      tion  to  God.    Accept  this  mercy ;  in  sin 
good,  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever."      and  weakness  trust  in  it ;  rejoice  in  it ; 
This  great  mercy  increases  our  obliga-     praise  Qod  for  iU 


PSALM    OIX. 

Introduction. 

"This,**  gays  Perowne,  "is  the  last  of  the  Psalms  of  imprecation,  and  completes  the  terrible 
climax.  In  the  awfulness  of  its  anathemas,  the  Psalm  surpasses  everythinii  of  the  kind  in  the 
Old  Testament.  Who  the  person  was  who  was  thus  singled  out  for  execration,  it  is  in  vain  to 
conjecture.  Those  who  hold,  in  accordance  with  the  Inscription,  that  the  Psalm  was  written 
by  Darid,  suppose  that  Doeg  or  Gush,  Shimei  or  Ahithophel,  is  the  object  of  execration. 

"  In  Acts  i.  20,  St.  Peter  cojnbines  a  part  of  the  8th  verse  of  this  Psalm,  *  His  office  let  another 
take,*  with  words  slightly  altered  from  the  25th  [Heb.  26th]  verse  of  the  69th  Psalm,  and  ap- 
plies them  to  Judas  Iscariot.  Hence  the  Psalm  has  been  regarded  by  the  majority  of  expositors, 
ancient  and  modern,  as  a  prophetic  and  Messianic  Psalm.  The  language  has  been  justified  not 
as  the  language  of  David,  but  as  the  language  of  Christ,  exercising  His  office  of  Judge,  or,  in 
60  far  as  He  had  laid  aside  that  office  during  His  earthly  life,  calling  upon  His  Father  to  accom- 
plish the  curse.  It  has  been  alleged  that  this  is  the  prophetic  foreshadowing  of  the  solemn 
words,  *  Woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed;  it  were  good  for  that  man  if 
he  had  not  been  born '  (Matt.  xxvi.  24).  The  curse,  in  the  words  of  Chrysoatom,  *  is  a  prophecy 
in  form  of  a  curse.' 

**  The  strain  which  such  a  view  compels  us  to  put  on  much  of  the  language  of  the  Psalm 
ought  to  have  led  long  since  to  its  abandonment.  Not  even  the  woes  denounced  by  our  Lord 
against  the  Pharisees  can  really  be  compared  to  the  anathemas  which  are  here  strung  together. 
Much  less  is  there  any  pretence  for  saying  that  those  words,  so  full  of  holy  sorrow,  addressed  to 
the  traitor  in  the  Gospels,  are  merely  another  expression  of  the  appalling  denunciations  of  the 
Psalm.  But,  terrible  as  these  undoubtedly  are — to  be  accounted  for  by  the  spirit  of  the  Old 
Dispensation,  not  to  be  defended  by  that  of  the  New — still  let  us  learn  to  estimate  them 
aright.  This  is  the  natural  voice  of  righteousness  persecuted.  These  are  the  accents  of  the 
martyr,  not  smarting  only  with  a  sense  of  personal  suffering,  but  feeling  acutely,  and  hating 
nobly,  the  triumph  of  wickedness." 


The  Pitiable,  the  Commendable,  and  the  Reprehensible,  in  thh 
Troubled  Life  of  a  Godly  Man, 

{Verses  1-20.) 


I.  The  pitiable  in  the  troubled  life 
of  a  godly  man.  The  Psalmist  is  to 
be  commiserated  because  of  the  cruel 
treatment  he  received  at  the  hands  of 
unprincipled  enemies.  He  complains  of 
their — 

1.  Slander.  "The  mouth  of  the 
wicked  and  the  mouth  of  the  deceitful 
are  opened  against  me  ;  they  have  spoken 
against  me  with  a  lying  tongue."  (See 
'^  Hom.  Com."  on  Ps.  xli  5-8,  and 
ci.  5.) 

"No  might  nor  greatness  in  mortality 
Can  censure  'scape ;  back-wounding  calumny 
The  whitest  virtue  strikes:  what  king  so  strong, 
Can  tie  the  gall  up  in  the  slanderous  tongue  ? " 

— Shakesjpeare, 

Again — 

**  Virtue  itself  'scapes  not  calumnious  strokes." 
170 


And  again — 

"  Be  thou  as  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  at  fnowy 
thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny." 

2.  Malignity,  '*  They  compassed  me 
about  also  with  words  of  hatred,  and 
fought  against  me  without  a  cause." 
Hengstenberg  says :  "  The  words  of 
hatred  are  malignant  accusations.  The 
swords  with  which  they  fight  are  their 
tongues.  The  language  used  in  the 
Psalm  refers  only  to  false  accusations, 
not  to  deeds."  Their  bitter  hostility  to 
the  Psalmist  was  unprovoked.  He  had 
given  them  no  cause  for  it.  He  had 
done  them  no  wrong. 

3.  Ingratiiude.  He  had  done  them 
good,  and  they  injured  him  in  return. 
"For  my  love  they  are  my  enemies. 
And  they  hava  rewarded  me   evil  foi 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  eix. 


good,  and  hatred  for  my  love."  This 
is  base  and  atrocious  wickedness,  yet 
David  often  sufifered  from  such  conduct. 
*'At  the  battle  of  Alma,  in  September 
1854,  a  wounded  Russian  was  calling 
piteously  for  water.  Captain  Edding- 
ton,  whose  heart  was  kind  and  charitable, 
ran  to  him,  and,  stooping,  gave  him  the 
much -desired  beverage.  The  wounded 
man  revived.  The  captain  ran  forward 
to  join  his  regiment,  when  the  wretch, 
who  had  just  been  restored  by  his  kind- 
ness, fired,  and  shot  him  who  had  been 
his  friend  in  the  time  of  need." 

*'Blow^,  blow,  thou  winter  wind. 
Thou  art  not  bo  unkind 

As  man's  ingratitude ; 
Thy  tooth  is  not  so  keen, 
Because  thou  art  not  seen, 

Although  thy  breath  be  rude." 

— Shakespeofw. 

Kind  and  godly  men  are  still  exposed 
to  the  slander,  malignity,  and  base  in- 
gratitude of  the  wicked.  When  they 
suffer  from  these  they  should  be  sus- 
tained by  the  sympathy  of  all  true  men. 
A  good  man  smarting  under  the  un- 
merited assaults  of  the  wicked  should  be 
encouraged  and  defended  by  all  upright 
men. 

II.  The  commendable  in  the  troubled 
life  of  a  godly  man.  The  troubled 
Psalmist  is  to  be  commended  because  he 
committed  his  cause  to  the  Lord  in 
prayer.     Notice — 

1.  The  object  of  his  praj/eK  He 
prayed  that  God  would  vindicate  him 
from  the  slanders  of  his  enemies. 
*'  Hold  not  Thy  peace.'*  Hengstenberg 
and  Perowne  :  "  Be  not  silent."  The 
desire  of  the  Psalmist  was  that  God 
would  interpose  for  his  help,  and  so 
witness  for  him  against  his  adversaries. 

2.  The  intensity  of  his  prayer,  "  *  But 
I  give  myself  unto  prayer^  lit.  '  I  (am) 
prayer,'  t.e.,  one  who  prays,  having  re- 
course to  no  other  means  of  defence." — 
Perowne,  Matthew  Henry,  Barnes,  and 
others  are  wrong  in  representing  him  as 
praying  continually  for  his  enemies. 
The  spirit  which  breathes  through  the 
Psalm  is  utterly  irreconcilable  with  such 
a  view.  In  the  most  terrible  manner  he 
prays  against  his  enemies,  not  for  them. 
He  devoted  himself  ertirely  to  prayer ; 


his  supplications  were  continuous  and 

absorbing. 

3.  The  ground  of  his  prayer,  *•  0 
God  of  my  praise,"  »>.,  the  God  whom 
I  praise.  This  title  contains  the  ground 
of  the  prayer.  In  former  times  the  Lord 
had  given  the  Psalmist  reason  to  praise 
Him,  and  He  will  now  interpose  for 
him,  and  so  give  him  fresh  reason 
for  praise.  Hengstenberg :  "  The  repre- 
sentation of  all  that  the  Lord  has  al- 
ready done  for  us,  and  the  appeal  to  it, 
form  a  sure  ground  of  answer,  and  a 
mighty  quickening  of  hope.  He  cannot 
be  unlike  Himself." 

For  thus  committing  his  cause  to 
God  in  prayer,  the  Psalmist  is  to  be 
commended.  His  example  is  well 
worthy  our  imitation.  Let  the  good 
man  who  is  slandered  and  calumniated 
by  the  wicked  commit  his  cause  to  God, 
and  in  due  time  he  shall  be  amply  vindi- 
cated. 

III.   The    reprehensible    in    the 
troubled  life    of    godly  man.    Vers. 
6-20.      Various    attempts   have    been 
made   to   free    the   Psalmist   from  the 
charge  of  revengefulness.     Some  have 
said  that  in  these  verses  he  speaks  as 
a   prophet,  and   simply   declares   what 
would  come  upon  his  enemies,  and  not 
what     he    desired     concerning    them. 
Others  seek  to  get  rid  of  the  diflSculty 
by  regarding  the  Psalm   as  Messianic, 
and  Christ  as  the  speaker ;  others  by 
supposing  the  words   to  be  merely  re- 
corded by  him  as  the  words  of  his  ene- 
mies.    We  have  met  with  no  satisfac- 
tory explanation  which  seeks  to  exone- 
rate the  Psalmist  from  blame.     To  us 
these  laboured  and  strained  attempts  to 
exculpate  the  Psalmist  do  not  seem  very 
creditable  to  their  authors,  or  in   any 
way   necessary.     Religious   experiences 
find  utterance  in  the  Psalms  which  are 
not  commendable.     In  them  the  poets 
express  their  doubts  as  well  as  their  con- 
fidences,   their   depressions  as  well   as 
their  exultations.     Many  things  are  re- 
corded which  are  also  condemned.     The 
Bible  faithfully  records  the  defects  and 
sins  of  the  best  men.  One  of  the  chief  ele- 
ments of  the  worth  of  the  Psalms  is  that 
in  them  we  have  a  faithful  utterance  of 
the  varying  religious  experiences  of  im- 

171 


PSALM  OIZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


perfect  yet  unquestionably  godly  men. 
But  it  is  essential  to  bear  in  mind  that 
it  is  not  just  to  judge  David  by  the 
principles  and  spirit  of  this  Christian 
dispensation.  His  utterances  must  be 
estimated  in  the  light  of  the  Decalogue, 
not  in  that  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
But,  after  we  have  made  every  legiti- 
mate allowance  tending  to  mitigate  the 
harshness  and  bitterness  of  spirit  here 
manifested,  still  the  Poet  appears  to  us 
here  as  a  beacon,  not  as  a  pattern.  His 
spirit  and  its  expressions  are  to  us 
things  not  to  be  imitated,  but  to  be  sedu- 
lously avoided.  Without  entering  into 
a  detailed  exposition  of  these  verses 
we  would  call  attention  to  three  consi- 
derations which  they  have  suggested 
to  us. 

1.  To  pray  for  the  vrrath  of  God  on 
any  one  is  (to  say  the  least)  unbecoming 
in  man.  A  due  sense  of  our  own  sin 
and  demerit  ought  effectually  to  re- 
press such  petitions.  "  If  Thou,  Lord, 
shouldest  mark  iniquities,  0  Lord,  who 
shall  stand  1 " 

2.  To  pray  that  even  a  man^s  prayer 
might  '*  become  sin"  is  much  worse  than 
unbecoming.  *'  Let  his  prayer  become 
sin."  Perowne  :  "  His  prayer^  not  ad- 
dressed to  the  human  judge  for  mitiga- 
tion of  the  sentence,  but  here,  as  always, 
prayer  to  God.  The  criminal,  looking 
in  vain  for  pity  or  justice  at  the  hands 
of  man,  turns  in  his  extremity  to  God  ; 
but  even  there,  at  the  very  fount  of 
mercy,  let  mercy  fail  him,  let  his  prayer 


aggravate  his  guilt.  The  utterance  of 
such  a  wish  is  the  most  awful  part  of 
the  imprecation.  That  prayer  may  thus 
draw  down  not  forgiveness  but  wratli, 
see  Isa.  i.  15  ;  Pro  v.  xv.  8,  xxi.  27, 
xxviii.  9.  But  it  is  one  thing  to  recog- 
nise this  as  a  fact  in  the  Divine  govern- 
ment of  man,  it  is  another  thing  to 
imprecate  it." 

3.  To  pray  for  such  curses  aw  are  here 
invoked  on  the  wife  and  children  of  an 
enemij  is  to  us  unspeakably  dreadfal. 
We  shudder  as  we  read  verses  10  and 
12,  and  are  reminded  of  the  words  of 
Sbakspeare : — 

**  Oh  that  the  slave  had  forty  thousand  lives  ; 
Oue  is  too  poor,  too  weak  for  my  revenge  I 
I  would  have  him  nine  years  a  killing." 

So  unappeasable  seems  the  revenge  of 
the  Psalmist.  Antoninus  well  says, 
"  The  best  sort  of  revenge  is  not  to  be 
like  him  who  did  the  injury.''  But 
David  resembled  his  enemies  in  this, 
that  they  "  fought  against  him  without 
a  cause,"  and  he  invokes  the  most  dread- 
ful injuries  upon  those  who  had  done 
him  no  wrong,  because  they  were  related 
to  one  who  had.  Let  good  men  as  they 
read  this  portion  of  the  Psalm  take 
warning.  The  holiest  of  men  in  the 
present  state  may  be  tempted  into  the 
manifestation  of  a  most  unbecoming  and 
sinful  spirit.  There  is  a  revenge  which 
is  noble  and  God-like.  Let  us  greet 
our  enemies  with  it.  '*  If  thine  enemy 
hunger,  feed  him,"  &c.  (Rom.  xil  20, 
21). 


Complaint,  Prayer,  and  Confidenob. 
{Verses  21-31.) 


In  this  portion  of  the  Psalm  we  have — 
L  A  mournful  complaint.    The  Poet 
complains  of — 

1.  Mental  distress.  "  I  am  poor  and 
needy,  and  my  heart  is  wounded  within 
me."  He  was  miserable  and  in  need 
of  help.  His  troubles  had  pierced  his 
heart  as  with  a  sword.  It  is  trying  to 
be  troubled  in  our  circumstances,  or  to 
be  afflicted  in  body,  but  the  sorest  trials 
are  those  of  the  heart.  *'  The  spirit  of 
a  man  will  sustain  his  infirmity;  but  a 
wounded  spirit  who  can  bear  1 " 
172 


2.  Physical  exhaustion,  "  My  knees 
are  weak  through  fasting,  and  my  flesh 
faileth  of  fatness."  '*0r  it  may  be 
rendered,  hath  fallen  away  from  fat.** — 
Perowne,  The  fasting  spoken  of  is  pro- 
bably that  of  penitence,  because  of  sin ; 
or  humiliation,  because  of  suffering.  It 
was  a  voluntary,  not  a  compulsory 
fasting.  By  reason  of  this  the  Poet's 
strength  had  failed.  The  knee  joints 
no  longer  afforded  him  firm  support, 
and  his  boay  was  wasting  to  mere  skin 
and  bones. 


HOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALM  OOL 


3.  Approach  to  death.  "I  am  gone 
like  the  shadow  when  it  declineth ;  I 
am  tossed  up  and  down  as  the  locust." 
Henstenberg:  "I  must  go  hence  like 
the  shadow  when  it  declineth,  I  am 
carried  away  like  the  locust."  Perowne : 
'*As  a  shadow,  when  it  lengtheneth, 
am  I  gone  hence,  I  have  been  driven 
away  as  the  locust."  As  the  lengthen- 
ing shadows  of  evening  show  the  near 
approach  of  night,  so  the  afflictions  of 
the  Psalmist  seemed  to  indicate  his 
learness  to  death  and  the  grave.  The 
Poet  gives  special  prominence  to  the 
irresistihleness  of  his  approach  to  death. 
He  says  literally,  '*I  am  made  to  go 
hence."  And  as  the  locusts  are  seized 
and  carried  away  by  the  wind,  being 
powerless  against  its  force,  so  he  was 
being  urged  towards  the  gates  of  death 
by  a  force  which  he  was  unable  to  resist. 

4.  The  reproach  of  his  enemies.  "I 
became  also  a  reproach  unto  them,  they 
looked  upon  me,  they  shaked  their 
heads."  The  wicked  reviled  the  Poet 
as  a  bad  man,  and  shook  their  heads  in 
insult  and  mockery.  Or  it  may  be,  as 
Henstenberg  says,  that  they  shook  the 
head  to  express  the  desperateness  of  the 
Poet,  saying  by  the  movement,  "It  is 
all  over  with  him." 

Such  is  the  mournful  complaint  of 
the  Psalmist.  It  is  sometimes  a  relief  to 
express  our  afflictions  and  griefs  to  God. 
It  lightens  the  burden  of  the  heart,  <fec. 
This  is  especially  so  when  complaint  is 
followed  by  prayer. 

II.  An  earnest  prayer.  Consider 
here — 

1.  The  objects  sought  in  his  prayer. 
The  Psalmist  petitions  God  for  (1) 
Salvation  from  his  afflictions.  "  Deliver 
Thou  ine.  Help  me,  O  Lord  my  God ; 
0  save  me  according  to  Thy  mercy." 
He  seeks  support  from  God  in  his 
trouble,  and  deliverance  from  his 
trouble.  The  Lord  can  turn  the 
shadow  of  the  darkest  night  into  the 
light  of  joyous  day.  (2)  Vindication 
from  reproach.  "  That  they  may  know 
that  this  is  Thy  hand,  that  Thou,  Lord, 
hast  done  it."  In  the  view  of  the 
Psalmist,  if  the  interposition  he  sought 
from  God  were  granted  unto  him,  it 
would  completely  silence  the  reproaches 


of  his  enemies.  (3)  ConfTmon  for  hit 
enemies.  "When  they  arise,  let  them 
be  ashamed,  let  mine  adversaries  be 
clothed  with  shame,  and  let  them  cover 
themselves  with  their  own  confusion  as 
with  a  mantle."  Baffle  their  dark  de- 
signs, and  clothe  them  with  shame  from 
head  to  foot. 

2.  The  pleas  hy  which  he  urges  hi$ 
prayer.  "  Do  Thou  for  me,  0  God  the 
Lord,  for  Thy  name's  sake;  because 
Thy  mercy  is  good,  deliver  Thou  me. 
O  save  me  according  to  Thy  mercy." 
The  grace  of  God  is  the  grand  plea  of 
the  Psalmist.  He  urges  his  petition 
not  on  the  ground  of  his  own  merit, 
but  of  God's  mercy.  This  he  sets  forth 
(1)  As  the  reason  of  salvation.  "  Do 
Thou  for  me,  for  Thy  name's  sake ;  be- 
cause Thy  mercy  is  good,"  <fec.  The 
originating  cause  of  salvation  is  the 
infinite  generosity  of  God.  (2)  As  the 
measure  of  salvation.  "  Save  me  ac- 
cording to  Thy  mercy."  The  salvation 
that  is  measured  by  the  infinite  grace 
of  God  will  be  gloriously  complete. 
The  pleas  urged  by  the  Psalmist  (a) 
Indicate  confidence  in  God.  (/3)  Hon- 
our God.  (y)  Are  mighty  with  God. 
We  shall  do  well  to  imitate  them. 

III.  An  encouraging  confidence. 
The  Poet  expresses — 

1.  An  assurance  of  salvation  from  God. 
*'  For  He  shall  stand  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  poor,  to  save  him  from  those  that 
condemn  his  soul."  He  shall  stand  at  the 
right  hand  of  His  afflicted  people,  to  plead 
their  cause  against  those  who  would  un- 
justly judge  them,  and  to  deliver  them. 
Take  heart,  ye  tried  and  true,  ye  suffer- 
ing and  godly  souls,  for  your  Deliverer 
is  mighty  and  your  salvation  sure. 

2.  A  determination  to  offer  praise  to 
God.  '*I  will  greatly  praise  the  Lord 
with  my  mouth,  yea,  I  will  praise  Him 
among  the  multitude."  He  resolves  that 
he  will  offer  praise,  and  that  it  shall  be  (1) 
Hearty.  "  I  will  greatly  praise  the  Lord. " 
{2)  Expressed.  "  With  my  mouth."  (3) 
Public,     "  Among  the  multitude." 

"  Awake,  my  soul !  not  only  pasBive  praise 
Thou  owest !  not  alone  these  swelling  team, 
Mute  thanks  and  secret  ecstasy  1  awake, 
Voice   of  sweet  song  1    awake,  my   hear^ 
awake  1 " — Colertdge. 

173 


PSALM  ex.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


A  Pattern  Fbatib. 

{Vene  21.    "  Bnt  do  Thou  for  me,  0  Qod  the  Lord,  for  Thy  ntme's  sake.*^ 

This  is  a  brief  yet  a  model  prayer  for  IIL  It  is  submissive  in  its  spirit. 

a  good  man.  The  Psalmist  leaves  everything  to  God, 

I.  It  is  true  in  its  direction.  It  is  only  praying  that  His  interposition  may 
addressed  to  "  God  the  Lord."  There  be  **for**  him.  He  leaves  the  manner 
is  but  One  all-sufficient  being  to  whom  of  the  interposition  to  God.  God  de« 
we  can  address  our  prayers.  Think  livers  His  people  by  diflferent  methods ; 
what  is  requisite  to  be  able  to  answer  sometimes  by  removal  of  their  afflictions, 
prayer  at  all  times — infinite  intelligence,  and  sometimes  by  increase  of  their 
unlimited  goodness,  universal  sove-  strength.  He  blesses  His  people  by 
reignty,  &c.  The  petition  of  the  Psalm-  diflferent  means  ;  sometimes  by  adver- 
ist  indicates  his  belief  that  he  was  sity,  and  sometimes  by  prosperity.  The 
approaching  such  a  being ;  if  he  could  wise  and  good  man  leaves  the  means 
but  secure  the  help  of  God,  he  would  and  the  manner  of  the  blessing  to  God. 
leave  everything  else  to  Him.  He  could  He  leaves  the  time  also  to  God.  Now 
do  so  only  in  approaching  a  being  of  or  in  the  future,  early  or  late,  as  may 
whose  perfection  he  had  no  doubt.  Only  seem  good  unto  Him.  This  submission 
the    Lord    God    can  hear   and   answer  is  both  wise  and  piotcs. 

prayer.  IV.   It  is  powerful  in  its   place. 

II.  It  is  personal  in  its  aim.  '*  Do  "  For  Thy  name's  sake."  The  name 
Thou  for  me."  Man's  first  business  is  represents  the  character  of  God.  The 
to  secure  the  blessing  of  God  for  him-  honour  of  the  Divine  name  is  bound  up 
self.  We  should  not  keep  the  vineyard  with  His  treatment  of  His  people.  If 
of  another  and  neglect  our  own.  We  any  one  trusting  in  God  were  to  perish 
should  not  attempt  to  lead  others  unto  the  glory  of  His  name  would  be  sullied. 
Jesus  Ohrist  until  we  know  Him  as  our  This  is  a  plea  which  prevails  with  God. 
own  Saviour.  Unless  we  are  assured  of  This  prayer  is  suitable  for  all  occa- 
the  Divine  blessing,  we  should  seek  it  first  sions;  it  is  brief  and  comprehensive, 
for  ourselves,  and  then  for  others.  This  And  it  It  is  answered  in  our  experience, 
is  not  selfish,  but  benevolent  Show  this,  we  shall  **  have  all,  and  abound." 


PSALM    OX. 

Introduction. 

I.  A  Hessianio  prophecy.  1.  From  mternal  evidence.  3.  From  the  nnanlmons  eonient 
of  Jewish  expositors.  3.  From  the  testimony  of  Christ  (Matt.  xxii.  41,  &c.  ;  Mark  xii.  35). 
4.  From  the  silence  of  the  Pharisees  (Luke  xx,  41).  5.  From  the  witness  of  the  Apostles 
(Acts  ii.  34;  1  Cor.  xv.  25;  Heb.  i.  13).  6.  And  the  Early  Church  (Justin  Martyr,  TertuU., 
Cyp.y  Chrys.,  &c.).  II.  Its  Messianic  character  denied.  1.  Ewald  refers  it  to  David.  2. 
Hitzig,  &c.,  to  a  Maccabean  priest.  Without  foundation,  for  (1)  verse  1  can  scarcely  be  ap- 
plied to  a  mere  man  ;  (2)  verse  4  could  certainly  not  apply  to  David  or  any  human  priesthood. 
III.  Of  Davidic  authorship.  1.  From  internal  evidence.  2.  Almost  universal  tradition.  8. 
Our  Lord's  testimony. 

The  Sovereignty  of  Christ. 
(  Verse  1  and  last  clause  of  verse  2.) 

Our  subject  occupies  a  foremost  place  implies  it ;  the  destiny  of  Judah  (Qen. 

in  the  Old  Testament.     The  first  pre-  xlix.   10)  involves  it.     It  all  but  com- 

diction  (Gen.   iii.   16)   asserts   it;    the  mences  the  Psalms  (ii.),  which  indeed 

promise   to   Abraham   (Gen.   xxii.    17)  teem  with  it  (xlv.,  Ixxii.,  ex.,  &c.).    Pro- 

lU 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MAZiMOZ. 


phecy  proper  opens  with  it  (Isa.  il.  1-4), 
and  closes  with  it  (Luke  i.  33). 
^  Our  Lord*s  ministry  was  a  proclama- 
tion of  His  Kingdom,  but  He  did  not  re- 
veal His  own  sovereignty  till  at  the  close. 
Then  His  sentiments  are  those   of  our 
text  (John  xvii.  2;    Matt.  xxv.  31,  32; 
xxviii.    8).       Afterwards    the    glorious 
company  of  the  Apostles  (Acts  ii.  33, 
34  j  Phil,  il  9 ;  Eph.  i.  22,  23),  the 
goodly  fellowship  of  the  Prophets  (Rev. 
xix.    16),  the  noble   army  of   Martyrs 
(Polycarp  :    *'  How  can  I  blaspheme  my 
King"),  and  the  holy  Church  through- 
out all  the  world  (Rev.  vii.  9-12),  ac- 
knowledge Him  to  be  the  King  of  glory. 
I.  Christ  reigns  by  divine  appoint- 
ment.   "The  Lord  said."    The  Psalmist 
is  admitted  into  the  council  chamber  of 
the  Trinity.     There  God  the  Father  and 
God  the  Son  occupy  one  throne  (Eastern 
thrones  are    extended    benches.      "Sit 
on  my  throne    at   my  right    hand" — 
Schnurrer\  and  are  in  communion. 

1.  God  assigns  to  Christ  coequal 
authority,  "At  My  right  hand"  (Ps. 
xlv.  9;  Mark  xvi.  19  ;  Eph.  i.  20,  21). 

2.  God  assigns  to  Christ  coequal 
honour.  "  Sit"  (Ps.  xxix.  10  :  1  Kings 
i.  46,  ii.  19). 

IL  Christ  reigns  by  divine  right. 
"My  Lord,"  >J*7K  a  divine  name. 

1.  By  an  inherent  divine  fitness.  His 
attributes  of  wisdom,  justice,  power, 
and  goodness,  qualify  Him  for  universal 
monarchy. 

2.  By  an  essential  divine  prerogative. 
He  has  created  all.  He  preserves  and 
sustains  all.  He  has  redeemed  all,  there- 
fore He  has  a  claim  on  the  obedience 
and  fealty  of  all. 

III.  Christ  reigns  by  a  devout  ac- 
knowledgment. '  *  My  Lord."  Christ's 
monarchy  is  not  elective,  and  therefore 
does  not  depend  on  fluctuating  human 
opinions  and  passions ;  but,  having  been 
divinely  established.  His  authority  and 
fitness  to  rule  have  received  ample  re- 
cognition, 

1.  Kings  in  the  political  world  have 
been  proud  to  acknowledge  their  ser- 
vitude to  Him  : — David,  Constantine, 
Alfred,  <fec. 

2.  Kings  in  the  world  of  scholarship 
and  philosophy  have  submitted   their 


giant  intellects  to  His  sway,  and  laid 
their  conquests  at  His  feet: — Origen, 
Bacon,  <fec. 

3.  Kings  in  the  world  of  science  have 
employed  their  genius  and  implements 
in  widening  His  domain.  Explorers, 
astronomers,  (fee. — Livingstone,  Newton, 
Faraday,  <fec. 

4.  Kings  in  the  world  of  morals,  who 
have  achieved  conquests  over  human 
souls,  have  presented  to  Him  their 
trophies.     Philanthropists,  missionaries. 

5.  Kings  in  the  world  of  spirits 
acknowledge  His  royalty,  and  crown 
Him  Lord  of  all.  "Angels,  principa- 
lities, and  powers  are  made  subject  to 
Him."  Kedeemed  and  glorified  hu- 
manity casts  its  crowns  before  Him, 
and  sings,  *  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain  to  receive  power  and  riches, 
and  wisdom  and  strength,  and  honour 
and  glory  and  blessing." 

IV.  Christ  reigns  over  a  disputed 
empire.  "Kule  Thou  in  the  midst  of 
Thine  enemies."  There  are  countless 
multitudes  who  revel  in  the  enjoyment 
of  their  Lord's  bounty,  who,  alas !  deny 
His  crown  rights. 

1.  Christ  reigns  in  the  midst  of 
infidel  enemies.  The  Atheist,  the  Ma- 
terialist, the  Socialist,  and  the  Unitarian 
all  say,  "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to 
reign  over  us." 

2.  Christ  rules  in  the  midst  of  a 
heathenism  that  is  ignorant  of  or  hostile 
to  His  claims.  All  idolatry,  whether 
aesthetic  like  that  of  ancient  Greece,  or 
absurd  and  barbarous  like  the  fetish  wor- 
ship of  the  modern  Hottentot,  or  like  the 
debasing  idolatry  of  self,  is  an  usurpation 
of  His  rights. 

3.  Christ  rules  in  the  midst  of  a  devil- 
ridden  and  death-stricken  world.  Never- 
theless, the  words  stand  true  (Ps. 
ii.  1-6).  The  usurpation  of  traitors 
is  a  standing  witness  to  the  rights  of 
kings. 

V.  Christ  reigns  by  the  enforced 
service  of  His  foes.  "  Until  I  make 
Thy  foes  Thy  footstool."  All  in  His 
dominions,  whether  willingly  or  unwil- 
lingly, are  constrained  to  subserve  His 
interests. 

1.  Tacitly.  (1.)  Infidelity  serves 
Him  by  its  inabiUtj  to  satisfy  the  crav- 

17:^ 


PSALM  ex. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


Ings  of  the  human  heart.    Man  cries  out 
for  God.    Infidelity  says,  *'  No  God,"  and 
drives  man  to  Him  who  said,  "  He  that 
hath   seen   Me    hath   seen  the  Father." 
Man  cries  out  for  immortality.     Infidel- 
ity says,  "  No  hereafter,"  and  compels 
man  to  go  to  Him  who  has  "  the  words 
of  eternal  life."    Infidelity  has  no  moral 
guide,  and  thus  sends  man  to  Him  who 
has  given  "  an  example  that  we  should 
do  as  He  has  done."     Infidelity  has  no 
solace  for  man* s  remorse  and  sorrow,  and 
thus  drives  man  to  Him  who  alone  can 
give    peace    through    [)urity.       Atheism 
serves  him  by  trying  to  repress  man's 
instincts  for  God,  which  effort  can  only 
intensify  those  instincts,  and  send  men 
to   Him   who    alone    can    satisfy  them. 
Pantheism  serves  him  by  its  doctrine  of 
the  divine  presence  in  the  universe,  and 
sends   men    to  -  Christ,   who    alone    can 
reveal  that  presence,  and  bring  man  into 
its  conscious  fellowship.      Unitarianism 
serves  him  by  maintaining  the  Divine 
Fatherhood  and  the   perfect  humanity, 
and   sends  men    to  Christ's    Godhood, 
which  can  alone  explain  the  perfection 
of  His  humanity,  and  bring  the  prodigal 
back  to  his  Father's  arms.    (2.)  Idolatry 
serves  Him,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  parent 
of  ignorance,  vice,  and  superstition,  and 
creates  in  the  human  heart  a  craving  after 
the   wisdom,   holiness,  and  moral  light 
and  power,  which  are  derived  from  Him 
alone.       (3.)  Selfishness   and   sin  serve 
Him,  because,  in  spite  of  their  fascinat- 
ing seductions,  men  see  that  underneath 
them  lie  debasement,  ruin,  death.     (4.) 
Yes,  even  the  devil^  wary  though  he  is, 
serves  Him.     His  hard  service  and  his 
fearful  wages  drive  men  to  Him  whose 
yoke  is  easy,  and  whose  burden  is  light, 
and    who    gives  a  hundredfold  in  this 
present  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come 
life  everlasting.     (5.)  And  death  serves 
Him,  for  it  carries  into   His  presence 
His  servants,  and  removes  all  impedi- 
ments to  their  perfect  service. 

2.  Explicitly.  Testimonies  to  Christ's 
supremacy,  from  those  least  disposed  to 
acknowledge  it,  show  that  Christ  reigns, 
and  that  His  enemies  have  become  the 
support  of  His  feet.  (1.)  Paganism 
sends  its  testimony  through  Julian,  "  0 
Galilean,  thou  hast  conquered."  (2.) 
176 


Devils.    (Mark  i.  23-26.)   (3.)  Atheism, 
"  The  most  valuable  part  of  the  eflfect 
on  the  character  which  Christianity  has 
produced    by  holding  up,   in   a  divine 
person,  a  standard  for  excellence,  and  a 
model  for  imitation,  is  available  even  to 
the  absolute  unbeliever,  and  can  never 
be  lost  to  humanity.     It  is  the  God  in- 
carnate more  than  the  God  of  the  Jew 
or  of  nature,  who,  being  idealised,  has 
taken  so  great  and  salutary  a  hold  on 
the  human   mind.     And  whatever  else 
may  be  taken  away  from  us  by  rational 
criticism,   Christ  is  still  left,  a  unique 
figure." — J.  S.  Mill.     (4.)  Pationalism, 
Kant  says  He  is  "  the  union  between 
the  human   and    the    divine."     Strauss 
speaks  of   Him  as  the  *'  highest  object 
we  can  possibly  imagine  with  respect  to 
religion,  the  Being  without  whose  pre- 
sence in  the  mind  perfect  piety  is  impos- 
sible."    Penan  exclaims,  *'  Rest  now  in 
thy  glory,  noble  initiator ;  thy  work  is 
completed,  thy  divinity  is  established ; 
fear  no  more  to  see  the  edifice  of  thy 
efforts  crumble  through  a  flaw.  .  .  .  For 
thousands  of  years  the  world  will  extol 
thee  ...  a  thousand  times  more  living, 
a  thousand  times  more  loved,  since  thy 
death.  .  .  .  Thou  wilt  become  to  such  a 
degree   the   corner-stone   of   humanity, 
that  to  tear  thy  name  from  this  world 
would  be  to  shake  it  to  its  foundations. 
Between  thee   and    God   men   will   no 
longer  distinguish."      Lecky  says   that 
Christianity    has    presented    '*  an    ideal 
character  which,  through  all  the  changes 
of  eighteen  centuries,  has  inspired  the 
hearts  of  men  with  an  impassioned  love, 
and  has  shown  itself  capable  of  acting 
on  all  nations,  ages,  temperaments,  and 
conditions  .  .  .  has  done  more  to  regene- 
rate  and   soften   mankind  than  all  the 
disquisitions  of  philosophers,  and  all  the 
exhortations   of  moralists."     (5.)  Pan- 
theism.   Spinosa  thought  Him  "  the  best 
and  truest  symbol  of  heavenly  wisdom, 
or  ideal   perfection."      (6.)  Selfishness. 
Napoleon :    "  Alexander,     Caesar,    and 
myself,  founded  great  empires ;  but  upon 
what  1    Force.    Jesus  alone  founded  His 
empire  upon  love,  and  to  this  day  millions 
would  die  for  Him.    I  know  man ;  Jesus 
Christ  was  more  than  man." 
VI.  Christ  will  reign  over  an  nn- 


SOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OS. 


disputed  universe.  This  is  the  sense 
of  our  text.  The  prophets,  without  a 
dissentient  voice,  predicted  this.  Christ 
Himself  foreshadowed  it.  The  souls 
under  the  altar  groan  for  it.  The  Uni- 
versal Church  waits  for  it. 

"  What  successes  did  the  Jews  anti- 
cipate from  their  Messiah  1  The  wildest 
dreams  of  their  rabbis  have  been  far 
exceeded.  Has  not  Jesus  conquered 
Europe,    and   changed    its  name   into 


Christendom  1  All  countries  that  refuse 
the  Cross  wither.  .  .  .  And  the  time  will 
come  when  the  vast  communities  and 
countless  myriads  of  America  and  Aus- 
tralia, looking  upon  Europe  as  Europe 
now  looks  upon  Greece,  and  wondering 
how  small  a  space  could  have  achieved 
such  mighty  deeds,  will  still  find  music 
in  the  songs  of  Zion,  and  still  seek 
solace  in  the  parables  of  Galilee." — B, 
Disraeli, 


The  Royal  Armt, 
(Terse  2,  clause  1,  and  verse  3.) 


This  is  a  vivid  sketch  of  the  Church 
and  its  prerogatives,  inserted  in  the  midst 
of  the  king's  coronation  hymn.  What 
is  this  but  a  foreshadowing  of  the  union 
between  Christ  and  His  people.  In  ver. 
1,  Christ  is  glorified  with  "  the  glory 
which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the 
world  was.'*  In  vers.  2,  3,  that  glory 
"  He  gives  them."  In  ver.  4,  He  is  a 
priest ;  ill  ver.  3,  His  people  are  arrayed 
in  sacerdotal  robes.  The  influence  of 
Christ's  character  on  the  world  is  to 
quicken  and  refresh  it;  so  here  His 
people  are  as  the  dew.  Christ's  years 
do  not  fail ;  so  here  His  people  are 
endowed  with  perennial  youth,  and  out 
of  their  midst  the  *'  rod  of  His  strength  " 
goes  forth." 

I.  Church  weapons.  "  The  Lord 
sh.ill  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of 
Zion."  The  King  first  equips  His  chosen 
ones,  and  then  sends  them  forth  to  war. 
The  rod  of  Christ's  strength  may  be  any 
one  or  all  of  those  points  of  Zion's  pan- 
oply catalogued  in  Eph.  vi.  The  girdle 
of  truth,  the  breastplate  of  righteous- 
ness, the  sandal  of  peace,  the  shield  of 
faith,  the  helmet  of  salvation,  and  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit.  In  vain  does  the 
Church  go  forth  when  unprovided  with 
them.  Notice  these  weapons  are — 1, 
Of  divine  manufacture  ;  2,  Of  tried  tem- 
per ;  3,  Of  invincible  strength ;  4,  Of 
irresistible  power. 

II.  Church  character.     Threefold — 
1.     The   Church    belongs    to    Christ. 

"  Thy  people."    0--)  By  the  terms  of  the 
everlasting   covenant.     (2.)    By   the   re- 
demption of  tlie  Cross.     (3.)    By  His 
VOL.  U. 


own  declaration,  "  My  Church."  (John 
xvii.  6-10.)  (4.)  By  its  own  free  con- 
sent.     (Rom.  xiv.  8.) 

2.  The  Church  is  of  priestly  dignity. 
"  In  the  beauties,"  lit.  robes,  **  of  holi- 
ness." (Chron.  xx.  21  ;  Ps.  xxix.  2 ; 
Exod.  xxviii.  2.)  The  splendid  vest- 
ments were  symbolical  of  the  majesty, 
purity,  and  power  of  sacerdotal  service. 
The  fitness  of  this  character  is  seen  from 
the  fact  that  the  Church  follows  the 
royal  priest.  (Cf.  verse  1  and  4.)  (1.) 
The  quality  of  this  priesthood  is  like 
that  of  the  great  high  priest,  royal. 
(1  Pet.  ii.  5;  Rev.  i.  6.)  (2.)  The 
functions  of  this  priesthood  are — (a.) 
Sacrificial,  not  however  expiatory,  but 
eucharistic.  (Rom.  xii.  1 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5) ; 
and  (6.)  Intercessory.  (Phil.  iv.  6,  (fee.) 
(3.)  The  appearance  of  this  priesthood 
is  beautiful.  Everything  in  God's  world 
is  beautiful.  It  is  fitting,  therefore,  that 
His  people  should  be  so.  The  Church 
is  a  bride  adorned  with  her  jewels.  She 
is  called  to  cultivate  not  only  purity  but 
grace.  And  thus  here  the  gorgeous  ves- 
ture of  the  Jewish  priest  is  a  fit  emblem 
of  his  beauty  and  attractiveness  who  has 
"  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

3.  The  Church  is  ever  youthful, 
"  Youth"  here  means  young  men. 
Christ's  followers  possess  the  secret  of 
perpetual  youth.  (1.)  Individually. 
Time,  work,  and  strife,  may  age  the 
outer  man,  but  they  cannot  touch  the 
spirit,  that  is  renewed  continually  day 
by  day.  (Is.  xl.  30,  31  j  2  Cor.  iv.  6.) 
That  continues  fresh  and  vigorous  through 
wrinkles  and  material  decay. 

M  177 


HALM  OX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


(2.)  Collectively.  The  Cliurch  was  never 
more  mighty  in  her  numbers  and  in  her 
influence  than  she  is  in  this  the  19th 
century  of  her  history.  Human  insti- 
tutions fail  from  internal  weakness,  or 
for  the  want  of  external  support,  and 
lose  their  influence  in  the  lapse  of  years. 
Not  so  with  Christ's  people.  "  They 
flourish  in  perpetual  youth,"  and  *'  go 
from  strength  to  strength." 

III.  Church  spirit.  "  My  people 
shall   be  willing."     It   is  not  without 

significance  that   r\yi2  willingness,  or 

free-will  offerings,  is  derived  from  yi^ 

prince,  or  noble  one.     Hence  the  Chris- 
tian esp7'it  de  corps  is 

1.  Unmercenary,  Christ's  people  are 
actuated  by  no  sordid  motives.  The 
reward  before  them  is  splendid  if  they 
win,  but  their  all-absorbing  aim  is  to 
**  please  Him  who  called  them  to  be 
soldiers." 

2.  Unconstrained.  Christ's  soldiers 
are  volunteers.  They  are  called,  but 
they  may  disobey.  They  may  enlist, 
but  are  at  liberty  to  retire. 

3.  Free  by  a  glad  surrender  of  the 
will.  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  Me, 
let  him  take  up  his  cross  and  follow 
Me." 

4.  Princely  ;  and  princely  because  free. 
The  spirit  of  willing  consecration  raises 
these  priests  into  "kings  unto  God." 
As  the  servants  of  kings  are  noble,  and 
as  the  suzerainties  of  emperors  are 
governed  by  monarchs,  so  is  the  fol- 
lower of  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords  a  "  prince  with  God." 

IV.  Churcli  opportunity.  "  In  the 
day  of  thy  power."  There  are  two  in- 
terpretations of  this  expression.  "  The 
day  of  thine  own  might ; "  and  "  the  day 
when  thou  dost  muster  thy  forces  and 
set  them  in  battle  array."  The  text  in 
its  present  application  implies  both,  for 
they  are  both  characteristic  features  of 
the  Gospel  dispensation.  The  spectators 
of  Christ's  miracles  were  amazed  at  the 
mighty  power  of  God.  (Luke  ix.  43.) 
Christ's  promise  was  that  His  Church 
should  receive  power  then,  and  when  He 
who  is  the  power  of  God  should  '*  ascend 
far  above  all  principalities  and  power  and 

178 


might "  (Eph.  i.  21).  Then  He  strength- 
ened His  disciples  "  according  to  His 
glorious  power,"  and  made  their  faith 
stand  *'  by  the  power  of  God."  Thus 
the  Church  is  made  strong  "  in  the 
Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  His  might." 
*'  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word 
but  in  power."  What  is  this  but  to 
prove  that  Church  opportunities  are 
ever  present.  Let  her  not  wait  then  in 
indolence  for  special  outpourings  of  the 
Spirit,  but  be  faithful  to  the  power  she 
already  has.  Christ  is  the  same  in 
power  "  to-day,  yesterday,  and  for  ever," 
and  is  with  the  Church  al  way  ;  and  every 
day  is  the  Church  under  marching  orders 
for  expeditions  against  her  foes. 

V.  Church  influence.  "From  the 
womb  of  the  morning  thou  hast  the  dew 
of  thy  youth." 

1.  Abundant.  It  covers  the  whole 
earth.  Every  nation,  rank,  and  order 
of  intelligence  have  felt  its  power. 

2.  Marvellous.  The  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity has  never  been,  and  can  never  be, 
accounted  for  by  natural  hypotheses. 
Its  only  explanation  is  that,  like  its 
Divine  Author,  it  "  proceeded  forth  and 
came  from  God." 

3.  Refreshing.  It  pours  new  life  into 
dead  humanity,  and  culture  and  civi- 
lisation follow  in  its  train.  The  desert 
under  its  influence  rejoices  and  blossoms 
like  the  rose,  and  becomes  as  the  garden 
of  the  Lord.  Contrast  the  world  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago  with  what  it  is  to-day. 
Fiji  fifty  years  ago. 

4.  Gentle.  Not  with  the  force  of  arms 
or  pride  of  learning.  Yet  before  it 
tyranny,  serfdom,  and  superstition  flee. 

Concerning  its  influence  as  a  whole, 
hear  the  words  of  an  impartial  witness : 
"  By  the  confession  of  all  parties,  the 
Christian  religion  was  designed  to  be  a 
religion  of  philanthropy ;  and  love  was 
represented  as  the  distinctive  test  or 
characteristic  of  its  members.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  has  probably  done 
more  to  quicken  the  affection  of  man- 
kind, to  promote  piety,  to  create  a  pure 
and  merciful  ideal,  than  any  other 
influence  that  has  ever  acted  on  the 
world."  (Lecky's  "  Rationalism,"  vol 
i.  p.  35?  ^ 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OX. 


The  Ordeb  of  Melohizedbx. 
(Verse  4.) 


No  character  has  been  more  fruitful 
of  speculation  than  that  of  Melchizedek. 
Some  have  conjectured  that  he  was  a 
theophany  of  Christ  or  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Qnostics  considered  him  an  ceon^ 
or  a  man  formed  before  the  creation  out 
of  spiritual  matter.  Origen  said  he 
was  an  angeL  Others,  Ham,  Shem, 
Arphaxad,  or  Job.  With  theories  we 
are  not  concerned.  The  fact  before  us 
is  that  Messiah  is  a  priest  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedek,  and  that  His 
appointment  is  held  from  God. 

I.  Christ  is  a  priest  after  the  order 
of  Melchizedek. 

1.  Tkat  order  was  unique.  (1.)  In 
its  loneliness,  Melchizedek  stood  alone. 
Other  priests  sacrificed  to  idols  or  the 
powers  of  nature;  he  to  the  "Most  High 
God."  He  was  the  one  true  priest 
before  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  Christ 
is  the  one  true  priest  after  it,  and  He 
stands  alone.  "  One  mediator."  No 
other  order  but  His  is  found  in  the  New 
Testament,  or  is  now  possible,  or  neces- 
sary. (2.)  In  that  it  was  underived  and 
untransmitted.  Melchizedek  did  not 
follow,  nor  was  he  succeeded  by,  a 
priestly  line.  So  Christ's  priesthood  is 
"not  after  the  order  of  a  carnal  com- 
mandment ;  "  nor  does  it  "  pass  over  to 
another."  (3.)  In  its  efficacy.  The 
priesthoods  contemporaneous  with  Mel- 
chizedek were  founded  on  superstition  ; 
his  only  on  divine  revelation.  So  all 
other  priesthoods  but  that  of  Christ  are 
now  effete  or  vain.  His  alone  is 
efficacious. 

2.  That  order  was  righteous.  His 
very  name  "  King  of  righteousness "  is 
significant  of  that.  But  in  a  far  more 
real  and  valuable  sense  is  this  so  with 
Christ.  (1.)  He  is  absolutely  righteous 
in  Himself.  He  of  all  the  sons  of  men 
alone  could  say,  "Which  of  you  con- 
vinceth  Me  of  sin  1 "  As  such  He  was 
predicted  (Isa.  liii.  11 ;  Jer.  xxiii.  5). 
As  such  He  was  by  the  confession  of 
both  friends  and  foes  (Luke  xxiti  4 ; 
1  Pet.   il  23).    (2.)  As  the  King  of 


righteousness,  He  makes  His  subjects 
righteous  (Isa.  liii.  11).  By  cleansing 
away  their  unrighteousness  and  impart- 
ing his  Holy  Spirit,  and  encouraging 
and  directing  their  holy  lives. 

3.  That  order  was  peaceful.  He  was 
"  King  of  Salem  which  is  King  of  peace." 
In  this  the  order  was  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  order  of  Baal,  and  indeed  to  the 
warlike  sons  of  Aaron.  Not  more  so 
does  the  priesthood  of  Christ  contrast 
with  the  arrogant  assumptions,  worldly 
ambitions,  devilish  craft,  and  cruel  per- 
secutions of  the  orders  of  paganism  and 
Eome.  Christ  is  (1)  absolutely  peace- 
ful in  Himself.  As  such  He  was  pre- 
dicted and  acknowledged.  "  The  Prince 
of  peace."  "  He  shall  not  cry,"  <fec.  (2) 
As  King  of  peace  Christ  gives  peace^ 
promotes  ity  and  reigns  over  peaceful 
subjects.  "  My  peace  I  leave  with  you," 
<kc.  "  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers," 
&c.  "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  •  .  • 
peace." 

4.  That  order  was  royal.  He  was 
king  as  well  as  priest.  So  is  Christ  a 
"  priest  upon  His  throne."  These  two 
orders  are  seldom  found  united.  Once 
when  a  king  arrogated  priestly  func- 
tions he  was  smitten  with  leprosy.  Ter- 
rible calamities  have  invariably  resulted 
when  political  power  has  been  wielded 
by  sacerdotal  hands.  But  in  Christ  their 
union  is  an  unmixed  blessing.  Whyl 
Because  Christ's  royalty  is  based  upon 
the  great  offering  of  Himself,  whereas 
other  priestly  rules  have  invariably 
been  founded  on  arrogant  assumptions 
without  corresponding  service.  Christ 
rules  from  His  Cross :  **  I,  if  I  be  lifted 
up,"  <fcc.  And  adoring  Christendom 
says,  "  Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  O 
Christ,"  because  "when  Thou  hadst 
overcome  the  sharpness  of  death  Thou 
didst  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to 
all  believers." 

5.  That  order  was  superior.  (1.)  In 
its  antiquity.  It  was  before  the  autho- 
rised  priesthood  of  Aaron.  So  Christ 
is  "the  Lamb  slain   fxom  before  tho 

179 


KALM  OX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


foundation  of  the  world."  (2.)  In  its 
perpetuity.  "Forever."  Christ  **con- 
tinueth  ever,"  and  "ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession."  (3.)  In  its  univer- 
sality. Heathen  priests  sacrificed  for 
their  particular  tribes;  Aaron's  priest- 
hood was  for  the  Jews;  but  Melcliizedek 
offered  for  Abraham,  and  also  for  the 
Gentiles  among  whom  he  lived.  So 
Christ  is  **  a  propitiation  for  our  sins, 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world." 

n.  Christ's  appointment  to  this 
priesthood  is  held  under  Divine  au- 
thority. *'The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and 
will  not  repent."  Persons  occupying  im- 
portant offices  must  show  their  creden- 
tials; kings,  their  insignia;  ambassadors, 
their  letters  patent;  Christians,  their 
holy  life.  So  we  demand  from  priestly 
pretenders  their  authority.  In  vain  do 
we  seek  these  warrants  from  any  priest 
but  the  Son  of  God.  He  holds  office, 
not  by  a  transitory  and  human  com- 


mission, but  by  the  perpetual  oath  of 
God.  And  His  credentials  are  "  His 
hands.  His  feet,  His  side." 

In  conclusion.  "To-day  we  need 
these  truths.  ...  And  thank  God  we 
can  believe  that  for  every  modern 
perplexity  the  blessed  old  WDrds  carry 
the  same  strength  and  consolation.  If 
kings  seem  to  have  perished  from  among 
men,  if  authorities  are  dying  out,  and 
there  are  no  names  of  power  that  can  rally 
the  world — yet  there  is  a  Sovereign. 
If  old  institutions  are  crumbling,  and 
must  still  further  decay  ere  the  site  for 
a  noble  structure  be  cleared,"  Christ's 
altar  and  Christ's  throne  remain.  "If 
priest  be  on  some  lips  a  name  of  super- 
stitious folly,  and  on  others  a  synonym 
for  all  that  is  despised  and  effete  in 
religion,  yet  this  Priest  abideth  for  ever, 
the  guide  and  the  hope  for  the  history 
of  humanity  and  for  the  individual 
spirit." —  Maclaren, 


Christ's  Triumph  over  Tyrannt. 
(Verses  5,  6.) 


The  union  between  the  Father  and 
the  Son  is  still  sustained.  In  verse  1, 
the  Father  gives  the  Son  authority. 
In  2  and  3,  followers.  In  the  verses 
before  us.  He  helps  Him  to  conquer,  and 
sustains  Him  in  His  rule.     Notice — 

I.  That  all  tsrranny  is  the  foe  of 
Christ.     "Kings." 

1.  All  political  tyranny.  Despots  of 
whatever  denomination  are  enemies  of 
Christ,  whether  their  tyranny  take  the 
form  of  oligarchy,  monarchy,  aristocracy, 
or  mobocracy ;  wherever  freedom  is 
repressed,  and  wrong  perpetuated  under 
the  name  of  law  or  no  law,  there  is  the 
seat  of  Christ's  war. 

2.  All  social  tyranny.  The  tyranny 
exercised  by  the  ascendant  caste, 
whether  noble,  or  middle,  or  working 
class.  Sometimes  the  rich  oppress  the 
poor;  sometimes  the  poor,  the  rich. 
Now  it  is  the  squire  who  tramples  on 
the  peasant,  now  the  peasant  who  sets 
the  squire's  ricks  on  fire.  Fashion 
tyrannises,  and  so  does  institutionalism. 
But  one  and  all  are  foes  of  Christ. 


3.  All  domestic  tyranny,  whether 
exercised  by  parents  over  children, 
guardians  over  wards,  yes,  and  children 
over  parents,  which  crushes  or  restrains 
the  free  play  of  domestic  virtue  or  affec- 
tion or  action,  is  in  irreconcileable  an- 
tagonism to  Christ.  When  the  parent 
forces  the  child  to  wrong  its  conscience 
or  deny  its  God,  or  when  the  child  brings 
its  parent's  head  with  sorrow  to  the  grave, 
both  are  calling  down  upon  themselves 
sure  vengeance.  When  masters  oppress 
their  servants,  yes,  and  when  servants, 
getting  as  they  sometimes  do  the  upper- 
hand,  oppress  their  employers,  they  pro- 
claim themselves  the  enemies  of  Christ. 

4.  All  spiritual  tyranny.  All  priest- 
craft, ancient  or  modern,  heathen, 
Romish,  or  Anglican.  All  forces, 
whether  they  proceed  from  politics, 
literature,  science,  or  religion;  all  in- 
quisitions employed  for  the  purpose  ot 
shackling  the  human  mind,  or  terror 
ising  over  the  human  fears,  or  violating 
the  sanctities  of  the  human  heart,  all 
are  the  antagonists  of  Christ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PBALlt  ex. 


6.  All  moral  tyranny  (2  Tim.  ii.  26). 
n.  All  tyranny  is  subject  to   the 
wrath  of  Christ. 

1.  Because  of  His  own  inherent  right- 
eousness. He,  tke  King  of  men,  does 
not  break  the  bruised  reed,  &c.,  and  He 
will  not  permit  them  who  wield  His 
delegated  authority  to  do  so. 

2.  Because  His  government  is  based 
upon  the  freedom  of  the  subject.  All 
His  great  blessings  are  free.  The  great 
end  of  His  coming  was  to  make  men 
free.  The  great  legacy  He  bequeathed 
to  man  is  the  "freedom  of  sons."  His 
express  command  is  that  man  should 
"  stand  fast  in  liberty."  Any  attempt, 
therefore,  to  unsettle  or  overthrow  this 
foundation  principle  does  and  must  ex- 
cite His  righteous  indignation. 

3.  Because  the  well-being  of  maUf  the 
creature  whom  He  loves  and  has  taken 
into  his  own  brotherhood,  can  only  be 
maintained  by  political,  social,  domestic, 
and  religious  liberty.  Of  what  value  are 
national  institutions  unless  man  as  man 
is  free  to  enjoy  them?  Of  what  use 
are  spiritual  blessings  if  enforced  on 
unwilling  minds  ?  Where  is  the  benefit 
of  domestic  blessings  if  doled  out  or  en- 
forced by  the  iron  rule  of  a  despot  ?  The 
only  bond  which  keeps  society  together 
is  the  liberty  [of  its  individual  members ; 
and  moral  tyranny  destroys  the  soul. 
Despotism  is  the  upas  blight  which 
has  ruined  more  institutions  and  more 
men  than  any  other  evil  that  has  ever 
issued  from  hell.  And  therefore  does 
it  excite  the  anger  of  Christ. 

III.  All  t3rranny  will  be  destroyed 
by  Christ.  "  Shall  strike  through  kings 
...  fill  the  places  with  dead  bodies. 
He  shall  wound  the  head  over  many 
countries." 

1.  Christ's  policy  in  the  past,  is  a 
promise,  of  what  it  will  be  in  all  time  to 
come.  Every  species  of  despotism  has 
been  destroyed  by  Him.  Autocracy  in 
those  terrible  oriental  and  western 
tyrannies  which  have  left  behind  them 
but  the  phantom  of  a  name.  Egypt, 
Assyria,  Babylon,  Persia,  Rome,  have 
all  been  destroyed  by  the  "stone  cut 
out  of  the  mountain  without  hands ; " 
Democratic  tyranny  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  republics  of  Greece  and  Rome, 


and  the  bloody  rule  and  bloody  end  of 
French  socialism  ;  intellectual  despotism 
in  the  extirpation  of  an  overw  eening 
philosophy  and  a  no  less  overweening 
priesthood.  Domestic  tyranny  in  those 
nations  where  women  were  but  chattels 
and  slaves  of  less  account  than  beasts. 
Moral  slavery  in  his  subjection  of  "him 
who  has  the  power  of  death  which  is 
the  devil."  All  these  despotisms  seek 
to  revive  and  propagate  themselves  to- 
day, but  let  them  be  assured  that,  us 
sure  as  Christ  lives  and  reigns,  their 
doom  is  sealed. 

2.  Christ's  policy  is  pursued  for  the 
benefit  of  humanity  at  large.  All  souls 
are  on  an  equality  before  Christ.  They 
have  all  shared  a  common  creation  and 
a  common  redemption.  Heaven  is  not 
imposed  upon  by  coronets  and  thrones. 
All  mankind  have  crown  rights,  and  woe 
to  those  who  injure  them.  Those  who 
do  so  must  and  will  be  removed.  The 
tyrant  must  be  hurled  from  his  throne 
before  the  subject  can  breathe  the  free 
air  of  liberty.  Pharaoh  must  be  engulfed, 
that  Israel  may  pursue  her  path  of 
progress. 

3.  Christ's  policy  presents  an  alter- 
native. Despots  may  cease  to  be  des- 
pots, tyrants  may  cease  to  oppress. 
Those  guiltless  of  the  crime  will  not 
then  inherit  the  curse. 

IV.  All  tyranny  will  be  supplanted 
by  Christ.  Tyranny  is  better  than 
anarchy.  But,  having  destroyed  the 
tyrant,  Christ  assumes  His  sceptre  and 
His  throne,  and  reigns  over  a  divinely- 
liberated  people.  "  He  shall  judge 
among  the  heathen."  "  On  His  head  are 
many  crowns."  Christ's  right  and  fit- 
ness to  rule  may  be  judged  by  what  that 
rule  when  acknowledged  has  achieved. 
1.  The  Christian  Sabbath,  the  great 
barrier  to  the  tyranny  of  toil.  2.  The 
Bible,  the  grand  charter  of  moral  free- 
dom. 3.  Liberty  for  the  soul  from 
Satan's  power.  4.  Liberty  of  thought. 
5.  Liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  for 
all;  for  woman,  for  the  child,  and  for 
the  slave,  for  "  One  is  your  Master ;  even 
Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren. 

Men  and  brethren — (i.)  Prize  your 
freedom,  and  let  no  man  entangle  you 
again  in   the   yoke   of   bondage,     (ii.) 

181 


HALM  ox. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


Thank  Christ  for  your  freedom. 
He  who  has  made    you    free. 


It  is     Employ  that  freedom  in  Christ's  service^ 
(iii.)     that  is,  in  making  others  free. 


Christ  refreshing  Himself, 
{Verse  7.) 


The  picture  is  that  of  the  conqueror 
pursuing  his  foes,  and  partaking  of  mo- 
mentary refreshment  at  some  wayside 
brook;  then  in  the  strength  of  that 
refreshment  pursuing  his  joyful  and 
victorious  way.  The  scene  is  typical  of 
those  encouragements  which  are  His 
support  who  is  contending  for  rightful 
and  universal  empire. 

I.  The  Divine  refreshment.  "  He 
shall  drink  of  the  brook  in  the  way.*' 

1.  Christ  is  encouraged  by  the  sense  of 
His  Father^s  approval.  The  kingdom 
for  which  He  fights  is  His  Father's  gift 
(Ps.  ii.  8).  In  fighting  for  it  He  always 
does  the  things  which  please  Him.  In 
the  hottest  conflict  He  is  cheered  by  the 
voice  from  heaven  :  '*  This  is  My  be- 
loved Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased 
(John  X.  17). 

2.  Christ  is  encouraged  hy  the  justice 
of  His  cause  and  the  beneficence  of  His 
work.  Those  engaged  in  selfish  projects 
have  to  look  away  from  the  work  for 
encouragement.  Those  who  know  they 
are  working  for  the  bettering  of  the 
world  can  afford  to  despise  obloquy  and 
persecution.  Christ  knows  that  His 
work  through  crosses  and  conflicts  will 
end  in  the  regeneration  of  the  world. 
He  "  sees  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and 
is  satisfied." 

3.  Christ  is  encouraged  hy  the  enthu- 
siasm of  His  followers.  Around  no  other 
name  do  such  affections  cluster,  and 
behind  no  other  banner  do  such  earnest- 
ness and  determination  range.  "Alex- 
ander," remarked  the  great  Napoleon, 
**  Caesar,  and  myself  have  founded 
empires.  But  upon  what  do  we  rest 
the  creations  of  our  genius  1  Upon  force. 
Jesus  Christ  alone  founded  His  empire 
upon  love ;  and  at  this  moment  millions 
of  men  would  die  for  Him.  I  die  before 
my  time,  and  my  body  will  be  given 
back  to  the  earth  to  become  food  for 
worms.  Such  is  the  fate  of  him  who 
lias  been   called   the  great  Napoleon. 

182 


What  an  abyss  between  my  deep  misery 
and  the  eternal  kingdom  of  Christ,  which 
is  proclaimed,  loved,  and  adored,  and 
which  is  extended  over  the  whole  earth?" 

4.  Christ  is  encouraged  hy  the  con- 
quests He  has  already  achieved,  and  hy  the 
certain  triumphs  which  yet  await  Him. 
Behind  is  the  cross,  around  is  His 
redeemed  and  adoring  Church,  and  on- 
ward is  the  millennium.  (Heb.  xii.  2  ;  Is. 
xlii.  4.)  *'  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  Me."  All  His  past  vic- 
tories are  prophetic  of  His  success  in 
time  to  come.  Witness  the  trophies  of 
the  Cross  in  the  first  three  centuries. 
Witness  what  it  is  doing  in  the  realms 
of  infidelity  and  heathenism  to-day.  On 
Himself  He  builds  this  Church  which 
"  triumphs  o'er  the  gates  of  hell." 

II.  The  consequence  of  that  refresh- 
ment. Invigorated  and  encouraged  the 
conqueror  pursues  his  path  to  victory. 
"  Therefore  shall  He  lift  up  His  head." 

1.  Chrisfs  conquests  are  progressive. 
He  does  not  complete  His  work  at  once. 
His  work  in  the  world  is  gradual  and 
growing.  Having  achieved  one  success, 
He  passes  on  to  another,  and  will  do  so 
till  "every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every 
tongue  confess  that  He  is  Lord." 

2.  Christ's  conquests  are  permanent. 
That  is  to  say,  no  hostile  power  shall 
ever  win  them  back  again.  "  They 
shall  never  perish."  True,  His  subjects 
may  revolt.  They  may  say,  "  We  will 
not  have  this  King  to  reign  over  us." 
But  they  resign  the  fealty  to  Christ  by 
their  own  free-will,  and  not  by  any 
power  of  the  adversary.  Then  they 
become  Christ's  enemies,  and,  if  they 
will  not  let  Him  win  them  back  again, 
in  their  destruction  He  displays  His 
glorious  power. 

3.  Christ*8  conquests  are  glorious, 
(1.)  Christ  lifts  up  Hit  head  over  re* 
deemed  and  consecrated  souls.  To  con- 
quer inert  matter  and  to  sway  blind 
forces  were  easy  work  for  Omnipotence, 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS,  malm  oxi. 


But  to  convince  the  intellect,   subdue  and  through   Him   they  can  now  saj^ 

the  will,  invite  the  affections  and  draw  "  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  0  death* 

out  the  forces  of  the  life,  this  is  glorious  where  is  thy  sting  ]  " 

indeed.     (2.)  Christ  lifts  up  His  head  4.  Christ's  conquests  will  have  an  end, 

over  the  defeated  and  destroyed  powers  The  time  will  come  when  Christ  shall 

whose  energies  have  been  inimical  to  the  lift  up  His  head  over  a  regenerated  uiii- 

intfrests  of  heaven  and  earth.     The  joy  verse.     When  all  His  enemies  shall  be 

which   was    set    before    Him,    and   for  subdued  under  His  feet  then  (Cor.  xv. 

which  He  endured  the  cross  and  despised  24-28.) 

the  shame,  was  victory  over  the  devil,  Learn  (i.)  That  all  the  sources  of  the 

sin,  the  world,  and  death.    These  He  has  Saviour's  encouragement  are  ours,     (ii.) 

vanquished.    Sin  has  no  more  dominion  That  if  we  are  faithful  we  shall  partici- 

over  His  people.     They  have  the  faith  pate  in   His   final   triumph   and  share 

He  gives,  and  have  overcome  the  world.  His  throne. 


PSALM    CXL 

Introduction. 

1.  Authorship  unknown,  probably  late.  2.  One  of  the  ten  alphabetical  Paalms,  the  clauiea 
beginning  with  the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  in  succession.  This  is  no  more  artificial 
than  the  measure,  rhyme,  or  rhythm  of  other  poetry.  3.  One  of  the  ten  Psalms  which  begin 
with  HaUdujah, 

Praise. 
{Verse  1,  Clause  1.) 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord.**    (Heb.  Halle-  Idols  are  nothing  in  the  world.     (2.) 

LIT  JAB.)  Worship  is  an  universalinstinct  Nature  and  humanity  are  only  dbstrac- 

,of  humanity.     In  all  places  where  we  tions,      (3.)  None    but    God    is    goody 

find    men  we   find   religious   exercises,  strong,  and  therefore  willing  and  able 

Polytheism,  Pantheism,  and  even  Posi-  to  accept  our  worship. 

tivism  testify  to  the  necessity  of  gratify-  3.  The  only   ennobling    object.      All 

ing  the  religious  instinct  by  providing  other  objects,  because  of   their  vanity, 

objects  for  worship.     "  The  man  who  inability,  or  degradation,  are  unworthy 

has  nothing  else  above   him   has   self,  of  man's  adoration,  and  therefore  their 

that  ugliest,  most  obscene   of   deities :  worship  is  debasing.      But  the  worship 

Belial,  and  Mammon,  and  Beelzebub  in  of   God    (1)   Elevates    the   mind.     The 

one.     Self  is  the  deity  of  millions,  and  imagination  and  reason    are   lifted    up 

its  worsliip  is  as  vile,  as  brutalising,  as  above  the  mean  or  petty  considerations 

ever   were   the   rites    of    Chemosh,    or  of  sense  and  time  to  the  contemplation 

Milcom,  or  Ashtoreth.     In  general,  even  of    the   boundless   perfections    of    the 

fallen  man  has  something  besides  him-  infinite    and    eternal.      (2)  It    elevates 

self  above  him  ;  even  where  self  presides  the  will  above  the  debasements  of  selfish- 

in  the  worship,  it  is  rather  as  priest  ness,  to  free  consecration  to  the  authority 

than  idol." — Dr,    Vaughan,     Our  text  of  the  noblest  being  and  the  execution 

sets  before  us —  of  the    noblest  purposes.     (3)  It   lifts 

1,  The  true  object  of  worship.    "The  the  heart  above  all  ignoble  objects   of 

Lord."  aflfection,  and  reposes  it  on  inimitable 

1.  The  only  rightful  object.  (1.)  On  beauty  and  eternal  lovelineas.  (4)  It 
the  grounds  of  creation  and  providence.  exalts  the  whole  man  intellectually, 
(2.)  On  the  ground  of  express  revela-  morally,  socially,  and  even  physically, 
tion :  "  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  into   an    atmosphere   of    holiness    and 

2.  The  only  satisfying   object,     (1.)  purity. 

183 


FSALM  Oil. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


II.  The  true  character  of  worship. 
"  Praise."  All  other  elements  of  worship 
condense  themselves  into  this.  Frayer 
is  a  form  of  praise,  because  it  tacitly 
acknowledges  that  God  has  answered  it 
before,  and  is  worthy  of  our  grateful 
homage.  Communion  is  a  form  of  praise, 
inasmuch  as  it  confesses  that  God  is 
worthy  of  the  time  that  we  snatch  from 
other  engagements  to  consult  His  will. 

1.  Praise  implies  gratitude.  It  ex- 
presses thankfulness  for  past  and  present 
mercies. 

2.  Praise  implies  self-forgetfulness. 
Self  is  in  oblivion  when  we  contemplate 
and  are  thankful  for  those  blessings 
which  have  made  self  possible. 

3.  Praise  implies  an  adoring  and 
strong  recognition  of  God's  claims  upon 
our  practical  service^  who  has  showered 
those  benefits  which  are  the  subject  of 
our  thanksgivings. 

4.  Praise  is  the  result  of  the  combined 
operation  of  all  our  faculties.  The  mind 
contributes   its   thought,   the   emotions 


their  rapture,  the  will  its  volitions,  the 
spirit  its  fervour,  and  the  body  its  acti- 
vities. 

III.  The  true  spirit  of  worship. 
'*Ye." 

1.  Personal.  God  is  no  respecter  of 
proxies.  Incense,  beads,  and  other  ritu- 
alistic paraphernalia,  and  even  men  of 
unquestionable  piety  and  spiritual  power, 
can  be  no  substitute  for  the  personal 
homage  of  the  souL 

2.  Yet  not  so  personal  as  to  exclude 
all  reference  to  or  company  with  others. 
God's  blessings  are  like  stones  cast  into 
the  water.  The  ripples  and  influences 
are  felt  far  and  wide.  The  mercy  a 
parent  receives  extends  more  or  less  to 
his  family,  dependants,  and  connections. 
Let  him,  therefore,  praise  the  Lord  for 
those  who  have  felt  the  influence,  and  in 
their  company. 

IV.  The  true  medium  of  worship : 
Christ.  "No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  by  Me." 


Church  and  Congregational  Worship. 
{Verse  1.) 


L  Distinctions  in  worship.  The  ex- 
pressions," assembly  of  the  upright  "  and 
"  congregation,"  are  not  synonymous. 
They  express  the  modern  ideas  of  public 
and  private  ;  church  and  congregation. 

1.  Public  worship  as  against  the  specious 
sophistries  of  Plymouthism^  c&c,  may  be 
defended  (L)  On  the  ground  of  conve- 
nience. No  private  dwelling  can  afford 
the  facilities  presented  by  houses  set 
apart  exclusively  for  that  purpose.  (2.) 
On  the  ground  of  fraternity.  "  The 
Church  in  the  house  "  if  the  only  Church 
must  necessarily  be  narrow  and  exclusive, 
and  be  confined  in  most  cases  to  the 
family  dwelling  there,  in  all  cases  to  the 
nearest  neighbours.  (3.)  On  the  ground 
of  unrepealed  law.  Man  has  not  yet  out- 
grown this  provision  for  his  spiritual 
nature  provided  under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, and  therefore  the  laws  concerning  it 
are  still  binding.  (4.)  On  the  ground  of 
Christ's  example,  in  the  use  of  temple 
and  synagogues.  (5.)  On  the  ground  of 
apostolic  precedent.   Paul  in  the  "  School 


of  Tyrannus,"  <fcc.  (6.)  On  the  ground  of 
universal  custom  in  all  ages,  from  the 
churches  in  the  Catacombs  till  now. 

2.  Private  ivorship,  as  against  formal- 
ism or  latitudina?'ianism  must  be  pro- 
vided for  and  practised  by  the  Church. 
(1.)  On  the  ground  of  convenience.  In 
public  a  certain  amount  of  restraint  is 
necessary.  In  private  the  Church  is 
away  from  critical  eyes  and  ears,  and  can 
unbosom  herself  without  fear  of  being 
misunderstood.  (2.)  On  the  ground  of 
Christian  fraternity.  The  Church  being 
a  family  should  have  opportunities  of 
family  worship.  (3.)  O71  the  ground  of 
universal  custom.  In  all  ages  the  Church 
within  the  Church,  *'  The  upright," 
"Those  that  fear  the  Lord,"  have  had 
their  separate  assemblies.  The  Jews, 
our  Lord  and  His  disciples  ;  the  early 
Church,  Reformers,  Puritans,  Methodists, 
<fec. 

II.  Places  of  worship.  "  In  the 
assembly  of  the  upright  and  in  the  con- 
gregation."    This  suggests  to  us — 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXL 


1.  That  the  Church  and  congregation 
should  not  he  confounded.  "  The  up- 
right "  is  a  designation  of  God's  covenant 
people  as  such.  *'  Congregation,"  a 
general  term  for  all  who  attend  God's 
ordinances.  Gentiles  were  admitted 
within  certain  precincts  of  the  Temple, 
but  the  inner  enclosures  were  for  Israel 
alone.  A  body  of  people  assembUng  for 
worship  or  adhering  to  the  tenets  of  a 
given  communion  may,  for  convenience 
sake,  be  called  a  church.  But,  strictly 
speaking,  that  term  belongs  to  the  mys- 
tical body  of  Christ.  And  while  all  are 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  congrega- 
tional worship,  yet  there  are  certain 
specific  privileges  which  belong  to  the 
Church  as  such  alone. 

2.  That  the  Church  should  strive  to 
make  itself  conterminous  with  the  congre- 
gation. (\.)  By  a  willing  fraternity.  Let 
not  the  member  of  the  Church  say  di- 
rectly or  by  implication  to  the  member 
of  the  congregation,  *'  Stand  by,  for  I  am 
holier  than  thou  ; "  or  thank  God  that  he 
is  '*  not  as  other  men."  (2.)  By  an  earnest 
and  edifying  testimony  to  the  grace  of 
God,  and  energetic  evangelism  (1  Cor. 
xiv.  24,  25).  (3.)  By  generous  invitation 
and  genial  encouragement.  But  not  (1) 
By  a  lax  and  miscalled  charity,  cheap- 
ening church  privileges  and  bringing 
them  into  contempt.  (2)  By  mere  de- 
sires of  numerical  increase:  or  (3)  By  the 
resignation  of  divinely  conferred  and  re- 
sponsible rights.  Churches  should  demand 
and  obtain  moral  qualifications  for  mem- 
bership. It  will  be  an  evil  day  for  the 
Church  when  she  relaxes  her  discipline, 
but  a  happy  day  when  all  congregations 
are  churches  in  the  fulfilment  of  their 
duties  and  the  blamelessness  of  their 
lives. 


3.  That  Church  and  congregational 
duties  are  alike  obligatory.  The  mem- 
bers of  our  congregation  have  much  to 
be  thankful  for,  and  are  the  heirs  of 
many  hopes.  Let  them  praise  God  for 
what  they  enjoy.  The  members  of  the 
Church  have  every  cause  for  gratitude. 
Let  that  gratitude  be  expressed  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation,  publicly 
and  emphatically. 

III.  Manner  of  worship.  "I  will 
praise  the  Lord  with  my  whole  heart." 
Which  suggests — 

1.  That  praise  shotdd  be  earnest.  In- 
difference or  perfunctoriness  is  a  gross 
oflfence  to  God.  Where  warmth,  fervour, 
glow  are  wanting,  the  very  elements  of 
praise  are  wanting. 

2.  That  praise  should  he  complete. 
**  Whole  heart."  Wandering  thoughts 
must  be  checked,  vagrant  affections  and 
interests  must  be  reined  in.  "  Glorify 
God  in  your  bodies  and  spirits,  which  are 
God's." 

3.  That  praise  should  he  spontaneous. 
It  should  well  up  freely  and  naturally 
from  the  thankful  heart. 

In  conclusion,  (i.)  Are  you  a  member 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  ?  If  not,  why  ] 
From  indifference  'i  Shrinking  from 
public  testimony  to  the  power  of  God  ? 
From  the  lack  of  moral  qualifications  t 
Brethren,  the  worship  of  such  must  be 
lacking  in  many  elements  desirable  in 
the  sight  of  God.  (ii.)  Are  you  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  Christ?  If  so, 
what  are  you  doing  for  the  community 
to  which  you  belong  ?  Are  yon  enjoying 
its  privileges  without  contributing  to 
its  strength  ?  Are  you  at  ease  in  Zion  1 
Remember,  worship  without  work  is 
hypocrisy  (1  Pet.  ii.  9). 


The  Works  of  God,  the  Subject  op  Soul-satisfying  Search. 

{Verse  2.) 


These  words,  summing  up  God's  works 
in  general,  and  describing  our  proper 
attitude  towards  them,  and  the  fruits  of 
their  patient  study,  suggest — 


1.  In   the   mystery   of  their    origin. 

Like  Him  who  made  them  they  are  past 
finding  out.  Even  if  the  statements  of 
modern  scientists  be  true,  viz.,  that  all 


I.  That  God's  works  are  great.     They      life  may  be  traced  back  to  one  primordial 
are  great —  germ,  yet,  as  Professor  Huxley  has  eaid^ 

18^ 


P8ALBI  CTL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


"  The  present  state  of  knowledge  fur- 
nishes us  with  no  link  between  the  living 
and  not  living." 

2.  In  the  length  of  tJieir  duration. 
Astronomy  and  geology  tell  us  some- 
thing of  the  time  which  must  have 
elapsed  since  they  first  came  into  being, 
and  the  Bible  does  not  attempt  to  limit 
it.  About  their  future  science  can  say 
nothing,  and  about  their  absolute  ter- 
mination God's  Word  gives  no  hint. 

3.  In  the  vastness  of  their  extent.  The 
moat  moderate  computation  of  the  dis- 
tance between  the  sun  and  other 
planets,  and  our  earth,  to  say  nothing  of 
realms  of  matter  beyond,  loses  us  in 
wonder  and  awe. 

4.  In  the  wisdom  of  their  arrange- 
ment. Subject  to  unvarying  law  ;  exqui- 
sitely adjipted  for  their  various  purposes ; 
regularly  serving  their  appointed  ends. 

5.  In  the  beneficence  of  their  intention. 
"  AH  things  working  together  for  *  the 
general '  good." 

II.  That  God's  works  should  be  the 
subject  of  study.  The  popular  religious 
outcry  against  science  is  (1)  unreason- 
able ;  (2)  contrary  to  God's  Word ;  (3) 
condemned  by  the  example  of  the  best 
spirits  in  all  ages.  The  psalmists  and 
prophets  were  profound  natural  philoso- 
phers, and  many  of  their  revelations  have 
anticipated  the  discoveries  of  modern 
times.  Our  Lord  revelled  in  nature,  and 
Paul  had  a  keen  eye  for  its  beauties. 
(4)  It  is  fatal  to  the  interests  of  truth. 
But  God*8  works  should  be  studied — 

1.  Cautiously.  None  but  facts 
should  be  acknowledged.  Probable 
hypotheses  should  be  considered  and  re- 
spected, but  conclusions  should  only  be 
built  upon  unquestionable  certainties. 

2.  Fearlessly.  God  cannot  deny  or 
contradict  Himself.  All  that  He  has 
revealed  in  nature  should  be  explored ; 
and  genuine  discoveries,  however  much 
they  may  shock  our  prejudices  or  ex- 
plode our  preconceived  convictions, 
should  be  welcomed  and  acknowledged. 

4.  Reverently.  Nature  is  the  revela- 
tion of  *'the  invisible  things  of  God;" 
explain  many  of  the  truths  of  God's 
Word,  and  should  be  made  the  hand- 
maid of  piety. 

m.  That  God's  works  are  promotive 
186 


of  soul  satisfaction.  "  Exquisitely  ex* 
cellent,  and  fully  satisfying  all  those 
who  delight  in  them ;  i.e.,  excellent, 
precious,  incomparable,  in  the  judgment 
of  those  who  best  understand  them — 
His  faithful  worshippers"  (see  Ps.  xii.  1). 
— Speakers  Coram, 

1.  The  believer  finds  there  revelations 
of  his  own  dignity.  Surveying  the 
magnificent  expanse  above  him,  he  will 
say,  "I  am  greater  than  all  that;  for  that 
gorgeous  canopy  has  no  mind."  Con- 
templating the  immense  ages  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  world  came  into  being, 
he  will  say,  '*  All  those  ages  were  neces- 
sary to  fit  the  world  for  me."  Watch- 
ing the  operation  of  inexorable  laws,  he 
will  say,  "  I  am  free." 

2.  The  believer  will  find  there  inti- 
mations of  his  relation  to  God  and  his 
immortality.  Man  stands  alone  in  the 
universe.  "Communion  with  nature" 
is  all  very  well  as  poetry ;  but  be- 
tween man's  soul  and  the  material 
universe  there  is  nothing  in  common, 
and  therefore  there  can  be  no  com- 
munion. He  is  thus  driven  to  the 
Author  of  nature,  and  with  Him  man 
finds  that  he  has  some  affinity,  and  can 
therefore  have  communion.  Agr.in,  man 
lives  in  the  midst  of  things  that  are  ever 
changing  and  passing  away.  But  when 
man  turns  within  himself  he  is  conscious 
of  something  that  will  **  survive  the 
wreck  of  matter  and  the  crush  of 
worlds." 

3.  The  believer  will  there  find  ample 
confirmation  of  all  that  is  revealed  in 
God's  Word  respecting  his  Maker's 
wisdom  and  power  and  goodness.  He 
will  there  see  the  truth  of  the  declara- 
tions:  **  Behold,  it  was  very  good;" 
"Thou  hast  done  all  things  well.'' 

4.  The  believer  will  there  find  abundant 
cause  for  thankful  and  adoring  gratitude. 
The  more  he  becomes  acquainted  with 
God's  works  the  more  he  knows  of  his 
Father's  beneficence  towards  Him,  and 
will  concerning  him. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Let  nature  be 
the  subject  of  your  studious  search, 
(ii.)  Let  the  design  of  your  search  be 
to  find  harmonies  between  God's  Word 
and  God's  works,  (iii.)  Let  the  lesult 
of  your  search  be  thankful  praise. 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXL 


Nature's  Beauty  and  the  Righteousness  of  Nature's  God. 

(Verse  3.) 


The  union  of  the  useful  and  the 
beautiful  in  nature  is  perfect.  The 
two  cannot  be  separated  as  is  the  case 
with  the  works  of  man.  If  you  were 
to  deface  a  Pliidian  statue,  the  useful 
marble  would  remain.  Again,  man  uses 
beauty  to  conceal  deformity.  Not  so 
nature.  Man  is  the  only  blot  on  her 
fair  surface.  Nature's  beauty  and 
utility  are  one  and  the  same.  The 
gorgeous  tints  which  decorate  the 
region  of  the  setting  sun  are  but  the 
result  of  a  certain  combination  of  the 
laws  by  which  we  live.  The  same  lines 
which  make  up  the  beauty  of  the  land- 
scape are  the  measure  of  distances  and 
the  guide  of  motion.  We  shall  consider 
the  utility  of  nature  further  on.  Here 
observe — 

L  Natures  beauty.  "Honourable 
and  glorious"  ")im    rtH.     Shining  and 

T  T    : 

glittering,  majestic  and  splendid. 

1.  Nature  exhibits  herself  in  beautiful 
positions.  The  starry  heavens,  the  dis- 
tant landscape,  alternations  of  moun- 
tain and  plain,  land  and  water,  meadow 
and  garden,  forest  and  plateau. 

2.  Nature  exhibits  herself  in  beautiful 
forms.  This  is  seen  by  the  naked  eye  in 
the  graceful  foliage,  the  rippling  stream, 
the  foaming  cataract,  the  raging  sea ;  in 
flowers,  fruits,  herbs,  &c.  But  the  tele- 
scope and  microscope  open  up  the  won- 
drous splendours  of  a  new  world. 

3.  Nature  exhibits  herself  in  beautiful 
operations.  The  march  of  the  seasons, 
progress  of  the  earth,  dawn,  meridian, 
Bunset,  night. 

4.  Nature  teaches  beautiful  lessons  of 
grace,  dignity,  generosity,  order,  de- 
pendence on  God. 

6.  Nature  is  full  of  beautiful  per- 
fumes and  beautiful  sounds. 

II.  Nature  is  beautiful,  says  the 
Psalmist,  but  nature's  God  is  righteous. 
Is  there  any  break  in  the  thought  1    No. 


1.  Natures  beauty  is  but  a  reflection 
of  that  eternal  moral  beauty  which  we 
call  the  divine  righteousness.  Nature  is 
beautiful,  because  it  is  the  expression  of 
the  established  will  of  heaven. 

2.  Conversely,  nature  teaches  us  that 
the  mind  which  clothed  her  in  those 
beautiful  forms  is  beautiful.  No  effect 
can  be  greater  than  its  cause.  No  water 
can  rise  above  the  level  of  its  source. 
Order  only  can  produce  order,  beauty 
only  can  evolve  beauty. 

3.  Nature  exhibits  her  harmony  with 
her  Maker.  This  is  so  complete  that 
certain  theologists  have  identified  the 
two,  and  have  regarded  the  universe  as 
the  splendid  robe  of  deity. 

**  Thus  time's  whizzing  loom  unceasing  I  ply, 
And  weave  the  life-garment  of  deity." 

— Ooethe. 

4.  Nature  exhibits  hy  contrast  the 
causes  of  the  moral  deformity  of  man. 
Man  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  uni- 
verse, because  out  of  harmony  with 
God.  When  that  harmony  is  restored 
man  puts  on  the  beautiful  garment  of 
holiness,  and  grows  in  grace. 

III.  Nature  is  beautiful,  as  the  ex- 
pression of  the  everlasting  righteous- 
ness of  nature's  God  Then  beauty  is  the 
permanent  order  of  things,  for  moral 
beauty  is  eternal.  Some  day  nature 
will  put  off  her  splendid  vestments,  but 
that  will  only  be  preparatory  to  the 
creation  of  the  new  heaven  and  the  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 
Those  who  exhibit  themselves  in  con- 
trast with  her  now,  being  then  in  har- 
mony with  her  God,  will  be  in  harmony 
with  her.  It  is  not  without  significance 
that  all  the  visions  vouchsafed  to  man 
of  the  life  to  come  are  exquisitely 
beautiful.  Beautiful  scenes,  forms, 
sounds,  fragrance,  food;  because  all 
righteous  (Bey.  xxii.  1-6). 


187 


PBALM  CXf. 


JOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


The  Purpose  of  Nature,  and  the  Goodness  of  Nature's  God. 

{Verse  4.) 


I  The  purpose  of  nature.  **  He 
hath  made  His  wonderful  works  to  he 
remembered.^' 

1.  Their  wonderfulness  adapts  them  to 
maris  memory.  The  "  S{)eaker's  Com- 
mentary" paraphrases  thus:  "He  has 
done  such  wonderful  deeds  that  a  remem- 
brance of  them  abides  for  ever"  (Ps. 
Ixxviii.  3,  4 ;  Num.  xvi.  40  j  Josh.  iv. 
6,  7).  Those  things  are  most  easily 
remembered  which  strike  upon  man's 
sense  of  wonder.  Trivial  incidents  we 
forget,  great  things  we  call  memorable. 
God's  works  are  wonderfully  great, 
wonderfully  mysterious,  wonderfully 
old,  wonderfully  novel  and  fresh, 
wonderfully  grand. 

2.  The  memory  stands  as  the  result  of 
the  operation  of  all  the  faculties  of  the 
mind.  We  must  study,  apprehend, 
reason,  and  compare,  if  we  would  re- 
member. Memory  is  but  the  treasure- 
house  of  the  things  we  put  into  it ;  and 
we  can  only  store  it  with  the  facts  of 
God's  universe  by  the  exercise  of  all 
the  intellectual  powers.  But  memory  is 
fickle,  hence  the  necessity  of  constantly 
examining  it  to  see  if  its  contents  are 
Btiil  there  and  in  their  right  places. 

3.  The  retention  of  God's  marvellous 
works  ennobles  memory. 

(1.)  By  the  exercise  which  it  gives. 
Memories  enlarge  and  grow  by  exercise. 
Bad  memories,  as  a  rule,  are  idle  and 
unexercised  memories. 

(2.)  By  the  love  which  they  impart. 
How  debasing  are  the  contents  of  most 
memories  !  Recollection  of  wasted  op- 
portunities gives  a  tone  of  remorse. 
Recollection  of  sins  gives  a  tone  of  vice. 
God's  works  are  pure  and  good,  and 
must  give  a  pure  and  good  tone  to  that 
which  stores  them  up. 

(3.)  By  alien  recollections  which  they 
expel.  A  memory  that  is  full  of  God's 
wonderful  works  must  have  emptied 
itself  of  all  base  subjects.  And  as 
they  take  hold  of  the  mind  they  cast 
out    things    unworthy    of     retention. 


True,  this  is  a  process  largely  depen- 
dent on  habit.  Let  then  the  habit  be 
cultivated,  and  all  base  and  unworthy 
memories  will  gradually  fade. 

II.  The  purpose  of  nature  is  to  be 
remembered  :  why  1  That  we  may 
have  a  perpetual  evidence  of  the  good- 
ness of  nature's  God, 

1.  God's  works  show  that  He  is  gra- 
cious : — Remember  them.  All  nature 
shows  that  God  is  mindful  of  man  and 
visits  him.  Creation  is  no  testimony 
of  a  creator  distant  from  and  indififer- 
ent  to  its  operations.  It  postulates  the 
presence  of  One  who  watches  the  move- 
ments of  all  its  laws  and  processes,  and 
who  continually  prevents  its  going  wrong. 
And  what  for  1  The  whole  universe  re- 
plies, *'  For  man."  All  things  work  to- 
gether for  his  good.  Natural  forces  have 
other  ends  to  serve,  but  emphatically 
and  pre-eminently  they  serve  him.  The 
sun  by  day,  and  the  moon  and  stars  by 
night,  afford  him  light  and  regulate 
his  time.  Birds,  beasts,  fishes,  vege- 
tables, <fec.,  serve  him  for  labour, 
clothing,  or  food.  All  this  evidences 
the  fact  that  God  is  gracious  to  man. 
Above  all,  there  is  God's  gracious  work 
of  Redemption,  the  operations  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Church,  the  Word,  the 
Sacraments. 

2.  God's  works  show  that  He  is  ^'■full  of 
compassion:" — Remember  them.  Com- 
passion is  the  sentiment  of  a  higher 
and  richer  to  a  lower  and  more  needy 
creature.  God's  works  contemplate 
the  alleviation  of  human  wants.  Man 
suffers  from  exhaustion  :  "  God  giveth 
His  beloved  sleep."  Man  suffers  from 
cold :  Go(l  has  laid  up  for  him  a 
treasury  of  coal.  Man  suffers  from 
heat :  God  has  provided  healthy  and 
refreshing  breezes.  Man  suffers  from 
disease  :  God's  works  are  full  of  heal- 
ing medicines  and  curative  appliances, 
Man  suffers  from  sin,  and,  behold,  all 
heaven  is  opened  and  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal. 


188 


HOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


P3ALlf  OXL 


The  Bounty  and  Faithfcjlnkss  of  (Jod. 
(Verted.) 

Old  and  New  Testament  alike  re-  (2.)   Wherever  man  is  found,  ht  U  Ml 

f^^'^'.J    /'i*^'.^''::^^  i'.^   ^^^-     ^^  ^•^^^^^-     Pl^ysically,  intellectually,  and 

that  Fatherhood  all  the  divine  perfec  morally,    but    everywhere    the   promise 

tions  inhere.     As  a  Father,  God  is  just  holds  good  :  "  My  God  shall  supply  all 

and  holy  as  well  as  merciful  and  kind.  your  need   according  to  His   riches  in 

Consequently      the     results     of     that  glory  by  Christ  Jesus " 

Fatherhood  do  not  spring  from  mere  3.   God's  gifts   are  equal  to  all   the 

spasms  of  affection,  but  are  based  upon  emergencies  in  which  man  through  need 

eternal  principles.     Hence  our  text  re-  is   plunged.     Everywhere    *'  man's    ex- 

cognises   the    provision  for   our    daily  tremity  is   God's    opportunity."     Illua- 

wants  as  the  result  of  God's  fidelity  to  trations— Marah,    water    out    of    rock 

His  covenant  engagements.  quails,    &c.     In    business   perplexitiesi 

I.  Gods   bounty.     "He    has   given  "If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom   let  him 

meat  t.«.,  prey,  contemplating  a  noma-  ask  of  God."    In  family  worries,  «  Cast- 

die  life,  or   Israel's  wandering  in  the  ing  all  your  care  on  Him."     In  painful 

wilderness.  sickness,   "  My  grace  is    sufficient   for 

1.   (rod  s  gifts  are  as  varied  as  man's  thee." 

**'^^f: ,   , ,    ,              .  ,    , ,     .  ^^-  ^^d's  bounty  is  based  upon  God's 

{i.)  Mans    material    blessings    are  faithfulness.     "  He  will  be  ever  mind- 

Gods  gifts,  not  his  own  earnings.     The  ful  of   His  covenant,"  which  covenant 

health,  strength,  and  physical  force  by  binds  Him  over  to  care  for  His  people 

which  he  acquires  them  are  loans  from  The  Psalmist  wrote  this  with  reference 

God  to  enable  him  to  acquire  them.  to  the  Sinaitic  covenant  alone.     Chris- 

(2.)  Man's  intellectual  blessings  are  tians   base    their  hope  in   its   frequent 

God's  gifts.     Information,  learning,  and  repetition.     (Jer.   xxxi. ;   Ezek.    xi.  •    2 

all  mental  wealth  necessary  for  the  nour-  Cor.  vii. ;  Rev.  xxi.  7.)                     ' ' 

ishment  and  support  of  the  intellect.  1.    God's   bounty   is    not    capricious 

(3.)  Man's  moral  blessings  are  God's  Faithful  in  opposition  to  fickle 

gifts.      Man    is     entirely    destitute  of  2.   God's  bounty  is  not  administered 

the    means   of    making   spiritual    pro-  by  favouritism.     Faithful  as  opposed  to 

vision.     God  gives  the  power  to  repent  unjust. 

and    believe,    and  on    the    exercise  of  3.   God's  bounty  is  exactly  suited  to 

these  saying  instrumentalities    depend  man's   need.     Faithful   as   opposed    to 

all    Gods    mercy   by    Christ,    by    the  sentimental. 

Holy  Ghost  in  regeneration,  sanctifica-  4.   Therefore  man's  supplies  are  sure. 

tion,  &c.  Is  not  this  contradicted  by  facts?     No. 

2.  Gods  gifts  are  as  plentiful  as  mans  (1.)  We  must  take  all  the  facts  into  ac- 

'^  n       TVL  count.     The  poorest  Christian  has  more 

(1.)  Wherever  man  exists  he  is  found  than  the  richest  worldling.  (2.)  We 
to  be  a  needy  creature,  but  everywhere  must  give  God  the  eternity  He  demands 
his  needs  are  met.  When  it  is  cold,  in  which  to  work  out  His  purposes. 
animals  are  found  with  skins  which  "  He  wilUm- be  mindful  of  His  cove- 
afford  him  suitable  clothing  and  food,  nant."  {^  If  God  withholds  one  gift  it 
vvhich  contributes  to  warm  his  blood,  is  only  to  give  a  greater.  (4.)  Men  can 
111  hot  chmates,  suitable  vegetable  and  aff(yrd  to  wait  for  the  "eternal  weight 
fruits  preponderate.     In  temperate  zones  of  glory." 

both   abound   as   and    when   he  needs  HI.  God's  bounty  is  conditional  on 

them.       Political     economists     borrow  man's  piety.     "  Unto  them   that  fear 

Irom  providence  their  law  of  supply  and  H  im,"  so  says  our  Lord ;  "  Seek  ye  first," 

^^'^'^^^'  Ac.    Paul :  "  Godliness  is  profitable,"  4c. 

160 


MALM  COLL 


MOMILSTIC  COMMSNTART:  F8ALM8. 


1.  Piety  is  neeettarp  to  $eeure  the 
WHOLE  of  God's  bounty  —  intellectual, 
SEiaterial,  moral.  If  a  man  loves  his 
neighbours  better  than  himself,  and  pro- 
motes their  wellbeing  to  the  neglect  of 
that  of  his  family  and  himself ;  if,  while 
fervent  in  spirit,  he  is  slothful  in  busi- 
ness; if,  while  devotional  and  philan- 
thropic, he  is  neglectful  of  the  laws  of 
health,  let  not  God  be  charged  with  the 
result. 

2.  Without  piety  none  of  God's  bless- 
inge  will  he  secured.      The  semblance 


or  shell  may  be,  but  not  the  substance. 
To  look  at  riches,  luxury,  &c.,  is  to  take 
an  inadequate  view  of  the  case.  In 
themselves  they  are  unsubstantial,  tran- 
sitory, may  be  a  curse,  and  are  only 
valuable  for  results  which  without  piety 
are  never  obtained. 

3.  True  piety  is  the  sure  means  of 
securing  God's  blessings,  (1.)  Love  of 
God.  (2.)  Proper  love  of  self.  (3) 
Love  of  others.  Fidelity  to  these  laws 
is  the  basis  of  everlasting  prosperity. 


Thb  Purpose  of  the  Revelation  of  God's  Power. 

(Verse  6.) 


While  we  study  God's  revelations  in 
the  Bible,  in  nature,  and  in  the  course 
of  providence,  and  read  of  His  goodness 
there,  never  let  us  overlook  the  fact 
that  they  contain  records  of  His  glorious 
power.  The  thought  in  the  Psalmist's 
mind  was  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  which 
(see  the  narrative)  could  only  have  been 
effected  by  the  miraculous  arm  of  God. 
Notice — 

L  That  God's  people  have  acquired 
the  heritage  of  the  heathen. 

1.  Materially.  God  did  not  more 
give  Canaan  to  Israel  than  He  did  the 
Roman  Empire  to  the  early  Church,  than 
He  has  done  India,  <fec.,  to  the  modern 
Church.  Witness  the  progress  of  those 
nations  who  have  been  true  to  God — 
England,  Scotland,  America.  Contrast 
the  decay  of  the  great  Oriental  powers 
and  superstitions,  and  Italy  and  Spain. 

2.  Intellectually.  Christianity  wields 
the  sceptre  over  the  world  of  mind. 
She  has  passed  whatever  precious  metal 
there  was  in  heathen  philosophy  through 
her  mint.  Whatever  revolutions  there 
have  been  in  human  thought  she  has 
impressed  them  into  her  service,  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  nothing  that 
has  not  been  received  by  the  Church  is 
acknowledged  as  unquestionable  truth. 
And  for  many  centuries  it  is  the  Church 
that  has  given  to  the  world  its  explorers, 
scientists,  and  teachers. 

3.  Morally.  The  Christian  wave 
moved  by  the  breath  of  God  has  swept 
away  many  an   iiialatry,    superstition, 

190 


and  vice,  and  is  doing  so  wherever  it 
rolls.  There  is  much  of  each  form  of 
evil  still,  but  compare  the  world  to-day 
with  the  palmiest  era  of  ancient  Rome. 
Contrast  the  moral  deserts  with  the 
Christian  oases  in  the  midst  of  them  in 
Africa  and  Hindostan.  What  was  Fiji 
a  century  ago  ?     What  is  it  to-day  ] 

II.  That  this  acquisition  is  the  re- 
sult of  divine  power. 

1.  From  the  extreme  unlikeliness  of 
the  result.  Imagine  Nero's  smile  if 
Paul  had  predicted  to  him  the  changes 
which  would  take  place  in  his  empire 
within  three  centuries.  Imagine  Philips' 
incredulity  if  he  had  been  told  of  the 
probable  or  even  possible  destruction  of 
the  invincible  Armada.  Who  would 
have  looked  for  such  a  development  of 
Scotland's  scanty  resources,  and  the 
progress  of  the  United  States  ?  Equally 
unlikely  was  it  that  the  sayings  and 
writings  of  a  Nazarene  peasant  and  His 
disciples  should  shake  the  schools  of 
philosophers,  and  produce  such  thinkers 
as  Augustine,  Aquinas,  Bacon,  and 
Newton.  Yet  the  simple  preaching  of 
Christ  crucified  has  been  the  power  by 
which  God  has  changed  the  face  of  the 
world. 

2.  From  its  complete  success.  Wher- 
ever Christianity  has  gone,  heathenism 
has  receded,  and  the  idols  have  been 
given  to  the  moles  and  the  bata ;  and  it 
still  goes  on  conquering  and  to  conquer. 

III.  That  this  acquisition  is  for  the 
benefit  of  humanity  at  large.     It  is  nut 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


FSALM  CXL 


for  the    exclusive   good    of   those  who  the  good  of  the  vanquished.     And  so 

make  the  acquisition    in    the  first  in-  Christian   conquests  are   achieved  that 

stance  but  for  the  good  also  of  those  the    heathen    may    also    become    the 

from  whom  the  acquisitions  are  derived.  children  of  God, 
A  good  and  wise  conqueror  contemplates 

The  Eectitude  of  God's  Works  and  the  Stability 

OF  God's  Word, 

(Verses  1,  8.) 

.J^t  ?i^^^®  ^°®^  "?^"  ^^'®  assumption  From  the  analogy  of  things  we  rather 

that  both  nature  and  itself  are  the  work  that  what  is  good  will  stand      Man's 

of  the  same  hand  and  the  revelation  of  the  works    decay,    many    of  them*  for   the 

same  being.     That  being  the  case  there  want  of  rectitude  and  justice.     God's 

can  be  no  contradictions  between  them.  works  stand  fast  for  ever;  they  will  be 

(See  Butler  s  -Analogy,"  chap.  I.)  transformed,  but  not  destroyed,  because 

L   The    characteristics    of    God's  God  has  made  them  very  good. 

"^T^/^T.          ,        ..      .     „    „,,  ^^'  Characteristics  of  God's  Word. 

1.  They  are  true,  "verity."    They  are  It  is  -sure"  for  the  same  reason  as 

real   and   genuine,    and   contrast    with  His  works.     As  Matthew  Henry  says 

many  of  the  works  of  man.     In  work-  it  is   -straight   and  therefore  steady'' 

ing  out  an  end  God  employs  the  right  It  is  founded  no  less  upon  the  justice 

materials.     From  the  star  to  the  grass-  and  truth  of  God  than  upon  His  mercy 

blade    every   means    is    adapted   to    its  -  My  word  shall  never  pass  away  " 

proper  end  in  the  best  possible  way.  1.   God's   commandments   are  sure 

Z    Ihey  are  just,  -judgment."     (1.)  There  is  no  repeal  for  them.     -  God  is 

(rod  uses   right  materials  in  the   right  not  a  man  that  He  should  repent."    Let 

way.     He  does  not  trench  on  the  in-  the  wicked  tremble, 

terests  of  any  of  His  creatures.     Every-  2.  God's  promises  are  sure.     They 

thing  IS  found  in  its  proper  and  there-  are  part  of  the  "everlasting  covenant  " 

fore  best  place,  and  is  working  out  its  Let  the  righteous  rejoice 

best  and  therefore  proper  destiny.      (2.)  3.   God's  counsel   is   sure.      -Thou 

(rod   uses   right   materials    to    subserve  shalt  guide  me  with  Thy  counsel    and 

right  ends,  and  seeks  the  good  of  all  that  afterward  receive  me  to  glory."     Let  all 

He  has  made.  men  hope.     Learn-(l)  That  the  quali- 

6.    Ikerefore     Gods    works    endure.  ties  of  God's  works  and  w(yrd  are  the 

Ihe  second  member  of  verse  7  certainly  qualities   of  its  Author.     Truth,    recti- 

apphes  to  God's  Word.     The  application  tude,  immovableness.       (2)  That   these 

of  verse  8   is  uncertain.     Perhaps  this  qualities  afford  an  unshakable  founda- 

is  intentional,  that  it  may  apply  to  both.  tion  for  faith  and  hope  (Matt.  vii.  24, 25). 

Redemption:    Its  Sure  Foundations  and  its  Awful  Sanctions. 

(Verse  9.) 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  doctrine  of  privilege,  but   to  duty.     The  Israelites 

redeniption   is   underestimated  and  un-  were  redeemed,  not  only  by  the  visitation 

dervalued,from  an  inadequate  conception  of  God's  compassion,  but  by  His  cove- 

of  the  majesty  of  its  Author,  and  of  the  nant ;  and  not  only  out  of  Egypt,  but  to 

fulness  of  its  obligation.      God's  justice  the  promised  land;    and  in  that  land 

had  as  much  to  do  with  it  as  His  love,  they  were  to  be  a  holy  nation.     The  Re- 

and  Its  intent  is  not  only  to  deliver  men  deemer  of  man  is  the  -  holy  one ;  "  and 

from  liell,  but  from  liu ;  and  not  only  to  the  end  of  Hit  work  ia  to  "  separate  unto 

191 


PSALM  0X1. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works." 

I.  Redemption.  The  redemption  out 
of  Egypt,  to  which  this  undoubtedly 
refers,  was  very  suggestively  typical. 
Egypt  representing  human  bondage  in 
general ;  the  blood  sprinkled  on  the  door- 
post, the  ransom  price ;  and  the  promised 
land  in  every  respect  the  antithesis  of  the 
land  of  serfdom,  the  duties  and  privileges 
of  God's  believing  people. 

II.  The  sure  foundations  on  which 
this  redemption  rests  are  '*  His  cove- 
nants." 

1.  God  undertakes  by  virtue  of  this  co- 
venant to  redeem  all  who  will  be  redeemed^ 
and  confirms  that  covenant  with  His 
oath  (Heb.  vii.  13-20). 

2.  Redemption  by  price  is  secured  for 
all.  Redemption  was  made  possible  for 
all  Israel,  but  it  was  open  to  any  to  re- 
ject the  privileges  it  involved.  So  Christ 
has  died  for  all,  yet  the  benefit  of  that 
death  will  be  secured  only  to  those  who 
believe  in  Him. 

3 .  Redempt  ion  by  power  is  on  ly  effected 
in  those  who  fulfil  the  covenant  conditions. 
God  has  fulfilled  all  the  conditions  on  His 
side  that  are  possible,  and  waits  to  fulfil 
the  rest.  Man  must  fulfil  his,  and  re- 
pent, and  believe. 


4.  To  those  who  fulfil  the  eonditions 
of  that  covenant  J  the  covenant  is  made  sure 
for  ever.  "Unbelief  may  perhaps  tear 
the  copies  of  the  covenant  which  Christ 
has  given  you ;  but  He  still  keeps  the 
original  in  heaven  with  Himself.  Your 
doubts  and  fears  are  not  part  of  the  co- 
venant ;  neither  can  they  change  Christ." 
— Rutherford. 

5.  The  covenant  of  God  is  the  ground 
of  the  expectation  of  final  and  perfect 
redemption.  "  The  strong  hope  of  our 
fastened  anchor  is  the  oath  and  promise  of 
Him  who  is  eternal  verity;  our  salvation 
is  fastened  with  God's  own  hand  and 
Christ's  own  strength  to  the  strong  stake 
of  God's  unchangeable  nature." — Ruther- 
ford. 

III.  The  awful  sanctions  by  which 
the  duties  of  the  redeemed  are  enforced. 
*'  Holy  and  fearful  "  is  the  name  of  Him 
who  has  redeemed  us  and  to  whom  we 
owe  allegiance.  Redemption  therefore 
involves — 

1.  Our  holiness, 

2.  Our  reverence  for  J  as  well  as  our  love 
of  God. 

In  conclusion,  (i.)  Redemption  gives 
God  the  absolute  right  to  our  service,  (ii.) 
Selfishness  and  sin  are  sacrilegious  thefts. 


The  Nature  and  Advantages  of  True  Piett. 

( Verse  10.) 


Both  the  character  and  advantages  of 
religion  have  been  sadly  misrepresented. 
This  autlioritative  declaration  is  therefore 
appropriate  and  valuable. 

1.  Religion  has,  been  misrepresented 
as  a  thing  of  the  emotions,  without  vigour 
or  intelligence  ;  as  that  which  is  fit  only 
for  the  Sunday  exercise  of  those  who 
have  declined  or  lost  the  battle  of  life. 

2.  Its  advantages  have  been  misrepre- 
sented as  belonging  exclusively  to  another 
sphere,  and  to  belong  only  to  the  future 
life ;  and  therefore 

3.  Secularists  and  others  have  con- 
demned it  as  emasculating  the  human 
powers  and  imposing  drawbacks  on  human 
progress. 

In  opposition  to  this  the  authoritative 
document  on  the  question  declares — 
192 


L  What  true  piety  really  is. 

1.  It  is''  the  fear  of  the  Lord,^*  Not 
slavish  terror  or  alarm,  but  such  re- 
spectful reverence  as  a  good  son  will 
aflford  a  good  parent  on  his  recognition 
of  superior  mental  and  moral  qualities. 
Surely  there  is  nothing  degrading  in  this. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  sublimely  elevating 
inasmuch  as  it  involves  (1)  The  contem- 
plation and  love  of  infinite  wisdom  and 
holiness.  (2)  The  careful  avoidance  of 
those  things  which  infinite  wisdom  and 
holiiiess  have  condemned.  (3)  Such 
studies  and  practices  whichwill  bring  man 
into  harmony  with  infinite  wisdom  and 
holiness,  and  which  ufill  secure  the  ap- 
proval of  them  to  whom  those  attribute 
belong. 

2.  It  is  **  to  do  His  commandments." 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXI. 


Ib  there  anything   degrading   in   this  ? 

(1)  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  those  tra- 
ditions which  human  folly  has  elevated  to 
the  dignity  of  divine  commands.     Nor 

(2)  with  the  unworthy  conduct  of  so-called 
Christian  men.  (3)  But  we  have  to  do 
with  the  moral  law  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  which  the  greatest  moralists 
and  statesmen  have  all  but  unanimously 
pronounced  perfect. 

II.  What  the  advantages  of  true 
piety  really  are. 

1.  Tiue  piety  is  "  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom." Wisdom  may  be  defined  as  the 
choice  of  the  best  end,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  the  best  means  to  secure  that  end, 
Wliat  is  man's  best  end  ?  Is  it  not  the 
complete  good  of  his  complete  nature, 
and  that  of  his  neighbour  ?  What  is  the 
best  means  of  gaining  it?  How  can  we 
know  in  the  first  instance  and  do  in  the 
second?  (1.)  By  insight?  Insight  has 
never  discovered  the  answer  to  these 
questions,  as  is  proved  by  heathenism. 
(2.)  By  learning  ?  Witness  the  moral 
degradation  which  preceded  the  down- 
fall of  the  wisest  nations  of  antiquity. 
(3.)  By  experience  ?  History  shows  that 
man,  except  under  Christian  conditions, 
has  never  enjoyed  such  experiences  as 
could  help  him  to  come  to  a  right  conclu- 
sion. (4.)  How  then  ?  By  that  temper  of 
mind  induced  by  the  fear  of  God  which 
leads  men  to  *'  love  the  Lord  their  God 
with  all  their  heart  and  soul,'^  &c. 

2.  True  piety ^  being  the  beginning  of 


wisdom,  grows  with  its  growth  and 
strengthens  with  its  strength.  Having 
the  true  wisdom  all  other  wisdom  follows 
in  its  train.  Fearing  God  (1)  /  shall 
st2idy  His  character.  That  character  is 
infinite.  Therefore  its  study  will  en- 
large my  mind,  train  it  for  prolonged 
and  patient  efforts,  for  deep  and  abstruse 
subjects,  secure  its  balance,  safety,  and 
sanctity.  (2)  /  shall  study  His  works. 
Hence  follows  all  science.  I  am  for- 
bidden to  investigate  nothing.  But  my 
fear  of  God  will  prevent  me  indulging 
in  unprofitable  speculations  and  push- 
ing my  researches  beyond  desirable 
limits,  (3)  /  shall  study  His  ways. 
All  history  is  open  to  me  ;  and  by  re- 
garding it  as  a  development  of  God's 
[)rovidence  I  shall  have  a  key  to  unlock 
its  mysteries  which  merely  humau  wis- 
dom would  not  afford  me.  All  politics 
are  open  to  me,  all  commercial  enter- 
prises, all  discoveries  and  explorations, 

3.   True  piety  is  the  harbinger  of  sue 
cess.     73^  would  appear  to  mean  the 

success  which  the  exercise  of  wisdom 
implies,  and  the  respect  which  wisdom 
commands.  (1.)  Those  who  fear  God 
and  keep  His  commandments  make  the 
best  of  both  worlds.  It  imjJies  pru- 
dence, as  translated  (2  Chron.  ii.  12), 
sense  (Neh.  viii.  8),  knowledge  (2  Chron, 
XX.  22),  policy  (Dan.  viii.  25).  (2.) 
They  gain  respect  and  esteem ;  not  the 
hypocrite,  but  the  truly  godly. 


Eternal  Praise. 


(Verse    10,   last   clause,) 


The  occasional  glimpses  which  we  get 
of  the  service  of  angelic  beings  in  the 
past  eternity  is  singularly  corroborative 
of  our  text.  *'  The  morning  stars  sang 
together,"  &c.  "  When  He  brought 
His  first-begotten  into  the  world  He 
saith.  Let  all  the  angels  of  God  wor- 
ship Him."  The  ample  revelations  of 
the  eternity  to  come  confirm  the  same. 
The  one  theme  upon  the  lips  of  un- 
fallen  beings  in  the  past,  and  unfallen 
and  redeemed  beings  in  the  present 
YOU  n.  ir 


and    future,    is    the     praise   of   God. 
Notice — 

I.  The  object  of  praise  is  eternal 
God  in  His  being  and  perfections  is 
ever  the  same. 

II,  The  subjects  for  praise  are 
eternal.  Man  has  always  been  re- 
ceiving benefits.  These  will  ever  be 
remembered  in  grateful  song.  For 
creation.  Rev.  iv.  11  ;  redemption^ 
Rev.  V.  9,  10.  For  benefits  that  will 
ever  accumulate,  Rev.  xxi.,  xxii. 

193 


fSALM  oxn. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


III.  The  worshippers   are   endowed  goodness.      The  heart  will  be  warmer 

with  "life  eternal"  (Rev.  iii.  2).       The  than  ever  in  its  gratitude  and  aflfection. 

mind  will  be  keener  than  ever  for  the  The  organs  of  praise  will  be  clearer  anc) 

appreciation  of  the  divine  wonders  and  more  powerful  than  ever. 


PSALM    CXIL 
Introduction. 

1,  An  alphabetical  and  hallelujah  Psalm.  2.  Author  unknown  ;  ascribed  by  Vulg.  to  Haggal 
and  Zachariah  after  the  exile.  3.  A  hymn  on  tlie  excellence  and  reward  of  piety.  4.  The 
concluding  verse  of  cxi.  and  the  first  verse  of  cxii.  form  the  point  of  union.  "  All  human 
righteousness  has  its  root  in  the  righteousness  of  God.  It  is  not  merely  man  striving  to  copy 
God  ;  it  is  God's  gift  and  God's  work.  There  is  a  living  connection  between  the  righteousness 
of  God  and  the  righteousness  of  man,  and  therefore  the  imperishahlenesa  of  the  one  pertains 
to  the  other  also." — Perownt. 


The  Charaoteristics  and  Blessedness  of  True  Heligion. 

(Verse  1.) 


This  verse  may  be  taken  as  a  text 
of  which  the  Psalm  is  an  exposition. 
True  religion  consists  of  (1)  Love  of 
God's  commandments,  (2)  Righteousness, 
(3)  Grace,  (4)  Compassion,  (5)  Discre- 
tion, (6)  Firm  Trust  in  God,  (7)  Bene- 
volence. Its  blessedness  involves  (1) 
The  superiority  of  the  offspring  of  the 
religious  man;  their  (2)  happiness, 
(3)  temporal  prosperity,  (4)  spiritual 
establishment,  (5)  everlasting  remem- 
brance, (6)  confidence.  In  contrast 
with  all  this  is  the  misery,  destruction, 
and  disappointment  of  the  vncked.  To 
restrict  ourselves  to  the  text,  notice — 

I.  The  characteristics  of  true 
religion. 

1.  The  ''fear  of  the  Lord:'  "  The 
Old  Testament  lays  great  stress  on  the 
fear  of  God.  Everywhere  it  is  the 
cardinal  virtue,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
saintly  temple — the  root  of  grace  out 
of  which,  if  it  be  fully  planted  in  a 
man's  heart,  all  the  other  graces,  all 
the  varied  fruits  of  righteousness,  will 
be  sure  to  grow." — G.  Vince.  This 
sentiment  is  peculiar  to  the  godly ; 
for  the  wicked  have  "  no  fear  of  God 
before  their  eyes."  It  is  not  a  dread 
of  consequences,  but  a  dread  of  sin  as 
alien  to  God  and  to  man  made  in  the 
image  of  God. 

2.  Great  delight  in  God's  command- 
ments. "All  that  fear  God  are  well 
pleased  that  there  is  a  Sible.  a  revela- 

194 


tion  of  God,  of  His  will,  and  of  the 
only  way  to  happiness  in  Him." — M, 
Henry. 

(1.)  Those  COMMANDMENTS  Warrant 
our  delight.  They  are  the  revelation  of  His 
will  who  is  the  subject  of  man's  filial  reve- 
rence, and  are  the  only  means  whereby 
the  well-being  of  man  may  be  secured. 

(2.)  The  STUDY  of  those  command- 
ments should  he  our  delight.  Their 
wisdom  and  suggestiveness  expands  the 
intellect ;  their  goodness  excites  the 
best  feelings ;  they  brace  the  will  by 
their  firm  and  resolute  sanctions,  they 
elevate  and  give  a  spiritual  tone  to  all 
the  faculties. 

(3.)  The  PRACTICE  of  those  command" 
ments  should  he  our  delight.  Their 
yoke  is  easy ;  their  duties  are  pleasures ; 
and  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  should 
be  written  of  the  servant  as  well  as  of 
his  Lord  :  "  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will, 
O  ray  God." 

3.  Divine  praise.  "Praise  ye  the 
Lord."  Fear  and  obedience  are  worth- 
less without  this  supreme  symptom  of 
love. 

II.  The  blessedness  of  true  religion. 
*'The    word  ''"li^i^  is   properly,  in    the 

plural  form,  blessednesses ;  or  may  be 
considered  as  an  exclamation  produced 
by  contemplating  the  state  of  the  man 
who  has  taken  God  for  His  portion. 
1.  God  made  man  for  happiness.  2. 
Every  man  feels  a   desire  to  he  happy. 


HOMlLETia  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS. 


PS1I.M  OXIL 


5.  All  human  beings  abhor  misery.  4. 
Happiness  is  the  grand  object  of  pursuit 
among  all  men.  5.  But  so  perverted  is 
the  human  heart  that  it  seeks  happiness 
where  it  cannot  be  found;  and  in  things 
which  are  naturally  and  morally  unfit 
to  communicate  it.     6.  The  true  way  of 


obtaining  it  is  here  laid  down." — A. 
Clarke.  Learn — (1.)  That  blessedness 
is  Ood's  gift.  (2.)  That  duty  is  God's 
path  to  blessedness.  (3.)  That  religion 
is  the  truest  blessedness,  because  it  involves 
relationship  with  God  and  fulfilment  of 
duty. 


The  Posthumous  Results  of  Religion. 


{Verse 

A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  Old  dis- 
pensation was  that  the  blessings  of  the 
righteous  were  also  the  inheritance  of 
their  children.  And  those  promises 
which  were  conferred  on  the  posterity 
of  the  righteous  Jew  have  not  only 
never  been  recalled,  but  are  among 
the  express  provisions  of  the  Christian 
covenant.  The  second  command  is  still 
unrepealed.  Isa.  xliv.  3  never  received 
its  fulfilment  till  Pentecost ;  cf  also 
Joel  ii.  28-32,  Acts  ii.  17.     Notice— 

I.  What  our  text  presupposes. 

1.  True  piety,  whicij,  consisting  as 
it  does  in  true  wisdom,  fearing  God, 
greatly  delighting  in  His  command- 
ments, and  praising  Him,  (1)  will, 
by  the  cultivation  of  healthy  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  qualities,  through 
the  well-known  law  of  heredity,  will 
transmit  the  same.  (2.)  Will  strive  to  pre- 
dispose the  child  to  the  choice  and  recep- 
tion of  piety.  A  good  parent  will  care- 
fully attend  to  the  circumstances  which 
surround  his  child,  shielding  him  from 
temptation,  and  facilitating  his  choice 
of  the  good,  at  home,  at  school,  in  the 
selection  of  a  profession,  <kc.  (3.)  Will 
*'  train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should 
go,''  **in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord ; "  will  not  neglect  things 
spiritual  in  favour  of  things  temporal ; 
will  strive  to  implant  the  fear  of  God, 
and  the  love  of  God's  commandments, 
on  the  plastic  character  wisely  and 
well ;  not  making  religious  exercises 
burdensome  but  delightful. 

2.  Firm  faith  that  God  will  help  and 
crown  its  efforts  with  success.  (1.)  It 
leans  on  the  divine  power.  It  will  pray, 
therefore,  for  the  continual  exercise  of 
that  power.  (2.)  It  relies  on  the  divine 
promises,  which  makes  it  hopeful  of  the 
result 


2.) 

3.  Patience,  (1.)  In  training.  A  child 

has  naturally  a  free  and  wayward  will. 
To  mould  that  will  requires  time  and 
perseverance.  {2.)  In  waiting  for  results. 
Seeds  do  not  germinate  all  at  once.  The 
good  seed  may  lie  dormant  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  the  wise  parent 
will  not  hurry  it. 

4.  The  possibility  of  failure  in  certain 
cases.  **  He  who  would  share  in  the 
blessings  of  pious  ancestors  must  follow 
after  their  faith." — Starke.  A  child 
may  be  proof  against  all  piety  and  care, 
in  which  case  the  divine  promises,  whick 
are  all  conditional,  will  not  be  fulfilled. 

II.  What  our  text  declares. 

1.  That  '^  his  seed  shall  be  mighty  in 
the  earth.''  (1.)  He  udll  act  upon 
mighty  principles.  He  will  "seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God,"  <fec.,  and  will 
exercise  his  father's  prudence,  patience, 
and  piety.  (2.)  He  will  overcome  mighty 
difficulties.  He  has  God  behind  him 
to  help  him  through  all  his  perplexities, 
over  all  his  impediments,  to  guide  him 
by  His  counsel,  and  assist  him  with  Hi* 
arm.  (3.)  Undaunted,  he  will  achievt 
mighty  successes.  Adopting  his  father's 
principles  he  will  win  victories  on  the 
field  of  mind;  he  will  rule  his  own 
spirit ;  and  be  "  not  slothful  in  busi- 
ness." (4.)  He  will  meld  a  mighty  in- 
fluence. He  will  excite  confidence.  His 
word  will  be  taken,  his  opinion  re- 
spected, his  patronage  courted,  his  ex- 
ample followed.  Knowing  the  value 
and  ^responsibility  of  his  principles  he 
will  propagate  them  in  his  family, 
society,  country  ;  and  neglect  no  oppor- 
tunity to  get  the  '*  Will  of  God  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  (5.) 
He  will  leave  behind  him  a  mighty  name. 

2.  They  shall  be  blessed.  AH  ths 
virtues  are  theirs, — Temperance,  purity; 

195 


ISALM  OXII. 


HOMILBTW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


that  diligence  which  makes  fat;  that 
prosperity  which  is  conducive  to 
spiritual  good.  All  moral  privileges 
are  theirs, — the  love  of  God,  the  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  indwelling 
and  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
means  of  grace,  the  hope  of  glory,  and 
perhaps  an  early  heaven. 
III.  What  our  text  implies. 

1.  TJmt  parents  have  a  control  over 
the  destiny  of  their  offspring.  If  parents 
do  not  put  *hese  revealed  laws  concern- 
ing their  children  into  operation,  let 
them  not  blame  God  or  fortune  for  the 
sad  result.  The  promises  still  hold  good; 
let  parents  plead  them,  and  employ  the 
means  of  securing  their  fulfilment. 

2.  That  as  the  result  is  in  the  hands 


of  God,  and  might  and  blessedness  His 
gifts,  let  not  parents  be  anxious  about 
the  result.  If  the  conditions  have  been 
fulfilled,  the  bread  cast  upon  the  waters 
will  return,  though  after  many  days. 
The  great  Augustine  is  a  case  in  point. 
(See  Confessions,  Book  III,  par.  19-21.) 
3.  That  children  incur  grave  re- 
sponsihilities  for  the  blessing  of  pious 
parents.  This  is  one  of  God's  choicest 
privileges.  Therefore  children  should 
yield  their  parents  (1)  Love  and  reve- 
rence^ (2)  Obedience.  "Honour  thy 
father  and  thy  mother "  is  the  first 
commandment  with  promise.  To  de- 
spise this  gift  is  to  forfeit  the  title  to  all 
the  rest. 


Pbospkrity  and  its  Qualifications. 
{Verse  Z.) 


It  has  been  said  that  prosperity  is  the 
blessing  of  the  Old  Testament  and  ad- 
versity of  the  New.     Nothing  could  be 
more    untrue.      The    New    Testament 
never  elevates   poverty  into   a  virtue. 
Its  poverty  is  that  of  spirit.     With  re- 
gard to  the  injunction  addressed  to  the 
young  ruler,  notice — (1)  Provision  for 
his  wants  would  have  been  made  ;  (2)  by 
his  poverty   many   would   be   enriched. 
Warnings  are  uttered  against  the  danger 
of  riches.     But  there  are  other  ways  of 
avoiding  danger  than  fleeing  from  it. 
It  is  dangerous  to  embark  on  the  ocean 
in   an   open    boat.     So  riches  without 
corresponding  protection  are  dangerous. 
Both  testaments  promise  this  protection. 
(Matt.  vi.  33 ;  Tim.  iv.  8.) 

I  What  is  prosperity?  This  de- 
mands a  large  definition.  The  miser  is 
not  i)rosperous,  nor  the  man  who  amasses 
wealth  and  does  not  know  what  to  do 
with  it,  or  uses  it  for  his  own  harm. 
To  be  prosperous  is  to  have  that  which 
will  promote  the  well-being  of  man's 
whole  nature  and  which  has  that  end 
secured.  Material,  moral,  and  intel- 
lectual wealth  and  its  results. 

II.  What  is  calculated  to  produce 

it?     The  Psalmist,  our  Lord,  and  St. 

Paul  are  at  one  as  to  the  qualification. 

"  Righteousness."     This  also  demands  a 

196 


large  definition.  It  is  not  profession, 
emotion,  or  devotional  exercises.  It  is 
the  harmony  of  a  man's  whole  nature 
with  the  will  of  God. 

1.  When  that  is  the  case,  a  man  is 
moderate,  temperate,  observant  of  natural 
laws,  and  (supposing  of  course  no  con- 
stitutional ailment)  therefore  healthy. 
Thus  righteousness  affords  a  physical 
basis  for  success. 

2.  He  holds  in  check  the  feverish  desire 
to  succeed,  and  thus  godliness  with  con- 
tentment becomes  great  gain.  Every 
day  affords  instances  that  making  haste  to 
be  rich  is  but  making  haste  to  pauperise 
the  health,  the  intellect,  or  the  soul. 

3.  He  holds  those  passions  in  check 
which  cloud  the  understanding  and  imr 
pair  the  vision.  He  avoids  all  excess, 
either  in  self -aggrandisement  or  self- 
indulgence;  the  first  of  which  dries 
up  the  sources  of  prosperity,  and  the 
second  of  which  throws  them  away. 
Righteousness  holds  the  golden  mean. 

4.  He  respects  the  rights  of  others. 
Hence,  those  whose  rights  you  respect, 
will  respect  yours.  No  one  cares  for 
him  who  cares  for  nobody.  While 
selfishness  is  everywhere  condemned 
and  scouted,  those  who  are  generous 
and  helpful  will  not  fail  to  find  the 
same  qualities  in  others. 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


MALM  OXn. 


5.  He  will  he  frugal  of  his  timey  his 
money,  <kc.,  in  recognition  of  God's 
claims  upon  both,  and,  as  God's  steward, 
will  put  them  out  to  usury,  and  strive 
to  be  prosperous,  that  he  may  advance 
God's  interests  in  the  world. 

III.  What  objections  can  be  urged 
against  all  this  ? 

1.  That  the  righteous  are  not  better 
off  than  others.  But  (1)  Do  those  who 
are  called  righteous  answer  to  the  law 
of  righteousness  in  its  entirety  ?  (2) 
Without  controversy  it  is  all  true  re- 
specting communities.  All  history  proves 
til  at  they  prosper  in  proportion  to  their 
righteousness.  Theatres,  taverns,  houses 
of  ill-fame,  never  exalted  a  nation. 
But  that  which  promotes  temperance 
and  industry  does,  and  that  is  righteous- 
ness. (3)  It  is  so  by  the  common  con- 
sent of  the  world.  How  often  do  we 
hear  the  expression  that  such  an  one  is 
"  worth  his  weight  in  gold." 

2.  That  men  prosper  who  violate  the 


laws  of  righteousness.  But  (1)  Are 
these  men  prosperous?  (2)  Supposing 
them  to  have  all  that  heart  could  wish, 
*'  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  f  "  &c.  (3) 
Supposing  it  true  of  an  individual, 
when  was  it  ever  true  of  a  nation  ?  Tc 
CONCLUDE — "  A  man  who  is  in  possession 
of  his  whole  manhood,  so  that  every 
part  is  developed  and  harmonised  and 
carried  up  into  a  beautiful  symmetry,  a 
perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus;  such  a 
man  is  better  adapted  to  develop  pros- 
perity than  any  other  man  in  a  lower 
sphere  can  be.  .  .  .  Manhood  as  con- 
templated by  the  Word  of  God  :  the 
Christian  character  made  up  of  all  ele- 
ments, largeness  of  soul,  wise  judgment, 
reverence  for  God  and  His  laws,  love 
to  man  and  kindly  sympathy,  belief  in 
divine  providence,  hope  of  immortality, 
judgment  of  earthly  values  by  the 
golden  rod  of  the  sanctuary ;  all  these 
elements  form  a  sure  basis  for  prosperity 
in  the  world." — H,  W,  Beechcr. 


Light  :  to  Whom  and  Whbn  ? 
(Versed.) 


Light  and  darkness,  as  symbols 
of  moral  conditions,  are  of  frequent 
use  in  Holy  Scripture.  "  God  is 
light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at 
alL'*  The  process  of  conversion  is  "from 
darkness  into  light."  The  wicked  **  love 
darkness,"  <fec.  The  righteous  '*  walk  in 
the  light,"  &c.  These  figures  have  pecu- 
liar force  in  the  East,  where  the  light  of 
day  is  splendid,  and  the  darkness  of  night 
intense.  These  illustrations  are  genially 
descriptive.  There  are  breaks  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  most  depraved,  or  their  lot 
would  be  hopeless.  There  are  clouds 
resting  on  the  most  pious,  or  their  proba- 
tion would  be  at  an  end.     Our  text 

I.  Characterises  those  to  whom  it 
applies.  Not  the  perfectly  sinless,  but 
the  upright.  The  figure  is  appropriate. 
Light  descends,  and  those  who  stand  erect 
are  the  most  likely  to  catch  its  rays. 
The  morally  upright  are  those  whose 
posture  is  straight,  elevated  towards  God 
and  towards  heaven.  Their  attitude, 
therefore,  is  most  calculated  to  catch  the 
beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness.     1. 


They  are  upright  in  heart  (Ps.  xcviL  1). 
Their  desires  and  emotions  are  pure.  2. 
They  are  upright  in  mind ;  candid,  un- 
prejudiced, welcoming  light  from  all 
quarters.  3.  They  are  upright  in  will; 
inflexible,  just.  4.  They  are  upright 
in  life ;  examples,  models,  guides. 

II.  Implies  that  those  whom  it  charac- 
terises have  their  seasons  of  darkness. 

1.  The  character  of  this  darkness.  (1) 
Religious  perplexity.  Temptation  to 
doubt  God's  providence,  promises,  and 
word.  The  mysteries  of  life,  duty,  and 
destiny  will  sometimes  press  upon  the 
mind  and  dim  the  clearness  of  its  vision. 
(2)  Domestic  trials,  bereavements,  sick- 
nesses, disaflfections,  difficulties  respecting 
the  education  and  prospects  of  children 
will  sometimes  cast  a  gloom  upon  the 
heart.  (3)  Business  anxieties,  duties, 
failures,  (4)  the  sense  of  personal  sinful- 
ness, and  (5)  slander,  misrepresentation, 
and  persecution  will  overcast  the  soul. 

2.  The  purpose  of  this  darkness.  Being 
abnormal,  and  yet  of  divine  ordination, 
there  must  be  some  reason  for  it.     (1.) 

197 


FSALM  oxn.  ffOMTLETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


It  is  merciful.     Night  is  a  necessary  ad-  ness  in  the  darkness  of  sin ;  the  light  of 

junct  to  day.     The  eye  cannot  bear  the  divine  comfort  in  the  darkness  of  sorrow, 

unclouded  lustre  of  the  sun.     (2.)  It  is  the  light  of  revelation  in  the  darkness  of 

disciplinary.     The  repose  of  the  eyelids  perplexity.       "  They  shall  be  delivered 

during  night  prepares  for  the  strain  of  in  due  time  and  perhaps  when  they  least 

daylight.    (3.)  It  is  testing.   Darkness  is  expect  it ;  when  the  night  is  <larkest  the 

a  trial  of  our  faith  in  God,  <fec.  day  dawns ;  nay,  at  evening  time,  when 

in.  Declares  that,  to  those  it  charac-  night  was  looked  for,  it  shall  be  light." 

terises,  light  ariseth  in  the  darkness.  — M.  Henry, 

1.  Observe,  light  ariseth  in  the  darkness.  In  CONCLUSION,    (i.)  The  upright  have 

It  was  so  with  our  Lord,  Luke  xxxii.  43  ;  all  their  darkness  here  and  mitigations 

St.  Paul,  2  Cor.  xii.  8-10.     In  neither  even  of  that,  hut  they  travel  to  a  land  of 

case  was  the  darkness  entirely  removed,  perfect  light.  i\\.)  The  perverse  and  crooked 

There  was  enough  light,  but  not  super-  have  darkness  too,  hut  enough  illumination 

abundant.  to  lead  them,  to  perfect  light,   neglecting 

2.  But   it   is   light  in  the  darkness,  which,  it  gradually  fades  into  outer  dark- 
There  is  the  light  of  innocence  in  the  ness, 
darkness  of  slander ;  the  light  of  f  orgive- 

The  Attributes  op  the  Upright. 
{Verse  4,  second  clause,) 

The  upright  will  be  able  to  bend  with-  tical  and   develops   into   actiye   mercy 

out  breaking.     Like   true  steel,  pliant  and  benevolent  generosity. 

enough  to  accomplish  its  purpose  with-  II.  Yet  the  upright  maintain  their 

out  injury  to  its  temper.  integrity.     They  love,  but  it  is  the  love 

1.  The  upright  bend,  of  dignity  and  righteousness. 

1.  In   graciousness.       They   are   not  Illustration, 

distant,  cold,   haughty,  harsh  in   their  1.  When  the  Queen  visited  the  London 

judgments,  or  critical  in  their  estimates.  Hospital,   a   poor   little    Irish    girl   ex- 

They  are  ready  to  consider  all  cases  of  pressed  a  wish  to  see  her.     Her  Majesty 

need,  and  in  such  a  spirit  as  shall  not  went  and  encouraged  the  child  by  words, 

deprive  their  benevolence  of  all  value.  and  smiles,  and  gifts.     Did  she  lose  her 

It  will  be  a  bending  that  does  not  seem  dignity   by  so    doing  1      Far   from   it, 

to  bend ;  a  stooping  of  genial  familiarity,  majesty  there  bent  in  the  right  direo- 

*'  seeking  not  its  own.'*  tion. 

2.  In  compassion.  The  proud  see  no  2.  When  "  God  so  loved  the  world " 
misery.  The  upright  stoop  that  they  did  He  drag  His  justice  in  the  dust? 
may  see  it,  and  pity  as  they  see.  In  Nay,  His  justice  bent  to  provide  justifi- 
that  position  compassion  becomes  prac-  cation  for  the  sinner. 

The  Golden  Mean. 

(Verse  5.) 

The  golden  mean  is  much  needed  in  showeth  favour  and  lendeth,  he  main- 

those  matters  which  concern  justice  on  taineth    his    cause    in    the  judgment," 

the    one   hand    and  generosity  on  the  showing  that  the  golden   mean   is  the 

other.      How  to   do  good  with  money,  happy  medium  and  the  golden  rule,  and 

time,  influence,   <fec.,  without  inflicting  that  an  upright  man  will  not  show  such 

an  injustice  on  self  and  injury  on  others  favour,  <kc.,  as  will   bring  down   upon 

is    often    perplexing.        The     Psalmist  him  the  disapprobation  of  the  just.     Our 

shows    that    it    is    possible    to    "  show  text  teaches  us — 

favour  and  lend,"  and  yet  "  guide  one's  1.    That    such    circumstances  will 

aff'airs  with  discretion."     An  alternative  arise  as  to  need  and  justify  favour 

translation  is,  **  Happy  is  the  man  that  and  loans.    All  are  liable  to  reverses  of 
198 


HOMILETIO  COMME^TART:  PSALMB, 


TCALM  OZII. 


fortune.  The  sudden  failure  of  a  cre- 
ditor, the  dishonesty  of  a  subordinate, 
ill  health,  family  bereavement,  may  put 
any  man  in  circumstances  that  require  a 
temporary  loan. 

II.  That  that  man  is  happy  who  so 
guides  his  affairs  as  to  he  able  wisely 
to  afford  those  favours  and  loans. 

1.  Happiness  will  spring  from  the 
possession  of  those  things  which  makes 
this  possible.  It  presupposes  in  the 
lender  comfort  and  affluence,  which 
have  been  the  result  of  honesty,  dili- 
gence, and  frugality. 

2.  Happiness  will  spring  from  the 
disposition  to  show  favour  and  lend. 
"  Mercy 

is  twice  blessed, 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes." 

III.  That  that  man  is  happy  who 
can  so  guide  his  affairs  as  to  do  good 
and  no  evil  by  his  favours  and  loans. 

1.  It  is  no  small  source  of  misery  all 
round  when  a  man  through  a  benevolence 
has  done  harm.  He  is  a  loser  himself,  and 
his  self-denial  has  been  used  for  unworthy 
ends  ;  and  thus  good  becomes  evil  spoken 
of,  and  charity  brought  into  disrepute. 


2.  It  %9  no  smaU  eaute  for  satisfac- 
tion where  beneficence  secures  good  and 
profitable  ends.  It  will  secure  (1)  In- 
dividual gratitude;  (2)  The  benediction 
of  heaven;  (3)  The  approbation  of  the 
good.  Learn  (i.)  That  generosity  should 
be  the  outcome  of  a  careful  consideration 
of  means.  As  God  hates  robbery  for 
burnt-offering,  we  may  be  sure  that  He 
is  displeased  with  the  charitable  use  of 
other  people's  money,  (ii.)  That  gene- 
rosity should  be  the  result  of  a  careful 
study  of  the  merits  of  the  case.  To  en- 
courage the  professional  beggar  or  the 
vicious  person  were  sorry  work  indeed, 
(iii.)  That  generosity  should  be  exhibited 
in  a  discreet  and  just  way.  To  entrust 
money  to  the  needy  but  improvident 
or  careless,  is  to  waste  it.  Actual  need 
may  be  relieved  by  gifts  in  kind  or  the 
proffer  of  employment,  (iv.)  But  let  no 
man  screen  himself  behind  the  dictum^ 
^*Just  before  generous"  so  as  to  be  neither. 
The  good  man  will  seek  for  oppor- 
tunities, (v.)  Woe  unto  the  man  who 
seeth  his  brother  in  need  and  shvtteth  up 
his  bowels  of  compassion  against  him. 


The  Stabiutt  and  Memory  of  the  Righteous. 

{Versed.) 


Only  that  which  is  stable  is  memor- 
able. Monuments  which  crumble  are 
poon  forgotten.  Memorials  are  built  of 
durable  materials.  So  the  good  man 
standing  firm  on  unmovable  founda- 
tions will  be  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance. 

I.  The  Stability  of  the  righteous. 

1 .  He  rests  upon  immovable  foundor 
tions.  God  and  His  righteousness,  love, 
and  power. 

2.  On  that  foundation  he  maintains 
a  steady  course.  He  is  not  tossed 
about.  He  stands  *' foursquare  to  every 
wind  that  blows." 

3.  From  that  foundation  he  hurls 
with  steady  aim.  He  does  not  sin 
(a/Acccr/a),  and  thus  miss  the  mark  of 
his  high  calling. 

II.  The  memory  of  the  righteous. 
They  shall  be  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance, because — 


1.  They  are  stable^  and  therefore 
endure  (Ps.  i.  1-3). 

2.  They  are  made  of  enduring  mor 
terials.  Highteousness  and  goodness, 
like  charity,  can  "never  fail." 

3.  They  are  worth  remembering.  "The 
world  has  no  interest  in  keeping  up  the 
memory  of  bad  men,  and,  as  soon  as  it 
can  be  done,  hastens  to  forget  them. 
Wicked  men  are  remembered  only  when 
their  deeds  are  enormous,  and  then  their 
memory  is  cherished  only  to  admonish 
and  to  warn.  The  world  has  no  interest 
in  keeping  up  the  memory  of  Benedict 
Arnold,  or  Alexander  VI.,  or  Ciesar 
Borgia,  except  to  warn  future  genera- 
tions of  the  guilt  and  baseness  of  treason 
and  profligacy.  It  has  an  interest  in 
never  suffering  the  names  of  Howard, 
Wilberforce,  Henry  Martyn  to  die,  for 
these  names  excite  to  noble  feelings 
and  to  noble  efforts  wherever  they  are 

199 


rsALM  oxn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


kuown." — Barnes,  They  are  held  in 
grateful  remembrance;  in  instructive 
remembrance,  examples,  <fec. ;  in  celestial 
remembrance,  for  in  heaven  they  re- 
ceive "  a  crown  of  glory  that  shall  never 
fade  away." 


But  strew  his  ashes  to  the  wind, 

Whose  sword  or  voice  has  served  mankind. 

And  is  he  dead,  whose  glorious  mind  lifts 

thine  on  high  ? 
To  live  in  hearts  we  leave  behind  is  not  to 

die." 


Fearlessness,  Fixedness,  and  Faith. 

{Verse  7.) 


Three  great  and  closely  allied  quali- 
ties, always  needed  and  always  the 
heritage  of  God's  people.  The  three 
stand  or  fall  together.  Where  there  is 
fear  there  is  no  fixity;  and  where  there 
is  no  fixity  there  is  no  faith.  But  he 
who  has  a  strong  faith  in  God,  will  not 
fear  "though  mountains  be  removed," 
(fee.  (Ps.  xlvi.  1-5). 

I.  Fearlessness  consists — 

1.  In  not  being  afraid  of  evil  tidings 
before  they  come.  The  fearless  man  has 
no  carkiiig  care,  or  harassing  anxieties. 
He  will  wait  patiently  and  courageously 
till  evils  arrive  before  he  pronounces 
them  fearful  (Matt.  vi.  34). 

2.  In  not  being  afraid  of  evil  tidings 
when  they  come^  but  a  manful  determina- 
tion to  make  the  best  of  them.  The 
fearless  man  will  face  them,  examine 
them,  and  conquer  them. 

3.  In  not  being  afraid  of  evil  tidings 
after  they  have  come.  The  fearless  man 
does  not  fear  consequences,  but  carves 
a  new  career  out  of  misfortune,  and 
educes  good  out  of  evil. 

n.  Fearlessness  is  impossible  with- 
out fixedness.  Fear  is  trepidation, 
wavering,  retreat.  Fearlessness  implies 
settledness  and  steadfastness.  Fixed- 
ness is— 

1.  A  steady  preparation  to  meet  pos- 
sible fears;  a  concentration  and  con- 
solidation of  forces  around  weak  points 
tliat  may  be  attacked,  a  gathering  up  of 
solidity  and  strength.  Q\xv  faith  may  be 
attacked  :  let  us  examine  its  evidences, 
and  purge  its  weaknesses,  and  fortify 
ourselves  with  irrefutable  arguments. 
Our  virtue:  let  us  surround  it  with 
impregnable  fortifications.  Our  intel- 
ligence: let  us  brace  it  by  healthful 
200 


thought  and  reading.  Our  property: 
let  us  by  prudence  and  diligence  pre- 
pare. 

2.  A  strong  determination  to  resist 
the  shock  of  evil  when  it  comes,  "  None 
of  these  things  move  me,"  said  Paul. 
"  A  man  who  has  not  learned  to  say 

*  no ' — who  is  not  resolved  that  he  will 
take  God's  way  in  spite  of  every  dog 
that  can  bay  or  bark  at  him,  in  spite  of 
every  silvery  voice  that  woos  hira  aside, 
will  be  a  weak  and  a  wretched  man  till 
he  dies.  .  .  .  Whoever  lets  himself  be 
shaped  and  guided  by  anything  lower 
than  an  inflexible  will,  fixed  in  obedience 
to  God,  will  in  the  end  be  shaped  into 
a  deformity  and  guided  to  wreck  and 
ruin.  .  .  .  We  need  a  wholesome  ob- 
stinacy in  the  right,  that  will  be  neither 
bribed,   nor  coaxed,   nor   bullied.  .  .  , 

*  Whom  resist  steadfast  in  the  faith.'  '* — 
Maclaren. 

III.  No  fixedness  without  faith. 
"  There  is  no  stability  and  settled  per- 
sistency of  righteous  purpose  possible 
for  us,  unless  we  are  made  strong,  be- 
cause we  lay  hold  of  God's  strength, 
and  stand  firm  because  we  are  rooted  in 
Him.  Without  that  hold,  we  shall  ba 
swept  away  by  storms  of  calamity  oi 
gusts  of  passion.  Without  that  .... 
there  will  not  be  solidity  enough  in  our 
character.  ...  To  stand  amidst  .  .  . 
earthquakes  and  storms  we  must  be 
built  upon  the  rock,  and  build  rocklike 
upon  it.  Build  thy  strength  upon  God." 
— Maclaren. 

This  faith  is  exercised — (1.)  In  the 
divine  existence,  power,  goodness,  and 
promise.  (2.)  In  our  own  God-given 
strength.  (3.)  In  our  ultimate  victory 
(1  John  V.  4,  5). 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


F8ALM  OrU. 


The  Need,  Succour,  and  Triumph  of  the  Soul. 

(  Verse  8.) 


I.  The  soul  in  need. 

1.  The  soul  needs  support  in  times  of 
weakness.  It  is  like  the  body,  debilitated, 
when  out  of  health.  Physical  conditions, 
circumstances,  temptations,  sometimes 
engender  spiritual  weakness,  and  make 
the  soul  cry  out  for  some  support. 

2.  The  soul  needs  help  in  times  of  ex- 
haustion. Its  strenuous  efforts  against 
its  many  foes  frequently  exhaust  it. 
Those  foes  are  strong,  relentless,  vigi- 
lant. The  soul  must  be  recruited  by 
forces  outside  itself,  or  it  will  fail, 

3.  The  soul  needs  protection  in  time 
of  danger.  There  are  some  tempta- 
tions which  we  must  resist;  some 
against  which  resistance  is  unavailing. 
Our  only  chance  in  this  latter  case  is  a 
strong  refuge,  or  a  powerful  auxiliary. 

II.  The  soul  succoured.  "He  shall 
not  be  afraid,"  Weakness,  helpless- 
ness, and  danger  will  engender  fear. 
Courage  will  be  stimulated  by  timely 
succour.  Such  succour  is  afforded  by 
God. 

1.  God  is  tJie  secret  of  the  soul's 
strength.  When  in  weakness  and  de- 
bility, let  the  soul  flee  to  Him.  He 
has  promised  to  "  heal  our  sicknesses." 
He  is  the  '^health  of  our  countenance." 


"  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,"  Ac; 
And  with  strength  will  come  fearles* 
ness. 

2.  God  is  the  support  of  the  soul  in 
times  of  exhaustion.  *'  My  flesh  and 
my  heart  faileth,"  (fee.  "  Come  unto  Me, 
all  ye  that  are  weary,"  <fec.  "  God  is  a 
very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble." 
"  Greater  is  He  that  is  for  you,"  <fec. 
And,  conscious  of  the  upholding  of  Om- 
nipotence, all  fear  will  flee. 

3.  God  is  the  refuge  of  the  soul  in 
times  of  danger,  '*  The  Lord  God  is  a 
....  shield."  "  The  name  of  the  Lord 
is  a  strong  tower,"  &c. 

III.  The  soul  triumphing.  "  Until 
he  see  his  desire  upon  his  enemies." 

1.  God  has  promised  not  only  timely 
succour,  hut  ultimate  victory.  He  has 
promised,  '*  grace  to  help,"  that  "  we 
shall  withstand  in  the  evil  day,"  that 
we  shall  "  overcome  a^/,"  and  to  "  give 
us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

2.  That  victory  shall  he  complete. 
We  shall  come  off  "  more  than  con- 
querors," and  have  "  an  abundant  en- 
trance." Difficulties,  doubts,  sin,  Satan, 
and  death  shall  be  beaten  down  under 
our  feet." 


Liberality. 
{Verse  9.) 


There  is  a  great  deal  of  pseudo- 
liberality.  Reckless  almsgiving,  need- 
less charity,  and  benevolences  from  an 
unwilling  heart,  are  not  genuine  libera- 
lity. That  must  have  righteousness 
for  its  basis,  need  for  its  object,  and 
usefulness  for  its  end.  The  Christian 
law  is  based  upon  this  (2  Cor.  ix. 
6-15). 

I.  True  liberality  must  have  right- 
eousness for  its  basis,  and  constant 
righteousness,  i.e.y  not  righteousness 
and  favouritism  mixed. 

1.  It  must  proceed  from  a  righteous 
motive — not  to  secure  praise,  &c.,  as  the 
hypocrites. 


2,  It  must  he  done  in  the  right  way, 
i.e,  on  a  just  principle  of  selection, 
which  implies  investigation  ;  by  a  just 
method — loans,  when  loans  would  be 
helpful ;  money,  clothes,  employment, 
food,  as  the  case  may  require. 

II.  True  liberality  must  have  need 
for  its  object. 

1.  Not  (1)  Sloth,  (2)  Drunkenness, 
(3)  The  misery  of  vice.     But 

2.  Beal  poverty.  (1.)  The  tempo- 
rarily distressed.  These  are  frequently 
the  most  needy  and  the  most  worthy, 
and  require  the  most  righteousness 
to  find  out  and  relieve.  (2.)  Widoivs 
and   orphans.     (3.)  Charitable  instiiu- 

201 


rSALM  cxn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


tions.     (4.)   Those  depending  upon  us.  IV.  True  liberality  will  have  success 

To  neglect  them    is   worse   than  infi-  and  honour  as  its  reward.     All  expe- 

delity.  rience  shows  generosity  to  be  the  best 

ni.  True  liberality  must  have  use-  policy.     Both   have   been   tried.      The 

fulness   for  its  end.      "  He  hath  dis-  miser  is  not  only  not  really  enriched,  but 

persed."      St.  Paul  (2  Cor.   ix.  6-15)  positively  impoverished.    *'  Horn"  is  the 

applies  it  in  the  sense  of  seed-sowing.  symbol  of  power  and  influence. 

Liberality    contemplates   a   harvest   of  1.   The  liberal  man  vrill  be  enriched  by 

usefulness.  the  blessing  of  God,     He  scatters  only  to 

1.  God  has  made  us  treasurers  of  His  increase.  "  The  very  act  of  scattering 
bounty.  He  has  not  given,  only  entrusted  breaks  up  the  mastery  of  selfishness,  en- 
to  us  for  special  purposes  what  we  have.  larges  the  circle  of  kindly  interests,  shows 
A  "  man  has  made  a  sovereign  honestly;  that  there  is  something  in  the  world 
it  is  his  in  point  of  fair  service,  by  what  beyond  our  own  personal  concerns.  It 
is  called  right.  If  he  wills  it  away,  or  were  better  therefore  for  man,  better  as 
spends  it  on  himself,  or  keeps  it,  he  vio-  a  discipline,  better  for  his  heart,  better 
lates  no  law,  .  .  .  Yet  he  says  in  effect,  for  every  quality  that  is  worth  having, 
'  The  money  is  mine,  but  I  myself  am  that  a  man  should  throw  some  of  his 
not  my  own.  I  have  no  property  in  my-  money  into  the  river  than  that  he  should 
self.  I  am  God's  agent.  I  have  given  never  give  anything  away.  .  ,  .  Even 
society  an  equivalent  for  this  sovereign  ;  if  a  man  should  get  nothing  back  '*  he 
but  the  strength  and  skill  by  which  always  increases  in  heart  volume,  in  joy, 
I  gained  it  are  the  gifts  of  God.  I  will  in  love,  in  peace  ;  his  cup  of  comfort  is 
hold  what  I  have  as  Christ's.  Holding  sweetened,  he  walks  on  a  greener  earth, 
it  so,  I  instantly  yield  it  at  His  call,  and  looks  up  to  God  through  a  bluer 
saying,  *'  Thine  is  to  right."  *  " — Dr,  J.  sky.  Beneficence  is  its  own  compensation, 
Parker.  Charity  empties  the  heart  of  one  gift  that 

2.  That  purpose  is  useful  dispersion,  it  may  make  room  for  a  larger.  *  Give 
(1.)  A  timely  gift  to  a  poor  man  will  and  it  shall  be  given  you,  good  measure, 
enable  him  to  weather  the  storm  and  shaken  together,  and  running  over.' 
start  afresh.  (2.)  A  seasonable  donation  '  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat,'  <fcc." 
to  a  charitable  society  will  be  a  means  of  — Dr.  J.  Parker, 

boundless  usefulness.  (3.)  Ample  pro-  2.  His  ^^  horn  shall  be  exalted"  in  the 
vision  for  those  depending  upon  us  will  estimation  of  mankind.  Who  is  it  that 
enable  them  to  follow  out  and  multiply  the  world  delights  to  honour]  the  Bona- 
our  own  schemes  of  usefulness.  True  partes  and  the  Rothschilds,  or  the  Pea- 
liberality  will  plant  roses  in  the  desert,  bodys  and  the  Wilberforces  1  Learn — 
and  turn  the  wilderness  into  the  gar-  (i.)  That  selfishness  is  a  bad  policy,  (ii.) 
den  of  the  Lord.  Barren  wastes  will  Thdt  liberality  extends  not  only  to  moneys 
smile  with  genial  harvests,  and  solitary  but  to  time^  life,  influence,  and  work, 
places  will  be  made  glad. 

The  Wicked  Spirit. 
(Verse  10.) 

Our  text  is  a  most  admirable  exposi-  L  The  character  of  the  wicked,   yit^l 

tion   of  what  is  termed  the  "bad"  or  would  seem    to   signify  one  who  lies'in 

"  wicked '    spirit.     No   tendency  meets  ^^i^,  a  mischievous  and  injurious  person, 

with  more  emphatic  condemnation  than  ^nd    an    oppressor.       Hence    the    main 

that  which   sets  m  the  direction  of  re-  p^ij^ts    in    his    character   are  craft  and 

gret  and   annoyance  at   the    well-being  cruelty.    "  Sin  "  and  so  the  sinner,  "  like 

of  others.     Those  who  are  the  subjects  ^  ravenous  beast,  as  crafty  as  it  is  cruel, 

of  such    feelings    may    well   be   styled  jg  crouching  outside  the  door,  .  .  .  only 

wicKea.  waiting  for  opportunity  to  be  given  to 
202 


HOMILETW  COMMENTART :  PSALMS. 


FIALMOZIL 


spring  in  and  devour." — Samuel  Cox, 
(Ps.  xxxvii.  12.) 

II.  The  inspection  of  the  wicked. 

"  Shall  see."  ni^*),  to  see  critically. 

T       T 

1.  The  wicked  look  carefully  for  every- 
thing that  is  had.  They  would  if  they 
could  be  blind  to  everything  that  is  good. 
They  are  keen  hunters  for  slips,  discre- 
pancies, and  falls. 

2.  The  wicked,  however,  find  everything 
that  is  good.  They  are  compelled  by 
their  very  search  for  inconsistencies  to 
gee  the  true  character  of  the  righteous. 
When  they  slander  him,  plunder  him, 
and  do  all  manner  of  harm  to  him,  he 
returns  good  for  evil.  These  are  but  so 
many  opportunities  for  his  righteousness, 
stability,  compassion,  and  trust  in  God, 
and  so  many  coals  of  fire  for  his  enemies' 
heads. 

III.  The  disappointment  of  the 
wicked. 

1.  It  is  twofold,  (1.)  At  not  finding 
what  they  wish  to  find.  (2.)  At  finding 
the  exact  opposite  of  what  they  wish  to 
and.     E.g.  Balak. 

2.  It  is  intense.  (1.)  It  takes  the 
form  of  vexation.  Their  machinations 
have  been  frustrated,  and  instead  of 
working  evil  their  worst  attempts  have 
worked  together  for  good.     (2.)  It  takes 


thefcyrm  of  furious  hut  ineffectual  vjrath. 
"Gnash  their  teeth"  (Ps.  xxxv.  16, 
xxxvii.  11). 

IV.  The  fate  of  the  wicked.  "  Shall 
melt  away."  Instead  of  calamity  falling 
on  the  righteous  it  falls  upon  them. 
The  figure  is  very  expressive  and  is  often 
used. 

1.  In  Ps.  Iviii.  7,  they  are  described 
as  melting  away  <w  "  waters  which  run 
continually"  i.e.,  running  to  waste  in 
the  sand  or  evaporated  by  the  sun.  So 
the  wicked  waste  away  physically,  intel- 
lectually, morally. 

2.  In  Ps.  Iviii.  8,  they  are  like  ''the 
snail  which  melteth  away,"  (See  Tris- 
tram's Natural  History,  p.  295,  for  pecu- 
liarities of  snails  in  the  East.)  '^The 
heat  often  dries  them  up  by  a  long 
continued  drought,  or  by  the  sun's  rays 
penetrating  into  their  holes."  So  all 
the  resources  of  the  wicked  shall  be 
dried  up. 

3.  In  Ps.  Ixviii.  2,  they  are  likened 
to  '^melting  wax ;  "  so  they  form  no  real 
obstacle  to  the  good. 

(i.)  A  word  of  warning.  (1.)  ''Be 
vigilant,'^  dec.  (2.)  Beware  lest  you  give 
the  enemy  an  occasion  for  his  spirit,  (ii.) 
A  word  of  comfort.  "No  weapon  that 
is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper,"  &c. 


The  Desire  of  the  Wicked. 
{Verse  10,  last  clause,) 


The  Bible  is  full  of  statements  and 
illustrations  of  the  instability  of  sin. 
The  righteous  stand — are  held  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance,  while  the  wicked 
are  tossed  about,  moved  from  their 
foundations,  and  finally  melt  away. 
The  text  points  out  the  perishable 
character  of  the  desire  of  the  wicked. 
That  desire  perishes — 

1.  Because  it  is  selfish.  It  breeds  so 
to  speak  in  and  in,  and  thus  first  vitiates 
and  then  destroys  production.  This  is 
illustrated  by  the  fate  of  innumerable 
cravings.  The  lust  for  gain,  drink,  &c., 
literally  dies  out,  and  becomes  a  morbid 
habit  which  is  never  satisfied.  So  the 
soul  that  is  greedy  of  the  reputation  of 
the  righteous  shall  not  be  satisfied  not- 
withstanding all  it  may  get. 


II.  Because  it  has  nothing  to  fall 
back  upon  in  case  of  disappointment. 

The  righteous,  if  disappointed  in  a  given 
end,  have  always  the  desire  for  duty 
and  God's  glory  to  fall  back  upon,  and 
thus  they  have  a  continual  source  of 
satisfaction.  On  the  contrary,  the  frus- 
tration of  wicked  schemes  ends  in  utter 
despair. 

III.  Because  it  has  no  resources  on 
which  to  rely.  The  desire  of  the 
righteous  is  supported  by  God,  con- 
science, and  humanity.  That  of  the 
wicked  only  by  feeble  and  unsubstantial 
self.  Their  colleagues  only  afford  assist- 
ance up  to  a  given  point. 

IV.  Because  set  on  unsatigfactory 
objects.  Those  objects  are  sinful,  and, 
as  James  says,  *'  Desire^  when  it  has  con- 

203 


PSALM  cQun. 


HOMILBTW  COMMBNTART:  PSALMS. 


ceived,  bringeth  forth  sin ;  and  sin,  when  This  favour  rests  upon  the  desire  of  the 

it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death."  good ;  but  turned  away  from  the  wicked 

V.  Because   the    frown    of    God   is  their  "desires  perisli." 
npon  it.     Desire  can   only  live  under  In  CONCLUSION  (Is.  zzix.  8). 

the  smile  and  with  the  favour  of  God. 


PSALM    CXIIL 

InTRODUCTIONc 

1.  Another  of  the  Hallelujah  Pgalms.  2.  Date  and  authorship  unknown.  8.  The  first  of 
six  Psalms  in  the  Jewish  liturg^y  (cxiii.-cxyiii.)  termed  Hallel,  or  the  Egyptian  Haliel,  as 
distinguished  from  the  great  Hallel.  "  This  Psalm  continued  to  be  reciied  while  the  temple 
stood,  and  is  still  recited  in  Palestine  eighteen  times  a  year,  apart  from  its  customary,  though 
not  legal  use,  at  the  new  moon.  Outside  of  Palestine  it  is  now  yearly  recited  twenty-one  times. 
.  .  .  At  the  family  celebration  of  the  Passover  Psalms  cxiii.  and  cxiv.  were  sung  before 
the  meal,  and  indeed  before  the  emptying  of  the  second  cup«  and  the  others  after  the  meal,  and 
after  the  filling  of  the  fourth  cup." — Moll, 


A  NoBLB  People  and  a  Noble  Seryiob. 
(Verse  1.) 


Nobility  consists  in  those  endowments 
which  render  the  possessors  worthy  of 
honour.  Nobility  of  service  consists  in 
the  consecration  of  those  endowments 
to  the  best  being,  for  the  best  ends. 
This  is  nowhere  fully  the  case  except  in 
the  service  of  God. 

I.  The  servants  of  God  are  a  noble 
people.  All  God's  servants  are  noble- 
men. Abraham,  Moses,  Caleb,  Job, 
Isaiah,  Zerubbabel,  and  the  promised 
Messiah,  God  speaks  of  as  "  My  ser- 
vants." Christ's  designation  of  Him- 
self is,  '*  I  am  among  you  as  one  that 
serveth."  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Darius 
saw  that  Daniel  and  the  three  Hebrew 
youths  were  "  servants  of  God."  Paul, 
Peter,  Timothy,  James,  and  Jude  called 
themselves  servants  of  God.  All  Israel 
was  such  ideally  ;  all  Christians  are  so 
actually. 

1.  God's  servant  realises  the  noblest  and 
most  perfect  ideal  of  life.  (1.)  Some  men 
live  for  pleasure.  (2.)  Some  for  intel- 
lectual effort.  (3.)  Some  for  moral  ex- 
cellence. (4.)  But  God's  servants  live 
for  Him.  And  here  they  have  what 
they  can  never  otherwise  have,  a  power- 
ful motive  for  virtue,  full  mental  cul- 
ture, and  all  legitimate  enjoyment,  for 
the  education  and  completion  of  their 
whole  being,  hence  God's  service  is  the 
noblest  ideal  of  life. 
204 


2i  God^s  servants  have  the  noblest 
master.  It  ennobles  the  proudest  peer 
in  the  land  to  be  in  the  service  of  his 
sovereign. 

3.  God's  servants  yield  to  the  noblest 
claims.  '*  I  have  made  thee  for  My- 
self." This  was  not  based  upon  any 
merit  in  us,  but  upon  His  free  love  and 
mercy.  And  therefore  God's  claims 
rest — (1.)  Upon  the  right  of  property. 
We  have  rights  over  the  products  of  our 
hand  and  brain.  So  has  God.  (2.) 
Upon  the  right  of  sustenance  and  pre- 
servation. The  basest  ingratitude  is 
that  which  ignores  the  right  of  those  to 
whose  generosity  we  owe  our  all.  (3.) 
Upon  the  right  of  redemption.  Note 
the  price  by  which  it  was  effected,  the 
curse  from  which  it  rescues,  the  digni- 
ties to  which  it  elevates. 

4.  God's  servants  have  the  noblest  war- 
rant  for  their  service.  (1.)  The  warrant 
of  reason.  Their  service  is  a  "  reason- 
able service."  (2.)  The  u  arrant  of  con- 
science.    (3.)   The  warrant  of  love. 

5.  God's  servants  are  promised  and 
enjoy  tJie  noblest  rewards.  God  Himself. 
"  I  will  be  their  God."  There  are  many 
subordinate  rewards,  but  this  compre- 
hends and  crowns  them  all. 

II.  God's  service  is  a  noble  service. 
"  Praise  the  name  of  the  Lord."  This 
iiiiunction    iio   doubt   refers   to   acts   of 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


P8A.LM  OXIZI. 


religious  worship  as  such.  But  it  sug- 
gests much  more,  for  all  the  acts  of 
religious  life  are  worship.  "  That  ye 
should  show  forth  the  praises  of  Him," 
&c.  "  Glorify  God  in  your  bodies  and 
spirits  which  are  His." 

1.  It  is  noble  in  the  dignity  of  its 
$phere.  It  links  man  with  God  Him- 
self. Man  becomes  a  "  worker  together 
with  God,"  with  Christ,  who  accom- 
plishes His  mighty  undertakings  by 
human  agency;  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  uses  man  as  His  mouthpiece  for 
conviction  of  sin,  <fec. 

2.  It  is  noble  in  the  motive  from  which 
it  springs.  All  life  is  noble  or  ignoble 
according  as  it  is  actuated  by  noble  or 
ignoble  aims.     God's  servants  aim  at 


**  pleasing  God."  This  motive  animated 
our  Lord,  John  viii.  29 ;  Enoch,  Heb. 
xi.  5 ;  Solomon,  2  Sam.  vii.  29. 

3.  It  is  noble  in  the  instruments  by 
which  it  is  accomplished.  All  that  ia 
morally  worthy  is  pressed  into  this  ser- 
vice ;  the  mind  purged  from  error ; 
the  will  freed  from  prejudice ;  the  heart 
emancipated  from  irregular  passion  and 
sin;  the  body  a  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

4.  It  is  noble  in  the  freedom  of  its  con- 
secration. It  is  not  pressed  service,  it 
is  purely  voluntary  under  the  "  royal 
law  of  liberty." 

6.  It  is  noble  in  the  uses  which  it 
serves.  Doing  the  "  will  of  God  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  hearen." 


Gbatitudb. 
(Verse  2.) 


Our  text  suggests — 

I.  That  there  are  grounds  for  grati- 
tude. We  bless  God  for  blessing  us. 
These  grounds  are  universal.  *'  What 
hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  ? " 
From  Him  descends  '*  every  good  and 
perfect  gift."  1.  Physical,  The  body 
with  its  organs,  senses,  members,  sus- 
ceptibilities of  pleasure,  provision  for 
clothing,  shelter,  food,  <fec.  2.  Mental, 
Literature,  science,  art,  authors,  poets, 
artists,  are  gifts  from  God.  3.  Spiritual. 
The  Bible,  Gospel,  means  of  grace,  <fec. 
4.  Political.     Government,  liberty. 

II,  That  these  grounds  are  often 
ignored. 

1.  Men  lose  sight  of  their  benefactor. 
This  may  be  (1)  Deliberate.  Men  dis- 
like to  be  under  an  obligation.  The 
Emperor  Basil  was  saved  when  hunting 
by  a  courtier,  and  all  Constantinople 
was  speculating  about  the  reward,  when, 
to  the  astonishment  of  all,  the  preserver 
of  his  sovereign  was  ordered  out  to 
execution  on  the  ground  that  the  debt 
could  never  adequately  be  repaid.  So 
men  owe  so  much  to  God  that  the 
sense  of  obligation  becomes  burdensome, 
and  they  therefore  endeavour  to  banish 
Him  from  their  minds.  (2)  Careless. 
Like  the  conduct  of  many  children  to- 
wards their  parents.     The  blessings  are 


so  very  regular  that  we  forget  their 
source. 

2.  Men  make  light  of  their  blessings. 
(L)  Of  their  physical  gifts.  Sin  pro- 
stitutes them,  and  the  attendant  misery 
is  charged  upon  God.  (2.)  Of  their 
mental  gifts.  The  mind  has  wandered 
into  unprofitable  speculations,  and  is 
forthwith  made  responsible  for  the 
doubts  and  errors  into  which  men  fall. 
And  men  wish  themselves  dogs,  without 
the  power  of  thought.  (3.)  Spiritual 
gifts,  from  their  fancied  sufficiency.  (4.) 
Political  gifts,  from  love  of  lawlessness. 

3.  Men  deny  the  utility  of  thankful- 
ness. **  If  man  serves  us  we  repay  him, 
in  kind  if  he  needs  it ;  or  by  gratitude 
which  gratifies  his  spirit.  But  what 
kind  of  repayment  or  gratification  can 
God  receive?"  True,  the  divine  bene- 
factor is  not  dependent  on  man's  grati- 
tude or  gifts  ;  but  this  overlooks  the 
duty  of  acknowledging  a  gift  whether  it 
advantages  its  giver  or  not. 

III.  That  these  grounds  should  be 
acknowledged  by  present  thankful- 
ness. The  obligation  commences  the 
moment  the  gift  is  conferred,  and  should 
therefore  be  acknowledged  forthwith. 

1 .  Circumstances  should  not  be  allowed 
to  interfere.  Those  circumstances  are 
God's  gifts,  and  should  not  be  turned 

205 


P8ALM  CXin. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTART:  PSALMS, 


^    into  instraments  for  robbing  Him  of  His 

rightfl. 

2.  Persons  should  not  be  altowed  to 
interfere.  The  dearest  human  relative 
ought  not  to  be  so  close  as  God.  Debts 
incurred  to  man  are  not  to  be  compared 
with  those  we  owe  to  God. 

3.  Inclination  should  not  be  allowed 
to  interfere.  They  do  not  interfere  with 
our  service  to  man,  nor  should  they 
with  our  duty  to  God. 

IV.  That  these  grounds  should  b« 


acknowledged  by  perpetual  thankful- 
ness. "  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  ever- 
lasting love."  "His  mercy  endureth 
for  ever,"  therefore,  &c.     Learn — 

(i)  The  evils  of  ingratitude.  It  nar- 
rows the  intellect,  contracts  the  hearty 
restricts  the  sphere  of  service,  and  en- 
genders a  cold,  hard,  barren  selfishness, 
(ii.)  The  advantages  of  thankfulness.  It 
secures  further  blessings  from  God,  en- 
larges the  volume  of  manhood,  and  pro- 
pares  for  the  servict  of  heaven. 


Universal  Worshif. 
(Vene  3.) 


L  Ood'8  name  onght  to  be  praised 

•TWywhere,  because — 

1.  ^Everywhere  He  is  worthy  of  praise, 
(1.)  God's  government  is  everywhere 
founded  and  administered  on  principles 
•f  righteousness.  (2.)  His  beneficent 
provision  for  His  creatures^  want — His 
««m,  His  showers y  His  fruits,  ike, — is 
made  everywhere.  (3.)  His  almighty 
protectiony  upholding  the  universe  and 
protecting  His  creatures y  is  afforded 
everywhere.  (4.)  His  offers  of  mercy 
extendy  without  distinction  of  race  or 
order,  everyivhere.  His  Son  died  for 
all,  His  Spirit  strives  with  all.  His 
Church  welcomes  all,  and  His  heaven 
was  made  for  all. 

2.  Everywhere  He  is  acknowledged  to 
exist.  Sometimes  this  belief  has  been 
adulterated  with  error,  but  the  sub- 
stratum of  the  truth  everywhere  re- 
mains, and  nothing  can  eradicate  it.  In 
all  the  great  civilisations  it  has  uni- 
versally obtained.  It  has  been  said 
recently  that  a  few  savage  tribes  are 
without  it,  which,  if  true,  is  very  un- 
fortunate for  atheism ;  for  that  would 
prove  that  unbelief  in  God  is  only 
possible  to  the  most  degraded  and 
brutal  barbarism.  In  all  ages  God  has 
been  the  trust  of  mankind. 

3.  Everywhere,  that  is  the  end  of  God's 
providential  plan.  "  All  shall  know 
the  Lord  from  the  least  even  unto  the 
greatest."  "All  nations  shall  do  Him 
service"     That  is  the  grand  destiny  of 

206 


the  humao  net  (MaL  L  11 ;  Ker.  t. 

8-1 4). 

4.  Everywhercy  thai  is  the  law  tf 
marCs  true  dignity.  The  history  of  the 
world  shows  that  men  are  elevated  and 
civilised  in  proportion  to  their  recogni- 
tion of  the  Most  High.  Everywhere  ii 
ennobles  and  sanctifies. 

II.  God's  name  ought  to  be  praised 
under  all  circumstances.  Under  all 
the  various  conditions  revealed  by  the 
progress  of  the  sun,  should  man  render 
grateful  homage. 

1.  In  the  business  of  the  day,  for  He 
makes  it  possible. 

2.  In  the  family  affairs  of  the  day, 
for  He  controls  them. 

3.  In  the  vicissitudes  of  the  day.  In 
prosperity  or  adversity,  for  He  is  the 
author  of  both. 

4.  In  the  transactions  of  government, 
for  He  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords. 

5.  Andy  since  **  He  giveth  His  beloved 
sleep,"  in  the  repose  which  follows  the 
setting  sun. 

III.  God's  name  ought  to  he  praised 
at  all  times. 

1.  In  the  beneficent  march  of  the 
seasons,  for  they  are  led  by  Him. 

2.  In  the  gracious  division  of  day  and 
niglit,  for  it  was  fixed  by  Him. 

3.  "  Early  in  the  morning,"  at  noon 
(Daniel),  at  night  (our  Lord  on  Olivet)  ; 
for  all  departments  of  the  day  are  or- 
dained by  Him. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


ptALM  oxm. 


The  Divine  Government  of  Nations. 
(Verse  4,  clause  1.) 


The  fignre  is  that  of  God  seated  on 
His  throne  as  King  of  kings  and  Lord 
of  lords. 

L  The  divine  government  is  personal. 
"The  Lord  is  high."  Human  govern- 
ments are  institutional.  But,  while  Qod 
usually  works  through  natural  laws, 
&G.f  He  can  work  without  them,  and  is 
always  superior  to  them.  '*  He  maketh 
His  sun  to  shine."  "  He  doeth  accord- 
ing to  His  will,"  <kc. 

XL  The  divine  government  is  exalted 
**  above  all  nations."  Superior  in  its 
basis,  aims,  methods,  to  the  best  human 
government.  It  is  superior  in  wisdom, 
comprehensiveness,  sympathy,  goodness, 
and  resources,  because  directly  adminis- 
tered by  supreme  wisdom,  goodness,  and 
power. 

III.  The  divine  government,  from 
its  exaltation,  is  suitable  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  all  nations. 

1.  It  is  absolute  perfection.  Human 
legislation  is  made  up  of  caprices,  mis- 
takes, changes.  The  great  task  of 
human  governors  is  to  alter,  modify,  or 
improve  on  the  legislation  of  their  pre- 
decessors, and  thus  it  cannot  be  suited  to 
all  the  circumstances  of  mankind.  On 
the  contrary,  God's  laws  are  unalterable, 
because  incapable  of  improvement,  and 
because  promulgated  by  the  all-perfect 
mind. 

2.  It  is  founded  on  the  reason  of 
things,  and,  therefore,  is  not  arbitrary. 
It  does  not  contemplate  classes,  kc. ;  it 
is  perfect  equity,  and  all  nations  may 
expect  even-handed  justice  from  the 
hands  of  God. 

IV.  God's  government  is  benevolent 
towards  all  nations.  Many  societies  are 
founded  on  the  supposition  that  men 


were  made  for  governments,  and  not 
governments  for  men.  God  rules  for 
the  express  benefit  of  nations.  They 
require,  and  so  they  receive,  His  control 
and  care.  But  is  this  borne  out  by 
facts  1  Look  at  the  miseries  of  nations. 
Answer — 

1.  Much  of  this  misery  is  self-inflicted. 
If  men  will  break  God's  laws  they  must 
take  the  consequences.  All  nations  who 
are  faithful  to  God  are  blessed. 

2.  These  miseries  are  insignificant 
compared  with  their  blessings.  Our  years 
of  tyranny  or  depression  must  be  balanced 
by  the  years  of  prosperity  and  freedom. 

3.  These  miseries  subserve  benevolent 
and  righteous  ends.  How  often  have 
famines  been  sent  to  drive  a  nation  to 
its  God.  How  often  has  God  used  a  de- 
structive war  to  expel  a  tyrant  from  his 
throne.  Famine  brought  free  trade. 
The  Marian  persecution  inaugurated  the 
Elizabethan  reformation.  The  American 
war  abolished  slavery. 

V.  The  divine  government  is  admi- 
nistered by  Christ.  "The  Father  hath 
committed  all  judgment  into  His  hands." 
(Daniel  vii.  13,  U,  Phil.  ii.  9.)  Christ 
is  qualified  for  this  office.  1.  By  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  His  subjects.  (2.) 
By  a  personal  relation  with  His  subjects. 
He  is  a  true  King,  not  only  the  "  able  " 
but  the  "  kinsman  "  of  the  race,  born 
out  of  the  bosom  of  humanity.  (3.)  By 
an  intense  sympathy  with  His  subjects. 
(4.)  By  His  accessibility  to  His  subjects. 

In  conclusion.  Let  men  and  nations 
beware  how  they  rebel  against  this  go- 
vernment. Can  they  produce  a  better  1 
They  rebel  against  omnipotent  goodness 
when  they  throw  ofif  their  allegiance  to 
God. 


The  Divine  Government  of  Heaven. 
(Verse  4,  clause  2.) 


GJod  rules  in  heaven  ;  and  the  differ- 
ence between  His  government  there  and 
His  government  here  is,  that  here  men 
break  its  laws  and  thwart  its  beneficent 


designs ;  yonder  all  is  harmony  and 
obedience.  "  The  Lord  is  high  above 
all  nations,"  but  His  glory  is  above  the 
heavens.     Here  that  glory  is  but  faintly 

207 


PSALM  OXIII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTART :  PSALMS. 


illustrated  amidst  the  partial  obedience 
of  the  best  of  His  creatures  and  the  re- 
bellion of  the  rest  ;  there  fully.  This 
government  is  based  on  the  same  prin- 
ciples, conducted  by  the  same  methods, 
and  contemplates  the  same  ends  among 
glorified  spirits  as  among  men,  and  is  ac- 
knowledged and  obeyed ; — 

I.  Universally.     Rev.  v. 

II.  Reverentially.  Is.  vi.  2.  "  With 
twain  he  covered  his /ace." 

m.  Swiftly.  Is.  vi.  2.  **  With 
twain  he  did  ^2/." 

IV.  Comprehensively.  The  ends  of 
the  divine  government  are  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  their  service  ;    they   have  no 


personal  aims  to  secure,  because  in  doing 
God*s  will  they  secure  all. 

V.  Continually.  "They  rest  not  day 
nor  night." 

VI.  Willingly.  Their  wills  are  in 
complete  harmony  with  the  will  of  God. 
Sin  does  not  warp  their  inclination,  and 
they  are  under  no  powerful  restraint 
towards  wrong. 

VII.  Perfectly.  No  sin  blears  their 
vision  or  blights  their  faculties.  They 
see  what  is  the  perfect  will  of  God,  and 
do  it  with  all  the  completeness  of  their 
being. 

Let  all  Christians  pray,  "  Thy  will  be 
done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.'' 


The  Absolute. 
(Verse  6.) 


Verses  5  and  6  in  the  original  present 
a  parallelism  which  is  not  preserved  in 
the  English  version.  As  Hebrew  poetry 
they  would  stand  thus  : — 

Who  is  like  unto  Jehovah,  our  God, 

Who  sits  throned  on  high, 

Who  casts  looks  so  low, 
In  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth? 

The  italics  of  A  V.  are  of  course  supplied 
by  the  translators  to  make  what  appeared 
to  be  the  best  sense.  We  propose  to  treat 
the  second  and  third  lines  (with  Bunseii, 
Delitzsch,  Hengstenberg,  <fec.)  as  a  paren- 
thesis. Our  subject,  therefore,  is  The 
Absolute ;  the  incomprehensibleness  of 
Deity.  "  Who  is  like  unto  Jehovah,  our 
God,  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth  1 " 
Notice — 

I.  That  the  incomprehensibleness  of 
God  is  generally  acknowledged.  Ob- 
serve— 

1.  How  it  is  presented  in  the  Bible. 
(Exod.  iii.  14,  xv.  11  ;  Deut.  iv.  ;  1  Sam. 
ii.  2  ;  1  Kings  viii.  12-27  ;  Job  v.  9,  xi. 
7-9,  xxxvii.  5,  23  ;  Psalms  Ixxxix.  6, 
cxlv.  3  ]  Eccl.  xvl  21 ;  Is.  xl.,  xliii.  ; 
Rom.  xi.  33,  34.) 

2.  How  it  is  presented  hy  philosophy, 
Socrates  maintained  that  *'he  only 
knew  this,  that  he  knew  nothing." 
Plato  :  "  The  Maker  and  Father  of  the 
worlds,  it  is  difficult  to  discover,  and 
when  found  impossible  to  make   him 

308 


known  to  all."    The  Eleatie  school  held 

that  "  we  ought  not  to  assert  anything 
concerning  the  gods,  for  we  have  no  know- 
ledge of  them."  So  the  Stoics.  Modern 
schools  assert  the  same.  Schelling  says, 
"  God  is  that  which  is  in  itself  and  only 
from  itself  can  be  conceived."  So  in- 
deed Hamilton,  Hansel,  Spenser,  and 
Matthew  Arnold.  "  A  God  all  known 
and  comprehended  is  no  God.  That 
which  I  fully  know  and  understand, 
is  below,  not  above  me,  for  I  have 
mastered  it.  I  have  not  to  worship  it, 
it  must  bow  down  to  me.  That  which 
towers  immeasurably  above  me,  which 
I  cannot  scale  and  cannot  fathom,  be- 
fore which  I  am  as  nothing,  that  and  . 
that  alone,  I  fall  down  to  and  adore — 
not  ignorance,  but  knowledge  is  the 
mother  of  devotion.  Nevertheless,  the 
sense  of  ignorance  in  the  created  mind, 
of  immeasurable  ignorance  and  infirmity, 
is  preliminary  and  essential  to  all  true 
adoration." — Dr.  J,  Young. 

3.  How  it  is  presented  hy  heathen 
religions.  "  Seek  fellowship  with  Zeus 
and  Epictetus."  Alas  !  it  was  the  Zeus 
that  was  wanting.  .  .  .  There  was  a 
yearning  for  God,  for  personal  fellowship 
with  Goii,  for  personal  likeness  to  God. 
,  ,  ,  *  But  who  is  the  Zeus,  the  god  of 
whom  you  talk,  that  I  may  believe  on 
Him,*  was  the  cry  which  grew  more 
hopeless   and  agonising   generation  by 


BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  cxin. 


generation  ...  to  wliich  religion  had 
no  answer." — Baldwin  Brown. 

II.  That  men  have  universally 
striven  to  solve  the  mystery,  by 
taking  up  the  challenge  of  our  text.  Sir 
W.  Hamilton  says,  "  From  Xenophanes 
to  Leibnitz  the  infinite,  the  absolute, 
th  unconditioned  formed  the  highest 
principle  of  speculation."  And,  as  the 
only  way  in  which  man  can  define  any- 
thing is  by  a  process  of  more  or  less 
adequate  comparison  and  illustration, 
he  has  endeavoured  to  figure  God,  and 
thus  much  of  theology  in  all  ages  has 
been  but  the  projected  shadow  of 
human  thought. 

1.  Much  0/ natural  theology  has  been 
constructed  in.  this  way.  It  assumes 
that  God  is,  and  then  undertakes  to 
show  what  God  is  like.  Man  is  capable 
of  fashioning  and  combining  existing 
materials,  and  directing  them  to  the 
accomplishment  of  new  results.  So  he 
thinks  of  a  God  like  himself,  a  creator. 
He  is  capable  of  directing  his  materials 
to  serve  a  definite  and  intelliiifent  end. 
So  he  ascribes  skill  and  design  to  the 
creator,  and  by  his  observation  of  the 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends  in  the 
world,  that  belief  is  confirmed.  He  is 
a  father  or  king  ruling  by  laws  which 
he  enforces  by  rewards  and  punishments. 
So  his  maker  is  argued  to  be  his  governor, 
who  will  bless  his  obedience  and  punish 
his  sin. 

2.  Much  of  both  so-called  orthodoxy 
and  heterodoxy  has  been  constructed  in 
this  way.  Arianism  arose  out  of  the 
transfer  of  human  paternity  to  the  divine 
nature.  Calvinism  starts  with  a  sove- 
reignty of  God  built  upon  the  idea  of 
remorseless  human  despotism.  Many 
other  theories,  particularly  S(  )me  prevalent 
in  the  present  day,  proceed  upon  the 
assumption  that  God's  thoughts  are  as 
our  thoughts,  and  His  ways  as  our  ways. 

3.  The  various  heathen  mythologies 
have  been  built  up  in  this  way.  Very  few 
are  disposed  to  deny  that  the  spiritual 
unity  of  God  was  the  primitive  belief 
of  mankind.  St.  Paul  shows  the  pro- 
cess from  this  to  the  most  debasing 
forms  of  idolatry  (Rom.  i.  18-32).  Sin 
darkened  man's  understanding  and  led 
his  reason  astray.      It  is   easy  to  see 

VOL.  u. 


how  the  divine  attributes  might  have 
become  dissociated,  then  made  to  repre- 
sent independent  divine  forces,  and 
then  separate  divine  persons.  It  is  a^so 
easy  to  see  how  these  independent 
persons  could  be  symbolised  by  natural 
powers  and  objects  supposed  to  be  most 
like  them  ;  and  it  is  only  a  step  further 
to  manufacture  a  permanent  symbol; 
and  hence  idol  worship.  Thus  the  pro- 
gress of  symbolism  was  first  downwards 
from  God,  then  upwards  to  Him. 
Nature  worship  was  the  earliest  form 
of  idolatry.  Then  human.  The  gods  of 
nature  were  endowed  with  human 
attributes  and  forms,  and  heroes  and 
ancestors  were  deified.  The  process 
went  on  till  not  a  natural  object,  beauti- 
ful or  monstrous,  good  or  malign,  and 
not  a  single  human  quality,  good  or 
bad,  wise  or  ridiculous,  but  had  its 
temple,  peculiar,  and  in  many  cases  con- 
sistent, worship,  and  its  symbolical  form. 
The  difficulty  became  to  distinguish 
what  was  not  divine.  What  an  ex- 
position of  "Thou  thoughtest  I  was 
altogether  such  an  one  as  thyself "  ! 

4.  "  The  fundamental  position  of 
rationalism  is,  that  man  by  his  own 
reason  can  attain  to  a  right  conception 
of  God."  "Fools,  to  dream  that  man 
can  escape  from  himself,  that  human 
reason  can  draw  aught  but  a  human 
portrait  of  God!  They  do  but  substi- 
tute a  marred  and  mutilated  humanity 
for  one  exalted  and  entire ;  they  add 
nothing  to  their  conception  of  God  as 
He  is,  but  only  take  away  a  part  of 
their  conception  of  man." — Mansel. 

III.  That  the  Bible  gives  us  a  revela- 
tion of  all  that  may  be  known  of  God 
in  a  manner  suited  to  our  faculties  and 
saving  to  our  soul.  "The  infinite 
cannot  be  grasped  within  our  thoughts, 
nor  within  any  limits,  for  on  all  sides 
it  has  no  limits.  To  know  God  in  ITis 
infinity  is  impos3il)le,  but  to  know 
much  respecting  the  God  who  is  infinite 
is  quite  another  thing,  and  may  be 
grandly  possible." — Dr.  J.  Young.  The 
Biblical  representations  of  God  are  very 
bold,  but  they  are  carefully  guarded ; 
and  the  difference  between  the  sym- 
bolism which  is  the  result  of  human 
speculation  and  that  of  divine  revelation 

209 


PBALH  XCIII. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


if,  that  the  former  degrades  the  Deity, 
the  latter  guides  the  human  mind  to 
transcend  itself  and  lifts  it  up  to  the 
idea  of  infinite  perfection.  We  may- 
see  notably  in  the  mystery  of  the  In- 
carnation, "  the  light  which  was  mani- 
fested, that  He  the  Eternal  Son  might 
reveal  to  men  the  Father  whom  no  man 
hath  seen  or  can  see.  .  .  .  P.irable  after 
parable  led  men  from  earthly  relations 
to  those  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  .  .  . 
the  sower,  the  householder,  the  bride- 
groom, the  father,  the  king.  .  .  .  But 
it  was  much  more  in  Himself.  ...  It 
was  through  His  human  nature  as  the 
Son  of  Man  that  men  were  to  approach 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  divine  mind.  .  .  . 
We  who  believe  that  the  Word  was  in 
the  beginning  with  God  and  was  God, 
became  flesh  and  tabernacled  amongst 
us,  .  .  .  can  enter  into  the  meaning  of 
the  words,  *  The  only  begotten  Son  which 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  He  hath 
declared  Him,'  and  listen  with  awe  and 
adoration  to  that  which,  if  it  were  not 
true,  would  have  been  a  blasphemy  to 
make  us  shudder  :  *  Have  I  been  so  long 
time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me,  Philip  1  He  that  hath  seen 
Me  hath  seen  the  Father.'  " — Plumptre. 

IV.  These  considerations  lead  us  to 
the  following  conclusions. 

1.  That  the  question  of  our  text  must 
remain  unanswered.  God,  like  every 
other  great  truth,  is  incapable  of  full 
definition,  whether  by  words  or  illustra- 


tions. The  most  perfect  painting  con- 
veys no  adequate  idea  of  the  sun.  The 
most  perfect  model  only  faintly  resem- 
bles a  flower.  The  ablest  disquisition 
leaves  the  mystery  of  life  unsolved. 

2.  That  God  has  given  us  similitudei 
of  what  is  best  and  holiest  witlUn  the 
grasp  of  man's  feeble  intelligence,  that 
every  one  may  be  able  to  form  some 
conception  of  His  character  and  will. 
The  hem  of  the  garment  was  enough 
for  the  poor  woman  in  the  gospels ;  so 
our  notions  of  power,  wisdom,  love,  Ice, 
are  permitted  faintly  to  illustrate  the 
infinite  perfections  of  God. 

3.  That  God  has  given  us  these  illus- 
trations to  lead  us  up  to  Himself.  He 
tells  man  what  He  is  like,  that  man  may 
know  by  spiritual  apprehension  and  in- 
dwelling what  He  is. 

"  One  day  Martin  Luther  was  cate- 
chising some  peasants.  *  Say  thy  creed,* 
he  said.  *  I  believe  in  God,  the  Father 
Almighty.'  *  What  is  it  to  be  al- 
mighty T  asked  Martin.  *  Indeed,  I 
cannot  tell/  and  Luther,  with  rugged 
beautiful  honesty,  said,  'Neither  indeed, 
friend,  can  I ;  and  if  I  were  to  tell  you 
truly  there  is  not  a  doctor  in  all  Europe 
who  could  tell  you  what  it  is  to  be 
almighty ;  but  if  you  will  always  re- 
member that  He  is  your  Father  Almighty, 
high  enough  to  rule  you,  wise  enough  to 
teach  you,  strong  enough  to  help  you, 
kind  enough  to  love  you,  it  will  be  well 
and  enough.' " — Coley, 


The  Majesty  and  Condescension  of  God. 
(Verses  5,  6.) 


The  two  extremes  of  God's  infinite 
perfections  are  exhibited  in  our  text : 
**  Who  sits  throned  on  high,  who  casts 
looks  so  low."  He  is  infinite  in  majesty, 
and  demands  our  adoration ;  yet  He  is 
infinite  in  condescension,  thus  making 
our  worship  possible.  The  first  attri- 
bute alone  would  appal  us  by  its  awful 
grandeur.  The  second  alone  would  lead 
us  to  presume. 

I.  The  majesty  of  God.  "  Who  sits 
throned  on  high." 

1.  Above  the  realm  of  space.  There  is 
nothing  more  sublime  than  the  idea  of  in- 
210 


finite  space.  Of  this  we  can  understand 
little  amid  the  contracted  landscapes 
of  our  own  country.  We  must  stand 
where  the  mighty  hills  rear  their  cloud- 
capped  pinnacles  to  heaven.  But  what 
is  the  grandest  mountain  range  compared 
with  the  world  of  which  it  is  but  an 
excrescence !  And  what  is  the  world 
itself  but  a  speck  in  the  system  to  which 
it  belongs.  And  what  is  that  system 
in  comparison  with  those  eighty  millions 
of  systems  in  the  vast  universe.  And 
"  these  are  part  of  His  ways ;  but  how 
small  a  portion    is    heard    of    Him.** 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  9XUI. 


Draw  the  line  where  we  will,  the  im- 
measurable li(«  yet  beyond,  and  above 
that  immeasurable  God  sits  throned. 

2.  Above  all  duration.  Equally  with 
the  conception  ol  space  is  that  of  time 
sublime.  We  cannot  fii  the  mind  on  a 
continuous  successioa  of  periods  with- 
out a  corresponding  elevation.  (1.) 
Look  at  the  history  of  our  own  nation. 
We  can  trace  it  back  t^ll  it  is  lost  in 
hoar  antiquity.  But  coiupare  it  with 
the  history  of  the  neighltiouriiig  con- 
tinent. When  Britain  emerged  from 
obscurity,  Rome  after  a  long  and  splen- 
did history  was  approaching  its  fall. 
When  Kome  arose,  the  fortunes  of  As- 
syria were  beginning  to  decline,  and  the 
monuments  of  Egypt  were  worn  by  the 
elemental  battles  of  centuries;  and  before 
that  comes  patriarchal  history  and  the 
years  before  the  flood.  Yet  what  is 
all  this  compared  with  scientifically 
recorded  time  ?  Millions  upon  millions 
of  years  may  have  elapsed  between  the 
creation  of  the  first  man  and  the  begin- 
ning in  which  God  created  the  heavens 
and  the  earth.  And  beyond  that,  *'  be- 
fore the  mountains  were  brought  forth, 
or  ever  Thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  or 
the  worlds — from  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting Thou  art  God."  (2.)  But  this  is 
only  half  the  conception.  How  much 
there  is  of  life  remaining  to  us  we 
know  not.  But  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  longest  life  possible  to  us  there  ii  a 


Tast  ocean  of  time  measurable  only  by 
the  infinite  mind ;  and  beyond  that  is 
boundless  eternity.  "  Time  reaches  not 
to  the  steps  of  the  eternal  throne.  No 
law  of  succession  narrows  in  His  doings. 
All  things  are  ever  before  Him.  He  is  the 
Everlasting  now — past,  present,  future  ; 
time  and  space,  these  creatures  of  His 
hand,  are  not,  in  relation  to  His  infinite 
perfection." — Bishop  Wilherforce. 

3.  In  the  sense  of  exalted  spirituality. 

II.  The  condescension  of  God, 
"  who  casts  looks  so  low."  God  does 
not  dwell  in  solitary  and  indifferent 
grandeur  in  the  high  and  lofty  place. 
He  is  the  Governor  of  the  universe  ;  its 
Father  and  its  Friend. 

1.  God  condescends  to  look  on  physical 
laws  and  employs  them. 

2.  God  condescends  to  look  upon  man 
and  visits  him.  Adam,  Enoch,  Noah, 
Abraham,  David,  the  Jewish  nation, 
and  at  last  through  His  Incarnate  Son. 

3.  God  condescends  to  look  upon 
human  governments  and  employs  them. 
"  He  doeth  according  to  His  will,"  &c. 
"  By  Him  kings  reign,"  <fec. — 

"  He  sees  with  equal  eye,  as  God  of  all, 
A  hero  perish,  or  %  sparrow  fall ; 
Atoms  and  systems  into  ruin  hurled  : 
There  a  bubble  burst,  and  here  a  world.** 

Learn  (i.)  The  danger  of  antagonism 
to  God;  (ii)  The  hleaedneu  of  the 
Divine  condescension. 


EUIIAN  Eli.LTATIO¥. 

(Verses  7,  8.) 


1.  Verses  7-9  are  almost  word  for 
word  from  the  song  of  Hannah.  (Cf. 
Song  of  Mary,  Luke  i.  46-48.)  2. 
Human  exaltation  is  the  result  of  the 
Divine  benignity.  Had  God  never 
noticed  our  lost  race  it  had  remained 
for  ever  in  misery  and  degradation. 
But  God's  notice  was  God's  redemp- 
tion. The  sentiment  of  our  text  may 
be  illustrated — 

I.  In  the  various  spheres  of  daily 
life,  the  poor  have  been  lifted  out  of  the 
dust,  and  have  sat  with  princes. 

1.  In  the  scientific  sphere, — Sir  Wm. 
Arktorightf    the   inventor  of   the    spin- 


ning   jenny,     was    once    a     barber's 

apprentice.  Brindley,  the  engineer ; 
Hugh  Miller,  the  geologist ;  John 
Hunter,  the  physician,  were  day 
labourers.  77ios.  Edwards,  the  natur- 
alist, was  a  shoemaker ;  Bewick,  the 
engraver,  a  coalminer;  Herschell,  a 
bandsman ;  Faraday ,  the  son  of  a 
poor  blacksmith  ;  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
the  son  of  a  farmer  ;  Davy,  a  country 
apothecary's  assistant.  2.  In  the 
artistic  sphere, — Turner,  the  painter, 
was  a  barber ;  Chardrey,  a  journey- 
man carver ;  Etty,  a  journeyman 
printer  ;    Sir    Thomas    Lawrence,    the 

211 


piALM  oxin. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Bon  of  a  tavern-lveeper  ;  Tnigo  Jones, 
John  Gribson,  Romney,  and  Opie  were 
labourers.  3.  In  the  literary  sphere, 
— Shakespeare  was  the  son  of  a 
butcher ;  John  Foster^  a  weaver ; 
Ben  Jonson  and  Allan  Cunningham, 
day  labourers ;  Drew,  a  shoemaker ; 
Adam  Clarke,  the  son  of  a  poor  school- 
master ;  Elihu  Burritt,  a  blacksmith ; 
Dr.  Lee,  the  great  Hebrew  scholar,  a 
carpenter.  4.  In  the  judicial  sphere, — 
Lord  Tenterden  was  once  a  barber's 
boy ;  Talfourdy  the  son  of  a  brewer ; 
Baron  Pollock,  son  of  a  saddler ;  Lord 
Eldon,  the  son  of  a  coal-fitter.  5.  In 
the  army  and  navy, — Bonaparte  rose 
from  the  ranks  ;  Sir  Cloudesley  Shovel 
was  a  shoemaker,  and  Warren  Hast- 
ings was  an  East  India  clerk.  6.  In  the 
Church, — Adrian  IV.  was  a  swine- 
herd ;  Wolsey,  the  son  of  a  butcher ; 
Thomas  a^Beckett,  of  obscure  origin, 
Bunyan  a  tinker ;  Whitfield^  the  son 
of  an  innkeeper ;  Martyn^  the  son 
of  a  miner;  and  Carey  and  Mor- 
rison were  shoemakers.  7.  In  the 
field  of  discovery, — Cook  was  a  day 
labourer ;  Baffin,  a  man  before  the 
mast ;  Livingstone,  a  weaver ;  and 
Layard,  a  solicitor's  clerk.  Many 
more  might  be  adduced  in  the  politi- 
cal, social,  and  commercial  spheres,  but 
these  are  suflScient  to  show  that  God 
blesses  the  diligent  use  of  the  powers 
He  has  given.  Would  that  they  all 
had  been  employed  for  Him. 


IL  In  God's  method  of  Redemp- 
tion. All  men  are  by  sin  sunk  in 
moral  degradation.  Tney  are  lost  to 
self,  lost  to  destiny,  lost  to  God. 
When  God  looks  upon  them  He  raises 
them  from  their  fail,  and  by  the  rege- 
nerating power  of  His  Spirit  they  be- 
come God's  heirs,  joint -heirs  with 
Jesus  Christ,  and  are  anointed  kinga 
and  priests  unto  God,  and  look  for- 
ward to  a  crown,  a  sceptre,  and  a 
throne. 

III.  In  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  Its  beginnings  were  of 
the  humblest  possible  character.  Its 
Founder  was  the  reputed  son  of  a 
carpenter ;  its  first  officers  peasants  or 
fishermen.  For  the  first  century,  the 
*'  wise  and  noble "  were  conspicuous 
by  their  absence.  Its  beginnings  every- 
where are  the  same.  It  aims  to  seek 
and  to  save  the  lost,  and  it  is  the 
lost  and  degraded  that  it  welcomes. 
Its  beginnings  are  humble,  but  its  pro- 
gress is  ever  mighty.  Philosophers 
and  statesmen  are  proud  to  partake  of 
its  privileges  on  a  level  with  the  pea- 
sant and  the  slave,  and  kings  receive 
their  crowns  from  its  hands. 

IV.  In  the  resurrection  of  the 
body.    (1  Cor.  XV.) 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  All  true  greatness 
is  the  gift  of  God.  (ii.)  All  true  greatness 
commences  with  the  recognition  of  God. 
(in.)  All  greatness  fails  if  it  does  not 
secure  the  consecration  of  God, 


Motherhood  :  its  Blessings  and  Responsibilities. 

{Versed.) 


There  is  no  sweeter  name  to  a  child 
than  mother,  and  no  sweeter  name  to  a 
mother  than  her  child's.  The  two  great- 
est curses  of  mankind  are  bad  mothers 
and  thankless  children.  Our  text  sug- 
gests— 

I.  That  children  are  the  subject  of 
fond  and  prayerful  desire. 

1.  7'his  desirableness  is  in  certain 
quarters  denied.  (1.)  By  a  false  political 
economy.  Children  beyond  a  certain 
number  are  said  to  be  the  fruitful  cause 
of  misery  and  pauperism.  So  thought 
the  Hindoos,  and  till  recently  the  waters 
212 


of  the  Ganges  and  the  jaws  of  the  alli- 
gator were  the  all-sufiicient  "check." 
So  thought  the  Spartans,  and  the 
"check"  with  them  was  wholesale  in- 
fanticide. Not  more  unnatural  and  not 
less  vile  are  the  artificial  checks  of 
modern  civilisation  (?).  But  that  civili- 
sation forgets  that  the  miseries  of  the 
world  proceed  not  from  large  families, 
but  from  the  parental  vices  which  it 
permits  and  sanctions.  (2.)  By  a  false 
sentiment..  Children  are  said  to  be  a 
trouble  and  expense,  and  men  blasphe- 
mously treat  the  advent  of  children  with 


EOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oxm. 


humorous  resignation,  if  not  with  posi- 
tive chagrin,  and  feel  that  society  re- 
quires that  demeanour.  What  makes 
children  a  trouble  and  expense  but  the 
indolence,  hardheartedness,  or  extrava- 
gance of  parents  ? 

2.  This  desirableness  is  recognised 
hy  (1)  The  nature  of  things.  *'  There 
is  nothing  addressing  itself  to  nature  to 
which  the  response  is  so  quick,  so  uni- 
versal, and  so  joyful  as  the  coming  of 
the  young  into  the  world.  .  .  .  There  is 
almost  nothing  possessing  a  spark  of 
intelligence  which  has  not  this  inward 
preparation  for  rejoicing  at  the  birth  of 
offspring.  ...  It  is  a  bright  day,  or 
should  be,  in  every  household,  in  every 
neighbourhood,  when  a  child  is  born, 
and  a  member  added  to  society." — H, 
W,  Beecher,  (2)  By  the  barren  mother 
(see  1  Sam.  1,  2).  Vain  are  all  well- 
meant  consolations.  Tell  her  that  they 
are  but  **  careful  comforts,"  that  she 
has  her  husband,  and  immunity  from 
family  cares,  and  she  will  tell  you  that 
she  is  willing  to  bear  every  anxiety,  if 
she  can  only  be  the  joyful  mother  of 
children.  (3)  By  a  just  moral  senti- 
ment, and  a  sound  political  economy. 
The  object  of  existence  can  be  but  im- 
perfectly attained  without  children.  A 
family  is  a  great  incentive  to  industry. 
How  many  a  wife  has  saved  her  husband 
from  drunkenness  and  crime  by  the 
light  and  joy  whicii  children  bring  !  (4) 
By  the  word  of  God.  Sarah,  Rebecca, 
Rachel,  Hannah,  Manoah*s  wife,  <fec. 
3.  This  desirableness  is  ennobling. 
Because  it  is  (1)  in  harmony  with  the 
will  of  God  (Gen.  i.  28).  (2)  A  desire 
to  live  for  another.  (3)  An  evidence  of 
the  paternity  of  Gody  and  in  conformity 
with  it. 

II.  That  children  axe  a  mother's 
joy.  This  is  now  happily,  thanks  to 
the  Bible,  passed  into  a  proverb,  and 
children  in  all  healthy  circles  are  now 
regarded  as  a  necessary  element  in  the 
happiness  of  life.     There  is — 

1.  I'he  joy  of  expectation. 

2.  The  joy  of  wno  mMernity  (John 
xvi.  21). 


3.  The  joy  of  giving  birth  to  citizens 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  are 
the  Lord's  heritage  under  both  testa- 
ments (Ps.  cxxvii.  3). 

4.  The  joy  of  training. 

5.  The  joy  of  a  nature  ennobled  and 
enlarged  by  maternity. 

6.  I'he  joy  of  a  home. 

III.  That  children  are  a  mother's 
care.  "  He  maketh  a  barren  woman 
to  keep  house."  He  *'not  only  builds 
up  the  family,  but  thereby  finds  some- 
thing for  the  heads  to  do." — M.  Henry. 
That  being  the  case — 

1.  Value  them.  "Take  heed  that 
ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones.** 
Their  value  does  not  lie  altogether  in 
their  charms,  <fec.,  but  in  the  fact  that 
they  are  rational  immortal  beings,  lent 
that  you  may  enable  them  to  realise  the 
fact  that  they  are  "sons  and  daughters 
of  the  Lord  Almighty," 

2.  Study  them.  Constant  watchful- 
ness, careful  discrimination.  It  is  not 
a  virtue,  but  a  vice  that  you  are  not 
guilty  of  to  horses  or  dogs,  to  treat  them 
all  alike. 

3.  Provide  for  them  (1  Tim.  v.  8) 
(1)  Sufficient  maintenance.  {2)  A  good 
education.     (3)  -4  bright  prospect. 

4.  Consecrate  them  to,  and  train  them 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of,  the 
Lord. 

IV.  That  children  are  divine  gifts. 
"He  maketh."  Thus  are  they  uniformly 
regarded  in  the  Bible. 

In  conclitsion. — "  God  is  on  the  side 
of  little  children,  and  He  is  on  the  side 
of  parents  who  wish  to  bring  up  their 
children  right  .  .  .  and  with  some  de- 
gree of  teaching,  and  some  degree  of 
trust  in  God,  you  are  adequate  to  lift 
your  children  from  the  plane  of  animal- 
ism, to  the  plane  of  social  beings,  and 
from  that  again  to  the  plane  of  moral 
and  spiritual  beings ;  and  when  that  is 
accomplished,  the  next  change  is  to  drop 
the  animal  altogether,  and  rise  to  the 
realm  above,  and  be  as  the  angels  of 
God."— ZT.  W.  Beecher, 


til 


t^AiMottr. 


JtOMILETiC  COMMENTARY:  PSALM8. 


PSALM    OXIV. 

Introduction. 

Date  and  Aathonhip  unknown ;  ascribed  to  the  three  Hebrew  children,  Esther  and  MordeoaL 

Bondage  and  Deliverance. 
{Verse  1.) 


L  The  bondage  was  degrading. 
"Israel,"  "Egypt."  The  descendants 
of  the  "  prince  with  God  "  making  bricks 
for  Pharaoh.  So  is  the  bondage  of  sin. 
All  men  are  princes.  They  have  crown 
rights  by  virtue  of  their  divine  parentage 
and  royal  brotherhood.  They  should 
occupy  thrones.  All  their  faculties  are 
regal  Yet  how  are  they  employed  1  In 
a  bondage  that  is  humiliating  because  of 
(1)  The  master  that  is  served ;  (2)  The 
nature  of  the  service ;  (3)  The  wretched- 
ness of  the  remuneration. 

IL  The  bondage  was  unnatural. 
"  The  house  of  Jacob." 

1.  Once  a  free  and  independent  tribe, 
who  previously  to  this  had  never  been  in 
bondage  to  any  man.  So  man  was  once 
independent  and  free.  No  evil  forces 
were  permitted  to  exercise  dominion  over 
him.  (1.)  His  reason  was  free.  All  God*s 
vast  domain  was  open  to  its  scrutiny. 
(2.)  His  vfill  was  free.  No  power  was 
permitted  to  tamper  with  it,  and  no  pre- 
destination fettered  it.  (3.)  His  affec- 
tions were  free.  (4.)  His  soul  was  free. 
All  this  shows  that  the  bondage  under 
which  he  groans  is  not  natural  to  man. 

2.  A  family  of  a  long,  ancient  and 
honourable  lineage.  They  were  not  a 
people  of  yesterday,  yet  they  were  slaves. 
Man  is  a  member  of  a  household  which 
dates  its  origin  from  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world.  The  eternal  God  is 
his  father,  and  Christ  his  elder  brother. 
With  an  ancestry  compared  with  which 
the  oldest  dynasty  on  earth  is  but  of  yes- 
terday, man  is  enslaved.  Surely  this  is 
the  climax  of  unnaturalness.  For  the 
heirs  of  the  Mowbrays,  the  Bourbons,  the 
Guelphs,  the  Hohenzollerns,  the  Haps- 
burgs,  to  be  in  bondage  were  enough  to 
strike  the  world  dumb  with  astonishment. 
Man  is  a  child  of  God,  and  yet  he  is  a 
■lave. 

214 


XXL  The  bondage  was  exasperating. 

"  From  a  people  of  strange  language." 
These  are  circumstances  which  mitigate 
that  "  execrable  sum  of  all  human  vil- 
lanies  " — slavery.  These  obtained  largely 
among  the  Jews.  Often  the  slave  spoke 
the  same  language,  was  protected  by  the 
same  laws,  and  was  of  the  same  blood 
as  his  master.  Not  so  with  the  poor 
Egyptian  slave. 

1.  There  was  no  community  of  feeling 
and  sentiment.  Hence  terrible  oppression 
and  thankless  service.  Between  man  and 
his  oppressors  there  is  nothing  naturally 
in  common.  Man  knows  it.  Satan 
knows  it.  Hence  the  terrible  burden  of 
sin  and  woe,  and  the  terrible  insurrections 
of  reason  and  moral  sense  against  the 
tyranny. 

2.  There  was  no  community  of  language 
between  the  Egyptian  and  the  Jew.  Hence 
misunderstanding  and  distress.  Man 
does  not  take  altogether  naturally  to 
the  language  of  hell.  Facility  in  the 
understanding  and  use  of  that  language 
requires  long  practice,  and  that  practice 
never  makes  perfect.  Hence  constant 
misunderstandings.  Good  is  represented 
by  evil ;  evil  by  good.  Ignorance  ex- 
changes places  with  knowledge,  and 
knowledge  with  ignorance.  Pain  is  sub- 
stituted for  pleasure,  and  pleasure  for 
pain.  And  amidst  these  conflicting  dia- 
lects man  is  bewildered ;  and  it  is  of  that 
bewilderment  that  Satan  takes  advan- 
tage. 

3.  There  is  no  community  of  law. 
There  is  a  show  of  one.  Liberal  terms 
are  offered.  Emoluments,  honours,  re- 
wards, are  promised.  But  there  is  nothing 
to  make  Satan  keep  his  own  terms  ;  and, 
after  years  of  painful  and  unremunera- 
tive  toil,  the  ^^  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
All  these  circumstances  combine  to  make 
the  sinners*  bondage  most  exasperating. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSAlMS, 


fSAT.ll  OtIT. 


IV.  This  bondage  was  followed  by  a 
Divine  Bedemption. 

1.  I' hat  redemption  was  an  histori- 
cal fact.  "  When  'i  "  Israel  looked  back 
upon  it  as  such.  So  is  the  redemption 
of  the  world  by  Christ.  The  Church 
can  be  traced  back  to  it  without  a 
missing  link.  Institutions  were  con- 
nected with  it,  date  from  it,  and  are 
still  commemorative  of  it.  In  the  one 
case,  the  Passover,  &c.,  Scripture  re- 
ferences and  doctrines.  In  the  other, 
all  evangelical  preaching  commenced 
with  it  and  refers  to  it.  One  day  in 
the  year  is  set  apart  for  its  contempla- 
tion, and  one  rite  most  impressively  sets 
it  forth. 

2.  That  redemption  was  not  an  ini- 
quitous proceeding.  "  Went  out."  They 
were  not  driven  out  or  stolen  out,  but 
went  out,  through  the  divinely  supported 
claim  of  their  national  rights.  Pharaoh 
had  no  claim  upon  them.  His  service 
was  robbery.     Contrast  and  analogy. 

(1.)  Contract,  Man  is  subject  to  the 
rightful  claims  of  law  on  his  service. 
Those  claims  have  been  deliberately  dis- 
regarded, and  the  law  imposes  a  curse 
and  a  penalty.     Man  is  redeemed  from 


the  law  by  Christ  bearing  that  curse 
and  suffering  that  penalty. 

(2.)  Analogy.  Satan  has  no  right  to 
man's  service.  When  that  ceases  Satan 
suffers  no  wrong.  When  man  is  released 
he  is  not  stolen  or  driven,  nor  does  he 
flee.  He  marches  forth  in  honourable 
triumph,  because  Satan  is  overthrown 
and  the  law  satisfied. 

(3.)  That  redemption  was  the  begin- 
ning of  their  national  life.  '*  When 
Israel.  .  .  .  House  of  Jacob."  Before 
they  were  merely  a  tribe ;  in  Egypt 
merely  a  caste ;  when  redeemed,  a  na- 
tion. By  Christ's  redemption  those  who 
were  not  a  people  became  the  people  of 
God  and  a  holy  nation.  Before  men  were 
disintegrated  members  of  the  human 
race ;  afterwards  brothers,  friends,  one 
in  life,  one  in  feeling,  one  in  aim.  Let 
political  rulers,  social  agitators,  and 
moral  philanthropists  note  this.  The 
redemption  of  Jesus  Christ  has  suc- 
ceeded in  social  purification  and  unity 
where  every  other  scheme  has  failed. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  If  the  Son  has 
made  us  free,  we  are  free  indeed,  (iu) 
Standfast  in  that  liberty ^  disc 


The  Temple  and  the  Kingdom. 
(Verse  2.) 


God  dwells  among  His  people  in  a 
twofold  character :  as  an  object  of  wor- 
ship, and  as  a  monarch  to  rule.  Hence 
in  the  sanctuary  He  secures  His  people's 
reverence  and  love.  On  His  throne  and 
over  His  dominion  He  secures  their 
obedience  and  homage.  Both  the  sanc- 
tuary and  the  throne  are  combined  (1) 
in  the  human  heart;  (2)  the  Christian 
Church;  (3)  the  material  universe. 

1.  The  Temple.  "  Judah  was  His 
sanctuary."  The  name  is  singularly 
appropriate.  **  The  praise  of  Jehovah." 
In  the  sanctuary — 

1.  God  dwells.  His  presence  makes 
the  temple  what  it  is.  "  Nature  "  would 
he  no  '*  temple  "  if  God  were  absent  from 
it.  Christ  in  the  midst  makes  the 
Cliristian  Church  a  temple ;  and  the 
indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  human 
heart 


2.  God  manifests  Himself.  In  nature 
(Rom.  i.  20).  In  the  Church  by  the  means 
of  grace.     In  the  soul  (John  xiv.  23). 

3.  God  communicates  His  will.  In 
nature  (Rom.  i.  19).  In  the  Church, 
which  is  the  depository  of  His  written 
word  and  the  organ  for  its  dissemina- 
tion.    In  the  heart  (Heb.  viii.  10,  11). 

4.  God  must  he  adored.  In  nature. 
"All  Thy  works  praise  Thee."  In  the 
Church  (1  Cor.  xiv.  25).  "Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul.^' 

IL  The  Kingdom.  "  Israel  His  do- 
minion." The  term  again  is  appro- 
priate. God  is  not  the  despotic  master 
of  a  rmmber  of  slaves,  but  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  His  people 
are  "  princes  with  God,"  "  a  royal  priest- 
hood." It  is  the  acknowledgment  of 
His  rule  that  ennobles  nature,  the 
Church,  and  the  individual  soul. 

215 


Psalm  cxiv. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


1.  God  reigns  in  His  dominion.  His 
presence  pervades  infinite  space,  and 
nature's  orderly  movements  betoken  the 
indwelling  of  nature's  King.  The  Church 
in  its  spiritual  powers,  extension,  work- 
ing out  of  the  divine  plans,  witnesses  to 
the  all-pervading  presence  of  her  Lord. 
The  soul,  in  the  provision  that  is  made 
for  its  wants,  and  its  power  to  withstand 
its  foes,  bears  testimony  to  the  presence 
of  its  Master. 

2.  God  reigns  over  His  dominion. 
The  forces  of  nature  emanated  from  Him, 
and  He  guides  them  to  the  fulfilment  of 
their  various  destinies.  The  Church  is 
under  His  command.  It  is  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,"    "  Ye  are  My  friends, 


if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you.** 
The  soul  is  His,  and  is  subject  to  His 
authority. 

3.  God  reigns  for  the  good  of  His 
subjects.  In  nature  everything  serves 
benevolent  ends.  Philosophy  and  legis- 
lation have  not  improved  on  the  laws 
Christ  gave  to  His  Church.  Only  by 
keeping  God's  laws  can  the  benefit  of 
the  soul  be  secured. 

4.  God  reigns  that  His  dominion  may 
he  universally  acknowledged.  It  is  so 
acknowledsred  in  nature.     It  will  be  in 

O 

the  moral  world  by  His  Church.  Christ 
**  shall  reign,"  &c.  God  yearns  for  the 
homage  of  each  individual  heart,  and 
says,  **  Be  ye  reconciled  to  God," 


Thb  Removal  op  Obstacles. 
{Vcrsts  3,  4.) 


"The  sea   (the   Red   Sea)   saw   the 

mighty  movement — the  marshalled  hosts 
— the  moving  masses — the  cattle — the 
pursuing  enemies — the  commotion — the 
agitation  on  its  usually  quiet  shores. 
We  are  to  conceive  of  the  usual  calm- 
ness of  the  desert — the  waste  and  lonely 
solitudes  of  the  Red  Sea;  and  then  all 
this  suddenly  broken  in  upon  by  vast 
hosts  of  men,  women,  children,  and 
cattle,  fleeing  in  consternation,  followed 
by  the  embattled  strength  of  Egypt, — 
all  rolling  on  tumultuously  to  the  shore. 
No  wonder  the  sea  is  represented  as 
astonished  at  this  unusual  spectacle,  and 
so  fleeing  in  dismay." — Barnes. 

I.  Antagonisms  are  quelled.  *'  The 
sea  saw  it  and  fled."  Wherever  the 
Church  has  advanced — 

1.  Sin  and  Satan  have  receded.  Where 
it  has  not  been  so  the  Church  is  to 
blame.  The  promise  depends  on  the 
proper  spirit  and  the  use  of  proper 
means.  It  is  only  when  she  loses  her 
spirituality,  or  fights  with  carnal  wea- 
pons, or  depends  upon  the  arm  of  flesh, 
that  she  has  failed.  When  clad  in  her 
armour,  she  encountered  the  vices  and 
follies  of  Roman  civilisation,  she  was 
"fair  as  the  moon,  bright  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 

2.  Idolatry  has  receded.  Christianity 
simply  annihilated  the  classical,  Druidi- 

216 


cal,  Saxon,  Tartar,  and  Scandinavian 
mythologies,  the  bloody  rites  of  the 
South  Seas,  and  is  now  doing  the  same 
for  the  debasing  superstitions  of  Africa 
and  the  foul  abominations  of  Hindostan. 
If  not  Christianity,  what  has  ?  Not 
civilisation :  it  boasts  that  religion  is 
out  of  its  sphere.  Not  philosophy  :  in 
its  palmiest  days  it  gave  itself  to  its 
exposition  and  was  glad  of  its  alliance. 
Not  legislation  :  it  has  been  the  aim  of 
human  governments  to  protect  it  on 
utilitarian  and  other  grounds.  Clearly 
no  other  theory  will  account  for  it. 

3.  Infidelity  has  receded.  For  all 
the  ancient  philosophies  she  proved  an 
overmatch.  From  her  infancy  she  has 
given  birth  to  giant  intellects,  who 
have  saved  the  world  from  intellectual 
anarchy.  She  has  vanquished  the  infi- 
delity of  the  Renaissance,  the  French 
Revolution,  tlie  elder  Deism,  and  Tom 
Paine.  Socialism  and  rationalism  have 
been  weakened,  and  scientific  material- 
ism is  met  by  an  array  of  learning 
and  acuteness  without  a  parallel,  and  it 
will  pass  away. 

II.  Boundaries  are  removed.  "  Jor- 
dan was  driven  back." 

1.  Christianity  levels  all  class  distinc- 
tions. To  all  castes,  Jewish,  Roman, 
Indian,  (fee,  it  is  a  formidable  foe.  "  In 
Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  bond  noi 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PtALM  OXIV 


free,"  Ac.  It  reduces  all  mankind  to 
one  common  level  of  crying  need,  for 
which  but  one  provision  has  been 
made. 

2.  Christianity  obliterates  all  physical 
harriers.  It  goes  into  all  the  world  and 
preaches  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 
It  was  not  made  for  home  consumption, 
but  is  the  property  of  all  nations. 

3.  Christianity  Jills  up  all  intellectual 
chasms.  No  greater  remove  could  pos- 
sibly be  than  that  between  the  old 
philosopher  and  the  common  people. 
Christianity  appeals  to  both.  Its  truths 
are  the  food  of  the  scholar  and  the  re- 
freshment of  the  slave. 

m.  Difficulties  are  overcome.  '*  The 
mountains  skipped,"  &c. 

L  All  difficulties  of  nature.     Wher- 


ever Christianity  has  appeared  "  the 
valleys  have  been  exalted,"  <fec.  Crooked 
ways  have  been  made  straight.  No 
mountain  has  been  too  high,  no  sea  i<  o 
broad,  no  continent  too  wide,  for  the 
pioneers  and  missionaries  of  the  faith. 

2.  A II  difficulties  of  human  prejudice. 
Armies  have  been  levied  to  extirpate  it. 
Fires  have  been  kindled  to  burn  it. 
Learning  has  been  accumulated  to  refute 
it,  but  in  vain. 

In  conclusion. — This  history  is  pro- 
phecy. Fulfilled  prophecy  in  some 
instances.  It  holds  good  through  the 
ages.  Let  the  Church  in  the  strength  of 
it  redouble  her  efforts,  brighten  her  hope, 
perfect  her  faith,  and  go  on  conquering 
and  to  conquer. 


Why  Obstacles  are  Removed. 
{Verses  5-7.) 


L  Because  of  the  omnipotent  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord.  *'  Nothing  is  too 
hard  for  the  Lord "  in  the  physical, 
intellectual,  or  moral  world.  He  is  the 
A-uthor  of  nature,  and  can  either  suspend 
her  laws  or  give  His  people  strength  to 
overcome  them.  He  is  the  Lord  of 
mind.  He  can  bring  to  naught  the 
understanding  of  the  proud,  or  give  His 
servants  wisdom  to  expose  their  sophis- 
tries. He  is  the  Lord  of  soul.  He  can 
subdue  its  sinfulness,  or  enable  His 
ministers  to  bring  that  moral  influence 
and  suasion  to  bear  upon  it  which  shall 
turn  it  from  darkness  to  light,  <fec.  He 
has  done,  does,  and  will  do  so  (Is.  xL, 
liv.  14-16). 

n.  Because  of  the  covenant  presence 
of  the  Lord.  "The  God  of  Jacob.'' 
He  has  pledged  His  gracious  presence 
with  His  people  to  lead  them  on  to  vic- 
tory (Is.  liv.  17  ;  Eom.  viii.).  It  was  by 
virtue  of  the  covenant  made  with  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  renewed  to 
then),  that  Israel  overcame  their  obstacles 
and  inherited  the  promised  land.  And 
by  virtue  of  a  new  and  better  covenant, 
God  is  on  the  side  of  His  Church  and 
against  her  numerous  foes,  and  prepares 
her  rest  in  heaven  when  her  work  is  done. 


III.  Because  of  the  merciful  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord.  God  rules  in  mercy 
as  well  as  in  power.  It  was  good  for 
Israel,  good  for  the  world  then  and 
through  all  time,  that  the  sea  should 
flee  and  Jordan  should  be  driven  back. 
The  Canaanites  were  a  curse  to  God's 
earth.  It  was  in  mercy  that  they  were 
cut  off.  God  established  His  people 
in  their  place,  that  through  them  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  might  be  blessed. 
This  end  has  been  answered,  for  of  them, 
"  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came." 
The  same  applies  to  the  Church. 

IV.  Because  of  the  righteous  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord.  *'  Tremble,  thou 
earth,"  &c.  Since  God  rules  in  right- 
eousness He  holds  the  power  of  retribu- 
tion. The  measure  of  the  iniquities  of 
the  enemies  of  His  people  became  full 
before  the  judgment  fell.  Righteousness 
still  characterises  God's  rule.  And  be- 
cause of  that  nations  fall  and  are  swept 
away  when  they  disrespect  His  covenant 
and  disobey  His  law. 

To  CONCLUDE. — The  Lord  Omnipotent, 
covenant,  merciful,  and  just,  is  with  His 
Church.  Let  the  Church  be  encouraged, 
humbled,  energised,  brave. 


317 


IcALMCnUV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


DiviNK  Provisions. 
(Verses  7,  8.) 


Verse  7  is  the  point  of  connection 
between  verses  3-6  and  verse  8.  God's 
presence  enabled  His  people  to  overcome 
their  difficulties,  and  guaranteed  a  per- 
manent provision  for  their  need.  God 
employs  the  Church  to  accomplish  His 
magnificent  designs,  and  His  presence  in 
its  midst  assures  it  constant  blessing. 
Divine  provisions  are — 

L  The  result  of  the  divine  presence. 
God  in  His  works  is  the  source  of  their 
continual  stability  and  strength.  The 
fountain  of  their  life  and  fruitf ulness  is 
there,  and  by  His  supports  they  flourish. 
God  in  His  word  is  the  source  of  its 
continual  inspiration  and  suggestiveness, 
and  because  He  is  there,  there  is  ever 
more  '*  light  to  break  forth  from "  it. 
God  in  His  Church  is  the  guarantee 
that  the  means  of  grace  shall  be  efficient, 
and  in  consequence  of  this  she  grows  in 
strength  as  she  grows  in  grace.  So  in 
the  soul. 

II.  Oontemplate  real  need.  God 
does  not  promise  the  luxuries  or  super- 
fluities, but  the  necessaries  of  life  ;  not 
confections  or  things  merely  grateful  to 
the  palate,  but  things  necessary  for 
refreshment,  strength,  and  life.  God 
does  not  undertake  to  pamper  His 
people  with  worldly  grandeur  and  mere 
material  success ;  but  He  does  promise 
that  all  things  necessary  for  life  and  god- 
liness shall  be  secured.  Men  can  dispense 
with  wine,  but  they  cannot  dispense 
with  water.  And  so  the  Church  can 
dispense  with  State  alliances  and  popular 
applause,  but  cannot  dispense  with  the 
water  of  life. 

III.  Oome  in  unexpected  forms. 
Even  the  faith  of  Moses  would  hardly 
have  looked  to  the  hard  granite  of  Horeb, 
or  the  basalt  of  the  desert,  for  refreshing 
streams.  Yet  at  the  command  of  God 
the  rock  was  turned  into  standing  water. 
And  so  invariably  with  the  operations 
of  providence  and  grace.  Israel  was  led 
out  of  Egypt  and  to  the  promised  land 
under  the  guidance  of  a  shepherd.  By 
a  shepherd  she  was  oonsolidated  into  a 

218 


permanent  kingdom.  The  prophets  and 
apostles,  as  a  rule,  were  drawn  from  the 
lowest  stratum,  and  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  has  silenced  the  rhetoric  of 
the  schools.  The  good  things  of  the 
world's  redemption  came  out  of  Nazareth, 
and  the  power  that  has  moved  the  world 
emanated  from  a  malefactor's  cross. 
Gain  has  come  out  of  loss,  life  out  of 
death,  prosperity  out  of  suffering  "at 
the  presence  of  the  Lord." 

IV.  Flow  with  abounding  fulness 
— **  a  fountain  of  waters."  Wealth  and 
prodigality  characterise  the  divine  gifts. 
Men  minimise  and  contract  them,  but 
not  God.  The  air,  light,  showers,  sun, 
the  magnificence  of  the  heavens,  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape,  and  the  grandeur 
of  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  all  witness 
to  the  bounty  which  is  at  the  disposal 
of  needy  man.  But  '*  these  things  are 
an  allegory "  of  "  the  riches  of  His 
grace."  *'Ask  whatsoever  ye  will;" 
*'  My  God  shall  supply  all  your  need ;" 
<kc.  "  God  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly,"  <kc.  God  "  multiplies  to 
pardon,"  gives  "  plenteous  redemption," 
and  finally  vouchsafes  "  an  abundant  en- 
trance into  His  everlasting  kingdom." 

V.  Are  constantly  permanent. 
"  Fountain."  "  Standing  water."  As 
God  changes  not.  His  bountiful  provi- 
sions do  not  change.  Man's  need  is  abid- 
ing, so  is  God's  gift.  Man  always  needs 
water — at  all  times  His  water  is  sure. 
The  Church  needs  a  perpetual  applica- 
tion of  the  benefits  of  Christ's  death. 
His  "  eternal  redemption  "  supplies  the 
eternal  need.  The  Spirit  abides  ever 
in  the  soul  to  confirm  its  faith,  soothe 
its  sorrow,  and  brighten  its  hope. 

Finally. — It  is  to  this  and  other 
passages  (Exod.  xvii.  6,  7  ;  Num.  xxviii, 
11)  that  the  Apostle  (1  Cor.  x.  4)  draws 
his  spiritual  inferences  respecting  the 
support  and  refreshment  Christ  gives  to 
His  people.  In  the  wilderness  Israel 
(i.)  Were  supplied  without  money  and 
without  price.  So  Christ  offers  the 
water  of  life  freely,     (ii.)    Were  indtbted 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXV. 


to  the  cleaving  of  the  rock  at  the  word  of  cleansing  and  refreshment  of  the  world. 

Moses.     So  Christ,   the  Rock  of  ages,  (iii.)  NoWy  as  then,  the  blessings  are  per- 

was  cleft  for  us,  and  from  His  riven  side  manentj  to  stimulate  our  courage   and 

flowed  those  streams  which  are  for  the  confirm  our  faith* 


PSALM     CXV. 
Introduction. 

1.  Date  and  authorship  uncertain.  Has  been  ascribed  to  the  immediate  pott  exQ,ie 
psalmists,  and  to  the  poets  of  the  time  of  the  Maccabees.  2.  Characteristics.  Allusion  to  or 
quotation  of  Isaiah.  The  iterations  (verses  9-13)  suggest  Temple  service.  3.  Ewald  conjectures 
that  the  Psalm  was  sung  while  the  sacrifice  was  offered,  and  that  verses  12-15  were  spoken  by 
the  priest  declaring  the  acceptance  of  it ;  verses  1-11  and  16-18  sung  by  the  congregation. 


Thb  Solb  Glort  of  God,  and  the  Abnegation  or  Mah. 

(Verse  1.) 


The  Bible  everywhere  gives  bold  pro- 
minence to  the  glory  of  God.  That 
glory  is  said  to  be  the  end  of  all  the 
divine  works  and  ways.  "  The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God."  **  The  whole 
earth  is  filled  with  His  glory."  Says  the 
Old  Testament  Psalmist :  **  Give  unto  the 
Lord,  ye  kindreds  of  the  people,  give  unto 
the  Lord  glory  and  strength  ;  give  unto 
the  Lord  the  glory  due  unto  His  name." 
Says  the  New  Testament  Apostle  :  "Now 
unto  God  and  our  Father  be  glory  for 
ever  and  ever."     Notice — 

I.  That  God's  glory  consists  in  His 
own  supreme  and  solitary  perfection. 
*'  Thy    name."     U^    denoting    internal 

essence,  authority,  rank,  and  dignity. 
When  Moses  inquired,  '*  What  is  Thy 
name  1 "  the  reply  was,  *'  I  AM  that  I 
AM."  The  divine  glory  consists  in  God 
being  Himself.  There  is  no  glory  in 
imitation.  The  glory  of  man  consists  in 
bis  being  a  man.  When  he  becomes  a 
clnltl  or  a  beast  he  loses  his  glory.  So 
God's  glory  consists  in  His  being  what 
He  is  and  nothing  else ;  perfect  and  in- 
capable of  improvement  in  dignity,  by 
time  or  through  the  homage  of  His  crea- 
tures. 

IL  That  Gk)d's  glory  is  expressed 
in  the  mercy  and  truthfulness  of  His 
works  and  ways.  These  two  expressions 
sum  up  the  divine  perfections,  and  illus- 
trate two  sides  of  the  divine  character. 
Their  harmony  in  action — forgiving,  yet 


not  80  as  to  violate  the  law  of  righteous- 
ness ;  truthful,  yet  not  so  as  to  deprive 
the  guilty  of  hope — is  God's  glory,  re- 
vealed to  and  manifested  towards  His 
creatures.  This  receives  its  full  ex- 
pression only  in  Christ,  who  is  the 
"brightness  of  His  glory,"  <fcc.,  in  His 
ministry  and  death. 

III.  That  God's  glory  should  be  ap- 
prehended and  acknowledged  by  man. 
It  must  be  apprehended  before  it  can  be 
acknowledged.  No  man  can  glorify  God 
till  he  has  some  sense  of  His  perfections 
as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  must 
see  the  King  in  His  beauty  before  he  can 
admire  Him.  He  must  feel,  in  penitence 
and  faith,  that  God  is  "  just  and  the  Jus- 
tifier,"  "a  just  God  and  a  Saviour," 
before  he  can  adore  Him.  Then  the 
honour  due  unto  God's  name  will  be  a 
thankful  and  spontaneous  tribute,  and 
herein  will  God  "be  glorified  that  we 
bear  much  fruit." 

IV.  That  God's  glory  is  not  the 
object  of  God's  solicitude,  but  man's. 

1.  God  has  no  need  to  seek  His  ovm 
glory.  That  comes  in  the  nature  of 
things.  Even  evil  in  some  mysterious 
way  subserves  this  end.  2.  When  God 
is  spoken  of  as  doing  this  or  that  for  His 
name's  sake  and  for  His  glory,  it  means 
that  He  is  not  indifferent  to  what  we  think 
of  Him,  and  that  it  is  only  by  our  right 
thoughts  and  actions  towards  Him  that 
our  w  ell-beiug  can  be  secured.     3.   When 

219 


PBALM  OXT. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


man  is  solicitous  to  promote  God's  glory ^ 
God's  object  is  secured.  4.  Maris  blessed- 
ness. "  The  glory  which  thou  gavest  Me 
I  have  given  them,"  &c.  (Rev.  vii.  9-12.) 
V.  That  God's  glory  removes  all 
ground  of  boasting  on  the  part  of  man. 
**Not  unto  us."  Boasting  is  here  for 
ever  excluded.  ,  .  .  All  the  good  we  do 


is  done  by  the  power  of  His  grace,  and 
all  the  good  we  have  is  the  gift  of  His 
mercy,  and  therefore  He  must  have  alS 
the  praise.  .  .  .  All  our  songs  must  be 
sung  to  this  humble  tune.  .  .  .  All  our 
crowns  must  be  cast  at  the  feet  of  Him 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne." — M,  Henry. 


A  Godless  Inquiry  and  a  Godly  Responsb. 
{Verses  2,  3.) 


This  is  an  everyday  question,  asked  by 
various  people  and  on  various  grounds, 
and  should  be  met  every  day  with  its  all- 
suflScient  answer.  While  a  Christian  man 
should  not  court  controversy  for  its  cwn 
sake,  he  should  be  ready  to  give  an 
answer  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him. 

I.  The  question,  "Where  is  now  their 
GodT' 

1.  Why  is  it  asked?  (1.)  Because  of 
the  spirituality  of  God.  God  is  invisible, 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  man's  physical 
sense.  (2.)  Because  of  the  fancied  inde- 
pendence and  power  of  man.  Pharaoh  in 
his  vain  pride  asked  a  similar  question. 
So  did  Sennacherib.  Surrounded  by 
marshalled  hosts,  or  protected  by  mate- 
rial forces,  man  sees  no  need  of  God ; 
hence  this  question.  (3.)  Because  of  the 
disinclination  of  depraved  humanity  to 
serve  God  (Job,  xxi.  14,  15).  Man  is  a 
sinner,  and  feels  if  there  be  a  God  that 
God  must  have  vengeance  on  his  crimes, 
and  that  that  God  has  strong  claims  upon 
his  gratitude  and  service.  (4.)  Because 
of  the  folly  of  the  human  heart.  If  the 
evidences  written  on  the  heavens  above 
and  in  the  earth  beneath  are  not  enough, 
the  question  of  our  text  must  be  regarded 
as  the  outcome  of  mental  incapacity  or 
moral  obliquity.  (6.)  Because  of  the 
apparent  inequalities  of  Gods  provi- 
dential rule.  (See  Asaph's  mournful  wail, 
Ps.  Ixxiii.) 

2.  By  whom  is  it  asked  f  By  (1) 
The  Atheist  who,as  the  Antetheist,  dogma- 
tically denies  the  divine  existence ;  or,  as 
the  Agnostic  &nd  Positivist,  maintains  that 
God  is  unknown  and  unknowable.  (2) 
The  Pantheist,  who  denies  the  divine  per- 
sonality, and  if  God  be  impersonal  He 
must  be  unintelligent  and  unconscious, 

220 


and  therefore  virtually  non-existent.  (3) 
The  Deistf  who  would  acknowledge  the 
existence  of  God  as  an  hypothesis  to  ac- 
count for  the  universe,  but  would  deny 
his  power  to  interfere  with  His  works  or 
the  laws  by  which  they  are  controlled. 
As  Sir  I.  Newton  remarked  :  "  A  God 
without  dominion,  providence,  and  final 
causes,  is  nothing  but  fate  and  nature." 
(4)  Unitarian;  for  the  only  God  we 
know  of  is  He  whom  Christ  reveals.  (6) 
By  the  Idolater.  All  these  sections  of 
modern  heathenism  are  asking  the  ques- 
tion to-day. 

II.  To  this  question  there  is  an  all- 
sufQ.cient  answer  (ver.  3).  The  answer 
to  the  taunt  of  the  heathen,  who,  seeing 
no  image  of  Jehovah,  mocked  at  His  ex- 
istence, is  "  (1)  He  i^inheaveny  invisible 
indeed,  yet  thence  ruling  the  universe ; 
(2)  He  doeth  what  He  willy  in  fine  con- 
trast to  the  utter  impotence  of  the  idols  of 
the  heathen.  (3)  God's  almighty  power 
and  absolute  freedom.  This,  truthfully 
accepted,  does  away  with  all  ct  priori 
objections  to  miracles." — Perowne, 

1.  God  exists  ;  as  against  the  non-ex- 
istence of  idols.  The  world  is  full  of 
thought  and  beauty  and  design  which 
bespeak  an  intelligent  mind  and  a 
powerful  will.  The  universe  is  without 
a  rational  explanation  on  any  other 
theory ;  and  the  human  heart  and  mind 
are  vacant  without  the  thought  of  God. 

2.  God  exists  in  the  heavens.  That 
accounts  for  His  spiritual  invisibility. 
God's  being  is  too  great  to  be  within 
the  comprehension  of  our  poor  faculties, 
and  too  holy  to  be  perfectly  manifested 
to  our  sinfulness.  It  is  irrational 
to  question  the  unseen  because  it  ia 
unseen. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


fBAJM  OXV. 


8.  Ood  does  according  to  His  pleasure, 
not  according  to  man's.  This  accounts 
for  (1)  the  fact  that  men  question  Hia 
existence.  He  permits  it  that  He  may 
ultimately  show  its  vanity,  and  confirm 
His  people's  faith.  "A  grand  old  Me- 
thodist preacher,  called  John  Nelson,  was 
obliged  to  become  a  soldier,  and  as  he 
was  arrayed,  a  mocking,  bad  woman 
came  to  him  and  said,  '  Nelson,  where  is 
now  thy  G  od  ?  Thou  didst  say  at  Shent's 
door  that  thou  hadst  no  more  fear  of  all 
His  promises  failing  than  thou  hadst  of 
falling  through  the  centre  of  the  earth. 
Where  is  now  thy  GodT     Nelson,  in 


whom  the  Word  of  God  dwelt  richly,  said, 
*  You  will  find  the  answer  in  Micah  vii. 
8-10:"  Rej  oice," '  &c.  I  ha ve  some  reason 
to  believe  that  the  answer  was  literally 
fulfilled."— Z)r.  J.  Parker,  (2)  For  the 
apparent  inequalities  of  His  providential 
government.  God  bears  with  tyrants, 
hoping  that  their  repentance  may  avert 
His  vengeance  (Luke  xvii.  1,  (fec\  God 
permits  the  suflfering  of  His  people  as 
the  chastisement  for  their  sin,  the  trial 
of  their  faith,  or  because  His  just  de- 
signs for  the  whole  of  mankind  could 
not  be  otherwise  fulfilled 


**  Idols  and  the  Living  and  True  Gk)D,** 

{Verses  3-7.) 


The  Psalmist  having  replied  to  objec- 
tors now  carries  the  war  into  the  heart 
of  their  camp.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
contempt  which  the  old  Hebrew  prophets 
poured  on  the  various  systems  of  idolatry. 
(Deut.  iv.  28  ;  1  Kings  xviii.  27-29 ;  Isa. 
xxxvii.  19,  xl.  19-24,  xliv.  9  20;  Jer. 
X.  3-5,  &c.)  The  irony  oi  Juvenal  is  very 
fine  :  '*  Dost  thou  hear,  0  Jupiter,  these 
things  1  Nor  move  thy  lips  when  thou 
oughtest  to  speak  out,  whether  thou  art 
of  marble  or  of  bronze  1  Or  why  do  we 
put  the  sacred  incense  on  thy  altar  from 
the  opened  paper,  and  the  extracted  liver 
of  a  calf,  and  the  white  caul  of  a  hog  1 
As  far  as  I  can  discern  there  is  no  dif- 
ference between  thy  statue  and  that  of 
Bathyllus."     Bathyllus  was  a  fiddler. 

I.  Idols  vary  in  every  age  and  among 
various  nations.  God  remains  the  same. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  old  Pantheon 
grew  in  number  with  the  years.  First 
the  elements,  then  deceased  heroes,  then 
good  things,  then  evil  things,  and  finally 
everything.  Idolatry  still  lives  on. 
Men  worship  themselves,  their  friends, 
wealth,  pleasure,  power,  <fec.  But  all 
fluctuate  and  die.     Only  God  lives  on. 

II.  Idols  are  numerous  and  con- 
flicting ;  God  is  one  and  in  harmony 
with  Himself.  Olympus  was  a  house 
divided  against  itself.  The  great  Jove 
was  supreme  only  in  name.  The  sug- 
gestions of  the  patrons  of  all  the  virtues 


were  met  by  the  counter  suggestions  of 
the  patrons  of  all  the  vices.  The  decrees 
of  the  goddess  of  wisdom  were  neutra- 
lised by  the  passions  of  the  god  of  war ; 
and  so  with  the  idols  of  modern  England. 
The  living  and  true  God,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  one,  and  eternally  self-consistent. 
in.  Idols  are  the  work  of  men's 
hands ;  God  is  eternal  and  uncreated. 
The  same  power  which  could  make  an 
idol  can  unmake  it.  An  image  can  be 
worshipped  one  moment,  used  as  a  foot- 
stool the  next,  and  destroyed  the  next. 
The  living  and  true  God  is  untouched 
by  His  creatures,  and  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting  is  God. 

IV.  Idols  at  best  can  occupy  only 
"  temples  made  with  hands."  "  God  is 
in  the  heavens."  Men  may  erect  their 
splendid  temples  and  fashion  their  golden 
shrines.  They  may  adorn  them  with  the 
magnificent  conceptions  of  human  gen- 
ius, with  breathing  canvas  and  speaking 
marble,  and  celebrate  their  worship  with 
grand  and  costly  ritual.  But  all  is  of 
the  earth,  earthy.  The  living  God  from 
His  high  and  holy  place  looks  down  with 
pity  and  contempt  on  all. 

V.  Idols  are  senseless  (5-7) ;  but  God 
is  keenly  sensitive  of  the  wants  of 
His  creatures,  and  kindly  attentive  to 
their  prayers. 

''  Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from 
idols." 

221 


PIALMOXT. 


HOMJLETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Thk  Moral  Consequences  of  Idolatbt, 

(Verse  8.) 


Men  read  into  nature  their  own  im- 
perfect views  of  the  supernatural,  and 
thus  their  gods  were  like  themselves ; 
with  the  same  bodies,  parts,  and  passions. 
The  gods  again  found  their  reflection  in 
the  hearts  of  their  devotees.  Both  gra- 
dually grew  worse  and  worse,  till  no 
passion  was  too  vile  for  a  god  to  feel,  and 
no  vice  too  bestial  to  be  in  some  measure 
sanctified  (Rom.  1).  And  now  a  man's 
character  is  formed  by  the  god  he  wor- 
ships. "  Those  that  make  them,  and 
trust  in  them,  are  like  unto  them :  " — 

I.  In  mental  incapacity.  It  would 
be  hard  to  conceive  the  utter  blindness  of 
the  idolater  to  the  utter  blindness  of  his 
god  if  it  were  not  too  sadly  true.  Wealth, 
personal  appearance,  pleasure,  <kc.,  are 
worshipped,  in  spite  of  the  universal  fact 
that  they  can  of  themselves  do  nothing 
for  man  ;  and  yet  man  continues  his  mad 
and  stupid  idolatry.  This  worship  blinds 
man  to  the  inevitable  result.  He  goes 
on  till  some  rude  shock  wakens  his  mind 
into  activity,  and  sometimes  that  shock 
comes  too  late. 

II.  In  moralinsensibility.  The  miser 
is  as  hard  against  moral  impressions  as 
his  gold.  The  Midas  fable  is  only  too 
true.  The  self-worshipper  is  hardened 
in  his  conceit.  The  power-worshipper 
is  encased  in  an  ambition  which  few 
things  can  pierce.  This  insensibility  is 
not  of  sudden,  but  gradual  growth.  The 
miser  may  have  been  tender  at  one  time, 
but  by  degrees  his  love  of  gold  has  de- 
stroyed it  all.  Beware  lest  any  of  you 
be  hardened  by  the  deceitfulness  of  sin. 

in.  In  deep  degradation.  All  myth- 
ologies have  deities  which  are  the  proper 
object  of  execration  rather  than  worship. 
In  the  elegant  (?)  classical  mythology  the 


father  of  the  gods  was  a  buffoon  and  a 
sensualist,  his  father  devoured  his  off- 
spring ;  the  god  of  valour  was  an  example 
of  domestic  treason  ;  and  the  patron  of 
commerce  was  the  special  favourite  of 
thieves.  The  Egyptian  and  Oriental 
gods  are  even  worse.  Their  worship  is 
consistent  with  their  character,  and 
makes  their  votaries  like  themselves. 
What  degradation  does  the  worship  of 
Isis,  Bacchus,  Venus,  Vishnu,  Baal,  and 
Astarte,  <kc.,  reveal.  And  so  with  the 
idols  of  a  mis-called  Christian  civilisa- 
tion. Gold  and  pleasure  are  hardly  less 
animalising. 

IV.  In  malign  harmfnlness.  Idols 
can  of  course  do  nothing  of  themselves. 
But  the  influence  of  their  supposed  ex- 
ample can  have  but  one  effect.  What 
the  effect  is  heathenism  in  all  ages 
abundantly  shows.  Bloody,  impure,  and 
implacable  deities  have  produced  men 
who  rivalled  them  in  debauchery  and 
crime.  And  the  influence  of  the  lust  of 
power,  pleasure,  or  gain,  is  to  wither 
the  affections,  blight  the  intellect,  and 
blast  the  soul. 

V.  In  spiritual  death.  Idols  having 
no  life  cannot  nourish  or  sustain  it.  The 
soul  goes  to  them  in  vain  for  pardon  and 
purity.  The  mind  finds  no  base  for  its 
operation,  no  satisfaction  for  its  craving ; 
the  life  no  authoritative  rule,  no  guide 
in  perplexity,  no  encouragement  in  duty. 
Everything  upon  which  this  Upas  casts 
its  shadow,  dies.     Learn — 

(i.)  The  danger  of  idolatry.  In  itself 
and  in  the  condemnation  that  rests  upon 
it.  **Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols, 
LBT  HIM  ALONE."  (ii.)  The  missionary 
duty  of  the  Churches  towards  heathenism 
abroad  and  at  home. 


Trust  m  Gk)D. 

(Verses  ^-W.) 

I.   The  natnre  of    trust.     n@^  is  1.  The  believer  depends  fully  on  the 

used  in  two  senses.    (1.)  To  hang  upon  ^^Ip  <^nd  protection  which  God  affords, 

something,  to  rely,  to  trust.     (2.)   To  and  avails  himself  of  them  at  all  times 

liTe  secure,  careless,  and  cahn.  and  everywhere.     He  feels  that  thers  is 

222 


HOMILBTW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  ox?. 


DO  otlier  security  or  strength  but  in  the 
power  and  goodness  of  God. 

2.  Consequently  he  abandons  all  other 
refuges,  and  fearlessly  casts  himself  on 
God's  care,  and  lives  calmly  in  the  midst 
of  all  his  foes. 

11.  The  grounds  of  trust  "He  is 
their  help  and  their  shield." 

1.  The  divine  help  is  omnipotent,  and 
therefore  sufficient ;  wisely  made,  and 
therefore  to  be  depended  upon;  ever 
present,  and  therefore  available;  willingly 
vouchsafed,  and  therefore  fearlessly  ac- 
cepicd.  This  help  is  oflfered  when  wanted, 
and  therefore  never  superfluously  ;  in  sin, 
to  pardon  it ;  in  perplexity,  to  remove 
it ;  in  physical  distress,  to  alleviate  it ; 
in  trials,  to  safely  conduct  us  through. 

2.  The  divine  protection.  This  was 
specially  God's  covenant  cliaracter  (Gen. 
XV.  1,  Deut.  xxxiii.  29).  (1.)  The  be- 
liever wants  provision  for  his  safety  in 
his  warfare,  and  not  simply  help.  The 
mightiest  warrior  is  at  the  mercy  of  his 
weakest  foe  without  a  shield.  So  while 
the  Christian  wields  the  "  sword  of  the 
Spirit,"  he  wears  other  accoutrements, 
and  "over  all"  the  "shield  of  faith." 
(2.)  The  believer  needs  protection  in 
time  of  exhaustion.  The  strength  of  the 
stoutest  warrior  must  give  way  in  time, 
and  woe  to  him  if  the  fortified  camp  or 


citadel  is  not  within  reach.  So,  for  the 
exhausted  believer,  "  the  name  of  the 
Lord  is  a  strong  tower,  the  righteous 
runneth  into  it  and  is  safe." 

III.  Those  who  trust.  "Israel." 
"  House  of  Aaron."  "  Ye  that  fear  the 
Lord." 

1.  The  whole  body  of  God's  people. 
Because  (1)  they  are  warranted  in  their 
trust.  (2)  It  is  their  duty  to  trust  (3) 
Their  trust  is  necessary  to  their  safety, 

2.  Gods  ministers.  In  whatever 
sphere,  let  those  who  are  working  for 
God  (1)  Trust  in  the  help  of  God,  in  the 
study  and  proclamation  of  His  word  ;  in 
their  contest  with  infidelity  ;  in  their 
conflict  with  sin.  (2)  Trust  in  the  protec- 
tion of  God  against  temptations,  spiritual 
monotony,  indolence,  doubt,  and  fear. 

IV.  The  consequences  of  trust. 

1.  The  believer  is  confident.  **  He 
knows  whom  he  has  believed,"  <fec. 

2.  The  believer  is  trusty.  He  is  faith- 
ful ;/m/^  of  faith.  Fulness  of  faith  means 
full  reliance  on  God,  which  guarantees 
fulness  of  sufficiency,  hence  fidelity. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  A  warrant. 
"The  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield." 
(ii.)  A  command.  *'  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord 
forever,"  &c.  (iii.)  A  promise.  **  Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death,"  &c.  (iv.)  A 
prayer,      "  Lord,  increase  our  faith." 


Gk)D  Mindful  of  Man. 
{Verse  12.) 


This  is  a  continuation  of  the  con- 
troversy between  the  believer  and  the 
idolater.  In  answer  to  the  question, 
"  Where  is  now  your  God?"  the  Psalmist 
replies,  "  In  heaven,  where  yours  is  not. 
Your  gods  are  silver  and  gold,  articles  of 
human  manufacture,  devoid  of  both  sym- 
pathy and  sense ;  but  our  God  has  been 
mindful  of  us,  and  will  bless  us." 

This  is  one  of  the  many  proofs  that  the 
Hebrew  faith  was  not  an  abstract  mono- 
theism, and  that  the  Incarnation  was  its 
logical  development.  Jehovah  was  not 
some  grand  inaccessible  power.  He  was 
their  Father,  brought  into  familiar  con- 
tact with  them,  careful  of  their  wants, 
and  joyful  when  they  were  glad.  This 
doctrine  is  followed  by  the  revelation  of 


Him  who  is  the  great  expression  of  the 
mindfulness  of  God. 

L  Why  is  God  mindful  of  man  ? 

Scepticism  scoffs  at  the  idea  as  it  did  of 
old.  Religious  men  sometimes  wonder 
at  it.  The  vastness  of  the  universe,  the 
enormity  of  man's  guilt,  the  apparent  in- 
significance of  his  age,  size,  actions,  ever 
suggest  the  question, "  What  is  man,  that 
Thou  art  mindful  of  him,"  (fee.  God  is 
mindful  of  man — 

1.  Because  He  is  God.  (L)  He  is  the 
Father  of  man,  and  naturally  solicitous 
of  the  interests  of  His  children.  (2.)  He 
is  the  ruler  of  men,  and  it  therefore  be- 
hoves Him  to  protect  and  regulate  His 
subjects.  (3.)  He  is  the  creator  of  man, 
and  it  is  but  natural  that  He  should  care 

223 


PBALM  CXV. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


for  that  which  He  was  at  the  trouble  to 
make. 

2.  Becaiise  of  man^s  dignity.  When 
He  created  him  He  pronounced  him  to 
be  very  good.  Alas  !  it  is  not  so  now. 
Nevertheless,  compared  with  the  rest  of 
the  universe,  he  is  still  "  crowned  with 
glory  and  honour."  "  There  is  but  one 
object  greater  than  the  soul,  and  that  one 
is  its  Creator." — Augustine.  "Man  is 
a  feeble  reed  trembling  in  the  midst  of 
creation.  ...  It  does  not  need  the  uni- 
verse to  arm  for  his  destruction.  A 
breath  of  wind,  a  drop  of  water,  would 
suffice  to  kill  him.  But,  though  the 
universe  were  to  fall  on  man  and  crush 
him,  he  would  be  greater  in  his  death 
than  the  universe  in  its  victory  ;  for  he 
would  be  conscious  of  his  defeat,  and  it 
would  not  be  conscious  of  its  triumph." 
— Pascal. 

3.  Because  of  man*s  sinfulness.  Sin  is 
the  disturbance  of  the  moral  order  of  the 
universe.  The  moral  governor  cannot  be 
indifferent  to  this  disturbance,  and  must 
as  such  endeavour  to  restore  harmony. 

4.  Because  of  manU  needs.  Man  comes 
into  existence  and  continues  a  creature 
with  wants  which  Omnipotence  only  can 
satisfy. 

II.  When  and  how  is  God  mindful  of 
man? 


1.  In  need.  This  indeed  covers  the 
whole  of  his  life.  From  the  moment  of 
his  birth  to  that  of  his  death.  God  pro- 
vides for  helpless  infancy  by  natural  love 
and  paternal  strength  ;  for  nakedness  by 
the  skins  of  animals,  and  the  flax  and 
cotton  of  the  field  ;  and  for  his  food, 
drink,  habitation,  sickness,  <fec.,  all  crea- 
tion seems  to  have  reference. 

2.  In  sin.  He  has  come  so  near  to  him 
as  to  be  born  of  a  woman.  He  has  given 
His  Son  to  be  a  sacrifice  for  his  guilt ; 
His  Spirit  to  regenerate  his  heart ;  and 
His  means  of  grace  to  support  and 
strengthen  the  new  spiritual  life,  so  that 
he  may  resist  sin  and  triumph  over  it. 

3.  In  His  moral  capacity.  Man  cries 
out  for  the  living  God.  God  has  given 
a  revelation  of  Himself  in  His  Word. 
Man  needs  laws,  hopes,  guidances,  and 
God's  Word  is  revealed  as  a  lamp  unto 
his  feet  and  a  light  unto  his  path. 

4.  In  trouble.  God  has  given  him 
the  Comforter  and  the  consolations  and 
promises  of  His  Word. 

5.  For  ever.  *'0  Lord,  Thou  hast  been 
our  dwelling-place,"  &c.  "  This  God  is 
our  God  for  ever  and  for  ever,"  (kc. 

III.  For  what  purpose  is  God  mindful 
of  man  ?  That  man  may  be  mindful  of 
Him.    "I  have  created  thee  for  Myself." 


Divine  Benedictions. 
(Verses  12-14.) 


The  Psalmist,  drawing  upon  past  ex- 
perience, looks  forward  into  the  future 
and  sees  it  luminous  with  the  presence 
and  blessing  of  God.  So  may  the  be- 
liever. God  has  been  mindful  of  him ; 
he  may  expect  that  God  will  bless 
him 

L  The  subjects  of  the  blessing. 

1.  His  covenant  people  as  a  whole. 
That  is  God's  part  of  the  covenant.  The 
Church  undertakes  to  fulfil  the  divine 
commands,  and  God  undertakes  to  crown 
that  fulfilment  with  success  and  bene- 
diction. 

2.  His  chosen  ministers.  Those  whom 
He  has  called  to  arduous  duty. 

3.  The  great  among  His  people.  Those 
distinguished    by    extraordinary    talent 

224 


may  expect  that  blessing  without  which 
all  their  talents  are  vain. 

4.  The  small  among  His  people.  The 
weak.     The  lambs  of  the  flock. 

II.  The  characteristics  of  the  bless- 
ing. 

I.  It  is  a  blessing.  The  pure,  spon- 
taneous gift  of  God,  which  can  neither 
be  merited,  purchased,  nor  earned. 

It  is  a  suitable  blessing.  Given  with 
exact  references  to  need.  His  ministers 
may  expect  blessings  which  will  help  them 
in  their  work  ;  enlarged  views  of  truth, 
deep  insight  into  the  Word,  power  and 
success  in  its  proclamation,  strength  in 
weariness,  comfort  in  depression,  and 
the  crown  of  righteousness  at  the  close. 
His  people  may  expect  spiritual  enrich- 


HO M] LET  10  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALU  OXT. 


ment  and  establishment  ;  power  to  re- 
sist sin,  subdue  it,  and  triumph  over  it. 
The  great  among  His  peoi»le  may  expect 
special  consecration  for  special  talents, 
and  special  help  in  putting  them  to  ac- 
C(Jant.  The  small  among  His  flock  may 
expect  help  in  their  weakness  j  and  as 
for  the  lambs,  did  He  not  "  take  them  up 
in  His  arms,  and  bless  them  "  ?  He  does 
BO  still. 

3.  It  is  an  increasing  blessing.  (1.) 
It  increases  those  and  theirs  upon  whom 
it  falls.  It  enlarges  every  capacity,  and 
widens  every  sphere  of  influence  and 
usefulness.  (2.)  It  increases  in  propor- 
tion to  the  enlaigement  of  their  capacity. 


It  is  grace  upon  grace,  blessing  upon 
blessing,  until  the  whole  nature  is  tilled 
with  the  fulness  of  God. 

4.  It  is  a  personal  blessing.  "  He 
will  bless."  All  mediatory  benedictions, 
except  in  His  name  and  declaratory  of 
His  promise,  are  an  impertinence.  The 
blessings  fall  direct  from  God's  hands. 

5.  It  is  an  hereditary  blessing.  '*  Your 
children." 

III.  The  conditions  of  the  blessing. 
«  Them  that  fear  Him."  The  God-fear- 
ing man  is  the  God-blessed  man,  and  as 
long  as  he  fears  God,  and  no  longer,  is 
he  warranted  in  expecting  the  divine 
blessing. 


The  Creator,  the  Creation,  and  the  Creature, 

{Verse  15.) 


A  leading  tenet  of  Jewish  belief  was 
the  creatorship  of  God.  This,  too,  is 
a  foundation  article  of  the  Christian 
creed.  All  the  blessings  that  man  has 
enjoyed  under  all  the  dispensations  may 
be  traced  to  this. 

I.  The  Creator.    "  The  Lord." 

1.  The  Creator  is  One.  The  dualis- 
tic  theory  is  here  answered  by  anticipa- 
tion. "  God  saw  everything  that  He 
had  made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good." 
The  evil  that  is  in  the  world  has  been 
introduced  by  the  creature,  and  not  by 
an  equal  or  subordinate  deity, 

2.  The  Creator  is  yet  the  Divine 
Trinity.  *'  Lord,  Thou  art  God  which 
hast  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea, 
and  all  that  therein  is."  **One  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things." 
"The  Spirit  of  God  moved  on  the  face 
of  the  waters." 

II.  The  creation.  *' Which  made 
heaven  and  earth." 

1.  Everything y  Himself  only  excepted 
(1  Cor.  XV.  27 ;  Col.  i.  16 ;  Heb.  iii.  4 ; 
Exod.  xxxi.  17,.  (fee).  "Whatsoever 
hath  any  being  is  either  made  or  not 
made ;  whatsoever  is  not  made  is  God ; 
whatsoever  is  not  God  is  made.  One 
independent,  uncreated  essence,  all 
others  depending  on,  and  created  by 
it ;  one  of  eternal  and  necessary  exist- 
ence ;  all  others  indiff'erent  either  to  be 
or  not  to  be,  and  that  indiflferency  de- 


termined  by  the  free  and  voluntary  act 
of  the  first  cause." — Pearson. 

2.  '*  The  action  by  ivhich  the  heaven  and 
the  earth  were  made  was  the  production 
of  their  total  being,  so  that  whatsoever 
entity  they  had  when  made,  had  no  real 
existence  before  they  were  so  made,  a 
manner  of  production  we  usually  term 
Creation^  as  excluding  all  concurrence  of 
any  material  cause,  and  all  dependence 
on  any  kind  of  subject,  as  presupposing 
no  privation,  as  including  no  motion,  as 
signifying  a  production  out  of  nothing." 
— Pearson.    (Rom.  iv.  17;  Heb.  xi.  3.) 

3.  The  manner  of  creation .  ( T . )  ^  bso- 
/w^tf  (Gen.  i.  1).  (2.)  The  adaptation  of 
existing  materials  to  special  ends  (Gen. 
i.  11,  12;  ii.  7). 

III.  The  Creator's  benediction  on 
the  creature.  "  Ye  are  blessed  of  the 
Lord."  God's  end  in  creation  was  the 
enjoyment  of  the  creature.  *'  The  earth 
hath  He  made  for  the  children  of  men." 
There  is  no  natural  gift  from  which 
man  is  debarred,  and  none  but  will  in 
some  way  promote  his  wellbeing.  It  is 
nature's  gifts  polluted  and  perverted 
that  are  the  cause  of  misery.  *'  To  the 
Christly  man  nature  becomes  a  wonder- 
ful organ,  and  the  opening  of  every  stop 
can  yield  some  tone  of  joy.  The  beauty 
of  the  wild  flowers,  the  stars — *the 
forget-me-nots  of  the  angels,'  the  loveli- 
ness of  the  butterfly's  wing,  the  glory  of 


MALMOZT. 


HOMILBTW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


the  forest  foliage,  the  music  of  the  bee 
as  it  hums,  of  the  birds  as  they  warble, 
of  the  wind  as  it  sings  among  the  trees 
and  hills,  or  of  the  sea,  in  *  the  everlast- 
ing thunder  of  the  long  Atlantic  swell,' 
will  make  him  feel  that  all  that  beauty, 
all  that  music,  la  the  gift  and  revelation 


of  *  God  the  Father  Almighty,  maker  of 
heaven  and  earth ;  *  and,  overborne  by 
emotions  utterly  unknown  to  others,  he 
will— 

•*  Lift  to  heaven  an  unpresumptuous  eye, 
And,  joyful,  say,  My  Father  made  them  alL** 


The  Divine  Dwelling-Plaob. 
(Verse  16,  dame  1.) 


Note. — "  The  heavens  (are)  heavens 
(i.e.,  a  dwelling-place)  for  the  Lord" 
(Acts  xvii.  24). 

I.  The  divine  dwelling-place  is  ex- 
alted. The  exact  locality  of  heaven  the 
Bible  has  nowhere  chosen  to  reveal. 
The  expressions  "high,"  "lifted  up," 
&c.,  are  probably  to  be  interpreted 
morally.  God  dwells  at  an  infinite  re- 
move from  the  constant  mutations  and 
moral  imperfections  of  the  children  of 
men. 

n.  The  divine  dwelling-place  is  holy. 


It  is  emphatically  the  "holy  place." 
Nothing  that  is  defiled  can  enter  there. 
Those  who  enter  there  have  either  never 
sinned,  or  have  been  purged  from  sin, 
and  share  the  holiness  of  Deity. 

III.  The  divine  dwelling-place  is  to 
be  the  dwelling-place  of  man. 

1.  Now  spiritually/.  "  Set  your  affec- 
tions on  things  above,"  &c. 

2.  Hereafter  peyfectly.  "  In  My  Fa- 
ther's house  are  many  mansions,"  <fec. 
"  Father,  I  will  that  them  which  Thou 
hast  given  Me  be  where  I  am,"  &o. 


The  Earth  :  God's  Gift,  and  Man's  Inheritanok. 
(Verse  16,  clause  2.) 


The  earth  is  man's  inheritance.  No 
one  disputes  this.  But  how  and  why  he 
came  by  it  has  been  fiercely  contested. 
He  did  not  have  it  always,  and  science 
seems  to  prophesy  a  time  when  it  will 
be  no  longer  his.  Why  is  earth  his 
more  than  the  heavens  ?  And  how  1 
Most  property  has  been  either  purchased 
or  won  by  conflict.  But  how  did  it 
become  theirs  who  had  neither  money, 
strength,  nor  arms  ?  The  Bible  affords 
the  only  solution.  God  made  man  out 
of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  therefore 
earth,  and  not  heaven,  became  his  sphere, 
God  then  gave  him  that  with  which  he 
had  so  much  in  common,  and  told  him 
to  replenish  and  subdue  it. 

L  The  earth,  then,  is  God's  gift  to 
maxL 

1.  It  is  an  equitable  gift.  Belonging 
to  God  by  the  right  of  creation,  God 
could  do  as  He  chose  with  His  own.  In 
doing  this  the  right  of  no  other  creature 
was  invaded.  No  other  creature  had 
the  capacity  for  this  possession.  Birds 
236 


and  beasts  can  enjoy  the  harvests,  but 
they  cannot  till  the  soil  or  sow  the  seed. 
Upon  man's  possession  of  it,  therefore, 
largely  depends  the  good  of  the  inferior 
creation. 

2.  It  is  a  magnificent  gift.  Com- 
pared with  the  largest  planet  and  the 
universe,  the  earth  may  be  very  small. 
But  with  his  faculties,  it  is  all  that  he 
can  enjoy,  and  God  has  given  him  that 
all.  If  he  cannot  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
other  worlds,  yet  this  earth  is  a  platform 
upon  which  he  can  enjoy  the  warmth 
and  splendour  of  the  sun,  the  light  of 
the  stars,  and  the  influence  of  the  moon, 
and  his  mind  can  be  uplifted  and  en- 
larged by  all  that  astronomy  reveals. 
But  in  and  of  itself  it  is  a  magnificent 
gift.  It  affords  science  for  his  mind, 
beauty  for  his  taste,  trade  for  his  prac- 
tical instincts,  material  produce  for  his 
material  wants ;  yes,  and  if  he  has  eyea 
to  see  it,  religion  for  his  heart. 

.3.  It   is   a  p7'epared  gift.       "  They 
were  necessary  those  enormous  stretches 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXT. 


of  time,  during  which  matter  was  con- 
Bolidating  into  worlds ;  those  vast  geo- 
logic periods  of  fire  and  flood,  of 
volcanic  fury,  of  awful  convulsion,  of 
slow  subsidence,  of  slow  upheaval ; 
those  dark  mysterious  epochs  of  conflict 
between  the  inferior  types  of  life  ; — in 
order  that  at  last  I  might  have  a  clear 
heaven  above  my  head,  a  firm  earth 
beneath  my  feet ;  that  I  might  have  an 
atmosphere  to  breathe  ;  that  I  might 
have  rivers  to  fish,  and  fields  to  plough ; 
that  I  might  have  wood  and  iron  for 
use,  and  flowers  and  precious  stones  for 
beauty."— /e.  W.  Dale. 

4.  It  is  an  universal  gift,  "  To  the 
children  of  men."  Not  to  the  children 
of  the  noble,  <fec.  Nowhere  more  than 
in  this  sphere  has  man  been  robbed  of 
his  natural  rights.  Sometimes  he  has 
robbed  himself,  and  by  a  succession  of 
degenerate  descendants  the  wide  acres 
which  thrift  has  gained,  have  been  drunk, 
gambled,  or  idled  away.  Sometimes 
others  have  plundered  him,  or  outwitted 
him.  But  all  the  inequalities  intro- 
duced by  sin  will  be  re-adjusted  in  that 
new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteous- 
ness. 

n.  The  earth  is  God's  gift  to  man 
for  certain  definite  uses.  Man  is  not 
the  absolute  owner  of  the  earth.  True, 
within  certain  limits,  he  may  do  what 
he  likes  with  it,  but  he  is  morally 
bound  to  consider  the  ends  for  which  it 
was  given.  It  is  let  to  him  on  lease. 
That  lease  expires  with  life  ;  and  then 
he  will  have  to  render  an  account  of  his 
stewardship. 


1.  The  world  has  been  given  to  pro' 
mote  religious  ends.  "The  invisible 
things  of  God  are  clearly  seen,"  <kc,  and 
thus  the  soil  which  man  treads  is  holy 
ground. 

2.  The  earth  has  been  given  for  the 
enlargement  and  education  of  his  mind. 
**  The  Astronomer  has  learned  the 
thoughts  that  are  written  in  that  starry 
universe.  The  Geologist  goes  down  and 
reads  many  thoughts  in  the  rocky  crust 
of  the  earth.  The  Botanist  unveils  the 
structures  of  flowers,  and  explains  the 
actions  and  peculiarities  of  living  plants  ; 
but  all  these  things  were  written  before 
he  examined  them.  So  with  the  Anato- 
mist: he  has  discovered  volumes  of 
thought  in  this  body  which  is  fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made ;  but  every 
thought  was  there  before  ever  man 
looked  within.  .  .  .  This  vast  uni- 
verse exhibits  thoughts  in  every  leaf 
and  every  grain  of  sand,  in  every  drop 
of  water,  in  the  mountains  and  in  the 
heavens.  Whence  came  those  thoughts  ? " 
— Alex.  Stewart, 

3.  The  earth  has  been  given  for  man's 
use  and  enjoyment.  The  air  for  his 
lungs  ;  food  to  supply  his  bones  with 
strength  and  his  veins  with  blood ; 
occupation  for  his  exercise ;  stones, 
metals,  wood,  for  the  necessities  and 
elegancies  of  life,  <kc. 

4.  The  earth  has  been  given  to  be 
evangelised  for  Christ,  Since  the  ori- 
ginal donation  man  has  become  marred 
by  sin.  But  Christ  has  died  for  him, 
and  now  He  says,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,"  &c 


Life  as  the  Sphere  of  Divine  Sebyiob. 
(Verses  17,  IS.) 


A  part  of  this  text  has  been  quoted 
to  support  the  opinion  that  the  Old 
Testament  saints  were  in  the  dark  on 
the  subject  of  immortality.  The  whole 
text  goes  to  prove  the  very  opposite. 
The  Psalmist  contemplates  man  in  his 
material  sphere.  The  earth  has  been 
given  him ;  and  on  that  earth  it  is  his 
duty  to  serve  the  only  living  and  true 
God.  That  ministry  is  over  when  he 
dies.       **  Nothing   is   more    impressive 


than  the  utter  silence  of  the  grave.     Not 

a  voice,  not  a  sound  is  heard  there — of 
bards  or  men,  of  song  or  conversation, 
of  the  roaring  of  the  sea,  the  sighing  of 
the  breeze,  the  fury  of  tbe  storm,  the 
tumult  of  the  battle.  Perfect  stillness 
reigns  there ;  the  first  sound  that 
shall  be  heard  will  be  the  archangel's 
trump." — Barnes.  The  dead,  as  such, 
do  not  praise  God.  But  who  are  the 
dead  ?      The    physical    organs,    limbs 

227 


niALM  CSV, 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


'&c.  These  cannot  praise  God,  because 
they  have  no  object  to  praise.  *'  God 
is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living."  But  worship  may  go  in  with 
different  organs,  and  in  a  different 
sphere.  The  Psalmist  goes  on  to  say, 
"  But  we  will  praise  the  Lord  from  this 
time  forth  and  for  evermore."  Vh\}^ 
is  a  word  of  very  frequent  use  and  has 
but  one  meaning,  and  that  meaning  is 
Eternity,  When  our  Lord  said,  *'  I 
must  work,'*  &c.,  He  did  not  imply 
surely  that  He  had  no  work  to  do  be- 
yond the  grave.     Notice — 

L   The  characteristic   features  of 
divine  service.    "Praise."    "Bless." 

1.  Praise.  T>V\  throws  light  on 
the  moral  character  of  this  service ;  to 
be  bright,  to  shine.  This  splendour  is 
borrowed  from  Him  in  whom  is  no 
darkness  at  all.  Those  who  worship 
**walk  in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the 
light,"  <kc.  Hence  (again  true  to  the 
original)  the  Christian  boasts  not  of  his 
own  excellences,  but  of  the  divine  ex- 
cellence which  illuminates  him  (2  Cor. 
xii.  1-21).  Through  them  his  soul  makes 
her  boast  in  God  :  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,"  &c.  The  Piel  of  our  text 
^?7rV  means  (1)  to  diffuse  brightness. 
The  beauty  of  Christian  holiness,  and  the 
splendour  of  Christian  life  and  worship, 
are  so  that  we  may  be  "lights  of  the 
world "  and  "  show  forth  the  praises 
of  Him  who  hath  called  us,"  &c.  (2) 
Henxie  a  large  portion  of  worship  consists 
in  the  most  beautiful  art  ;  viz.,  music, 
the  only  art  as  far  as  is  revealed  to  us 
in  the  upper  and  better  world. 

2.  Blessing,  ^"I^J  i^\q[  ^f  ^12,  To 
bow,  to  do  homage,  to  utter  blessing.  (1.) 
Our  blessing  must  be  based  upon  our  hom- 
age. Religious  rhapsody  is  often  profane. 
To  bless  God  is  a  very  solemn  thing. 
A  benediction  on  the  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords  should  be  pronounced 
with  bared  head  and  on  bended  knee, 
and  should  not  degenerate  into  mere 
ejaculation.  (2.)  Our  homage  should 
he  acknowledged  by  joyous  gratitude, 
Solemnity  is  not  inconsistent  with  joy. 


As  we  acknowledge  God's  sovereignty 
we  may  remember  that  that  sovereignty 
is  the  basis  of  all  our  blessings. 

IL  The  sphere  of  divine  service. 
Life.  "  The  dead  praise  not  the  Lord." 
With  the  occupation  of  their  glorified 
spirits  the  Psalmist  has  here  nothing  to 
do.  His  ministry  is  for  living  men, 
and  suggests  that  the  sphere  of  religious 
activity  is — 

\.  The  whole  of  the  man.  His  living 
entity.  The  aim  of  the  Bible  is  to 
bring  all  the  faculties  of  man  into  sub- 
ordination to  the  will  of  God,  and  into 
full  consecration  to  His  service  (1  Thess. 
V.  23,  Mark  xii.  29,  (kc).  And  what  is 
worship  but  the  harmonious  action  of 
all  man's  powers.  Music  is  harmony. 
One  note  by  itself,  or  clashing  with  an- 
other note,  the  treble  only,  or  the  bass 
only,  is  not  perfect  music.  So  intellec- 
tual, or  ethical,  or  emotional  religion 
exclusively,  is  not  perfect,  much  less  so 
when  the  mental  belief  clashes  with  the 
ethical  action. 

**  Let  Knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell, 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

— Bulvaster. 

2.  The  whole  of  marus  time.  Every 
moment  there  are  reasons  and  oppor- 
tunities for  service.  (1.)  "  This  time.^ 
Here  and  now  God  supplies  our  need  \ 
here  and  now  the  fact  should  be  acknow- 
ledged.    (2.)   To  eternity. 

ni.  Exceptions  to  divine  service. 
(Ver.  17.)  The  exact  reference  is  not  to 
the  morally  dead,  yet  the  whole  Bible  is 
full  of  the  doctrine  that  spiritual  life 
is  necessary  to  spiritual  service.  The 
morally  dead  are  incapable  of  divin« 
service  for  ever.  Now  they  lack  the 
motive,  the  will,  and  the  power.  And 
no  new  faculties,  and  no  stronger  de- 
sires, and  no  brighter  opportunities  will 
be  vouchsafed  beyond  the  grave.  Our 
text  may  be  used  as  (i.)  a  flea  for  de- 
liverance^ (ii. )  a  call  to  instant  decision, 
(iii.)  an  expression  of  full  consecration- 
(iv.)  an  expectation  of  future  blessedness. 


228 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


rSALM  CXTL 


PSALM    CXVL 
Introduction. 

**  Thi8  Psalm  is  an  evidence  of  the  truth  and  depth  of  the  religious  life  in  individuals  after 
the  return  from  the  Exile.  ...  It  reminds  us  of  earlier  Psalms,  and  especially  of  the  Psalms 
of  David.  His  words  mu.st  have  laid  hold  in  no  common  degree  of  the  hearts  of  those  who  were 
heirs  of  his  faith,  and  liave  sustained  tliem  in  times  of  sorrow  and  suffering  ;  and  nothing 
would  be  more  natural  than  that  later  poets  would  echo  his  strains,  and  mingle  his  words  with 
their  own,  when  they  poured  forth  their  prayers  and  praises  before  God." — Ferovme, 


Prayer:    Its  Object  and  its  Value. 
(Verse  1.) 


The  exact  rendering  would  be,  "  I 
love,  because  the  Lord  heareth  my 
voice,"  (fee,  and  brings  before  us  the 
proper  object  and  the  ethical  value  of 
prayer. 

L  Characteristics  of  prayer. 

1.  **  J/y  voice,"  Prayer  should,  as  far 
as  possible,  be  vocal.  The  conditions  of 
prayer  are  hardly  fulfilled  when  it  is 
merely  a  current  of  devotional  thought 
passing  through  the  mind.  True,  there 
are  circumstances  under  which  sighs, 
unexpressed  desires,  are  acceptable  to 
God;  but  expression  (1)  gives  definite- 
nesSf  prevents  the  mind  from  wander- 
ing ;  (2)  gives  completeness  ;  the  sacrifice 
of  the  heart  is  then  accompanied  by  the 
sacrifice  of  the  lips. 

2.  "  Mt/  supplications."  Which 
teaches  us  that  prayer  should  be  (1) 
humble.  We  are  simply  beggars  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  and  are  absolutely 
dependent  for  every  gift  on  God's  free 
bounty.  (2)  Full,  One  supplication 
is  not  enough.  We  must  multiply  our 
supplications,  as  showing  our  need,  and 
our  confidence  in  God*s  infinite  resources. 
We  fail  because  we  do  not  ask  enough, 
or  for  enough.  (3)  Earnest.  Cold  for- 
malities never  reach  the  ear  of  God. 

II.  The  object  of  prayer.  "The 
Lord  heareth." 

1.  God  can  hear  prayer,  "  He  that 
planted  the  ear  shall  He  not  hear  ? " 
God  made  man  for  communion  with 
Himself,  which  would  be  impossible  un- 
less God  could  hear  when  man  prays. 

2.  God  is  willing  to  hear  prayer.  ( 1 . ) 
Hit  commanchnetUs  prove  it.  ^'  Make 
your  requests  knowu  unto  God.''     (2.) 


His  promises  prove  it,  **  Call  upon  Me 
in  the  day  of  trouble,"  <fec.  (3.)  Direct 
revelations  to  this  effect  prove  it.  (Jer. 
xxix.  11-14.,  ZecU.  xiiL  9.) 

3.  God  does  hear  prayer.  (Isaiah 
xlv.  19.)  All  the  Bible  proves  it;  all 
Christian  experience  has  proved  it, 
'*  This  poor  man  cried,"  &c. 

III.  The  value  of  prayer. 

1.  Prayer  secures  the  object  for  which 
it  asks.  "  The  Lord  heareth."  For  God 
to  hear  is  for  God  to  answer,  and  His  all- 
conipiehending  answer  is  Himself. 

2.  In  securing  this  grand  object  it 
secures  all  thai  it  wants.  To  answer 
some  petitions  would  be  harmful.  The 
promise  is,  "  My  God  shall  supply  all 
your  need." 

3.  The  effect  of  prayer  "  is  to  put  the 
affections  in  motion.  Its  object  is  the 
uncreated  love,  the  eternal  beauty ; 
He  of  whose  beauty  all  that  moves  love 
and  admiration  here  is  at  best  a  pale 
reflection.  To  be  in  His  presence  is  to 
be  conscious  of  an  expansion  of  the 
heart,  and  of  the  pleasure  which  accom- 
panies it,  which  we  feel  in  another 
sense,  when  speaking  to  an  intimate  and 
loved  friend  or  relative.  And  this 
movement  of  the  aflfections  is  sustained 
throughout  the  act  of  prayer.  It  is  in- 
vigorated by  the  spiritual  sight  of  God  ; 
but  it  is  also  the  original  impulse  which 
leads  us  to  draw  near  to  Him.  (Matt. 
XV.  8,  1  John  iii.  21,  22.)  In  true 
prayer :  *  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart,'"  &c. — Liddon, 

In  conclusion. — "How  vain  and 
foolish  is  the  talk  *  To  love  God  for  His 
benefits  is  mercenary,  and  cannot  be  pure 

229 


fflALMOXTl. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


love  ! '  Whether  pure  or  impure,  no  other 
lore  can  flow  out  of  the  heart  of  the  crea- 
ture towards  its  creator.  *  We  love  Him/ 
said  Christ's  holiest  apostle,  ^  because 


He  first  loved  us ;'  and  the  increase  of 
our  love  and  filial  obedience  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increased  sense  of  our 
obligation  to  Him." — Dr,  A,  Clarke, 


The  Motive  for  Persevering  Prayer. 
{yer$€  2.) 


There  can  be  no  reasonable  objection 
to  motives  as  long  as  they  are  pure,  and 
80  long  as  they  are  adequate  for  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  are  employed.  The 
motives  in  God's  Word  are  worthy  and 
sufficient.  We  have  a  very  beautiful 
one  in  the  text.  God  has  heard  the 
particular  request  of  the  Psalmist,  and 
he  takes  that  as  a  guarantee  of  His 
willingness  to  hear  and  answer  in  all 
time  to  come.  In  the  strength  of  this  he 
vows  to  pray  without  ceasing.    Notice — 

L  This  motive  reveals  God's  conde- 
scension and  anxiety  to  hear.  "  The 
Psalmist  represents  himself  as  so  sick 
and  weak  that  he  could  scarcely  speak. 
The  Lord  is  here  considered  as  bowing 
down  His  ear  to  the  mouth  of  the  feeble 
suppliant,  that  He  may  catch  every  word 
of  His  prayer." — Dr.  A,  Clarke, 

n.  The  determination  that  is  based 
upon  this  motive,  "  I  will  call,"  <fec. 

1.  What?  *'I  will  call,"  implying 
(1)  Resolution:  "I  will."  Prayer  re- 
quires effort.  **  No  man  is  likely  to  do 
much  good  in  prayer  who  does  not 
begin  by  looking  upon  it  in  the  light  of 
a  work,  to  be  prepared  for,  and  to  be 
persevered  in  with  all  the  earnestness 
which  we  bring  to  bear  upon  subjects 


which  are,  in  our  opinion,  at  once  most 
interesting  and  most  necessary." — 
Bishop  Hamilton.  (2)  Confidence.  Un- 
less there  is  an  expectation  of  being 
heard  the  voice  will  falter.  (3)  Ear- 
nestness. Not  a  feeble  whisper,  but  a 
loud  cry.     (4)  Fuhlicity. 

2.  When  1  "  As  long  as  I  live."  Heb. : 
"In  my  days."  (1.)  Whenever  oppor- 
tunities occur.  These  occur  constantly. 
(2.)  As  long  as  life  lasts.  Not  by  fits 
and  starts.  (3.)  In  the  hour  of  death. 
(4.)  In  eternity. 

III.  The  divine  intention  that  is 
suggested  by  the  ground  of  this  mo- 
tive, and  the  warrant  for  this  deter- 
mination.   God  answers  prayer — 

1.  That  we  should  believe  that  He 
hears  and  answers  it. 

2.  That  we  may  have  "  boldness  of 
access  with  confidence." 

3.  That  He  may  surround  Himself 
with  a  royal  priesthood^  who  shall  "  show 
forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath 
called  them,"  &c.  Learn — (i.)  For  our 
encouragement  that  God  desires  our 
prayers,  and  is  anxious  to  hear  them, 
(ii.)  For  our  warning.  Unless  we  call, 
God  will  not  hear.  A  prayerless  people 
are  a  godless  people. 


Special   Prayer. 
{Verses  3,  4.) 


Prayer  must  be  the  Christian's  atmo- 
sphere. As  long  as  there  is  necessity  for 
prayer  we  must  pray.  But  there  are 
special  seasons  which  require  special 
prayer.  Our  text  indicates  some  of 
them. 

I.  The  time  for  special  prayer. 

1.  In   the  pangs   of    disease^    either 

hopeless  or  apparently  so.    Heb.  :  **  The 

cords  of  death  encircled   me."     In  the 

Old  Testament  death  is  represented  as 

230 


a  hunter  with  a  cord  and  net.  In  con- 
sumption or  any  lingering  sickness  the 
cord  gets  tighter  and  tighter,  and  the 
meshes  more  and  more  intricate,  until 
all  possibility  of  escape  is  cut  off.  One 
by  one  hopes  fade,  und  encouraging 
symptoms  disappear.  Step  by  step  does 
the  fell  malady  march  to  conquest,  and 
then  the  time  conies  when  there  is  but  a 
step  between  man  and  death.  The  Psalmist 
would  appear  to  have  been  in  the  death 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


MALM  OXTI. 


■truggle.  Whether  the  affliction  was 
physical  disease,  overwhelming  trouble, 
or  extreme  danger,  does  not  appear,  but 
the  expression  is  suggestive  of  all. 

2.  In  the  painful  anticipation  of  the 
future.  Heb.  :  "  The  pangs  of  the  under- 
world discovered  me."  "As  if  they 
had  been  searching  for  me,  and  had 
found  my  hiding-place.  Those  sorrows 
ever  in  pursuit  of  us  will  soon  find  us 
all.  We  cannot  long  escape  the  pursuit. 
Death  tracks  us,  and  is  on  our  heels  " — 
Barnes.  (1.)  The  pain  of  leaving  those 
we  love.  (2.)  The  pain  of  unfinished 
work,  (3.)  The  sorrowful  contemplation 
of  sin.  (4)  For  some,  the  fearful  appre- 
hension of  wrath  to  come. 

3.  In  bitter  disappointment.  "  Death 
found  m>ef  and  /  found  trouble  and  sor- 
row. I  did  not  seek  it,  but  in  what  I 
was  seeking  I  found  this.  Whatever  we 
fail  to  *find*  in  the  pursuits  of  life,  we 
shall  not  fail  to  find  troubles  and  sor- 
rows " — Barnes. 

4.  In  any  kind  of  trial.    Whole  text. 
11.  The  subjects  of  special  prayer. 

**  O  Lord,  deliver  my  souL" 

1.  The  Psalmist* 8  prayer  literally  was 
for  life.  This  value  of  and  desire  for 
life  runs  through  the  Old  Testament. 
Not  that  we  are  warranted  in  believing 
that  the  Jew  held  that  death  was  the 


extinction  of  the  soul's  life.  But  life 
that  was  spared  was  ever  viewed  in  the 
light  of  consecration  to  God.  The  rest 
of  this  Psalm,  and  the  conclusion  of  the 
previous,  bears  this  out.  He  wished  for 
life  that  he  might  pay  his  vows. 

2.  The  Psalmists  prayer  admits  of  a 
spiritual  interpretation.  Soul  deliver- 
ance is  deliverance  from  sin.  Sin  is 
the  souFs  death.  All  other  aspects  of 
death  are  comparatively  insignificant. 
Of  all  legitimately  special  subjects  this 
is  the  sum.  If  the  soul  is  saved  from 
death,  physical  dissolution  can  be  appre- 
hended calmly. 

3.  The  Psalmists  prayer  suggests  that 
subordinate  details  should  be  left  in  the 
hands  of  God.  His  subsequent  path  is 
a  matter  of  unconcern.  If  God  spares 
his  life,  he  knows  that  God  will  support 
it.  "Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat?" 
All  God's  larger  blessings  include  the 
lesser.     (Rom.  viii.  32.) 

III.  The  maimer  of  special  prayer. 

1.  Earnestly.  "Called."  The  case  is 
urgent. 

2.  Resignedly.  "  I  beseech  Thee,"  ».«., 
if  it  be  Thy  will. 

In  CONCLUSION. — God  sometimes  allows 
His  servants  to  approach  extreme  peril, 
that  they  may  experienceHis  extreme  near- 
ness, and  the  extreme  efficacy  of  prayer. 


Encouragements  for  Prater. 
(Verse  6.) 


Under  certain  circumstances  prayer 
would  be  impossible.  If  its  object  were 
unbending,  and  therefore  incapable  of 
hearing  it,  it  would  be  useless  ;  if  capri- 
cious, or  too  easily  moved,  it  would  be 
worthless  ;  if  severe  and  implacable,  we 
should  have  no  heart  to  pray.  The 
Christian  is  encouraged  by  the  fact  that 
God  is  gracious,  righteous,  and  merciful 
"  He  is  righteous.  He  did  me  no  wrong 
in  afflicting  me  ;  He  is  gracious,  and  w  as 
Tery  kind  in  supporting  and  delivering 
me.  Let  us  s[)eak  of  God  as  we  have 
found  :  and  have  we  ever  found  Him 
otherwise  1 " — M.  Henry.  "  Instead  of 
saying,  'Jehovah  answered  me,'  he 
magnifies  those  attributes,  which,  from 
the  days  of  His  wonderful  self-revelation 


to  Moses  (Exod.  xxxiv.  6)  had  been  the 
joy  of  every  tried  and  trusting  heart." 
— Perowne. 

I.  Pray  because  God  is  "  the  Lord." 

Jehovah,  the  Unchangeable  One,  who 
has  eternity  with  its  wealth  and  in 
its  duration,  in  which  and  by  which  to 
supply  all  our  need. 

II.  Pray  because  the  Lord  is  "  our 
God."  Our  dwelling-place,  inheritance, 
and  covenant  possession.  Hence  all 
He  is  and  has  is  ours.  (Bom.  viii.  32, 
1  Cor.  ii.  22,  23.) 

III.  Pray  because  the  Lord  is  "  gra- 
cious."   ^liin 

1.  Condescending.  God  stoops  to 
iiear  prayer,  and  comes  down  to  answer 
it 

331 


PSALM  OXVI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


2.  Favourable  to  prayer.  He  has 
commanded  it  and  promised  to  bless  it. 
His  Son  has  taught  men  how  to  pray, 
and  ever  lives  to  mingle  their  prayers 
with  His.    His  Spirit  helps  men  to  pray. 

3.  Kind  to  those  who  'pray.  Does 
not  lay  upon  them  heavy  burdens. 
Does  not  impose  heavy  penances  or  long 
liturgies.  Hears  the  faintest  sighings 
of  the  broken  and  contrite  heart. 

4.  Beneficent  is  His  answers  to  prayer, 
**  Ye  know  the   grace  of   our   Lord 

Jesus  Christ,"  <fec. 

IV.  Pray  because  the  Lord  is 
"  righteous." 

1.  God  is  Just  in  all  His  dealings. 
Nothing  that  is  right  will  be  withheld  ; 
nothing  that  is  wrong,  bestowed. 

2.  God  is  truthful  in  all  His  words. 
His  promises  can  never  fail,  because  *'  He 
is  not  a  man  that  He  should  lie,"  <fec. 

3.  God  is  reliable  in  all  His  ways. 
We  may  depend  upon  the  principles  of 
His  government  as  on  an  unshakable 
foundation. 


4.  ^^  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive 
us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness. " 

V.  Pray  because  "  our  God  is  merci- 
ful."    Dni. 

T  

1.  God  interests  Himself  in  our  case. 
He  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  it. 
"  He  knoweth  our  frame,"  <fec. 

2.  God  is  tenderly  solicitous  of  our 
interests.  We  are  His  "inheritance;" 
the  "  apple  of  His  eye  ; "  the  "  sheep  of 
His  pasture,"  (fee. 

3.  God  is  compassionate  of  our  sorrows, 
"  In  all  our  afflictions  He  was  afflicted." 
Christ  is  **  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our 
infirmities." 

4.  God  is  friendly  towards  our  persons. 
We  are  His  '*  children,"  His  "  friends," 
"  loved  with  an  everlasting  love,"  and 
"  loved  unto  the  end." 

In  conclusion. — Notice  (i.)  The  crime 
and  folly  of  unbelieving  despondency, 
(ii.)  Let  the  considerations  urge  you  to 
earnest  and  believing  prayer. 


The  Timely  Help  of  Helplessness. 
(Verse  6.) 


L  Who  are  the  helpless  7    **  The 

simple."      ninS  has  three  meanings  : — 

T 

1.  To  be  open  in  the  sense  of  being 
foolish  and  thus  simple.  The  immature 
in  experience,  the  weak  in  understand- 
ing or  will.  God  does  not  despise  the 
poor  imbecile,  nor  those  who,  through 
no  fault  of  their  own,  are  peculiarly 
open  to  the  craft  of  those  who  *'  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive." 

2.  To  be  open  in  the  sense  of  being 
frank,  trustful^  and  ingenuous.  One 
who  yields  readily  to  truth  and  duty  ; 
without  cunning,  trickery,  or  guile.  A 
Nathaniel. 

3.  To  be  open,  cw  in  the  case  of  little 
children,  which  is  indeed  the  rendering 
of  nearly  all  the  versions.  Such,  being 
members  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven, 
are  under  the  special  care  of  its  King. 
"  Take  heed  how  ye  offend,"  (fee. 

4.  To  be  open,  as  in  the  weakness  of 
sickness  and  old  age. 

II.  When  are  they  helped  ?  In 
their   extremity.    771^     to     wave,     to 


totter,   to   be   loose ;  to   be   dried  up, 

drained,  to  fail ;  to  hang,  to  swing  from 
side  to  side,  as  miners  letting  themselves 
down  (Job  xxviii.  4)  ;  lit.^  they  hang, 
they  swing,  far  from  men. 

1.  In  their  insecurity.  The  simple  of 
all  kinds  are  open  to  crafty  and  un- 
scrupulous foes.  How  often  are  the 
weak  of  intellect  or  will  outwitted  in 
trade,  opportunity,  or  health  !  How 
often  does  the  guileless  honesty  and  un- 
suspicion  of  the  man  who  is  determined 
to  do  right  lay  him  open  to  intrigue ! 
How  often  is  the  trustfulness  of  little 
children,  and  the  semi-imbecility  of  old 
age,  imposed  upon  !  How  often  is  sick- 
ness taken  advantage  of  !  But  let  their 
foes  beware ;  for  the  Almighty  has 
pledged  Himself  to  be  on  their  side. 

2.  In  their  exhaustion.  (1.)  In  the 
exhaustion  of  their  natural  resources. 
(2.)  In  the  failure  of  their  understand- 
ing '*  God  will  guide  them  by  His  coun- 
sel." (3.)  In  the  abortion  of  their  pre- 
ventive eforts  the  Jjord  will  fljr  to  their 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


FSALM  0X1^1. 


succour.  (4)  In  the  decrepitude  of  their 
physical  strength^  in  the  feebleness  which 
harassing  anxiety  has  engendered,  and 
in  the  failure  of  power  at  the  hour  of 
death.  "  His  rod  and  His  staff  shall 
comfort "  them. 

m.  How  are  they  helped  ? 

1.    ''The   Lord  pieserveth,**     'M2^, 

To  pierce,  to  be  wakeful  and  active  as  a 
gatekeeper  or  shepherd,  to  protect  and 
to  attend  to  strictly.  Then  (1)  God 
keeps  a  vigilant  watch  over  the  weakness 
of  the  simple  and  the  strength  and  subtlety 
of  their  foes,  "He  that  keepeth  Israel 
neither  slumbers  nor  sleeps."  (2)  God 
throws  an  omnipotent  protection  round 
the  simple.  "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is 
a  strong  tower,"  &c.  **  The  Lord  God 
is  a  sun  and  shield."  "  Underneath  are 
the  everlasting  arms.*'  But  are  the 
weak  thus  cared  for]  Notice  (1)  Do 
the  weak  tnist  in  Gody  or  lean  to  their 
own  understanding  t    (2)  Have  the  tbus 


interests  of  the  weak,  in  so  far  as  they 
have  trusted  in  God,  been  permanently 
assailed?  Have  their  losses,  sufferings, 
been  real  1  Unsuspecting  persons  have 
been  robbed  of  their  temporal  rights, 
perhaps,  but  has  not  the  soul  been  safe, 
and  is  there  not  treasure  in  heaven  % 
Children  have  been  slaughtered,  but 
they  have  passed  to  their  crown  without 
the  pain  and  datiger  of  the  conflict. 

2.  "  He  helped  me  "  V^J]  (1.)  God 
unll  SAVE  the  simple  in  their  extremity. 
Let  them  be  assured  that  if  they  will 
trust  in  Him  they  are  safe.  (2.)  God 
will  SUPPORT  them  in  their  weakness, 
**My  grace  is  sufiicient  for  thee."  (3.) 
God  will  ultimately  give  them  victory 
(Eph.  vi.  13,  Rom.  viii.  35-37). 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  ^' Man's  extremity 
is  God's  opportunity."  (ii.)  The  enemies  of 
the  simple  are  the  enemies  of  God.  (iii.) 
Is.  xL  27-3 L 


The  Soul's  Return  to  its  Rest. 
{Verse  1,) 


The  many  afflictions  of  the  Psalmist 
had  agitated  his  soul  and  skaken  his 
confidence  in  God.  He  had  been  bound 
by  the  cords  of  death.  He  had  felt  the 
painful  straitening  of  the  tomb.  Trouble 
and  sorrow  were  the  discovery  of  his 
search  for  good.  His  enemies  had  over- 
matched and  exhausted  him.  In  the 
midst  of  his  affliction  miraculous  help 
had  been  vouchsafed.  The  Lord  saved 
him,  and  now  he  returns  to  the  rest  of 
joyous  confidence  in  God  which  stills  for 
ever  the  tumult  of  his  souL 

L  The  soul  is  commanded  to  return  to 
its  rest.  Therefore  this  rest  is  its 
rightful  heritage.     "  Thy  rest." 

1.  This  rest  is  not  (1)  the  rest  of  mere 
local  habitation.  The  soul  may  be  in  a 
state  of  the  greatest  disquietude  on  the 
most  comfortable  couches,  and  in  the 
most  splendid  dwelling-place.  It  refuses 
to  be  stilled  by  the  tenderest  caresses, 
and  by  the  enchantment  of  the  richest 
music,  and  is  proof  against  slumber  on 
beds  of  the  softest  down.  Heaven  itself 
would  afford  no  repose  to  a  soul  in  cer- 
tain moral  conditions.    (2)  Insensibility, 


When  the  soul  ceases  to  feel  it  is  not  at 
rest,  it  is  diseased  or  dead.  Better  the 
keenest  anguish  than  this.  (3)  hiactivityy 
if,  indeed,  tbat  were  possible.  An  in- 
active soul  would  be  a  soul  exhausted  of 
its  powers. 

2.  This  rest  is,  the  harmony,  healthy 
and  tranquil  action  of  all  the  forces  of 
the  soul.  (1.)  The  soul's  rest  consii^ts  in 
pure  affection  for  a  worthy  object.  The 
soul  was  made  for  love  :  "Thou  shalt  love 
.  .  .  with  all  thy  soul."  There  can  be  no 
rest  where  there  is  no  love,  where  that 
love  is  impure,  or  where  it  is  fixed  on 
unlovely  objects.  Hell  is  the  state  where 
irregular  passions  rage  and  clash  with  one 
another  and  cause  agony,  because  there  is 
no  love  and  no  object  for  love.  Unholy 
love  is  feverish  and  insatiable  lust.  Love 
of  the  unlovely  is  the  cause  of  more  un- 
rest than  all  other  causes  combined.  The 
soul  returns  to  its  rest  when  it  sets  its  re- 
generated affections  on  the  things  above. 
(2.)  The  souVs  rest  consists  in  satisfying 
faith  in  an  all-sufficient  power.  Man  was 
made  for  trust.  No  man  is  conscious  of 
independence.     He  is  therefore  at  unrest 

233 


r.«<ALM  OXVI. 


JTOMTLBTIC  COMMENTARY.  PSALMS. 


until  he  finds  some  one  on  whom  his 
faith  can  utterly  repose  itself.  He  is  at 
unrest  if  he  is  trusting  to  a  broken  reed  ; 
and  when  that  has  given  way  he  trembles 
to  trust  again.  The  doubtful  mind 
(Luke  xii.  29,  fj^sTsupi^icdi)  is  that  which 
is  tossed  about  in  the  open  and  stormy 
sea.  The  soul  can  only  be  at  rest  when 
its  anchorage  is  in  God.  Only  as  we 
can  say  with  Paul  when  the  blast  of 
Euroclydon  was  on  the  vessel,  "I  believe 
God,"  can  we  have  peace.  (3.)  2^he  soul 
is  at  rest  when  its  volitions  are  in  harmony 
with  a  will  higher  than  its  own,  and 
stronger.  Self-will  is  the  cause  of  per- 
petual unrest.  It  is  constantly  thwarted 
and  disappointed,  and  therefore  never 
at  peace.  Only  as  far  as  the  soul  is  in 
harmony  with  Him  whose  will  rules  the 
universe,  and  cheerfully  assists  in  the 
fulfilment  of  the  counsel  of  that  will,  can 
it  be  at  rest.  Its  rest  is  this,  "  I  delight 
to  do  Thy  will,"  &c.  (4.)  The  soul  is  at 
rest  when  engaged  in  that  work  for  which 
it  is  divinely  fitted.  Ignoble  callings, 
vulgar  ambitions,  and  immoral  pleasures, 
have  no  affinity  with  that  which  is  the 
image  of  the  great  Creator.  The  soul  was 
made  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  to 
work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  it ;  and 
only  in  such  occupations  can  it  be  at 
rest.  (5.)  Therefore,  only  as  the  soul  is 
free  from  the  perturbations  of  sin  can  it 
be  at  rest  Sin  has  destroyed  the  moral 
balance  of  the  soul,  and  introduced  dis- 
cord where  all  was  harmony.  That, 
thank  God,  can  be  removed.  Peace 
follows  pardon.  Purity  precedes  refresh- 
ment. And  the  soul  pardoned  and 
refreshed,  with  its  love  fixed  on  God,  its 
faith  reposing  on  G^d,  its  will  governed 


by  God,  and  its  work  directed  by  God,  il 
realises  the  promise  to  the  full :  "  I  will 
give  you  rest." 

II.  The  soul  is  commanded  to  return 
to  its  rest  ;  there  is  hope  for  weary 
man,  that  his  lost  rest  may  be 
regained.  Man  has  lost  his  rest. 
Furrowed  brows,  blasted  hopes,  ruined 
fortunes,  early  graves,  all  bear  witneit 
to  this. 

**Art  thou  weary,  art  thou  languid. 
Art  thou  sore  distressed  ? 
Come  to  Me,  saith  One,  and  oomilg^ 
Be  at  rest." 

"  For  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully 
with  thee."  The  details  of  that  bounty 
are  specified  in  the  following  verses. 
Those  details  may  be  summed  up  in  one 
word,  God.  Elsewhere  the  soul  may 
seek  rest,  but  it  will  find  none.  God 
provides  the  soul  with  (I)  a  lovely  objects 
He  is  "the  King  in  His  beauty;"  (2)  a 
trusty  object :  "  Casting  all  your  cares 
on  Him  j  "  {^)  a  governing  will  :  so  that 
the  soul  can  say,  "Thy  will  be  done;"  (4) 
an  appropriate  work;  "  Workers  together 
with  God  ;  '*  (6)  purity,  harmony,  peace. 
In  conclusion. — (i.)  Seek  the  true  restf 
God.  (ii.)  Seek  it  in  the  proper  pku^, 
God.  (iii.)  Seek  it  by  the  best  means,  Gk)d. 
"  God  is  the  centre  to  which  all  immortal 
spirits  tend,  and  in  connection  with  whom 
they  can  find  rest.  Everything  separated 
from  its  centre  is  in  a  state  of  violence  ; 
and  if  intelligent  cannot  be  happy.  All 
human  souls,  when  separated  from  God 
by  sin,  are  in  a  state  of  violence,  agita- 
tion, and  misery.  From  Qod  all  spirits 
come ;  to  Him  all  spirits  must  return,  in 
order  to  be  finally  happy."— ji.  Clarhe, 


Deliyerakos. 
(Verse  8.) 


I.  Of  "the  soul  firom  death."  We 
are  warranted  in  taking  this  in  its  most 
comprehensive  sense.     Of  the  life — 

1.  From  physical  death.  The  Psalm- 
ist had  been  brought  to  death's  door 
and  was  restored  to  health  and  strength. 
There  are  few  men  who  cannot  say  the 
same.  Most  have  passed  through  dan- 
gerous sicknesses,  or  just  escaped  wh-^t 
234 


might  have  been  fatal  accident!  bnt  for 

the  interposition  of  a  higher  power. 
And,  indeed,  subtle  perils  lurk  in  the 
atmosphere  we  breathe,  and  the  circum- 
stances by  which  we  are  surrounded 
every  moment,  and  yet  we  are  spared. 

2.  From  intellectual  death.  How  near 
men  are  to  that  let  our  asylums  show. 
The  brain  has  a  limit  to  its  power,  and 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXTL 


excess,  the  anxieties  of  life,  and  the 
grapple  with  great  intellectual  problems, 
sometimes  brings  us  to  the  very  margin 
which  bounds  sanity  from  madness. 
But  God  has  interposed  His  "  hitherto 
shalt  thou  go,"  &c. 

3.  From  social  death.  How  near  are 
many  men  to  ostracism  from  the  friends 
who  love  them  and  the  homes  that 
cherish  them !  Many  a  man  has  up< 
lifted  a  hand,  which,  had  it  fallen,  he 
would  thenceforth  have  been  an  outcast 
from  his  fellow 'men.  Many  a  man  has 
entertained  thoughts,  which,  had  he 
uttered  in  the  feeblest  breath,  men 
would  have  shunned  him  as  a  wild 
beast.  Many  a  man  has  spoken  five 
words,  which,  had  they  been  six,  the 
▼ery  wife  of  his  bosom  and  the  children 
of  his  heart  would  have  spurned  him. 
There  have  been  men  whose  emotions 
have  risen  fifty  degrees,  and  one  degree 
more  the  brand  of  Cain  would  have 
been  written  on  their  forehead  for  life. 
God  has  saved  their  soul  from  death. 
Some  men  have  committed  social  suicide, 
and  God  has  given  life  to  the  dead. 

4.  From  moral  deatkj  the  real  death 
of  the  soul.  The  soul  is  now  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins.  Those  who  live  in 
sin  are  dead  while  they  live.  God  can 
and  does  raise  the  soul  into  newness  of 
life.  Sinners,  remember  that  there  is  a 
death,  which,  while  it  never  dies,  admits 
of  no  resurrection.  This  is  **  the  second 
death." 

n.  Of  the  "  eyes  from  tears." 

1.  God  sometime  delivers  us  from  the 

occasions  of  sorrow.     Many  things  which 

would  have  caused  us  helpless  grief,  God 

has  mercifully  checked.     Friends  have 


been  spared,  losses  averted,  sharp  arrows 
of  pain  missed  their  mark. 

2.  God  sometimes  gives  us  grace  to 
hear  our  sorrows^  so  that  we  can  say 
with  more  than  resignation,  more  than 
acquiescence,  with  adoring  gratitude 
even  through  our  tears,  "The  Lord 
gave,  the  Lord  hath  talcen  away,"  <fec. 

3.  God  sometimes  wipes  the  tears  from 
our  eyes.  He  "comforts  those  who 
mourn,"  <fec.,  sends  the  Comforter,  whis- 
pers the  promises,  and  assures  of  the 
time  when  there  will  be  no  more  pain, 
and  when  "  He  will  wipe  all  tears  from 
all  faces." 

III.  Of  his  "feet  from  falling." 

1.  Preservation  from  snares  and  pit- 
fallSf  enabling  us  so  to  thread  our  way 
as  to  avoid  those  dangers  which,  if  en- 
countered, would  be  perilous  to  the  soul. 

2.  Firm  establishment.  On  a  rock, 
so  that  nothing  shall  shake  us.  On  a 
broad  basis,  so  that  looking  down  from 
the  lofty  pinnacle  we  shall  not  be  made 
giddy,  and  fall. 

3.  Sudden  rescue.  The  Psalmist's  feet, 
like  Asaph's  (Ps.  Ixxii.),  may  have  well- 
nigh  slipped,  one  foot  over  and  the 
other  going,  but  God  interposed.  We 
have  all  had  times  like  this. 

In  conclusion. — Notice  (i.)  This  de- 
liverance was  personal.  "  Thou"  "  My. " 
Not  law,  chance,  providence,  (ii.)  This 
deliverance  was  conscious.  It  was  not 
a  beautiful  theory,  or  a  clever  specula- 
tion. It  was  a  fact.  These  two  ideas, 
a  personal  relationship  with  a  personal 
God,  constitute  the  charm  of  the  Psalms. 
Let  us  not  break  it.  Speaking  thus  the 
Psalmist  speaks  for  man. 


Walking  before  God. 
{Verse  9.) 


"  We  mean  by  men's  *  walking  *  their 
conduct,  the  mode  in  which  they  carry 
themselves,  and  the  progress  they  make 
as  men.  All  men  hare  'ways,'  all  men 
*walk'  somehow.  The  difference  be- 
tween men  spiritually  is  not  between 
walking  and  not  walking,  but  between 
walking  rightly  and  wrongly ;  walking 
to  heaven  and  to  hell.     Activity,  inces- 


sant activity,  is  Impressed  upon  all.  It 
is  the  universal  law.  But  some  walk 
after  the  spirit,  and  others  after  the 
flesh  ;  some  in  darkness,  others  in  light 
True  religion  is  walking  with  God." 
— A.  J.  Morris. 

I.  What  walking  before  God  im- 
plies. 

I.  That  man  it  a  social  being.     Man 

235 


PSALM  OXVI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


was  made  for  companionship.  Hence 
marriage.  "  It  is  not  good  for  man  to 
be  alone."  Man  seldom  cares  for  a 
solitary  walk.  Hence,  in  the  journey  of 
life,  some  "  walk  with  the  wise,"  others 
"  go  with  the  evil." 

2.  That  man  was  made  for  social  in- 
tercourse. Without  this  companions  are 
useless  or  a  burden.  Man  must  have 
fellowship  and  interchange  of  thought 
and  feeling.  Without  this  his  best  life 
is  sapped.  His  mind  will  be  dwarfed 
by  narrowness.  His  affections  will  be 
consumed  in  their  own  fires. 

3.  That  mavbs  social  instincts  find 
their  full  development  in  intercourse 
with  God.  Only  by  this  means  can 
the  mind  be  fully  fitted  for  man  who 
is  made  in  the  image  of  God.  His 
love  for  God,  whom  he  has  not  seen, 
will  qualify  him  for  loving  his  brother, 
whom  he  has  seen. 

4.  That  this  bringing  of  God  and 
man  together  in  social  intercourse  is  the 
end  of  providence  and  grace.  This  was 
man's  natural  privilege  as  having  aflSnity 
with  God.  By  sin  he  forfeited  it.  God 
became  offended,  and  man  careless.  But 
in  the  fulness  of  time  Emmanuel  came, 
and  through  Him  God  and  man  are 
reconciled  and  made  at  one. 

II.  What  walking  before  God  means. 

1.  Conscious  companionship.  Not 
mere  intellectual  belief  in  God's  exist- 
ence, nor  a  consciousness  of  God's  om- 
nipresence, but  the  nearness  of  God 
experienced  and  enjoyed. 

2,  Spiritual  sympathy.  "  Two  walk 
together  because  they  are  agreed.  There 
must  be  unity  of  purpose,  of  taste,  a 
correspondence  of  circumstances,  and  a 
harmony  of  will.  We  can  admire  a 
man,  converse  with  him,  receive  favours 
from  him,  confer  favours  on  him,  dwell 
in  the  same  house,  exchange  the  cour- 
tesies of  life  with  him,  without  walking 
with  him.  There  is  a  general  benevo- 
lence or  humanity  that  engenders  polite- 
ness, i.e,y  kindness  seasonably  offered 
*in  form  or  reality.'  But  the  man  I 
walk  with  is  my  friend.  I  have  proved 
his  character,  and  I  find  it  Bound.     I 


have  noted  hib  conversation,  and  not 
only  approve  his  opinions,  but  imbibe 
his  spirit.  I  have  watched  the  issues 
of  his  heart,  and  I  find  their  counterpart 
in  my  own  bosom.  He  may  be  separate 
from  me,  his  profession  may  be  opposite 
to  mine,  his  attainments,  rank,  look 
down  upon  mine,  I  still  walk  with  him. 
...  I  doubt  whether  a  man  or  an  aiigel 
could  commune  with  so  entire  a  union. 
Then  how  are  we  to  conceive  of  a  man 
walking  before  God  ?  "  Gen.  i.  supplies 
the  answer. — E.  E.  Jenkins. 

3.  Moral  progress.  Going  on  to  that 
perfection  to  which  God  leads. 

4.  Careful  circumspection.  "As  ever 
in  the  great  Taskmaster's  eye." 

III.  Where  walking  before  God  takes 
place.     "  In  the  land  of  the  living." 

1.  Not  in  the  other  world. 

2.  Not  in  the  contemplative  sphere. 
Men  have  considered  this  as  presenting 
unusual  facilities.  Alas !  they  have 
found  as  many  hindrances  as  they  have 
escaped.  Men  now  frequently  look  for- 
ward to  the  time  when,  retired  from  the 
turmoil  and  business  of  the  world,  they 
will  be  enabled  to  walk  before  God 
without  distraction.  But  before  that 
time  arrives  disinclination  sets  in,  powers 
are  demoralised,  and  walking  before 
God  fully  becomes  next  to  impossible. 

3.  But  in  the  land  of  the  living.  In 
the  midst  of  the  living ;  in  the  engage- 
ments of  the  living  ;  consecrating  living 
activities  to  His  services. 

In  conclusion. — **  What  a  glorious 
life  is  this !  Who  loves  not  to  walk 
with  a  dear  friend  ? — and  the  more  if  he 
be  very  wise  and  pure  and  good.  Who 
that  had  to  travel  a  doubtful  road  would 
not  rejoice  if  that  friend  were  a  safe 
guide  as  well  1  and  still  more,  if  there 
were  fear  of  evil,  one  of  a  strong  and 
skilful  arm  ]  And  further  yet,  if,  being 
poor  himself,  that  friend  were  able  to 
meet  all  the  possible  charges  of  the 
way  1  We  '  walk  with  God,'  who  can 
supply  '  all  our  need,'  who  '  guides  us 
with  His  eye,'  encompasses  us  with 
favour  as  a  shield  ;  and  '  we  joy  in 
God.'"— XJ^i/orm. 


336 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OX?I. 


The  Nature  and  Power  of  Faith. 
(Verse  10.) 


L   The  nature  of  faith.     ^r)iDi<n 

Hiphil  preterite  of  ]Di^,      To  make  fast 

or  strong  ;  to  build.  Hence,  fig.,  to 
maintain,  foster,  bring  up.  The  Hiphil 
(text)  signifies  to  hold  fast,  to  stand 
firm,  to  trust.  ^*  Powerful  as  is  the 
effect  of  these  words  (Gen.  xv.  6,  where 
same  word  is  used)  when  we  read  them 
in  their  first  untarnished  freshness,  they 
gain  immensely  in  their  original  lan- 
guage, to  which  neither  Greek  nor 
German;  much  less  Latin  or  English, 
can  furnish  any  full  equivalent  '  He 
supported  himself,  he  built  himself  up, 
he  reposed  as  a  child  in  his  mother's 
arms  (such  seems  the  force  of  the  root 
of  the  Hebrew  word)  in  the  strength  of 
God ;  in  God  whom  he  did  not  see, 
more  than  in  the  giant  empires  of  earth, 
and  the  bright  lights  of  heaven,  or  the 
claims  of  kindred  or  country  which  were 
always  before  Him.' " — Dean  Stanley, 
Hence  the  Psalmist's  faith  was  not  a  mere 
intellectual  assent  to  certain  truths  ;  but 
the  conscious  experience  and  actual 
realisation  of  certain  facts.  "  The  true 
living  Christian  faith  ...  is  a  sure 
trust  and  confidence  in  God,  that 
through  the  merits  of  Christ  his  sins 
are  forgiven,  and  he  reconciled  to  the 
favour  of  God." —  Wesley, 

II.  The  power  of  faith.  "I  be- 
lieved, therefore  have  I  spoken."  Every- 
where faith  and  speech  should  be  inse- 
parable. The  man  who  speaks  what  he 
doesn't  believe  is  a  hypocrite ;  the  man 
who  does  not  speak  what  he  believes  is 
a  coward. 

1.  The  power  of  faith  is  to  find  ex- 
pression for  itself.  Hence  this  Psalm 
becomes  a  creed,  and  from  this  fact 
springs  the  vitality  of  creeds.  The 
three  great  confessions  of  the  Christian 
Church  are  a  witness  to  the  heroic  faith 
of  those  who  composed  them.  May 
they  long  continue  the  same  for  those 
who  use  them. 

2.  The  power  of  faith  is  to  constrain 
those  who  believe  to  confess  tJieir  belief. 


The  Psalmist  had  the  burden  upon  him. 
He  could  not  help  but  speak  (Acts 
iv.  20).  And  so  the  Christian  who  is 
conscious  of  the  great  salvation  will  not 
only  proclaim  it,  but  do  so  under  an 
irresistible  impulse. 

3.  The  power  of  faith  is  to  inspire 
loyalty  to  the  truth  we  believe.  This 
saves  from  (1)  narrowness,  which  con- 
tracts the  truth  and  conceals  part  of  it. 
A  sound  Christian  faith  holds  "  all  the 
truth "  and  proclaims  "  all  the  counsel 
of  God."  (2)  From  latitudinarianism. 
The  Psalmist's  was  not  only  a  compre- 
hensive, but  a  correct  faith.  Latitudin- 
arianism mixes  error  with  truth,  or 
softens  its  rigour  by  a  spurious  charity. 
A  sound  Christian  faith  takes  hold  of 
and  proclaims  "  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth." 

4.  The  power  of  faith  is  to  impress  us 
with  the  necessity  of  its  declaration.  He 
felt  his  confession  to  be  not  only  truth, 
but  the  only  truth.  The  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  alone,  helped  him  ;  the  Lord,  and 
the  Lord  alone,  could  help  others. 
Mighty  is  the  obligation  which  rests  on 
Christian  men.  Christian  faith  takes 
the  facts  of  humanity  and  of  God  as 
they  stand.  Man  sinful  and  helpless. 
Christ  not  one  Saviour  among  many, 
but  alone  sufficient.  It  will  brook  the 
presence  and  pretentions  of  no  rival  in 
the  work  of  man's  regeneration,  and  de- 
clares again  and  again  that  without  its 
efficacy  man  must  perish.  Hence  the 
"  woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel " 
which  rests  on  the  Christian  man. 

5.  Faith  is  the  power  of  loyalty  to  the 
Lord  of  faith.  The  Psalmist  believed 
God,  and  was  thereby  strengthened  in 
his  submission  to  God's  will.  Faith 
empowered  him  to  declare  what  God 
had  done  for  his  soul.  And  if  we  be- 
lieve Christ  as  the  Psalmist  did  God  we 
shall  keep  that  command,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,"  (fee,  disobedience  to 
which  is  disloyalty  to  Christ. 

6.  Faith  is  the  power  of  confidence, 
and  confidence  is  the  power  of  successfid 

237 


PSALM  CXVI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


enterprise.  This  faith  has  moved  and  where.  What,  then,  must  that  faith  be 
still  will  move  the  world.  Men  who  which  has  as  it  object  the  Lord  God 
have  faith  in  themselves  succeed  every-      Omnipotent  % 


Cynicism. 

(Vei'se  11.) 


The  Cynics  were  a  sect  of  Greek  phi- 
losophers founded  by  Antisthenes,  who 
from  his  morose  and  disagreeable  procli- 
vities was  termed  "the  dog."  He  with 
his  more  famous  disciple,  Diogenes,  are 
representatives  of  a  class  of  men  all 
through  the  ages  who  cultivate  and  ex- 
hibit a  feeling  contemptuous  of  or  hos- 
tile towards  their  fellow-men.  All  are 
more  or  less  subject  to  this,  and  all 
should  strive  against  it.  The  Psalmist 
fell  into  it  in  his  trouble,  but  soon  got 
out  of  it. 

I.  The  Psalmist's  cynicism  consisted  in 
a  hasty  conclnsion  and  an  uncharitable 
verdict.  On  the  spur  of  the  moment. 
"  I  was  greatly  afflicted,  and  then  I  said 
in  my  haste,"  &c.  ;  somewhat  rashly  and 
inconsiderately  in  my  amazement  (so 
some)  ;  when  I  was  in  a  consternation — 
in  my  flight  (so  others).  Observe  the 
faith  of  the  best  of  saints  is  not  perfect, 
nor  always  alike  strong  and  active. 
When  the  Psalmist  believed  he  spoke 
well ;  but  now  through  unbelief  he  spoke 
amiss. — M.  Henry,  "  The  Psalmist,  on 
reflection,  felt  that  he  had  said  this  with- 
out due  thought,  and  that  he  was  now 
disposed  to  think  better  of  men  than  he 
did  on  the  day  of  affliction  and  trouble. 
The  world  is  much  better  than  what  we 
think  it  is  when  our  minds  are  morbid 
and  our  nerves  unstrung." — Barnes. 

II.  That  the  Psalmist's  cynicism 
was  natural  under  the  circumstances, 
although  not  justifiable.  He  bad  been 
brought  low,  near  to  death,  and  was 
greatly  afflicted.  We  may  suppose  that 
a  great  deal  of  his  affliction  was  the 
result  of  treachery  and  bitter  disappoint- 
ment.    The  words  seem  to  imply  the  cry 


of  one  who  fled  from  men  in  ambush. 

But  such  a  hasty  generalisation,  altbough 
natural,  was  not  justifiable,  because  not 
true. 

III.  That  the  Psalmist's  cynicism  was 
only  a  passing  mood.  "  He  does  not 
seem  to  have  cherished  this  mood  ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  seems  to  have  been  con- 
scious of  its  wretchedness.  .  .  .  Most  of 
us  must  have  known  what  it  is  to  have 
oursympathies  and  affections  temporarily 
soured  in  times  of  vexation  and  disap- 
pointment. .  .  .  The  great  danger  is  lest 
it  should  pass  into  a  habit — lest  we 
should  nurse  it  until  it  becomes  a  chronic 
attitude  of  mind,  and  take  a  morbid  plea- 
sure in  indulging  it.  .  .  .  The  fully- 
developed  cynic  prides  himself  on  his  in- 
different tone.  Like  lago  he  is  '  nothing 
if  not  critical.'  It  is  simply  his  '  way ' 
to  pick  faults  and  sneer.  We  find  the 
culmination  of  cynicism  in  Mephi- 
stopheles  ;  and  indeed  the  word  *  devil  * 
means  *  accuser,*  slanderer  of  God  and 
man. " — Finlayson. 

IV.  That  the  Psalmist's  cynicism  was 
successfully  resisted  and    overcome. 
The   spirit  of  cynicism  is  abroad,  how . 
shall  we  resist  it] 

(i.)  By  a  charitable  estimate  of  human 
infirmity  ;  (ii.)  By  a  generous  recognition 
of  human  excellencies  ;  (iii.)  By  a  modest 
estimate  of  our  own  worth.  "  Wounded 
vanity  and  disappointed  ambition  and 
trouble  coming  on  an  intense  egotism 
are  fruitful  sources  of  cynicism.  ...  A 
humble  recognition  of  our  own  faults  and 
defects  will  help  to  keep  us  from  it ;  " 
(iv.)  By  looking  at  all  men  through 
Christ  "  This  is  the  great  antidote  to 
the  cynical  spirit," — Finlayiwu 


Spiritual  Kequital. 
(Verses  12,  13.) 


The   Psalmist   Is   overwhelmed  with 
a  sense  of  the  divine  benedictions.     He 
238 


asks  what  return  he  can  make.     He  feels 
that  no  return  is  so  appropriate  as  ac- 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  OXTL 


knowledging  them  in  devout  and  public 
thanksgiving,  and  in  asking  God  for 
more.  A  later  custom  of  the  feast  of 
TaV^ernacles  was  to  form  a  grand  proces- 
sion from  the  Temple  to  the  Pool  of 
Siloani,  and  for  the  high  priest  to  hold 
aloft  a  golden  goblet  full  of  water  from 
that  pool,  and  pour  it  out  as  an  oblation 
to  God  for  His  goodness.  It  was  on 
that  occasion,  and  probably  in  reference 
to  that  ceremony,  that  our  Lord  said,  "  If 
any  man  thirst,"  <kc.  After  the  Passover 
the  master  of  the  house  lifted  up  the 
cup  of  wine,  and  blessed  God  for  His 
mercy,  and  then  passed  it  round.  To 
this  the  Apostle  referred  when  he  said, 
*'  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless," 
<kc.  ;  and  the  Evangelist  when  he  tells 
us  that  Christ  took  the  cup  which  was 
the  cup  of  the  New  Testament  in  His 
blood  ;  so  typifying  to  us  the  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving,  which  becomes  us  until,  as 
His  guests,  we  shall  sit  down  with  Him 
in  heaven  and  drink  the  cup  of  full  sal- 
vation, which  He,  the  Master  of  the 
house,  shall  pass  round  to  all  who  shall 
be  with  Him  there.     Notice — 

I.  That  God  requites  His  saints  for 
their  prayers.  "All  His  benefits  to- 
wards me."  These  benefits  were  the 
salvations  for  which  he  had  prayed 
(ver.  4),  and  the  answers  he  had  received 
(vers.  6,  7).     This  requital  is  based  on 

1.  The  goodness  of  God, 

2.  The  fidelity  of  God  to  Bis  promises. 
*'  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble," 
&c. 

3.  God^s  approbation  of  the  use  of 
divinely-prescribed  means  (2  Chron.  vii. 
U). 

II.  That  the  divine  requital  is  ample 
and  sufficient.  There  is  not  enough  in 
God's  benefits  to  intoxicate ;  they  are  not 
dealt  out  at  random  ;  but  they  exactly 
meet,  and  to  the  full,  the  creatures'  need. 

1 .  Temporal  benefits.  God  has  favoured 
each  one  of  us  with  that  which  is  suffi- 
cient for  our  good.  The  sorrowful  and 
suffering  are  the  first  and  most  earnest 
in  their  acknowledgments,  that,  as  their 
necessities  have  arisen,  God's  supplies 
have  been  adequate. 

2.  Spiritual  blessings.  These  have 
been  full  and  overflowing.  God's  gift 
of  Himself,  by  His  Son  and  through  His 


Spirit ;  the  means  of  grace,  the  hope  of 
glory,  &c.  All  are  as  rare  and  costly  as 
they  are  rich  and  full. 

3.  Mitigated  sorrows.  *'It  is  good 
for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted."  They 
are  benefits  from  the  beneficent  hand  of 
God.  They  are  mitigated  by  the  fact 
that  they  are  not  penal,  but  disciplinary  ; 
that  they  are  shared  by  the  '*  Man  of 
Sorrows  ; "  that  they  are  the  subjects  of 
the  ministry  of  the  precious  promises  and 
the  consoling  Spirit. 

4.  Holy  joys.  God's  benefits  are  for 
the  purpose  of  making  us  happy  ;  they 
are  earnests  of  our  inheritance,  and  hea- 
ven begun  below. 

III.  That  the  divine  requital  of 
man's  prayers  should  be  reciprocated 
by  man's  requital  of  God's  love. 

1.  How  should  man  requite  God  for 
benefits  received  t  (1.)  By  a  cheerful  rer 
ception  of  what  God  has  given.  The  cup 
of  salvation  is  of  God's  filling.  We  re- 
quite that  by  drinking  it.  There  is 
nothing  more  wounding  to  a  generous 
heart  than  to  slight  his  gifts.  And  to 
refuse  to  make  our  own  the  things 
which  are  freely  given  us  of  God  is  to 
slight  and  affront  His  love.  And  yet, 
alas  !  although  God  spared  not  His  own 
Son,  and  that  Son  spares  not  His  own 
Spirit,  and  that  Spirit  spares  not  Him- 
self in  providence  and  the  means  of  grace, 
yet  the  great  mass,  not  merely  of  man- 
kind, but  of  professing  Christians,  stand 
stolidly  indifferent,  and  allow  divine 
blessings  to  run  to  waste.  (2.)  By  a 
correct  appreciation  of  the  contents  of  our 
cup.  We  must  recognise  that  whatever 
of  bitterness  there  is  in  it,  that  it  is  of 
God's  filling  ;  and  that,  however  nau- 
seating it  may  be  to  our  depraved  palate, 
its  contents  are  salvations.  Let  us  take 
care  that  we  know  our  blessings,  or  the 
empty  cup  will  be  eloquent  of  the  mer- 
cies of  which  it  once  was  full — 

*  •  '''hat  which  we  have  we   prize  not  to  th« 

worth 
Whiles  we  enjoy  it  j  but  being  lacked  and 

lost, 
Why  then  we  rack  the  value,  then  we  find 
The  virtue  that  possession  would  not  give  ui 
Whil«  it  was  ours." — Shakespeare. 

(3.)    By  a    thankful  recognition   of  the 
fact  that  all  our  benefits  are  from  Him, 

239 


fSALM  CXn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


*'  Call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
Only  he  who  enjoys  life  in  Him  enjoys 
it  at  all.  This  is  the  true  infusion  that 
gives  sweetness  to  the  bitter,  and  more 
sweetness  to  the  sweet.  Without  this 
religion  will  be  but  a  drudgery,  and  life 
an  empty  void. 

2.  Why  should  we  requite  God  in  this 
way,  viz.,  by  a  thankful  reception  of  His 
gifts?  (1.)  Because  we  are  already  so 
much  in  debt  to  His  mercy.  **  One 
reason  why  we  should  never  come  to  a 
fellow-mortal  for  a  favour  is,  that  we 
have  received  so  much  already.  Yet 
this  is  the  only  way  in  which  we  can 
discharge  our  debts  to  God;  and, 
strange  to  tell,  every  such  attempt  to 
discharge  the  debt  only  serves  to  in- 
crease it." — A.  Clarke.  (2.)  Because  God 
delights  in  no  recompense,  except  "  in  the 
payment  of  a  heart  won  to  His  Jove  and 
melted  by  His  mercies.  His  deep  heart 
is  glad  when  we  taste  the  full  cup  of 
His  blessings,  and  as  we  raise  it  to  our 
lips  and  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
— Maclaren.  (3.)  Because  this  will  test 
the  contents  of  every  cup  -proffered  to  us 


in  life.  "  There  is  an  old  legend  of  a 
cup  full  of  poison  put  treucherously  in- 
to a  king's  hand.  He  signed  the  cross 
over  it,  and  it  shivered  in  his  grasp. 
Take  this  name  of  the  Lord  as  a  test. 
Name  Him  over  many  a  cup  which  you 
are  eager  to  drink,  and  the  poison  will 
be  spilled  on  the  ground.  What  you 
cannot  lift  before  His  pure  eyes,  and 
think  of  Him  while  you  enjoy,  is  not 
for  you.  Friendships,  amusements,  <fec., 
can  you  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
while  you  put  these  cups  to  your  lips  % 
If  not,  fling  them  behind  you  ;  for  they 
are  full  of  poison,  which,  for  all  its 
sweetness,  at  last  will  bite  like  a  serpent 
and  sting  like  an  adder." — Maclaren. 

In  conclusion. — There  is  another 
cup.  *'  In  the  hand  of  the  Lord  there  is 
a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red — it  is  full  of 
mixture,  and  He  poureth  out  the  same  ; 
but  the  dregs  thereof  all  the  wicked  of 
the  earth  shall  wring  them  out  and 
drink  them."  Why  should  you  drink  of 
that  cup  while  God  offers  to  you  the 
cup  of  salvation  % 


Verse  14,  set  Verse  16. 

GoD*s  Estimate  of  Death, 

{Verse  15.) 


L  A  higli  estimate.     ")p^  is  applied 

to  things  of  (1)  Substantial  importance. 

(2)  Considerable  dignity  or  magnitude. 

(3)  Rare  and  costly  value.  (4)  Majesty, 
splendour,  beauty.  (5)  To  things  held 
dear,  beloved,  and  precious. 

II.  An  unusual  estimate.  This 
value  is  placed  upon  death.  Death  is 
usually  regarded  as  loss,  and  with  dread. 
He  is  called  the  great  robber.  It  de- 
prives the  body  of  animation. 

"  Absorbs  me  quite  ; 
Steals  my  senses,  shuts  my  sight. 
Drowns  my  ipirit,  draws  my  breath. " 

Takes  ruthlessly  that  which  is  most 
near  and  dear  to  the  weeping  wife, 
child,  husband,  friend.  Yet,  according 
to  our  text,  "  To  die  is  gain.*' 

III.  An  unexpected  estimate.  "  In 
the  sight  of  the  Lord."  One  would 
have  thought  it  otherwise.     Death  is  a 

240 


blast  upon  God's  fair  creation,  and 
blights  all  on  whom  it  falls.  It  takes 
the  bloom  from  the  pictures  which  the 
divine  artist  has  pencilled,  withers  the 
majestic  tree  which  the  divine  gardener 
has  planted,  crumbles  the  monument 
which  the  divine  architect  has  reared, 
and  curses  him  into  whom  God  breathed 
the  breath  of  life.  Yet  God  says, 
"  Death  is  precious." 

IV.  A  specific  estimate.  Precious 
is  the  death  of  saints.  Their  death  is  a 
thing  of  (1)  Substantial  importance  to 
God,  to  the  final  result  of  the  universe, 
to  the  deceased  himself.  (2)  Consider- 
able dignity.  ''  God  took  him,"  ''  With 
Christ."  (3)  Great  value.  It  is  a  release 
from  the  uncertainties,  cares,  and  pains 
of  life.  (4)  Majesty.  It  is  the  portal 
of  immortality.  (5)  To  be  held  dear. 
It  unites  us  to  our  friends  and  to  the 
noblest  of  our  race  for  ever.     And  above 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  CXTL 


all,  **  We  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  Latimer,    Jerome    of    Prague,    Baxter, 

see  Him  as  He  is.*'  Scott,    Wesley,     Halyburtoii,     Payson. 

In  conclusion. — How  precious  it  is  **  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous/* 

may  be  seen,     Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Huss,  &c 


Two  Views  of  Death. 
(Verse  15.) 


1.  The  Psalmist  had  been  snatched 
from  the  very  jaws  of  death.  He  there- 
fore may  have  meant  that  it  was  too 
costly  to  be  given  to  the  foe.  2.  The 
Psalmist's  life  had  been  lengthened  that 
he  might  fulfil  the  Divine  purposes : 
death  was  too  costly  a  thing  to  be  given 
him  till  his  work  was  done.  Both  views 
are  true. 

I.  Death  is  very  precious,  therefore 
God  spares  life.  No  weapon  can  touch 
God's  people  till  their  appointed  time 
has  come. 

1.  In  the  family.  The  great  Father 
sees  how  far  a  parent,  a  child,  a  friend 
are  necessary,  and  the  reason  why  so 
many  are  spared  is  because  of  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  death. 

2.  In  the  nation.  The  great  Gover- 
nor sees  how  far,  and  for  how  long, 
princes  and  citizens  are  necessary,  and 
the  reason  why  He  stays  His  hand  is 
because  of  the  unspeakable  value  of 
death. 

3.  In  the  Church.  The  great  Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  souls  spares  as  many 


of  His  ministers  as  can  be  spared,  be- 
cause of  the  costliness  of  their  death. 

II.  Death  is  very  precious,  therefore 
God  gives  it. 

1.  It  is  the  fitting  reward  of  a  saintly 
life  (2  Tim.  iv.  6). 

2.  It  is  the  souVs  movement  towards 
perfection. 

3.  It  is  a  stage  in  the  direction  of  the 
completion  of  God's  plans  in  the  universe. 

4.  It  illustrates  the  triumphs  of  re- 
deeming grace  to  those  who  are  left  be- 
hind. 

In  conclusion. — These  two  views  are 
one  theory.  Death  is  too  precious  to 
be  given  without  deliberation.  Death 
is  so  precious,  that  at  the  appointed 
time  it  must  not  be  withheld.  It  was 
Paul's  theory,  "  To  me  to  live  is  Christ, 
and  to  die  is  gain."  There  is  another. 
A  precious  life  makes  a  precious  death, 
a  worthless  life  a  worthless  death.  If 
to  me  to  live  is  self,  then  death  is  loss 
and  despair.  *'  Died — as  a  fool  dieth  " 
— is  the  epitaph  on  the  lost  souL 


Divine  Relationships. 
{Verses  14,  16-19.) 


This  is  the  appropriate  conclusion  of 
the  Psalm.  The  Psalmist  has  all  along 
recognised  a  relationship  between  him- 
self and  God,  by  which  God  has  given 
certain  benefits  and  lie  rendered  certain 
services.  This  relationship  is  so  close 
that  its  termination  is  too  costly  to  be 
lightly  entertained.  God  cannot  spare 
him  just  yet,  but  when  He  does  it  will 
be  to  dismiss  him  to  his  reward.  Tiiis 
relationship  is  now  fully  disclosed.  He 
is  God's  servant,  yet  God's  friend.  God's 
friend,  but  His  servant  still.  As  His  ser- 
vant God  spares  his  life,  as  His  friend 
God  walks  with  him.  And  while  he 
VOL.  U. 


feels  that  God  has  loosed  his  bonds,  he 
feels  that  he  must  not  relax  his  service. 
I.  This  relationship  is  one  of  obe- 
dience, yet  friendship.  **I  am  thy 
servant.  .  .  .  Thou  hast  loosed  my 
bonds." 

1 .  lids  relationship  is  characterised  hy 
generous  devotion.  We  obey  God  not  as 
a  hireling  toils  for  wages,  but  as  a  friend 
gives  himself  to  promote  the  interest  of 
his  friend. 

2.  This  devotion  is  based  upon  an  in- 
terest in  our  friend's  wishes.  Every  word 
of  our  text  displays  the  Psalmist's  in- 
terest in  what  be  was  doing.     And  why  1 


F8ALM  CXVn. 


EOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Because  he  felt  that  God  had  taken  an 
interest  in  him.  Could  he  fail  to  see  that  t 
Can  wel 

3.  This  interest  is  based  upon  love  of 
our  friend,  "  I  will  oflFer  Thee  the  sac- 
rifice of  thanksgiving." 

II.  This  relationship  is  one  of  friend- 
ship, yet  obedience.  Friendship  must 
not  degenerate  into  over  familiarity  or 
presumption.     Remember — 

1.  That  this  relationship  ceases  with 
our  obedience.  The  moment  we  forget 
the  special  conditions  on  which  this  di- 
vine friendship  is  based,  that  moment 
God  ceases  to  be  our  friend. 

2.  That  this  relationship  is  not  merely 
human  choice^  hut  Divine  election.  "  Thou 
hast  loosed  my  bonds."  We  have  not 
gained  this  liberty  by  our  own  might 
and  by  our  own  power.  God  has  freed 
us  from  the  thraldom  of  sin,  that  He 
might  bind  us  by  the  loving  cords  of  the 
royal  law  of  liberty. 

3.  That  the  power  to  fulfil  the  duties 
of  this  relationship  comes  from  God,  "  I 
will  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I 
will  pay  my  vows  unto  the  Lord.'*  Our 
divine  friend  shows  Himself  friendly  in 
hearing  our  prayers.  He  hears  them 
that  He  may  empower  us  to  fulfil  our 
obligations. 


III.  This  relationship  must  receive  a 
formal  and  public  acknowledgment. 

1.  In  personal  consecration.  "  /  vdll 
pay.'*  So  august  a  friendship,  and  so 
noble  a  service,  must  not  be  passed  by 
with  the  informalities  of  our  ordinary 
life  and  friendship.  And  yet  if  a  friend 
is  worth  having  he  is  worth  marking  out 
before  all  others;  and  if  our  worldly  occu- 
pations deserve  our  attention  at  all,  they 
deserve  special  attention.  Much  more 
God  and  His  service. 

2.  In  union  with  His  people,  **  In 
the  court  of  the  Lord's  house."  He  who 
is  God's  friend  and  servant  will  associate 
gladly  with  God's  friends  and  servants. 
(1.)  He  will  gladly  unite  with  them  in 
their  public  worship.  (2.)  He  will  let 
not  a  little  hinder  him  in  showing  who  and 
what  he  is  by  formal  membership.  A 
Christian,  and  yet  a  member  of  no  church, 
is  an  anomaly. 

3.  Before  the  world.  "  In  the  midst 
of  thee,  O  Jerusalem  !  "  He  is  no  true 
friend  whose  friendship  is  for  private  and 
home  consumption. 

IV.  This  relationship  should  be  sought 
and  professed  at  once.  *'  Now."  Every 
hour's  delay  is  a  loss  of  privilege  and  a 
neglect  of  duty.  H  not  done  soon,  it 
will  be  done  never. 


PSALM     CXVIL 

Introduction. 

1.  Authorship,  ftc,  unknown.  2.  Probably  a  liturgical  introduction  to,  or  dismissal  from, 
a  service,  either  by  separate  choirs  or  the  whole  people.  3.  "  The  lyrical  expression  of  the 
conBciousness  of  the  Old  Testament  Church,  that  it  was  the  object  of  the  special  and  everlasting 
care  of  God  ;  that  the  former  proceeded  from  His  mercy,  the  latter  from  His  truth  ;  and  that 
for  this  very  reason  Jehovah  is  the  worthy  object  of- [traise  for  all  peoples." — Moll.  **  In  Rom.xv. 
11,  the  Apostle  developes  the  idea  which  is  the  germ  of  the  Psalm  ;  it  calls  upon  the  heathen  to 
praise  God  for  His  mercy  and  truth  exhibited  to  His  chosen,  in  which  the  heathen  will  one  day 
share.     (Deut.  xxxii.  43.)    It  expresses  all  the  elements  of  a  Messianic  Psalm." — Speakers  Com, 


Man's  Recognition  of  God's  Goodness. 


{Verses 

"Some  of  the  Jewish  writers  confess 
that  this  Psalm  refers  to  the  Kingdom  of 


the  Messiah 


that  it  consists  of  two 


verses  to  signify  that  then  God  would 
be  glorified   by  two  sorts  of  people — by 
the  Jews  according  to  the  law  of  Moses^ 
942 


1,2.) 

and  by  the  Gentiles  according  to  the 
seven  precepts  of  the  son  of  Noah — which 
should  make  one  Church,  as  these  two 
verses  make  one  Psnltn."     Notice — 

I.  That  Gods  goodness  is  manifested 
to  meet  man's  need.     Men  everywhere 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  CXVin, 


need  mercy  and  truth.     All  need  is  re- 
presented here. 

1.  Man  needs  God's  mercy.  Jew  and 
Gentile  alike  need  forbearance  and  re- 
demption ;  for  *'  all  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  God's 
merciful  kindness  is  great  (1)  in  for- 
bearing to  punish;  (2)  in  the  gift  of  His 
Son;  (3)  in  the  mission  of  His  Spirit; 

(4)  in  the  establishment  of  His  Church; 

(5)  in  its  comprehensiveness;  (6)  in  its 
regenerating  and  glorifying  power, 

2.  Man  needs  God's  truth.  The  pro- 
vision for  that  is,  "  His  truth  endureth 
for  ever.'*  This  may  mean  God's  word, 
or  God's  fidelity  to  His  word.  Both  are 
true.  Consider  the  state  of  the  world 
without  the  Bible.  Natural  religion  is 
only  known  when  Bible  light  is  thrown 
upon  nature.  Man  needs  (1)  the  true 
knowledge  of  God  ;  (2)  guidance  in  his 
duty;  (3)  comfort  in  his  ti^ouhle;  (4)  a 
revelation  of  his  hereafter.  Nothing  sup- 
plies that  need  but  God's  truth.  From 
that  truth  God  has  never  swerved.  He 
has  never  repealed  it.  He  has  ever  ful- 
filled it.  What  was  truth  to  Adam, 
Abraham,  Moses,  David,  Paul,  is  truth 
to  us,  and  will  be  throughout  the  ages. 

II.  That  the  divine  goodness  shall 
be  universally  recognised. 

1.  Why?  Because  (1)  it  deserves  to 
he.  (2)  Because  the  order  of  things 
destines  it  to  he.  It  was  so  at  the  be- 
ginning ;  it  must  be  so  at  the  end. 

2.  By  whom  ?  (1.)  By  the  Jews. 
The  Cross  is  now  a  stumbling-block  be- 
cause the  veil  is  on  their  hearts  (Rom. 
xL).     But  that  veil  will  be  removed, 


and  '*  all  Israel  will  be  saved."  (2.)  By 
the  Gentiles,  to  many  of  whom  both  the 
Cross  and  its  revelation  are  foolishness. 
They  shall  yet  confess  it  to  be  the 
wisdom  of  God.  **  At  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  shall  bow,"  and  every 
tongue  shall  confess  that  Christ  is  **  the 
Light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
glory  of  His  people  Israel." 

3.  How?  By  praising  God.  (1.) 
Gratitude.     (2.)  Consecration. 

III.  That  universal  recognition  will 
characterise  the  redeemed  and  glori- 
fied Church  for  ever.  (Rev.  vii.  4-12 ; 
xix.  5,  6.) 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  When  is  the  im- 
plied prophecy  of  our  text  to  he  fully 
realised  ?  Apart  from  the  speculations 
of  ingenious  commentators,  and  the 
tabulations  of  prophetic  almanacs,  it 
will  be  (1)  In  God's  own  time.  (2)  In 
the  right  time.  And  (3)  ^^  It  is  not  for 
us  to  hnow  the  times  and  the  seasons" 
(fee.  (ii.)  How  is  the  prophecy  of  our  text 
to  he  fulfilled?  By  earnest  Christian 
testimony.  The  means  are  efficient : 
"  The  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation,"  <fec.  The  means  are  conse- 
crated :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world," 
<fec.  The  means  are  permanent ;  "  The 
everlasting  Gospel."  We  have  no  war- 
rant for  the  belief  that  the  presence  of 
the  King  will  effect  that  for  which  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  crucified  and 
risen  Saviour  are  not  equal.  Christian 
men,  put  on  your  strength.  Vitalise 
and  increase  your  agencies.  Work  in 
faith.     ''  Jesus  shall  reign/'  Ae, 


PSALM    CXVIIL 

Introduction. 

1.  The  last  of  the  group  (cxiii.-cxTiii.)  constitnting  the  Hallel.  2.  Certainly  a  temple  Psalm, 
moit  probably  composed  for  a  great  occasion.  **  Some  incline  to  the  Davidic  authorship,  when 
he  was  anointed  king,  when  he  brought  back  the  ark,  or  after  (2  Sam.  xxi.  16).  Others  to 
Hezekiah  {cf.  v.  17  with  Isaiah  xxxviii.  1).  Others,  after  the  exile,  in  celebration  either  of  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  (Ezra  iii.  1-4),  or  Founding  of  the  Temple  (iii.  8-13),or  its  Dedication  (vi.  IS- 
IS), or  Feast  of  Tabernacles  (Nehem.  viii.  14).  3.  Often  quoted  in  New  Testament.  Many 
Rabbins  interpret  the  Psalm  of  Christ ;  and  Jerome  says  that  the  ancient  Jewi  so  interpreted 
it^  which  is  borne  out  by  Matt.  xxi.  9.     This  was  Luther's  favourite  Psalm," 

The  Divine  Mercy. 

(Verses  1-4.) 

Our  text  forms  an  appropriate  intro-      whole  Psalm.     It  contains  the  germ  of 
duction  to,  and  is  a  miniature  of,  the      all  God's  goodness,  and  the  ground  fof 

243 


fSALM  CXTIII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


all  human  gratitude.  Next  to  the 
phrase,  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord,"  the  ex- 
pression of  verse  1  is  of  most  frequent 
use  in  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

I.  The  nature  of  divine  mercy. 

1.  It  is  divine.  "  His  mercy."  It  is 
therefore  perfect.  It  is  not  liable  to  the 
fluctuations  and  temptations  to  which 
human  mercy  is  exposed.  The  divine 
character  is  not  only  perfect  as  a  whole, 
but  in  its  parts.  The  divine  perfections 
characterise  each  other.  The  divine 
mercy  is  omnipotent  and  all  wise,  bene- 
ficent, yet  just.  It  always  goes  far 
enough,  it  never  goes  too  far.  Man's 
mercy  sometimes  stops  at  the  boundary 
of  self-interest,  and  thus  leaves  its  object 
unattained ;  sometimes  goes  beyond 
both  and  defeats  its  object.  Not  so 
with  perfect  mercy.  It  ascertains  accu- 
rately the  measure  of  our  need,  and 
powerfully  supplies  it. 

2.  It  is  the  outcome  of  the  divine  good- 
ness, Man's  mercy  is  often  the  result 
of  weakness.  Thus  it  rests  on  unworthy 
objects,  encourages  sin,  and  manifests 
itself  in  unproper  ways.  God's  mercy 
is  ever  governed  by  sound  motives, 
manifested  in  good  ways,  to  worthy 
objects  and  beneficent  results. 

3.  It  is  everlasting,  Man's  mercy  is 
frequently  a  matter  of  mood,  tense,  and 
ability.  God  is  always  in  a  merciful 
mood,  and  always  powerful  to  bless. 

II.  The  objects  and  manifestation 
of  the  divine  mercy. 

1.  Nations  :  *'  Israel."  God,  as  King 
of  kings,  cares  for  national  life.  Illus- 
trations of  this  are  plentiful  in  the 
history  of  Israel  and  in  the  history  of 
England.  The  divine  mercy  is  seen  (1) 
In  the  planting  of  nations,  with  due 
regard  to  wants  and  peculiarities.  The 
characteristics  of  a  nation  may  be  due 
to  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed,  but  it  may  also  be  due  in  the 
divine  adaptation  of  circumstances  to 
temperament  —  e.g,,  Greece,  art  and 
poetry  ;  England,  commerce,  <fec.  (2) 
In  the  growth  of  nations.  Wars,  revolu- 
tions, reforms,  <fec.  (3)  The  decline  of 
nations.  When  a  nation  has  lost  its 
virtue  and  its  vigour  it  is  a  mercy  to 


itself  and  to  other  nations  that  it  should 
fall.     Israel,  Rome,  (fee, 

2.  Ministers :  '*  House  of  Aaron." 
(1.)  In  their  call  (I  Tim.  i.  16  :  Gal.  i. 
15,  16).  (2.)  Li  their  preparation  for 
their  work.  (3.)  Li  their  encouragement 
in  the  midst  of  dijficulties  and  dangers, 
(4.)  In  their  spiritual  enrichment.  (5.) 
In  their  moral  success,  (6.)  In  their 
eternal  reward. 

3.  The  Church.  ''  Them  that  fear  the 
Lord."  {i.)  As  a  whole,  a.  In  its  marvel- 
lous preparation  ;  the  gradual  consoli- 
dation of  the  world  into  a  political 
brotherhood  by  the  Persian,  Alexan- 
drian, and  Roman  conquests  j  the  dis- 
persion of  the  Jews  ;  the  spread  of  the 
Greek  language  and  Roman  civilisation; 
the  yearning  for  spiritual  life  and  unity. 
/3.  In  the  merciful  gift  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  be  its  living  head,  and  of  the  Spirit 
to  guide  it  into  all  the  truth,  y.  In 
the  persecutions  which  dispersed  it,  and 
the  blood  which  watered  it.  b.  In  its 
marvellous  preservation  when  the  whole 
world  was  against  it.  e.  In  its  enrich- 
ment by  the  stores  of  learning  and  art. 
^.  In  its  Pentecostal  baptisms  in  all  ages. 
»).  In  its  continual  progress.  S.  In  the 
promise  of  its  glorious  close.  (2)  As 
individuals  ;  in  conversion,  the  means  of 
grace,  <fec. 

III.  The  recognition  of  the  divine 
mercy.  "  Oh,  give  thanks  unto  the 
Lord." 

1.  This  mercy  is  often  unrecognised. 
Nations  attribute  their  blessings  to  for- 
tunate circumstances,  patient  persever- 
ance, or  martial  prowess ;  ministers  to 
their  learning,  eloquence,  or  zeal ;  the 
Church  to  its  orthodoxy,  political  alli- 
ances, or  enthusiasm  ;  individuals  to 
happy  chances,  or  human  sympathy  and 
help. 

2.  This  recognition  is  a  matter  of  im- 
perative obligation.  Without  tliis  recog- 
nition (1)  the  evils  of  selfishness  and  sin 
can  never  he  extinguished,  (2)  the  mercy 
will  he  withdrawn^  and  (3)  retribution 
follow. 

3.  This  recognition  should  take  the 
form  of  devout,  grateful,  and  ^me^ 
praise, 


3U 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


rSALM  OXVIU. 


"Man's  Extremity  Gtod's  Opportunity.** 

{Verses  b-1.) 


I  Man  in  distress.  I^DHID  "  Out 
of  straits."  The  figure  is  that  of  a  fortress 
surrounded  by  a  beleaguering  army,  or 
of  soldiers  hemrued  in  on  every  side 
(see  ver.  10),  or  of  a  torrent  dammed  up 
by  the  pass  through  which  it  rushes; 
imprisoned,  constrained.  This  applies 
to— 

1.  The  Church.  How  often  is  it  sur- 
rounded and  hemmed  in  by  infidelity, 
ungodliness,  superstition,  persecution, 
want  of  opportunity,  political  restriction, 
and  popular  opinion  ! 

2.  The  individuaL  In  business, 
family,  society,  by  temptations,  hostility 
of  friends,  personal  weakness,  malignity 
of  foes. 

IL  Man's  duty  in  distress. 
1.  Prayer.  Without  this  we  shall 
always  be  in  distress.  Our  own  resources 
are  soon  expended.  Friends  are  often 
unwilling  or  helpless.  Let  us  "call  upon 
the  Lord."  (1.)  It  is  our  duty  to  Gody 
for  He  has  commanded  it.  (2.)  It  is  our 
duty  to  ourselves.  A  prayerless  man  is 
a  moral  suicide.  *'  Not  sit  by  thyself,  or 
lie  upon  thy  bench,  hanging  and  shaking 
thy  head,  and  letting  thy  thoughts  bite 
and  devour  thee ;  but  rouse  up,  thou  in- 
dolent fellow  !  fall  upon  thy  knees,  raise 
thy  hands  and  eyes  to  heaven,  and  pre- 
sent thy  distress  before  God  with  tears.'' 
—Luther* 


2.  Courage,  "I  will  not  fear."  Fear 
blanches  the  courage,  exhausts  the 
strength,  and  diverts  the  aim.  As  long 
as  courage  lasts,  hope  is  not  extinct ; 
but  the  moment  fear  comes  in,  defeat 
supervenes. 

III.  Man's  consolations  in  distress. 

1.  The  Lord  is  on  his  side.  The  Lord 
has  pledged  Himself  (1)  to  he  with  His 
Church  always  /  (2)  with  His  individual 
children.  What  is  there  then  to  fear  ? 
**  Greater  is  He  that  is  for  you  "  (Isa. 
xliii.  1,  2). 

2.  The  Lord  consecrates  all  His  con- 
federates for  His  good  (ver.  4).  Whether 
they  be  friends  or  instrumentalities. 

IV.  Man's  deliverance  in  distress. 

1.  Victory  over  foes.  This  has  been 
the  realisation  of  the  Church  in  all  ages, 
(Rom.  viil  35,  39). 

2.  Perfect  liberty.  "  The  Lord  set  me 
in  a  large  place."  The  misery  of  the 
Psalmist  was  that  he  was  straightened. 
His  deliverance  was  liberty  in  a  large 
open  plain.  This  may  be  applied  {V)  to 
Missionary  enterprise.  The  Lord  is  ever 
opening  doors  for  His  Church,  loosing 
her  bonds,  and  enlarging  the  field  of  her 
operations.  (2)  To  spiritual  life.  We 
are  "called  unto  liberty,  "  freedom,  from 
sin,  of  thought,  of  mental  and  moral 
cultivation,  philanthropy. 


COURAOB. 
(Verses  6,  7.) 


Courage  is  a  rery  complex  and  diffi- 
cult subject.  We  speak  of  physical 
courage,  mental,  moral  courage,  courage 
of  convictions,  <fec.  Many  a  man  who 
could  walk  up  to  a  cannon's  mouth  could 
not  face  a  public  audience.  Many  a  man 
who  has  planted  his  country's  flag  in  the 
thick  of  her  foes  has  betrayed  his  most 
cherished  convictions.  True  courage  is 
described  in  our  text. 

I.  In  its  source.  "  The  Lord  is  on  my 
|ide."     Courage   is  supposed  to  spring 


from  self-reliance.  That  man  Is  counted 
brave  who  scorns  all  allies  and  dares  to 
face  the  enemy  alone.  Hence  much  of 
human  courage  is  reckless  hardihood. 
True  courage  is  the  courage  of  trust  in 
God. 

II.  in  its  manifestations.  "I  will 
not  fear,"  &c. 

1.  It  trusts  God  to  do  for  it  what  it 
cannot  do  for  itself.  It  wisely  dares  to 
acknowledge  that  by  itself  it  is  unequal 
to  certain  enterprises.     This  of  itself  re- 

2V^ 


riALM  exTm. 


BOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


quires  a  great  deal  of  courage,  because 
it  requires  so  much  self-abnegation,  is  so 
unpopular,  and  is  often  apparently  not 
warranted  by  circumstances. 

2.  This  trust  produces  fearlessness  of 
eonsequences.  Who  can  fear  who  has 
taken  this  initial  and  most  formidable 
step  of  declaring  himself  on  the  side  of 
Gk)d  %  Young^men^  take  this  initial  step; 


for  who  can  fear  who  knows  that  God  if 
on  his  side. 

3.  Fearlessness  of  consequences  produces 
the  true  courage  of  fidelity.  Why  is  it 
men  are  unfaithful  ?  Consequences,  un- 
popularity, poverty,  &c.  "The  fear  of 
man  bringeth  a  snare."  "  Fear  Him,  ye 
saints,  and  you  will  then  have  nothing 
else  to  fear." 


Trust,  Human  and  DivmiB. 
(Verses  8,9.) 


L  Man  must  tmst.  All  experience 
proves  this.  Like  the  creeping  parasite, 
the  soul  must  throw  its  tendrils  round 
some  support. 

II.  Whom  should  man  trust?  Some 
one  whose  qualities  warrant  that  trust 

1.  He  must  he  all-sufficient,  able  to 
provide  for  all  actual  and  possible  neces- 
sities. To  trust  for  wisdom  to  the  foolish, 
for  strength  to  the  weak,  <fec.,  nothing 
but  disappointment  can  follow. 

2.  Be  must  he  of  supreme  moral  excel- 
lence. If  we  trust  to  the  suspected  or 
the  worthless  we  shall  be  in  a  state  of 
perpetual  unrest. 

3.  He  must  he  the  same  at  all  times. 
Trust  in  the  feeble  is  ruin.  Man  must 
have  as  the  object  of  his  trust  one  whose 
omnipotent  resources  and  spiritual  per- 
fection are  beyond  the  mutation  of  this 
world  and  abide  for  ever. 

in.  Who  warrants  that  trust? 
1.  Do  men  generally  f    No;  {\)  man 
is  weak  in  wisdom  and  mxiterial  resources; 


(2)  morally  imperfeet ;  (3)  ever  change- 
ful. 

2.  Do  princes  f  Least  of  all.  They 
are  but  men,  sometimes  the  weakest, 
worst,  and  most  fickle  of  men.  What 
they  have  done  let  the  followers  of  Con- 
fucius, Buddha,  Mohammed,  the  Pope, 
and  Priestcraft  everywhere  tell.  One 
thing  :  ruin. 

IV.  God  offers  Himself  as  the  object 
of  human  trust.  It  is  better  that  man 
should  trust  Him — 

1.  Because  He  warrants  that  trust 
"He  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly," 
<fec.  He  is  "  glorious  in  holiness."  He 
is  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,"  <fec. 

2.  Because  man*s  confidence  can  therehy 
he  secured.  That  confidence  has  been 
sadly  shaken.  Hence  man's  distress.  In 
God  it  will  stand  firm. 

3.  Because  of  the  Messed  consequences 
which  will  follow.  (1.)  salvation  ;  (2.) 
inward  peace  ;  (3.)  human  brotherhood  ; 
(4.)  heaven. 


Spiritual   Warfare. 
{y^sei  10-13.) 


L  Danger. 

1.  A  surrounding  danger y  "com- 
passed." The  foes  of  the  Christian  are 
not  all  in  the  front  or  in  the  light. 
They  are  subtle,  and  everywhere.  A 
sudden  temptation  may  reveal  a  weak- 
ness hitherto  unobserved.  They  assail 
us  at  all  points,  at  home  and  abroad,  at 
work  and  at  rest,  in  the  Church  and  in 
the  world. 

2.  A  formidahle  danger.  (1.)  In  point 
#/  numhergy  **  like  bees."     We  wrestle 


with  principalities  and  powers.  Count- 
less multitudes  are  waiting  for  every 
weakness,  and  plotting  for  every  fall. 
(2.)  In  point  of  pertinacity.  The  four- 
fold repetition  of  the  phrase,  "  They 
compassed  me,"  indicates  assiduity  and 
perseverance.  (3.)  In  point  of  weapons. 
The  sting  of  the  bee  is  formidable  from 
its  very  insignificance.  So  it  is  not  at 
first  by  great  temptations,  but  by  small, 
that  we  are  assailed.  The  sting  of  the 
bee  ja  sl^arp,  so  the   weapons  arrayed 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXTin. 


against  us  can  pierce  body,  affections, 
temper,  intellect,  and  soul.  (4.)  Li  the 
point  of  dexterity.  It  is  difficult  to 
strike  the  bee  when  on  the  wing. 
Happy  the  man  who  has  transfixed  the 
tempter  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
and  has  hira  under  his  feet. 

3.  A  fatal  danger.  *'  They  thrust 
sore  at  me  that  I  might  fall."  Their 
aim  is  not  to  weaken,  but  to  destroy. 
Hence  quarter  is  neither  given  nor  taken. 
Victory  or  death  is  the  only  issue  for 
either  side. 

n.  Help.     "The  Lord  helped    me." 

1.  By  fighting  Himself  where  and 
when  we  are  helpless.  There  are  certain 
antagonists  we  can  never  cope  with. 
Sin,  Satan,  and  death  have  to  be  en- 
countered by  Him  first,  and  their  power 
crippled  and  themselves  chained.  In 
effecting  this  Christ  becomes  "  the  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation." 

2.  By  animating  us  with  the  warlike 
spirit.  *'  God  has  not  given  to  us  the 
spirit  of  cowardice  (3wXg/af),  but  the 
spirit  of  power." 

3.  By  arming  ut  for  the  conflict, 
(Eph,  vL  13-17). 


4.  By  assurances  of  victory  and  re- 
ward. 

IIL  Victory.  "In  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  I  will  destroy  them." 

1.  The  victory  will  come  swiftly. 
Like  the  dry  thorns,  they  shall  consume. 
It  remains  very  much  with  the  Chris- 
tian, with  his  faith,  courage,  and  fidelity, 
when  the  victory  shall  be  won. 

2.  The  victory  shall  he  complete. 
"  Destroy."  "  Sin  shall  have  no  more 
dominion  over  you."  "  The  God  of 
peace  shall  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet  shortly."  *'  Death  shall  be  swal 
lowed  up  in  victory." 

3.  The  glory  of  the  victory  shall  he 
given  to  him  to  whom  it  is  dice.  **  In 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  Note  : — Tliis 
takes  all  the  malevolence  out  of  this 
determination.  It  was  a  judicial  ven- 
geance of  which  the  Psalmist  was  only 
the  instrument.  God  takes  all  the  re- 
sponsibility. Let  persecutors  see  to  it 
that  they  have  God's  warrant.  We 
know  we  have  it  in  our  war  of  exter- 
mination against  sin.  "  Not  unto  us, 
but  to  Thy  name,"  <bc. 


Personal  and  Family  Piety. 
{Verses  14,  15.) 


Notice : — 

L    That  piety  is    sadly  wanting. 

There  are  men  to  whom  these  words  are 
unintelligible.  They  know  nothing  of 
God's  strength;  they  are  strangers  to  His 
salvation  ;  no  song  wells  up  from  their 
thankless  hearts.  Sad  is  their  condition ; 
sad  the  condition  of  their  homes.  In 
many  homes  all  is  vice,  misery,  want, 
and  broken-heartedness,  as  the  result  of 
the  parent's  irreligion.  In  all  houses 
which  are  not  sanctified  by  the  Word  of 
God  and  prayer,  the  deepest  wants  of 
the  family  are  unsatisfied. 

II.  That  the  want  of  piety  is  sup- 
plied. *'  The  Lord  ...  has  hecome^*'  Ac. 
Piety  consists  of  three  things. 

1.  Salvation.     "  The  Lord  is  become. 

.  .   He  is  my  vSalvation."     Not  simply 

personal  rescue  or  divine  blessing,  but 

Indwelling  God.    This  involve^  tyery 


other  phase.      It  drives  out  sin,  rescues 
from  impurity  and  death,  gives  heaven. 

2.  Salvation  employed.  "My  strength," 
for  use,  of  course.  Strength  unemployed 
will  be  strength  dissipated.  If  we  do 
not  *'  work  out  our  salvation,"  viz.,  that 
which  God  has  worked  in,  "  to  will  and 
to  do  of  His  good  pleasure,"  spiritual 
loss  and  death  will  supervene. 

3.  Salvation  acknowledged,  *'  My 
song."  Salvation  will  and  must  express 
itself.  The  praiseless  lip  argues  the 
thankless  heart,  and  the  tliankless  heart 
is  the  heart  from  which  God  has  fled. 

III.  That  piety  must  be  personally 
appropriated.     "  My." 

1.  Piety  is  a  matter  hetween  tJie  per- 
sonal soul  and  its  personal  Saviour, 
There  can  be  no  mediation  or  proxy. 
No  man  can  either  get  or  keep  our  re- 
ligion for  us, 

U7 


P8ALM  CXTTTl. 


EOMILETJC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


2.  The  means  of  its  appropriation  it 
personal  faith.  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.'* 

3.  The  test  of  its  appropriation  is  per- 
sonal experience.  "  Is  become."  The 
Psalmist's  experience  was  no  fiction. 
He  knew  that  there  was  a  time  when  he 
felt  nothing  of  the  sort.  He  knew  that 
now  that  time  was  over.  He  had 
entered  on  a  new  phase  in  his  career, 
and  of  that  phase  he  was  sensible. 

IV.  That  piety  is  appropriated  to 
be  diffused.  The  sphere  of  its  diffusion 
here  is  the  home  (ver.  15).  Piety  may 
be  diffused  at  home  by 

1.  Personal  example. 

2.  Careful  self-discipline, 

3.  Intelligent  and  patient  training, 

4.  Interesting  and  constant  worship,  <kc 


V.  That  piety,  and  piety  alone,  will 
make  a  home  happy.  "  The  voice  of 
rejoicing  ...  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the 
righteous." 

1.  Some  pious  homes^  it  is  said,  are  not 
hapjyy.  Does  true  })iety  reign  there  1 
or  cant,  laxity,  or  severity  ? 

2.  True  piety  must  make  a  happy 
home,  because  it  is  **  alway  rejoicing.'' 

VI.  A  happy  home  is  a  miniature 
of  and  a  nursery  for  heaven. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Parents,  it  rests 
with  you  whether  your  home  is  a  heaven 
or  a  hell,  (ii.)  Children,  value  your 
homes.  The  time  may  come  when  you 
will  want  them,  (iii.)  Children  of  pious 
parents,  make  your  future  home  what 
your  past  has  been. 


The  Lord's  Triumph. 
{Verses  16, 16.) 


These  words  may  be  applied  (1)  to 
God's  sovereignty  over  the  material  uni- 
verse and  His  power  over  its  laws ;  (2) 
to  national  deliverances,  such  as  Moses, 
David,  elsewhere  acknowledged,  yes, 
and  such  as  we  ought  to  acknowledge. 
But  (3)  it  suggests  (and  we  will  consider 
it  as  suggesting)  the  triumphs  of  Christ 
and  His  Gospel  in  the  world. 

I.  The  personal  triumph  of  Christ. 

1.  Over  Satan.  This  began  in  the 
wilderness,  continued  without  intermis- 
sion during  His  life,  and  ended  by  the 
victory  of  the  Cross. 

2.  Over  the  world.  Our  Lord  con- 
fronted the  world  in  all  its  forms, 
provincial,  metropolitan,  social,  political, 
upper,  lower.  "  He  measured  tbe  world 
and  condemned  it.  And  it  fully  under- 
stood Him.  It  recognised  His  aim;  it 
quailed  before  Him,  and  it  hated  Him ; 
and  it  rested  not  till  it  had  led  Him  to 
His  Cross;  but  He  said,  *I  have  overcome 
the  world.'" — Liddon. 

3.  Over  sin,  by  bearing  its  penalty  on 
Calvary. 

4.  Over  death,  by  His  resurrection. 

5.  This  fourfold  triumph  condensed 
into  one  at  His  atcemion  (CoL  i.  15, 
Eph.  iv.  8). 

948 


II.  The  triumphs  of  His  Gospel  In 
the  human  heart. 

1.  In  its  conversion  from  sin  to  holiness. 
Every  other  means  has  been  tried  and 
has  failed,  human  efforts,  education, 
moral  philosophy.  But  Christ  has 
subdued  the  will,  cleansed  the  soul, 
introduced  a  powerful  motive,  and 
imparted  a  new  life. 

2.  In  empowering  the  soul  to  resist  sin, 
strenuous  opposition,  favourable  circum- 
stances, human  encouragement  have  been 
in  vain. 

3.  In  promoting  the  growth  of  moral 
excellence. 

4.  In  giving  us  victory  over  the  world, 
tribulation,  and  death. 

III.  The  triumphs  of  His  Church  in 
the  world. 

1.  Over  persecution.  Its  early  years 
were  years  of  blood. 

2.  Over  old  heathenism,  supported  as 
it  was  by  poetry,  learning,  and  extensive 
popularity. 

3.  Over  heresy,  e.g.  (1)  Arianism,  in 
spite  of  its  wide  influence  and  royal 
patronage  ;  (2)  Popery,  that  giant  super- 
stition, still  reels  under  Luther's  blow, 
and  will  yet  fall. 

4.  Over  religious  indifference.  Nothing 


BOMlLEttC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  oxvin 


ever  has,  or  ever  will  excite  such  interest 
and  move  so  much  as  the  simple  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel.  Where  are  the  crowds 
so  numerous  as  at  our  churches  ? 

5.  Over  human  hearts.  Witness  Pen- 
tecost, the  preaching  of  Luther,  Latimer, 
Wesley,  Whitfield,  <fec.     Nor  are  its  tri- 


umphs confined  to  one  class.  In  its  eai  1  \ 
ages  the  illiterate  tislierman,  the  intelli- 
gent publican,  and  the  learned  rabbi  were 
charmed  and  subdued.  And  the  same 
Gospel  has  since  exerted  its  influence 
over  Bunyan  the  tinker  and  Newton  the 
philosopher. 


Chastisement. 
{Verses  17,  18.) 


The  first  of  these  verses  was  hung  up 
by  Luther  in  his  study,  as  his  favourite 
verse  of  his  favourite  Psalm.  "  It  has 
come  to  my  aid  again  and  again,  and 
supported  me  in  heavy  trials,  when  Kaiser, 
king,  philosopher,  and  saint  could  do 
nought."     Chastisement — 

L  Its  nature.  "  The  Lord  hath 
chastened  me  sore." 

1.  It  was  the  Lord* a  chastisement, 
there/ore  sovereign,  fatherly. 

2.  By  human  instrumentality.  His 
enemies  were  permitted  to  *Hhrust  at 
him  sore." 

3.  Thorough,  "Sore."  Not  too  much, 
not  too  little,  but  sufficiently  to  accom- 
plish the  divine  purposes  (Job,  xxx.  11). 

IL  Its  limits.  **  He  hath  not  given 
me  over  to  death." 


1.  Physical  death, 

2.  Intellectual  death.     Despair, 

3.  Moral  death.     Destruction, 

IIL  Its  consolations.  ^*  I  shall  not 
die,  but  live." 

1.  It  was  corrective,  remedial,  and 
therefore  not  simply  punitive  (Jer.  x.  24). 

2.  Hopefulness  against  the  worst.  "  I 
shall  not  die." 

3.  Confidence  for  the  best.  **  But  live  *' 
(Acts  xxvii.  22-25). 

IV.  Its  effects.  '*And  declare  the 
works  of  the  Lord." 

1.  Devout  gratitude. 

2.  Personal  improvement. 

3.  Religious  earnestness  and  testimony. 
"  No  affliction  for  the  present  seemeth 
to  be  joyous  but  grievous,  but  after- 
ward," &c. 


The  Saored  Enolosubb. 
(Verses  19-21.) 


I.  The  enclosure. 

1.  Literal.  Our  text  primarily  refers 
to  the  sacred  enclosure  that  was  acces- 
sible to  true  Israelites  alone.  (Isa.  xxvi. 
2.)  That  enclosure  was  the  house  of  God, 
where  His  glory  was  manifested.  His 
name  worshipped,  and  His  people's  right- 
eousness conti  rmed  and  strengthened.  So 
the  Christian  Church  is  where  God's  pre- 
sence is  felt,  His  word  proclaimed.  His 
worship  celebrated,  &c. 

2.  Moral.  Christian  life  is  a  temple 
of  the  living  God  and  the  sphere  of  right- 
eousness. A  way  of  holiness  where  God 
dwells  and  walks  with  His  people. 

3.  Heavenly  (Ps.  xxiv.  7).  Heaven 
is  the  sanctuary  of  God,  and  the  dwelling- 
place  of  righteousness. 

II.  The  gates  of  that  enclosure,   '*  The 


gates  of  righteousness."     **  The  gate  ol 

the  Lord." 

1.  The  gate  which  belongs  to  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  keeps  the  gate  ;  not  Peter,  not 
His  ministers,  but  Himself. 

2.  The  gate  is  of  the  Lord^s  appoint- 
ment. All  who  enter  by  any  other  climb 
over  the  wall  and  are  thieves  and  robbers. 
There  is  only  one  ^^  ay  opened.  "  There  is 
only  one  name  given  under  heaven,"  <fec. 

3.  The  gate  is  the  Lord  Himself.  "  I 
am  the  way."  "  I  am  the  door."  Christ 
alone  is  the  entrance  to  God's  righteous- 
ness. 

III.  The  keys  to  that  enclosure. 

1.  Ardent  supplication.  "  Open," 
implying  need  of  entrance,  desire  to  en- 
ter. "  Ask  ;  "  "  seek  ; "  *'  knock,  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

249 


fSALM  CXVIII. 


HOMJLETJC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


3.  The  divine  willingness,  "Thou 
hast  heard."  God  has  a  sovereign  right 
to  admit  or  exclude  all  He  chooses  ;  but 
we  know  that  He  will  be  guided  by 
righteousness,  and  will  not  select  on 
arbitrary  principles. 

3.  Salvation.  "  Art  become  my  sal- 
vation." Nothing  that  is  defiled  or 
maketh  a  lie  can  enter.  Only  **  the  re- 
deemed shall  walk  there."  They  "  enter 
in  and  find  pasture." 

IV.  The  privileges  and  duties  of  that 
enclosure. 


1.  Worship,  "  I  will  praise  the  Lord." 

2.  RigJit€0usnes8» 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  The  outer  courts 
are  open  to  all.  (1.)  Many  privileges  of 
the  material  sanctuary.  But  let  the 
Church  beware  how  she  throws  all  her 
privileges  open.  (2.)  Opportunities  for 
righteousness.  (3.)  Opportunities  for 
qualifying  for  heaven,  (ii.)  T'he  inner 
court  is  open  to  all  who  are  qualified  to 
enter.  (1.)  All  the  means  of  grace  ;  (2.) 
the  fulfilment  of  all  righteousness;  (3.)  all 
the  hopes  and  fruits  of  glory. 


Chbist  the  Corner- Stone. 
(Verses  22,  23.) 


Whatever  literal  application  these 
verses  may  have  had,  that  application  is 
now  merged  into  the  richer,  larger,  and 
undoubted  application  to  the  Messiah. 
DTo  text  is  more  frequently  quoted  in  the 
New  Testament.  Six  or  seven  times  it 
is  quoted  word  for  word,  and  in  innu- 
merable instances  is  it  unquestionably 
referred  to  where  Christ  is  made  the  one, 
true,  and  only  foundation  of  the  Church. 
"  Must  we,  in  opposition  to  the  perverted 
and  obstinate  exegesis  even  of  believing 
commentators,  begin  to  prove  that  this 
Psalm  is  Messianic — that  the  corner-stone 
is  a  real  prophecy  of  the  Spirit  concerning 
Christ  1  We  frankly  confess  ourselves  to 
be  so  often  vexed  by  such  contentions 
with  brethren  who  do  not  understand  the 
scripture,  that  we  lose  patience ;  and, 
however  unscientifically,  are  inclined 
rather  to  rebuke  them  with  Christ  (Luke 
xxiv.  25)  until  their  hearts  burn,  and 
their  burning  hearts  begin  to  read  in  the 
light  of  the  Pentecostal  fire  what  is 
written." — Stier.      Observe — 

I.  That  Christ  is  the  corner-stone. 

1.  What  the  corner-stone  is  not.  (1.) 
Feelings  towards  Christ.  These  are  most 
unsubstantial  and  shifting,  (2. )  Doctrines 
concerning  Christ.  These  merely  tell  us 
about  the  corner-stone.'  (3.)  The  ex- 
ample of  Christ.  This  is  simply  the 
character  of  the  corner-stone.  (4.)  The 
Church  of  Christ.  That  is  the  building 
reared  on  the  corner-stone. 

2.  What  the  comer-stone  is.  "  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner- 

250 


stone."  This  only  is  solid,  constant, 
and  eternal.  All  else  is  sand.  This  is 
rock.  Jesus  Christ  in  His  divine-human 
personality.  Incarnate,  crucified,  risen, 
glorified,  and  reigning. 

3.  What  the  corner-stone  is  for,  (1.) 
For  beauty.  Corner-stones  are  the  most 
costly,  choice,  and  adorned.  Other 
stones  derive  their  excellency  from  them. 
So  the  Christian  building  derives  its 
beauty  from  Him  who  is  "  full  of  grace 
and  truth."  *' Of  His  fulness  all  we 
have  received,  and  grace  for  grace."  (2.) 
Stability.  They  are  chosen  for  firmness, 
strength,  and  durability.  They  uphold 
and  maintain  the  building  which  without 
them  would  crumble  and  fall.  So  Christ 
supports  the  individual  believer  and  the 
collective  Church,  in  weakness,  trials, 
hour  of  death,  day  of  judgment.  (3.) 
Unity  and  compactness.  Take  away  the 
corner-stone  and  the  sides  of  the  house 
become  separate  buildings.  This  unity 
is  not  uniformity.  The  other  stones  are 
of  various  sizes,  value,  colour,  material. 
The  corner-stone  gives  harmony.  So 
different  men  have  different  capacities, 
preferences,  modes  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing. Christ  binds  them  into  a  mighty 
whole — His  Church. 

II.  That  Christ  is  the  only  corner- 
stone. There  have  been  many  rival 
corner-stones.  They  have  been  tried, 
but  they  have  failed,  and  so  have  those 
who  have  built  upon  them.  Paganism, 
Unbelief,  Socialism,  Philosophy,  Ethics. 
"  Oihev  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXVIIL 


that  is  laid,"  <fec.  He  is  the  only  corner- 
stone by  which  God  and  man  can  be 
brought  together  on  terms  that  are  at 
once  honourable,  amicable,  strong,  and 
abiding.  He  alone  can  bring  the  dispensa- 
tions together  into  a  harmonious  whole 
and  make  them  an  enduring  basis  forfaith 
and  morals.  He  is  the  only  means  by 
which  the  disintegrated  masses  of  man- 
kind can  find  their  principle  of  cohesion. 
"  One  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and 
all  ye  are  brethren."  He  is  the  only 
means  whereby  the  disorganised  faculties 
of  our  nature  can  be  reduced  to  order 
and  compacted  in  strength  and  *'so  make 
our  new  man." 

III.  That  Christ  is  the  divinely  es- 
tablished comer-stone.  "This  is  the 
Lord's  doings."  It  is  no  myth  or  specu- 
lation. It  is  not  the  doing  of  man  or 
angels,  but  of — 

1.  The  Holy  Trinity.  The  Father 
"  sent  forth  His  Son,"  and  consecrated 
Him.  "  Him  hath  God  the  Father 
sealed."  The  Son  "  came,"  and  by  His 
own  power  laid  "  down  His  life  and  took 
it  again."  The  Holy  Spirit  takes  of  the 
things  of  Christ  and  imparts  them  to  us. 

2.  The  divine  attributes.  Wisdom  de- 
vised it ;  justice  instituted  it ;  love  gave 
it ;  and  power  laid  it. 

3.  The  divine  providence.  (1.)  By 
a  wonderful  preparation.  Moral :  the 
Jews;  intellectual:  the  Greeks;  politi- 
cal :  the  Romans.  (2.)  In  an  age  which 
by  its  peculiar  fitness  was  '*the  fulness 
of  the  times." 

IV.  That  Christ  is  the  rejected 
corner-stone.  In  all  ages  since  His 
advent  He  has  been  the  despised  and 
rejected  of  men.     The  Jewish  people 


and  the  whole  heathen  world  combined 
at  first  to  resist  His  claims.  He  was  a 
stumbling-block  to  the  one,  and  fool- 
ishness to  the  other.  Persecution  and 
controversy  since  have  proved  that  the 
human  heart  is  alien  to  Him.  Sin,  infi- 
delity, heresy,  and  worldliness  all  refuse 
to  build  upon  Christ. 

V.  That  Christ  is  the  marvellous 
corner-stone. 

1.  Marvellous  when  we  consider  who  is 
the  co7'ner-stone.  (1.)  In  its  unlikelihood. 
The  man  Christ  Jesus,  born  in  a  manger ; 
the  Man  of  Sorrows,  crucified  as  a  male- 
factor. (2.)  In  its  condescension.  The 
brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  creator 
of  the  universe,  governor  of  angels,  Lord 
of  man. 

2.  Marvellous  when  vte  consider  the 
means  hy  which  He  has  become  the  corner- 
stone. By  the  simple  preaching  of  truths 
alien  to  natural  inclinations,  political  in- 
stitutions, moral  usages  ;  demanding  the 
resignation  of  pride  of  intellect,  indepen- 
dence of  will,  pleasure,  profit ;  by  men, 
weak  and  unlearned  in  the  world's  esti- 
mation, whose  weapons  were  not  learning 
or  swords,  but  holiness,  suffering,  zeal, 
and  prayer. 

3.  Marvellous  when  we  consider  the 
numbers  and  quality  of  those  who  have 
made  it  their  corner-stone.  Countless 
millions  have  eschewed  beliefs  conse- 
crated by  the  profession  of  unnumbered 
ages,  have  thrown  off  their  allegiance  to 
priesthoods  armed  with  every  terror  and 
device,  have  resisted  the  fascinations  of 
philosophy,  and  have  left  darling  vices 
and  besetting  sins.  These  have  been  from 
all  ranks — monarchs,  nobles,  warriors, 
statesmen,  poets,  &c. 


Thb  Lord's  Day. 
{Verse  U.) 


L  The  day— 

1.  Of  temporal  deliverance.  God  has 
made  that.  By  a  variety  of  providential 
dispensations.  Indirectly^  through  men 
and  other  instrumentalities,  e.g.,  in 
sickness,  through  the  physician ;  in  per- 
plexities, by  friendly  advice  and  help. 
Directly,  by  the  interposition  of  His 
mighty  power. 


2.  Of  salvation.  The  whole  Christian 
dispensation  is  the  time  accepted  by\God 
in  which  to  bless  mankind.  It  is  the 
time  acceptable  to  man  in  wliich  his  pres- 
sing spiritual  wants  may  be  supplied. 

3.  Of  conversion.  The  day  when  God 
gives,  and  we  personally  take,  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  our  chief  corner-stone.  Let 
that  "  happy  day  "  never  be  forgotten. 

251 


PSALM  OXVIII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  PSA  IMS. 


4.  The  sabbath  day^  by  Jehovah's  rest 
and  Christ's  resurrection. 

n.  The  duties  of  that  day. 

(1.)  Rejoicing.  Implying  intense  gra- 
titude, cheerful  consecration,  holy  zeal. 


(2.)  Gladness.  Let  no  man  say  that 
religion  is  a  thing  of  gloom.  God  blesses 
us  that  we  may  be  happy.  Let  the  day 
of  rest  be  the  gladdest  of  all  the  seven. 


Benedictions, 
(Verses  25,  26.) 


This  passage  received  its  fulfilment 
only  in  Him  who  came  in  the  supremest 
sense  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  (Matt.  xxi. 
9).  Here,  however,  it  admits  of  a  human 
and  general  interpretation. 

L  The  blessing  supplicated. 

1.  This  supplication  is  the  expression 
of  a  want.  "  Save."  "  Send  prosperity." 
**Save,"  implying  moral  evil  and  degra- 
dation ;  "  Prosperity,"  loss  and  misery. 

2.  This  supplication  was  earnest.  "  Be- 
seech." Our  need  is  great,  so  must  be 
our  cry.  Listless  prayer  implies  uncon- 
sciousness of  need. 

3.  This    supplication    was     urgent. 


Save    now.^ 


Send   now."     Need  is 


always  present.  Blessings  are  ever 
wanted. 

II.  The  conditions  of  blessing  ful- 
fiUed. 

L  Coming.  (1.)  This  is  inexorable, 
"  Come,  now,  let  us  reason ; "  "  Seek  ye 


the  Lord,"  <fec.  (2.)  Can  only  he  fulfilled 
through  Christ,  "  No  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father  but  by  Me."  (3.)  Is  equi- 
valent to  Christian  faith.  Faith  is  the 
soul's  approach  to  God  through  Christ. 

2.  Coming  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
(1)  Not  in  our  name,  or  (2)  by  our  own 
merits,  but  (3)  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
Self-distrust,  resignation,  confidence. 

III.  The  blessing  vouchsafed. 

1.  Salvation;  from  the  guilt,  power, 
pollution,  and  punishment  of  sin. 

2.  Prosperity.  The  great  gift  of  God 
through  His  Son  and  Spirit  Regene- 
ration, sanctification,  indwelling  peace, 
joy,  power,  heaven. 

IV.  The  place  of  blessing.  "The 
house  of  the  Lord." 

L  All  the  means  of  grace  are  there  con^ 
centrated. 

2.  The  vast  majority  of  Christians  re- 
ceive their  highest  blessings  tliere. 


Personal  Religion. 
{Verses  27-29.) 


I.  Personal  religion  consists  in  the 
acknowledgment  of  a  personal  God. 

Religion  must  rest  on  a  dogmatic  and 
theological  basis.  Whatever  definition 
we  give  to  the  term  religion,  this  is  pri- 
marily involved.  If  it  consists  in  the 
bond  which  unites  the  soul  to  the  Sup- 
reme Being,  then  we  must  know  who 
that  Supreme  Being  is.  If  it  consists 
in  duty,  then  with  reference  to  whom  are 
those  duties  performed.  To  resolve  God 
into  a  "  stream  or  tendency  which  makes 
for  righteousness  "  does  not  avoid  theo- 
logy or  dogma. 

II.  Personal  religion  consists  in  the 
acknowledgment  of  a  personal  God  ac- 
cessible to  man.  God  is  accessible,  be- 
cause He  is  "  good."     If  He  is  not  good, 

252 


He  is  unapproachable,  and  must  be  the 
object  of  man's  fear.  God  is  permanently 
accessible,  because  His  mercy  endureth 
for  ever.  Religion  must  have  an  object 
who  can  be  approached  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  life. 

III.  Personal  religion  consists  in  the 
apprehension  of  a  personal  God.  "  My 
God."  *'  This  is  a  truth  unknown  be- 
yond the  precincts  of  revelation.  The 
Almighty  and  Eternal  gives  Himself  in 
the  fulness  of  His  being  to  the  soul  that 
seeks  Him.  Heathenism,  indeed,  in  its 
cultus  of  domestic  and  local  duties,  of  its 
penates,  of  its  kol  s<n-i^(ijfiOf,  bare  witness 
to  the  deep  yearning  of  the  human  heart 
for  the  individualising  love  of  a  higher 
power.     To  know   the  true  God  is  to 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  CXIX, 


know  that  such  a  craving  is  satisfied." — 
lAddon. 

IV.  Personal  religion  consists  in  the 
acknowledgment  ^and  enjoyment  of  a 
divine  revelation  '*  which  hath  showed 
us  light."  If  God  is  to  be  approached 
and  apprehended,  He  must  reveal  Him- 
self. If  man  is  to  receive  his  Maker's 
blessing,  be  united  to  bis  Maker's  person, 
and  fulfil  his  Maker  s  will,  he  must  be 


told  who  that  Maker  is  and  what  He 
would  have  him  do.  God  hath  showed 
us  liglit  in  the  Bible  and  in  the  revela- 
tion of  Him  who  said,  "  He  that  hath 
seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father." 

V.  Personal  religion  consists  in  per 
sonal  sacrifices  (ver.  27). 

VI.  Personal  religion  consists  in  de- 
vout worship,  thanksgiving,  and  praise 
(vers.  28,  29). 


PSALM    CXIX. 
Introduction. 

1.  Date  and  authorship.  Some  ascribe  the  authorship  to  **  David,  before  his  accession  to 
the  kingdom,  in  exile  and  peril  (vers.  9,  23,  46,  141,  161).  Others  (of  chief  authority),  from 
the  language  and  contents,  imagine  it  to  be  of  much  later  date.  Jebb  thinks,  Daniel ;  others, 
Ezra  ;  Dean  Stanley  says  that  the  rhythm  seems  to  mark  the  age  of  Jeremiah  ;  Kay  supposes  it 
to  depict  the  mental  state  of  those  vfho  have  passed  through  the  discipline  of  the  captivity  ; 
Hitzig,  as  usual,  refers  it  to  the  days  of  the  Maccabees  (see  Mace.  xii.  48)." — Speaker  s  Com. 

2.  Character.  There  are  twenty-two  sections  in  this  Psalm,  arranged  according  to  the 
Hebrew  alphabet,  each  consist  of  eight  verses,  and  every  eight  begins  with  the  same  letter. 
Thus,  there  are  eight  initial  Alephs,  eight  initial  Beths,  &c.  In  nearly  every  verse  the  divine 
law  is  mentioned,  and  the  sacred  mame  of  Jehovah  is  brought  in  twenty-two  times  once  for  each 
letter.  **  It  contains  many  repetitions  and  imitations  of  earlier  Psalms.  .  .  .  No  part  of  Scrip- 
ture is  more  suggestive  of  edifying  trains  of  thought,  or  more  saturated  with  a  spirit  all  but 
Christian,  of  humility,  trust,  devoted  love  to  God,  and  realisation  of  His  near  presence,  ...  It 
is  an  epitome  of  all  true  religion,  and  must  be  studied  by  any  one  who  wishes  to  fathom  the 
meaning  of  the  law,  and  the  elevation,  hope,  joy,  confidence,  felt  in  presence  of  kings  and  princes 
by  pious  Jews." — SpeaJcer's  Com, 

3.  Contents.  "  There  is  no  grouping  or  arrangement  of  the  subjects  of  this  Psalm,  and  little 
or  no  connection  between  the  sentiment  of  its  verses.  Much  in  it  is  proverbial  or  aphoristic. 
...  It  might  be  possible  to  make  an  arrangement  under  particular  heads — such  as  the  following 
— under  the  general  title  of  the  Word  of  God  : — 1.  In  youth.  2.  In  trial.  3.  In  duty.  4.  In 
meditation.  5.  At  night  6.  In  public  7.  In  private.  8.  In  prosperity.  9.  In  adversity, 
Ac" — Barnes* 


Thb  Blessed  Life. 
(Verses  1-3.) 


Notice — 

L  That  all  men  are  not  happy.     Our 

text  specifies  those  who  are,  and  implies 
that  all  else  are  unhappy. 

1.  All  men  desire  happiness.  The 
heathens  were  ever  in  quest  of  the  chief 
good.  Bad  men  and  worldly  men  are 
ever  pursuing  their  vices  and  follies  to 
this  end. 

2.  This  happiness  is  not  attained — (1) 
Because  the  end  aimed  at  is  only  mis- 
taken for  Jiappiness,  Riches,  honour, 
pleasures,  <kc.,  when  secured  are  fre- 
quently found  to  be  misery  rather  than 
bliss  (Luke  xvi.  25).  That  which  makes 
a  man  happy  must  exactly  answer  all 
the  crcwings  of  his  soul  and  secure  the 


equilibrium  of  his  being ,  so  that  Intellect, 
conscience,  will,  <kc.,  shall  cry  in  har- 
mony, "  It  is  enough."  Again,  that 
which  makes  a  man  happy  must  be  en- 
during^  but  the  things  of  the  world  perish 
in  the  using  (1  Cor.  vii.  30,  31),  and 
the  pleasures  of  sin  are  only  "for  a  sea- 
son." (2)  Because  the  means  employed 
are  not  adequate.  Some  are  ignorant  of 
the  true  means,  and  some  dislike  them 
(John  vi.  34.,  cf.  66) ;  (3)  and  if  ade^ 
quote  means  are  not  employed,  and  the 
right  end  not  secured,  all  becomes 
*'  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." 

II.  That  all  men  can  secure  happiness 
only  by  a  right  state  of  the  heart. 
"  That  seek  Him  with  their  whole  heart.** 

253 


P8ALM  oxix.  BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


1.  A  right  state  of  the  heart  conteTH-  IV.  Tliat  provision  is  made  for 
plates  the  true  end  of  happiness.  "Him."  man's  happiness  in  the  Word  of  God. 
God  alone  is  the  souPs  satisfying  por-  1.  T/iat  word  indicates  what  true 
tion.  The  completest  worldly  abundance  happiness  is.  It  tells  us  that  maii  was 
leaves  some  craving  unsatisfied.  When  originally  happy  ;  that  angels  and  the 
the  soul  is  "  filled  with  all  the  fulness  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  are 
of  God,"  it  can  ask  no  more.  happy ;  that  God  only  can  make  men 

2.  A  right  state  of  the  heart  seeks  hap-  happy,  and  that  He  does  so  by  the  gift 
piness  in  the  right  way,  "  With  the  of  Himself  and  the  "  unsearchable  riches 
whole  heartJ*^    The  sensualist  seeks  phy-  of  Christ." 

sical   gratification  ;    the    intellectualist,  2.  That  word  is  an  infallible  guide  to 

mental ;  the  moralist,  ethical.     A  right  true  happiness.     There  can  be  no  hap- 

state  of  the  heart  seeks  complete  hap-  piness  where  there  is  uncertainty  as  to 

piness,  the  satisfaction  of  all  its  higher  means  or  ends.     Man  left  to  this  world's 

cravings,  so  as  to  leave  none  unblessed.  fluctuating  rules  of  good  intention,  cus- 

III.  That  all  men  can  maintain  hap-  tom,  desire,  <fcc.,  adopts  measures  which 

piness  only  by  a  right  state  of  the  life,  land  him  in  disappointment.     The  Bible 

The  blessed  are  those  who  is  the  perfect  and  authoritative  counsel 

1.  ^^  Are  the  undefiled  in  the  way^^  of  God.  Guided  by  that  we  shall  be  re- 
(Marg.    Sincere ;  not  absolutely  perfect  ceived  into  glory. 

men,  but  men  with  a  clear  conscience  and  3.  That  word  affords  us  a  powerful 

an  upright  intention.)  help  towards  tru>e  happiness.     It  is  God's 

2.  "  Walk  in  the  law  of  the  Lord."  "  testimony."  It  testifies  to  the  facts  of 
The  inconsistent,  the  lawless,  are  un-  God's  fatherhood,  goodness,  and  power ; 
happy.  The  law  of  God  is  so  exactly  to  Christ's  atonement  and  intercession  ; 
suited  to  all  our  faculties,  that  only  by  to  the  Holy  Spirit's  regenerating,  con- 
keeping  it  can  their  well-being  be  secured,  soling,  and  sanctifying  infiuences ;  and  to 

3.  "  Do  no  iniquity^*     "  The  way  of  heaven. 
transgressors  is  hard." 

Law,   Prayer,   Duty. 

{Verses  4-6.) 

I.  Law.      ''Thou  hast  commanded  commanded."    {I.)  The  Bible  U  not  art' 

us,"  <kc.  commendation  from  God,  which  man  may 

1.  The  Bible  is  based  upon  the  per-  or  may  not  accept  either  as  a  whole,  or 
tonal  authority  of  GodJ^  ^^Thou.  {\,)  Not  on  a  principle  of  eclecticism  in  its  parts. 
mans.  The  obligation  to  attend  to  its  The  Bible  as  a  whole  and  in  its  parts 
precepts  does  not  rest  upon  the  fact  that  being  the  charge  of  sovereign  will  and 
great  and  good  men  wrote  it,  acknow-  the  revelation  of  the  only  remedy  for 
ledged  it,  and  kept  it.  (2.)  Not  its  own.  human  sin,  therefore  man  must  keep  it 
The  inherent  excellence  of  its  doctrines  as  a  whole.  (2.)  The  Bible  is  not  the 
and  morals  would  be  enough  if  only  in-  product  of  mans  intellect  in  a  high  spi- 
tellectual  or  moral  assent  and  admiration  ritual  mood.  Its  philosophy  and  virtue 
were  demanded.  But  (3.)  God's.  This  were  not  the  discovery  of  good  men 
accounts  for  its  moral  excellence  and  studying  and  sympathising  with  the  need 
commanding  influence.  But  let  it  be  em-  of  their  fellow-men.  But  (Z.)  the  Bible 
phasised  that  primarily  it  rests  upon  His  is  the  collection  of  certain  "  precepts,**  ex- 
Bovereign  will.  There  are  many  things  hibited  in  the  form  of  doctrine,  history, 
that  transcend  reason  and  run  counter  to  example,  &c.,  binding  on  the  heart  and 
merely  human  interests ;  but  we  believe  conscience  of  men,  direct  from  the  ooun- 
and  obey  them,  because  **  God  spake  all  sels  of  the  Most  High. 

these  words."  3.  The  Bible  must  be  diligently  kept, 

2.  The  Bible  conies  to  us  on  the  per-  (1.)  It  must  be  kept  In  the  mind.  It 
ional  authority  of  God*     *^  Thou  hast  is  necessary  first  to  have  it,  so  "  he  that 

254 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  psalm  cxix. 


receiretli  the  word  into  good  ground  is  3.  The  end  of  prayer.     "To  keep  Thj 

he   that   heareth   the  word  and  under-  statutes."    (1.)  It  is  to  be  remarked  that, 

Btandeth  it."     By  the  will,  in  assenting  of  all  the  ends  desired  in  this  long  Fsalm, 

to  it.     £y  the  heart,  in  loving  it.     By  the  first  is  holiness,     (2.)  That  end  is 

the  life,  in  practising  it.     "  If  ye  know  practical  holiness,  not  contemplative  or 

these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them."  ascetic  *'ways,"  "statutes."     (3.)  That 

(2.)  Comprehensively  ;  Heb.  :  very  mucky  is  the  best  and  most  desirable  end.     "  Seek 

all  of  them.     In  small  duties,  as  well  as  ye  first,"  <fec. 

great,  must  we  exercise  ourselves  to  have  III.  Duty.     The  Psalmist  looks  for- 

a  conscience  void  of  offence,  <kc.     At  all  ward  to  the  result  of  answered  prayer, 

tim^s.     "  Blessed  is  he  that  doeth  right-  and  feels  that  under  divine  guidance  he 

eousness   at   all   times."     "  Blessed  are  will  not  be  ashamed  when  he  has  respect 

they  that  sow  beside  all  waters."      With  unto  God's  commandments. 

all  our  powers.     (3.)  Diligently.  1.  Duty  contemplates  a  regard  for  God*s 

11.  Prayer.  The  Psalmist  contemplat-  law;  implying  (1)  moral  susceptibility. 

ing  the  exceeding  breadth  of  God's  com-  The  wicked  are  callous,  their  hearts  being 

mandments,  and  his  own  weakness,  im-  hardened,  and  their  wills  set.   (2)  Mental 

plores  divine  help  (ver.  6).  This  shows  respect.  Unless  we  respect  God's  law,  we 

us —  can  never  acknowledge  it.    (3)  Practical 

1.  The  necessity  of  prayer.     The  Heb.  observance, 

particle,  "  0  that !  "  is  an  intense  sigh,  2.   Duty  consists  in  an  universal  obedi- 

indicative  of  earnest  desire.     This  neces-  ence  to  God's  law.     "  Unto  all  Thy  com- 

sity  is  based  upon  (1)  Our   ignorance.  mandments,"  whether  (1)    its  precious 

We  know  not  what  to  do  till  we  are  told,  promises,  (2)  its  elevating  precepts,  or  (3) 

Religion  does  not  come  to  us  by  instinct.  its  stern  obligations. 

(2)  Our  forgetfulness.     Anxiety  and  self-  3.  Duty  is  rewarded  by  the  approbation 

conceit  often  drive  the  most  necessary  of  God' slaw.     "  Shall  not  be  ashamed," 

things   out   of   our  mind,  we  therefore  i.e.,  shall  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed, 

need  and  must  pray  for  what  is  promised  (1.)  God's  law  will  approve  a  clear  con- 

(Isa.  XXX.  21).     (3).  Our  moral  weakness  science  (Rom.  viii.   1).     (2.)  God^s  law 

and  indisposition.    Our  hearts  are  natu-  will  approve  us  so  that  we  may  dispense 

rally  averse  and  our  feet  pron^  to  wander  with  the  judgment  of  man.     "  With  me 

from  God's  statutes.    "  These  people  do  it  is  a  very  small  thing  to  be  judged  with 

err  in  their  hearts,"  <fec.  man's  judgment,"  for  "  God  will  bring 

2.  The  substance  of  prayer.  "  Were  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light,  and 
directed."  (1.)  G^ew«raZ/yby  the  Bible,  the  thy  judgment  as  the  noon-day."  (3.) 
course  of  providence,  and  the  example  of  God^s  law  will  approve  us  at  the  great 
good  men.  (2.)  Specifically  by  the  Spirit,  day.  "  And  now,  little  children,  abide 
in  the  various  ways  which  we  from  time  in  Him,  that  when  He  shall  appear  we 
to  time  have  to  tread.  "  The  Lord  di-  may  have  confidence  and  not  be  ashamed 
rected  his  steps."     "O  Lord,  I   know  at  His  coming." 

that  the  way  of  a  man  is  not  in  himself;  In  conclusion. — (i.)  God's  command- 
it  is  not  in  man  to  direct  his  steps."  (3.)  ments  are  commandments  with  promise  ; 
Literally,  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  i/'we  keep  them  we  shall  not  be  ashamed, 
feet,  and  a  light  to  my  path."  *'In  all  thy  (ii.)  We  are  unable  to  keep  them  without 
ways  acknowledge  Him,"  <fec.  (4.)  UJ'ec-  divine  help  ;  let  us  pray  for  that  help. 
tually  by  the  Holy  Ghost  applying  to  the  (iii.)  When  that  help  is  vouchsafed  let  us 
heart  and  disposing  it.  "  The  Lord  direct  use  it  diligently, comprehensively ^and per- 
your  hearts  into  the  love  of  God,"  <kc.  petually. 

Good   Resolutions. 
(Verses  7,  8.) 

Our  text  shows —  the  presence  of  God  for  their  fulfilment. 

L  That  good  resolutions  depend   on  "0  forsake  me  not  utterly."  Therefore— 

255 


MALMOXIZ. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


1.  GocCs  presence  should  he  earnestly 
supplicated.  (1.)  Because  of  our  im- 
potence. "Without  Me,  ye  can  do 
nothing."  (2.)  Because  of  our  instability. 
Nothing  is  more  fluctuating  than  mere 
resolutions.  Peter  said,  "Though  all 
should  forsake  Thee,"  <kc.  (3.)  Because 
it  is  of  God  to  give  grace  to  helpy^  &c. 
(Eph.  vi.  10). 

2.  God^s  presence  will  he  vouchsafed. 
Not  always  sensibly,  but  always  etfec- 
tually.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 
Therefore  (1)  Be  not  discouraged  when 
God  seems  to  he  away.  When  the  bird 
is  away  from  her  young,  she  is  in  search 
of  food.  When  pioneers  are  away  from 
the  army,  they  are  preparing  the  way  for 
it.  So  God  sometimes  fulfils  the  promise, 
"  I  will  go  before  thee,  to  make  crooked 
places  straight."  (2)  Be  not  discouraged 
when  God  withdraws  His  comforts.  We 
may  sometimes  lose  our  sense  of  God's 
love,  as  Asaph  did.  But  is  God  neces- 
sarily away  1  No  (Ps.  Ixxxiii.  23). 
But  (3)  Be  encouraged  to  resolve  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  promise,  "Cer- 
tainly, I  will  be  with  thee." 

3.  God's  presence  may  he  withdrawn, 
"  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 
man."  And  nothing  will  drive  Him 
away  more  than  selfish,  conceited,  or 
hypocritical  resolutions. 

II.  That  good  resolutions  have  respect 
to  divine  law.  "  I  will  keep  Thy  sta- 
tutes." All  other  resolutions  are  vain 
which  omit  this  as  their  great  and  com- 
manding aim. 

1.  God  demands  it. 

2.  Our  new  nature  demands  it, 

3.  Our  desire  for  blessedness  demands 
it, 

III.  That  the  fulfilment  of  good 
resolutions  depends  on  the  right  state 


of  the  heart  and  life.  **  With  upright- 
ness of  heart,  when  I  shall  have  learned 
Thy  righteous  statutes."  Good  resolu- 
tions are  easily  formed  ;  their  fulfilment 
is  a  very  different  matter.  God's  presence 
is  easily  supplicated  ;  but  God's  power  is 
exerted  in  the  employment  of  adequate 
means.     There  must  be — 

1.  A  right  state  of  the  heart.  Before 
God's  statutes  can  be  kept,  the  heart 
must  be  disposed  to  keep  them.  The 
heart  naturally  inclined  from  the  law  of 
God,  must  be  re-bent  and  inclined  to- 
wards it. 

2.  A  learning  of  "  the  judgments  of 
righteousness "  concerning  our  state. 
Matt.  xvi.  6  ;  thoughts,  Heb.  iv.  1 2  j 
actions,  Eccl.  xii.  14;  the  way  of  justi- 
fication, Kom.  iii.  22.  We  must  ascertain 
the  things  we  ought  to  resolve,  and  then 
trust  to  God's  Spirit  to  enable  us  to 
carry  them  out. 

IV.  That  the  fulfilment  of  good  reso- 
lutions should  be  followed  by  gratitude. 
"I  vfiW.  praise  Thee." 

1.  Duty  binds  ics  to  it.  The  fulfilment 
of  resolutions  that  are  really  good  has 
been  by  the  help  of  God,  and  has  secured 
our  highest  good. 

2.  The  permanent  result  depends  upon 
it. 

3.  Fresh  resolutions  are  strengthened 
hy  it. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Let  your  life  he , 
characterised  by  strong  and  noble  resolur\ 
tions.  Don't  be  discouraged  if  you  fail] 
at  first.  Resolve,  by  the  grace  of  God,[ 
not  rashly,  but  firmly.  (ii.)  Compare\ 
your  resolutions  with  the  Word  of  God,  \ 
(iii.)  Garry  them  out  at  all  costs  (Matt.) 
xvi.  24).  (iv.)  Grown  and  glorify  thet 
all  by  profound  gratitude. 


A  Serious  Word  for  Young  Men. 

(Verse  9.) 

*'The  case  supposed  is  that  of  a  young  just  entering  on  the  journey  of  life  ;  thei 
man  pondering  the  question  how  he  may      can  be  found  nowhere  a  more  just  and] 
be  saved  from  the  corruptions  of  his  own      comprehensive  answer.     All  the  precepts 
heart,    and  escape    the   temptations  to      of  ancient  and  modern  wisdom,  and  allj 
which  he  is  exposed  in  early  years,  and      the  results  of  the  experience  of  mankind,] 
lead  a  pure  and  upright  life.     There  can      could  furnish  nothing  in  addition  to  what! 
be  no  more  important  inquiry  for  one      is  here  suggested." — Barnes, 
266 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIX. 


L  A  serious  question  asked. 

1.  The  importance  of  a  way.  "  A  way 
has  a  direction,  and  leads  some  whither. 
A  way  is  continuous,  and  if  we  are  in  it 
we  are  advancing  in  it.  A  way  differs 
in  its  direction  from  other  ways,  and 
diverges  more  and  more  from  them  the 
farther  one  travels  upon  it.  There  are  in 
our  lives  no  isolated  acts,  but  only  vv;iy>. 
Every  present  has  its  closely  affiliated 
future.  We  are  moving  on  in  character 
as  in  years.  The  wrong  of  which  you 
say,  *  Only  this  once,'  provokes  its  own 
repetition  and  starts  you  in  its  own 
direction.  The  violation  of  truth,  (fee, 
involves  you  in  a  labyrinth  of  mole  paths. 
You  meant  an  act,  you  have  found  it  a 
way;  a  precipitous  way,  too,  in  which 
you  gain  momentum  at  every  step." — 
Dr.  Peabody. 

2 .  The  danger  of  having  an  impure  way. 
Our  text  *'  is  a  metaphor  which  appeals 
to  our  experience.  What  is  more  dis- 
heartening than  the  necessity  of  treading 
muddy  streets.  There  is  a  consciousness 
of  unfitness  for  society.  There  are  miry 
soul  paths,  miry  they  are  to  every  eye  in 
their  more  advanced  stages  ;  for  there  is 
no  evil  course  that  does  not  tend  by  sure 
and  generally  rapid  steps  to  open  shame, 
squalor,  and  miser3^" — Ibid, 

3.  The  special  appropriateness  of  this 
question.     ^'^^^,  "  a   track,  a   rut,  such 

as  are  made  by  wheels,  <fec.  A  young 
sinner  has  no  broad  beaten  path;  he  has 
his  private  ways  of  offence,  his  secret 
pollutions  ;  and  how  shall  he  be  cleansed 
from  these  1  how  can  he  be  saved  from 
what  will  destroy  body  and  mind  and 
soul?"— Dr.  A.  Clarke.  The  future, 
too,  depends  on  the  young ;  upon  the  pure 
or  impure  paths  they  follow  depends  the 
intellectual,  social,  and  political  life  of 
the  future. 

n.  A  satisfactory  answer  given. 
"  By  taking  heed  thereto  according  to 
Thy  Word." 

1.  God's  Word  is  the  only  rule  of  right- 
eousness. All  other  rules  must,  in  the 
long  run,  lead  astray.  Conscience  will 
never  give  a  wrong  direction,  but  it  some- 
times fails  to  give  a  right.  You  can't 
bribe  it  into  falsehood, but  you  can  drug 
it  into  silence.  When  on  the  judgment 
■eat  you  can  depend  on  its  decisions;  but 

VOL.  II. 


it  is  not  always  there.  So  with  senti- 
ments of  ho7io2ir,  self-respect^  self-inieresty 
&c.  ;  there  is  no  security  in  any  of  them. 
Only  the  Word  of  God  is  pure.  It  alone 
exhibits  the  sum  of  all  perfection  in  the 
holiness  of  God  and  the  character  of 
Christ.  "I  have  given  you  an  Example." 
"  Be  ye  holy,  as  He  who  has  called  you 
is  holy." 

2.  The  Word  of  God  is  the  only  means 
by  which  we  can  be  cleansed.  "  Sanctify 
them  by  Thy  truth,"  <fec.  {\.)  It  is  the  only 
clear  revealer  of  the  character  of  sin.  (2.) 
It  alone  urges  upon  us  the  necessity  of 
holiness.  (3. )  It  alone  encourages  us  to 
seek  holiness  by  its  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  (2  Cor,  vii.  1,  2  Pet.  i. 
4).  (4.)  It  alone  reveals  the  all-sufficient 
remedy  for  sin. 

3.  The  Word  of  God  must  be  studied 
and  applied.  '*By  taking  heed."  (1.) 
A  careful  study  of  its  principles.  (2.)  -4 
careful  reference  of  its  precepts  to  our 
special  requirements.  (3.)  A  careful 
walking  according  to  its  rule. 

III.  Sufficient  reasons  suggested. 

1.  Because  God  demands  it.  (1.)  God 
should  not  be  long  kept  out  of  His  rights. 
"  Remember  now  thy  Creator.*'  The  ves- 
sel should  as  soon  as  possible  be  made 
meet  for  the  master's  use.  God  has  made 
everything  ready,  so  there  need  be  no 
delay.  (2.)  God  should  have  our  best  at 
its  best.  All  we  enjoy  we  owe  to  Him. 
The  Mosaic  law  recognised  this  (Lev.  ii. 
4).  Youth  is  the  best  time.  Health  and 
vigour  belong  to  it.  Shall  the  best  be 
devoted  to  the  devil,  and  when  you  are 
no  longer  of  use  to  him  will  you  offer 
God  the  dregs  1  (Rom.  xii.  1.) 

2.  Because  reason  demands  it,  (1.) 
Youth  is  the  time  of  special  temptations 
(2  Tim.  ii.  22.)  Children  are  of  no  use  to 
the  devil.  The  aged  he  has  done  with. 
But  he  loves  to  get  hold  of  young  men 
(1  Tim.  iii.  6.)  (2.)  Evil  habits  grow  and 
strengthen  by  every  indulgence,  A  twig 
may  be  easily  bent,  but  the  branch  is 
fixed  ;  a  sapling  may  be  transplanted, 
an  oak  never.  (3. )  The  longer  you  delay 
the  more  useless  you  are  for  God  and  good. 

3.  Because   self-interest   demands   it 
(1.)  Life  is  uncertain.     Such  a  momen- 
tous question  must  not  be  trifled  with. 
Warning  is  not  always  given,      Nadab 


R 


267 


nALMOXIZ. 


SOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


and  Abihu  were  young  men.  There  is 
but  a  step  between  us  and  death.  (2.) 
Chd  is  provoked  to  anger  by  delay,  and 
retribution  accumulates  both  in  this  life 
and  the  next  (Job.  xiii.  2Q).  (S.)  Divine 
blessings  are  delayed.  It  is  good  for  a  man 
to  bear  this  yoke  in  his  youth. 


In  conclusion. — You  are  beginning 
life,  begin  it  with  God.  You  have  great 
temptations,  but  you  have  great  help  i 
(Job.  ii.  28,  29)  and  bright  prospects  1 
(Mark  x.  14).  There  are  only  two  ways, 
the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of  death — 
where  are  youl 


Argument  with  God. 
{Verse  10.) 


God  offers  to  reason  with  man.  He 
offers  to  reason  with  the  sinner,  permits 
him  to  state  his  own  case  and  to  '*  bring 
forth  his  strong  reasons  "  in  support  of 
it.  He  offers  to  reason  with  the  saints  ; 
and  the  saint  here  takes  up  the  chal- 
lenge. The  Psalmist  presents  before 
God's  notice  Si/act.  He  then  bases  an 
argument  upon  this  fact,  and  then  turns 
the  fact  and  argument  into  a  prayer, 

I.  The  fact,  *'  With  my  whole  heart 
have  I  sought  Thee." 

1.  What  is  it  to  seek  God?  (Ps.  xxiv. 
6).  It  is  an  earnest  and  diligent  en- 
deavour to  find  God  in  certain  definite 
characters  for  certain  definite  purposes. 
(1)  As  our  God,  Sovereign,  Father, 
Friend ;  (2)  as  our  Guide  by  His  Word 
and  Spirit  j  (3)  as  our  exceeding  great 
reward, 

2.  "Where  should  we  seek  God  f  (1.) 
In  sinfulness,  notwithstanding  Adam's 
flight  from  Him  and  Peter's  desire  that 
He  should  depart.  That  is  the  one 
reason  why  we  should  desire  God's 
presence  to  pardon  it,  and  help  us  out 
of  it.  (2.)  In  difficulties.  In  doubt 
for  His  direction ;  in  weakness  for  His 
strength  ;  in  sickness  for  His  health ; 
in  trouble  for  His  consolation ;  as  Paul 
(2  Cor.  xii.  7-9).  (3.)  In  our  daily  life. 
The  heathen  consulted  their  penates ; 
Laban,  his  teraphim ;  Balak,  Balaam. 
Shall  God's  people  be  behind  these  1 
Seek  God's  permission,  counsel,  blessing. 
(4.)  In  personal  communion,  not  when 
we  are  obliged  to  go,  and  simply  be- 
cause we  are  obliged  to  go,  but  because 
we  love  to  go  (Ps.  xxii.  26). 

3.  How  should  we  seek  God.  ''With 
the  whole  heart" — (1.)  Personally. 
**  Thee  with  my.**  Men  sometimes 
profess  to  seek  God^   when  they   are 

258 


but  seeking  their  own  interests  (John 
vi.  26).  When  we  seek  from  God 
other  than  Himself,  or  send  others 
with  our  requests,  we  fail.  We  can- 
not find  God  by  proxy.  (2.)  Com- 
prehensively, "  Whole."  The  combined 
faculties  of  the  soul.  Intelligently  by 
the  study  of  His  Word  and  works; 
morally,  by  faith  and  love.  (3.)  Far- 
nestly  and  uniformly,  not  by  fits  and 
starts.  Such,  then,  is  the  fact  that  the 
Psalmist  lays  before  God,  and  which 
forms  the  premises  of  his  argument. 

II.  The  Argumentative  value  of  the 
fact. 

1.  The  Psalmist  does  not  offer  it  (1) 
Boastfully — the  plea  goes  side  by  side 
with  confessions  of  un worthiness  —  or 
(2)  Meritoriously.  No  one  can  argue 
with  God  on  that  basis.  "  What  hast 
thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  *? "  We 
can  only  glory  that  we  are  in  debt  to 
God  (1  Cor.  i.  31). 

2.  The  Psalmist  does  offer  it  as  a  reor 
son  why  God  should  help  him.  (1.)  He 
wants  to  find  God.  He  is  using  the 
means.  God  is  implored  to  bless  those 
means.  (2.)  He  wants  further  blessing. 
God  has  already  commanded  and 
wrought  in  him  the  desire  to  seek.  He 
now  asks  that  he  may  find. 

III.  The  prayer  founded  on  the 
argument  and  fact.  This  is  worthy  of 
special  note.  He  does  not  ask  for 
temporal  advantages,  but  for  steadfast- 
ness in  God's  ways.     Notice — 

1.  Man's  pr oneness  to  wander  (Jer. 
xiv.  10,  Isa.  liii.,  Luke  xv.). 

2.  The  saint's  sensibility  of  this  prone' 
ness  to  wander.  The  more  we  desire  to 
seek  God,  and  are  on  the  way  to  find 
Him,  the  keener  will  be  our  sensibility 
of  error. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


FSALM  CXIX. 


3.  The  saint's  conviction  of  God*s  ahi-  to   plead    will    find    those    arguments 

lity  to  keep  him  from  wandering.  valued.      Those  who   pray   shall   have 

Finally. — Those  who  seek  God  shall  their  prayers  answered, 
find  Him.     Those  who  have  arguments 

The  Word  of  God,  its  Sphere  and  its  Service. 

(Verse  11.) 


The  "Word  of  God  is  the  revelation  of 
His  person  and  will.  It  is  the  duty  of 
man  to  treasure  it  up  where  it  can  be 
preserved  most  safely.  If  it  is  only  on 
our  shelves  or  in  our  heads,  it  may  be 
stolen  or  forgotten ;  but  if  it  is  in  our 
hearts,  cherished  by  our  affections  and 
guarded  by  our  will,  and  embodied  in 
our  spiritual  life,  it  is  safe  from  loss  or 
decay.  But  once  in  the  heart  it  is  not 
only  kept  by  the  heart,  but  keeps  the 
heart.  "Thou  bearest  Caesar  and  his 
fortunes."  The  fortress  keeps  the 
granary,  but  the  granary  keeps  those 
who  man  the  ramparts. 

I.  What  is  done  ?  "  Thy  Word  have 
I  hid  in  my  heart,"  which  implies — 

1.  Understanding  it  Thoughts  must 
pass  into  the  heart  through  the  mind 
(Prov.  il  10).  Not  that  it  is  necessary 
that  it  should  be  fully  comprehended. 
Water  does  not  always  fill  the  channel 
through  which  it  flows.  It  is  enough 
if  it  fills  the  vessel  into  which  it  flows. 
Many  mysteries  baffle  the  intellect,  but 
the  heart  is  the  proper  organ  for  their 
comprehension. 

2.  Believing  it.  Until  unbelief  is 
broken  down,  the  Word  appeals  for 
entrance  in  vain.  When,  however,  it 
is  welcomed  by  the  hand  of  faith,  it 
enters  in  and  dwells  there.  It  did  not 
profit  the  ancient  Jews,  because  it  was 
not  mixed  with  faith. 

3.  Loving  it.  The  heart  is  the  seat 
of  the  affections,  and  where  there  is  no 
love  the  Word  cannot  enter.  "If  ye 
love  Me,  keep  My  commandments." 

4.  Appropriating  it.  There  may  be 
understanding  faith  and  even  love,  and 
yet  no  hiding  of  the  Word.  These  are 
but  means  to  an  end ;  its  reception  into 
our  very  heart's  life,  so  that  we  may 
become  a  law  unto  ourselves,  walking 
Bibles,  living  epistles. 

n.  How  it  is  done. 


1.  B^  reading  it  continuously,  con- 
stantly, and  systematically. 

2.  By  searching  it :  as  the  miner  does 
for  hid  treasures,  as  the  workman  does 
for  the  best  materials  and  the  best  tools. 
Superficial  work  will  produce  only  super- 
ficial results. 

3.  Bi/  meditating  upon  it.  If  we 
simply  read  it,  we  shall  forget  it.  If  we 
merely  search,  we  may  treat  what  we 
find  as  subjects  of  interest  or  curiosity. 
But  if  we  meditate,  what  we  have  found 
in  our  search  will  become  seed-corn  in 
our  hearts,  to  bring  forth  fruit  to  the 
glory  of  God. 

III.  The  advantages  of  doing  it.  In 
the  heart  the  Word  of  God  is — 

1.  Safe  (I)  from  the  fluctuations  of  me- 
mory ;  it  has  become  part  of  ourselves, 
and  is  as  unchangeable  as  our  identity. 
(2)  From  the  assaults  of  unbelief.  It  has 
passed  out  of  the  region  of  speculative 
belief  and  tentative  hypothesis  into  the 
region  of  facts.  (3)  From  the  depriva- 
tions of  affliction.  We  may  be  unable  to 
hear  the  Word  of  God  or  even  to  read 
it,  but  if  it  is  stored  up  in  the  heart  we 
can  dispense,  if  necessity  demand  it,  with 
external  means.  (4)  From  the  hand  of 
the  persecutor.  Said  that  lad  of  whom 
Foxe  speaks,  when  the  Marian  persecu- 
tors took  his  Bible  from  him,  "  Thank 
God,  you  cannot  take  away  those  chapters 
He  has  written  on  my  heart." 

2.  Ready  for  every  emergency.  The 
most  powerful  remedy  and  the  most  valu- 
able blessings  are  nothing  worth  if  not 
close  at  hand  when  required.  **  Every 
scribe  that  is  instructed  unto  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  bringeth  forth  out  of  his  trea- 
sures things  new  and  old."  It  is  ready 
(1.)  To  comfort  in  distress.  {%)  To  pro- 
vide arguments  against  unbelief.  (3.)  To 
furnish  us  with  pleas  in  prayer.      Our 

prayers    are   effectual  in   proportion   aa 
the  word  of  Christ  dwells  in  us  richly 

269 


PSALM  OZIZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSA  IMS, 


(4.)  To  make  spiritual  intercourse  more 
sweet  and  edifying.  Col.  iii.  6.  (5.)  To 
afford  instruction,  stimulous,  sanctity,  and 
diligence  in  the  concerns  of  daily  life. 

IV.  The  grand  purpose  of  doing  it. 
*'  That  I  might  not  sin  against  Thee." 
The  Word  of  God  hid  in  the  heart  safe 
from  attack,  but  ready  to  attack  will  : — 

1.  Expel  sin.  The  heart  "  abhors  a 
vacuum."  It  will  be  filled  with  some- 
thing.    If  not  with  the  Word  of  God, 


with  sin.  But  both  will  not  dwell  to- 
gether there.  Divine  principles,  however, 
will  extirpate  sin. 

2.  Preserve  from  falling  into  sin, 
"  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  in  his  heart, 
none  of  his  steps  shall  slide." 

3.  Enable  us  to  overcome  sin.  In  this 
great  warfare  all  other  v,  eapons  but  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit  will  fail  (1  John  1. 
U). 


Thb  Source  and  Means  of  Blessedness. 
{Verse  12.) 


I.  God  is  the  source  and  fountain  of 
all  blessedness.  "  Blessed  art  Thou,  O 
God." 

1.  God  is  absolutely  blessed  in  Himself. 
He  is  "the  blessed  God,"  "the  blessed 
and  only  potentate."  "  Over  all,  God 
blessed  for  ever  ;  "  free  from  all  misery, 
enjoying  all  good,  all-suflScient  in  Him- 
self, contented  with  Himself,  delighted 
with  Himself,  neither  needing  any  good 
or  fearing  any  evil  from  the  work  of  His 
hands  (Ps.  xvi.  2). 

2.  God  communicates  all  blessings  from 
Himself  (P.  cxlv.  16,  Eph.  i.  3).  He  is 
the  most  conspicuous  illustration  of  His 
own  saying,  *'  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive"  (John  i.  16). 

3.  God  appropriates  all  blessings  to 
Himself  (Ps.  cxlv.  10,  Rev.  v.  13). 

II.  Man's  blessedness  consists  in  the 
enjoyment  of  God.  "Happy  is  the  peo- 
ple whose  God  is  the  Lord."  God,  being 
absolutely  blessed,  has  enough  for  Him- 
self, and  therefore  enough  for  us.  He  is 
"  God  all-sufficient." 

1.  Man  misses  happiness  if  he  seeks  it 
from  any  source  short  of  God,  Everything 


else  is  (1)  imperfect.  Let  the  world's 
contributions  be  ever  so  copious  they 
leave  some  void.  Solomon,  Ahab,  Na- 
both,  &c.  (2)  Illusive.  Tbe  happiness 
they  bring  is  only  apparent.  They  can- 
not quell  one  unquiet  passion,  or  still 
or  satisfy  conscience  (Prov.  xiv.  3).  (3) 
IVansient.  An  immortal  soul  can  only 
be  satisfied  with  "pleasures  for  ever- 
more." 

2.  Man  gains  happiness  when  he  seeks 
it  in  God.  (1.)  God  is  ^^able  to  supply  all 
our  need."  "  In  His  presence  is  fulness 
of  joy."  (2.)  God's  blessings  are  real. 
Sin  is  cleansed,  passions  subdued,  con- 
science satisfied,  soul  fed,  and  the  whole 
man  kept  in  perfect  peace.  (3.)  God^a 
satisfactions  are  charged  with  His  own 
immortality. 

III.  Man's  blessedness  is  secured 
through  instruction  in  God's  statutes. 

1.  They  teach  us  the  way  to  God. 

2.  They  teach  us  how  to  partake  of  the 
blessed  nature  of  God  (2  Peter  i.  4). 

3.  How  we  may  live  the  life  of  God 
and  engage  in  His  blessed  work. 

In  conclusion. — Prov.  viii  34,  35. 


Testimont, 

{Verse  13.) 


This  verse  is  closely  connected  with 
the  two  preceding.  In  verse  11  the 
Word  is  hid  in  the  heart,  now  it  finds 
expression  on  the  lips.  To  express  what 
we  do  not  feel  is  hypocrisy  ;  and  what  is 
really  in  the  heart  will  find  an  outflow. 
260 


In  verse  12  God  is  asked  to  teach  Hii 
statutes:  the  prayer  is  now  answered, 
and,  mentally  and  morally  qualified,  the 
Psalmist  teaches  others. 

I.    The   subject   of    this    testimony, 
"  AU  the  judgments  of  Thy  mouth." 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIX. 


1.  Oofs  judgments  are  divinely  re- 
vealed. Not  human  discoveries  or  specu- 
lations. 

2.  God^s  judgments  are  the  divine 
criteria  whereby  to  decide  in  all  matters 
affecting  truth,  duty,  and  destiny  (Isa. 
viii.  20).  Not  reason,  interest :  what 
man  thinks  or  feels ;  but  God's  infallible 
judgment. 

3.  God^s  judgments  are  the  rule  by 
which  He  judges  the  world.  Now  (John 
V.  45,  46).  They  are  not  arbitrary  and 
capricious,  but  fixed,  written  down.  By 
them  He  tvill  adjudicate  at  the  last  day. 
(John  xii.  48).  Notice,  then,  that  what 
God  has  said,  and  said  in  His  sovereign 
and  official  character,  is  the  subject  of 
our  testimony. 

n.  The  manner  of  this  testimony. 

1.  Clearly.     "  Declared." 

2.  Fully.  "  All  the  judgments  "  (Acts 
XX.  27). 

3.  Faithfully.  "All  the  judgments 
of  Thy  mouth."  Not  our  own  opinions, 
speculations,  or  doubts  (1  Peter  ii.  2). 
adoXov  ydXa,  unmixed  milk.  "  To  mix 
it  with  sugar  and  the  luscious  strains  of 
human  evil  disguises  it  and  hides  it  from 
a  spiritual  taste.  To  mix  it  with  lime 
(as  Jerome  says  of  heretics)  makes  it 
baneful  and  noxious." — M.  Henry. 

III.  The  reason  for  this  testimony. 
1.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  God.     He 
gave  us  the  organs  of  speech  (Ps.  xii. 


4).  When  we  give  our  bodies  a  living 
sacrifice  we  must  not  reserve  our  tongue 
(Jas.  iii.  9). 

2.  Because  the  lips  should  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  character.  "  The  tongue 
of  the  just  is  as  choice  silver."  The 
sensualist  will  talk  of  his  pleasures,  the 
man  of  business  of  his  trade,  the  student 
of  his  books,  and  shall  the  righteous  re- 
strain their  testimony  1     (Matt.  xii.  35.) 

2.  Because  the  tongue  is  the  most  im- 
portant member  in  the  propagation  of 
divine  truth.  Perhaps  example  is  over- 
valued. True  Christianity  is  not  pro- 
fession, but  life.  But  how  can  example 
influence  without  a  declaration  of  those 
judgments  upon  which  it  is  based  1  The 
preference  of  life  over  testimony  may 
perhaps  spring  from  a  shrinking  from  an 
arduous  duty. 

In  conclusion. — Let  the  example  of 
the  Psalmist  stimulate  us  to  a  more  per- 
fect fulfilment  of  this  much-neglected 
or  badly-discharged  obligation.  How 
much  there  is  of  mere  speculation  and 
laboured  rhetoric  in  preaching !  How 
much  of  foolish  talking  and  jesting,  to 
say  no  more,  in  the  family  and  social 
circle  !  Let  the  preacher  prepare  him- 
self by  the  more  diligent  study  of  the 
judgments  of  God,  and  let  private  Chris- 
tians remember  Coloss.  iv.  6,  and  let 
the  Church  in  its  private  gatherings  re- 
member Heb.  iii.  13,  and  Ps.  xxxvii.  30. 


God's  Testimonies  a  Ground  of  Jot. 
(Verse  14.) 


L  What  the  Psalmist  did.  "  I  have 
rejoiced  in  the  way  of  Thy  testimonies 
as  much  as  in  all  riches."  The  testi- 
monies themselves  are  a  "  way."  God's 
Word  is  a  progressive  revelation.  And 
the  life  to  which  it  bears  testimony  and 
for  which  it  is  a  guide  is  the  "  way  of 
holiness."  Thus  the  Psalmist  rej  iced 
in  the  study  and  practice  of  the  Word  of 
God.  Looking  around  him  he  observed 
that  riches  were  the  main  elements  in 
human  joy,  and  that  men  considered 
themselves  happy  in  proportion  to  their 
wealth.  But  his  conclusion  is,  that  all 
riches  could  a£ford  him  no  greater  joy 
than  that  which  he  had  in  the  Word  of 


God.     He  rejoiced  in  the  way  of  God's 
testimonies. 

1.  As  truth,  which  was  good  for  his 
understanding  (Prov.  xxiv.  13,  14). 
When  any  capacity  is  filled  with  that 
which  is  suitable  to  it,  joy  and  satisfac- 
tion will  naturally  arise.  The  mind  is 
disordered  by  perplexities  and  errors, 
but  is  satisfied  with  truth. 

2.  As  the  highest  and  most  absolute 
truth  (Deut.  iv.  6,  7).  What  man 
calls  truth  is  not  always  certain  truth. 
The  so-called  truths  of  philosophy  and 
science  to  one  generation  are  often 
errors  to  another,  and  the  mind  is  often 
bewildered   by    the    dogmatism  of   ita 

261 


^ALM  OXtZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


teachers.  What  men  have  taught  most 
certainly  has  frequently  been  exploded 
or  revised.  Only  the  truth  of  God  is 
immutable,  and  subject  to  no  revision. 
The  mind  can,  therefore,  rest  upon  it 
without  fear. 

3.  As  truth  which  could  satisfy  the 
higher  cravings  of  his  soul.  All  truth  is 
more  or  less  satisfying.  More  or  less, 
because  there  are  degrees  of  value  even 
in  truth.  A  truth  which  shall  guide  a 
man  to  a  right  destination  is  of  more 
value  to  him  than  a  scientific  curiosity. 
Truth  which  makes  a  man  better  and 
nobler,  is  of  more  value  than  that  which 
tells  tlie  number  of  the  stars.  God's 
truth  is  of  the  supremest  value,  because 
it  guides  the  soul  to  God  and  immor- 
tality, and  "  converts  the  soul." 

n.  Why  he  did  it.  The  Psalmist  re- 
joiced in  God's  testimonies  as  much  as 
in  all  riches,  because — 

1.  Of  their  exact  suitability  to  his 
need.  Joy  is  that  which  inevitably 
results  from  the  reception  of  a  suitable 
blessing.  Food  rejoices  the  hungry 
soul,  not  the  full  one.  The  parched 
ground  rejoices  after  a  shower,  not  the 
saturated  morass.  So  riches  are  good 
in  their  way,  they  bring  bread  to  the 
starving,  clothes  to  the  naked,  &c.  In 
that  way  do  the  testimonies  of  God 
"  rejoice  the  soul."  There  is  a  class  of 
need  which  they  alone  satisfy.  They 
are  God's  great  spiritual  treasure-house 
of  food,  raiment,  <fec.,  which  fully  meet 
all  the  requirements  of  our  nature. 

2.  Because  the  greater  covered  the  less. 
Profit  and  pleasure,  the  sum  of  the 
worldling's  store,  and  the  result  of  his 
expenditure  of  his  wealth,  are  these  his 
alone  1  Nay,  verily.  God's  people  have 
these  and  a  hundredfold  beside  if  they 
fulfil  the  conditions  (Ps.  ziz.   10,  11). 


The  distinction  between  God's  people 
and  others  is  that  the  former  seeks  true 
riches  and  true  happiness  and  gets  them, 
the  others  false  riches  and  false  happi- 
ness and  do  not  always  get  them.  (1.) 
7%ey  get  the  true  profit.  True  wealth 
makes  not  the  surroundings  but  the 
man  more  valuable.  The  value  of  a 
picture  does  not  consist  in  its  frame, 
neither  does  that  of  a  man  in  the  abund- 
ance of  the  things  which  he  possesses. 
True  wealth  relieves  in  the  greatest  ex- 
tremities. Money  is  of  no  use  in  the 
day  of  sickness  and  the  hour  of  death. 
True  wealth  purchases  things  of  the 
highest  value.  True  wealth  is  that 
which  is  so  estimated  by  those  who  are 
best  capable  of  judging.  The  savage 
may  think  himself  wealthy,  and  be 
thought  wealthy  by  his  fellow-savages^ 
by  his  accumulation  of  shells  and  beads, 
but  what  does  civilised  man  think  of  himi 
So  true  wealth  is  that  which  is  pronounced 
so  by  God  (Luke  xii.  20,  21).  Know- 
ledge (Col.  ii.  2,  iii.  16).  Faith  (James 
ii.  5).  Good  works  (1  Tim.  vi.  17,  18). 
The  favour  of  God  (Rom.  x.  12).  (2.) 
True  pleasures.  The  pleasures  pur- 
chased by  wealth  are  transient ;  those 
that  lie  on  the  path  of  God's  testimonies 
are  "  for  evermore."  The  one  by  over- 
indulgence leads  to  sin  and  death  (Luke 
xii.  19) ;  the  other  to  joy  unspeakable 
and  fulness  of  glory. 

In  conclusion. — Seek  the  way  of 
God's  testimonies.  Riches  and  joy  are 
there.  It  is  a  calumny  to  speak  of 
religion  as  an  unprofitable  or  gloomy 
thing.  Riches  even  of  the  baser  sort 
are  sanctified,  and  pleasures  so  far  from 
being  abrogated  are  perfected.  The  way 
of  God's  testimonies  is  our  way  home. 
Does  not  that  thought  generate  strength, 
lighten  labour,  and  ease  paini 


A  Fourfold  Determination. 
{Verses  15,  16.) 

The  Psalmist  has  been  mainly  speak-  Rest  consists  more  in  the  variation  than 

ing  of  the  past ;    upon  that  he  builds  in   the   cessation   of  employment.     So 

the  future.     He  had  sought,   hid,  de-  the  Psalmist,  while  his  love  for  all  the 

clared,  rejoiced  ;  now  he  will  meditate,  departments  of  his  work  is  the  same,  yet 

observe,    delight,     remember.       These  changes  his  exercise.    Now  it  is  medita- 

dififerent  determinations  suggest   to  us  tion,    now   observance,    now  recreation, 

the  refreshing  changes  of  spiritual  life,  now  the  exercise  of  memory.     Observe 
262 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  OttZ. 


the  twofold  order  in  these  verses.  The 
precepts  point  to  the  ways,  the  ways  are 
regulated  by  the  statutes,  and  the  Word 
covers  the  whole.  Again,  meditation  on 
God's  precepts  results  in  respect  unto 
God's  ways.  To  have  respect  unto  God's 
ways  is  to  see  the  pleasure  and  profit 
of  God's  statutes ;  and,  finally,  rejoicing 
in  God's  statutes  is  the  best  protection 
against  forgetfulness  of  God's  Word, 

I.  "I  will  meditate  in  Thy  pre- 
cepts." Meditation  is  the  contempla- 
tion, digestion,  and  spiritualisation  of 
truth.  The  heart  sanctified  by  the 
grace  of  God  is  an  alembic  in  which 
those  noble  and  profitable  thoughts  are 
distilled  which  are  necessary  to  the  spi- 
ritual life.  God  has  enforced  upon  us  this 
duty  (Josh.  i.  8),  and  promises  His  appro- 
bation and  blessing  upon  it  (Ps.  i.  2). 
If  we  would  maintain  our  spiritual  health 
we  must  meditate.  Without  it  faith, 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  becomes 
weak;  things  hoped  for  vanish  away;  love, 
forgetful  of  its  true  object,  consumes  itself 
in  its  own  fires;  and  prayer,  lacking  both 
thought  and  verbiage,  droops  and  dies. 

II.  Those  that  meditate  in  God's  pre- 
cepts will  have  respect  to  God's  ways. 
Meditation  will  show  that  God's  ways 
are  right  ways ;  that  God's  ways  are  the 
only  profitable  and  use/id  ways.  Medi- 
tation will  open  up  the  whole  way.  It 
will  therefore  lead  to — 

1.  Deliberate  choice  of  God^s  ways. 
He  who  meditates  will  not  decide  to 
serve  God  simply  because  his  fathers 
did  so,  or  because  it  is  the  fashion  to  do 
so,  or  for  fear  of  hell,  (kc,  but  from  intel- 
ligent and  conscientious  conviction. 

2.  Avoidance  of  every  other  way. 
Meditation  will  show  a  man  the  im- 
possibility of  walking  in  God's  path 
and  the  devil's  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  He  will  be  able  to  resist  the 
fascinations  of  those  ways  which  diverge 
on  both  sides  from  the  way  of  God,  and 
will  elect  to  keep  in  that  way  alone. 

3.  FirTTif  steady f  and  persevering  pro- 


gress in  that  way.  Meditating  on  hia 
chart,  and  communing  with  his  divine 
companion,  he  will  not  pursue  his  jour- 
ney by  fits  and  starts,  with  sudden  pro- 
gresses and  equally  sudden  declensions, 
but  will  run  with  patience  and  walk 
without  faintness. 

III.  Respect  for  God's  ways  will  be- 
get delight  in  God's  statutes.  By  keep- 
ing to  those  ways  alone  and  by  continuous 
progress  in  those  ways  it  will  be  seen — 

1.  That  God's  statutes  deserve  delight 
(1.)  Because  of  Him  who  is  their  Author, 
and  the  substance  of  what  they  teach 
about  Him.  The  further  we  go  the 
more  we  shall  see  of  His  tender  father- 
hood, His  mighty  helpfulness,  His  bene- 
ficence and  grace,  what  He  is  to  us, 
what  He  does  for  us,  what  He  will  make 
of  us.  (2.)  Because  of  their  own  intrinsic 
excellence.  The  further  we  travel  the 
more  we  shall  know  of  their  elevating  doc- 
trines, their  interesting  history,  their  pre- 
cious promises,  and  their  mighty  hopes. 

2.  That  God's  statutes  must  he  our 
delight.  (1.)  They  are  our  charter  (Heb. 
vi.  18).  (2.)  Our  infallible  directory  on 
the  way{ver.  105).  (3.)  Our  encourage- 
ment and  support  (ver.  54).  They  are 
God's  storehouse  of  riches  for  our 
poverty,  comfort  for  our  afflictions,  life 
for  our  death. 

IV.  Delight  in  God's  statutes  will 
be  helpful  to  the  memory  of  His 
Word.  The  mind  most  easily  fastens 
on  and  treasures  up  that  in  which  it 
is  most  delighted.  "  Where  the  trea- 
sure is,"  &c.  That  which  is  displeasing 
is  gladly  forgotten,  but  it  is  an  increased 
and  increasing  delight  to  be  able  to 
remember  the  delightful.  If  a  student 
has  no  delight  in  his  book  he  will  soon 
forget  it ;  but,  taking  pleasure  in  it,  his 
comfort  will  be  promoted  by  his  recollec- 
tion. There  are  two  ways  of  forgetting 
God's  Word — (1.)  Forgetfulness  of  its 
literal  precepts.  (2.)  Forgetfulness  to 
obey  those  precepts.  Delight  in  God's 
statutes  is  the  sure  corrective  of  both. 


Life  :  its  Sustenance  and  Aim. 

{Verse  17.) 
Everything  depends  upon  true  and      to  entertain  false   or   one-sided  views, 
adequate  views  of  life.     It  is  perilous      The  worldling  views  life  as  a  field  for 

263 


PSALM  OXIX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


pleasure,  the  soldier  for  military  prowess, 
the  student  for  learning,  the  merchant 
for  wealth,  the  statesman  for  politics,  the 
Psalmist  as  a  sphere  for  divine  service. 

I.  Life.  The  Psalmist's  idea  of  life 
was  servitude.  He  was  God's  servant. 
This  conception  runs  through  the  Bible. 
The  proud  distinction  of  Patriarchs, 
Psalmists,  Prophets,  and  Apostles  was 
that  they  were  servants  of  the  King  of 
kings.  This  view  implies  honourable 
acceptance,  dignified  privilege,  and  ex- 
ceeding great  reward. 

II.  The  sustenance  of  life.  God's 
bounty.     Notice  that  this  bounty  is — 

1.  Unmerited.  We  can  lay  no  natural 
claim  to  it. 

2.  Adequate.  By  it  God  is  able  to 
supply  all  our  need. 

3.  Everlasting. 

m.  The  aim  of  life.     The  Psalmist 


prays  that  life  thus  sustained  may  keep 
God's  word.     This  aim  is — 

1.  The  divinely -ordained  aim.  God 
has  made  man  for  Himself.  It  is  His 
will,  therefore,  that  man  should  keep 
that  which  shall  enable  him  to  fulfil 
that  design. 

2.  The  highesty  noblest^  and  truest 
aim.  It  is  that  which  angels  con- 
sciously reach,  and  God's  inanimate 
universe  unconsciously. 

3.  The  soul-satisfying  aim.  The  Word 
of  God  is  the  law  of  our  being,  and  in 
the  keeping  of  that  there  is  great  re- 
ward.    Learn — 

(i.)  That  the  life  spiritual  is  of  more 
value  than  the  life  natural,  (ii.)  That 
if  the  latter  is  of  God's  bounty,  so  is  the 
former,  (iii.)  That  the  sustenance  of 
both  should  be  supplicated,  that  the  true 
aim  of  both  may  be  reached. 


Wondrous  Things,  and  How  to  See  Them. 

{Verse  8.) 


The  law  was  a  very  small  portion  of 
what  is  now  the  Word  of  God.  Yet 
the  Psalmist  saw  and  hoped  still  to  see 
in  that  narrow  compass  vastly  more 
than  we  do  in  the  large  and  complete 
revelation  of  God's  will.  This  is  ac- 
counted for  from  the  fact  that  he  made 
the  very  best  use  of  what  he  had,  and 
that  God,  in  answer  to  his  prayer,  had 
enabled  him  to  do  so.     Notice — 

1.  That  man  by  himself  cannot  see 
wondrous  things.  The  Hebrew  phrase 
is,  *'  Unveil  mine  eyes  ; "  implying — 

L  Thai  man  is  spiritually  blind  (Rev. 
iii.  17,  Job.  xi.  12).  (1.)  By  sin  (Eph. 
iv.  18).  (2.)  By  reason  of  ignorance. 
(3.)  By  reason  of  self-conceit  (1  Cor.  viii. 
1,  2).  (4.)  By  reason  of  prejudice  and 
disaffection  (Luke  xvi.  14,  2  Cor.  iv.  4). 

2.  That  man  is  not  only  thus  naturally 
blind,  but  lacks  that  divine  light  which 
can  alone  reveal  and  illuminate  the  sacred 
mysteries.  Man  is  both  blind  and  in  the 
dark.    His  therefore  is  "gross  darkness." 

3.  That  this  blindness  and  darkness  are 
universal.  The  Psalmist's  case  before  his 
prayer  was  not  the  exception,  but  the 
rule. 

II  That  there  is  a  process  by  means 
264 


of  which  man  may  not  only  see,  but 
see  wondrous  things.  The  Psalmist 
did  not  complain  of  the  inherent  ob- 
scurity of  the  law,  but  of  the  darkness 
which  rested  both  on  him  and  it.  So 
he  does  not  ask  for  another  law,  nor  for 
a  new  faculty,  just  as  a  blind  man  would 
not  wish  for  a  new  sun,  or  for  new  or 
gans.  All  he  asks  is  that  that  which  was 
hidden  might  be  brought  to  the  light,  and 
that  in  that  light  he  might  see  light 
This  process  is — 

1.  The  unveiling  of  marCs  eyes  (2  Cor. 
iii.  14,  15,  Luke  xxiv.  45). 

2.  The  diffusion  of  spiritual  light. 

3.  The  employment  of  the  faculty 
which  has  been  unveiled  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  that  upon  which  supernatural  light 
has  been  thrown.  By  this  means  a  clear 
and  experimental  knowledge  of  the  word 
of  God  will  be  obtained  (Heb.  viii.  10). 

III.  When  this  process  is  complete, 
wondrous  things  are  seen  in  God's 
law. 

1.  "  Wondrous  things."  The  Bible  is 
a  register  of  facts.  Myths  are  wonderful. 
Prodigies  are  wonderful.  But  the  plain 
truths  of  the  Word  of  God  are  more 
wonderful  than  the  strangest  fiction. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIX« 


2.  ^^  Wondrous  things."  The  things 
of  God's  law  are  (1)  Wondrously  beauti- 
ful. No  poets  have  ever  had  so  exquisite 
a  sense  of  the  beauties  of  nature.  No 
histories  are  so  charming,  no  examples 
so  sublime,  no  eloquence  so  grand.  (2) 
Wondrously  surprising.  The  Bible  is 
full  of  surprises.  This  is  so  if  we  con- 
sider the  way  and  the  form  in  which  the 
Bible  has  at  length  reached  us.  Every 
successive  step  in  its  development  opens 
up  new  wonders,  and  every  book  has 
something  fresh  to  say  about  the  won- 
derful works  of  God.  Then  what  a 
history  it  has  had  !  What  escapes, 
what  triumphs  !  (3)  "  Wonderfully  mys- 


terious. Its  aim  is,  all  through,  to  lead 
us  to  such  subjects  as  the  soul  and  God, 
and  the  eternal  world,  and  sin — the  great 
mystery  and  root  of  mysteries — and  the 
marvellous  remedy  which  has  been  pro- 
vided for  it  in  the  descent  of  the  Divine 
nature  into  the  human,  that  great  mys- 
tery of  godliness — '*  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh."  .  .  .  If  the  "  powers  of  the  world 
to  come  "  have  anything  in  them  to  ex- 
cite wonder  and  awe,  the  Bible,  beyond 
all  other  books,  holds  them  in  his  hand." 
— Ker.  (4)  Wondrously  perfect  in  its 
wisdom  (Deut.  iv.  6),  purity  (ver.  49), 
equity  (Rom.  vii.  12),  power  (Bom.  i. 
16),  unity. 


Strangers  and  Pilgrims. 
{Verses  19,  20.) 


"  When  a  child  is  born  into  the  world 
it  is  spoken  of  as  a  *  little  stranger.' 
Strangers  indeed  come  from  far,  out  of 
immensities  from  the  presence  and  touch 
and  being  of  God,  and  go  into  the  im- 
mensities again,  into  and  through  all  the 
unreckonable  asres  of  duration.  But  the 
little  stranger  takes  vigorous  root  .  .  . 
and  life  goes  on  deepening  and  broaden- 
ing in  its  flow,  .  .  .  and  then  after 
elaborate  preparations,  opening  into  a 
great,  restful,  sunny  plain,  lo !  the  sha- 
dows begin  to  fall  .  .  .  and  a  voice 
speaks  and  calls  for  the  *  little  stranger ' 
to  go  through  that  door  men  call  death ; 
and  the  stranger  is  not  ready,  the  pil- 
grim's staff  is  not  in  hand,  and  his  eye, 
familiar  enough  with  surrounding  things, 
is  not  accustomed  to  the  onward  and 
ascending  way.  .  .  .  Alas  !  he  has  made 
one  grand  mistake.  He  has  been  look- 
ing at  the  things  which  are  seen  and 
temporal,  and  not  at  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  and  eternal ;  and  so  there 
is  hurry  and  confusion  and  distress  in 
the  going  away,  all  which  may  be  helped 
and  throughly  hindered  if  a  man  will 
but  Fay,  '  I  am  a  stranger  in  the  earth.' " 
— Dr.  Raleigh, 

I.  The  stranger.  **  A  stranger  is  very 
well  known,  not  perhaps  in  the  great 
city  where  there  are  always  thousands 
of  such,  but  in  a  country  town  or  on  a 
country  road.     See  him  as  he  enters  the 


village  at  nightfall :  you  can  see  at  once 
he  is  not  of  the  place.  The  duvst  is  on 
his  raiment ;  he  is  footsore  and  weary  ; 
yet  he  has  no  mind  to  stay — he  will  be 
away  again  before  the  inhabitants  are 
up.  His  language  is  different ;  his 
questions  are  those  of  one  who  has  but 
a  superficial  and  momentary  interest  in 
the  answer  that  may  be  given  ;  his  very 
look  is  the  life  spelling  of  the  word 
*  onward  ; '  his  home,  wherever  it  may 
be,  is  not  here." — Dr.  Raleigh. 

1.  All  men  are  strangers.  Good  or 
bad  alike,  whether  they  will  or  not,  are 
fast  travelling  to  "  that  undiscovered 
country,"  &c.  "  One  generation  passeth 
away  and  another  generation  cometh, 
but  the  earth  abideth  ever.'*  *'  The 
pavement  we  walk  upon,  the  coals  in  our 
grates — how  many  millenniums  old  are 
they  1  The  pebble  you  kick  with  your 
foot — how  many  millenniums  will  it  out- 
last 1  Go  into  a  museum  and  you  will 
see  hanging  there,  little  the  worse  for 
centuries,  notched  swords  and  gaping 
helmets — ay,  but  what  has  become  of 
the  bright  eyes  that  once  flashed  the 
light  of  battle  through  the  bars  %  what 
has  become  of  the  strong  hands  that 
once  gripped  the  hilts  ?  .  .  .  The  money 
in  your  purses  now  will  some  of  it  bear 
the  head  of  a  king  that  died  half  a 
century  ago  1  It  is  bright  and  useful 
— where  ar^  all  the  people  that  in  turn 

265 


PSALM  ClIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


said  they  *  owned  *  it  ?  Other  men  will 
live  in  our  houses  and  preach  from  this 
pulpit  when  you  and  I  are  far  away." — 
Maclaren, 

2.  Specially  are  the  children  of  God 
strangers.  Those  who  are  not  the 
children  of  God  would  be  at  home  here 
if  they  could  ;  but  God's  children  are 
conscious  of  being  and  willing  to  be 
strangers,  because  (1)  Their  native 
country  is  elsewhere.  Everything  tends 
towards  the  place  of  its  origin.  All 
men  love  their  native  soil.  Christians 
are  "born  from  above."  "Jerusalem 
which  is  from  above  is  the  mother  of  us 
all,"  and  therefore  we  "  seek  those  things 
which  are  above."  (2)  Thei?^  inherit- 
ance is  elsewhere  (Eph.  i.  3).  (3)  Their 
kindred  are  elsewhere.  Father,  elder 
brother,  <fec.  (Matt.  viii.  11  ;  Heb.  xi). 
(4)  All  the  endowments  of  their  nature 
point  to  a  fuller  and  unrestricted  exer- 
cise elsewhere. 

IL  The  stranger's  prayer.  "  Hide 
not  Thy  commandments  from  me." 

1.  God^s  commandments  are  maiiUs 
chart  and  directory  on  his  way  to  heaven. 

2.  Those  commandments   are   hidden 


from  the  natural  man ;  their  dialect  is 
altogether  foreign  to  him. 

3.  Frayer  should  he  ofered  that  these 
commandments  may  he  made  intelligible. 

4.  When  made  known,  they  should 
hecome  a  "  lamp  unto  our  feet  and  a 
light  unto  our  path  "  till  our  pilgrimage 
is  o'er. 

ILL  The  stranger's  longing.  "  My 
heart  breaketh  for  the  longing  that  it 
hath  unto  Thy  judgments  at  all  times." 

1.  The  more  cur  hearts  are  bent  on 
the  end  of  our  journey,  the  more  shall  we 
desire  fully  and  accurately  to  know  the 
way. 

2.  The  more  we  know  of  the  way,  the 
more  ardent  will  be  our  desire  to  know  all 
about  it  at  all  times. 

3.  The  more  we  desire  to  know  of  the 
way,  the  more  diligent  and  practical  will 
he  our  study  of  that  which  can  alone 
guide  us  to  our  destination. 

In  conclusion. — 

(i.)  WJiot  provision  are  you  making 
for  your  journey  ? 

(ii.)  Are  you  astray  on  your  pilgri- 
mage? 


Providential  Inequalities  Readjusted. 

(Verses  2l-2i.) 


The  Psalmist  here  and  elsewhere 
states  the  standing  problem  of  the 
apparent  prosperity  of  evil  and  adver- 
sity of  good,  and  solves  it.  He  was 
seemingly  in  great  misery,  while  his 
enemies  flourished ;  but  it  was  not 
really  so.  The  Psalmist  had  privileges 
to  which  his  oppressors  had  no  title. 
He  had  God's  testimonies  as  his  de- 
lights and  counsellors  ;  while  those  who 
oppressed  him  were  of  a  debased  moral 
character,  and  were  under  the  ccmdem- 
nation  of  God.  This  solution  satisfied 
him  ;  may  it  satisfy  us. 

L  The  problem  stated. 

1.  The  prosperity  of  the  toicked.  (1.) 
"  Princes."  The  wicked  are  often  in 
the  ascendant  as  regards  power,  wealth, 
position,  popular  esteem,  <kc.  (2.) 
*' Froud."  The  wicked  are  always, 
when  they  can  be,  arrogant  and  self- 
pufficient. 
266 


2.  The  adversity  of  the  righteous. 
(1.)  They  are  *^  reproached  "  for  their 
conscientious  scruples,  integrity,  en- 
deavours, and  aims.  (2.)  l^hey  are 
treated  with  ridicule  and  " contempt" 
because  of  those  things  that  they  hold 
most  dear  :  God's  Word,  Christian  cha- 
racter, hope  of  heaven.  (3.)  They  are 
unjustly  judged  (ver.  23),  because  man 
cannot  estimate  the  worth  of  godliness. 

II.  The  problem  solved. 

1.  The  adversity  of  the  wicked.  Our 
real  state  is  what  we  are  in  the  sight  of 
God.  (1.)  They  stand  rebuked  of  God, 
and  are  therefore  cursed.  (2.)  They 
err  from  God's  commandments,  and  thus 
miss  the  true  end  of  their  being  and 
the  full  slory  and  perfection  of  their  life. 
Can    heirs  therefore,  be  ^rw«  prosperity  t 

-.  Th$  pi'osperity  of  the  righteous, 
(1.)  Tknr  reproach  and  contempt  is 
that  of  mxin,  and  therefore  removable, 


EOMILETIG  COMMENT  A  R  Y :  PSA  IMS.  psalm  oxdl 

and  will  be  removed  by  the  justice  and  and  patience.     (3.)  They  have  perennial 

compassion    of    God.       (2.)  They   have  sources  of  delight.     God's  Word  testifies 

a  certain  and   vifallihle  guide.     God's  of  God's  presence,  God's  comfort,  God's 

testimonies  tell  them  of  God's  will  and  heaven.     Can  there  be  any  real  adver- 

how  to  submit  to  it  with  resignation  sity  with  all  this  1 

"Teneo  et  Teneor." 
{Verse  22,  clause  2,  and  Verse  24.) 

Those  who  keep  God's  testimonies  God's  Word  brings  that  light  and  glad- 
shall  be  kept  by  them.  ness  which  saves  the  world  from  suicide. 

I.    How   do   we   keep  God's  testi-  It  testifies  of  God,  who  is  the  health  of 

monies  ]  our  countenance;  of  Christ,  who  cleanses 

1.  By  remembering  them.  To  forget  us  from  the  source  of  all  misery  ;  of  the 
is  to  lose.  To  have  them  kept  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  comforts  us  in  the  day 
memory  is  to  have  them  ready  for  every  of  trial ;  of  the  precious  promises  which 
time  of  need.  buoy  us  up  with  hopes  of  better  things 

2.  By  obeying  them.  Every  act  of  to  come ;  of  heaven,  where  all  tears  are 
obedience  is  an  additional  stone  in  the  wiped  away, 

fortress,  in  which  they  are  kept.     Every  2.  By  guiding  us  toith  their  infallible 

duty  formed  strengthens  habit  and  con-  counsel.     They  keep  us  in  the  path  of 

firms  steadfastness.  truth,  guide  us  in  the  way  of  holiness, 

By  propagating  them.     Giving  is  direct  us  in  the  road  to  heaven,  and  as 

the  condition  of  keeping  all  through  life.  we  go  shield  us  from  all  harm. 

The  vitality  of  a  tree  is  conditional  upon  In   conclusion. — The    principle    of 

its  yielding  fruit  and  leaves.     Material  our  text  holds  good  everywhere.     Those 

wealth  depends  on  the  outlay  of  money,  who  hold  good  or  bad  principles  are 

So  unless  we  give  in  proportion  as  it  is  kept  or  lost  by  them  and  with  them, 

given  unto  us  of  the  word  of  life,  even  The  man  who  knows  how  to  keep  his 

that  which  we  have  will  be  taken  away,  temper,  his  money,  <fec.,  will   find  that 

n.  How  do  Qod's  testimonies  keep  they  will  keep   him.    Hold,  then,  the 

us  1  best  things,  the  firmest  things,  and  you 

1.  By   ministering    to    cur    delight,  will  be  ever  safe. 

The  Benefit  of  God's  Testimonies, 
(Verse  2L) 

The  Psalmist  in  his  trouble  and  dis-  2.  Thai  God*8  people  are  commanded 

tress,  under  the  contempt  and  reproach  to  rejoice — (1)   J^ot  merely  permitted; 

of  the  proud,  and  under  the  oppression  (2)  Not  merely  suggested  on  reasonable 

of  princes,  turns  to  God's   Word,   and  grounds;  (3)  But  enjoined  as  a  necessary 

there  finds  direction  and  joy.  duty.     It  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference 

I.  **Thy  testimonies  are  my  delights."  or  choice.     We  must  rejoice  (Phil,  iv. 

Notice —  4;  Matt.  v.  12;  James  i.  2). 

1.  That  there  are  Joys  and  Joys,  3.  That  this  rejoicing  is  founded  on 
Worldlings  have  their  joys,  but  they  and  derived  through  the  Word  of  God 
are  unsubstantial  and  evanescent.  The  (Rom.  xv.  4 ;  Heb.  xii.  5).  Joy  is  par- 
delight  engendered  by  God's  testimonies  ticularly  needful  in  affliction,  as  in  the 
is  (1)  Divine  and  powerful.  It  is  the  Psalmist's  ease.  God's  testimonies  tell 
"joy  of  the  Lord,"  and  w  God's  people's  us  (1)  Who  permits  it  (John  xviii.  11)  ; 
strength.  (2)  Beat  (2  Cor.  vi.  10).  (3)  (2)  The  benefit  of  it  (Isa.  xxvii.  19, 
Great  {I  Pet.  i.  8).  [i)  Endless.  "Ever-  Heb.  xii.  lOJ ;  (3)  The  brevity  of  it 
lasting  joy."  (Isa.  liv.  7,  8)  i  (4)  Helps  in  it.     Con- 

267 


MALM  OXIX. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Boling  help  (Rom.  v.  3),  Effectual  help 
(Ps.  cxxxviii.  3,  Heb.  xiii.  5) ;  (5)  Its 
end  (2  Cor.  iv.  17). 

11.  "  Thy  testimonies  are  my  coun- 
sellors." As  a  divine  rule  in  all  mat- 
ters of  faith  and  practice  it  is  sufficient. 
Man  cannot  improve  upon  it,  let  him 
not  tinker  with  it.     It  is  an  unerring 


guide  in  all  perplexities.  It  will  help 
us  to  a  right  decision  in  all  matters  of 
right  and  wrong.  Its  counsel  is  safe 
for  good  thinking,  good  speaking,  for 
the  prudent  management  of  our  affairs 
to  successful  issues  (James  i.  6),  and 
supporting  in  all  painful  or  difficult 
duties  (Prov.  xvi.  3,  Ps.  xxxvii.  5). 


Affliction  and  its  Remedy. 
{Verse  25.) 


Our  text  teaches  us — 

I.  That  God's  children  are  afflicted. 

This  affiiction  may  be  a  sorrowful  in- 
ward experience  (Ps.  Ixxxviii.  3-7 ; 
Ixxvi.  1),  or  an  extreme  outward  pres- 
sure (2  Sam.  xii.  16,  17  ;  xv.  30).  We 
know  that  "  God  does  not  willingly 
afflict."  Why  then  do  His  people's 
souls  sometimes  cleave  to  the  dusf? 
(1.)  To  humble  them  (2  Cor.  I  7-9). 
(2.)  To  correct  for  past  transgressions. 
The  righteous  have  their  evil  things  in 
this  life.  God  punishes  them  now  that 
it  may  not  be  necessary  to  do  so  by 
and  by.  (3.)  7'o  test  the  strength  of 
their  character,  their  faith  in  the  pro- 
mises, their  hope  in  His  mercy,  the  depth 
and  sincerity  of  His  love.  (4.)  To 
awaken  the  spirit  of  prayer  (Ps.  cxxx.  1). 
To  show  more  of  the  riches  of  His  grace 
in  their  recovery  (Ps.  Ixxi.  20,  21). 

II.  That  affliction  should  drive  us 
to  God  for  help.     Notice — 


1.  The  unwisdom  of  any  other  course, 
Man  cannot  help  us. 

2.  The  disastrousness  of  any  other 
course  (Dan.  ix.  13).  To  choke  sorrow 
is  to  be  choked  by  it,  whereas  if  we  go 
to  God  the  burden  can  be  thrown  off. 
To  depend  upon  the  charlatan  or  to 
neglect  proper  means  is  suicide. 

3.  The  wisdom  and  blessedness  of  this 
course,  God  sends  the  tempest  of  afflic- 
tion after  His  Jonahs,  that  out  of  the 
depths  they  may  cry  to  Him  to  be 
delivered.  Because  God  is  powerful, 
able,  and  willing  to  help.  Let  us  (Heb. 
iv.  16). 

III.  That  God  undertakes  to  apply 
the  remedy  for  affliction,  not  according 
to  our  merits,  or  merely  according  to 
His  compassion,  but  according  to  His 
pledged  and  covenant  "  word."  The 
remedy  must  therefore  be  adequate,  firm, 
and  everlasting. 


Divine  Education. 
(Verses  26,  27.) 


I.  The  Psalmist  presents  himself  for 
examination.  He  puts  his  whole  case, 
his  qualifications  and  disqualifications, 
before  God,  and  God  hears  him. 

II.  The  result  of  this  examination 
is  a  consciousness  and  confession  of 
ignorance  and  error.  His  prayer  to  be 
taught  God's  statutes,  to  understand 
the  way  of  God's  precepts,  implies  igno- 
rance of  the  one  and  departure  from  the 
other.  And  he  who  comes  away  from 
the  throne  of  grace  with  any  other  con- 
sciousness has  been  there  in  vain. 

in.  His  ignorance  and  error   leads 
268 


him  to  cry  to  the  great  Teacher  for 
instruction.  This  instruction  was  two- 
fold. Intellectual,  "Teach  me  Thy 
statutes  ; "  and  practical,  "  Make  me  to 
understand  the  way  of  Thy  precepts." 
First  the  information,  then  its  correct 
and  proper  application.  Remember 
that  the  instructor  is  God,  not  man  ; 
and  the  instruction  is  not  in  human 
guesses  and  speculations,  but  in  divine 
truth  and  holiness. 

IV.  Upon  this  instruction  being 
vouchsafed  and  his  education  complete, 
he  feels  that  he  will  then  be  in  a  posi- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIX. 


tion  to  instruct  others,  **So  shall  I 
talk  of  Thy  wondrous  works."  1.  GocUs 
works,  not  his  own  or  man's.    2.  God's 


wondrous  works,  in  revelation,  provi- 
dence, redemption.  This  in  our  case  is 
due  to  God,  due  to  ourselves,  due  to  man. 


Strength  in  Weakness. 


{Verse 

L  The  Psalmist's  case.     It  was  one 

of  extreme  trouble.  His  very  soul 
"  dropped  away."  Why  so  extreme  1 
Just  as  the  sorrows  of  a  man  are  greater 
than  the  sorrows  of  a  beast,  from  his 
superior  knowledge  and  keener  suscepti- 
bility. So  the  knowledge  of  the  spiritual 
man  is  clearer  and  more  accurate,  and  his 
susceptibilities  keener,  than  those  of  the 
natural  man.  He  knows  the  character  of 
sin  and  the  claims  of  God,  and  his  con- 
science responds  to  the  slightest  touch 
of  evil. 

II.  The  Psalmist's  prayer.  Not  for 
the  removal  of  his  affliction,  but  for  the 
strength  of  grace  to  bear  it.  **  Strengthen 
me."  This  implies  a  recognition  of  the 
need  and  benefit  of  this  disciplinary  and 
sanctifying  affliction,  and  a  desire  to  be 
Bustained  until  it  should  have  accom- 


28.) 

plished  its  perfect  work.  We  would  do 
foolishly  with  our  afflictions  what  a  child 
would  do  with  its  restraints  and  the  dis- 
cipline of  school  or  home.  Better  far  to 
be  able  to  say,  "  Thy  grace  is  sufficient 
or  me. 

III.  The  Psalmist's  plea.  "  According 
to  Thy  word."  Prayer  avails  in  pro- 
portion to  the  power  and  prevalence  of 
its  pleas.  No  plea  is  like  that  of  God's 
own  pledged  word.  And  what  does  God 
promise  %  Not  to  deliver  us  as  we  wish, 
but  always  either  to  deliver  or  to  give  us 
that  grace  and  strength  which  renders 
deliverance  a  matter  of  comparative 
indifference.  What  God  then  has  pro- 
mised let  man  plead,  and  if  prayer  is  not 
answered  it  is  not  from  indifference  or 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  God. 


The  Two  Ways. 


{Verses 

Our  text  teaches  us — 

I.  That  there  are  two  ways,  and  two 
ways  only,  which  determine  the  character 
and  decide  the  destiny  of  mankind.  The 
way  of  lying  and  the  way  of  truth.  The 
false  and  the  true.  There  is  no  third 
way,  and  there  are  no  characteristics  com- 
mon to  both.  A  man  must  either  walk 
in  the  way  of  truth  or  the  way  of  error. 

II.  That  these  two  ways  are  open  to 
man's  deliberate  preference  and  choice. 
God  does  not  urge  us  towards  the  one  or 
the  other  by  the  force  of  a  predestined 
and  inexorable  necessity.  Neither  is  the 
force  of  any  circumstance  such  as  to  leave 
man  no  option  but  to  be  untrue  to  him- 
self and  to  his  God.  The  practical  com- 
mon sense  and  experience  of  man  laugh 
at  all  metaphysical  endeavours  to  de[)rive 
him  of  the  freedom  of  his  will. 

m.  That  the  false  way  is  most 
natural  to  man.  The  Psalmist  felt  so, 
or  why  his  urgent  request  that  it  might 
be  removed  %    All  Scripture  is  emphatic 


29,  30.) 

on  this  point.  "  They  go  astray  from 
the  womb,  speaking  lies."  This  way  is 
very  broad,  and  many  elements  enter  into 
its  composition.  Hypocrisy,  insincerity, 
error,  false  religions,  false  maxims,  false 
customs,  as  well  as  deliberate  lying. 
Experience  is  as  emphatic  as  Scripture. 
No  evil  habit  is  so  strong,  so  general,  so 
growing,  as  the  habit  of  untruthfulness. 
It  is  the  one  habit  more  than  another 
that  grows  upon  the  young. 

IV.  That  in  order  to  walk  firmly 
in  the  true  way  divine  assistance  is 
indispensable. 

1.  God  must  ^'■remove  the  way  of  lying." 
He  alone  can  break  the  force  of  evil 
habits  and  check  the  evil  tendency. 

2.  God  must  vouchsafe  the  chart  by 
whose  guidance  alone  we  can  walk  in  the 
way  of  truth.  "  Grant  me  Thy  law 
graciously."  This  God  has  answered  in 
the  case  of  every  man.  The  heathen 
have  the  law  written  on  their  heart,  and 
their  conscience  accuses  them  when  they 

^69 


PSALM  OXn. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


do  wrong,  and  ezcnses  them  when  they 
do  right.  For  Christians  there  is  the 
written  law  and  the  living  law  of  the 
life  of  Christ  in  addition,  and  guided 
by  this  threefold  law  the  wayfaring  man 
though  a  fool  shall  not  err  therein. 

V.  That  continuance  in  the  way  of 
truth  is  conditional  on  the  use  of 
divinely-appointed  means.  "  Thy  judg- 
ments have  I  laid  before  me."  Only  by 
a  diligent,  careful,  and  accurate  study  of 
th«  judgments  of  Qod  can  our  feet  be 


kept  in  the  way  of  truth.  **  As  he  who 
learns  to  write  lays  his  copy  before  him, 
that  he  may  write  according  to  it ;  as  the 
workman  lays  his  model  and  platform 
before  him,  that  he  may  do  his  work 
exactly ;  as  we  must  have  the  word  in 
our  heart  by  an  habitual  conformity  to 
it ;  80  we  must  have  it  in  our  eye  by  an 
actual  regard  to  it  upon  all  occasions, 
that  we  may  walk  accurately  and  by 
rule." — if.  Henry. 


Pbbseveranob. 
(Verses  Zl,Z2.) 


Having  chosen  the  way  of  truth,  the 
Psalmist  does  not  regret  his  choice,  but 
adheres  steadfastly  to  it,  and  makes 
steady  but  rapid  progress  in  it.  This 
was  perseverance. 

L  Steady.  **  I  have  stuck."  It  was 
not  a  restless  and  fitful  movement,  but 
a  firm  and  consistent  adhesion  to  fixed 
principles.  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift, 
but  to  the  steady.  The  battle  is  not  to 
the  strong,  but  to  the  steadfast.  "  It  is 
hard  pounding,  gentlemen,"  said  Wel- 
lington at  Waterloo,  "  but  we  shall  see 
who  will  pound  the  longest."  The  man 
who  runs,  till  he  is  out  of  breath,  for  one 
hour,  and  is  obliged,  panting,  to  rest  for 
the  next,  will  not  win  the  prize.  And 
so  the  Christian  who  is  very  earnest  on 
set  occasions  and  makes  great  efforts  at 
certain  times,  but  who  tires  of  service, 
and  is  forgetful  of  his  principles  on 
ordinary  occasions,  is  not  the  man  who 
will  take  the  crown  of  life.  "  Run  with 
patience,^^ 

II.  Rapid.  "I  will  run."  Steady 
perseverance  is  not  necessarily  slow.  It 
certainly  is  not  slow  in  the  long  run. 
The  man  who  steadfastly  runs  by  rule 
and  with  self-restraint,  although  he  may 
be  distanced  by  him  who  is  careless  of 
rule  and  impulsive  for  the  moment ; 
time  will  show  who  has  made  the  greatest 
progress.  But  the  perseverance  of  the 
Christian  life  is  rapid  in  its  attainment 
of  results,  and  ought  to  he.  Consider 
how  soon  the  course  is  traversed,  the 
number  of  obstacles  overcome,  the  cha- 
racter of  the  help  vouchsafed,  the  nature 
270 


of  the  incentives  offered,  and  how  quickly, 
comparatively  speaking,  habits  are  formed 
and  graces  developed  and  strengthened ! 
In  view  of  all  this,  it  is  appropriately 
likened  to  the  swift  flight  of  the  eagle, 
and  to  the  short,  eager  race  for  the  incor- 
ruptible crown. 

III.  Shameless.  *'  0  Lord,  put  me 
not  to  shame."  There  is  a  perseverance 
which  can  only  bring  shame.  Persever- 
ance in  an  inconsistent,  insincere,  lying 
course  can  only  bring  contempt  on  those 
who  run  there.  The  path  of  truth  is  the 
only  one  in  which  it  is  possible  to  run 
secure  from  shame.  Circumstances  may 
arise  which  may  prevent  us  in  other 
paths  from  so  persevering  as  to  win  that 
towards  which  we  reach  forth  the  hand, 
and  thus,  for  want  of  success,  others  are 
ashamed  of  us  and  we  are  ashamed  of 
ourselves.  Here,  however,  if  we  are 
faithful  we  shall  win,  and  thus  be  secure 
from  shame. 

IV.  Divinely  assisted.  "  Lit.,  *For 
Thou  wilt  enlarge  my  heart.'  Expressing 
confidence  that  God  would  do  this,  so 
that  he  would  be  thus  inclined  and 
enabled  to  keep  His  commandments.  It 
is  an  acknowledgment  of  dependence 
and  confidence.  The  phrase  means,  to 
make  the  heart  free  from  all  hindrances 
to  what  is  right;  to  fill  it  with  noble  and 
holy  purposes;  to  stimulate  and  animate 
it.  The  heart  is  contracted  by  selfish- 
ness, pride,  vanity,  ambition,  covetous- 
ness;  it  is  made  large  by  charity,  love, 
hope,  (fee.  Sin  narrows  the  soul ;  religion 
enlarges  it." — Barnes. 


HOMILSTIO  COMMENT AR  7 :  PSA  LM8,  malm  oxix. 


Christian  Progress. 
(Versea  33-35.) 

Our  text  snggests—  knowledge  in  the  way  of  Christian  pro- 

L  That  the  way  of  Christian  progress  gress  is  of  no  effect  unless  applied  **  with 

is  divinely  revealed.     "Teach  me,  O  the  whole  heart."  Alas!  many  men  know 

Lord,  the  ivay  of  Thy  statutes."     The  every  step  of  the  way  to  heaven  who, 

way  of  life  is  not  a  path  discovered  by  from  the  want  of  this,  fail  to  get  there, 

study,  intuition,  or  speculation.     Nor  is  2.  Earnestness  in  the  way.    "I  shall 

it  a  path  upon  which  it  is  possible  to  observe  it  witU  my  whole  heart."     An- 

light    by  happy   accident.      As    it    is  other  universe    condition.    Unless  men 

not    human   learning,   scientific  know-  give  "  earnest  heed "  to  the  securing  of 

ledge,  or  even  ethical  development,  but  a  given  object,  they  "  let  it  slip."     This 

the  knowledge   and   practise   of  God^s  earnestness    implies    (1)    Love.     The 

statutes,  God  must  make  those  statutes  "  heart  '*  is  the  seat  of  the  aflfections. 

known.  Unless  a  man  loves  his  career,  he  will 

II.  That  Christian  progress  is  possible  not  be  successful  in  it.     So  our  love 

only  under  certain  definite  conditions,  must  be  fixed  on  ours.    There  is  every- 

The  racer  in  the  old  Greek  games  was  thing  in  it  to  excite  afifectioii.     Christ 

not    crowned   except    he    had    striven  is  at  once  the  entrance  and  the  goaL 

according  to  fixed  and  stringent  rules.  To  **me  to  live  is  Christ,"  being  **  built 

So  with   this  and  every  other  path  in  up  into   Him  our  living  Head,  in  all 

life  worth  traversing,  the  conditions  are  things,"  who  is  "  the  fairest  among  ten 

twofold —  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely,"  is  the 

1.  Knowledge  of  the  way.    "  Give  me  inspired   description   of   the   Christian 

understanding."    This  is  the  prime  con-  way.     Love    to  Christ,   again,    is   the 

dition.     Ignorance  is  the  fruitful  source  motive  force  of  Christian  progress.     (2) 

of  failure   everywhere.     No   man   can  United  effort.     The  earnest  man  is  he 

make   progress  in  business,   unless   he  who   gives   his  "whole   heart"  to  his 

knows  his  business  ;  in  scholarship,  un-  work.     His  motto  is,  "  This  one  thing  I 

less  he  is  acquainted  with  his  books ;  do."     We  say  a  man  is  not  in  earnest 

in  politics,  unless  he  is  conversant  with  when  his  efforts  are  desultory  or  divided ; 

affairs   of   State.       So    Christians   can  and  such  men  never  succeed.  Alas  !  there 

make  no  progress  without  understand-  are  many  Christian  men  who,  for  the 

ing  God's  law.     Notice — (1)  God  gives  same  reason,  come  short  of  the  prize. 

this   understanding.     God   reveals   not  3.    Absorbing    interest    in   the   way. 

only  the  entrance  of  the  way,  or  the  **  Therein  do  I  delight."     Again,  no  man 

panorama  of  the  way  as  a  whole,  but  will  succeed  who  does  not  delight  in  his 

the   details   of   the    way,   its   dangers,  work.  If  he  entertains  ignoble  views  about 

duties,  difficulties,  blessings,  losses,  and  it,  or  depreciates  it,  or  shows  he  can  afford 

rewards.     And   not   only  so,   but   also  to  treat  it  with  carelessness,  he  will  never 

that    spiritual    enlightenment   without  make    himself  proficient.     Those   men 

which   progress   is   impossible.      With  who  have  succeeded  in  politics,  learn- 

this  we  "shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  ing,  &c.,  have  been  the  men  who  have 

but  have  the  light  of  life."     But  (2)  counted  their  callings  most  worthy  of 

Man  must  use  the  understanding  that  their  supreme  interest.     And  shall  we 

God  gives.     Scholarship  is  of  no  value  depreciate  or  be  careless   about  "  the 

unless    turned    to    practical    account,  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,"  so 

Letters  are  useless  unless  employed  in  grand  and  delightful,    and  leading  to 

the  formation  of  words ;  words  are  of  such  issues  1     No,   the  Christian  man, 

no  service  except  they  convey  thought ;  of  all  men,  should  take    pride  in  Ma 

thoughts   are    of   no   use    unless   ade-  career ;  for  is  it  not  "  ways  of  pleasant* 

quately  expressed.    And  so  all  theoretia  ness  and  paths  of  peace  ? '' 

371 


F6ALM  OXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


4.  Constancy  in  the  way.  "I  shall 
keep  it  unto  the  end,"  Most  failures  are 
due  to  the  want  of  this.  If  a  man  lacks 
this  one  thing  needful,  in  spite  of  genius 
and  practical  ability,  he  will  run  in  vain 
and  labour  in  vain.  And  many  well- 
meaning  Christians  fail  because  they 
make  no  sustained  effort.  **He  that 
endures  to  the  end  shall  be  saved." 
*' Wherefore  "(1  Cor.  xv.  58). 

III.  That  Christian  progress  is  im- 
possible without  divine  assistance. 
"  Make  me  to  go." 

1.  God  must  supply  the  stimulus. 
"Make  me  to  go."  A  stimulus  is 
needful,  for  Christianity  is  not  natural 
to  man.  No  effort  can  be  made  without 
a  force  behind  and  an  attraction  in 
front.  Thank  God,  these  are  not  want- 
ing. The  promises  and  comforts  of 
God's  Spirit  are  ever  neaT  us  lest  we 
should  be  weary  and  faint  in  our  souls. 
Heaven  is  set  before  us  to  gain  ;  hell  for 
us  to  shun.  Yea,  "  The  young  men  shall 
faint,  and  be  weary,"  <fcc.  (Isa.  xl.  31). 

2.  God  must  supply  the  qualifications. 
"  Make  me."  Not  certainly  in  the  sense 
of  compulsion,  but  in  the  endowment 
of  the  requisite  ability.     As  He  gives 


us  the  knowledge  of  the  way,  so  He 
will  supply  all  its  requirements.  He 
will  give  us  the  elements  of  moral  ear 
nestness,  shed  abroad  His  love  in  out 
hearts,  supply  the  principle  of  cohesion 
which  will  enable  us  to  serve  Him  with 
our  whole  heart ;  make  us  interested  in 
our  work,  and  enable  us  to  continue 
steadfast  unto  the  end. 

3.  God  must  supply  the  fact.  "  To 
go."  He  must  make  us  Christians,  and 
thus  empower  us  to  begin  our  progit>3s. 
He  must  sow  the  seed  of  grace  before 
we  can  grow  in  it.  It  is  only  by  **  look- 
ing unto  Jesus"  that  we  can  lay  aside 
every  weight,  &c.  At  every  stage  He 
must  guide  us  by  His  counsel,  go 
before  us,  making  "crooked  places 
straight,"  &c.,  and  afford  us  the  sup- 
port and  discipline  of  His  rod  and  staff 
in  every  dark  ravine.  Man  cannot  go 
without  this  great  Leader.  But  our 
comfort  is  that  we  are  continually  with 
Him,  &c.  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  23). 

Men  and  brethren,  we  are  all  going. 
Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  we  must  all 
go.  (1.)  How  are  we  going  ;  with  God, 
or  without  Him  ?  (2.)  Where  are  we 
going;  to  heaven,  or  to  helll 


The  Servant  of  God. 


(  Verses 

Notice — 

I.  That  God  qualifies  His  servants 
by  a  special  fitness.  "Incline  my 
heart;"  which  suggests — 

1.  That  man  is  naturally  disqualified 
for  divine  service.  His  heart  is  inclined 
in  the  opposite  direction.  It  is  warped 
and  twisted  from  the  straight  line  of 
God's  law.  Consequently  there  is  a  pre- 
ference for  that  which  is  averse  from 
God. 

2.  That  man,  if  qualified  at  all,  must 
be  qualified  by  God.  No  force  within 
a  man  is  capable  of  doing  this,  nor  any 
force  without,  either  of  example,  instruc- 
tion, or  compulsion.  But  God  does  so 
incline  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  wil- 
ling, that,  like  the  great  servant  of  the 
Lord,  they  can  say,  "  I  delight  to  do 
Thy  will."  God  does  not  break  the  will  ; 
He  softens  it,  and  then  stretches  it  back 
again.     He  never  compels,  but  draws 

272 


36-38.) 

by  the  persuasion  of  His  entreaties,  the 
allurement  of  His  promises,  by  reason 
and  affection ;  and  then  when  the  heart 
is  prepared  He  moves  it  back  again  by 
His  Spirit  into  conformity  with  His 
will  and  way.  And  when  man's  heart 
is  inclined  to  do  the  will  of  God,  not 
for  what  can  be  got,  but  because  it  is 
felt  to  be  right  and  joyous,  then  is  man 
qualified  for  divine  service. 

II.  That  those  whom  God  qualifies 
for,  He  consecrates  to  His  service. 
These  two  ideas  overlap,  as  indeed  do 
all  the  Christian  doctrines  and  privi- 
leges. Consecration  not  only  im[)lies 
fitness,  but  supplies  it.  It  separates 
from  sin,  and  imparts  the  power  of  divine 
life. 

1.  God's  servants,  by  virtue  of  their 
consecration,  are  separate  from  sin.  (1.) 
The  eyes  are  turned  away  ^^from  behold- 
ing vanity.'*    Sin  loses  its  attractiveness, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS.  psalm  omx. 


and  becomes  an  object  of  abhorrence.  strengtl.  and  doing  His  Master  s  work, 

(2.)  The  eye  turned  away,  the  whole  man  bas  ever  suffered  harm  or  lacked  any 

is   turned   away.     Men   walk   in    that  good  thing.           ^         .  r^,- -u  ^    jr    ^  ^ 

direction  on  which  their  eyes  are  set.  3.   God's  promises  established  afford  a 

(3  )  The  eyes  and  the  whole  man  turned  basis  for  future  hopefulness.     Since  no 

awau  from  the  vanities  of  sin  are  glad  word  of  God  has  failed,  man  lias  solid 

to  look  on  the  realities  of  God.  ground  to  rest  upon.     Were  His  word 

2  God's  servants,  by  virtue  of  their  con-  untrustworthy,  or  His  promises  broken, 

tecratimi,  are  made  instinct  with  divine  nothing  but  disappointment  could  result. 

life     «  Quicken  Thou  me  in  Thy  way."  IV.  Those  whom  God  aualifies,  con- 

This  life  of  consecration  is  (1)  divine,  secrates,  and  encourages,  are  expected 

God's  servants  are  born  of  His  Spirit,  to  exhibit  certain  traits, 

born  into  His  house,  born  from  above.  1.  Negatively:  "Not  to  covetousness 

They  are  not  slaves  or  hirelings,  but  That  the  servant  of  God  should  not  be 

sons-  and   their   duties  those   of   filial  inclined  to   covetousness   is   seen   from 

affection    (2)  A  special  gift  for  a  special  the  fact  that  covetousness  (1)  Disposes 

service  •  "In   Thy  way."     Not  for  our  the  soul  to  occupations  that  are  averse 

spiritual  gratification,  or  for  our  safety  from  the  service  of  God.     It  is  the  root 

and  blessedness  merely,  but  in  and  for  of    all   evil   (1  Tim.  vi.   10) ;  leads  to 

His  way      (3)  Progressive.     "In"  all  violent  theft  and  oppression  (Micah  ii. 

departments  and  stages  of  "  Thy  way."  2) ;  to  treason   as  in  the  case  of  Judas ; 

We  need  moment  by  moment  the  divine  dishonour  of   God,  in  the  case  of  (^e- 

quickenincr,  and  that  constant  quicken-  hazi ;    dishonesty,    m    that  ot  Achaii; 

ing  continually  enlarges,  develops,  and  murder,  in  Ahab  ;  apostasy,  m  Ananias 

intensifies  all  the  powers  and  faculties  and  Sapphira.     (2)   Tt  utterly  mcapaci- 

of  our  being  tales  for  the  service  of  God.     It  destroys 

III  Those  whom  God  consecrates  He  the  principle  of  obedience,  which  is  love 

supports  by  special  encouragements,  of  God  (1  John  ii  5),  is  contrary  to  all 

establish  Thy  word  unto  Thy  servant."  the  commands  of  God   (Matt.  vi.   14), 

1  God's  servants  are  the  subjects  of  and  it  slights  all  the  encouragements  of 
special  promises.      God  undertakes    to  God's  grace  by  seeking  other  rewards, 
preserve  them  from  evil  in  the  prosecu-  2.  Positively.    Devotion  to  Gods  fear, 
tion  of  their  tasks,  and  empower  them  (1.)  To  fear  God  is  to  revere  Him  and 
to  overcome  all  their  difficulties.  adopt  that  posture  which  befits  His  service. 

2  God  establishes  those  promises.  He  (2.)  Devotion  to  that  fear  saves  us  from 
fulfils  His  undertakings.  No  servant  of  sinniiig  against  God,  and  stimulates  us  to 
His,    while    trusting  in   His   Master's  His  service. 

Fear  and  its  Eembdy. 

{Verses  39,  40.) 

God's  people  are  the  subjects  of  a  two-  thing   is  evil  except  from  its  alliance 

fold  fear  :  the  fear  of  God  and  the  fear  with  sin.     Trial,  persecution,   sicknes^ 

of  sin.     The  former  fear  is  dealt  with  poverty,  pain  may  be  good,  and  under 

in  the  previous  verse,  the  latter  in  this.  certain  circumstances  are  to  be  desired 

"  Guard  me  from  the  reproach  which  rather  than   deprecated.      But  sm  can 

(alone)  I  fear  of  sinning  against  Thee ;  only  work  harm.     It  saps  the  foundation 

for  Thy  judgments,  i.e.,  revealed  laws,  of  spiritual  life,  deteriorates  the  quality 

are  good,  and  happy  is  he  that  keeps  and  diminishes  the  volume  of  true  man- 

them  "Speaker's  Com.     Observe—  hood,  blinds   the   intellect,  befouls  the 

I.  That  the  Christian  has  nothing  heart,  destroys   hope,  kills   usefulness, 

to  fear  but  sin,  and  the  only  reproach  he  and  blasts  the  soul. 

need  deprecate  is  that  of  having  sinned.  2.  Because  sin  has  terrible  and  eternal 

1    Because  sin  is  the  only  evil     No-  consequences.      Sin   deliberately  rejecU 

¥0L.  a.  »                                             *•* 


PSALH  oxn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


the  sources  of  the  soul's  life  and  blessed- 
ness, and  therefore  fixes  its  own  destiny, 
which  is  the  death  and  misery  of  hell. 
Sin,  too,  entails  a  terrible  "  reproach  " 
which  man  may  well  fear.  (1.)  The 
reproach  of  the  good.  (2. )  Self-reproach. 
An  active  conscience  will  not  let  the 
sinner  rest,  for  persisting  in  his  own 
destruction  and  wronging  his  Master 
and  his  Friend.  (3.)  The  reproach  of 
God.  God  reproaches  in  love  now. 
"What  iniquity  have  you  or  your 
fathers  found  in  Me  ? "  "  Why  will  ye 
die  ? "  But,  by  and  by,  in  anger  and 
judicially  will  He  utter  that  reproach 
which  shall  never  be  wiped  away,  and 
dismiss  the  sinner  to  "  shame  and  ever- 
lasting contempt." 

II.  That  the  only  safety  from  sin  and 
its  reproach  is  the  life  of  righteous- 
ness. 

1.  There  is  no  other  safety.  Watch- 
fulness and  resolution  may  save  us  from 


gross  and  palpable  sins  ;  pardon  may 
remove  its  guilt,  but  only  a  quickening 
in  the  divine  righteousness  can  save  us 
permanently  from  its  power. 

2.  With  this  we  are  secure.  God  does 
not  simply  cease  to  impute  sin.  He 
regenerates.  So  quickens,  that  sin  has 
no  more  dominion  over  us, — quickens 
us  in  a  new  mould,  so  that  we  "live 
unto  righteousness."  Thus  the  cause 
and  the  reproach  are  both  rolled  away, 
and  God's  approbation  secured, 

III.  That  the  danger  and  the 
safety  are  revealed  by  the  Word  of 
God.  "Thy  judgments  are  good."  Sin 
is  a  vague  consciousness,  and  its  conse- 
quences a  vague  dread  without  the  judg- 
ments of  God ;  and  nowhere  but  there 
do  we  read,  "  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the 
Gospel." 

IV.  That  the  danger  is  to  be  depre- 
cated, and  the  safety  sought  by  prayer. 
"  I  have  longed  after." 


Salvation. 
{Verses  41,  42.) 


The  primary  object  of  this  prayer  was 
doubtless  providential  deliverance.  The 
Psalmist  was  afflicted,  God  had  pro- 
mised deliverance.  He  trusted  in  that 
promise,  yet  salvation  stayed.  Now 
the  enemy  began  to  reproach,  "  Where 
is  now  thy  God  1"  This  led  to  the 
passionate  entreaty  of  our  text.  He 
prayed  for  salvation  that  he  might  give 
the  enemy  to  see  the  stability  of  "the 
confidence  wherein  he  trusted."  Learn 
that  salvation  is — 

L  The  outcome  of  the  divine  mer- 
cies. "  Let  Thy  mercies  .  .  .  even  Thy 
salvation."  Man  is  lost  and  ruined — 
has  lost  and  ruined  himself — not  by 
chance,  but  deliberately.  To  salvation, 
therefore,  he  can  lay  no  moral  claim. 
By  disobedience  and  rebellion  he  has  lost 
all  title  to  the  divine  regard.  He  can, 
therefore,  be  saved  only  by  an  act  of 
mercy.  But  his  sins  are  so  many,  and 
his  depravity  so  deep,  that  multiplied 
mercies  can  alone  meet  his  case.  So 
thought  the  Psalmist  when  he  said,  "Let 
Thy  mercies"  &c.  So  thought  God 
when  He  offered  to  "multiply  to  pardon." 
274 


So  we  must  think  when  we  consider  the 
wealth  and  variety  of  divine  grace :  the 
Mosaic  and  prophetic  dispensations,  the 
work  of  Christ,  the  operation  of  the 
Spirit,  the  Gospel  ministry,  and  the 
means  of  grace.  So  in  every  individual 
case,  forbearing,  prevenient,  saving, 
sanctifying  grace.  "  Not  according  to 
our  works,  but  according  to  His  own 
mercy." 

II.  Not  a  human  effort,  but  a  divine 
visitation.  "  Let  Thy  mercies  come 
unto  me."  Salvation  is  not  the  effort 
by  which  the  sinner  lifts  himself  out  of 
one  moral  atmosphere  into  another,  and 
loosens  his  hold  of  vice,  and  educates 
himself  into  virtue.  It  is  altogether  an 
act  of  God  upon  the  sinner,  and  an  act 
which,  beiijg  essentially  supernatural, 
does  not  admit  of  the  co-operation  of 
natural  agencies.  True,  these  are  con- 
ditions, but  repentance  and  faith  merely 
put  man  into  a  salvable  condition. 
"  Mine  own  arm  brought  salvation." 

III.  The  subject  of  divine  promise. 
"According  to  Thy  Word."  The  pro- 
mises of  salvation  in  God's  word  are  th« 


nOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALM  CXIX. 


most  numerous  and  the  mo&t  emphatic. 
It  is  the  subject  of  the  first  ptomise  and 
of  the  last. 

IV.  A  witness  to  the  steadfastness 
of  the  divine  word.  Professor  TyndalFs 
proposed  experiment  was  manifestly  un- 
fair. There  may  be  reasons,  however  in- 
scrutable, whereby  the  sovereign  of  the 
universe  may  see  fit  not  to  relieve  physi- 
cal affliction,  or  save  from  physical  death. 
Great  moral  purposes  may  be  in  the  pro- 
cess of  evolution,  and  for  their  accom- 
plishment individuals  may  have  to  be  re- 
moved to  another  sphere.  But  here  the 
challenge  may  be  taken  up.     Qod  has 


promised  to  save  on  the  condition  of  be- 
lieving prayer.  Let  the  vicious  try  it, 
pleading  God's  promises,  and  if  refor- 
mation does  not  follow  the  experiment 
has  failed.  But  it  has  been  tried,  and 
again  and  again  men  have  had  "  where- 
with to  answer"  them  that  reproached 
them.     Learn — 

(i.)  The  value  of  salvation.  The  mighty 
and  merciful  visitation  of  God.  (ii.)  The 
necessity  of  trusting  in  GocTs  Word  for 
salvation,  (iii.)  The  duty  of  the  public 
exhibition  of  that  salvation  for  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  reftUation  of  unbelief. 


PfiBAOHINa  AND  PrAOTIOK. 
(Verses  43,  44.) 


Observe  :— 

L  The  Psalmist's  prayer.  "Take 
not  the  word  of  truth  utterly  out  of 
my  mouth."  He  regards  it  both  as  a 
duty  and  a  privilege  to  declare  God's 
truth.  How  many,  alas,  forget  this  ob- 
ligation !  They  have  been  saved  them- 
selves through  hearing  and  obeying  this 
declaration,  and  that  is  their  only  con- 
cern. There  are  others  who  look  upon 
it  merely  as  a  burden  to  be  borne  with 
resignation.  God,  however,  would  have 
us  regard  the  command  to  testify  of  His 
grace  as  a  commandment  with  promise. 
We  must  preach  if  we  would  be  true  to 
our  convictions,  and  fulfil  the  divine 
plan  for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 
But  consider  the  honour  of  being  am- 
bassadors from  God,  the  blessedness  of 
conveying  the  tidings  of  God's  love  to 
sinful  and  sorrowing  men,  the  glor'y  of 
the  reward.  Let  this  therefore  be  every 
Christian's  prayer.  If  he  does  not  feel 
called,  let  him  pray  God  to  call  him. 
If  circumstances  render  the  practice  of 
this  duty  and  the  enjoyment  of  this 
privilege  difficult,  let  him  ask  that  the 
word  of  truth  may  not  be  taken  utterly 
out  of  his  mouth. 

IL  The  Psalmist's  purpose.  The 
Psalmist  felt  that  lip  service  alone  was 
a  mockery.  No  one  would  listen  to  a 
man  whose  practice  gave  the  lie  to  his 
preaching.  Ornate  eloquence,  profound 
learning,  or  subtle  logic  ure  useless  gifts 


if  the  life  be  wrong.  But  he  felt,  too, 
that  living  without  preaching  was  but 
mutilated  service ;  so  he  wishes  to  com* 
bine  the  two,  and  determines  to  make 
his  preaching  not  merely  subordinate  to 
his  practice,  but  helpful  to  it.  "aSo 
shall  I  keep  Thy  law."  What  ho 
preaches  to  others  he  will  preach  to 
himself.  He  will  water  others  and 
himself  at  the  same  time.  Preaching 
shall  strengthen  his  own  convictions 
and  promote  his  own  growth  in 
grace.  This  shall  be  not  occasional, 
but  continual  and  **  for  ever  and 
ever." 

m.  The  Psalmist's  consolation.  "  I 
have  hoped  in  Thy  judgments." 

1.  In  the  strength  of  this  consolation 
he  goes  to  God  in  prayer.  He  felt  that 
God's  judgments  were  his  only  hope. 
He  prayed  that  he  might  preach  thens 
and  keep  them  lest  that  hope  should 
die. 

2.  This  consolation  is  the  strength  of 
all  powerful  preaching.  A  man  who 
is  not  hopeful  cannot  preach  at  alL 
But  if  a  man  has  a  well-founded  hope 
on  the  power  of  God's  Word,  and  in 
the  efiects  of  its  proclamation,  he  must 
preach,  and  his  preaching  will  be  intense 
and  successful. 

3.  This  consolation  is^  the  power  of 
holy  living.  Unless  a  man  has  a  strong 
hope  that  the  basis  on  which  he  stands 
is  strong  and  enduring,  and  that  the 

27^ 


nALM  CXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


end  at  which  he  is  aiming  is  attainable,  God's  judgments  he  will  be  sure  that 
he  Will  all  his  lifetime  be  the  subject  he  is  on  a  rock,  and  that  success  will 
of  anxious  fears.     But  if  he  hopes  in      attend  all  his  efforts. 

Freed  OIL 
(Verse  45.) 


Nothing  is  more  precious  or  desir- 
able than  liberty.  Yet  there  is  no- 
thing about  which  men  make  more 
mistakes,  or  enjoy  so  little.  What 
passes  for  liberty  is  frequently  the 
basest  servitude.  And  what  men  call 
thraldom  is  often  the  finest  liberty. 
Notice — 

L  That  man's  natural  condition  is 
one  of  bondage.  He  has  deliberately 
resigned  and  rejected  his  title  to  liberty 
by  transgressing  the  terms  on  which  it 
is  based.  Scripture  everywhere  repre- 
sents the  unredeemed  man  as  sold  under 
sin,  led  captive  by  the  devil,  desiring 
good  but  unable  to  reach  it.  This 
bondage  is  painful  and  degrading  in 
its  nature,  and  terrible  in  its  conse- 
quences. 

II.  That  man  walks  at  liberty  when 
he  seeks  and  finds  God's  precepts. 
God's  Word  is  the  charter  of  man's  free- 
dom. 

1.  It  defines  true  liberty.  The  sub- 
ordination of  the  soul  to  God  (James  i. 
25).  The  soul  is  free  only  when  it 
moves  unhampered  in  that  sphere  where 
its  true  interests  lie.     Restraints  are  not 


laid  on  the  soul,  but  on  those  passions 
and  preferences  which  hinder  its  full 
activity.  When  a  command  is  imposed 
upon  it,  it  is  implied  that  its  breach  or 
negligence  would  militate  against  our 
freedom. 

2.  It  confers  true  liberty.  It  is  the 
only  revelation  of  the  great  redemption, 
and  alone  shows  how  through  the  death 
of  Christ  and  the  work  of  the  Spirit  we 
may  enjoy  the  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God. 

III.  That  man  walks  permanently 
and  securely  at  liberty  only  as  long  as 
he  seeks  and  finds  God's  precepts. 

1.  They  must  be  sought  and  found  by 
God! 8  help,  for  they  are  God's  precepts. 

2.  They  must  be  applied  by  God^s 
grace. 

3.  Their  requirements  must  be  rigidly 
kept. 

In  conclusion.— (i.)  The  excJutnge  of 
servitude  for  freedom  is  an  exchange  of 
masters  and  an  exchange  of  services. 
(ii.)  Serve  the  new  Master  who  has 
emancipated  you  from  a  terrible  tyranny 
with  the  same  diligence  as  you  did  your 
old. 


Bible  Duties. 


{Vers. 

L  To  seek  for  it.  If  we  seek  for  the 
word  of  God  literally,  or  for  that  word 
which  has  special  reference  to  us  in 
given  circumstances,  we  shall  find  it. 

II.  To  meditate  upon  it.  Finding 
it,  our  first  duty  is  to  see  what  it  is, 
what  it  means,  what  it  is  for,  and  to 
make  it  subserve  those  circumstances 
which  led  to  our  search  for  it.  Medi- 
tation does  all  these. 

Ill  To  love  it.  Meditation  will 
show  its  infinite  beneficence  and  beauty, 
its  exact  suitability  to  the  needs  and 
aspirations  of  the  soul,  instruction  for 
the  mind,  direction  for  the  will,  cleans- 

27e 


45-48.) 

ing  for  the  heart,  guidance  for  the  life, 
comfort  for  affliction,  strength  for  duty, 
peace  for  distraction,  hope  for  death, 
and  will  beget  as  it  must,  love. 

IV.  To   delight   in   it.      The   heart 
that  loves  the  Word  will  delight  in  it  ; 
(Ps.  i.  2,  cxi.  1  ;  Rom.  vii.  22).     Thus  ( 
the  study  and  practice  of  God's  Word  1 
is  not  a  matter  of  dry  duty,  but  of  joy.  ? 
Who  can  help  rejoicing  in  that  which  is ' 
the  revelation  of  God's  character,  will,  | 
helpfulness,  redemption,  heaven?     Let' 
the   soul  love  these  revelations  and  it 
will  delight  in  them. 

V.  Not  to  be  ashamed  of  it.     Su9- 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OZIZ. 


picion  and  dislike  are  at  the  root  of 
shame.  Those  who  suspect  the  autho- 
rity or  dislike  the  teaching  of  the  Word 
of  God  are  ashamed  of  it.  But  those 
who  delight  in  it  say,  "  God  forbid  that 
I  should  glory,"  <fec.  What  are  the 
promises  or  laws  or  dignities  of  earthly 
monarchs  in  comparison  with  it  ?  Even 
the  reproach  of  Christ  is  greater  riches 
than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  We  who 
delight  in  God's  commandment  are  not 
ashamed  to  stand  with  Moses  before 
Pharaoh,  Daniel  in  Babylon,  Peter  and 
John  in  the  presence  of  the  Sanhedrin, 
and  Paul  at  Caesar's  bar. 

VI.  To  earnestly  practise  it.  What 
we  are  not  ashamed  of  we  should  "  lift 
up  our  hands  to."  It  is  not  enough  to 
seek,  find,  meditate,  love,  delight,  and 
glory  in  God's  Word.  The  servant  who 
knew  his  ^^rd's  will  but  did  it  not  was 


beaten  with  many  stripes.  "  If  ye  know 
these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them "  (1  John  ii.  4 ;  James  i.  22). 
Everything  depends  upon  this.  If  we 
do  not  practise  God's  commandment 
with  both  hands  earnestly,  our  ardour 
will  cool,  our  love  diminish,  our  medi- 
tation cease,  and  our  Bible  be  with- 
drawn. But  if  we  practise  it,  our 
weakness  and  ignorance  will  drive  us 
to  its  wisdom  and  strength,  finding 
which  our  affections  will  be  stirred  and 
our  delight  and  boasting  stimulated. 

In  conclusion. — Seek  God's  Word 
diligently.  While  you  are  musing  on 
it,  let  the  fire  burn.  That  fire  will 
kindle  joy.  That  joy  will  give  us  holy 
boldness  before  princes  and  governors, 
and  help  us  in  the  prosaic  application 
and  practice  of  it  in  our  daily  life. 


ikFFLIOTION:  ITS    CoMFORTS,  DuTIES,  AND   DANGERS. 

{Verses  49-53.) 


Notice — 

I.  That  God's  servants  are  permitted 
to  suffer  affliction.  This  Psalm,  the 
whole  Bible,  and  all  experience  testifies 
to  this.  "  They  that  are  godly  in  the 
world  shall  suff'er  persecution."  The 
glorified  "  have  come  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation."    "  Ye  shall  have  tribulation^ 

1.  These  afflictions  are  aggravated  hy^ 
or  in  some  cases  mainly  consist  in,  the  deri- 
sion of  ungodly  men  (ver,  51).  "They 
ridiculed  him,  bantered  him,  did  all  they 
could  to  expose  him  to  contempt ;  they 
laughed  at  him  for  praying  and  called  it 
eantf  for  his  seriousness  and  called  it 
mopishnesSj  for  his  strictness  and  called 
it  needless  preciseness.  They  were  the 
proud  who  sat  in  the  scorners'  seat  and 
valued  themselves  in  so  doing.  —  M, 
Henry, 

2.  Whether  despised  or  not^  the  godly 
man  is  always  afflicted  hy  the  prevalence 
of  sin  (ver.  53).  *'  The  LXX.  render  the 
word  aiu/Miotjhy  "depression;"  Arab,  and 
Syr.,  "sadness  ;"  Jerome,  "horror;"  Cal- 
vin, "terror."  (See  Ps.  xi.  6.)  "Probably 
a  burning  wind  or  simoom  is  meant, 
which  scorches  up  and  destroys  vegeta- 
tion in  a  moment ;  and,  metoph.,  a  sharp 


penetrating  pain  or  horror." — Speaker t 
Com.  Other  aspects  of  affliction  are  as 
nothing  when  compared  with  man's 
treatment  of  God  and  His  Word.  A 
sure  mark  of  grace  is  extreme  sensitive 
ness  to  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin. 

IL  That  God  has  special  comforts 
for  His  afflicted  servants. 

1.  His  ivord  is  the  repertory  of  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises  for 
those  who  are  in  affliction.  All  our  vicis- 
situdes are  divinely  provided  for.  "  I 
remember  Thy  j  udgments  of  old."  God 
does  not  wait  for  His  servants'  extremi- 
ties. The  provision  for  them  is  antedated 
by  eternity.  When  the  believer  goes  to 
the  Word  of  God  he  finds  waiting  for 
him  all  he  wants. 

2.  His  Word  quickens  (ver.  50).  The 
worst  feature  of  affliction  is  the  exhaus- 
tion it  engenders,  and  that  is  intensified 
sometimes  by  the  thought  that  it  is  hope- 
less. But  God  tells  us  that  our  sickness 
is  not  unto  death,  and  thus  immortal 
hope  and  new  life  are  kindled  in  the 
breast. 

III.  That  affliction  should  lead  us  to 
call  upon  God  to  fulfil  His  promises 

377 


MALM  OnZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


1.  We  should  plead  tJie  promise  itself. 
This  is  an  appeal  to  God's  faithfulness. 
We  must  go  to  God's  Word  to  find  what 
promise  meets  our  case  and  then  plead 
it.  Is  our  case  that  of  sinners  :  God's 
promise  is  to  abundantly  pardon.  Dis- 
tress :  God  has  promised  peace.  Dark- 
ness :  light.     Pain  :  sufficient  grace. 

2.  We  should  plead  the  hope  that  the 
promise  has  excited.  This  is  an  appeal 
to  the  divine  justice  and  goodness.  If 
God  could  give  rise  to  groundless  expec- 
tations, all  faith  in  Him  would  fail. 
This  we  know  to  be  impossible. 

3.  We  should  plead  God's  fulfilled 
promises  and  ma  n '«  answered  hopes.  "The 
Psalmist  remembered  that  the  principles 
of  the  divine  administration  were  always 
the  same."  In  the  trials  of  life,  <fec.,  it 
is  well  for  us  to  think  of  the  unchanging 
principles  which  mark  the  divine  deal- 
ings. Under  such  an  administration 
those  who  trust  in  God  must  be  safe. 


IV.  That  affliction  should  not  lead 
us  to  decline  from  God's  law  (ver.  51). 

1.  Pain  should  not  lead  us  to  doubt 
God's  goodness.  Pain  is  not  an  evil  in 
itself.  The  physician  and  parent  have 
often  to  inflict  pain. 

2.  Adversity  should  not  lead  us  to 
swerve  from  our  principles.  Remember 
the  compensations.  It  is  something  to 
suffer  for  the  right.  God  is  always  on 
the  side  of  the  right.  God  will  always 
reward  the  right 

3.  Derision  should  not  lead  us  from 
an  open  avowal  of  our  piety  (Ps.  xliv. 
12-22).  This  is  a  temptation  to  which 
the  young  are  most  susceptible.  Many 
a  man  can  face  death  who  quails  before 
sarcasm.  Peter.  Happy  the  man  in 
the  scoffing  world  who  can  say,  "  I  have 
not  declined  from  Thy  law." 

In  conclusion. — (James  i.  2-5;  1 
Peter  i  6,  7 ;   Rom.  v.  3,  etc.). 


The  Earthly  Pilgrimage  and  the  Heavenly  Songs. 

(Verse  64.) 


"When  the  Eastern  traveller  takes 
shelter  from  the  scorching  heat  or  halts 
for  the  night  at  some  caravansary  which 
is  for  the  time  the  house  of  his  pilgrim- 
age, he  soothes  his  rest  with  a  song — a 
song  it  may  be  of  war,  romance,  or  love. 
But  the  poet  of  Israel  finds  his  theme  in 
the  statutes  of  Jehovah.  These  have 
been  my  pastime,  with  these  I  have 
refreshed  myself  onward  through  the 
wearisome  journey,  and  across  the  scorch- 
ing deserts  of  life.  Not  songs  of  old 
tradition,  <kc.,  have  supported  me,  but 
these  have  been  the  solace  of  my  weary 
hours  and  the  comfort  of  my  rest." — 
Bushnell. 

I.  God's  people  are  on  a  pilgrimage. 

1.  They  have  here  no  continuing  city 
(Heb.  xiii.  14).  This  life  is  but  the  pas- 
sage of  the  soul  to  its  eternal  inheritance. 
All  things  here  are  fleeting,  are  partaken 
of  in  haste,  while  the  traveller  is  moving 
onward.  All  things  change,  avocations, 
pleasures,  friends,  <fcc.,  but  this,  that  we 
are  journeying  to  the  grave. 

2.  They  have  here  no  home.  They 
sojourn  here   for  a  time.     Soon   they 

278 


strike  their  tents  for  the  last  time  and 
enter  into  their  rest.  All  the  journey  is 
characterised  by  the  discomfort  incident 
to  homelessness.  There  is  nothing  to 
give  harmony,  satisfaction,  or  repose. 

.3.  They  are  ever  seeking  their  country 
and  their  home.  This  implies  patient 
employment  of  the  means  at  their  dis- 
posal ;  the  temporary  rests  and  refresh- 
ments of  the  way ;  the  supports  and 
charts  of  the  way  ;  and  the  companions 
of  the  way. 

4.  This  being  the  case  they  are  not 
ashamed  of  the  character  of  strangers  and 
pilgrims  fhut  glory  in  it.  There  is  nothing 
here  worthy  of  their  inheritance  (John 
XV.  19,  1  Peter  iv.  4). 

n.  Delightful  provisions  are  made 
for  God's  people  on  their  pilgrimage. 
"Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs." 
"  Multitudes  of  men  have  a  very  diffe- 
rent conception  of  this  matter.  Divine 
law,  divine  obligation,  responsibility  in 
any  form,  authority  under  any  conditions, 
they  feel  to  be  a  real  annoyance."— 
Bushnell.  God's  statutes  are  delightful 
nevertheless,  because — 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS,  psalm  cxix. 


1.  They  clearly  reveal  the  end  of  our  chart  which  maps  out  every  day's  march, 
journey.  While  other  books  give  only  and  indicates  every  danger,  and  follow- 
dim  hopes  or  shrewd  guesses,  God's  ing  which  it  is  impossible  to  go  astray. 
Word  is  most  explicit.  It  is  full  of  as-  3.  They  contain  the  history  of  our 
surances  of  our  future  home.  It  tells  ancestors  and  fellow-countrymen  who 
us  of  its  many  mansions,  its  splendid  have  gone  the  way  before  us  and  have 
cities,  its  wide  domain,  its  freedom  from  entered  into  rest,  and  encourage  us  to 
sin,  pain,  and  death  ;  its  Fatherly  Sove-  emulate  their  patience  and  heroism. 
reign ;  and  of  the  joys  which  are  at  His  (Heb.  vi.  12,  xii.  1). 

right  hand  for  evermore.  4.  They  contain  the  precious  promises ; 

2.  They  contain  directions  how  we  may  assure  of  the  leadership  and  companionr 
reach  our  journey's  end.  It  is  no  small  ship  of  God  ;  provide  comfort  for  the 
joy  amidst  the  questionable  maxims  and  anxiety,  and  solace  for  the  pain,  w«  meet 
the  halting  speculations  of  the  world  to  with  by  the  way. 

have  a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place,  a 

The  Nightly  Occupations  op  the  GJodlt. 
(rmw55,  62,  148.) 

That  God  has   given  the  light  is  a         3.   With  joy  (ver.  62). 
reason  why  we  should  dedicate  the  day  HI.  Why  these  duties  are  to  be  per- 

to  Him  and  make  Him  the  end  of  all  formed. 

our  active  services.     But  God  has  also  1.  Night  is  most  suitable  for  projit- 

given  the  night,  and  that   blessing   of  able  meditation  on  the   Word   of  God. 

blessings,  sleep.     Should   not   that   be  Amidst  the  distraction  of  worldly  cai  es 

recognised,  and  at  its  appropriate  season  1  the  mind  is  unfitted  for  the  sustained 

The  Psalmist  thought  so  and  then  medi-  effort  that  is  required, 
tated  on  God's  Word,  remembered  God's  2.  Night  is  most  suitable  for  remem- 

name,  and  rose  to  give  thanks  to  Him.  bering  God's  name.     The  mind  is  then 

L  The  duties  of  the  night.  unoccupied.     The  bustle   of  life  often 

1.  Meditation  on  God's  Word,     Mea-  drives  away  thoughts  of  God. 

suring  by  that  the  actions  of  the  day,  and  3.  Night  is  most  suitable  for  thanJcs- 

composing  our  thoughts  for  the  night.  giving.     The    time    most    suitable    to 

2.  Remembrance    of    God's    name ;  thought  is  most  suitable  for  gratitude, 
who  has  preserved  us  during  the  day,  IV.  These  nightly   occupations   will 
and  under  whose  protection  we  hope  to  prepare  us  for  the  exercise  of  daUy 
be  preserved  during  the   darkness  and  duties. 

solitude  of  the  night.  1.  Nightly  meditation  will  prepare  us 

3.  Celebration  of  God's  praise.  Thank-  for  daily  obedience.  The  task  learned 
fulness  for  the  blessings  of  both  seasons,  overnight  will  be  easily  repeated  on  the 

II.  How  these  duties  are  to  be  per-  following  day. 
formed.  2.  Nightly  remembrance  of  God  will 

1.    With  alacrity  (ver.  148).  stimulate  daily  thoughts  about  Him. 
^  2.    With   selfforgetfulness.     At   mid-  3.     Nightly    thanksgiving  will  be  a 

night.     Remembering   only   the  grati-  healthy  preparation  for  the  recognitum  of 

tude  we  owe  to  God.  daily  mercies. 

The  Blessings  of  Obedience. 
{Verse  5^,) 

Some    expositors    refer   the    ''  this  "  haps,  to  view  the  expression  indefinitely. 

literally  to  the  blessings  enumerated  in  Taking   a  review  of  his  whole    ezperi- 

the  preceding  verses.     It  is  better,  per-  ence,  the  Psalmist  bursts  out  in  the  joy- 

279 


PSALM  CXIX. 


ffOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


ful  exclamation,  "All  is  mine,  because 
I  kept  Thy  precepts."  The  evangelical 
results  of  obedience  are — 

I.  Protection  in  the  further  course  of 
obedience  (Ps.  xxxi.  19,  20  ;  Job  i.  10  ; 
Zech.  ii.  5). 

II.  As  much  of  success  in  life  as  God 
may  see  good  for  us  (Matt.  vi.  33  ;  Ps. 
Ixxxiv.  11). 

III.  Gracious  manifestations  of  God's 


presence  and  favour  (Ps.  xvii.  16  ;  John 
xiv.  21). 

IV.  Growth   in  grace  (Ps.  Ixxxiv. 
7  ;   Prov.  iv.  18  ;  Rom.  vi.  19). 

V.  Peace.    Verse  165.     (Isa.  xxxii. 
17;  Gal.  vi.  16;  Phil.  iv.  8.) 

VI.  Joy.     Verse    14.     (Rom.    v.    2, 
xiv.  17.) 

VII.  Heaven  (Rev.  ill) 


The  Soul's  Portion. 
(Verses  57,  58.) 


L  What    the    soul's    portion    is. 

"  Thou  art  my  portion,  O  Lord."  Not 
His  ordinances,  or  Word,  or  Church,  or 
anything  about  Him,  or  from  Him,  but 
Himself.  Heb.,  "Jehovah  (is)  my  por- 
tion, i,c.,mine  inheritance  more  precious 
than  any  other."  (See  Ps.  xvi.  5, 
cxiii.  5  ;  Josh.  xvii.  14,  xviii.  10.) 
The  soul's  portion  is — 

1.  Accessible  with  them  who  are  of  a 
contrite  heart. 

2.  Ever  present     "  Lo,  I  am   with 
you  alway." 

3.  Unchanging.     "  The  same  yester- 
day, to-day,  and  for  ever." 

4.  Soul-satisfying.     "  In  Thy  presence 
is  fulness  of  joy." 

5.  Eternal  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  26). 

IL  How  the  soul's  portion  is  at- 


tained.    "  I  entreated  Thy  face  (Heb.  ) 
with  my  whole  heart." 

1.  Not  by  bribes  of  benevolence.      But 

2.  By  earnest  supplication. 

3.  By  the  undivided  aspirations  of  our 
whole  nature. 

4.  By  the  effective  pleading  of  the 
divine  promise^  "  According  to  Thy 
word." 

in.  On  what  grounds  the  soul's 
portion  is  given.     *'  Be  merciful,"  (fee. 

1 .  Not  on  the  ground  of  merit.      But 

2.  On  the  ground  of  the  divine  mercy, 

3.  On  the  ground  of  the  divine  pro- 
mise. 

IV.  For  what  purpose  the  soul'i 
portion  is  vouchsafed  (ver.  57). 

1.  Consecration,  "  I  have  said." 

2.  Obedience,  **  I  will  keep  Thy  words." 


The  Heavenly  Road. 
(TersM  59-61.) 


The  author  of  this  Psalm  reviews 
the  way  in  which  God  had  been  lead- 
ing him.  He  looks  back  on  the  time 
when  he  was  on  another  road,  and  con- 
templates with  gratitude  the  thought 
which  induced  him  to  change  his  des- 
tiny. Having  changed  the  tenor  of  his 
ways,  he  sped  with  joyful  haste  along 
the  path  of  God's  commandments  and 
was  not  driven  therefrom  by  the  malice 
of  his  foes.     These  words  suggest — 

I.  That  man  is  naturally  in  the 
wrong  way.     "  I  thought  on  my  ways." 

1.  The  ijorong  way  is  a  hard  way. 
"The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard." 
Christian  men  are  too  prone  to  complain 
280 


of  the  difficulties  of  God's  way.  Let  them 
think  of  the  perils  they  have  escaped. 

2.  The  wrong  way  is  an  unsatisfying 
way.  No  sinner  can  give  a  reasonable 
account  of  himself.  To  speak  of  its 
pleasures  or  profits  is  but  irony.  They 
are  husks  which  the  swine  do  eat. 

3.  It  is  a  ruinous  way.  It  wears 
out  the  spiritual  energies,  and  leads  to 
everlasting  destruction. 

4.  It  is  a  selfish  way. 

5.  It  is  a  way  peculiar  to  the  indi- 
vidual transgressor.  "  We  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  own  way." 

II.  That  reflection  will  lead  men 
into  the  right    way.     **I  thought." 


IIOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXUL 


Sin  is  a  reckless  absence  of  thought. 
In  order  to  sin,  a  man  cannot,  must  not, 
think.  The  sinner  is  beside  himself,  and, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Prodigal,  when  he 
comes  to  himself  and  contemplates  his 
own  misery  and  degradation,  and  the 
comfort  and  honours  of  his  father's  house, 
be  turns  his  feet  in  a  homeward  direction. 
III.  That  the  choice  of  the  right 
way  must  be  followed  by  a  deliberate 
change  of  habit.  "  A 1 1  d  tu  m  ed  my  feet. " 
"  He  does  not  say  mat  he  waited  for  God 
to  turn  him,  or  that  he  could  not  turn  of 
himself.  Man  is  always  active  in  con- 
version. He  changes,  repents,  believes, 
turns,  not  God.  It  is  indeed  by  the  grace 
and  help  of  God, — but  the  effect  of  that 
grace  is  not  to  make  him  idly  wait ;  it 
is  to  rouse  him  to  act" — Barnes, 


IV.  That  the  right  way  is  to  be 
pursued  with  alacrity.  *'  I  made  haste." 

1.  Much  time  has  been  lost. 

2.  Many  dangers  are  pursuing, 

3.  Much  has  to  he  done  ere  we  reach 
the  end,  and  the  day  is  far  s{)ent. 

V.  That  this  alacrity  is  not  to  be 
lessened  by  the  dangers  and  privations 
of  the  road  (ver.  61).  Tlie  surrounding 
perils,  so  far  from  discouraging  us,  should 
hasten  us.  Does  the  dispoiled  traveller 
sit  down  and  bemoan  his  losses  when  he 
knows  his  home  is  in  sight  1  No,  he 
hastens  on,  lest  worse  accidents  should 
happen  him.  So  let  our  losses  and  dan- 
gers drive  us  nearer  to  God,  and  quicken 
our  pace  towards  that  heavenly  country 
"where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor 
steal." 


The  Communion  op  Saints. 
(Verse  63.) 


Man  is  a  social  creature.  God  has  said, 
**  It  is  not  good  for  men  to  be  alone  " 
(Eccl.  iv.  9-12).  For  the  purposes  of 
mutual  help  God  has  set  the  solitary  in 
families.  This  being  the  case  for  the 
promotion  of  spiritual  life  man  should 
not  rush  into  monasticism,  but  should 
seek  fellowship  with  those  with  whom 
he  has  moral  affinity  (Rom.  i.  11,  12). 
This  can  be  safely  neglected  by  none. 
Our  text  suggests — 

I.  That  religious  communion  must 
have  a  religious  basis.  The  fear  of  God 
and  the  keeping  of  His  precepts. 

1.  The  Bible  knows  of  no  basis  thai  is 
not  in  some  sense  theological.  The  fear 
of  God  implies  a  belief  in  the  person  to 
be  feared.  We  cannot  fear  an  abstrac- 
tion, or  a  **  stream  or  tendency  which 
works  for  righteousness,"  nor  love  it, 
which  indeed  is  included  in  that  fear. 
To  keep  God's  precepts  is  to  believe  in 
their  divine  inspiration  and  authority, 
or  we  shall  deem  keeping  them  optional. 
To  fear  God  necessitates  fearing  Him 
through  the  divinely-appointed  means, 
through  the  grace  of  Christ  and  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  we  keep 
God's  ])recepts  we  must  not  omit  those 
which  demand  a  full  intellectual  assent 
to  certain  doctrines.  It  is  impossible 
for  the  man  who  believes  that  the  only 


way  to  the  Father  is  through  Christ,  to 
worship  with  the  Unitarian  or  the  Deist. 
It  is  impossible  for  the  man  who  when 
he  prays  believes  it  is  with  the  help  of  the 
Spirit,  to  pray  with  the  man  who  believes 
in  no  such  Spirit.  To  do  so  argues  either 
hypocrisy  on  the  one  hand,  or  the  sup- 
pression of  cherished  convictions  on  the 
other.  "  What  part  hath  he  that  be- 
lieveth  with  the  infidel  ]  " 

2.  The  Bible  knows  of  no  basis  thai 
is  not  practically  religious.  Profession 
without  practice  is  everywhere  sternly 
condemiied.  There  are  no  words  in  the 
whole  Bible  stronger  than  those  used  by 
St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthian  Church  for 
its  admission  of  a  known  profligate  to 
its  communion.  The  original  covenant 
with  the  Jews  was  on  the  condition  of 
their  "  circumspection  "  and  their  separa- 
tion from  the  people  and  customs  among 
whom  they  lived.  Greed  and  conduct^ 
therefore,  is  the  broad  basis  for  the  com- 
munion of  saints, 

II.  That  religious  communion  is  the 
spiritual  intercourse  between  spiri- 
tual men,  and  between  spiritual  men 
and  God,  through  the  divinely-ap- 
pointed means.     It  involves — 

1 .  The  common  profession  of  a  common 
faith  and  obedience.  Christian  faith, 
salvation,  love  and  service,  are  common  to 

281 


PSALM  OZIX. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


all  believers,   and  form  the  bonds  by 
which  Christendom  holds  together. 

2.  Common  communion  with  a  common 
Godf  through  a  common  Saviour,  by 
means  of  the  help  of  a  common  Spirit. 

3.  Participation  in  a  common  lot 
(Rev.  i.  9).  In  its  fullest  extent  it 
involves  a  communion  of  suffering  as 
well  as  of  fellowship  (Rom.  xii.  15  j 
Heb.  X.  33,  xi.  25). 

4.  The  exercise  of  a  common  spiritual 
help  (Ps.  XV.  4,  xvi.  2  ;  Rom.  i.  12). 

III.  That  religious  communion  is 
reasonable  and  natural,  when  on  this 
basis,  e.y.y 


1.  Religious  men  are  members  of  the 
family  of  God.  They  are  begotten  by 
the  same  Father,  regenerated  by  the 
same  Spirit,  share  the  same  life,  are 
washed  in  the  same  blood,  and  are 
travelling  to  the  same  heaven. 

2.  The  inclinations  of  the  members  of 
this  family  all  flow  in  this  direction 
(1  Thess.  iv.  9  ;  1  John  v.  1). 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Religious  com- 
munion is  necessary  to  maintain  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,  (ii.)  Reli' 
gious  communion  is  profitable  as  promoU 
ing  the  interests  of  charity  and  growth 
in  grace. 


God's  Goodness  :  Its  Nature  and  its  Relation  to  Prayer  and  Life, 

(Jerses  64,  ^^,  68.) 


L  The  nature  of  the  divine  good- 
ness. 

1.  It  is  dimne.  **  Thou  art  good." 
God  is  good  in  Himself.  All  the  attri- 
butes of  love,  truth,  and  justice,  which 
go  to  make  up  perfect  goodness,  inhere 
in  Him. 

2.  It  is  operative.  "  Thou  doest  good." 
It  is  not  a  negative  or  passive  goodness  ; 
it  is  positive  and  active.  God  is  good 
in  (1 )  Creation.  "  The  eartii  is  full  of 
Thy  mercy."  No  perfection  is  more 
resplendently  exhibited  in  the  universe 
than  this,  and  the  universe  teems  with 
its  manifestation.  The  cheering  sun, 
the  shining  stars,  the  singing  birds,  the 
waving  corn  all  proclaim  that  the  earth 
is  full  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord. 
(2)  In  human  experience.  The  course 
of  individual  history  tells  the  same  tale. 
His  wings  have  overshadowed  us,  His 
arm  has  upheld  us,  and  into  our  hearts 
He  has  caused  to  flow  the  ceaseless  bene- 
dictions of  His  grace.  Well  may  we 
say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Thou  hast  dealt 
well  with  Thy  servant."  (3)  In  th€ 
Word.  This  is  the  one  theme  of  all  the 
precepts  and  all  the  promises.  All  our 
wants  are  there  anticipated  and  fully 
met.  There  is  light  for  our  understand- 
ing, government  for  our  will,  cleansing 
for  our  conscience,  guidance  for  our  life, 
help  for  our  weakness,  comfort  for  our 
trouble,  God  for  our  portion,  and  heaven 
for  our  home, 

282 


II.  These  views  of  the  divine  good- 
ness encourage  us  to  pray. 

1.  Without  them  prayer  would  be  im^ 
possible.     To  be  uncertain  about  God,  or 

to  know  Him  only  as  indifferent  or  im-  1 
placable,  would  stifle  prayer.  Prayer 
implies  confidence,  freedom  of  access, 
expectation  of  answer.  But  we  should 
not  be  so  foolish  as  to  approach  one 
whom  we  were  sure  could  not  or  would 
not  hear  us,  or  so  courageous  if  we  knew 
He  would  frown  upon  us  or  spurn  us. 

2.  But  with  this  assurance  we  have  a 
sure  ground  for  confidence  and  expecta- 
tion, and  a  mighty  plea.  God  is  good, 
and  does  good  to  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
the  grass  of  the  field  ;  shall  He  not  much 
more  be  good  to  us  1  Plead  His  good- 
ness, His  promise  to  do  good,  and  you 
will  not  plead  in  vain. 

III.  Our  prayer,  based  upon  such 
sure  warrant  and  such  glad  encourage- 
ment, should  be  of  the  largest  kind 
and  for  the  best  things.  We  cannot 
ask  too  much,  for  our  text  tells  us  that 
God  is  willing  as  well  as  able  to  supply 
all  our  need.     "  Teach  me  Thy  statutes 

.  .  .  good  judgment  and  knowledge." 
The  Psalmist  felt  that  instruction  was 
the  best  thing  to  be  desired,  and  he 
prayed  to  be  instructed  in  the  best  things, 
1.  God's  statutes.  The  Bible  is  the 
best  book,  because  "  given  by  inspiration 
of  God,  and  profitable,"  <fec.  Some 
books  are  good,  others  bad,  others  in- 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALII  OXIZ. 


different.  He  prays  therefore  that  the 
contents  of  this  best  book  may  be  ex- 
pounded to  him  by  their  true  interpreter. 
2.  Good  judgment  This  is  another  of 
the  best  things  to  which  all  should 
aspire.  To  bad  judgment  may  be  traced 
all  the  evils  that  are  in  the  world,  and 
to  good  judgment  all  that  is  good.  A 
good  judgment  will  (1)  Accurately  dis- 
tinguish between  truth  and  error,  good 
and  evil  (1  Cor.  ii.  15,  x.  16 ;  Heb.  v. 
14).  (2)  Determine  and  decide  (Ps. 
zxziz.  1 ;  Acts  xi.  23  j  2  Tim.  iii.  10). 


(3)  Guide  in  the  right  direction^  which  is 
indeed  its  main  end  and  use  (Ps.  1.  23) 

3.  Knowledge.  God's  statutes  are  the 
sources  of  true  and  saving  knowledge. 
Good  judgment  will  guide  us  to  them, 
and  apply  them,  digest  them,  and  use 
them.  Upon  these  three  things  thus 
hang  all  spiritual  good.  Having  these 
all  the  rest  will  follow. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Entertain  large 
views  of  God^i  goodness,  (ii.)  Gome  for 
the  provisions  of  thai  goodness  with  large 
petitions. 


The  Purpose  and  Benefit  of  Afpliotion. 
(Verses  67,  71.) 


At  first  sight  we  are  startled  by  the 
apparent  contradiction,  good  to  be 
afflicted.  Good  to  be  afflicted  because 
driven  to  the  painstaking  study  of  a 
book  whose  revelations  humble  us  and 
imposes  further  hardships  ?  Good  be- 
cause driven  from  having  our  own  way 
to  walking  in  God's?  Even  so  a 
storm  drives  a  vessel  into  harbour  when 
she  should  be  nearing  her  destination, 
and  the  sailors  deem  that  storm  a 
calamity.  Not  so  ;  they  find  while  in 
the  harbour  a  leak  that  would  have 
given  them  a  watery  grave,  and  there 
they  repair  the  leak,  and  then  proceed 
on  their  way.  It  was  good  for  them  to 
be  afflicted.  So  God  tosses  us  in  a  sea 
of  trouble  to  drive  us  to  the  harbour  of 
His  Word,  where  our  defects  may  be 
ascertained  and  remedied.  A  traveller 
bent  n[i()n  a  given  destination,  through 
forgetl Illness,  or  self-conceit,  or  indo- 
lence, neglects  to  consult  either  way- 
farers or  charts.     He  resumes  his  way. 


but  still  blindly  pushes  on.  He  meets 
with  an  accident,  and  can  go  no  further 
f(^r  the  time.  Was  that  a  calamity  1 
No.  It  brought  him  to  his  senses. 
Now  he  examines  his  chart,  makes  in- 
quiries, and  finds  that  he  is  on  the 
wrong  road,  and  can  never  that  way 
reach  his  journey's  end.  It  was  good 
for  him  to  be  afflicted.  So  a  man  errs 
from  the  way  of  happiness,  the  way  of 
truth,  the  way  of  his  true  destiny,  the 
way  of  God.  The  Bible  is  too  dry  for 
him,  how  can  he  with  his  sublime 
genius  condescend  to  examine  its  tedi- 
ous details  ?  Ah  !  that  book  is  the  only 
itinerary  to  heaven.  He  goes  madly  on 
till  he  comes  to  disaster  and  to  ruin. 
Til  en  he  is  glad  to  consult  that  book, 
and  then  he  finds  how  far  he  has  gone 
wrong  and  how  he  may  get  right. 
Truly  may  such  use  these  words,  "  It 
is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted. 
Before  that  I  went  astray  :  but  now  have 
I  kept  Thy  word." 


Contrasts  and  Compensations. 


(Verses  69,  70.) 

The  lesson  to  be  learned  here  is  the 
old  one,  "  Things  are  not  what   they 
There    was   a   great    contrast 


seem. 


between  the  Psalmist  and  his  perse- 
cutors, to  all  appearances  in  favour  of 
the  latter.  They  were  in  a  position 
which  lifted  them  up  with  pride ;  he  in 
a  position   which    cast   him   down   in 


sorrow.  But  below  the  surface  the  con- 
trast is  reversed.  Their  heart  was  as 
fat  as  grease,  unsusceptible  to  spiritual 
impressions,  and  incapable  of  spiritual 
enjoyment.  He  had  both  the  appetite 
and  the  privileges,  for  he  delighted  in 
God's  law.  Again,  he  had  that  which 
enabled    him    to    triumph   over   their 

283 


nxLM  OXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


slanderous  accusations,  the  answer  of  a 
good  conscience  towards  God. 
L  The  contrast. 

1.  Apparent,  Pride  and  affliction. 
To  his  enemies,  to  the  world  generally, 
evil  prospered,  and  goodness  played  a 
losing  game.  So  it  appears  to  many 
now  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  4-12). 

2.  Beal.  Down  below  the  surface, 
and  in  the  sight  of  God,  there  is  a  con- 
trast which  tells  altogether  the  other 
way.  Hearts  as  fat  as  grease — delight 
in  God's  law.  "  Their  heart  is  dull  and 
brutal  (Isa.  vi.  10  ;  Ps.  xvii.  10,  Ixxxiii. 
7),  so  that  they  understand  not  Thy 
statutes,  in  which  I  delight ;  yea,  I 
love  them  with  my  whole  heart,  and 
above  all  price."  —  Speakei-'s  Com. 
**  Senseless,  secure,  and  stupid,  sensual 
and  voluptuous  ;  they  roll  themselves 
in  the  pleasures  of  sense  and  take  up 
i»ith  them  as  their  chief  good ;  and 
much  good  may  it  do  them.  I  would 
not  change  conditions  with  them.*' — 
M.  Henry. 

II.  The  compensation. 

1.  *^The  wicked  have  forged  a   lie 


against  me."  Heb.,  To  patch  together. 
*'  It  is  applied  to  accusations  made  up 
of  shreds  and  patches, — units,  small 
matters,  things  having  no  necessary 
connection,  words  dropped  here  and 
there  which,  being  artfully  woven  to- 
gether, seem  to  make  out  a  case  against 
a  mail.  Most  slanders  are  formed  in 
this  way." — Barnes.  "All  the  false- 
hoods which  men  smeared,  or  smeared 
all  at  once  over  him,  making  the  true 
nature  of  things  undiscernible  by  daub- 
ing them  over  with  false  colours,  or 
pasting  on  deceit." — Moll. 

2.  The  compensation  consisted  in  the 
fact  that  they  were  lies,  and  that  the 
Psalmist  had  and  would  keep  God's 
precepts  with  his  whole  heart.  This, 
with  the  consequent  sense  of  God's  ap- 
probation, supported  and  cheered  him. 
Learn — 

(i.)  To  Judge  accurately  and  not  by 
appearances,  (ii.)  The  needful  thing  i» 
not  to  be  rich  and  prosperous,  but  to  be 
right  and  good,  (iii.)  Those  who  are  right 
and  good  will  have  abundant  consolation 
in  the  midst  of  trial. 


The  Bible  better  than  Riches, 
(Ferse  72.) 


This,  like  all  great  truths,  is  a  most 
difficult  thing  to  believe.  The  real 
value  of  wealth  has  been  estimated  over 
and  over  again,  yet  men  cling  to  it  as 
the  best  possible  if  not  the  best  con- 
ceivable thing.  But  the  testimony  of 
those  who  could  best  judge  the  relative 
value  of  both,  pronounces  God's  Word 
to  be  the  best  conceivable  and  the  best 
possible  thing  in  the  world,  e.g.y  David 
(Ps.  xix.  10),  Solomon  (Prov.  iii.  14, 
viii.  11). 

I.  What  wealth  can  do  the  Bible 
can  do  better. 

1.  Wealth  brings  honour.  Mammon 
has  never  wanted  worshippers.  No  title 
is  refused,  and  no  door  closed,  to  the 
millionaire.  The  magisterial  bench  is 
reached  by  golden  stairs,  fashion  wields 
a  gilded  sceptre,  and  coronets  adorn 
the  brow  of  gold.  But  the  Bible  confers 
higher  dignities  than  these.  By  it  man 
obtains  the  peerage  of  heaven,  enjoys  the 
284 


companionship  of  God,  and  obtains  a 
crown  of  glory  that  shall  never  fade 
away. 

2.  Wealth  can  purchase  what  is  sup- 
posed to  constitute  happiness.  It  lifts  a 
man  above  the  privations  of  poverty ; 
may  give  magnificent  mansions,  costly 
furniture,  gorgeous  attire,  and  luxuri- 
ous diet.  All  the  arts  and  adornments  of 
life  are  open  to  those  who  can  purchase 
them.  But  what  are  these  in  compari- 
son with  what  the  true  riches  of  the 
Bible  can  purchase ;  the  house  not  made 
with  hands,  the  robe  of  righteousness, 
the  wine  of  the  kingdom,  the  heavenly 
manna,  fulness  of  joy,  and  pleasures  for 
evermore  ? 

3.  Wealth  mxiy  purchase  learning, 
buy  books,  found  libraries,  pay  school 
fees,  and  open  the  doors  of  colleges. 
But  no  money  can  purchase  what  the 
Bible  offers  freely.  True  wisdom,  the 
saving   knowledge    of   God   in    Christ, 


BOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXit. 


understanding  of  the  will  of  God,  and 
immortality.  Granted,  then,  that  riches 
can  do  much,  the  Bible  can  do  more, 
and  do  it  without  money  and  without 
price. 

II.  What  wealth  cannot  do  the 
Bible  can. 

1.  Money  cannot  purchase  pardon  for 

gin.     If  it  could,  many  would  part  with 

their  all    for    it.      It    has   been  tried. 

Under  a  debasing  superstition  it  is  tried 

to-day.     But  no  priestly  fees,  no  costly 

masses,  have  or  can  ease  the  burdened 

conscience  or  cleanse  its  guilty  stains — 

**  Vainly  we  offer  each  ample  oblation  ; 
Vainly    with    gifts    would   His   blessing 
implore." 

But  the  Bible  leads  us  to  Him  "  who  is 
faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins," 

2.  Money  cannot  purchase  a  clear  and 
safe  guide  in  the  practical  paths  of  life. 
It  can  lead  astray,  but  it  cannot  lead 
back  again,  and  cannot  train  man  in  the 
way  he  should  go.  Much  has  been 
spent  in  the  supposition  that  it  can ; 
but  it  has  been  spent  on  blind  guides. 
The  Bible,  on  the  contrary,  is  "  a  lamp 
unto  our  feet,"  <kc. 

3.  Money  cannot  purchase  dignities  of 
character.  It  has  purchased  the  op- 
posite. Many  a  man  has  been  weighted 
down  by  it  into  the  lowest  abysses  of 
moral  degradation.  The  best  it  can  do 
is  to  gild  the  exterior.  But  the  Bible 
ennobles  man.  It  endows  him  with  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  enables  him  to  live 
the  life  of  Christ.  It  has  trained  states- 
men, heroeSy  and  philanthropists.    It  has 


given  scholars  their  wisdom,  martyrs  to 
progress  their  fortitude,  and  saints  their 
sanctity. 

4.  Money  cannot  purchase  the  needful 
blessing  in  time  of  trial.  It  straightens 
no  crooked  path.  It  may  intensify 
trouble,  but  can  never  remove  it ;  it  can 
wipe  no  tear  from  the  eye ;  and  in  the 
hour  of  death  man  turns  to  his  gilded 
idol  in  vain.  It  can  destroy,  but  it 
cannot  save.  And  in  that  land  where 
gold  is  not  the  currency  the  miser  has 
no  place.  But  the  Bible  gives  to  the 
afflicted,  the  promises ;  to  the  poor,  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ;  to  the 
dying,  the  hope  and  consciousness  of 
heaven.  Therefore,  "The  law  of  Thy 
mouth  is  better,"  (fcc. 

III.  What  wealth  will  do  the  Bible 
wont.  Wealth  must  bring  anxieties 
and  cares.  Every  penny  brings  its 
additional  solicitude.  With  increased 
riches  comes  the  disquieting  question, 
What  is  to  be  done  with  them  ?  In- 
creased possessions  mean  increased 
oversight  and  responsibility.  With 
fresh  social  honours  comes  fresh  and 
inexorable  demands.  And  all  this 
means  gray  hairs,  brain  exhaustion, 
heart  straining,  with  no  adequate  re- 
turn. But  the  Bible  will  not  fret  the 
heart ;  it  will  comfort  it.  It  will  not 
wear  the  brain ;  it  will  soothe  it.  It 
will  not  injure  the  nerves ;  it  will  brace 
them.  It  will  not  impair  the  moral 
sense ;  it  will  sanctify  and  invigorate  it. 
Therefore,  because  what  wealth  will  do 
the  Bible  will  not,  is  "  the  law  of  GU)d'8 
mouth  better/'  <&c. 


Obeation  a  Plea  in  Prayer. 
{Verte  73.) 


This  Psalm  is  remarkable  for  its 
spiritual  aspirations,  and  the  pleas  by 
which  their  fulfilment  is  urged.  The 
Psalmist  is  here  seeking  the  highest 
moral  good.  He  seeks  it  in  the  best 
and  shortest  way,  by  praying  for  under- 
standing that  he  may  learn  God's  com- 
mandments. The  argument  he  employs 
why  his  prayer  should  be  answered  is 
simple,  practical,  powerful — viz.,  that 
God  had  created  him,  and  created  him 


that  he  might  seek  and  gain  the  end 
he  now  desires  to  reach.     Note  then  — 

I.  That  man  is  the  creation  of  God 
"  Thou    hast   made    me."      Either   the 
original  creation  (Gen.  i.   26,  ii.  7),  or 
the  creation  of  the   individual  himself 
(Ps.  cxxxix.),  or  both. 

II.  That  man  was  created  for  divine 
service  (Prov.  xvi.  4;  Isa.  xlix.  6;  Rom. 
xi.  36).  God  has  "fashioned"  man  for 
that  purpose.    With  mind,  that  man  may 

285 


fBAlM  OllX. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


apprehend  and  remember  Him;  with 
hearing,  that  he  may  listen  to  Him ;  with 
speech,  that  he  may  testify  of  Him;  with 
hands  and  feet,  that  he  may  do  His  will ; 
with  a  heart,  that  he  may  love  Him  • 
and  a  spirit,  that  he  may  enjoy  Him. 
Man  is  full  of  marks  of  design.  What 
is  that  design  ?  That  he  may  eat,  and 
drink,  and  sleep?  Nay,  the  animals 
do  that ;  but  that  he  may  know  God 
and  enjoy  Him  for  ever. 

III.  That  man  is  not  now  as  he 
was  when  he  was  created.  He  not 
only  does  not  fulfil  his  Maker's  design, 
but  is  incapable  of  doing  so  (Eccl.  vii. 
29;  Kom.  iii.  23).  By  some  great 
injury  and  loss,  and  by  the  infusion  of 
some  new  principles,  he  falls  short  of 
the  divine  glory,  and  is  bent  on  fulfilling 
precisely  opposite  ends.  All  his  facul- 
ties so  exquisitely  adapted  for  divine 
purposes  are  prostituted  to  base  and 
injurious  works.  His  understanding, 
will,  afi'ections,  &c.,  are  engaged  in  war- 
fare against  God,  the  devil's  service, 
and  self-destruction. 

IV.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  new 
creation.  A  new  heart,  a  new  under- 
standing that  can  grasp  the  wisdom,  duty, 
and  necessity  of  God's  commandments, 
and  a  new  nature  that  will  render  the 
learning  and  practice  of  those  com- 
mandments easy  and  possible  (Deut.  v. 
29 ;  John  vi.  5,  6;  Rom.  viii.  10,  11  ; 
Col.  iii.  9,  10). 

V.  Desiring  this  new  nature,  so  that 
we  may  answer  the  divine  purposes,  no 


plea  is  more  appropriate  and  powerful 
than  the  fact  that  we  are  God's  crea- 
tion. 

1.  It  is  natural  that  God  should  take 
an  interest  in  His  own  work ;  and  if  it 
come  to  grief,  that  He  should  desire  to 
repair  and  perfect  it  (Job  x.  3,  xiv.  15  • 
Isa.  Ixiv.  8,  9). 

2.  Tha  divinely-ordained  order  is  that 
we  should  ask  God  to  multiply  His 
blessings  (Ps.  cxvl  12,  13;  Matt,  vi 
25;  Rom.  viii.  32).  The  more  God 
gives,  the  more  He  delights  to  give. 

3.  2'he  fact  that  God  has  created  tu 
is  strong  ground  for  the  belief  that  He 
will  not  forsake  us.  We  may  reasonably 
suppose  that  the  same  hand  which  im- 
poses the  obligation  will  help  us  when 
we  endeavour  to  discharge  it. 

4.  This  prayer  implies  a  state  of  the 
heart  which  God  will  own  and  bless.  It 
is  the  expression  of  a  strong  and  ardent 
desire  to  fulfil  a  divine  obligation. 

In  conclusion. — Come  as  creatures 
to  the  great  and  beneficent  Creator,  and 
ask  Him,  your  Father,  to  help  you  His 
offspring,  (i.)  Zet  the  unconverted  come. 
Although  you  cannot  call  God  Father 
by  the  spirit  of  adoption,  yet  He  has 
created  you.  Make  this  your  plea, 
that  you  should  receive  that  filial  spirit 
which  will  enable  you  to  learn  and 
obey  your  Father's  will,  (ii.)  Let  be- 
lievers under  trial  come  for  both  reasons. 
Plead  creation  old  and  new,  and  you 
will  not  plead  in  vain. 


1 


Religious  Fellowship, 
(Verses  74,  79.) 


I.  Is  possible  only  to  religious  per- 
sons. Fellowship  implies  a  common  ex- 
perience, bond^  and  purpose.  There  is 
family  fellowship,  social  fellowship,  fel- 
lowship between  those  engaged  in  trade, 
science,  or  art,  requiring  similarity  of 
(I  nature,  taste,  and  aim.  "  How  can  two 
walk  together  except  they  are  agreed  1 " 
So  there  can  be  no  religious  fellowship 
except  between  those  who  fear  God  and 
have  known  His  testimonies.  That  is, 
the  qualities  of  sainthood  are  essential 
to  the  communion  of  saints. 
28() 


II.  Is  to  be  desired  by  religious  per- 
sons. "  Let  those  that  fear  thee  turn 
to  Me."  Man  feels  as  God  felt  for 
Him,  that  it  is  not  good  for  him  to  be 
alone.  He  is  a  social  being  and  longs 
for  society.  So  God  has  "  set  the  soli- 
tary in  families."  This  feeling  is  de- 
veloped in  fraternities,  guilds,  trades' 
unions,  <kc.  So  the  spiritual  man 
yearns  for  communion  with  those  who 
have  been  baptized  into  the  same  spirit. 
But  it  is  noteworthy  how  the  Psalmist 
desires   this  fellowship   to   be   brought 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


FBALM  OXIX. 


about,  not  by  "  the  selective  action  of 
spiritual  affinities,"  but  by  the  provi- 
dence and  grace  of  God.  Verse  79  is 
not  merely  the  expression  of  a  want, 
it  is  a  prayer  (Jer.  xv.  19).  This  is 
just  the  New  Testament  idea  of  the 
Church.  It  is  not  merely  a  congrega- 
tion of  people  who  for  mutual  profit, 
spiritual  or  otherwise,  have  left  other 
things  for  it  It  is  a  company,  every 
member  of  which  God  *'  has  called  out 
of  darkness  into  His  marvellous  light." 
Christians  do  not  simply  gravitate  to 
each  other,  God  calls  them  to  Himself, 
and  then  the  Church  finds  its  true  unity. 
A  shade  of  thought  worthy  of  note  is 
found  in  the  expression,  *'  Let  them  that 
fear  thee  turn  to  -3/e,"  and  shadows  forth 
the  principle  of  Christian  evangelisaftion. 
"  Here  am  I,  yearning  for  fellowship.  Let 
Thy  people  in  their  search  for  lost 
members  of  their  fold  find  wie."  What 
a  striking  condemnation  does  the  ex- 
ample of  this  old  Jew  afford  those  who 
shrink  from  and  must  be  urged  to 
membership  in  Christ's  Church  !  The 
Psalmist's  absorbing  desire  and  prayer 
is,  that  the  faithful  may  find  him  and 
take  him  into  fellowship. 

III.  Is  profitable  to  religious  per- 
sons. "  They  that  fear  Thee  will  be  glad 
when  I,"  &c.  We  are  glad  when  we  find  a 
fellow-countryman  on  a  foreign  shore. 
The  scholar  is  glad  of  the  company  of 
his  fellow-scholar,  &c.  Converse  over 
identical  callings  is  healthful  and  stimu- 
lating. 

1.  The  Church  is  glad  when  it  finds 
one  lost  member  of  its  body  and  can 
bring  it  back  again  into  union  with  it- 
self. There  is  joy  not  only  in  heaven 
but  on  earth.  The  members  of  the 
Church  have  been  increased,  its  territory 
and  spiritual  life  and  power  augmented, 
one  more  jewel  is  added  to  its  Re- 
deemer's crown. 
2.  The  Church  is  glad  when  one  of  its 


members  can  testify  to  God's  special  grace. 
The  Psalmist  had  been  afllicted,  but 
God  had  sanctified  his  affliction  and  had 
delivered  him.  He  felt  that  those  who 
feared  God  would  be  glad  when  they  knew 
that  J  particularly  the  sorrowful,  whom  it 
would  lead  to  resignation  and  hope. 

3.  The  Church  is  glad  when  one  of  its 
members  contributes  to  the  common  stock 
of  knowledge.  The  Psalmist  had  prayed 
for  understanding  and  had  been  answered. 
We  can  imagine  the  gladness  of  the  God- 
fearing company  as  he  would  open  up 
the  new  and  enlarged  views  of'  truth 
which  had  been  vouchsafed  him. 

4.  The  Church  is  glad  when  one  of  its 
members  can  strengthen  the  common  con- 
fidences.     "  They   .    .    .    will   be   glad 

because  I  have  hoped  in  Thy  Word." 
Nothing  is  more  depressing  to  a  society 
than  for  one  of  its  members  to  lose  his 
hope. 

In  conchjsion. — Why  do  some  re- 
ligious men  shrink  from  religious  fellow- 
ship 1  This  question  is  of  vast  import- 
ance when  we  consider  that  the  members 
of  our  congregations  vastly  outnumber 
the  members  of  our  churches.  There  is 
something  wrong,  we  may  depend  upon 
it,  when  members  of  a  family  or  class 
are  out  of  fellowship  with  each  other. 
If  it  is  natural  and  healthy  for  men  in 
their  social  or  professional  capacity  to 
meet  together,  and  if  they  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  speaking  to  one  another  about 
matters  which  afifect  their  common  inte- 
rest, much  more  so  should  the  travellers 
of  Zion  meet  together  and  comfort  and 
edify  one  another  by  the  way.  Religious 
fellowship,  it  is  true,  may  degenerate 
into  sentimentality  and  unreal  sameness, 
but  a  thing  is  not  to  be  neglected  be- 
cause it  is  abused.  The  great  want  of 
the  world  is  men  and  women  of  the 
type  before  us.  Pentecost,  the  Refor* 
mation,  Puritanism,  and  Methodism  re- 
sulted from  such. 


Resignation  :    Its  Duties  and  Usefulness. 
(Verses  lb,  79.) 


I.  The  Psalmist  expresses  his  resig- 
nation to  the  divine  will.  This  is  based 
on  two  grounds — 


1.   Gods  judgments  are  right.     God 

is  holy  in  His  nature,  and  wise  and  jnsl 
in  all  the  acts  of  His  goverrmient,  and 

2b7 


MALM  oxix.  nOMILETlC  COMMmTARt:  PSALMS. 


therefore  His  judgments  are   right  in      Tant."     Despondency,  &c,  will  unfit  us 
general   though  there  may  be  in  some      for  our  duties,  and  we  may  therefore  ask 
particular  instances  difficulties  which  we      for  help  because  we  want  to  work 
cannot  easily  resolve."- Jf.  Henry.  HI.  Prayer  for  life  is  not  only  not 

J.  (rods  judgments  are  the  expresdon  incompatible  but  consistent  with  resig- 
ofthe  divine  faithfulness.  They  are  not  nation.  "  That  I  may  live  "  Let  it  be 
arbitrary  or  cruel,  but  they  are  necessary,  remembered  that  the  Psalmist  does  not 
tHat  the  divine  and  beneficent  schemes  express  that  desire  for  life  that  is  com- 
which  God  has  in  hand  may  be  worked      mou  to  all  men  for  its  own  sake.      Life 

^\t    -d    •       ..       ,  ^^y  ^^  ^  blessing  or  a  curse  as  it  gains 

IL  Resignation  does  not  preclude,  but  or  fails  in  gaining  the  end  for  which  it 
rather  presupposes  and  includes  prayer  was  given.  The  prayer  here  is  for  a 
for  comfort  and  support.  It  is  impos-  life  of  holy  joy  and  holy  usefulness, 
sible  without  special  grace  to  see  and  "For  Thy  law  is  my  delight."  Yet  he 
acknowledge  the  righteousness  and  faith-  would  not  wish  for  it  except  as  the  ex- 
fulness  of  God  s  dispensations.  The  pression  of  the  mercy,  and  therefore  by 
heart  is   naturally  prone  to  resist  and  the  will,  of  God 

rebel  against  all  discipline.     We  must         IV.  Prolonged  life  is  to  be  desired 

therefore  cry  for   help  in  our  time  of  for  the  twofold  influence  that  it  may 

need.     Ihis  is  based  on  three  things.  wield. 

1.  The  divine  mercy.     "Thy  merciful  1.   The  conviction  of  gainsay  ers.     Life 

kindness.        We  may  plead  that  God  is  is  desired  (1)  That  imputations  of  the 

too  kind  t<)  withdraw  or  not  to  bestow  ungodly  may  he  repelled  (vers.  69,  78)  : 

His  help,  the  thought  of  which  will  en-  (2)  That  their  atheistical  arguments  may 

courage  us  under  the  heaviest  trials.  he  confuted  (cxv.  2),  and  (3)  Themselves 

J.   i/Ae  divine  promise.      "  According  put  to  shame  (ver.  72) 
to    Thy  word."     God  is    not  only  dis-  2.   The  comfort  and  confirmation  of 

posed  but  bound  by  covenant  promise  God's  people  (ver.   29).     It  will  stimu- 

to  nelp.     I'lead  that  promise  that  seems  late  to  (1)  stronger  confidence  in  God^ 

most  to  suit  yoi^r  case.  (2)  resignation,  (3)  hope.     What   God 

3.  Ih^  divine  own^ship.     "  Thy  ser-  can  do  in  one  case  He  can  do  in  all 

Orthodoxy. 

{Verse  80.) 

L  Orthodoxy  Implies  a  correct  appre-  in  the  former  be  of  less  moment  than 

Hension  of  the   meaning,  purpose,  and  orthodoxy    in    the    latter  ?      The    only 

authority  of  God's  statutes.      How  can  difference    is    that    heterodoxy    in    the 

the  heart  be  sound  in  that  about  which  latter  is  an  offence  against  man,  and  in 

the  mind  IS  Ignorant,  uncertain,  or  hesi-  the    former   is   a   dishonour  put   upon 

tatmg  1    A  law  must  be  known  before  it  God,  which  man  naturally  prefers.    True 

can  be  obeyed.     So  with  God's  statutes.  enough  orthodoxy  by  itself  is  of  little 

1  must  know  what  they  are,  and  assent  value,  just  as  true  ideas  of  health  avail 

to  their  necessity  and  utility,  before  they  nothing  except  they  are  practically  ap- 

can  become  governing  forces  in  my  life.  plied.     But  we  never  hear  of  objections 

These  statutes  "are  exceeding  broad,"  to  orthodoxy  in  science,  &c.,  objected 

and  cover  the  whole  field  of  doctrine  to  on  these  grounds 
and  morals.     God's  statutes  are,  e.g.,  the  IL   Orthodoxy  consists  in  soundness 

^n  Commandments;  but  they  are  more.  of  heart  in  God's  statutes~t.(j.,  experi- 

We  read   "  Believe  also  in  Me,"  -  Re-  mental  piety.     As  it  is  not  me;ely  cor- 

ceive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost,"  «  Repent  ye  rectness  of  intellectual  belief  on  the  one 

and  believe  the  Gospel,'  &c.,  and  these  hand,  neither  is  it  simply  correctness  of 

are  as  much  statutes  as,  "  Thou  shalt  life  on  the  other.     A  man  may  have  all 

288       ^  should  orthodoxy  the  elements  of  the  form  of  godliness, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  CXIZ. 


bis  morality  may  be  very  exact,  his 
duties  may  he  performed  witli  the  most 
scrupulous  punctuality,  and  yet  he  may 
be  like  a  whited  sepulchre  or  an  apple 
of  Sodom,  full  of  rottenness  for  the 
want  of  spiritual  life  and  power, — e.g., 
the  Pharisees.  But  for  a  man  to  be 
sound  at  heart,  God's  statutes  must  dwell 
in  him  (Heb.  viii.  10) ;  they  must  be  at 
the  root  of  the  governing  forces  of  his 
life,  transforming  him  into  the  image  of 
God,  moulding  and  assimilating  him  in 
the  form  which  God  would  have  him 
take,  expelling  sin,  testifying  of  the 
divine  favour,  and  subjecting  his  whole 
nature  to  the  will  of  God.  Then  is  a 
man  orthodox — a  living  practical  rule  of 
faith  and  practice.  If  the  tree  is  good 
the  fruit  will  be  good,  and  if  a  man  is 
sound  at  heart  he  will  be  sound  in  his 
life,  and  pure  and  undivided  in  his 
allegiance  to  God  and  man. 

III.  The  result  of  orthodoxy  is  that 
a  man  whose  heart  is  sound  in  God's 
statutes  will  not  be  ashamed.  Unsound- 
ness is  the  source  of  shame  everywhere, 
except  in  those  whose  faces  are  steeled 
against  shame.  It  is  very  sad  when 
men  glory  in  their  shame,  and  make  a 
boast  of  their  heterodoxy  in  life,  heart, 
or  creed.  But  those  who  are  sound 
have — 

1.  No  occasion  of  shame  before  God. 
Soundness  of  heart  will  give  us  con- 
fidence in  His  presence  (1  John  iii  21) 


and  boldness  of  approach  to  the  throne 
of  grace  (Heb.  xiii.  18,  Rom.  viii.  1), 
and  before  the  throne  of  judgment  by 
and  by.  It  is  quite  otherwise  when  the 
heart  is  unsound. 

2.  No  occasion  of  shame  before  our- 
selves. An  unsound  heart  rouses  the  in- 
dignation of  conscience  (Rom.  vi.  21). 
As  soon  as  Adam  sinned  he  was  ashamed 
of  himself.  But  the  righteous  man  can 
approach  the  tribunal  of  conscience  with- 
out fear  of  shame  (2  Cor.  i.  12). 

3.  No  occasion  of  shame  bef(yre  our 
fellows.  We  shall  neither  be  stumbling- 
blocks  to  them,  nor  be  exposed  to  the 
contempt  of  those  whose  opinion  we 
value. 

In  conclusion. — Let  those  who  would 
be  orthodox,  in  its  fullest  sense,  learn — 
(i.)  That  God  alone  can  make  them  so  (Isa. 
li.  10,  Eph.  iv.  24).  (ii.)  That  it  should 
be  sought  with  prayer  and  earnest  pur- 
pose, and  will  be  vouchsafed  (Ezra  viii. 
10,  Ps.  cxxxix.  23,  24).  Let  not  the 
man  of  sceptical  opinions  nurse  them 
under  the  impression  that  they  evidence 
soundness  of  intellect,  and  are  therefore 
desirable,  or  the  man  of  unsound  life 
under  the  impression  that  it  is  manly, 
(iii.)  That  a  constant  sense  of  God's  pre- 
sence and  a  careful  watchfulness  oj  our 
ways  is  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of 
a  sound  creed,  a  sound  heart,  and  a 
sound  life  (ver.  168,  Jer.  xvii.  9,  Heb 
xil  13). 


Man's  Adversity  and  God's  Salvation. 
{Verses  %\-%%.) 


Our  text  teaches  us — 
I.   That  n?an's  adversity  is  often 
extreme. 

1,  In  its  intensity.  "  My  soul  faint- 
eth,"  "  Mine  eyes  fail,"  "  When  wilt 
Thou  comfort  me  V*  No  figures  could 
convey  more  powerfully  than  these  the 
Psalmist's  extremity.  When  man's  com- 
fort is  gone  and  dimness  covers  his 
sight,  and  when  his  heart  sinks  within 
him,  his  case  is  extreme  indeed. 

2.  In  its  duration.  *'I  am  like  a 
bottle  in  the  smoke."  "  As  wineskin 
in  the  smoke,  my  heart  is  sere  and 
dried." — Keble.      So  long   have  I  been 

VOL.  XI.  T 


afflicted  that  I  have  become  dried  and 
wrinkled.  God  allows  many  a  saint  to 
cry  out  in  his  trouble,  ^^When  wilt  Thou 
comfort  me  1 " 

3.  In  its  danger.  "  The  proud  have 
digged  pits  for  me."  "  They  had  almost 
co7isumed  me."  They  were  not  successful 
in  their  snares  and  teMi[)tations,  so  they 
turn  to  active  persecution  and  almost 
consume  him.  This  is  most  frequently 
the  order  in  which  tribulations  come. 
If  the  wicked  are  successful  in  their 
machinations,  they  ;ire  satisfied  ;  if  re- 
sisted, all  their  active  malice  is  aroused. 

XL  That    Crod's    salvation    is   the 

289 


MALM  OXIZ. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


remedy  for  man's  adversity.  This 
salvation  is  presented  under  four  as- 
pects— 

1.  "  Comfort "  is  sometimes  salvation. 
Paul,  the  martyrs,  all  reformers  are 
saved  in  this  way.  It  is  not  always 
necessary  to  be  actually  delivered. 
Timely  comfort  is  timely  succour. 

2.  The  execution  of  judgment  on  op- 
pressors (ver.  84).  This  is  sometimes 
God's  way,  but  not  often.  Sufficiently 
often,  however,  and  conspicuous  to  strike 
terror  in  the  heart  of  tyrants,  Satan, 
Pharaoh,  the  Philistines,  Herod,  <fec. ; 
but  not  often  and  conspicuously  enough 
to  lead  His  people  to  look  too  much 
for  sanguinary  vengeance  on  their  foes. 

3.  Personal  rescue.  "Help  Thou  me." 
Sometimes  immediate.  By  the  direct 
exercise  of  His  omnipotence,  God  effects 
a  complete  deliverance  for  His  people. 
It  was  so  with  Israel's  redemption  from 
Egypt.  It  is  so  in  some  of  those  mys- 
terious cases  when  long  sources  of 
trouble  are  suddenly  dried  up,  and  paths 
of  prosperity  suddenly  opened.  Some- 
times with  the  use  of  means.  By  medi- 
cine in  diseases,  by  industrious  exertion 
in  poverty.  Sometimes  God  saves  con- 
spicuously/ by  the  unbaring  of  His  arm  ; 
sometimes  invisibly  in  the  course  of  His 
providence. 

4.  Divine  quickening  (ver.  88).  The 
infusion  of  the  divine  life  of  His  Spirit, 
by  means  of  which  man  is  continually 
renewed  and  strengthened  either  to  bear 
his  afflictions  or  to  overcome  them. 

nL  That   man's  adversity  should 


lead  him  to  cry  mightily  for  God's 
salvation.  Powerful  pleas  are  here 
presented  and  urged  why  God  should 
save.     The  Psalmist  here — 

1.  Expresses  his  hope  in  the  divine 
promises.  "  I  hope  on  Thy  word."  This 
is  presented  as  a  reason  why  God  should 
not  disappoint  him. 

2.  Confesses  that  God  is  his  only  com- 
fort.    "  When  wilt  T^o?*  comfort  me?" 

God  sometimes  waits  till  we  have  ex- 
hausted every  other  resource.  But  when 
man  is  led  to  cry  to  his  soul,  "  Hope 
thou  in  God,"  that  cry  will  not  be  in 
vain. 

3.  Urges  the  brevity  of  his  life  (ver. 
84).  "  Are  my  days  so  many  as  to  ad- 
mit of  delay  in  the  manifestations  of 
Thy  righteous  judgments  1  ''—r Speaker, 
*'  This  is  not  a  desire  to  be  told  how 
long  he  was  to  live,  as  if  it  were  an 
object  of  desire  to  know  this,  but  it  is 
a  method  of  saying  that  He  could  not 
live  long  under  these  circumstances, 
and  therefore  asked  that  God  would 
save  him  soon." — Barnes. 

4.  Mentions  the  divine  faithfulness  and 
loving-kindness  (vers.  86,  marg.,  and  88). 

5.  Reminds  God  of  His  own  steadfast- 
ness (vers.  83,  86,  and  87).  Happy  the 
man  whose  adversity  has  not  impaired 
his  memory  or  loosened  his  hold  of 
God's  law  I 

IV.  That  this  remedy  should  be 
sought  for  holy  ends.  The  Psalmist 
did  not  pray  for  salvation  that  he  might 
be  happy,  but  that  he  might  be  holy 
(ver.  88). 


God's  Works  and  God's  Words, 
{Verses  89-91.) 


To  the  devout  and  intelligent  student 
there  is  a  very  close  relationship  and 
analogy  between  God's  Word  and  God's 
works.  Both  proceed  from  the  same 
Author,  both  teach  truth,  both  answer 
moral  ends,  both  appeal  to  man's  faith, 
hope,  and  love.  The  Psalmist  traces 
some  features  of  this  analogy. 

I.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  rest 
upon  immovable  foundations :  so  do 
the  promises  of  God.  All  have  a  com- 
mon basis  in    the   divine   faithfulness, 


If  the  universe  came  into  existence  by 
chance,  or  continued  to  exist  by  chance, 
it  might  cease  by  chance,  and  thus  our 
confidence  in  its  stability  would  end, 
and  the  gravest  apprehensions  would 
arise.  So,  if  the  promises  rested  on  any 
other  basis  but  God's  fidelity  and  truth  ; 
if  they  were  merely  imaginations  or 
guesses,  or  the  result  of  a  devout  and 
elevated  enthusiasm ;  our  spiritual  foun- 
dations, all  the  bases  of  moral  hope  and 
life  would  be  shaken  or  removed,  and 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALM  OXIZ. 


what   then   would    the  righteous   doT 
But,  thank  Ood — 

**  His  every  word  of  grace  is  strong 
As  that  \»hich  built  the  skies, 
The  voice  that  rolls  the  stars  along 
Speaks  all  the  promises." 

n.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  con- 
tinue :  so  do  the  promises  of  God,  be- 
cause held  together  by  the  divine  faith- 
fulness. Many  changes  have  taken 
place  since  matter  was  first  consoli- 
dated into  worlds,  but  all  these  changes 
have  been  superintended  and  controlled 
by  the  gracious  hand  of  Him  "  who  up- 
holds all  things  by  the  word  of  His 
power;"  and  notwithstanding  all  those 
changes  it  is  the  same  universe.  So 
with  the  promises.  Some  have  been 
made  to  one  generation,  and  some  to 
another;  some  are  of  one  quality  and 
some  of  another ;  but  they  remain  the 
same  in  power  and  beneficence  to-day. 
The  Psalmist  trod  the  same  soil  under 
the  same  heavens  as  we  do,  and  the  same 
kind  words  which  supported  him  are  for 
our  service,  because  maintained  by  the 
faithfulness  of  God. 

III.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  are 
servants  of  the  divine  faithfulness :  so 
are  the  promises.  They  all  acknow- 
ledge one  common  Lord,  and  God  em- 
ploys them  all  for  His  children's  benefit. 
The  heavens  give  cheering  light,  and 
send  down  refreshing  showers.  By  the 
moon  our  tides  are  regulated,  by  the 
planets  our  time.  The  earth  yields  her 
increase  for  the  children  of  men,  and 
all  the   elements  are  ministers  of  the 


divine  pleasure,  and  hearken  unto  the 
voice  of  His  word.  Much  more  so  the 
promises.  God  has  given  man  a  spiritual 
nature,  which  requires  food,  support,  and 
encouragement,  and  to  this  end  in  faith- 
fulness as  well  as  mercy  are  the  divine 
piomises  sent  on  their  errands. 

IV.  The  heavens  and  the  earth  now 
so  stable,  according  to  the  divine  faith- 
fulness will  some  day  cease  to  be  ;  not 
so  the  promises,  which  by  virtue  of 
the  same  faithfulness  "  for  ever  are 
settled"  and  are  made  to  "all  genera- 
tions." The  universe  was  made  to  ac- 
complish a  divine  but  temporary  pur- 
pose. "  Towards  that  grand  far-off 
divine  event  the  whole  creation  moves." 
Having  reached  it  they  will  have  ac- 
complished their  mission,  and  will  pass 
away  to  make  room  for  that  "  new 
heaven  and  new  earth  wherein  dwelletli 
righteousness."  "  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  My  word  shall 
never  pass  away."  The  words  of  man, 
like  him  who  makes  them,  and  his 
works  are  subject  to  revision  ;  but  God's 
word  is  above  all  change,  being  the  un- 
alterable decree  of  the  ever-faithful  Je- 
hovah.    Learn — 

(i.)  To  trust  in  God  when  the  fulfil- 
ment of  His  promises  is  delayed  (Heb. 
vi.  12).  (ii.)  To  trust  in  God  as  the 
sure  anchorage  of  the  soul  amidst  the 
mutations  of  earthly  things  and  when 
its  vanities  would  entice  us  away,  (iii.) 
To  trust  in  the  Lord  as  here  revealed  so 
faithful  and  true,  and  not  lean  to  the 
intuitions  of  our  own  fickle  and  faithless 
hearts  (Luke  xxiv.  25,  Kom  iv,  20). 


Thb  Benefit  and  Obligation  of  the  Word  of  God. 

(Verses  92,  93.) 


Learn — 

I.  That  in  the  order  of  divine  pro- 
vidence God's  people  are  afflicted. 
This  is  the  teaching  of  all  the  Bible  and 
all  experience. 

II.  That  affliction  unsanctified  will 
damage  and  destroy  the  spiritual  life. 
God  sends  it  for  beneficent  purposes, 
but  man  may  misapply  the  means  and 
thus  defeat  the  end.  The  Psalmist 
was  perilously  near  doing  this,  and  was 
thus  (ver.  92). 


III.  That  God's  law  delighted. in  is 
the  means  of  sanctifying  affliction  and 
saving  the  soul  from  death. 

1.  It  shows  the  reason  for  and  the 
beneficence  of  afiliction. 

2.  It  affords  comfort  and  support  in 
affliction. 

3.  It  reveals  and  leads  us  to  that 
life  which  saves  from  destruction^  and 
quickens  us  with  its  own  vitality. 

IV.  That  these  benefits  invdve 
duties  and  responsibilities  (ver.  93). 

291 


PSALM  CXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


Many  a  man  who  has  made  the  Word 
his  constant  study  in  affliction,  forgets 
it  altogether  in  his  prosperity. 

1.  DonH  forget  to  read  it. 

2.  DorCt  forget  what  it  says  either  hy 
command  or  promise. 

3.  DonH  forget  to  he  grateful  for  what 
it  has  done. 

4.  Don^t  forget  to  practise  what  it 
enjoin*. 


Remember  what  help  it  afforded  you 
and  the  vows  you  made  respecting  it 
during  your  affliction,  now  you  are  well. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  If  our  delights 
are  in  God's  Word  while  we  are  ill,  much 
more  should  they  be  wlien  we  are  well. 
(ii.)  If  it  can  quicken  us  in  affliction^ 
it  can  maintain  us  in  our  health  and 
qualify  its  with  living  power  for  service 
day  by  day. 


An  All-prevailing  Flea. 

(Verse  94.) 


I  The  plea.  "I  am  Thine."  No 
plea  is  so  universally  prevalent  as  this. 
It  is  the  plea  of  all  properties,  the 
plea  of  all  relationships.  The  reason 
why  things  are  saved  from  destruction 
is  because  they  say  to  their  owner, 
"  We  are  thine."  The  reason  why  a 
father  is  solicitous  about  his  offspring 
is  because  they  cry,  "  We  are  thine." 
And  the  plea  most  powerful  with  man 
is  most  powerful  with  God,  and  can 
never  be  urged  in  vain.  How  can  we 
urge  this  plea?  We  are  God's — 1.  By 
creation  (1  Chron.  xxix.  11).  2.  By 
redemption,  '*  Ye  are  not  your  own." 
3.  By  covenant  (Hosea  ii.  23).  4.  By 
re-creation  (Eph.  ii.  10),  and  adoption 
(Rom.  viii.).  5.  By  conquest.  6.  Bg 
self-dedication  to  His  service.  7.  By 
assimilation  to  His  likeness. 

IL  The  prayer  based  upon  this  plea. 
"  Save  me."     Having  this  plea  use  it, 


urge  it  as  a  reason  why  God  should 
save  from  (1)  Sin,  (2)  Despair,  (3)  Foes, 
(4)  Unfaithfulness,  (5)  Hell. 

III.  The  sources  of  the  Psalmist's 
information  both  as  to  plea  and 
prayer.  "  For  I  have  sought  Thy  pre- 
cepts." From  no  other  source  could 
he  have  known  that  he  was  God's,  and 
that  God  was  willing  to  save. 

In  conclusion. — (i.)  Can  we  all  say 
when  asked f  "  To  whom  belongest  thou 
and  whence  art  thou  ?  "  "I  am  thine." 
(1.)  When  did  you  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  ?  (Dent.  xxwi.  17,  18.)  (2.) 
Have  you  the  seals  and  signs  of  the 
divine  possession  ?  (ii.)  Acknowledge  God's 
full  authority.  God  gave  Himself  for 
you,  and  the  least  you  owe  Him  is 
yourselves,  and  by  giving  Hira  yourselves 
you  lose  nothing  but  gain  everything, 
(iii)  Seek  upon  this  basis  God's  full 
salvation. 


Thb  Attitude  of  thb  Wicked  towards  the  Righteous,  and  thb 
Condition  of  the  Righteous  under  oppression. 

(Verses  95,  110,  121.  122,  134,  157,  161.) 


This  Psalm  is  of  peculiar  value  as 
exhibiting  the  characteristic  features  of 
wickedness  in  all  ages,  and  the  attitude 
which  evil  men  will  everywhere  assume 
in  their  opposition  to  the  good.  It  will 
be  profitable  to  view  all  the  references  to 
thissubject  at  one  glance,  and  then  in  their 
relation  to  each  other.  By  that  means 
we  shall  catch  many  shades  of  thought 
we  should  otherwise  miss.  In  these 
verses  the  Christian  is  informed  all 
that  he  may  expect  from  the  enemies 
of  God  and  man,  and  instructed  how 
292 


he  should  comport  himself  under  this 
special  form  of  trial. 

I.  The  wicked  are  here  described. 

1.  Who  they  are.  (1.)  The  wicked,  a 
general  term  covering  all  the  rest. 
Godless,  transgressors  of  God's  law  and 
therefore  transgressors  of  man's.  (2.) 
The  oppressors.  Those  who  put  bur- 
dens on  the  helpless,  and  take  advan- 
tage of,  and  crush  the  little  strength  of 
the  weak.  (3.)  Enemies  of  the  righteous, 
necessarily  and  peri)etually.    (4.)  tWoud 

2.  What  they  are.     (].)'' Many  "  iti 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIX. 


nnmber.  (2.)  Powerful  in  influence^ 
"princes."  (3.)  Malicious  in  designs. 
(4.)  Subtle  in  methods  of  operation. 

3.  What  they  do.  (1.)  They  wait  for 
the  righteous  for  their  destruction.  (2.) 
They  lay  snares  for  their  ruin.  (3.) 
They  oppress.      (4.)  They  persecute. 

II.  The  righteous  are  here  by  the 
example  of  the  Psalmist  counselled — 

1.  To  pray.  (I.)  For  protection  (vers. 
121,  122).  {2,)Ford€liverance(ver.U4). 


2.  To  consider  GocTs  testimonies^  (1) 
of  His  goodness,  faithfulness^  and  power , 
(2)  against  their  enemies. 

3.  J}^ot  to  err  from  God^s  statutes  hy 
falling  into  the  snare  of  the  wicked. 
Hence  watchfulness. 

4.  To  keep  God'i  statutes  in  spiie  of 
oppression. 

5.  Not  to  decline  from  God's  testi- 
monies. 

6.  To  stand  in  awe  of  God's  word. 


The  Finite  and  the  Infinite. 
(Verse  96.) 


The  Psalmist  relates  what  was  a  matter 
of  experience  to  him.  He  had  seen  the 
end  of  all  "  perfection,"  so  may  we.  All 
finite  things  are  perishable  and  perish  be- 
fore our  eyes — empires,  majesty,  learn- 
ing, art,  pleasure,  life.  The  first  man  and 
the  last,  and  all  those  and  their  belong- 
ings who  have  come  between,  are  of  the 
earth  earthy,  and  fade  away.  But  in  the 
midst  of  all  these  mutations  the  word 
of  God  lives  on.  *'  All  flesh  is  grass,"  &o. 
It  has  seen  the  rise  and  fall  of  many 
idolatries,  superstitions,  infidelities,  and 
persecutions,  but  it  stands  to-day  un- 
moved and  unshakable.  The  truth  of 
our  text  holds  good  with  regard  to 

L  Earthly  life.  There  is  a  limit  to  its 
perfection.  "  The  days  of  our  years  are 
threescore  years  and  ten,"  &c.  Beyond 
that  it  cannot  pass.  It  is  bounded  by  the 
bourne  of  an  undiscovered  country,  which 
it  cannot  pass.  But  God's  commandment 
is  exceeding  broad.    It  covers  not  only 


racter.  There  is  a  point  to  which  a  man's 

character  without  God  may  reach,  beyond 
which  it  is  impossible  to  go.  And  how 
often  do  men  reach  that  point  and  then 
utterly  break  down  in  the  line  of  wisdom, 
goodness,  or  charity  !  But  God's  com- 
mandment is  exceeding  broad.  There  is 
no  *'  hitherto  shalt  thou  go  and  no  far- 
ther" to  those  whose  character  is  based 
upon  that.  By  following  the  lines  indi- 
cated there,  and  securing  the  power  of- 
fered there,  a  man  who  has  scaled  the 
loftiest  height  of  saintliness  there  known 
could  still  say,  '*  I  count  not  myself  to 
have  attained  it." 

IV.  The  acquisition  of  human  know- 
ledge. The  mind  has  limitations  be- 
yond which,  "  madness  lies."  It  can 
be  stretched  to  a  certain  tension,  but 
if  stretched  further  it  breaks.  But 
God's  commandment  is  exceeding  broad. 
It  provides  for  the  indefinite  expansion 
of  the  mind  it  has  sanctified,  and  offers 


time,  but  the  eternity  which  bounds  it  on      subjects    which   shall   occupy   without 


both  sides.  It  was  in  God's  mind  innu- 
merable ages  before  man  breathed  the 
breath  of  life,  and  will  survive  the  wreck 
of  matter  and  the  crush  of  worlds. 

IL  Earthly  greatness  and  grandeur. 
The  limitations  to  that  we  see  day  after 
day.  The  popular  favour  which  has 
built  it  up  may  be  withdrawn,  the 
friends   who   contributed    it   may   fall 


wearying  it  to  all  eternity.  The  sub- 
jects of  human  knowledge  are  bounded, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  when  scientific 
instruments  reach  the  perfection  that 
they  promise,  to  imagine  the  time  when 
the  circle  of  human  information  will  be 
complete;  when  our  telescopes  shall 
have  swept  every  star,  and  our  micro- 
scopes revealed  every  molecule,  and  our 


away  or  die,  the  enemies  who  are  wait-      natural  philosophy  the  details  of  every 


ing  their  opportunity  to  undermine  it 
may  succeed,  health  may  fail,  and  life. 
But  God's  commandment  is  exceeding 
broad.  It  can  confer  honours  which  are 
supernatural  and  immortal,  "  crowns  of 
glory  which  can  never  fade  away." 
IIL  The  cLevelopment  of  human  cha- 


element.  But  God's  commandment 
contains  things  into  which  we  shall 
desire  to  look  for  ever.  The  records  of 
human  knowledge  perish  ;  inscriptions 
become  illegible ;  books  and  parch- 
ments wear  out ;  but  God's  command- 
ment will  endure  for  ever. 

293 


PSALM  OXIZ. 


HO  MI  LET IG  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


V.  Human  pleasures  and  satisfac- 
tions. Sensual  gratifications  soon  pall 
upon  the  taste.  Sinful  appetites  are 
soon  jaded.  The  worldling  sooner  or 
later  comes  to  the  old  conclusion,  "  All 
is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit."  The 
'*  pleasures  of  sin  are  for  a  season." 
Even  innocent  enjoyments  lose  their  re- 
creative power.  They  must  be  changed 
again  and  again,  for  without  variety  they 
cease  to  satisfy  at  all.  When  over  in- 
dulged, or  sought  as  an  end  and  not  a 
means  to  an  end,  they  lose  their  pleasur- 
ableness  altogether.  But  God's  com- 
mandment is  exceeding  broad.  It  con- 
tains and  leads  us  to  fulness  of  joy  and 
pleasures  for  evermore. 

VI.  Human  institutions.  These  are 
mostly  local.  As  a  rule  the  institutions 
of  a  country  are  confined  to  that  country. 
The  manners  and  customs  of  a  race  or 
clime  usually  belong  only  to  that  race 
or  clime.  But  God's  commandment  is 
exceeding  broad.  Its  institutions  and 
principles  are  adapted  to  the  whole 
world.      Human    institutions    are    all 


temporary.  They  are  founded  to  an- 
swer passing  needs.  The  institution  of 
God's  word  will  la.st  through  the  eternity 
of  man's  spiritual  want.  They  are  the 
bread  and  water  of  his  life  by  which  he 
shall  be  satisfied  for  evermore. 

In  conclusion. — Why  ?  Because  all 
things  merely  human  are  confined  to 
time.  God's  commandment,  covers  time 
and  eternity.  Things  human  cannot 
touch  the  immortal  life  and  satisfy  it, 
cannot  cleanse  the  sinful  conscience, 
soothe  the  troubled  heart,  or  give  peace 
to  the  agitated  soul.  They  cannot  aid 
us  in  our  great  concerns,  cannot  tell 
us  about  God,  duty,  acceptance  with 
heaven,  death,  preparation  for  a  life  to 
come.  God's  commandment  can  and 
does  all  this,  and  therefore  is  it  ''ex- 
ceeding broad."  Therefore  our  text  is 
a  solemn  word  for  everybody.  It  is  an 
encouragement  to  the  weak,  a  warning 
to  the  great,  a  comfort  for  the  old,  an 
exhortation  to  the  young.  All  perfection 
has  an  end,  but  God's  commandment  is 
exceeding  broad. 


The  Saint's  Enjoyment  of  the  Law  of  God. 
(Verses  ^1  and  103.) 


L  The  law  of  God  is  lovable.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice,  that  the  Psalmist's 
appreciation  was  not  only  of  its  pro- 
raises  (ver.  103),  but  of  its  injunctions 
(ver.  97). 

1.  Because  of  its  author.  It  is  our 
Father's  legacy.  The  commandment  and 
promises  of  Him  who  sticketh  closer  than 
a  brother.  It  is  the  counsel  and  loving 
assurance  of  our  best  and  truest  Friend. 

2.  Because  of  its  subject-matter.  (1.)  It 
is  truth  divine  and  infallible.  '*Thy 
word  is  truth  "  (Ps.  xix.  9,  Eph.  i.  13). 

'It  is  necessary  truth  that  would  never 
have  been  discovered  by  the  unaided  use 
of  our  understandings.  All  truth  should 
excite  affection,  because  of  its  suitability 
to  the  mind  and  its  power  to  satisfy  it. 
(2.)  It  is  the  revelation  of  perfect  love 
and  goodness.  Tells  us  of  our  Father's 
character  and  the  beneficence  of  His  in- 
tentions, how  sin  may  be  pardoned,  the 
Boul  sanctified,  the  whole  nature  blessed, 
and  heaven  gained. 

3.  Because  of  the  benefit   it  confers, 

294 


It  convinces  the  sinner  of  the  error  of 
his  ways  (Jer.  xxiii),  Paul  before  Felix. 
It  converts  the  soul  from  sin  (Ps.  xix.  7). 
It  promises  comfort  in  all  times  of  dis- 
tress. It  is  a  safe  guide  in  the  affairs  of 
life.  It  initiates  and  increases  in  the 
knowledge  of  God,  and  is  able  to  make 
us  perfect  in  every  good  word  and  work 
(2  Tim.  iii.  7,  2  Pet.  i.  19). 

II.  God's  saints  possess  a  spiritual 
taste  which  enables  them  to  appreciate 
the  law  of  God.  The  soul  has  faculties 
which  perform  the  same  functions  for  it 
as  the  senses  do  for  the  body  (Heb.  v. 
14).  Thus  it  is  said  to  hear,  see,  handle, 
feel,  speak ;  and  as  here  and  in  Psalm 
xxxiv.  8,  taste.  These  are  the  most 
acute  )f  all  senses.  The  higher  the  life, 
the  keener  the  sense.  Animals  feel  more 
than  plants;  men  more  than  animals; 
spiritual  men  more  than  carnal  men. 

1.  What  this  taste  presjipposes.  Soul 
hunger.  A  jaded  or  satisfied  appetite 
more  or  less  impairs  the  sense  of  taste. 
Taste,  too,  has  frequently  to  be  created 


HO  Ml  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Pf  ALM  OXIX. 


Things  which  before  were  noxious  then 
become  enjoyable.  And  to  the  hungry- 
soul,  whose  taste  has  been  quickened  by 
God,  is  God's  law  sweet  (Pro v.  xxvii., 
Rom.  viii.  5). 

2.  What  this  taste  involves,  a  relish 
for  the  word  of  God  (Jer.  xv.  16,  Ezek. 
iii.  3,  Rev.  x.  10).  No  man  who  does 
not  relish  God's  words  can  use  the 
language  of  our  text. 


m.  God's  saints  exercise  that  taste 
continually.  "  It  is  my  meditation  all 
the  day."  This  is  but  natural.  What 
we  love  most,  we  most  desire.  What  we 
most  delight  in,  we  seek  most  familiarity 
with.  This  holds  good  all  the  world 
over.  Fame,  pleasure,  business,  war, 
&c.,  so  here  the  saint  loves  God's 
Word,  delights  in  it,  and  hence  **  medi- 
tates upon  it  all  the  day." 


Superior  Understanding. 


{Verses  98- 
I  What  In  1  Pre-eminently  in  holi- 
ness. "  I  have  refrained  my  feet  from 
every  evil  way;"  "I  have  not  departed 
from  Thy  judgments."  The  Psalmist 
does  not  mean  simply  in  intellectual 
matters,  although  that  may  hold  good. 
The  man  who  prays  is  most  likely  to 
keep  his  intellect  clear.  He  who  re- 
cognises his  mental  faculties  as  a  solemn 
and  responsible  gift  of  God  is  most 
likely  to  be  industrious  in  their  employ- 
ment. He  who  devoutly  seeks  for 
divine  assistance  is  most  likely  to  gain 
it,  and  thus  distance  his  compeers.  But 
the  Psalmist  seems  to  contemplate  both 
superiority  of  subject,  and  superiority  of 
attainment  in  that  subject. 
II.  Over  whom  1 

1.  '^  Mine  enemies.'^  That  is  most 
likely  from  their  qualities  as  mentioned 
in  this  Psalm.  A  man  who  entertains 
enmity  in  his  heart  is  not  likely  to  be 
an  adept  in  the  knowledge  of  God. 

2.  ''My  teachers:'  Because  of  his 
more  diligent  use  of  means.  It  is  not 
seldom  that  scholars  outstrip  their 
teachers  by  this  method.  The  Psalm- 
ist's teachers  may  have  been  mere  sur- 
face or  fanciful  expositors  of  the  Word 
of  God,  or  mere  sinecurists  or  cere- 
monialists. 

3.  *'  The  ancients"  Those  older  than 
himself  (Job  xxxii.  7,  8),  because  he 
meditated  where  they  only  skinmied, 
and  practised  where  they  only  theorised! 
Or  his  predecessors,  because  he  possessed 


The     Psalmist    here 
powerful  and  familiar  figures 'to  'express      God. 


102,  104.) 

more  of  the  word  of  inspiration  than 
they.  Can  we  with  "  all  Scripture  "  use 
the  words  of  the  text  ? 

III.  Through  what  power  ?  "Thou 
hast  made  me  wiser ;"  **Thou  hast  taught 
me." 

1.  Not  hy  the  use  of  his  unaided 
faculties^  or  any  superiority  of  intellect, 
insight,  or  industry.  The  one  thing 
which  he  and  his  brethren  earnestly 
disclaim  is  originality.     But — 

2.  By  direct  divine  instruction.  To 
attain  this  superiority  now  we  must 
have  it  from  the  same  source.  All  that 
the  unaided  understanding  can  do  in 
this  direction  has  been  achieved,  and 
that  is  nothing.  No  reflection,  thought, 
or  study  even  of  the  divine  oracles  can 
make  us  "  wise  unto  salvation,"  except 
through  "the  faith  and  love  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus."  <*  They  shall  be  all 
taught  of  God." 

IV.  By    what     instrumentality. 

"Through  Thy  precepts." 

1.  Continual  meditation.  "  They  are 
ever  with  me."  Knowledge,  like  life, 
must  be  continually  fed. 

2.  Consistent  practice.  "  I  keep  Thy 
precepts."  Theories  can  only  keep  their 
hold  in  so  far  as  they  are  consistently 
reduced  to  practice. 

3.  Earnest  continuance,  "  I  have  not 
departed,"  &c. 

V.  With  what  results? 
1.  Distaste  for  falsehood  (ver.  104). 
2.    Unswerving  integrity. 

God's  Word  a  Lamp  and  a  Light. 
(Verse  105.) 
employs    two      the  enlightening  power  of  the  Word  of 

In  the  day  it  is  a  light  showing 

295 


FSALM  OZIX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


UB  the  direction,  course,  peculiarities, 
and  dangers  of  our  path.  At  night, 
when  the  sun  has  set  and  the  gloom  has 
settled,  and  we  have  to  pick  our  way,  it 
shall  be  a  candle,  not  perhaps  illumi- 
nating the  entire  course,  but  sufficient  to 
guide  ourfootsteps  clearof  the  stumbling- 
blocks  and  difficulties  of  the  way.  In 
the  day  its  light  is  delightful,  displaying 
all  the  beauties  of  the  landscape  and 
cheering  our  onward  tread.  In  the  night 
it  is  useful,  showing  us  where  we  may 
err,  where  we  should  tread,  and  how  it 
is  possible  to  fall. 

I.  The  Word  of  God  is  a  light. 

1.  It  claims  to  be  a  light  (Prov.  xvi. 
23,  2  Pet.  i.  19).  Certain  types  power- 
fully shadow  it  forth  as  such  (Exod.  xiii. 
21,  xxvii.  20,  21  ;  Neh.  ix.  10). 

2.  Reason  supports  this  claim.  It  is 
God's  Word  (1  John  i»  5).  Holy  men 
wrote  it  (2  Pet.  i.  21).  Moral  enlighten- 
ment and  guidance  is  the  design  of  it. 

3.  Experience  warrants  it  Bad  men 
fear  and  hate  it  (John  iii.  20,  21). 
Good  men  have  loved  and  enjoyed  it 
(Ps.  xix.  8).  Those  who  have  gone 
without  it  or  rejected  it  have  stumbled. 
Those  who  have  accepted  its  guidance 
have  had  the  light  of  life. 

II.  The  Word  of  God  is  a  clear  light. 
It  is  not  twilight,  or  starlight,  or  moon- 
light, but  daylight. 

1.  It  is  u  clear  light  in  the  right  way 
(Ps.  xliii.  3).  The  wisest  men  have 
wandered  without  it. 

2.  It  is  a  clear  light  on  the  wrong  way. 
It  not  only  tells  us  what  to  do,  but  what 
not  to  do.  Warns  us  against  going 
astray.  Informs  us  where  sin  and  mad- 
ness lie.  Urges  us  to  beware  of  and 
shun  the  magic  music  of  the  syren's  voice 
and  the  pleasant  pastures  of  sin.  And, 
thank  God,  it  shines  to  lead  us  back 


again.  It  is  a  revelation  of  God's  way 
to  bad  and  fallen  men  (1  Cor.  xiv.  24). 

3.  It  is  a  clear  light  in  the  dark  way. 
Clouds  may  settle  on  the  path  of  God. 
The  sun  may  hide  itself.  Our  way  may 
lie  through  dark  ravines  and  the  valley 
of  the  death-shadow.  Trouble  may 
overcast  the  soul  and  lead  us  to  say, 
"  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  1 " 
But  even  under  circumstances  such  as 
these,  light  breaks  forth  from  God's  holy 
word  which  makes  it  a  lamp  to  our  path 
(Isa.  1.  10). 

III.  The  Word  of  God  is  a  full  and 
perennial  light.  It  guides  by  day  and 
it  guides  by  night.  It  illumines  our 
path,  but  it  enables  us  to  pick  each  indi- 
vidual step. 

1 .  Generally  it  tells  us  the  course  of  life 
we  should  pursue,  the  grand  choice  we 
ought  to  make,  jind  the  sublime  destiny 
we  ought  to  reach  (Ps.  xxv.  12). 

2.  In  particular.  Many  men  are  wise 
in  a  general  way,  but  sadly  fail  when 
they  come  to  details.  A  man  may  be  a 
very  good  mathematician,  yet  a  very  bad 
accountant.  A  great  statesman  may  be 
utterly  unable  to  grasp  the  minor  and 
subordinate  details  of  state  policy.  So 
many  a  man  has  taken  the  Bible  as  the 
guide  for  his  general  course  of  conduct, 
who  for  want  of  attention  to  its  details 
has  stumbled  and  fallen.  The  Bible  not 
only  unveils  the  whole  way,  but  lights 
up  every  successive  step  of  the  way  (1 
Pet.  i.  15).  No  man  need  err  respecting 
any  duty,  responsibility,  or  privilege 
in  his  path.  This  applies  to  men  of  all 
ages,  and  conditions  everywhere.  This 
being  the  case — 

(i.)  How  thankful  we  ottght  to  be  for  the 
Word  of  God/ 

(ii.)  How  diligently  we  ought  to  study 
and  practise  it  J 


Religious  Profession. 


Our  text  suggests — 

L  That  the  profession  of  religion 
should  be  of  the  strongest  and  most 
binding  character. 

1.  This  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
godly  in  all  ages  (Job  xxxL  1 ;  2  Chron. 
XV.  12-14,  xxxiv.  31). 


(Verse  106.) 

2.  The  weakness  of  <mr  oum  nature 

demands  it.  Our  mere  purposes  and  re- 
solutions are  like  the  morning  cloud,  &c., 
and  require  to  be  bound  down  under  the 
most  solemn  obligations. 

3.  The  character  of  the  subject  requiret 
it,     God  has  sworn  with  an  oath  to  fulfil 


SOMIlETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


I^ALII  OXIS. 


His  engagements  towards  ns  (Heb.  vi. 
18),  and  requires  a  responsive  oath  from 
us  (Exod.  xxiv.  3).  The  beneficence 
and  necessity  of  the  laws,  in  the  keeping 
of  which  religion  consists,  demand  it. 

II.  That  the  profession  of  religion 
should  be  the  result  of  serious  thought. 
The  resolution  to  keep  God's  righteous 
judgments  implies  a  study  of  those 
judgments  which  has  resulted  in  the 
conclusion  that  they  are  righteous.  When 
a  man  determines  to  be  a  Christian,  he 
should  know  what  he  is  about.  He  is 
making  a  throw  for  time  and  for  eternity. 
God  Himself  demands  that  the  cost 
should  be  counted,  so  that  there  may  be 
no  afterthoughts,  for  He  has  no  pleasure 
in  the  sacrifice  of  fools. 

IIL  That  the  profession  of  religion 
should  be  made  with  a  free  but  resolute 
vnIL  The  individual  himself  should  of 
himself  and  for  himself  say,  "  I  will." 
Let  parents  beware  how  they  compel 
their  children  to  appear  religious.  Many 
a  moral  wreck  has  been  stranded  on  the 
shores  of  eternity  through  this.  Compul- 
sion will  breed  distaste.  Rather  guide 
the  judgment,  reason,  and  affections. 
Show  the  duty,  need,  and  lovableness  of 


religion,  and  lead  the  child  to  say  of 
himself,  "  I  will  keep  Thy  righteous 
judgments."  The  will  once  bent,  fix  it. 
Let  nothing  alter  your  decision  or  make 
you  swerve. 

IV.  That  the  profession  of  religion 
once  made  should  be  faithfully  and  con- 
sistently kept.  "  I  will  perform  it." 
The  strength  of  the  Psalmist's  accumu- 
lated expressions  will  be  seen  at  once. 

1.  To  break  our  oath  is  to  aggravate 
our  sin.  Better  not  swear  at  all  than 
swear  and  not  perform  (Eccl.  v.  5). 

2.  The  same  motives  that  urged  us  to 
take  the  vow  hold  good  all  the  way 
through.  After  the  most  protracted  test 
and  trial  of  religion,  the  godly  man  sees 
no  reason  to  repent  his  choice.  God  is 
the  same,  and  His  judgments  lose  none 
of  their  righteousness  by  lapse  of  years. 

3.  God  is  the  severe  and  just  avenger 
of  broken  fidelity.  Young  man  !  (i.) 
Resolve  to  be  religious.  It  is  the  noblest, 
most  reasonable,  and  safest  thing  to  do. 
(ii.)  Resolve  and  fulfil  your  resolutions^ 
not  in  your  own  strength,  but  in  the 
strength  of  God.  (iii.)  Resolve  and  ex- 
pect God^s  blessing  and  reward. 


Affliction. 


{Verses  107,  109,  120,  124, 

This  Psalm  is  emphatically  a  psalm 
for  the  afflicted.  Sorrow  and  trouble 
are  here  delineated  in  every  form  in 
which  they  may  be  expected  to  occur. 
But  not  only  so :  all  the  consolations  and 
remedies  that  are  at  the  disposal  of  the 
afflicted  are  here  opened  up,  and  also 
all  the  obligations  which  comfort  or  re- 
storation imposes,  and  all  the  results 
which  may  be  expected  to  follow.  It 
will  be  profitable,  therefore,  to  survey 
the  whole  field  displayed  in  these  verses 
as  briefly  as  possible. 

I.  The  characteristics  of  affliction. 

1.  It  is  sometimes  extreme  (vers.  107, 
143). 

2.  It  is  sometimes  pei'Uous  (ver.  109). 
**The  image  is  taken  from  a  traveller 
carrying  precious  jewels  in  his  hand 
through  dangerous  paths,  or  from  soldiers 
who  carry  their  lives  in  their  hands,  in 
that  their  lives  depend  upon  their  yal- 


135,  143,  153,  154,  156.) 

our  in  fight,  or  perhaps  from  a  game  of 
chance.  "  Though  I  play  with  my  life 
and  risk  it  always,"  &c.  Vaihnger  in- 
terprets '*  my  soul  is  in,  or  upon  my 
hand,  apt  to  fall  off  and  perish,  as  any 
thing  in  or  upon  the  hand  easily  falls 
off." — Speaker's  Com. 

3.  It  is  sometimes  a  Judicial  infliction 
(ver.  120  ;  Lam.  iii.  39).  (See  also 
Job  iv.  15;  Isa.  ii.  10;  Jer.  IL  27; 
Exod.  xxxiv.  7.) 

II.  The  consolations  of  affliction. 

1.  That  God  permits  it.  This  is  the 
assumption  of  the  whole  Psalm,  and 
what  quiets  and  comforts  the  Psalmist's 
soul.  If  God  permits  it,  it  must  be  for 
the  bringing  about  of  some  beneficent 
end. 

2.  That  it  does  not  produce  forgetful- 
ness  of  God's  law  (ver.  109).  When 
men  do  forget  God's  law,  let  them  not 
charge  affliction  with  this  terrible  dis- 

297 


fSALM  CXIX, 


nOMlLBTW  COhMBNTARY:  PSALMS. 


comfort.     In  many  cases  it  is  sent   to 
stimulate  memory. 

3.  That  it  has  opened  to  him  the  sup- 
ports and  pleasures  of  the  Word  of  God 
(ver.  143).  Happy  the  man  whose 
affliction  has  given  him  time  for,  and 
driven  him  to,  the  study  of  God's  law. 

III.  The  remedy  for  afflic^tion. 

1.  The  divine  favour  (vers.  124, 
156). 

2.  The  divine  promise  (ver.  154). 

3.  The  divine  wisdom  (ver.  156). 

4.  The  divine  assistance  (Ps.  xxxv.  1, 
xliii.  1,  ixxiv.  22).  "  The  expression 
belongs  properly  to  judicial  proceedings. 
The  Psalmist  is  wrongfully  accused,  and 
prays  to  God  to  be  his  advocate  ;  but 
inasmuch  as  the  cause  is  carried  on,  not 
in  a  court  of  justice,  but  in  the  battle- 
field, the  advocate  must  be  also  a  cham- 
pion."— Speaker^s  Com. 

IV.  The  results  of  affliction. 

1.  Quickened,  vitality  (vers.  154, 
156).  Painful  operations  sometimes 
save  life,  and  life  is  all  the  stronger  for 


these  operations.  The  cancer  must  be 
cut  out,  that  the  life  that  is  being  con- 
sumed may  be  spared  and  made  more 
healthy. 

2.  Instruction  in  God's  statutes.  Afflic- 
tion is  what  we  run  into  sometimes  in 
our  flight  from  the  divine  ways.  It  is 
beneficial  for  a  child  to  feel  the  pain  of 
fire  that  he  may  avoid  it,  and  so  God^s 
child*  is  made  to  feel  the  bitterness  of 
sin,  that  he  may  value  and  be  faithful  to 
his  Father's  law. 

3.  The  special  favour  of  God  (ver. 
135).  A  parent  regards  with  peculiar 
complacency  and  love  his  child  who  has 
been  rescued  from  peril  and  disease. 

Lessons — 

(i.)  Let  affliction  drive  us  in  prayer  to 
God  (ver.  153). 

(ii. )  Let  no  affliction  drive  us  to  trans- 
gress God's  law  (ver.  109,  &c.). 

(iii.)  Let  affliction  stimulate  us  to 
expect  quickened  life,  a  more  earnest 
fidelity/,  and  double  favour. 


Spiritual  Saorifiobs. 
(Verse  108.) 


This  verse  appropriately  follows  the 
Psalmist's  contemplation  of  his  affliction. 
God  had  afflicted  him  in  mercy  and  with 
judgment.  God  had  wonderfully  de- 
livered him.  He  feels  as  the  Apostle 
felt  centuries  afterwards  (Rom  xii.  1), 
that  in  recognition  of  the  Divine  bene- 
ficence it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to 
offer  spiritual  sacrifices  to  God.  Note 
comparisons  and  contrasts,  and  the  word 
beseech  in  both.     We  have  here — 

I.  A  recognition  of  the  spiritual 
priesthood  of  believers.  The  off'ering 
presupposes  the  priesthood.  God's 
people  throughout  the  ages  have  been 
members  of  a  royal  priesthood.  The 
Jewish  nation  was  such  (Exod.  xix.  5, 
6).  The  prophets  contemplated  the 
time  when  pious  Gentiles  would  be  such 
(Isa.  Ixi.  6,  Ixvi.  21  ;  Mai.  i.  11).  The 
New  Testament  recognises  all  Christians 
as  such  (1  Pet,  ii.  9  ;  Rev.  i.  6). 

II.  Spiritual  priests  must  have  a 
spiritual  preparation.  Under  the  law, 
the  priests  were  to  be  separate  from  the 
commonalty.      Under  the  Gospel,  they 

298 


are  a  holy  nation  and  a  peculiar  people. 
Under  the  law  they  received  a  special 
anointing ;  under  the  Gospel  they  re- 
ceive the  unction  of  the  Holy  One  (1 
John  ii.  20).  Under  the  law  the  priests 
were  prepared  for  their  office  by  a  lustra- 
tion ;  Christians  are  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  (Titus  iii.  6).  All  priestly 
orders,  whether  received  from  Greece  or 
Rome,  are  invalid,  except  those  con- 
ferred by  Him  who  alone  can  "  make  " 
**  kings  and  priests." 

III.  Spiritual  priests  must  offer  and 
can  only  offer  spiritual  sacriflces.  Not 
expiatory,  but  eucharistic  ;  not  sin  ofier- 
ings,  but  peace  and  thank  ofi'erings  (Heb, 
vii.  27,  X.  14,  xiii.  15).  As  the  priest- 
hood is  purely  spiritual  so  must  be  the 
sacrifices  (John  iv.  24 ;  Ps.  1.  13-15, 
Ixix.  30,  31).  The  particular  offering 
here  specified  includes  or  presupposes 
all  the  rest.  Prayer  (Ps.  cxli.  2).  Praise 
(Ps.  liv.  6).  Thanksgiving  (Ps.  1.  1, 
4).  The  body  (Rom.  xii.  1).  Body 
and  spirit  (1  Cor.  vi.  20).  Ourselves 
(2    Cor.    viii.    5).     Almsgiving    (PhiL 


MOMILBTIG  COMMENTARt:  PSAIMS. 


^salm  om. 


iv.  18;  Heb.  xiii.  16).  Notice,  further, 
that  these  are  sacrifices  because  they  are 
true  to  t.iG  laws  which  underlie  the 
whole  doctrine  of  sacrifice  —  viz,f  self- 
denial,  recognition  of  what  is  due  to 
God  (Ps.  1.  5),  contrition  for  sin 
(Ps.  li.  17),  trust  in  the  Redeemer's 
sacrifice  (Eph.  v.  2),  acknowledgment 
of  individual  undeservedness  of  the 
divine  favour. 

IV.  Spiritual  offerings  must  be  free- 
will offerings. 

1 .  Became  God  deserves  a  service  that 
is  free. 


2.  Because  the  spiritual  man  is  upheld 
hy  ^^ a  free  spirit"  and  has  been  made 
"  willing  in  the  day  of  God's  power." 

3.  Because  free-will  offerings  are  those 
which  are  most  likely  to  be  permanent. 

V.  Free-will  offerings  are  most  ac- 
ceptable to  God.  '*God  loveth  the 
cheerful  giver "  (Isa.  Ix.  7 ;  Malacbi 
iii.  4). 

VI.  God's  gracious  acceptance  of  free- 
will offerings  must  be  regarded  as  a  great 
blessing,  and  as  therefore  incurring  cor- 
responding obligations.  "  Teach  me 
Thy  statutes  "  (Ps.  xix.  14). 


(Verse  109),  see  verse  107. 
{Verse  110),  see  verse  95. 

God's  Word  the  Heritage  op  His  Peoplb. 
{Verses  111,  112.) 


Notice — 

I.  That  God's  Word  is  a  heritage. 
A  heritage  is  that  which  has  been 
specially  bequeathed.  Heritages  are 
not  purchased,  but  testated.  So  the 
Word  of  God  has  not  been  made  or  pur- 
chased by  man,  but  has  been  freely 
given  to  us  by  our  Father  God. 

II.  That  God's  Word  is  a  valuable 
heritage.  "  They  are  the  rejoicings  of 
my  heart." 

1.  It  is  an  undeserved  heritage.  We 
can  lay  no  natural  claim  or  title  to  it. 
When  made  out  for  us  we  were  "  alien- 
ated and  enemies  in  our  mind  by  wicked 
works." 

2.  It  is  a  full  heritage.  Nothing  can 
be  added  to  it.  It  contains  all  things 
necessary  and  profitable  to  life,  godli- 
ness, and  eternity.  The  ever-blessed 
Trinity,  providence,  grace, earth,  heaven, 
all  are  there  ;  and  all  are  his  to  whom 
the  testimonies  of  God  belong  (Ps. 
xvi.  5  ;  1  Cor.  iil  21 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  10). 

3.  It  is  a  sure  heritage.  There  are 
no  flaws  in  the  title  (Heb.  vi.  17). 

4.  It  is  an  abiding  heritage.  Estates 
are  valuable  in  proportion  to  the  time 
they  last.  God's  Word  is  not  leasehold 
as  are  all  His  temporal  gifts.  They 
are  the  saints'  freehold  (Ps.  Ixxiii. 
26). 


III.  It  is  a  responsible  heritage. 

\.  Itis  offered  to  our  choice.  "  I  have 
taken."  It  is  not  forced  upon  us.  We 
may  reject  it.  If  other  things  are  more 
rejoicing  to  the  heart  we  are  welcome 
to  them — if  we  can  get  them — with  the 
consequences. 

2.  That  choice  is  the  result  of  a  pre- 
paration. "I  have  inclined."  A  child's 
faculties  must  be  developed  before  he  is 
fit  to  become  the  responsible  owner  of 
property.  So  man  must  incline  himself 
by  Divine  grace  for  the  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities which  devolve  upon  him 
as  the  proprietor  of  the  Word  of  God. 

3.  That  choice  involves  the  agent  in 
grand  and  eternal  responsibilities.  "  To 
perform  Thy  statutes  alway  even  unto 
the  end."  Free  as  is  our  heritage  there 
is  a  tax  upon  it.  The  same  tax  that  is 
upon  all  property — viz.,  right  use.  If 
this  is  not  observed  within  certain  limits 
in  worldly  estates,  the  right  is  lost.  The 
profligate  and  sprendthrift  negkcting  to 
pay  this  tax  squanders  an  ample  portion 
and  is  reduced  to  beggary.  The  care- 
less heir  who  neglects  it,  finds  it 
squandered  for  him.  He  who  uses  it 
to  violate  the  law  of  the  land  has  it 
taken  from  him.  So  those  who  do  not 
carefully  and  responsibly  use  this  great 
heritage  of  God  will  lose  it. 

299 


MJALMoxix.  BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Love  and  Hate, 
{Verses  113,  128,  163.) 

These  verses  view  the  two  great  and  is  but  an  anagram  of  man  in  innocency; 

influential  affections  in  their  relation  to  we  have  the  same  affections,  but  they 

one  another.     Let  us  view  them  first  are   misplaced.      Love    was    made    for 

together  and  then  separately.    Together  God  ;  hatred  for  sin.     Hatred  was  put 

observe —  on   us   that   we   might    fly   from    evil. 

L  Affection  is  set  against  affection;  Love  was  given  us  that  we  might  attach 

hatred  against  love.     Love  and  hatred  ourselves  to  God  and  the  things  which 

are  good  or  evil  according  to  their  ob-  glorify  Him." 

jects.      Nothing  is  worse  than  love  of  11.  Object  is  set  against  object.    Aa 

the  world,  sin,  and  vanity,  or  hatred  of  love  is  opposed  to  hatred,  so  are  vain 

God  and  holiness ;  but  set  upon  proper  thoughts  and  lying  to  God's  law,  and 

objects,  hatred  upon  evil,  and  love  upon  every  false  way  to  God's  precepts.     For 

good   (Amos  V.   15),  they   exhibit   the  as  God*8  Word  is  solemn,  practical,  and 

soul  as  divinely  constituted  at  the  first,  necessary  truth,  so  it  requires  solemnity 

For  as  has  been  well  said,  ^*  Man  fallen  and  truth  in  those  who  would  observe  it. 

Love  for  God's  Word. 
(Verses  113,  127,  128,  140,  159,  163,  165,  167.) 

"We  have  already  considered  love  in  for  what  it  represents  and  can  do.     The 

contrast  with  hate,  and  God's  Word  in  Word  of  God  contains  "the  unsearchable 

contrast  with  vain  thoughts,  lying  and  riches  of  Christ."    This  love,  then,  is  such 

every  false  way.     Let  us  now  isolate  as  will  render  us  willing  to  sell  all  we 

those  passages  which  regard  the  supreme  have,  so  that  we  may  obtain  "the  pearl 

affection  of  man's  heart  as  set  upon  God's  of  great  price  *'  (ver.  72). 

Word.  2.    Intense  and  abundant,      "Con- 

L  What  is  it  to  love  God's  Word  t  aider  how  I  love  Thy  laws."     God  only 

1.  Negatively.  Not  (1.)  The  hare  can  measure  the  depth  of  it.  "I  love 
a>cknowledgment  of  its  divinity.  This  them  exceedingly."  Not  with  the  tran- 
many  do  from  the  force  of  external  scient  affection  of  children  for  things 
evidence.  (2.)  Nor  a  hare  approval  of  which  excite  their  passing  inclinations, 
its  excellence.  Many  admire  where  they  but  with  a  love  whose  power  cannot  be 
do  not  trust  and  follow.  (3.)  A  mere  broken,  and  whose  ardour  many  waters 
spasm  of  delight^  as  Herod  rejoiced  in  cannot  quench  (vers.  48,  97  ;  1  John 
John's  light  for  a  season  (Mark  vL  20).  ii.  5). 

2.  Positively.  (1.)  Such  a  love  as  is  III.  Wliy  should  wo  love  God's 
rooted  in   the   heart   (Jas.    i.  21),  and  Word  % 

stirs  all  the  affections  to  their  inmost  1.  Because  its  precepts  concerning  all 

depths.     (2.)  Such  a  love  as  leads  us  to  things    are    right"   (ver.     128).      All 

consult  it  on  all  occasions  (Ps.  i.  2,  xix.  things,    all    persons,    considered    every 

10,  11).     (3.)  Such  a  love  as  lays  its  way,  universally,  God's  Word  is  right, 

sweet  constraint   on  our  obedience    (1  2.  Because    it    is    "  very  pure "   or 

John  ii.  4;  Rom.  vi.  17).  '^purifying."     (1.)  Pure  in  itself  (Ps. 

II.  What  degree  of  love  ought  we  xix.  8).     Refined  from  all  dross,  error, 

to  have  for  God's  Word  1  or  falsehood.     (2.)  Pure  in  the  examples 

1.   Supreme,  ''above  gold,  yea  even  it  presents  (Heb.  vi.  12  ;  1  John  iii.  3; 

fine  gold."     We  ought  to   love    God's  1  Pet.  i.   16).      (3.)  Purifying  in  the 

Word  more  than  riches,  because  it  is  influence  it  exerts  (ver.  9 ;   John  xv.  3, 

more  valuable  than  riches.     Wealth  is  xvii.    17).     Showing   us   our   impurity 

not  prized  for  its  own  sake,  but  only  (Matt.  xvi.  19 ;  Jer.  iv.  14).     Exhort- 
300 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS, 


psaLm  olil. 


ing  us  to  be  clean  (ver.  1;  Isa.  i.;  Jas, 
iv.  8).  Revealing  the  cleansing  fonntain 
(Epb.  V.  26  ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25-27).  En- 
couraging to  purity  (Matt.  v.  8 ;  2  Cor. 
vii.  1). 

2,  Because  it  is  tranquillising  (ver. 
165).  (1.)  /^  reveals  the  "  yeace  of  God" 
which  "keeps  the  heart  and  mind."  (2.) 
Christ  the  Prince  of  Peace  there  confers  it 
(John  xiv.  27).  (3.)  The  Spirit  of  Peace 
through  it  breathes  His  own  tranquillity 
(Rom.  XV.  13;   Gal.  v.  22,  vi.  16). 

IV.  How  should  we  show  our  love 
to  God's  Word  ? 

1.  By  hating  ^^ vain  thoughts"  "false 
ways,*'  and  "  lyings 

2.  By  loving  obedience  (ver.  167). 

3.  By  prayer  for  more  lively  service 
(ver.  159). 


V.  What  results  will  follow  our 
love  of  God's  Word  ? 

1.  It  will  afford  a  powerful  plea  in 
prayer  (ver.  159).  This  was  the  con- 
tideiit  appeal  of  one  who  was  conscious 
that  he  was  truly  attached  to  God  (John 
xxi.  17). 

2.  It  will  stimulate  to  a>ctive  service 
(ver.  140). 

3.  It  will  afford  a  powerful  protection 
(165,  marg.).  "  No  event  of  providence 
shall  be  an  invincible  temptation  or 
powerful  affliction,  they  shall  hold  fast 
their  integrity  and  preserve  their  tran- 
quillity. Nothing  shall  offend  or  hurt 
them,  for  everything  shall  work  for  their 
good.  They  will  not  perplex  themselves 
with  needless  scruples,  nor  take  offence 
at  their  brethren  "  (1  Cor.  xiii  6,  7). 


Holy  Hatred, 
{Verses  113,  128, 163.) 


L  In  its  nature.  Hate  is  that  passion 
which  is  aroused  by  the  presence  and 
antagonism  of  that  which  is  repugnant, 
and  which  is  excited  to  injure  or  ex- 
terminate that  to  which  it  is  irrecon- 
cilably opposed.  This  is  strong  lan- 
guage, but  justifiable  and  appropriate 
when  applied  to  the  believer's  attitude 
against  sin.  Note  a  few  of  its  attri- 
butes— 

1.  Implacability.  It  is  not  a  passing 
spasm  of  indignation  ;  it  aims  at  nothing 
short  of  extermination.  Those  who  hate 
sin  pursue  it  with  relentless  vigour. 

2.  Universality,  Anger  is  aroused 
against  individuals ;  hatred  against  spe- 
cies.    So  the  Christian  hates  all  sin. 

3.  Growth.  It  is  a  principle  which  de- 
velops with  our  own  spiritual  strength 
(Acts  xxiv.  16  ;  1  John  iii.  9). 

4.  Intensity  (ver.  163).  Mere  de- 
testation is  not  enough.  Anything  short 
of  abhorrent  hatred  will  not  meet  the 
necessities  of  the  case.  Resolution  will 
not,  nor  fear,  nor  dislike. 

XL  In  its  causes. 

1.  Spiritual  knowledge  (vera.  11, 104  ; 
Jer.  xxxi.  19). 

2.  The  love  of  God  (Ps.  xcva  10). 

3.  Filial  fear  of  God  (Prov.  viii.  13). 

4.  A  spiritual  sense  of  self-preservor 
tion. 


III.  In  its  specific  objects. 

1.  **Vain  thoughts"  The  original 
word  with  a  different  punctuation  occurs 
in  1  Kings  xviii.  21,  ^'opinions."  LXX 
here  have  'jra^avofiovi,  "  lawless  men  ;  ** 
Syr.,  *' Perversely-minded  men;"  Chal., 
"Thinkers  of  vain  thoughts."  "The 
Psalmist  describes  mischievous  specu- 
lations, subtle,  useless,  and  perilous ; 
heterodox  pernicious  teachings ;  opposed 
to  truth  revealed,  and  likely  to  interfere 
with  its  acceptance  in  its  simplicity." — 
Geier,  "  The  word  is  probably  con- 
crete and  not  abstract,  *  doubters,'  *  scep- 
tics,* '  double-minded  men  '  (Jas.  i.  8), 
avri^  di-^^/u^og,  a  double-minded  man  di- 
vided between  two  opinions. — Speaker^s 
Com. 

2.  "  False  ways,**  "  Every  course  of 
life  not  based  on  truth  or  a  right  view  of 
things." — Barnes. 

3.  "  Lying."  (1.)  The  speaking  of 
that  which  is  false  with  an  intention  to 
deceive.  (2.)  llie  suppression  of  truth 
that  should  be  told  (John  xii.  42,  43). 
(3.)  Hypocrisy.  (4.)  Disobedience  to 
the  law  which  we  profess  to  believe  and 
obey.  Lies  can  be  acted  as  well  as  told 
(Hosea  xi.  12 ;  1  John  i.  6,  ii.  4). 

In  conclusion. — We  should  hate  all 
sin,  because  it  is  what  it  is,  and  because 
of  what  it  does.     It  is  the  contempt  of 

301 


tBALM  OXIX. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


God's  authority  (Exod.  v.  4).  It  is  a 
breach  of  His  righteous  law(l  John  iii. 
4).  It  separates  from  God  (Isa.  lix.  2). 
It  defaces  the  divine  image  (Ps.  xliv. 


12).  It  is  the  abominable  thing  which 
God  hates,  and  works  ruin  and  damna- 
tion to  the  souL 


The  Divine  Protection, 


(  Verse 
L  The  divine  protection. 

1.  A  need  implied.  The  soul  is  in 
continual  danger  (Eph.  vi.  12).  It  is 
beset  by  enemies  who  excel  in  craft, 
malice,  pertinacity,  numbers,  and  power. 
Hence  it  needs  a  shield  to  protect  it  in 
active  warfare  and  a  hiding-place  to 
render  it  secure  when  at  rest. 

2.  Protection  vouchsafed.  God  is  a 
shield  to  keep  us  in  danger,  and  a  hiding- 
place  to  keep  us  out  of  it.  This  promise 
guarantees  that  danger  shall  be  en- 
tirely warded  off,  or  if  not,  it  shall  not 
overwhelm  us,  but  shall  the  rather  make 
us  sensible  of  the  divine  defence.  (1.) 
*'  Thou  art  my  hiding-place"  When 
sorely  beset  by  danger,  or  unable  to  de- 
fend themselves,  or  wanting  rest  from 
conflict,  men  run  to  a  hiding-place  (1 
Sam.  iii.  6;  Ps.  xxxii.  7;  Prov.  xxxii. 
3).  A  hiding-place  must  have  capacity. 
God  has  room  for  us  (Ps.  xxxi.  20 ;  2 
Tim.  i  12).  Secrecy  (Ps.  xxvii.  5); 
God's  protection  of  His  saints  is  a  mys- 
tery, hidden  from  the  eyes  of  men. 
"  Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
Comfort  (Ps.  xxxiv.  22,  xci.  1).  Safety 
till  trouble  is  over  (Ps.  Ivii.  1 ;  Isa.  xxvi. 
20).  (2.)  ''  Thou  art  my  shield''  (Ps.  v. 
12,  xxviii.  7,  xci.  4).  For  a  shield  to 
afford  safety  it  must  have  suflScient 
breadth  (Ps.  v.  12).  Resistance,  impene- 
trability, and  power  to  repel  the  missiles 
that  are  hurled  against  it,  back  upon  the 
foe  (Ps.  lix.  II). 

II.  Where  the  divine  protection  is 
revealed.     In  God's  Word— 


114.) 

1.  It  sett  God  forth  as  His  people's 
sure  defence  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11;  Gen.  xv. 

2.  It  gives  infallible  assurance  of  the 
Divine  protection.     Prov.  xxx.  6  •   Ps 

xviii.  30).  ' 

3.  It  invites  and  encourages  us  to 
avail  ourselves  of  that  protection. 

4.  It  tells  us  what  qualifications  he 
must  have  who  would  avail  himself  of 
that  protection.  Faith  (Prov.  xxx.  5  • 
Ps.  xviii.  30).  Obedience  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.' 
11 ;  Prov.  ii.  7  ;  Isa.  xxxiii.  15,  16). 

5.  It  tells  us  how  to  enjoy  that  protec- 
tion (Zeph.  ii.  3). 

m.  The  comfort  this  revelation 
brings.     '*  I  hope  in  Thy  word." 

1.  It  tranquillises  the  soul  while  it 
waits  for  God's  own  time  (Ps.  xxxiii.  20. 
Isa.  xxviii.  16). 

2.  It  fortifies  the  heart  in  present  diffir 
cultiesy  and  when  danger  is,  or  promises 
to  be  extreme.  Moses  in  the  wilderness 
(Ps.  xc.   1),  David  in  exile  (Ps.  iii.  3). 

3.  It  empowers  us  cheerfully  to  do  what 
God  would  have  us  do,  and  go  where  God 
would  have  tis  go^  fearlessly  trusting  in 
God's  goodness  and  power  (Ps.  xxxi.  5). 

In  conclusion. — (1.)  A  word  of  com- 
fort. No  hurt  can  happen  to  us  without 
God's  leave,  (ii.)  A  word  of  warning. 
There  is  no  safety  for  us  except  behind 
God's  power,  (iii.)  A  word  of  exhorta- 
tion. Acknowledge  God  at  all  times  as 
your  protector,  and  seek  Him  in  every 
time  of  need. 


Separation  and  Consistency. 


{Verse 
These  two  ideas  stand  or  fall  with 
each  other.  It  is  impossible  to  be 
obedient  to  the  law  of  God  while  asso- 
ciating with  wicked  men,  and  equally 
impossible  to  keep  bad  company  while 
doing  good  works.  Observe — 
302 


115.) 

I.  The  necessity  of  separation  from 

evil  doers. 

1.  Its  limitations.  (1.)  Not  in  mere 
matters  of  business  (1  Cor.  v.  5),  nor  while 
it  is  possible  to  do  them  good.  Nor 
should  we  renounce  Church  fellowship 


HOMILSTIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXtZ. 


because  evil  or  inconsistent  men  are 
there — a  most  absurd,  but,  alas!  frequent 
course.  There  are  black  or  unsound 
sheep  in  every  flock,  tares  in  every  har- 
vest, chaff  in  every  threshing-floor.  "  I 
fly  from  the  chaff  that  I  may  not  be  it ; 
but  I  fly  not  the  floor  lest  I  be  nothing." 
— Augustine.  But  (2)  We  are  required 
not  to  he  unequally  yoked  with  them  in 
cordial  friendship  or  matrimonial  alii- 
ances  (Exod.  xxxiv.  15,  2  Cor.  vi.  14), 
not  to  imitate  their  manners  and  customs, 
and  not  to  partake  of  their  sins  (Eph.  v. 
11).  But  by  virtue  of  our  new  nature, 
our  spiritual  sonship,  our  moral  inherit- 
ance, our  communion  with  God,  and  our 
hope  of  heaven,  we  are  enjoined  to  come 
out  from  among  them  and  be  the  saintly 
and  peculiar  people  of  God. 

2.  Its  reasons.  (1.)  Our  love  of  God 
should  prevent  us  being  on  terms  of  amity 
and  fellowship  with  those  who  are  at 
enmity  with  Him.  It  would  argue  but 
poor  patriotism  for  a  soldier  to  be  on 
terms  of  cordiality  with  a  rebel  or  a  foe 
(Ps.  cxxxix.  21,  22;  2  Pet.  ii.  8).  (2.) 
Evil  communications  corrupt  good  man- 
ners (Ps.  i.  1  ;  Isa.  vi.  5  ;  Pro  v.  i.  10,  15  ; 
1  Cor.  V.  6.)  (3.)  Our  familiarity  will 
harden  them  in  their  sins,  while  our  sepa- 
ration from  them  may  promote  reflection 
(2  Thess.  iii.  6-14).  (4.)  Friendship 
with  them  will  bring  a  blemish  on  our  fair 
fame.  A  man  is  known  by  the  company 
he  keeps  (2  John  ii.,  Heb.  xii.  15,  Ps. 


1.18).  (6.)  We  stand  in  danger  of  ahav" 
ing  their  ruin  (Gen.  xiv.  12,  Pro  v.  xiii, 
20,  Rev.  xviii.  4). 

II.  The  duty  of  keeping  God's  com- 
mandments. 

1 .  We  are  under  tJie  most  solemn  obliga- 
tions to  do  so.  They  are  the  command- 
ments of  our  God.  Ours  by  covenant 
engagement.  He  has  promised  to  be 
ours  only  on  the  condition  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  duty  (Deut.  xxvii.  9,  10). 

2.  We  owe  it  as  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
God  for  revealing  them.  Since  God  has 
been  at  the  trouble  of  revealing  them, 
holy  and  just  and  good  as  they  are,  we 
ought  to  be  at  the  trouble  of  keeping 
them. 

3.  Upon  keeping  God*8  commandments 
our  wellbeing  absolutely  depends.  To 
transgress  them  is  to  transgress  the  fun- 
damental laws  of  spiritual  life. 

4.  Upon  our  constant  obedience  depends 
our  hope  of  heaven.  "Be  tliou  faithful 
unto  death,"  &c. 

III.  The  importance  of  prompt  and 
decisive  resolution.  '*  Depart."  "  I 
will." 

1.  God  has  no  pleasure  in  an  unstable^ 
double-minded  man. 

2.  Without  resolute  determination  all 
desires  are  vain. 

3.  Unless  ive  are  prompt  and  decisive^ 
evildoers  will  take  advantage  of  us  and 
easily  win  us  to  their  ways. 


God's  Attitude  towards  the  Kighteous  and  the  Wicked. 

(Verses  116-119.) 


L  God*s  attitude  towards  the  right- 
eous. 

1.  What  that  attitude  is.  Twofold. 
RoMiething  to  hold.  Some  one  who  holds. 
Teiieo  et  teneor.  (1.)  God  is  something 
to  hold.  A  prop,  a  rock,  a  sure  founda- 
tit)n  ;  something  clinging  to  which  we 
shall  not  be  swept  away  by  the  surging 
billows.  (2.)  God  is  someone  who  holds. 
The  Psalmist  thinks  of  the  strong  and 
tenacious  grasp  of  God ;  *'  They  shall 
never  perish,"  <fec.  This  double  idea  is 
expressed  in  Ps.  Ixxiii.  23 

2.  Upon  what  that  attitude  depends. 
Twofold  again.  The  divine  promise 
and  cheerful  obedience.  (1.)  "  According 


to  Thy  word."  The  Bible  is  full  of  pro- 
mises in  this  direction  too  numerous  to 
quote.  (2.)  "/  love  Thy  testimonies^^ 
"  I  will  have  respect  unto  Thy  statutes 
continually." 

3.  What  this  attitude  implies.  (1.) 
lAfe.     (2.)  Glorious  hope.     (3.)  Safety, 

II.  God's  attitude  towards  the 
wicked. 

1.  What  that  attitude  is.  (1.)  Con- 
tempt. Sept.  and  Vulg.,  "Thou  dost 
despise  (ver.  118).  (2.)  Rejection  (ver. 
119).  "There  is  no  true  metal  in  them 
when  they  are  tried  by  the  refining  fire, 
they  are  burnt  up  ;  they  fly  off  in  fumes. 
There  is  probably  an  allusion   to   the 

303 


nALMOXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


scum  or  scoriae  at  the  surface  of  melting      Because   of  their  falsehood.      (2.)    Be- 


metals,  which  is  swept  ofif  previously  to 
casting  the  metal  into  the  mould." — 
Clarke. 

2.  Why  that  attitude  is  assumed.    (1.) 


cause  of  their  worth lessness  :  "  dross." 

3.  What  that  attitude  implies.  One 
word  describes  it  all.  '*  Everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  and  from  the  glory  of  His  power." 

(Verse  120),  see  verse  107. 
{Verse  121),  see  verse  95. 
(Verse  122),  see  verse  95, 

Lofty    Aspirations. 


(Verses  123-125.) 

I.  The  objects  of  these  aspirations. 

(1.)  Salvation.  (2.)  The  words  of 
God's  righteousness.  This  may  refer  to 
some  precious  promise,  some  solemn 
injunction,  or  some  righteous  law.  (3.) 
Divine  teaching.  The  Word  of  God  is  a 
sealed  word  without  the  illumination  of 
the  Divine  Spirit. 


II.  The  quality  of  these  aspirations. 

1.  Intensity.  "  Mine  eyes  fail." 
"  The  idea  here  is  that  of  looking  out 
for  a  tiling — of  *  straining  the  eyes  '  so 
that  their  power  becomes  exhausted," 

2.  Resignation.  "  Deal  with  Thy  ser- 
vant according  to  Thy  mercy."  What  is 
best  for  me  grant  If  lask  amiss  withhold. 


The  Lord's  Time  and  Ours. 
(Verse  126.) 


The  Hebrew  literally  rendered  is, 
**  Time  to  do  for  Jehovah,"  and  means 
either  that  it  is  time  for  the  Lord  to 
work,  or  time  for  us  to  work  for  the 
Lord.  As  expositors  are  divided,  its 
vagueness  warrants  us  to  learn  the 
blessed  truths  taught  by  both  interpre- 
tations ;  for  are  not  we  "  workers  to- 
gether with  God  "  ^     Notice — 

I.  A  time  common  to  both  to  work. 
When  man  makes  void  the  law  of  God. 
When  is  this  time  %  Alas  !  when  is  it 
noti  Men  make  void  the  law  of  God 
every  day,  every  moment.  The  time, 
then,  for  God  and  man  to  work  together 
is  now.  Not  to-morrow,  not  on  special 
days  or  special  occasions,  but  "now  is 
the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation." 

II.  A  work  common  for  both  to  do. 
The  work  of  salvation.  Man  saves  in- 
stmmentally,  by  example,  by  exhorta- 
tion, by  influence,  in  leading  men  to  a 


knowledge  of  their  sins,  to  repentance, 
and  to  trust  in  Christ.  God  saves  ej'ec- 
tually  by  the  restraining  influences  of 
His  grace,  by  the  convictions  and  regene- 
ration of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  cleansing 
in  the  precious  blood,  by  pardon. 

III.  A  time  for  God  alone  to  work. 
Where  men  have  made  void  God's  law, 
without  repentance  or  remedy.  Such 
a  time  has  often  occurred  in  human 
history.  The  iniquities  of  men  and 
nations  have  become  full,  and  God  has 
visited  them  with  vengeance.  This 
time  occurred  to  Sodom,  Assyria,  Baby- 
lon, Israel,  Rome,  <kc.  Such  a  time 
will  occur  when  human  history  has 
closed.  Of  this  time  and  season  it  is 
not  for  man  to  know. 

IV.  A  work  for  God  alone  to  do. 
Vengeance  and  destruction.  In  this 
man  can  and  must  play  no  part  except 
as  the  merest  instrument  in  God's  hands. 
"  Vengeance  is  MineJ* 


A  Danger  and  its  Remedy, 

(Verses  126-128.) 

The  force  of  *^  therefore"  in    verses      ways.     1.   It  may  mean  that  as  a  con- 
127,  128,  maybe  taken  in  three  difi'erent      sequence  of  the  evil  of  the  times,  the 
304 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  CXIX. 


Buperior  value  of  God's  Word  was  shown 
by  contrast,  and  that,  therefore,  the  Psal- 
mist loved  it  intensely.  2.  That  as  the 
times  were  so  evil,  therefore  he  would 
do  all  that  he  could  to  counterbalance 
that  evil  by  a  superior  religious  excel- 
lence. But  3,  There  seems  to  underlie 
these  latter  verses  the  reason  for  the 
general  ungodliness  of  the  times  as  de- 
scribed in  verse  126;  and  viewed  in 
connection  with  the  thought  that  runs 
through  the  whole  Psalm,  the  danger 
of  the  Psalmist  from  the  number  of  his 
powerful  enemies,  the  therefore  seems 
to  point  to  love  of  God's  Word,  &c.,  as  a 
sure  protection  and  remedy  from  the  evil. 
I.  The  danger.  A  time  of  great 
religious  declension  is  a  time  of  great 
danger,  because  of  the  difficulties  and 
temptations  that  are  in  the  way  of 
religious  consistency.  The  question  of 
time  now-a-days  resolves  itself  into  a 
question  of  space.  Whenever  men  live 
in  a  neighbourhood  of  intense  ungodli- 
ness, they  are  always  in  great  danger. 
This  danger  consists  in — 

1.  The  lust  of  gain{yeT.  127).  To 
this  danger  all  business  men  are  exposed. 
In  the  midst  of  a  community  to  which 
"  gold  "  is  the  one  thing  needful,  there  is 
great  danger  of  succumbing  to  the  pre- 
valent fever,  and  pursuing  the  popular 
but  godless  course. 

2.  Infidelity  (ver.  128).  To  this 
danger  all  reading  and  thinking  men 
are  exposed.  Just  now  the  very  at- 
mosphere is  charged  with  unbelief. 
Newspapers  and  periodicals  are  pub- 
lished, and  societies  are  founded  for  the 
express  purpose  of  trying  to  show  God's 
precept  concerning  all  things  to  be 
wrong,  and  there  is  a  great  danger  of 
even  Christian  men  running  with  this 
giddy  multitude. 

3.  Sin,  alas !  abounds  everywhere.  The 
false  way  in  which  men  make  void 
God's  law  is  a  very  broad  wa} ,  and  many 
men  are  in  it.  False  sentiments,  false 
judgments,  false  practices  are  extremely 


prevalent,  and  men  are  strongly  tempted 
to  live  down  to  the  times  and  avoid  the 
singularity  of  walking  in  the  true  and 
narrow  way. 

This  danger  is  a  present  danger,  an  in- 
creasing doxiger,  and  oitQm,  subtle  danger 

II.  The  remedy  is  not  at  all  times 
or  usually  flight  from  danger,  but  by 
the  '*  expulsive  force  of  a  new  affection" 
to  make  danger  flee.  **  Therefore,"  <fec. 
The  remedy — 

1.  For  lust  of  gain,  is  to  love  God's 
commandments  above  gold.  Wealth 
will  then  sink  into  its  proper  and  use- 
ful place.  We  have  not  to  be  taken 
out  of  the  world,  but  to  be  kept  from 
its  evil,  and  this  will  do  it.  It  is  better 
to  be  good  than  to  be  rich  ;  for  by  be- 
coming good  a  man  often  makes  the  best 
of  both  worlds,  and  only  the  love  of  God's 
commandments  can  make  men  good. 

2.  For  infidelity,  is  to  esteem  all  God's 
precepts  concerning  all  things  to  be  right. 
Let  a  sincere  and  intelligent  study  of 
those  precepts  decide.  Let  history  de- 
cide. Let  the  lives  of  those  men  who 
have  been  without,  or  who  have  rejected, 
God's  Word  decide ;  and  the  lives  of 
those  men  who  have  followed  its  coun- 
sels and  commands. 

3.  For  sin,  is  to  hate  every  false  way. 
That  which  we  hate  we  endeavour  to 
injure  or  destroy ;  and  when  this  is 
impossible  we  avoid  it. 

III.  The  danger  is  avoided  and  the 
remedy  applied  by  earnest  prayer 
for  God  to  work  and  by  earnest  co- 
operation with  God  in  working  (ver. 
126).     See  previous  outline. 

1.  God  onJy  can  work  in  us  to  will 
and  to  dOf  dec, 

2.  But  we  must  work  out  what  God 
has  worked  in,  and  (1)  apply  ourselves 
to  the  earnest  love  of  God's  command- 
ments, dec.  (2)  Apply  ourselves  to  the 
work  of  grappling  with  selfishness,  in- 
fidelity, and  sin.  The  more  we  work 
with  God  for  man's  salvation,  the  more 
we  shall  lessen  our  danger. 


God's  Word  :  Desired,   Instructive,  Wonderful,  Kept. 

(Verses  129-131.) 

I.  Desired  (ver.  131).    "  When  under      nances  he  longed  to  be  restored  to  them; 

when  he  enjoyed  them  he  greedily  sucked 


AD  enforced  absence  from  God's  ordi 
you  ii.  V 


305 


wiLMOXix.  BOMILSTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


in  the  Word  of  God  as  new-born  babes         HL  Wonderful  Cver  129^ 

chas?    Het:;;':'"  '"  ''Tf  •"  '^"^     «'"^'  '"^^  «'""'  «■«>  thefutteTare 

L  the  eodW  aTr  tf"!;""'!'    't  '"  f*\*  ^^  ^^^  *  /<"-i^a™««  a„<i   benignity 

n.  instructive  (ver    130)      "As  »         1  {" '!f  P^'^V  and  suUimUy. 
b»am  Af  i;„i,f  i^i      •  J    /■   ,       ,    *  "•  -'"  ***  supporting  ami  comfortina 

iJutn/IShtopemng,  unfolding,  or reve-  TV  iTa^t  /        ionv„f. 

l^ion,  LXX  and  Vu.g.   a^A  ..,„.      of  ^L2b t  va  af tl      t clLTb: 

wir"'  ZXIZ  '"w   T"'?  f  "■*      '''"^'•"''     ^«  <^"  "«'  keep  l^ZT.^y 
word  into  the  soul,  but  rather  its  being      purpose   unless   our   souls  keen   th^m 

made  open  to  «,  so  that  we  may  perceive  They  must  be  deposited  t  thelbles  of 

ite  beauty,  or  may  ourselves  '•  enter  "  into  testimony  were  in  the  art     there  thev 

US  meaning,  its  mysteries,  and  its  beau-  must  ha/e  the  innermost  and  up,  erm  st 

ties.    Simple,  means  those  who  are  open  place.    Those  that  see  God's  Word  tTbe 

to  persuasion,  or  who  are  easily  enticed  or  admirable,  will  prize  it  WhWand  pre! 

(i-rov  XIV.  15),  and  then  to  the  inexpe-      promise  themselves  great  things  from  "— 
rtenced."—Spmke^,  Com.  and  Banu,.        M.  Henry.  ^ 

Pbater. 
(Veries  132-135.) 
L  The  character  of  prayer.      Per-         HI,  The  manner  of  prayer. 

Look   Thou  upon   nu."      We  cannot      Thou  upon  me."    Permit  me  to  prav 
worship  an  abstraction  at  all.     And  we  2.  Confident.     These  verses  brekihe 

cannot  worship  the  living  and  true  God      an  intense  hopefulness. 

7t™tk'        «       t  ^-  Si^«re.     "So   will   I   keep   Thy 

n.  The  matter  of  prayer.  precepts  "  ^     ^ 

iJ:  ^"f'^Ji"!"  f  '*«  *''^»«  '»«-<^  IV.  The   plea  to  be  used  in  prayer 

«n«:Jt-''     (1;)       /""*'   ''/•^'^'"'""'  (ver.   132).     Marg.,  "  According  to  the 

unwortkineu.     {2.)  A  recogmtton  of  the  custom  towards,"  Ic.  Heb.,  "  According 

dtmn^  beneficence.     (3  )  An  ardent  txpec  to  tUjudgnunt."    What  is  right, "  what 

^T  %  f.f.  '^'"7  '"^"'''"^  ,   , .  is  due  ;  or  of  what  is  usually  determined: 

„n\,  ^^'^'^   /<f  P'-a^^cal  directum.  i.e.,  as  God  usually  determines    indifes 

"Order  my  steps  in  Thy  word,"  "Teach  acts  towards  thoselho  love  Hinu     IS 

me  Thy  statutes."     (1.)  A  confession  of  idea    is    according    to    the  rules   which 

ignorance  and  departure.     (2.)  A  desire  regulate  the  treatment  of  Thy  people  "— 

for  restoration.     (3.)  A  high  valuation  of  Barnes.  ^  i'    v   ■ 

***?"»"■      ,r  ,    ,,.  V.  The  purpose  which  should  sustain 

i.  Request  for  personal  deliverance     prayer  (ver.  133).     Holiness.     For  verse 

A    rf-     ^     ,.  .     ^  ,  134seealso»w«<!95.     For  verie  135  se» 

4.  Desire  for  dimne  favours  {ver.  135).      also  verse  107. 

The  Pkopkb  Attitude  of  the  Righteous  towards  the  Ungodlt. 

(Verses  136,  139,  155,  158.) 
Whatever  interpretation  we  attach  to      Psalmists  do  not  indiscriminately  curse 
the     linprecatory  Psalms,"  certainly  the     aU  ungodly  men.     That  David  could  be 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


VBLUS.  OZTS. 


susceptible  of  such  forbearance  towards 
his  great  and  influential  enemies,  and 
that  this  Psalmist  could  be  instinct  with 
such  evangelical  charity  as  to  weep  over 
sinners,  and  to  be  consumed  with  zeal  for 
their  reclamation,  seems  to  point  to  a 
meaning  in  the  above-named  Psalms 
which  perhaps  does  not  lie  upon  the 
surface.  At  any  rate  the  meaning  of 
tliese  verses  is  clear. 
L  The  ungodly  are  described  as — 

1.  Malignant.  "  Mine  enemies.'* 
Opposers  of  righteous  words  and  perse- 
cutors of  godly  people.  They  are  known 
everywhere  by  their  antagonism  to  God's 
children.  The  carnal  mind  being  at  en- 
mity against  God  is  at  enmity  with  the 
family  of  God.  Let  it  not  be  overlooked 
that  this  is  not  a  general  classification 
here.  The  Psalmist  had  particular  per- 
sons in  his  eye. 

2.  Wicked.  From  V'^'l,  To  make  a 
wilful  mistake.  This  lixes  on  the  sinner 
conscious  and  deliberate  guilt. 

3.  Transgressors,  1iJ2.  Faithless  to 
God  and  man. 

Let  these  powerful  expressions  be 
particularly  noted  as  bringing  out  the 
Psalmist's  large-hearted  charity. 

IL  The  ungodly  are  the  subjects  of 
the  tenderest  compassion  and  the 
bitterest  grief.  "  Mine  eyes  descend 
in  rivers  of  waters  because  men  despise 
Thee  and  destroy  themselves.  Most  of 
the  Easterns  shed  tears  much  more  copi- 
ously than  Europeans.  I  have  myself 
seen  Arabs  shed  tears  like  streams." — 
Speakei^s  Com. 

1.  This  attitude  has  always  chara>o- 
terised  tJte  righteous.  Jeremiah  (ix.  18, 
xiii.  17,  xiv.  17;  Lam.  i.  16,  il  18,  iii. 
48) ;  Our  Lord  (Mark  v.,  Luke  xix. 
41);   Paul  (Phil.   iu.  8,  Rom.   ix.   2, 

^)-  .  .  . 

2.  Ths  attitude  is  right.     Nothing 

should  stir  our  hearts  so  deeply  as  the 
ruin  and  degradation  of  our  fellow-men. 
God's  Word  singles  it  out  as  a  conspicuous 
mark  of  grace  (Ezek.  ix.  4,  1  Cor.  v.  2). 
**  There  is  nothing  which  more  certainly 
indicates  true  piety,  and  which  is  cer- 
tainly more  connected  with  a  work  of 
grace  or  a  revival  of  religion,  than  when 


such  deep  compassion  for  men  as  sinners 
pervades  a  church." — Barnes. 

3.  This  attitude  is  necessary.  (1.) 
How  is  it  possible  for  us  to  contemplate 
with  dry  eyes  and  unmoved  heart  such 
sights  as  are  every  day  seen  !  Drunken- 
ness, swearing,  dishonesty,  &c.  To  see 
men  bent  on  thwarting  the  divine  provi- 
dence and  damning  their  own  souls.  (2.) 
Because  the  prevalence  of  sin  deprives 
God  of  glory,  and  spreads  ruin  and 
desolation  over  God's  fair  world.  (3.) 
Because  this  is  the  first  step  in  the 
direction  of  zeal  for  the  sinner's  reclama- 
tion. "  Then  Christians  will  pray, 
labour  to  save  sinners,  feel  their  depen- 
dence on  God,  and  then  the  Spirit  will 
descend  and  bless  the  effort  put  forth." 
— Barnes. 

nL  The  ungodly  are  the  subjects  of 
zealous  evangelisation. 

1.  All  the  compassion  in  the  world  by 
itself  will  not  only  do  the  sinner  no 
good^  hut  rather  perhaps  excite  his  con- 
tempt 

2.  Compassion  must  receive  a  practical 
expression  in  intense  and  all-consuming 
zeal  (ver.  139).  This  word  is  elsewhere 
rendered  consumed,  cut  off,  vanished, 
destroyed.  "  He  pined  away ;  his 
strength  was  exhausted  ;  he  was  sinking 
under  the  efforts  he  had  put  forth." — 
Barnes,  (Ps.  Ixix.  9 ;  1  Kings  xix. 
10.) 

IV.  The  ungodly  are  pitied  and 
evangelised  not  for  sentimental  but 
for  practical  reasons.  Note — "  It  was 
not  because  they  were  His  foes, — not 
because  He  was  endeavouring  to  destroy 
them,  or  take  vengeance  upon  them.  It 
is  a  great  triumph  when  in  looking  at 
persecutors  and  slanderers,  — we  are  more 
grieved  because  they  violate  the  law  of 
God,  when  our  solicitude  turns  from 
ourselves  to  God." 

The  reasons  are  because — 

1.  They  have  not  kept  God* 9  law$. 
Hence  his  tears. 

2.  7'hey  have  Jorgotten  God^s  works 
and  despised  His  salvation.  Hence  His 
zeal.  Would  to  God,  these  considerations 
would  produce  the  same  effect  iu  every 
Christian  now. 

307 


ffSALMOXO. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


The  Divine  Righteousness. 
{Verses  137,  138,  142,  144.) 


The  Psalmist  here  deals  with  the 
righteousness  of  God  from  a  fourfold 
point  of  view.  First  he  declares  God  to 
be  absolutely  and  inherently  righteous; 
then  the  judgment  of  the  righteous  God 
to  be  righteous,  i.e,,  God  is  actively 
righteous ;  then  that  God  has  revealed 
both  His  active  and  passive  righteous- 
ness is  His  testimonies,  i.e.,  God  is  decla- 
ratively  righteous.  This  being  the  case, 
he  points  out  that  those  testimonies  are 
a  faithful  record  of  that  righteousness, 
and  therefore  are  to  be  depended  upon 
by  man. 

L  God  is  absolutely  righteous  (ver. 
137).  From  the  fundamental  principles 
of  His  nature  the  conception  is  impos- 
sible that  God  in  thought,  word,  or  deed, 
should  swerve  from  the  lines  of  strict 
and  immutable  equity. 

11.  God  is  relatively  and  actively 
righteous.  ''Upright  are  Thy  judg- 
ments." This  follows  upon  His  absolute 
righteousne8S.  He  cannot  do  unjustly, 
but  must  award  every  man  according  to 
his  work  (Rom.  ii.  5-9  ;  1  Pet.  i.  17), 
forgiving  on  confession  of  sin  (1  John 
i.  9),  approving  obedience  (Heb.  vi.  10), 
rewarding  (2  Tim.  iv.  8),  punishing 
(Rom,  ii  9 ;  2  Thess.  i.  8 ;  1  John  iii.  18, 


19).  Hence  His  active  righteousness 
is  everlasting.  *'  Human  governnents 
change.  New  laws  are  enacted  under 
new  aduiinistrations.  Old  dynasties 
pass  away.  Custom,  opinion,  the  world, 
men,  all  change.  But  as  God  Himself 
never  changes,  so  it  is  with  His  law. 
Founded  on  eternal  truth  it  can  never 
change." — Barnes. 

III.  God  is  declaratively  righteous 
through  those  testimonies  which  are 
(Marg.)  righteousness.  No  truer  or 
sublimer  definition  could  be  given  of 
God's  Word.  It  is  a  perfect  delineation 
of  the  righteousness  of  God's  character 
and  ways,  without  admixture  of  error. 
*'  Thy  law  is  the  truth."  It  is  founded 
not  on  mere  arbitrary  will,  but  on  the 
reality  of  things,  and  can  therefore  never 
change. 

IV.  Therefore  those  testimonies 
which  declare  God's  righteousness  are 
to  be  depended  on  by  man.  Thy  testi- 
monies are  very  faithfulness. 

In  CONCLUSION  (ver.  144).  — (i.)  Those 
who  would  see  and  enjoy  the  divine  right- 
eousness must  pray  for  understanding, 
(ii.)  Those  who  have  that  understanding 
shall  live.  How  ?  The  just  shall  live  by 
faith.    Faith  in  what  1   Rom.  iil  24-26. 


{Verse  139),  see  verse  126. 
God's  Wobd  a  Tried  Word  and  a  Loved  Word. 


(  Verse 

The  margin  renders  "tried."  P.  B. 
version,  "Tried  to  the  uttermost." 
These  words  describe  the  test  to  which 
the  Word  of  God  in  every  age  has  been 
subjected,  and  the  result.  It  has  come 
out  of  the  fire  as  refined  gold  (Ps.  xii.). 
No  error  has  been  proved  to  be  in  it  or 
cast  from  it.  Therefore  God's  people 
love  it.  In  this  age  everything  is  put 
upon  its  trial.  Modern  criticism  sub- 
jects every  institution  and  relic  of  anti- 
quity to  the  keenest  tests.  Our  philoso- 
phers place  everything  in  their  crucibles, 
and  subject  everything  to  their  dissecting 
knives.  Every  day  w§  hear  of  history 
308  ^ 


140.) 

which  has  proved  to  be  myth,  and  be- 
lief but  exploded  superstition.  But 
into  whatever  alembic  the  Word  of  God 
has  been  plunged,  it  has  come  out  with- 
out diminution  and  very  pure. 

L  The  trial  to  which  the  Word  of 
God  has  been  subjected. 

1.  The  conflict  with  sin, 

2.  The  contradictions  of  unbelief. 

3.  The  inconsistencies  of  its  apparent 
friends. 

4.  The  experience  of  saints  and  sinners. 
n.  The  love  with  which  it  is  received, 

"I  use  the  Scriptures  not  as  an  arsenal 
to   be  resorted   to   only  for   arms   and 


HOMILBTW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALm  cxix. 


weapons  .  .  .  but  as  a  matchless  temple, 
where  I  delight  to  contemplate  the 
beauty,  the  symmetry,  and  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  structure ;  and  to  increase 
my  awe  and  excite  my  devotion  to  the 
Deity  there  preached  and  adored.  .  .  . 
Whereas  at  my  entrance  I  took  even 
the  choicest  to  be  at  best  but  like  some 
Indian  province,  wherein  tbougli  mines 
and  gems  were  more  abundant  than  in 
other  countries,  yet  they  were  but 
sparingly  to  be  met  with,  here  and 
there;  after  a  competent  stay,  my  en- 
■uing  perusals  presented  it  to  me,  if  not 


as  a  royal  jewel  made  of  gold  and 
precious  stones,  yet  (which  is  more 
glorious)  like  Aaron's  breast-plate,  a 
sacred  jewel,  the  particular  instructions 
for  which  were  given  by  God  Himself, 
and  which  besides  the  various  number 
of  flaming  gems  set  in  fine  gold  and 
placed  in  a  mysterious  order,  was  en- 
nobled by  that  Urim  -  ve  -  Thummim 
wherein  God  vouchsafed  to  reveal  Him- 
self. .  .  .  This  experiment  keeps  me  from 
wondering  to  find  that  the  poet  attributes 
blessedness  to  '  delight  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord/  " — The  Hon,  Bohert  Boyle, 


True  Greatness. 
{Verse  141.) 


Notice — 

I.  That  tme  greatness  may  be  con- 
sistent with  external  humiliation.  A 
man  may  be  very  poor  and  mean  in  the 
world's  estimation.     He  may   be  small 


pher  and  yet  be  morally  small  as  Bacon. 
A  man  may  be  great  in  war  as  Bona- 
parte and  yet  have  a  little  soul.  True 
greatness  is  greatness  in  the  sight  of 
God.     And  that  greatness  has  he  who 


because  he  does  not  aim  at  political  and  does  not  forget  God's  precepts.  He  will 
social  greatness.  He  may  be  despised  have  power  with  God,  and  in  the  long 
because  all  his   principles   are   against      run  with  man,  as  well. 


that  wholesale  murder  which  men  de- 
nominate valour.  He  may  be  afraid  to 
do  what  is  wrong  and  sin  against  God, 
and  thus  be  open  to  the  scoffs  of  the 
profligate  and  the  sneers  of  the  bravo. 


II.  That  external  humiliation  should 
not  be-little  a  man.  This  is  a  sad  and 
prevalent  tendency.  When  a  man  is 
esteemed  small  and  despised,  he  aspires  to 
what  is  termed  greatness  and  honour  by 


But  if  he  does  not  forget  God's  precepts  trying  to  forget  God's  precepts.    When  a 

he  has  the  essentials  of  true  greatness.  man  is  ashamed  of  his  father's  Bible  and 

True  greatness  does  not  consist  in  those  his  mother's  piety,  he  is  on  the  true  road 

external  exhibitions  which  pass  off  as  to  be-little  himself  in  the  sight  of  God, 

such.     A  man  may  be  a  great  philoso-  and  in  the  long  run,  in  the  sight  of  man. 

{Verse  142),  see  verse  137. 
{Verse  143),  see  verse  107. 
{Verse  144),  see  verse  137. 

Effectual,  Fervent,  and  Believing  Prayer. 
{Verses  145-152.) 

L  Its  object.     "  O  Lord,"  *'  I  cried      clause  breathes  out  a  spirit  that  was  in 
unto  Thee."     The  Psalmist  entertained      sore  distress. 

no  idea   of  intervening  or  interceding  2.    Personal   and   imminent    danger 

saints  or  angels.     He  had  been  taught      (ver.  150).     This  holds  good  with  every 
and  believed  that  worship  must  be  di-      Christian.      Satan  and  all  the  forces  of 

evil  are  ever  near  to  work  damage  to  the 
soul. 

3.  Inahility  to  do  the  ivill  of  God, 
All  Christians  share  this  consciousness. 
God's  "statutes"  cannot  be  kept  with- 

309 


rect^  to  God  alone.  Therefore  all  his 
aspirations  nsc(  ided  to  the  personal 
God. 

n.  Its  reasons. 

J.    Affliction,      The  whole    of   this 


rSALM  OXIX. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


out  the  help  of  God*s  Spirit,  whose  pre- 
sence must  be  supplicated  in  prayer. 
in.  Its  petitions. 

1.  ** Hear  me"  This  should  be  the 
primary  petition.  Without  God's  con- 
descending attention  all  supplication  is 
vain. 

2.  ^^  Save  me."  Those  whom  God 
hears  He  saves.  Unless  God  saves,  all 
ground  for  hope  and  prayer  is  taken 
away.  Salvation  is  the  most  urgent 
petition  that  man  can  offer. 

3.  "  Quicken  me"  Those  whom  God 
saves  God  quickens,  and  without  this 
quickening,  salvation  is  vain.  Salvation 
is  a  rescue  from  danger ;  quickening  is 
the  invigoration  of  new  life,  and  unless 
that  takes  place  the  end  of  prayer  is 
unattained. 

IV.  Its  characteristics. 

1.  Earnestness.  *'  I  cried."  Unless 
God  sees  our  eagerness  and  our  intense 
desire  to  prevail,  He  will  not  listen  to 
our  prayer. 

2.  Undividedness,  **  With  my  whole 
heart."  Unless  our  whole  nature  is 
bent  upon  securing  the  answer  to  our 
prayer  God  will  not  save.  The  worship 
of  the  lips  is  a  mockery  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Mind,  emotions,  will,  tongues, 
must  all  be  engaged  in  this  service. 

3.  Importunity  (vers.  147,  148). 
Sometimes  God  delays  His  quickening 
to  test  this  importunity  and  to  draw  it 
forth  (Luke  xviii).  The  ten  days  which 
preceded  Pentecost :  Morning,  noon, 
and  night  must  be  spent  directly  or 
indirectly  in  this  service. 


4.  Faith.  "I  hoped  in  Thy  word." 
Hope  based  on  the  promises  and  ex- 
pectant of  their  realisation  is  the  sub- 
limest  faith. 

V.  Its  warrants. 

1.  The  divine  loving  -  kindness  (ver. 
149).  If  God  is  not  gracious  and  kind, 
we  have  no  warrant  to  approach  His 
august  and  terrible  majesty. 

2.  The  divine  nearness  (ver.  151). 
If  God  is  not  near  He  cannot  hear.  The 
Psalmist  held  this  to  be  one  of  the 
primary  tenets  of  the  faith  (Ps.  cxxxix). 
So  do  Christians.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway." 

3.  The  truth  of  the  divine  promise 
(ver.  147,  c/".  151).  Man  may  break 
his  promise.  There  may  be  uo  sincerity 
in  his  promise.  But  when  God  says, 
*' Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble," 
&c.,  we  know  that  He  means  what  He 
says. 

4.  Pa^t  experience  (ver.  162).  What 
God  has  done  He  can  still  do ;  and 
therefore  the  Psalmist  argues  what  He 
did  for  me  of  old  He  will  do  for  me 
again,  and  thus — 

"  Old  experience  doth  attain 
To  somewhat  of  prophetic  strain.** 

VL  Its  resolutions. 

1.  Obedience.  "I  will  keep  Thy 
statutes.^' 

2.  Witness-hearing.  "  I  will  keep 
Thy  testimonies." 

VII.  Its  basis  (ver.  148).  By  con- 
tinual meditation  on  God's  Word  he  was 
instructed  how  to  pray,  what  to  pray  for, 
and  when  to  pray* 


Morning  Prater. 
(Fern  147.) 


*I  cried  unto  Thee  early,  i,e.,  before 
others,  in  the  gloom,  before  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  morning :  my  fixed  hope  in 
Thy  promise  suffered  me  not  to  rest." — 
Speaker's  Com. 

I.  The  Bible  speaks  much  of  morn- 
ing prayer  (Exod.  xxxii.  4 ;  Mark  i.  35). 
"  It  is  full  of  morning.  '  My  voice  shalt 
Thou  hear  in  the  morning,  O  Lord  ;  and 
in  the  morning  will  I  direct  my  prayer 
unto  Thee,  and  will  look  up.'  *  The  Lord's 
mercies  are  new  every  morning.'  Of 
old  'the  morning  stars  sang  together.' 
310 


*I,  Jesus,  am  the  bright  and  morning 
Star.'  Truly  the  day  declines ;  but  at 
*  eventide  there  is  light,'  when  in  the 
morning  there  has  been  converse  with 
God.  The  morning  makes  the  day. 
A  morning  misspent  is  a  day  ruined ; 
a  morning  saved  is  a  day  completed. 
Lord,  awake  me  at  sunrise,  and  by  the 
beauty  of  the  coming  light  give  hope 
for  the  whole  day." — Dr.  J.  Parker. 

II.  Morning  is  the  most  favourable 
time  for  prayer.  It  is  calm.  The 
cares  and  a-nxitJties  of  the  day  have  not 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIZ. 


broken  upon  us.  Our  mind  is  then 
clearest ;  and  away  from  our  families 
and  our  businesses,  we  can  be  alone. 

III.  Morning  is  the  time  God  de- 
mands for  prayer.  "  The  morning  is 
the  time  fixed  for  my  meeting  with 
God.  What  meaning  there  is  in  time 
as  well  as  place  !  In  the  morning — then 
God  means  me  to  be  at  my  best  in 
strength  and  hope.     In  the  night  I  have 


buried  yesterday's  fatigue,  and  in  the 
morning  I  take  a  new  lease  of  energy. 
Give  God  all  thy  strength.  In  the 
morning — then  He  may  mean  to  keep 
me  long  that  He  may  make  me  rich." — 
Dr.  J.  Parker, 

IV.  Morning  is  the  most  appropriate 
time  for  prayer.  The  day  is  before  us, 
and  the  day  will  be  wasted  if  not  sancti- 
fied by  God. 


The  Constituents  of  a  Complete  and  Holy  Day. 

(Verses  U6-148.) 


L  The  day  begins  with  prayer.  "The 
first  thing  he  did  in  the  morning,  before 
he  adinitted  any  business,  was  to  pray 
when  his  mind  was  most  fresh  and  in 
the  best  frame.  If  our  thoughts  in  the 
morning  be  of  God,  they  will  help  to 
keep  us  in  His  fear  all  the  day  long." — 
M.  Henry.  Observe  that  this  morning 
prayer  stimulated  his  hope  in  God's  pro- 
mises, and  thus  braced  and  encouraged 
him  for  the  exercises  of  the  day. 

IL  The  day  continues  with  practical 
obedience.    **  I  shall  keep  Thy  statutes.'* 


Beginning  well  it  continues  well.  Prayer 
secured  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine  pro* 
mises  in  the  divine  guidance  and  the 
divine  protection.  Hence  consistency 
and  holiness. 

III.  The  day  closes  with  meditation 
on  God's  Word.  The  crown  and  com- 
pletion of  a  good  day.  All  anxieties  are 
over.  The  time  due  to  our  fellow-men 
has  been  spent,  and  well  spent;  and 
now  the  man  of  God  recognises  God's 
claim  upon  his  eventide. 

See  also  for  verse  148  on  verse  55. 


God's  Nearness  and  Man's. 
{Verses  150,  161.) 

1.  Man  is  near  to  harass ;  God  is  near  5.  Man  is  near  to  cast  doubts;  God 
to  help.  is  near  to  resolve  doubts. 

2.  Man  is  near  to  hurt ;  God  is  near  6.  Man  is  near  to  drag  down  to  the 
to  protect.  world,  flesh,  and  devil ;  God  is  near  to 

3.  Man  is  near  to  discourage ;  God  lift  up  to  heavenly  things,  where  Christ 
is  near  to  comfort.  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 

4.  Man  is  near  to  tempt  to  sin  ;  God  7.  Man  is  near  to  kill ;  God  is  near 
is  near  to  save  from  sin.  to  give  life  and  immortality. 

The  Divine  Consideration. 


(  Verses 

L  The  Psalmist's  need  of  it. 

1.  Personal  affliction. 

2.  Numerous  persecutors. 

n.  The  Psalmist's  estimate  concerning 
it— 

1.  Contemplation  of  his  case.  "Take 
it  into  thy  thoughts  and  all  the  circum- 
Itances  of  it,  and  sit  not  by  as  one 
unconcerned." — M.  Henry, 

2.  Pleading  his  cause  (ver.  154).  *'  Be 
Thou  my  })atron  and  advocate,  and  take 
8»e  for  Thy  client," 


153-157.) 

3.  Deliverance  from  his  affliction, 

4.  Quickened  life. 

III.  The  Psalmist's  pleas  for  it. 

1.  His  remembrance  of  the  divine  law 
(ver.  153). 

2.  His  trust  in   the  divine  promises 
(ver.  154). 

3.  The  fact  that  salvation  was  for  such 
as  he  (ver.  155). 

4.  The  manifold   character  of  OodPs 
tender  mercies  (ver.  156). 

511 


MALM  OOX. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


6.  His  love  for  God's  precepts  (ver.  See  also  for  verses  153,  154,  156,  see 

158).  verse  107  ;  for  verses  155,  158,  see  verse 

6.  The  immutability  of  the  divine  vxn'd  136;   for  verse  157,  see  verse  95;  for 

(ver.  160).  verse  159,  see  verse  113. 

The  Truth  and  Endurance  of  God's  Word. 


{Verse 

**  Literally,  <  The  head  of  Thy  Word  is 
truth,'  "  probably  meaning  that  its  prin- 
ciples and  basis  were  truth.  It  was  not 
made  truth  by  the  mere  will  of  God,  but 
it  was  founded  on  essential  truth.  — 
Marg.,  The  beginning  of  Thy  Word  is 
true.'  Its  origin,  foundation,  and  essen- 
tial nature  is  truth." — Barnes.  *'  Does 
he  refer  to  the  first  word  in  God's  Word, 
/^tir^<"ln.  *In  the  beginning,  i:;^").  is 
the  root  of  that  word.  Every  word  that 
Thou  hast  spoken  from  the  first  in 
Bereshith  to  the  end  of  the  law,  and  all 
Thou  wilt  yet  speak,  as  flowing  from  the 
fountain  of  truth,  must  be  true,  and  all 
shall  have  in  due  time  their  fulfilment." 
— A.  Clarke. 

I.  God's  Word  is  based  upon  truth, 
and  therefore  endures.  It  does  not  rest 
on  tentative  hypotheses  or  speculations, 
but  upon  the  infallible  and  immutable 
declarations  of  God.  Every  thing  not 
built  on  this  solid  foundation  will  not 
bear  the  tear  and  wear  and  fret  of 
time. 

n.  God's  Word  had  its  beginning  in 
truth,  and  therefore  its  righteous  judg- 

{Verse  161), 


160.) 

ments  endure  for  ever.  As  the  spring 
so  the  stream.  If  the  source  is  tainted 
80  will  be  the  river.  But  God's  Word 
sprang  from  Him  who  is  "the  Truth," 
and  therefore  it  continues  true  all  along 
its  course. 

III.  God's  Word  is  true  all  through, 
and  therefore  endures.  Man's  building 
may  be  upon  unstable  foundations,  may 
be  of  defective  materials,  and  be  erected 
on  a  false  plan.  Earthly  rivers  may  be 
pure  in  their  source,  but  may  receive 
poisoned  waters  from  tributary  streams. 
But  the  Word  of  God  is  built  on,  com- 
posed of,  and  designed  by  truth,  and 
with  its  waters  errors  will  not  mix. 
Delitzsch  says  that  truth  '*  is  the  total 
number  of  all  the  items  in  the  reckoning. 
The  Word  of  God  is  reckoned  over  in  its 
parts  and  as  a  whole.  Truth  is  the 
grand  denominator,  and  truth  the  result." 

In  conclusion. — God's  Word  is  the 
truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but 
the  truth,  (i.)  Are  you  based  upon  it? 
(ii.)  Are  you  drinking  from  it?  (iii.) 
A7'e  you  moulded  by  it  f  (iv.)  Will  you 
continue  with  it? 

see  verse  95. 


God's  Word  the  Object  of  Reverence  and  Jot. 
(Verse  161,  last  clause,  and  verse  162.) 


I  God's  Word  the  object  of  joy.  The 
expression  is  as  true  as  it  is  remarkable. 

1.  The  Joy  of  victory  in  conflict.  To 
gain  spoil,  fighting  is  necessary,  and  suc- 
cess over  the  foe.  So  we  do  not  find  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ  without 
contest.  We  must  battle  with  doubts, 
drawbacks,  disinclinations,  <fec.  The  mere 
obtaining  a  victory  is  a  cause  of  joy  even 
when  no  substantial  result  is  achieved. 


(3.)  Victory  over  darkness  is  the  acquisi- 
tion of  light.  (4.)  Victory  over  tribida- 
tion  secures  fresh  comfort.  (5.)  Victory 
<yver  sin  finds  ^he  gredt  spoil  of  holiness, 
II.  God's  Word  the  object  of  rever- 
ence. The  two  clauses  are  to  be  united 
as  in  cxii.  1,  Sometimes  the  gaining  of 
spoil  is  worse  for  an  army  than  defeat. 
Men  are  demoralised.  Nations  become 
arrogant.    And  lest  man  should  be  lifted 


2.   The  joy  of  enrichment  after  victory.  up  by  pride  with  the  knowledge  he  has 

(1.)    Victory  over  unbelief  gains  stronger  of  the  Word  of  God,  let  it  be  remembered 

ground  for  faith.     (2.)  Victory  over  dis-  that  it  is  the  Word  of  God^  and  stand  In 

inclination  is  rewarded  by  some  new  truth,  awe  of  it. 

{Verse  163),  see  verse  113. 
312 


MOMlLETtO  COMMENT Allt :  PSALMS, 


^SALM  0X11. 


Constant  Praisb, 

(Verse  UL) 


"Not  only  morning  and  evening,  not 
thrice  only  (Ps.  Iv.  17),  but  seven  times, 
i.e.,  again  and  again,  and  many  times 
(Ps.  xii,  6,  Ixix.  12;  Lev.  xxvi.  18,  24; 
Gen.  iv.  15;  Prov.  xxiv.  16),  each  day, 
BO  as  to  hallow  the  day,  the  Psalmist 
thanks  God  for  His  word." — Speaker^s 
Com,  *'  Rabbi  Solomon  says  this  is  to 
be  understood  literally,  for  they  praised 
God  twice  in  the  morning  before  reading 
the  decalogue,  and  once  after ;  ttince  in 
evening  before  the  same  reading,  and 
twice  after ;  thus  making  seven  times. 
The  Boman  Church  has  prescribed  a 
similar  service." — A.  Clarke. 

I.  Constant  praise  is  demanded,  be- 
cause of  the  constancy  of  the  divine 
judgments.  They  never  fail.  By  them 
the  universe  is  held  together,  society 
made  possible,  and  human  blessedness 
secured. 

II.  Constant  praise  is  due  to  God 
for  the  beneficence  of  His  judgments. 
They  are  given  in  mercy,  not  in  wrath. 


They  are  not  impracticable,  nor  burdens 
too  heavy  to  be  borne.  They  are  made 
for  and  given  to  man  for  his  safety  and 
peace. 

III.  Constant  praise  is  due  to  God 
for  the  clearness  of  His  divine  judg- 
ments. They  are  not  enveloped  in  a 
cloud  of  mystery,  or  hidden  behind  per- 
plexing technicalities,  or  in  such  a  way 
as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  the  common 
people.  "The  way-faring  man,  though 
a  fool,  cannot  err  therein." 

VI.  Constant  praise  is  due  to  God 
for  the  help  He  vouchsafes  to  keep 
His  righteous  judgments.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  given  to  help  our  infirmities. 
We  are  invited  to  approach  the  throne 
of  grace,  to  obtain  grace  to  help  in  time 
of  need. 

V.  Constant  praise  is  due  to  God 
for  the  forgiveness  He  offers  when  we 
have  broken  His  righteous  judgments. 
"If  we  confess  our  sins,"  &c.  **  If  any 
man  sin  we  have  an  Advocate,"  &c 


Peace. 

(Verse  165.) 


Peace  is  man's  highest  hope  and  best 
Inheritance.  All  other  blessings  are 
valued  only  as  they  promote  it,  and  the 
loftiest  dignity  and  wealthiest  affluence 
are  worth  nothing  without  it.  Obstacles 
to  peace  abound,  and  the  largest  part 
of  life  is  spent  in  overcoming  them. 
Offences  and  stumblingblocks  are  the 
greatest  obstacles.  Genuine  difficulty  and 
hard  work  promote  peace.  Let  a  man 
know  there  is  a  difficulty  in  the  way,  or 
a  work  to  be  done,  and  he  composes  his 
mind  to  grapple  with  them.  But  when 
he  meets  with  a  stubborn  obstacle,  or 
stumbles  over  it,  his  mind  is  hurt  and 
bis  peace  is  gone.  So  the  believer  may 
be  unmoved  amidst  the  greatest  afflic- 
tions and  trials,  and  yet  through  some 
unforeseen  and  insignificant  impediment 
he  may  stumble  and  lose  all  his  tran- 
quillity.    Notice — 

L  A  qualification.     Love  of  God's 


law.  "  To  love  a  law  may  seem  strange ; 
but  it  is  the  only  true  divine  life.  To 
keep  it  because  we  are  afraid  of  its  pen- 
alties is  only  a  form  of  fear  or  pruden- 
tial consideration.  To  keep  it  to  pre- 
serve a  good  name  may  be  propriety 
and  respectability.  To  keep  it  because 
it  is  best  for  society  may  be  worldly 
self-interest.  To  keep  it  because  of 
physical  health  may  be  the  policy  of 
epicurean  philosophy.  To  keep  it  be- 
cause we  love  it  is  to  show  that  it  is 
already  part  of  us — has  entered  into  the 
moral  texture  of  our  being.  Sin  then 
becomes  distasteful,  and  temptations  lose 
their  power." — Statham. 

IL  A  process.  "  Nothing  shall  offend 
them,"  i.e.,  nothing  shall  be  a  stumbling- 
block  to  them  and  so  hurt  them.  Those 
whose  hearts  and  minds  are  embued 
with  and  thus  protected  and  directed  by 
God's  law,  although  there  must  needb 

313 


PSALM  CXIZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


be  stumblingblocks  in  their  way,  yet 
they  shall  not  stumble  over  them  nor 
be  hurt  by  them. 

1.  They  vdll  not  stumble  over  appa- 
rent discrepancies  in  God's  law.  He  who 
loves  God's  law  will  not  go  to  God's 
Word  to  find  or  make  them.  When 
they  come  across  his  path,  the  Divine 
Interpreter  explains  them,  and  a  sancti- 
fied insight  and  experience  will  discover 
their  true  harmony. 

2.  They  will  not  stumble  at  tempta- 
tions. Those  who  are  protected  by  the 
law  of  God  are  safe.  Temptations  find 
nothing  in  common  with  them  on  which 
they  can  take  hold.  The  world  has  no 
equivalent  to  offer  for  the  pleasures  and 
profit  of  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

3.  They  will  not  stumble  at  circum- 
stances. If  adversity  comes,  those  who 
love  God's  law  are  prepared  for  that. 
They  know  it  to  be  necessary  for  them 
or  it  would  not  come.  If  prosperity 
comes,  that  prosperity  is  sanctified  by 
the  sanctity  of  those  in  whom  it  meets. 
God's  law  teaches  that  "  all  things  work 
together  for  good,"  &c. 

4.  They  do  not  stumble  at  death.  The 
law  of  God  has  robbed   death   of  its 


terrors.  That  law  shows  that  Christ 
has  withdrawn  death's  sting,  that  it  is 
now  not  only  harmless,  but  is  pressed 
into  the  service  of  the  people  of  God. 
"  Death  is  yours."  Now  your  friend  to 
conduct  you  to  a  pLice  where  its  office 
is  at  an  end.  Those  wt  o  love  God's  law 
know  that  Christ  has  vanquished  "  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  and  delivered 
them  who  through  the  fear  of  death  were 
all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage." 

III.  The  result.  Having  no  fear  of 
stumblingblocks,  and  not  being  hurt  by 
them,  the  lovers  of  God's  law  have  great 
peace.     Not  mere  peace,  but  great  peace. 

1.  Great,  because  divine.  It  is  the 
*'  peace  of  God."  "  My  peace."  "  Not 
as  the  world  giveth." 

2.  Great,  because  powerful.  It*' keeps 
the  heart  and  mind."  It  eases  tremen- 
dous anxieties,  removes  perturbing  fears. 

3.  Great,  because  incomprehensible, 
"  It  passeth  all  understanding."  It 
cannot  be  defined.  The  Christian  only 
knows  he  has  it. 

4.  Great,  because  eternal.  "  Peace 
shall  flow  as  a  river,"  unexhausted, 
always  running,  yet  never  running  to 
waste  or  away. 


God's  Salvation. 
(Verses  166-175.) 


The  closing  verses  of  this  long  Psalm 
are  in  harmony  with  all  that  has  gone 
before.  The  themes  are  the  same, 
the  prayers  are  the  same,  the  purposes 
are  the  same.  The  Psalmist's  one  desire 
is  to  taste  the  fulness  and  sweetness  of 
God's  salvation,  to  know  more  of  His 
Word,  and  to  praise  His  name.  Taking 
as  our  leading  thought  God's  salvation 
we  have — 

I.  The  nature  of  that  salvation  (vers. 
166-174). 

1.  Personal  rescue  (ver.  170). 

2.  Divine  leaching.  It  is  quite  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  salvation  is  ex- 
clusively a  single  act.  It  is  a  process 
as  well.  Man  is  delivered  out  of  dark- 
ness into  God's  marvellous  light ;  and  to 
be  saved  from  lapsing  into  darkness 
again,  he  must  have  the  Divine  Teacher 
near  him,  showing  him  how  to  walk  in 
the  light  (ver.  171). 

314 


3.  Divine  help  (ver.  173).     Teaching 

alone  is  insufficient.  Countless  nmlti- 
tudes  of  even  Christian  people  know 
the  way,  who,  from  lack  of  the  help  they 
ought  to  have,  do  not  walk  with  firm- 
ness and  consistency.  Vain  is  the  at- 
tempt to  work  out  our  own  salvation 
without  divine  help.  Thank  God,  that 
help  is  abundantly  vouchsafed. 

4.  Soul  life  (ver.  1 75).  This  is  the 
prime  vital  and  all-essential  character- 
istic of  salvation.  It  is  the  synonym 
for  it  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New.  The  unsaved  soul  is  like 
the  valley  of  dry  bones,  and  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins.  Salvation  is  not 
only  deliverance  from  sin.  It  is  the 
perpetual  indwelling  of  the  Divine  and 
quickening  Spirit. 

II.  The  conditions  upon  which  God 
saves. 

1.   Obedience  to  God*s  commandments 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  psalm  cxix. 

(▼er.  166).     But  this  is  mere  legality  !  not  be  determined  by  fear,  interest,  but 

Is  it?     Who  said,  ^*  Repent  ye  and  he-  intelligent  appreciation  of  what  is  best 

lieve  the  Gospel."     "  Ye  are  My  friends  and  love  of  it  for  its  own  sake, 

if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you.  III.  The  characteristics  of  the  prayer 

2.  Keeping  and  loving  God's  testi-  for  God  to  save.  Those  who  desire  sal- 
moTiies  (vers.  167,  168).  What  do  they  vation  mws^  pray,  m// pray.  How? 
testify  ?  God's  love,  God's  mercy,  God's  1.  Hopefully  (ver.  166).  Faith  enters 
willingness  to  save.  How  can  God  largely  into  the  composition  of  evangeli- 
save  1  how  can  man  be  saved,  unless  it  cal  hope.  They  have  the  same  attributes 
is  the  rejoicing  of  his  heart  to  know  as  well  as  the  same  objects.  Hope  longs 
and  to  keep  the  testimony  that  "God  (ver.  174)  with  confident  expectation. 
80  loved  the  world,"  <fec.,  "that  God  2.  JSincerelt/  {ver.  168).  The  prayer 
willeth  not  the  death  of  the  sinner  "  ?  of  the   hypocrite  is  an  abomination   to 

3.  Thankfulness  for  God's  promises  God.  The  man  who  prays  for  salva- 
(ver.  172).  Unless  man  has  these  pro-  tion  must  be  prepared  to  display  all  his 
mises,  and  is  grateful  for  them,  he  is  ways  before  God.  He  must  conceal 
unwilling    to  be  saved,  and  even  God  nothing,  omit  nothing. 

'^annot  save  the  thankless  soul.     "The  3. /w^^Twe/y (vers.  169,  170).     "Cry." 

goodness  of  God  "  should  lead  to  repen-  "  Supplication." 

tance  and  trust  (Rom.  il  4,  5).  4.  Availinglp  (ver.  170).     The  divine 

4.  Choice  of  the  right  way  and  love  promise  was  never  pleaded  in  vain. 

of  it  (vers.    173,  174).     Our  salvation  IV.  The  obligations  of  God's  salva- 

largely   depends   on   our    own    choice.  tion.     The  one  word  twice  uttered  by 

God  will  not  force  it  upon  us.     This  the  Psalmist  reveals  them  all,  "  Praise," 

choice  must  have  respect  to  the  ulterior  (vers.   171,  175).     It  was  not  personal 

duties  of  salvation.     This  choice   must  blessing  so  much  as  the  Divine  glory. 

Thb  Lost  Shebp, 

(Verse  176.) 

<<  The  Psalmist  begins  with,  '  Blessed  and  so  man  sinks  to  the  level  of  a  brute 

are  the  undefiled  in  the  way,*  <kc.     He  Mark,  not  like  a  lion  or  a  horse,  some 

concludes  with,   *  I  have  gone  astray,'  noble  or  gifted  creature,  but  like  a  poor, 

&c.     And  thus  conscious  of  the  blessed-  silly,  unintelligent  sheep.     Why  ?     Be- 

ness  of  those  who  are  in  the  way  of  cause  sin  is  stupidity,  and  the  sinner  is 

righteousness,  he  desires  to  be  brought  no  more  a  criminal  than  he  is  a  fool. 

into  it,  that  he  may  walk  in  newness  of  1.  2%e  wandering  sheep  displays  the 

life.    Yerse  first.     It  is  a  good  way,  and  greatest  folly.      Its  safety,   food,    very 

they  are  blessed  who  walk  in  it.     Verse  existence,  depends  upon  the  shepherd's 

the  laM,  *  Bring  me  into  this  way  that  presence. 

I  may  be  blessed.*     And  thus  the  Psalm  2.   The  wandering  sheep  displays  the 

in  sentiment   returns  into  itself;    and  deepest  ingratitude.     It  owes  everything 

the  latter  verse  is  so  connected  with  the  to  the  vigilance,  sympathy,  and  activity 

former  as  to  make  the  whole  a  perfect  of  the  shepherd. 

circle." — Dr.  A,  Clarke.  3.   The  wandering  sheep  displays  but 

The  text  may  be  applied  with  equal  one  symptom  of  intelligence,  that  of  going 

propriety  to  sinners  and  backsliders.  astray.     If  there  be  but  one  gap  in  the 

L  The  wandering.  Men,  like  sheep,  hedge  he  will  find  it.  If  the  chances 
have  broken  through  the  hedge  of  God's  are  a  thousand  to  one  against  his  stray- 
law,  have  forsaken  the  Shepherd  and  ing,  he  will  avail  himself  of  it. 
Bishop  of  their  souls,  and  have  gone  4.  The  wandering  sheep  displays  per- 
astray  into  the  paths  of  error  and  sin.  severance  in  straying.  If  found  to-day 
"  Like  a  sheep"  i.e.,  like  a  beast,  an  it  will  lose  itself  again  to-monow  if  it 
animal ;  for  sin  appeals  to  the  lower  in-  can.  And  once  out  of  the  fold  it  wan- 
•tincts  of  humanity,  and  deyelops  them,  ders  on  and  on  and  never  dreams  of 

315 


HULM  0X2. 


BOMlLEtIC  OOMMmTARY:  PSAlMS, 


returning  till  sought,  found,  and  brought 
back. 

Brethren,  each  one  of  us  must  say, 
*'  I  have  gone  astray  like  a  lost  sheep." 
We  have  all  gone  astray  ungratefully 
and  foolishly  from  Him  who  alone  can, 
and  who  alone  has,  vouchsafed  all  the 
benefits  that  we  want  and  enjoy.  In 
departing  from  God  we  have  displayed 
an  ingenuity  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 
We  have  wandered  where  it  has  been 
perilous  to  wander,  and  have  gone  far- 
ther and  farther  from  God,  and  from 
worse  to  worse,  till  we  have  become  lost. 
Straying,  men  lose  their  owner,  lose  their 
fellows,  lose  themselves. 

n.  The  search.  The  sheep  having 
gone  astray,  what  more  natural  than  that 
the  shepherd  should  go  in  search  of  it  t 
So  God  is  in  search  of  lost  men.  "Christ 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which 
was  lost." 

1.  This  search  was  the  prompting  of  love. 
The  relation  between  the  eastern  shep- 
herd and  his  sheep  is  very  different  from 
the  western,  and  is  fitly  typical  of  God's 
relation  to  man.  God  loves  man  with  an 
everlasting  love,  and  cannot  afford  to  lose 
him,  the  latest  born  in  His  vast  house- 
hold, and  therefore  preserves  him  with  a 
love  which  many  waters  cannot  quench. 

2.  This  search  was  pursued  by  the  most 


wonderful  self-sacrifice.  The  shepherd 
seeking  the  sheep  far  from  home,  amidst 
winter  snows,  and  among  prowling 
beasts,  and  on  dark  and  dismal  nights,  is 
very  feeble  as  a  symbol  of  God's  search 
for  man.  Christ  came  to  '*  lay  down  His 
life  for  His  sheep."  Such  was  His  fixed 
intention,  and  such  His  accomplished 
purpose.  "  He  loved  me,  and  gave 
Himself  for  me." 

3.  This  search  was  rewarded  by  success. 
Such  was  the  case  with  the  Psalmist. 
Such  is  the  case  of  all  who  will  be  found. 
Here  man  is  unlike  a  sheep.  Its  will 
cannot  resist  the  more  powerful  will  of 
its  owner.     Alas  !  man  can  resist  God. 

III.  The  recollection.  "In  all  my 
wandering,  with  my  consciousness  of 
error,  with  my  sense  of  guilt,  I  still  do 
feel  that  I  love  Thy  laws.  They  are 
the  joy  of  my  heart,  and  I  desire  to  be 
recalled  from  all  my  wanderings  that  I 
may  find  perfect  happiness  in  Thee  and 
in  Thy  service  evermore.  Such  is  the 
earnest  wish  of  every  regenerated  heart. 
Far  as  such  an  one  may  have  wandered 
from  God,  yet  he  is  conscious  of  true 
attachment  to  Him  and  His  service  ;  he 
desires  and  earnestly  prays  that  he  may 
be  *  sought  out '  and  brought  back  and 
kept  from  wandering  any  more," — 
Barnes. 


THE  SONGS  OF  DEGKEES. 
PSALMS    CXX-CXXXIV. 

General  Introduction. 

The  principal  hypotheses  on  which  to  account  for  the  "  Songs  of  Degrees,"  **  Songs  of 
Ascents,"  "  Pilgrim  Psalms,"  and  to  each  of  which  great  names  are  attached,  and  each  of  which 
has  something  to  say  for  itself,  are  as  follows  : — 1.  The  songs  of  the  pilgrims  returning  from 
exile  {Syr.  Chrysostom,  Theodoret).  2.  The  songs  chanted  by  the  Temple  worshippers  on  each 
of  the  fifteen  steps  of  the  Temple  {The  Rdbhins,  Gospel  of  Mary,  Vulg. — Luthei\  Grotius).  3.  Denot- 
ing some  peculiar  structure,  a  gradation  of  thought  approaching  a  climax  {Gesenius,  Delitzsch).  4. 
A  musical  term  denoting  some  peculiarity  of  rhythm  or  music  {Michaelis,  &c.).  5.  And  most  sup- 
ported songs  for  pilgrims  making  their  periodical  journeys  to  Jerusalem  {Ewald,  Perownet 
Hengstenherg).  The  true  interpretation  probably  is  yet  to  be  given,  none  of  the  above  hypotheses 
completely  answering  the  requirements  of  the  case.  Characteristics — "Sweetness  and  tender- 
ness; a  sad  pathetic  tone  ;  an  absence  generally  of  the  ordinary  parallelism ;  and  something  of 
a  quick  trochaic  rhythm." — Speaker's  Com. 


PSALM    OXX 

Introduction. 

This  Psalm  carries  on  its  face  the  notion  of  individual  and  hardly  bearable  trial,  more 
than  that  of  national  distress  (opposition  of  foreigners  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  &c.).    The 
316 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXX. 


trial  Ib  like  that  of  Darid  (1  Sam.  zxi  7»  xzii.  9,  &;c.,  mentioned  in  the  contents  of  A.  V.), 
aad  is  inflicted  by  a  slanderous  tongue.  It  is  soothed  by  the  recollection  that  God  hears  the  crv 
of  the  suppliant,  and  answers  it  always.  A  difference  of  opinion  exists  respecting  almost  ever} 
word  and  Terse. — Speaker*s  Com, 


The  Godlt  under  Misrbpbessntation. 
{Verses  1,  2.) 


L  That  the  godly  are  not  exempt 
from  misrepresentation.  Rather  are 
they  most  subject  to  it.  They  of  all 
men  have  characters  to  lose^  and  from 
their  guilelessness  and  sincerity  are  most 
open  to  attack.  A  greater  than  the 
Psalmist  said,  **In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation/'  and  one  of  the  keenest 
forms  of  tribulation  comes  from  "lying 
lips  and  the  deceitful  tongue  "  (Matt.  x. 
24-28).  The  motives  of  the  godly  are 
misrepresented,  their  words,  their  actions. 
Misrepresentation  exists  in  many  forms, 
direct  lying,  suppression,  innuendo,  «fec. 
No  man  can  expect  to  be  entirely  free 
from  It  The  thing  itself  might  be 
endured  but  for  the  senseless  minds  who 
take  It  in,  and  the  bad  hearts  who  re- 
joice to  believe  it.  Misrepresentation 
in  its  worst  form  is  that  which  is  covered 
by  professions  of  friendship  to  the  person 
misrepresented. 

II.  That  the  godly  are  distressed 
by  misrepresentation,  and,  humanly 
speaking,  they  may  well  be.  No  cir- 
cumspection can  guard  against  it.  No 
force  can  destroy  it.  Its  origin  cannot 
always  be  traced.  Some  will  even  be- 
lieve it  to  be  true.  It  reaches  those  who 
can  never  be  reached  by  its  refutation. 
Always  leaves  its  object  open  to  suspicion. 

**  Whose   edge   is   sharper  than    the   sword ; 

whose  tongue  [breath 

Ontvenoms  all  the  worms  of  Nile;    whose 


Rides  on  the  posting  winds,  and  doth  belie 
All  corners  of  the  world  :  kings,  queens,  and 

states, 
Maids,  matrons  ;  nay,  the  secrets  of  the  grave, 
This  viperous  slander  enters." — Shakespeare. 

III.  That  the  godly  should  cry  to 
God  in  misrepresentation. 

1.  Because  God  knows  all  the  facts  of 
the  case  J  and  therefore  judges  righteously. 
Slander  should  not  affect  a  man  whose 
conscience  is  clear  in  the  sight  of  God. 
He  is  the  Master  to  whom  man  stands 
or  falls.  Let  men,  therefore,  commit 
their  case  to  Him  (1  Pet.  ii.  24). 

2.  Because  the  slandered  and  suspected 
soul  naturally  yearns  to  unbosom  itself. 
This  it  often  dares  not  do  to  its  dearest 
friend.  Vehement  vindication  some- 
times only  gives  rise  to  suspicions  that 
there  must  have  been  something  in  it 
after  all.  The  soul  can  tell  its  troubles 
to  God  without  fear  of  this. 

IV.  That  God  clears  the  godly  from 
misrepresentation. 

1.  God  enables  His  people  to  live  slander 
doum.  This  is  the  only  effectual  refuta- 
tion. Men  who  refuse  to  listen  to  the 
clearest  vindication  are  compelled  to 
recognise  the  manifestation  of  the  truth, 
and  the  commendation  of  ourselves  to 
every  man's  conscience  (2  Cor.  iv.  2,  i  12). 

2.  God  will  vindicate  them  before  the 
assembled  universe,  when  all  shall  be 
made  manifest;  and  throughout  eternity^ 


Thk  Sklf-Retributivb  Character  of  Slander. 

{Verses  3,  4.) 


<<  <  What  punishment  shall  be  assigned 
thee,  or  what  shall  be  done  or  added  to 
thee,  in  recompense  for  misery  caused  %  * 
t  r,  *  What  shall  (God)  give  unto  thee, 
and  what  shall  (He)  add  unto  theeT 
Answer — *  Sharp  arrows  (Ps.  xlv.  5) 
wielded  by  a  mighty  one  (Ps.  czxvii.  4 ; 
Jer.  1.  9),  and  burning  coals  of  juniper  * 
(Ps.  cxl.  10  ,  Piov.  XXV.  22).     Thus  the 


punishment  of  the  slanderous  tongue  is 
appropriate ;  for  itself  is  a  sharp  sword 
(Ps.  Ivii.  4),  a  pointed  arrow  (Jer.  ix. 
8),  and  it  burns  like  hell  fire  (Jas.  iii. 
6).  The  root  of  the  rettm  or  broom  ii 
used  for  fire  in  the  desert,  and  retains 
its  heat  for  a  year." — Speaker's  Com. 

I.   The  work  of  slander.     Like  that 
which  shall  destroy  it. 

317 


HULMOZZ. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTAJir :  PSALMS. 


1.  To  sting.      It  is  always  hurtful, 

harassing,  and  annoying.  It  will  always 
more  or  less  damage  the  reputation,  and 
inflict  a  wound  on  the  mind  or  temper 
which  will  take  some  time  to  heal.  Its 
sting  often  remains. 

2.  To  burn.  It  sometimes  blasts 
and  utterly  destroys.  It  has  frequently 
undermined  a  man's  character  beyond 
recovery,  and  brought  him  down  with 
grief,  affliction,  and  poverty  to  an 
untimely  grave. 

II.  The  retribution  of  slander.  The 
law  of  requital  holds  terribly  good  here. 

1.  It  is  stung  in  return.  God's 
arrows  fly   thick  and  sharp  upon   the 


slanderous  soul.  He  is  ever  in  fear 
lest  the  lie  should  be  traced  back  to  its 
source,  lest  it  should  be  proved  to  be  a 
lie,  and  lest  his  calumny  should  nuss  its 
mark.  He  bears  about  him,  too,  the 
sharpest   javelin    in    God's    armoury — 

CONSCIENCE  ! 

2.  It  is  consumed.  Society  consumes 
the  evil  speaker  and  his  speech.  It 
sternly  condemns  him  whether  his  mis- 
chievous tales  are  true  or  not,  and 
avoids  bis  company  and  leaves  him  in 
contempt  to  perish.  His  accumulated 
fears  consume  him  ;  and  he  that  maketh 
a  lie  inherits  the  hottest  Are  of  God's 
wrath. 


The  Trials  of  the  Godly. 
(Verses  6-7.) 


L   Uncongenial    neighbours.      The 

Psalmist's  residence  in  Mesech  and 
Kedar  is  probably  not  to  be  understood 
literally,  as  Mesech  (Gen.  x.  1)  inhabited 
the  mountain  ranges  south  of  and  adjoin- 
ing Caucasus,  and  the  south-coast  borders 
of  the  Black  Sea,  and  Kedar  was  pro- 
bably an  Arabian  tribe.  They  evidently 
stand  for  Barbarians.  A  man  can  hardly 
be  subjected  to  a  greater  trial  than  to  be 
compelled  to  mix  in  society  with  which 
he  has  no  sympathy  and  which  has  no 
sympathy  with  him, — e.g.,  a  scholar  with 
those  who  despise  learning,  an  artist 
with  those  that  have  no  taste,  the  pure 
with  the  impure,  the  sober  with  the 
profligate,  and  vice  versa.  So  the 
Psalmist  felt  himself  unhappy  amongst 
men  with  whom  he  had  no  spiritual 
affinity.  This  is  the  case  with  the 
godly  through  all  time.  They  dwell  in 
a  world  that  does  not  acknowledge  their 
Qod,  and  with  men  who  cannot  appre- 


ciate their  worth.  Heaven  is  the  plac« 
where  all  is  harmony,  and  whose  pur- 
suits, (kc,  are  congenial  to  all.  Hell  is 
the  opposite. 

n.  Unrighteous  contradictions. 
"  They  will  listen  to  nothing.  They 
are  for  discord,  variance,  strife.  All 
my  efforts  to  live  in  peace  are  vain. 
They  are  determined  to  quarrel,  and  I 
cannot  prevent  it.  (a)  A  man  should 
separate  himself  in  such  a  case  as  the 
only  way  of  peace,  (b)  If  this  cannot 
be  done,  then  he  should  do  nothing  to 
irritate  and  keep  up  the  strife,  (c)  If 
all  his  efforts  for  peace  are  vain,  and  he 
cannot  separate,  then  he  should  bear  it 
patiently  as  divine  discipline.  There 
are  few  situations  where  piety  will  shine 
more  beautifully,  (d)  He  should  look 
with  the  more  earnestness  for  the  world 
of  peace  ;  and  the  peace  of  heaven  will 
be  all  the  more  grateful  after  such  a 
scene  of  conflict  and  war." — Barnes, 


The  Nature  and  Doom  of  Calumny. 
(Verses  1-4.) 


The  Israelites  bad  returned  from 
Babylon,  and  were  engaged  in  rebuild- 
ing the  demolished  Temple  at  Jerusalem. 
The  Samaritans — heathens  by  extrac- 
tion, and  still  continuing  heathens  at 
heart  —  wished  to  join  in  the  work. 
318 


The  devout  Jews,  thinking  it  out  of 
place  for  any  who  did  not  fully  acknow- 
ledge Jehovah  to  take  i)art  in  so  sacred 
an  enterprise,  quietly  but  firmly  de- 
clined their  overtures.  Exasperated 
with   the  repulse,    the   SamaritMUjs  em- 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXX. 


ployed  every  meant  to  annoy  the 
workers,  and  to  hinder  the  work. 
They  concocted  the  vilest  slanders,  and 
sought  to  prejudice  the  mind  of  the 
Persian  king,  by  whose  permission  the 
liberated  Jews  were  allowed  to  rebuild 
the  Temple.  The  Church  of  God  is 
still  assailed  by  the  malice  of  the 
wicked.  What  they  cannot  accomplish 
by  open  violence,  they  seek  to  effect  by 
the  subtlety  of  the  tongue. 

Observe : — 

I.  That  calumny  is  a  terrible  in- 
strument of  mischief.  1.  It  is  subtle 
in  its  insinuations.  "  A  deceitful 
tongue."  It  affects  a  reluctance  to  tell 
all  it  knows.  It  implies  more  than  it 
openly  states.  It  deals  in  half  truths, 
or  in  a  small  modicum  of  truth,  which 
it  makes  the  pivot  on  which  a  whirl- 
wind of  the  most  pernicious  slander 
revolves.  It  is  eloquent  in  facial  ex- 
pression. A  wink,  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulder,  a  little  hieroglyphic  finger- 
writing  on  the  viewless  air,  a  whispered 
innuendo,  will  insinuate  more  evil  into 
the  midst  of  a  community  than  the 
most  outspoken  declamation.  Calumny 
is  cheating  with  the  tongue.  2.  It  is 
false  in  its  representations,  "  Lying 
lips."  A  liar  does  his  mischief  openly 
for  the  most  part.  Stung  by  a  well- 
deserved  rebuff,  or  prompted  by  a 
feeling  of  spontaneous  hatred,  he 
circulates  the  most  flagrant  falsehoods. 
The  more  barefaced  the  falsehood  the 
less  harm  it  does  among  the  thoughtful. 
The  consummate  liar  rings  his  own 
alarm  bell,  and  the  unprejudiced  are 
sufficiently  warned.  But  there  is 
always  a  large  class  of  people  who 
will  believe  the  most  abominable  lies  : 
the  more  confidently  and  unblushingly 
they  are  uttered,  the  more  firmly  are 
they  credited.  The  splenetic  detractor 
is  never  at  a  loss  for  defamatory  material. 
A  word  is  falsely  reported,  an  act  mis- 
construed, a  motive  misread,  and  the 
whole  plan  of  life  misconceived.  When 
all  else  is  exhausted,  the  vile  calum- 
niator falls  back  upon  the  endless  fab- 
rications of  a  corrupt  imagination. 
3.  It  is  dangerous  in  its  use.  It  pol- 
lutes and  debases  those  who  traffic  in 
it 


**  Let  falsehood  be  a  stranger  to  thy  lips  \ 
Shame  on  the  policy  that  first  began 
To  tamper   with   the   heart   to  hide  its 

thoughts  1 
And  doubly  shame  on  that  unrighteous 

tongue 
That  sold  its  honesty  and  told  a  lie  !  " 

— Havard, 

It  is  pernicious  in  its  effects  on  indivi- 
duals, societies,  and  commonwealths.  "A 
lie,"  says  Carlyle,  "  should  be  trampled 
on  and  extinguished  wherever  found.  I 
am  for  fumigating  the  atmosphere  when 
I  suspect  that  falsehood,  like  pestilence, 
breathes  around  me."  The  march  of 
calumny  is  invisible  as  the  wind,  and 
often  more  terribly  destructive. 

II.  That  calumny  is  productive  of 
acute  suffering.  1.  It  fills  the  soul  with 
anguish.  *'  In  my  distress."  It  wounds 
the  soul  as  with  the  batb  of  an  enve- 
nomed arrow,  and  inflicts  incredible 
pain.  The  distress  is  aggravated  when 
we  discover  that  the  javelin  is  thrown 
by  the  hand  of  a  professed  friend.  The 
discovery  of  treachery  in  human  nature 
is  a  painful  shock  to  the  confiding. 
Calumny  is  not  easily  traced  to  its 
source,  and  is  often  difficult  to  refute. 

2.  It  mars  the  happiness  of  a  life. 
"  Deliver  my  soul  "  —  my  life.  The 
Psalmist  felt  that  his  whole  life  was 
endangered.  Calumny  has  ruined  the 
fairest  reputation,  embittered  many  a 
life,  blasted  its  prospects,  diverted  its 
influence,  and  injuriously  afiected  its 
destiny. 

III.  That  calumny  drives  the  soul 
to  seek  redress  in  prayer.  1.  The 
refuge  of  the  calumniated  is  in  God.  "  In 
my  distress  I  cried  unto  the  Lord. 
Deliver  my  soul,  O  Lord,  from  lying 
lips."  No  man  is  safe  from  the  shafts 
of  falsehood.  He  cannot  always  refute 
it.  He  cannot  prevent  its  effects  on  his 
reputation.  Slanders  may  penetrate 
into  regions  where  its  refutation  never 
comes.     The    sufferer    can   do    nothinor 

o 

but  commit  his  case  to  God,  and  trust 
to  his  own  conscious  intei.^rity,  the  lapse 
of  time,  and  the  operations  of  Divine 
providence  to  clear  his  character.  2. 
The  cry  of  the  calumniated  is  not  in 
vain.  "  He  heard  me."  Prayer  is  the 
surest  method  of  relief.  The  soul  is 
comforted.     Grace  is  given   to  act  cir- 

319 


PSALM  OXZ. 


HOMILETIO  OOMMBNTART :  PSaLMS. 


cumspectly,  and  to  live  down  the  false 
imputations.  When  Plato  was  told  how 
his  enemies  slandered  him,  he  quietly 
replied,  *'  I  fear  them  not.  I  will  so 
live  that  no  one  shall  believe  them.'* 
In  His  own  way,  and  at  His  own  time, 
Jehovah  vindicates  His  suflfering  people. 

IV.  That  calumny  involves  its 
perpetrators  in  severest  vengeance. 

*'  What  shall  be  done  unto  thee,  thou 
false  tongue'^  Sharp  arrows  of  the  mighty, 
with  coals  of  juniper."  The  juniper 
sparkles,  burns,  and  crackles  more  vehe- 
mently than  any  other  wood,  and  is  of 
such  a  nature  that,  if  covered  with 
ashes,  it  will  continue  alive  the  whole 
year.  Fiery  arrows,  or  arrows  wrapped 
round  with  inflammable  material,  were 
formerly  used  in  sieges  to  set  the  place 
on  fire.  The  Chaldee  has  it  :— "  The 
strong  sharp  arrows  are  like  lightning 
from  above,  with  coals  of  juniper  kindled 


in  hell  beneath."  The  tongue  of  the 
calumniator  was  often  like  a  sharp,  fiery 
arrow  shot  by  a  strong  hand,  causing 
intense  and  prolonged  pain  ;  but  now 
the  fierce,  burning  arrow  of  vengeance, 
shot  by  the  Mighty  One,  has  pierced 
the  soul,  and  will  rankle  there  in  ever- 
increasing  torture.  The  future  retribu- 
tive sufi'erings  of  the  wicked  will  infin- 
itely exceed  anything  they  ever  inflicted 
on  their  most  helpless  victims.  Beware 
of  indulging  revenge.  We  may  safely 
leave  our  oppressors  to  their  merited 
punishment.  "  Speak  not  of  vengeance; 
'tis  the  right  of  God." 

Lessons  : — 1.  Calumny  is  the  source 
of  many  evils.  2.  The  best  of  charac- 
ters are  liable  to  its  most  distressing 
assaults.  3.  Qod  will  defend,  sustain, 
and  vindicate  His  people,  and  signally 
punish  their  calumniators. 


The  Ferocity  of  the  Wicked  a  Source  op  Distress 

TO  the  Good. 

{Verse  5-7.) 


Mesech  refers  to  a  barbarous  race  in- 
habiting the  Moschian  regions  between 
Iberia,  Armenia,  and  Colchis.  From 
this  people  the  Muscovites  descended. 
Kedar  describes  the  wild,  restless,  no- 
madic offspring  of  Ishniael,  who  occupied 
the  territory  of  Arabia  Petrsea.  The 
Psalmist  did  not  personally  reside  in 
either  Mesech  or  Kedar.  The  sixth 
verse  gives  the  key  to  the  sense  in 
which  the  words  are  to  be  understood. 
He  dwelt  in  the  midst  of  a  people  as 
rudely  barbarous,  and  as  fiercely  conten- 
tious, as  those  in  Mesech  and  Kedar.  The 
Church  of  God  is  now  situated  in  the 
midst  of  a  mass  of  gross  wickedness 
that  surrounds  and  assails  it  like  an 
angry  sea. 

I.  That  the  Good  are  brought  into 
Unavoidable  Contact  with  the  Wicked. 

There  is  no  spot  under  heaven  into 
which  evil  cannot  penetrate.  Go  where 
we  will  it  presses  in  upon  us  from  every 
quarter.  The  exigencies  of  life  will 
sometimes  lead  the  godly  into  the  com- 
pany of  the  wicked.  But  for  this,  not 
820 


only   would   commercial    extension   be 

impossible,  but  the  humanising  influence 
of  social  intercourse  be  lost  to  the  world. 
The  Providence  of  God  may  conduct  His 
people  into  the  midst  of  the  wicked — 
to  testify  against  their  pernicious  prac- 
tices, to  moderate  their  violence,  to 
present  a  holy  and  beneficent  example, 
to  attract  to  a  better  life.  The  residence 
of  the  good  among  the  habitations  of  the 
wicked  is  sometimes  compulsory.  With- 
out any  fault  of  their  own  they  are 
banished  from  home  and  temple,  and 
compelled  to  mingle  with  people  whose 
principles  they  disapprove,  and  whose 
practices  they  detest.  It  is  possible  to 
be  encompassed  with  evil,  and  yet  not 
participate  in  it.  As  the  fire-fly  will 
pass  through  the  flame  without  being 
singed,  as  fresh  water  currents  circulate 
in  the  sea  without  partaking  of  its  saline 
property,  as  the  pearl  is  unimpaired  by 
the  unsightly  shell  in  which  it  is  clasped, 
so  the  good  may  move  about  in  iiie 
midst  of  abounding  wickedness  without 
contamination. 


HOMILETJO  COMMENT ARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXI. 


n.  That  the  attitude  of  the  wicked 
is  one  of  fierce  antagonism  to  the 
good. 

They  hate  peace — they  are  for  war. 
The  presence  of  the  good  is  a  perpetual 
rebuke  to  the  wicked.  Their  simple 
transparency  of  character  makes  them 
conscious  of  the  duplicity  and  blackness 
of  their  own  ;  their  pacific  temper,  in- 
stead of  soothing,  is  made  an  occasion 
of  ungovernable  irritability.  1.  The 
antagonism  of  the  wicked  is  prompted  by 
a  spirit  of  intense  hatred.  "  My  soul 
hath  long  dwelt  with  him  that  hateth 
peace."  Hatred  is  the  great  mischief- 
maker.  It  sets  man  against  himself; 
against  society  ;  against  God  ;  against 
the  universe.  *'  A  man,"  says  Plato, 
"  should  not  allow  himself  to  hate  even 
his  enemies  ;  because  if  you  indulge  this 
passion,  on  some  occasion  it  will  rise 
of  itself  on  others  ;  if  you  hate  your 
enemies,  you  will  contract  such  a  vicious 
habit  of  mind,  as  by  degrees  will  break 
out  upon  those  who  are  your  friends, 
or  those  who  are  indifferent  to  you." 
Hatred  in  the  heart  of  the  wicked  is  a 
fiend  let  loose.  2.  The  antagonism  of 
the  wicked  is  unreasonable.  ' '  I  am  for 
peace,  but  when  I  speak,  they  are  for 
war."  There  are  some  restless,  quarrel- 
some spirits,  whom  nothing  will  pro- 
pitiate or  pacify.  If  no  provocation  is 
given,  they  will  invent  one.  Whatever 
efforts  are  made  to  promote  peace,  they 


construe  into  causes  for  new  hostilitiesr 
They  are  like  the  Macedonians,  of  whom 
it  was  said,  in  the  time  of  Philip,  "  To 
them  peace  was  war,  and  war  was 
peace."  Such  conduct  is  senseless  and 
unreasonable. 

III.  That  the  ferocity  of  the 
wicked  is  a  source  of  distress  to  the 
good.     "  Woe  is  me." 

There  is  no  greater  pain  to  a  tender, 
sensitive  spirit,  than  to  be  brought  in 
contact  with  prevalent  wickedness.  The 
most  pathetic  lamentations  of  Jeremiah 
were  uttered  when  he  beheld  the  moral 
degeneracy  and  violent  discord  of  his 
countrymen.  Evil  is  abhorrent  in  any 
aspect ;  but  when  it  assumes  the  fierce- 
ness of  a  reckless,  impetuous,  and  fiend- 
ish aggression,  it  is  intolerable.  To  be 
compelled  to  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the 
quarrelsome  is  a  miniature  pandemo- 
nium. Such  an  experience  is  often  the 
means  of  discipline  to  the  good.  It 
teaches  forbearance,  patience,  and  self- 
control.  It  calls  for  the  exercise  of  a 
spirit  of  god-like  forgiveness  and  charity. 
It  reveals  the  diabolic  character  of  sin, 
and  its  inevitable  tendency  to  transform 
men  into  demons. 

Learn — 1.  The  universality  of  sin, 
2.  The  greatest  troubles  of  life  are  the 
result  of  sin,  3.  A  time  is  coming 
when  the  good  will  he  for  ever  delivered 
from  the  assault*  of  tin. 


PSALM    CXXL 
Introduction. 

Tliii  "  Song  of  the  Ascents  " — a  title  slightly  varying  from  that  of  each  of  the  other  Gradual 
Psalms — is  as  suitable  as   any  for  the  Israelite's  use  when   not  leaving  his  home  for  tho 

earthly  Jerusalem,  but  only  meditating  on  the  circumstances  and  prospects  of  his  spiritual 
progress,  especially  when  life  is  drawing  to  a  close  ;  but  its  beauties  are  more  apparent  if  we 
regard  it  as  bursting  from  the  lips  of  the  pilgrims  as  after  their  long,  weary,  and  dangerous 
march,  in  spite  of  Mesech  and  Kedar,  though  not  yet  beyond  their  reacli,  they  come  at  last  in 
sight  of  the  mountain  range  of  Moriali  and  Zion.  0  joyful  !  Yonder  is  Jerusalem  !  There  is 
the  sheen  of  the  Temple  !  Our  journey  is  nearly  over  !  Jehovah  is  appealed  to  by  the  Church 
or  saint  in  the  first  three  verses,  and  in  the  remainder  answers  and  confirms  His  beUeving 
people. —  The  Caravan  and  Temple, 

Jehovah  the  Refuge  of  the  Distressed, 
(Verses  1-4.) 

Wherever  the  devout  Hebrew   wan-  mountain  heights  of  his  native  Jndea. 

dered,  and  whatever  might  be  his  con-  In  the  distance  those  heights  assumed 

dition,    his   eyes   turned    towards    the  the   appearance  of  one  vast  mountain^ 

▼oil.  II.  321 


FBALM  CXXI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


on  which  there  was  a  particular  emi- 
nence that  arrested  the  gaze  of  the  easrer 
worshipper,  as  if  held  by  the  spell  of 
an  irresistible  fascination.  This  was 
Mount  Zion,  the  consecrated  hill  of  the 
Lord — the  foundation  on  which  He  had 
built  His  Church,  and  the  symbol  of 
its  permanency — the  charmed  circle  of 
divinest  manifestation  —  the  central 
fountain  from  which  streams  of  bless- 
ing have  issued  for  the  healinoj  of  the 
nations.  As  the  mountaineer,  pressed 
and  worsted  in  the  conflict,  fled  to  his 
native  hills  for  refuge  and  defence,  so 
the  sufferins:  Israelite  soufi;ht  comfort 
and  protection  from  Him  "  whose 
righteousness  is  like  the  great  moun- 
tains." 

Note. — I.  That  the   soul  is  often 
placed  in  circumstances  of  distress. 

Sufifering  is  the  commonest,  yet  most 
mysterious,  feature  of  our  human  life. 
None  are  exempted.    Heaven  has  no  dis- 
pensations to  grant  to  special  favourites. 
Whatever   differences  there   may  be  in 
mental   endowments,  wealth,  or  social 
position,  there    is,  among  all    the    de- 
scendants  of   Adam,    an    unavoidable, 
all-levelling     communism   in    suffering. 
Apparent  and  numerous  as  may  be  the 
physical  sufferings  of  mankind,  there  is 
a  depth  of  mental  distress  of  which  the 
outer    world  knoweth    not,    and    with 
which  a  stranger  may  not  intermeddle. 
The    hope    deferred    that    maketh    the 
heart  sick ;  the  collapse  of  undertakings 
that    have    cost    days    and    nights    of 
anxious  thought  and  devoted   labour ; 
the  wounds  inflicted  by  unjust  and  mean 
Insinuations,  or  by  words  barbed  with 
envy   and  dipped   in   the  venom  of  a 
heartless  cruelty  ;  the  nameless  pang  of 
disappointment  occasioned  by  the  faith- 
lessness of  one  we  trusted,  and  to  whom 
we   knew  not  how  far   we  had  surren- 
dered our  heart  till  he  flung  it  from  him 
a  pierced  and  bleeding  thing — all  these, 
and   infinitely  more,   are   hidden   from 
the   great  world  outside;    they  are  be- 
yond its  power  to  assuage,  or  even  to 
appreciate. 

n.  That  in  every  time  of  distress 
Jehovah  is  an  ever-available  Refuge. 

1.   His  power  is  unbounded.       "  My 
help    cometh    from    the    Lord,    which 
322 


made  heaven  and  earth."  The  Creator 
of  all  can  succour  and  defend  all.  The 
great  forces  of  both  worlds  are  under 
His  control.  He  restrains  their  malig- 
nant, and  multiplies  their  beneficent, 
ministries.  However  complicated  our 
straits  and  pungent  our  grief.  His  power 
is  all-sufficient.  With  such  a  refuge 
despair  would  be  madness. 

2.  His  defence  is  invincible.  "  He  will 
not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved."  The 
slidiniJ:  of  the  foot  is  an  emblem  of  mis- 
fortune  frequently  used,  and  a  very 
natural  and  suggestive  one  to  the 
dweller  in  the  Hebrew  mountains,  where 
a  single  slip  of  the  foot  was  often 
attended  with  great  danger  (Psalm 
xxxviii  16;  Ixvi.  9).  The  foundation 
on  which  the  believer  rests  —the  Divine 
power  and  goodness — is  immovable, 
and  while  fixed  on  this  basis  his  foot 
shall  not  be  moved.  The  giddy  whirl 
of  pleasure ;  the  artful  devices  of  the 
tempter ;  the  sombre  tempest  of  cala- 
mities will,  alike,  be  powerless  to  harm 
while  he  is  circled  by  the  Divine 
defence. 

3.  Uii  vigilance  is  unwearied.  "  He 
that  keepeth  thee  will  not  slumber. 
Behold,  He  that  keepeth  Israel  shall 
neither  slumber  nor  sleep."  Sleep  is 
necessary  to  repair  the  waste  occasioned 
by  toil.  It  is  an  indication  of  weak- 
ness and  limitation.  All  mundane 
creatures  sleep.  God  never  sleeps.  He 
knows  no  weariness.  To  Him  there  is 
no  night ;  the  darkness  and  the  light 
are  both  alike  to  Him.  Nothing  can 
escape  His  eye.  No  enemy  can  secrete 
himself  unnoticed  ;  no  ambush  can  sur- 
prise Him.  The  sentinel  may  slumber 
at  his  post ;  the  steersman  at  the  helm ; 
the  mother  by  the  sick-bed;  but  God 
never  slumbers.  He  is  never  exhausted  ; 
never  inattentive  to  the  condition  of 
His  people,  or  the  wants  of  the  uni- 
verse. 

III.  That  the  most  signal  mani- 
festations of  Divine  help  are  realised 
in  the  sanctuary. 

"  The  hills  from  whence  cometh  my 
help."  On  those  hills  the  Temple 
stood — the  pride  of  the  Hebrew,  the 
marvel  of  the  ages.  There  Jehovah 
localised  His  presence ;   there  the   in- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  CXXI, 


effable  glory  hovered  ;  there  the  people 
held  sublime  communion  with  their 
God  -y  there  were  witnessed  the  brightest 
visions  of  His  face  ;  there  were  realised 
the  strongest  consolations  of  His  love. 
The  fondest,  dearest  memories  of  life 
cluster  around  the  experiences  of  the 
sanctuary.  The  sad  heart  has  there 
lost  its  burden;  joy  has  been  raised  into 
a  purer  passion ;  the  holy  resolution 
been  confirmed  ;  and  the  future  lit  up 
with  the  kindling  radiancy  of  hope. 
Who  can  estimate  the  loss  to  the  wor- 
shipper of  a  single  careless  neglect  of 
the  service  of  the  sanctuary  ! 

IV.  That  the  soul  is  delivered 
from  its  distress  only  as  it  turns  to 
Jehovah. 


"  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the 
hills."  Help  is  not  to  be  found  in 
man.  We  cannot  look  to  idols,  or  to 
the  mighty,  who,  like  hills,  fill  the 
earth,  and  raise  their  heads  towards 
heaven.  Truly,  in  vain  is  salvation 
hoped  for  from  these  hills  (Jer.  iii.  23). 
When  all  human  help  fails,  with  God 
nothing  is  impossible.  To  brood  over 
our  distress  is  to  increase  it.  Our 
greatest  distress  comes  when  we  wander 
farthest  from  God,  and  vanishes  when 
we  turn  again  to  Him  with  a  sincere 
heart. 

Lessons  : —  1.  Distress  is  never  far  to 
seek.  2.  The  Divine  Refuge  is  open  for 
all,  3.  To  receive  timely  help  be  always 
in  your  place  in  the  sanctuary. 


Divine  Protection. 


(  Verses 

A  celebrated  traveller — after  an  ab- 
sence of  three  years,  during  which  he 
had  walked  across  the  continent  of 
Africa  from  east  to  west,  through  vast 
regions  never  before  trodden  by  the  foot 
of  the  white  man — recently  received  an 
enthusiastic  welcome  home.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  quiet  Kentish  village  where 
he  had  spent  his  boyish  days,  his  first  act, 
before  entering  his  much-loved  home, 
was  to  pass  thnmgh  the  portals  of  the 
church  where  his  aged  father  minis- 
tered, and,  humbly  kneeling,  offer  his 
devout  thanksgiving  to  that  God  who 
had  watched  over  and  preserved  him  in 
all  his  wanderings.  Among  other  ap- 
propriate Scriptures,  this  Psalm  was 
read.  It  was  a  touching  scene  !  Many 
hearts  heaved  with  emotion,  and  many 
tears  were  shed,  as  the  reader,  in 
trembling  accents,  uttered  the  words, 
"The  Lord  is  thy  keeper.  The  Lord 
is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand.  The 
sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the 
moon  by  night.  The  Lord  shall  pre- 
serve thy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in 
from  this  time  forth,  and  even  for  ever- 
more." It  was  a  graceful  and  fitting 
acknowledgment  of  that  Divine  Good- 
ness which  had  safely  conducted  the 
weary,  sun-burnt  traveller  through  all 
the  perils  of  his  great  and  adventurous 
Journey.     We  should  be  ever  ready  to 


5-8.) 

acknowledge  and  adore  the  Gracious 
Power  that  shelters  and  protects  us 
every  moment.      Observe — 

I.  The  Divine  protection  is  ample 
and  efficient. 

I.  It  is  ample.  "The  Lord  is  thy 
shade."  He  surrounds  His  people,  and 
guards  them  at  every  point  of  attack. 
Without  His  encompassing  shadow  they 
are  exposed  to  the  tierce  onslaught  of 
numberless  enemies,  and  must  become 
an  easy  prey  to  their  violence.  Where 
the  danger  is  greatest,  there  the  Divine 
shade  is  thickest.  The  foe  must  be 
able  to  pierce  the  invulnerable,  and 
conquer  the  invincible,  before  he  can 
touch  the  feeblest  saint  who  is  sheltered 
by  the  wings  of  God.  2.  It  is  efficient. 
"Upon  thy  right  hand.''  The  right 
hand  is  the  organ  of  action,  either  in 
aggression  or  defence.  If  that  is  para- 
lysed, man  is  shorn  of  his  main  strength. 
As  the  enemies  of  God's  people  are  ever 
standing  at  their  right  hand  to  frustrate 
all  their  efforts  in  well-doing,  so  Jeho- 
vah is  at  their  right  hand  to  encourage 
and  sustain  those  efforts,  and  restrain 
their  enemies.  At  the  point  where  the 
forces  of  evil  most  thickly  concentrate, 
there  the  Divine  protection  operates 
most  powerfully. 

II.  The  Divine  protection  shields 
from  the  most  open  assaults.     "  The 

323 


yfiALM  rxxi. 


EOMTLtTW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Bun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day."  To 
the  inhabitants  of  the  East,  where  the 
fierce  rays  of  the  sun  are  sometimes 
fatal  in  their  effects  upon  the  incau- 
tious traveller,  these  words  would  have 
a  special  significance.  They  also  in- 
dicate figuratively  the  open  dangers 
which  threaten  God's  people  every  day, 
and  the  flagrant,  cruel,  persecuting 
hatred  of  their  most  furious  enemies. 
"Dangers  stand  thick  through  all  the 
ground ; "  but  God  is  present  to  defend. 
The  worker  in  the  dismal  mine,  the 
traveller  by  road,  or  rail,  or  sea,  the 
toiler  surrounded  by  the  most  destruc- 
tive materials,  is  alike  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Divine  protection. 

III.  The  Divine  protection  guards 
from  the  effects  of  the  most  secret 
treachery.  "  Nor  the  moon  by  night." 
The  moon  is  the  ruler  of  the  night ;  and 
everything  belongs  to  it  which  happens 
during  its  reign,  so  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  trace  all  the  evils  of  the  night 
diipotly  to  the  influence  of  the  moon. 
The  Lord  will  protect  from  all  the 
subtle  and  invisible  attacks  of  the 
wicked,  though  they  come  upon  His 
people  as  silently  and  unseen  as  the 
penetrating  cold  of  the  moonlight  night. 
He  sees  the  approach  of  the  least  sus- 
pected danger,  estimates  the  force  of 
the  subtlest  influence,  smiles  at  the 
treachery  of  His  enemies,  and  discon- 
certs their  cleverest  combinations.  The 
Divine  Sentinel  never  slumbers.  He 
can  never  be  outwitted  by  the  cunning 
of  the  most  malicious. 

IV.  The  Divine  protection  is  a 
defence  against  every  evil.  "The 
Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  evil : 
He  shall  preserve  thy  souL"  He  pro- 
tects from  the  evil  of  sin  and  of  suffer- 
ing. He  turns  away  the  evil  that 
is  feared,  and  alleviates  and  sanctifies 
the  evil  He  permits.  He  will  preserve 
the  life  (the  soul)  of  His  saints  in  war  or 
peace — when  the  weapons  of  destruction 
hurtle  through  the  air,  or  when  disease 
silently  sheds  around  its  noxious  poison. 
He  will  keep  the  soul  from  doing  evil, 
cleanse  it  from  all  pollution,  and  invest  it 
with  a  purity  immaculate  and  fadeless. 

V.  The  Divine  protection  is  real- 
Ued  amid  the  active  duties  of  life. 


"  The  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going 
out."  The  good  man  is  directed  in 
the  beginning  of  his  undertakings,  and 
shielded  by  the  Divine  presence  during 
their  active  prosecution  (Deut.  xxviii. 
3-6).  He  is  safe  wherever  his  duties 
carry  him — in  the  workshop,  the  street, 
the  busy  mart,  on  the  restless  sea,  or  in 
strange  and  distant  countries. 

'*  In  foreign  realms  and  lands  remote, 
Supported  by  Thy  care, 
Through  burning  climes  they  pass  unhurt» 

And  breathe  in  tainted  air. 
When  on  the  dreadful  tempest  borne, 

High  on  the  broken  wave, 
They  know  Thou  art  not  slow  to  bear, 
Nor  impotent  to  save." 

— Addison, 

A  moment  comes  when  there  shall 
be  the  last  going  out — the  ebb  of  life 
when  the  soul  shall  go  out  with  the 
tide,  to  return  no  more  !  Then  shall  it 
be  enfolded  with  the  Divine  protection, 
and  preserved  in  endless  bliss. 

VI.  The  Divine  protection  over- 
shadows the  rest  and  auietness  of 
home.  "And  thy  coming  in."  Better  is 
the  end  of  a  thing  than  the  beginning 
thereof.  The  Divine  protection  is  not 
less  exercised  in  the  conclusion  of  any 
undertaking  than  in  its  commencement. 
Evening  brings  all  home ;  and  the 
weary  one,  after  the  toils  and  dangers  of 
the  day,  enjoys  the  peace  and  rest  of  his 
home  all  the  more  because  he  knows  he 
is  encircled  by  the  Divine  guardianship. 
And  when  the  shadows  of  life's  eventide 
gather  round  him,  he  fears  not.  The  Lord 
will  preserve  his  coming  in^ — his  tranquil 
entrance  into  the  heavenly  home ! 

VII.  The  Divine  protection  is  un- 
remitting. "  From  this  time  forth  and 
even  for  evermore."  He  is  the  continual 
portion  and  defence  of  all  who  trust  in 
Him,  in  all  places,  at  all  times,  in  all 
actions,  in  life,  in  prosperity,  in  adver- 
sity, in  death,  in  time,  in  eternity.  No 
evil  shall  befall  them  to  endanger  their 
present  and  ultimate  good.  The  safety 
of  the  Church  and  of  every  individual 
member  is  insured. 

Lessons  : —  L  Offer  grateful  praise 
for  the  protection  of  the  past.  2.  Fear 
not  the  most  furious  assaults  of  the 
enemy.  3.  Put  all  your  confidence  in 
the  Divine  Protector. 


BOMILBTIO  OOMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


MAMMffEMJL 


PSALM    CXXII. 

Introduction. 

This  Psalm,  which  the  title  ascribes  to  Darid,  was  probably  composed  by  him  after  he  bad 
settled  the  Ark  in  Mount  Zion,  to  encourage  the  people  to  resort  to  Jerusalem  to  the  three 
annual  feasts,  or  to  express  his  pleasure  in  observing  that  they  did  assemble  there  in  great 
numbers.  With  how  much  greater  joy  ought  Christians  to  embrace  all  opportunities  of 
approaching  God  and  assembling  with  His  people  in  the  more  rational,  spiritual,  and  edifying 
worship  of  the  New* Testament  Church ! 


The  Joy  of  Divine  Worship. 


(Verses 

This  Psalm  is  a  song  on  the  entrance 
of  the  Church  and  State  of  Israel  into 
a  superior  habitation.  It  seems  to  have 
been  originally  written  in  the  interval 
between  the  translation  of  the  Ark  to 
Zion  by  David  and  the  erection  of  the 
Temple  there  by  Solomon.  We  may 
picture  the  multitudes  of  eager  wor- 
shippers singing  this  song  as  they 
journeyed  in  companies  from  different 
parts  of  Palestine  to  the  holy  sanctuary 
of  Zion.  As  they  leave  their  homes,  as 
in  the  morning  they  resume  their  march, 
as  they  approach  the  gates  of  the  city, 
or  as  they  pause  within  them  and  pre- 
pare to  go  up  in  solemn  procession  with 
music  and  song  to  the  sanctuary,  they 
unite  in  singing  these  words  of  joy  and 
gladness.     Observe — 

I.  That  the  joy  of  Divine  worsliip  is 
realised  in  anticipation.  '*  I  was  glad 
when  they  said  unto  me"  (ver.  7).  The 
invitation  to  worship  is  met  with  an 
eager  and  joyous  response,  as  though 
the  soul  had  been  pleasantly  musing  on 
the  theme  and  was  longing  for  the  time 
of  public  worship  to  return.  Much  of 
our  happiness  in  life,  and  of  our  misery 
too,  are  realised  by  anticipation.  The 
same  power  by  which  we  forecast  the 
future  and  fill  the  mind  with  sombre 
pictures  of  coming  calamities,  may  also 
be  used  to  portray  with  the  vividness 
of  reality  the  exquisite  pleasures  which 
are  yet  to  come.  Prolonged  absence 
from  the  sanctuary,  whether  from  sick- 
ness or  distance,  gives  piquancy  to  the 
spiritual  appetite,  and  adds  an  additional 
charm  to  the  prospect  of  soon  joining 
again  with  the  happy  worshippers.  The 
joy  of  the  devout  emigrant  as  he  returns 


1,2.) 

once  more  to  his  native  village,  Is  inten- 
sified by  the  hope  of  again  worshipping 
God  in  the  rustic  temple  with  which 
are  associated  the  happiest  moments  of 
his  youth. 

II.  That  the  joy  of  Divine  worship 
is  enhanced  when  shared  with  others. 
"  Let  us  go."  Man  can  worship  God 
alone,  but  he  can  worship  Him  better 
in  company.  The  song  of  the  solitary 
bird  does  not  create  such  a  tempest  of 
tumultuous  rapture  as  when  it  is  blended 
with  the  summer-morning  chorus  of  a 
thousand  merry  choristers,  rising  over 
brake  and  woodland.  The  journey  of  the 
pilgrim  is  not  so  long  and  tedious  when 
it  is  prosecuted  in  the  society  of  kindred 
spirits  and  enlivened  with  songs  of  glad- 
ness. Our  worship  of  God  will  reach 
its  highest  joy  when  it  is  rendered  in 
fraternal  union  with  that  great  multi- 
tude which  no  man  can  number  (Rev. 
vii.  9-12). 

III.  That  the  joy  of  Divine  worsliip 
is  most  fully  realised  in  the  sanctuary. 
*'  Into  the  house  of  the  Lord."  Here 
Jehovah  dwells,  making  His  home  in 
the  hearts  of  the  sincere  worshippers. 
Here  His  majestic  glory  is  displayed 
with  overwhelming  splendour.  Here 
the  mysteries  of  His  providential  deal- 
ings are  explained.  Here  His  will  is 
made  known  with  unmistakable  plain- 
ness and  emphasis,  illustrated  with  the 
commentary  of  passing  events.  Here 
the  worshipper  has  received  his  most 
memorable  blessings — his  fears  have 
been  banished,  his  murmurs  silenced, 
his  false  ideas  corrected,  his  faith  invi- 
gorated, his  soul  tuned  to  harmony  and 
love.     The  blissful  associations   of  the 

325 


PSALM  OXXII. 


HOMILETW  COMMBNTART :  PSALMS. 


Banctuary  in  the  past  assist  the  wor- 
shipper every  time  he  visits  the  loved 
and  sacred  shrine.  Many  are  thankful 
in  the  recollection  of  those  whose  advice 
and  example  led  them  to  the  sanctuary. 
The  Christian  mother  of  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen  often  begged  her  Pagan  hus- 
band to  join  the  Lord's  people  in  their 
worship,  but  had  to  go  without  him  for 
a  long  time.  At  last  her  remembered 
words  were  irresistible  music  to  his 
spirit.  In  a  dream,  he  repeated  the 
first  words  of  the  Psalm  :  "I  was  glad 
when  they  said  unto  me.  Let  us  go  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord."  The  opposite 
had  been  the  fact ;  but  the  dream  would 
come  to  pass.  Such  happiness  was  soon 
his  lot.  He  felt  a  longing  to  accept  the 
Christian  religion,  and  was  soon  able, 
when  wide  awake,  to  say  the  same  words 
with  literal  truth. 

IV.  The  joy  of  Divine  worship  is 
abiding.  "  Our  feet  shall  stand  within 
thy  gates,  0  Jerusalem  "  (ver.  2).  The 
joy  of  worship  is  satisfying  and  per- 
manent :  it  remains  with  us  when  other 


joys  have  vanished — vanished  like  the 
bloom  of  a  short-lived  flower,  like  the 
picture  of  a  pleasant  dream,  like  the 
delicate  tints  of  a  lovely  scene,  like  the 
sweet  strain  of  an  entrancing  melody. 
David  governed  with  his  harp  as  much 
as  with  his  sword  and  sceptre ;  and  the 
songs  of  Zion  which  he  taught  his  peo- 
ple to  sing  were  a  potent  and  constant 
influence  in  the  formation  and  solidify- 
ing of  the  national  religious  life.  The 
unceasing  praise  of  Jehovah  in  the 
Heavenly  Jerusalem  will  be  an  occasion 
of  unceasing  joy. 

**  In  thy  gates,  0  Jerusalem  bright, 
Have  our  feet  often  stood  with  delight: 
And  again  shall  they  measure  the  way, 
Till  within  them,  enchanted,  we  stay." 

Lessons  : — 1.  The  true  praise  of  God 
is  the  highest  worship.  2.  The  worship 
in  the  Church  below  begets  a  preparedness 
and  fitness  for  worship  in  the  Church 
above.  3.  The  highest  worship  is  the 
unfailing  source  of  the  highest  rapture. 
4.  Much  spiritual  loss  is  suffered  by  ] 
changing  or  neglecting  the  sanctuary/. 


Jerusalem  a  Type  of  the  Church  op  God. 

(Verses  3—5.) 


I.  Because  it  is  securely  founded. 
**  Jerusalem  is  builded  as  a  city  that  is 
compact  together"  (ver.  3).  It  was 
situate  on  a  lofty  eminence :  it  was 
strengthened  till  it  became  an  impreg- 
nable fortress :  it  was  beautified  by  a 
series  of  princely  palaces :  it  was 
crowned  by  the  most  magnificent 
Temple  :  it  was  circled  and  invested  by 
the  Divine  presence.  So  the  Church  of 
God  has  its  basis  in  invulnerable  truth  : 
it  is  defended  by  the  ablest  intellects :  it 
embraces  the  good  of  all  ages :  it  has 
survived  the  wreck  of  the  mightiest 
empires,  and  the  rage  of  the  most 
formidable  enemies  :  it  is  overshadowed 
with  the  glory  of  God  :  it  is  dowered 
with  a  fadeless  immortality. 

n.  Because  it  is  the  place  of  general 
assembly.  "  Whither  the  tribes  go  up, 
the  tribes  of  the  Lord  "  (ver.  4).  1.  There 
the  will  of  God  is  made  known.  "  Unto 
the  testimony  of  Israel."  The  ark  was 
there,  containing  the  tables  of  the  law, 
S26 


the  testimony  of  God's  will  and  Israel's 
duty  (Exod.  xxv.  21,  22).  In  the 
Church  of  God,  as  in  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem,  the  Word  of  God  is  expoimded 
and  the  individual  path  of  duty  clearly 
marked  out.  Obedience  is  encouraged 
by  promises  of  blessing,  and  its  failure 
threatened  with  corresponding  punish- 
ment ;  and  the  law  of  God  is  an  awful 
and  imperishable  testimony  of  the 
Divine  faithfulness  in  each  sphere.  2. 
There  the  Name  of  God  is  worshipped. 
"  To  give  thanks  unto  the  Name  of  the 
Lord."  The  Divine  Name  is  the  embo- 
diment of  the  Divine  perfections;  and 
that  mysterious  Name  is  the  legitimate 
object  of  all  true  worship.  Thanks- 
giving is  the  essence  of  acceptable  wor- 
ship. "To  give  thanks"  becometh  a 
creature  who  is  so  absolutely  dependent 
on  the  Divine  bounty  as  man.  Thanks- 
giving should  be  offered  humbly,  feT" 
vently,  constantly. 
III.  Because  it  is  the  seat  of  uni- 


EOMJLETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALM  OXXII. 


versa!  government.  "For  there  are 
set  thrones  of  judgment,  the  thrones  of 
the  house  of  David"  (ver.  5).  It  is  a 
picture  of  combined  and  quiet  strength. 
The  pilgrims  do  not  look  upon  a  solitary 
throne,  exposed  and  insecure  ;  but  see 
thrones,  firm  and  safe,  beneath  and 
around  David's,  occupied  simultaneously 
by  his  advisers,  administrators,  and 
magistrates,  including  his  sons,  all  in 
his  royal  name  and  service  (2  Sam.  viii. 
18;  1  Chron.  xviii.  17).  They  behold 
a  broadly  organised  and  settled  govern- 
ment. (Vide  "The  Caravan  and  the 
Temple.")  From  this  metropolis  of 
power  all  civil  and  ecclesiastical  man- 
dates must  issue,  and  to  it  all  classes 


were  taught  to  look  for  justice.  So  tha 
Church  of  God  is  the  seat  and  centre 
of  government.  If  justice  is  not  found 
here,  it  can  be  found  nowhere.  And 
not  justice  only,  but  all  that  which 
government  exists  to  promote  and  con- 
serve— righteousness,  peace,  joy,  love — 
these  are  the  stable  constituents  and 
ornaments  of  the  Divine  throne. 

Lessons  : — 1.  7'A<?  Church  of  God  is 
the  repository  of  the  greatest  mental  and 
moral  wealth.  2.  A  secure  place  in  the 
true  Church  is  gained  only  hy  a  Divinely 
implanted  moral  fitness.  3.  A  member 
of  the  true  Church  it  amenable  to  the 
Divine  laws. 


Peace  and  Prosperity. 


( Verses 

L  That  peace  and  prosperity 
should  be  subjects  of  earnest  prayer. 
*'  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem ; 
they  shall  prosper  that  love  thee " 
(ver.  6).  It  is  not  in  mortals  to  com- 
mand success,  nor  is  it  always  in  the 
power  of  man  to  maintain  peace  in 
either  Church  or  State.  It  is  an  Apos- 
tolic direction — As  much  as  lieth  in 
yoUy  live  peaceably  with  all  men.  But 
the  best  intentions  are  often  misinter- 
preted, and,  such  is  the  perversity  of 
the  human  mind,  the  very  efforts  made 
to  promote  peace  are  often  the  occasion 
of  strife.  The  baffled  mediator  finds 
his  readiest  and  most  potent  resource 
in  prayer.  All  who  truly  love  the 
Church  of  God  will  be  constant  and 
fervent  in  supplication  for  its  peace  and 
prosperity.  Prayer  succeeds  when  the 
most  astute  diplomacy  fails. 

II.  That  peace  and  prosperity  are 
correlative  blessings.  "  Peace  be 
within  thy  walls  and  prosperity  within 
thy  palaces "  (ver.  7).  When  peace 
takes  its  flight  from  a  community  or 
nation,  prosperity  soon  follows  :  one  de- 
pends upon  the  other.  Nothing  is  pros- 
perous with  the  man  who  is  not  at 
peace.  The  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
is  but  temporary  and  apparent :  it  is 
for  the  present  life  only.  It  sows  the 
seeds  of  discord  and  rebellion,  and  in- 
volves thousands  in  sufi*ering  and  adver- 


6-9.) 

sity.  The  man  who  strives  to  promote 
peace  is  a  benefactor  to  the  race.  We 
should  strive  with  others,  as  Lord 
Bacon  says,  "  as  the  vine  with  the 
olive,  which  of  us  shall  bear  the  best 
fruit ;  not  as  the  briar  with  the  thistle, 
which  is  the  most  unprofitable." 

**  A  peace  is  of  the  nature  of  a  conquest  : 
For  there  both  parties  nobly  are  subdued, 
And  neither  party  loses." — Shakespeare. 

Peace  is  the  condition  of  a  permanent 
and  increasing  prosperity. 

III.  That  peace  and  prosperity  are 
necessary  for  the  cultivation  of  fra- 
ternal intercourse  and  affection. 
*'For  my  brethren  and  companions' 
sakes,  I  will  now  say,  Peace  be  within 
thee  "  (ver.  8).  The  unity  of  a  nation 
depends  upon  its  loyalty  to  the  Church 
of  God  ;  and  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
is  the  measure  of  a  nation's  prosperity. 
Let  Jerusalem  be  secure  and  blest,  and 
the  population  generally  will  be  secure 
and  happy.  How  often  is  the  peace  of 
a  home  wrecked  by  the  absence  of  love 
and  harmony.  A  drunken  husband,  a 
scolding  wife,  a  dissipated  son,  make  sad 
havoc  of  what  might  be  the  happiest  of 
homes.  "  As  hatred  by  quarrels  ex- 
poses the  faults  of  others,  so  love  carers 
them,  exce[)t  in  so  far  as  brotherly  cor- 
rection requires  their  exposure.  The 
disagreements  which  hatred  stirreth  up, 
love  allays ;  and  the  offences  which  ari 

327 


FSALM  CXXIII. 


MOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


usually  the  causes  of  quarrel  it  sees  as 
though  it  saw  them  not,  and  excuses 
them.  It  gives  to  men  the  forgiveness 
which  it  daily  craves  from  God." 

**  Love  is  the  happy  privilege  of  mind  ; 
Love  is  the  reason  of  all  living  things. 
A  trinity  there  seems  of  principles, 
Which  represent  and  rule  created  life — 
The  love  of  self,  our  fellows,  and  our  God.** 

— Festus. 

IV.  That  peace  and  prosperity- 
should  be  sought  for  the  sake  of  the 
Church  of  God.  "  Because  of  the 
House  of  the  Lord  our  God  I  will  seek 
thy  good  "  (ver.  9).  In  promoting  the 
good  of  the  Church,  we  promote  our 
own  best  interests  and  those  of  all 
mankind.  If  we  love  God,  we  love  His 
Church.  We  stand  very  much  in  the 
estimation  of  God  according  to  our 
worth  to  His  Church.  The  character 
of  Eli  is  redeemed  from  much  of  its 
weakness  and  blame-worthiness,  when 
we  discover  the  tenderness  and  strength 


of  bis  attachment.  The  brave  old  man 
bore  up  heroically  when  he  was  told  the 
astounding  news  from  the  battle-field, 
that  Israel  was  defeated  and  his  own 
sons  were  among  the  slain ;  but  when 
the  messenger  announced  as  the  climax 
of  his  doleful  tidings,  that  the  Ark  of 
God  was  taken,  a  deeper  chord  was 
touched  than  that  of  the  patriot  and 
the  father,  and,  smitten  to  the  heart,  he 
fell  backward  and  expired ;  and  the 
sublimity  that  massed  itself  around  the 
close  of  the  aged  prophet's  career  seemed 
to  overshadow  the  feebleness  and  imper- 
fections of  his  previous  life.  God  will 
forgive  a  great  deal  to  tiie  man  who 
helps — in  gifts,  in  work,  in  witness- 
bearing,  in  sacrifices,  in  suffering—  to  pro 
mote  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  Zion. 

Lessons  :  —  1.  Sin  is  the  fruitful 
source  of  ivar  and  poverty.  2.  It  is  the 
mission  of  Christianity  to  confer  a  uiii- 
versal  and  permanent  peace.  3.  He 
prospers  best  who  prays  the  mott. 


PSALM    CXXIIL 
Introduction. 

Since  the  time  when  it  was  produced  by  its  now  unknown  author,  when  was  not  this  hymn 
of  hope  a  favourite  with  God's  people?  The  pensive  individual  might  use  this  form  of  medita- 
tion and  prayer  with  comfort  and  edification  in  view  of  his  private  distresses  ;  the  tuneful 
company  might  probably  beguile  the  way  to  or  from  Jerusalem  with  its  plaintive  cry  ;  and  it 
was  fit  to  be  chanted  in  the  courts  of  Zion,  in  the  name  of  the  Church  universal.  After  the 
afflicted  pilgrims  of  Israel,  in  their  successive  generations,  troubled  Christians  have  repeated  it 
in  all  countries  ;  and  it  still  describes  the  griefs  and  aspirations  of  the  tempted  servants  of  the 
Lord,  as,  in  their  various  degrees,  they  "climb  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven." — The  Caravan  and 
Tempi*, 


The  Heavenward  Glanom. 
(Verses  1,  3.) 


I.  Is  directed  to  One  who  is  en- 
throned in  glorious  majesty.  "  Unto 
Thee  lift  I  up  mine  eyes,  O  Thou  that 
dwellest  in  the  heavens"  (ver.  1).  From 
God's  footstool  of  hills  and  altars  the 
suppliant  looks  up  into  the  face  of  the 
Master.  "The  Lord's  throne  is  in 
heaven  :  His  eyes  behold.  His  eyelids 
try,  the  children  of  men "  (Ps.  xi.  4). 
All  the  glories  of  the  upper  world  circle 
round  that  lofty  throne,  and  borrow 
their  meaning  and  their  lustre  from 
Him  who  sitteth  thereon.  To  Him 
cherubim  and  seraphim  continually  d«> 
328 


cry,  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  Is  the  Lord  of 

Hosts."  The  starry  constellations  render 
Him  ceaseless  homage,  and  obey  His 
mandate.  The  heavenly  intelligences 
live  in  His  smile,  and  rejoice  in  His 
service.  The  splendour  of  the  greatest 
earthly  monarch  is  extinguished  by  the 
glory  of  the  Heavenly  King.  And  it  is 
to  this  glorious  Ruler  that  man  is  per- 
mitted to  direct  his  inquiring  gaze,  and 
from  whom  he  must  derive  his  mightiest 
help. 

II.    Is  directed   to  One  who  has 
supreme  government  and  power.  "Be- 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY.'  PSALMS. 


TBAIM  OXZXn. 


hold,  as  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto 
the  hand  of  their  masters,  and  as  the 
eyes  of  a  maiden  unto  the  hand  of  her 
mistress"  (ver.  2).  The  Divine  Hand 
— (1)  Guides.  The  Eastern  ruler,  reti- 
cent and  sparing  in  words,  directs  his 
attendants  and  agents  by  signs,  and 
they  are  his  best  servants  and  least 
likely  to  incur  sorrow  who,  not  from 
fear  but  love,  are  swift  to  notice  and 
obey  the  slightest  movements  of  his 
speaking  hand.  The  heart  must  be  in 
the  eyes  that  wait  upon  Jehovah. 

**  Leave  to  His  sovereign  sway 
To  choose  and  to  command, 
So  shalt  thou  wondering  own  His  way, 
How  wise,  how  strong  His  hand." 

(2)  Supplies.  Servants  look  to  their 
masters  for  sustenance  (Prov.  xxxi.  16). 
So  must  we  look  to  God  for  daily  bread, 
and  for   needed   grace    (Ps.    cxlv.    16). 

(3)  Protects.  If  the  servant  meet  with 
opposition  in  his  work,  if  he  is  wronged 
and  injured,  he  looks  to  his  master  for 
protection.  God  is  the  shield  of  His 
people,  not  like  the  martial  sliield  cover- 
ing a  portion  of  the  person,  but  guard- 
ing every  part  (Gen.  xv.  1,  Ps.  v.  12). 
When  threatened  by  our  spiritual  foes, 
we  look  to  God  for  shelter  and  protec- 
tion. (4)  Corrects.  God  smites  with 
the  same  hand  with  which  He  guides 
and  protects.  Harmer  observes — "As 
a  slave  ordered  by  a  master  or  mistress 
to  be  chastised  for  a  fault  turns  his 
imploring  eyes  to  that  superior  till  the 
motion  of  the  hand  appears  which  puts 
An  end  to  the  punishment,  so  our  eyes 
are  up  to  Thee,  our  God,  till  Thy  hand 
shall  give  the  signal  for  putting  an  end 


to  our  sorrows ;  for  our  enemies,  0 
Lord,  we  are  sensible,  are  only  executing 
Thy  orders,  and  chastening  us  accord- 
ing to  Thy  pleasure."  It  is  wise  for 
us  humbly  to  submit  to  the  mighty 
Hand  of  God.  (5)  Rewards.  The  hand 
of  the  world  is  filled  with  tempting 
rewards,  but,  like  the  fabled  fruit  of 
Sodom,  they  turn  into  bitter  dust  and 
ashes  between  the  teeth  of  its  votaries. 
But  the  faithful  servants  of  Jehovah 
are  rewarded  with  satisfying  and  end- 
less pleasures. 

III.  Is  directed  to  One  who  is  rich 
in  mercy.  "  The  Lord  our  God,  have 
mercy  upon  us  "  (ver.  2).  Stung  with 
a  sharp  sense  of  guilt,  oppressed  with 
the  burden  of  multiplied  troubles,  and 
conscious  of  utter  lielplessness,  the 
sinner  turns  a  piteous  gaze  to  Him 
whose  mercy  as  well  as  righteousness 
endures  for  ever.  "  Lord,  in  trouble 
have  they  visited  Thee ;  they  poured 
out  a  prayer  when  Thy  chastening  was 
upon  them"  (Isa.  xxvi.  16).  The 
severity  of  God  is  tempered  with  mercy. 
"  He  delighteth  in  mercy." 

IV.  Is  persevering  and  triumphant. 
"  So  our  eyes  wait  upon  the  Lord  our 
God  until  that  He  have  mercy  upon 
us"  (ver.  2).  The  believing  soul  fixes 
its  eye  upon  the  Divine  mercy,  and 
keeps  it  there  till  the  gracious  answer 
comes.  We  remain  unblessed  for  lack 
of  steady  fixedness  in  our  faith.  Per- 
severing faith  is  ever  triumphant. 

Lessons  : — 1.  Man  must  look  heaven- 
ward for  all  trjie  help.  2.  God  never 
disappoints  the  humble  and  sincere  sup- 
pliant. 


Sarcasm  the  Cause  of  Pungent  Suffebiko. 
(Verses  3,  4.) 


I.  That  sarcasm  is  a  common 
weapon  of  the  enemies  of  God. 
1.  It  is  used  by  the  worldly-minded. 
"  The  scorning  of  those  that  are  at 
ease."  When  the  Jews,  who  had  re- 
turned from  captivity,  were  engaged  in 
rebuilding  the  Temple  and  city  of  Jeru- 
salem, they  were  much  tried  by  the 
interference  of  certain  dwellers  in  Sama- 
ria, who  seemed  ready  to  declare  them- 


selves Israelites  or  Pagans,  as  it  might 
suit  their  interests ;  and  when  they 
were  rejected  as  unfit  to  engnge  in  so 
sacred  a  work,  they  did  all  they  could 
to  hinder  and  annoy.  They  misrepre- 
sented the  motives  of  the  Jews  to  the 
Persian  king,  who  then  held  rule  over 
Palestine;  and  poured  contempt  and 
derision  on  the  struggling  patriots 
(Comp.  Ezraiv.  1-3;  Neh.  ii.   19,  20; 

329 


MALM  OXXIT. 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS. 


iv.  1-4).  "  In  every  succeeding  age 
the  protesting  and  conservative  faithful, 
the  heart  and  bone  of  the  undying 
Church,  have  been  first  courted^  and 
then  bantered  and  baffled  by  their 
worldly-minded  and  seini-heathen  neigh- 
bours. The  world  about  and  among 
them,  divided  by  rival  idolatries,  is 
united  in  jealousy,  hatred,  and  scorn  of 
the  true  Israel.  The  Samaritans  will 
ioin  the  working  church,  if  in  so  doing 
they  may  carnally  benefit  themselves ; 
but  when  their  help,  which  would  be 
ruin,  is  not  accepted,  they  unscrupu- 
lously hinder,  misrepresent,  and  de- 
spise God's  children  "  (The  Caravan  and 
Temple).  2.  It  is  used  by  the  intellectu- 
ally proud.  "  And  with  the  contempt  of 
the  proud."  The  scorner  is  deluded  by 
the  most  despicable  vanity.  He  assumes 
a  superiority  of  knowledge,  of  virtue, 
and  of  authority  over  all  others,  of 
which  all  the  time  he  is  most  lament- 
ably destitute.  Pride  of  intellect  is  the 
most  dangerous  form  of  self-deception, 
and  the  most  hopeless  of  reformation. 

"  He  that  is  proud  eats  up  himself.     Pride  is 
His  own  glass,  his  own  trumpet,  his  own 

chronicle  ; 
And  whatever  praises  itself  but  in 
The  deed,  devours  the  deed  in  the  praise." 

— Shakespeare. 

It  is  easier  to  sneer  than  to  argue 
and  to  scoflf  at  goodness,  than  to  imi- 
tate it. 

II.  That  sarcasm  is  the  cause  of 
pungent  suffering  to  God's  people. 
"  We  are  exceedingly  filled  with  con- 
tempt." It  is  hard  to  bear  the  blame 
of  a  wrong  of  which   we  are   wholly 


innocent,  to  have  our  holiest  motives 
misinterpreted,  our  failings  exaggerated, 
our  best  actions  maligned,  and  our  God 
insulted  and  blasphemed.  The  suffer- 
ing is  increased  when  the  injured  one  is 
powerless  to  respond  or  retaliate,  and 
when  a  sensitive  and  passionate  nature 
i.s  to  be  held  in  check  while  writhing 
under  a  sense  of  injustice  and  cruelty. 
When  John  Nelson,  a  vigorous  and  suc- 
cessful lay-helper  of  Wesley,  was  im- 
pressed as  a  soldier,  he  was  subjected 
to  very  aggravating  insults  from  a  pom- 
pous young  ensign.  "  It  was  very 
difficult  to  bear,'  said  the  stalwart 
Yorkshire  mason,  "  when  I  knew  how 
easily  I  could  tie  the  head  and  heels 
of  the  young  stripling  together."  But 
suffering  endured  for  Christ's  sake  is  a 
very  potent  element  in  moral  discip- 
line, and  in  the  perfecting  of  the  Chris- 
tian character. 

III.  That  the  suffering  occasioned 
by  sarcasm  is  counterbalanced  by  the 
consolations  of  the  Divine  mercy. 
*'  0  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us."  The 
mercy  of  God  never  fails.  From  the 
inhumanity  of  man  the  tortured  soul 
turns  to  the  Divine  mercy  for  comfort 
and  strength.  It  then  learns  that  the 
suffering  occasioned  l)y  sart;asni  is  only 
brief  in  duration,  and  that  it  is  made 
the  means  of  attaining  a  higher  righte- 
ousness and  an  ampler  reward  (Rom. 
viii.  28). 

Lessons  ; — 1.  The  holiest  do  not  escape 
the  attacks  of  the  adversary.  2.  The  bit- 
terness of  sarcasm  is  its  unscrupidous- 
ness.  3.  The  Divine  mercy  should  be 
sought  in  every  time  of  suffering. 


PSALM    CXXIV. 

Introduction, 

This  Ji'bilant  song  speaks  of  a  sudden  peril  and  narrow  escape,  and  praises  God  for  the 
great  deliverance.  We  take  it  to  be,  according  to  its  title,  a  Psalm  of  David,  not  a  hymn 
founded  upon  his  character,  writings,  and  history.  It  is  full  of  his  force  and  fire,  suits  not  a 
few  situations  in  which  he  shared  the  lot  of  Israel  as  herein  described,  and  contains  expressions 
parallel  with  words  occurring  in  compositions  of  which  he  is  the  undoubted  author.  The 
figures  employed  describe  the  situation  of  God's  people  in  any  place  or  age,  when  they  suddenly 
find  themselves  overtaken  by  calamity  as  if  in  the  earthquake's  javrs,  when  sorrow  bursts  upon 
them  like  the  mountainous  waves  on  a  ship,  when  floods  of  ungodly  men  make  them  afraid,  when 
they  seem  to  feel  in  their  flesh  the  teeth  of  slander  and  malice,  when  they  are  unexpectedly 
entangled  in  perplexities  and  difficulties,  like  the  bird  in  the  snare. — The  Caravan  and  Temple. 

330 


BOMILSTIC  aOMMENTART:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  oznv. 


Thb  Insatiable  Voracity  of  the  Wicked. 
(Verses  1-6.) 


I.  That  the  wicked  axe  ever  ready 
to  devour  the  righteous.     *'  They  had 

swallowed  us  up  quick  "  (ver.  3).  '"  The 
Lord  hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  to 
their  teeth  "  (ver.  6).  1.  The  righteous 
are  assailed  with  the  anger  of  the  wicked. 
*'  Men  rose  up  against  us ;  their  wrath 
was  kindled  against  us"  (vers.  2,  3). 
The  sight  of  virtue,  however  modest 
and  inoffensive,  will  inflame  the  anger 
of  the  wicked.  It  is  said  of  a  certain 
lady  that  when  the  mirror  revealed  the 
wrinkles  in  her  face  she  dashed  it  to 
the  ground  in  a  fury.  So  is  it  with 
the  wicked ;  they  are  enraged  with  the 
transparency  of  a  character  in  which 
they  see  reflected  the  moral  deformities 
of  their  own.  The  anger  of  the  wicked 
is  unreasonable.  It  springs  from  the 
basest  passions,  and  scorns  all  attempts 
to  control  it.  It  is  like  a  rudderless 
vessel  tossed  about  in  a  tempestuous 
sea.  The  anger  of  the  wicked  recoils 
upon  themselves.  Says  the  proverb, 
*'  Anger  is  like  ashes  which  fly  back 
in  the  face  of  him  who  throws  them." 
Pope  pithily  observes,  **  To  be  angry  is 
to  revenge  others'  faults  upon  our- 
selves." 2.  The  anger  of  the  wicked  is 
insatiable.  '*  Then  the  waters  had  over- 
whelmed us,  the  stream  had  gone  over 
our  soul :  then  the  proud  waters  had 
gone  over  our  soul"  (vers.  4,  5).  As 
the  advancing  tide  carries  everything 
before  it,  and  sucks  it  back  again  into 
the  capacious  throat  of  the  stormy  sea, 
80  the  wicked  pour  out  their  anger  like 
a  flood,  and  would  fain  swallow  up  the 
righteous,  on  whom  their  fury  is  spent. 


But  the  anger  of  the  wicked,  though 
insatiable,  is  impotent  to  destroy  the 
good.  It  is  limited  by  power  Divine, 
and  may  be  made  to  minister  to  the 
Divine  praise  (Ps.  Ixxvi.  10). 

II.  That  the  Lord  is  the  Deliverer 
of  the  righteous.  "  The  Lord  was  oi» 
our  side"  (vers.  1,  2).  More  tha^ 
ordinary  help  was  needed  on  this  occa 
sion.  The  enemies  were  too  fierce  and 
too  formidable  for  any  human  power 
to  withstand.  Jehovah  champions  thr 
cause  of  the  helpless ;  and  when  tA«i 
last  moment  of  extremity  is  come,  \i^ 
strikes  in  for  victory.  There  is  a\ 
waste  of  power  with  Him.  When  the 
sinner  sinks  down  in  despair,  and  gives 
np  all  for  lost,  then  the  Lord  stretches 
forth  His  hand  and  saves.  In  this  way 
He  demonstrates  the  salvation  to  be 
Divine. 

III.  That  thanksgiving  should  be 
offered  to  the  Lord  for  His  delivering 
power.  "  Blessed  be  tlie  Lord,  who 
hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  "  (ver.  6). 
This  is  the  leading  sentiment  of  the 
Psalm.  Let  God  have  all  the  glory. 
He  only  is  the  Deliverer,  and  His  help 
is  all-sufficient.  The  grateful  heart 
rejoices  in  rendering  its  praise  to  God  ; 
and  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  distress 
from  which  we  are  lifted  up  will  be  the 
reality  and  fervour  of  our  thankfulness. 

Lessons  : — 1.  If  the  wicked  had  their 
way,  every  vestige  of  righteousness  would 
he  utterly  destroyed.  2.  The  power  of 
the  wicked  is  divinely  restricted.  3.  The 
righteous  have  always  some  cause  for 
grateful  praise. 


The  Soul's  Escape  from  Danger. 


(  Verses 

L  That  the  soul  is  surrounded  by 
many  dangers.  "  As  a  bird,  the  snare 
of  the  fowlers"  (ver.  7).  1.  It  is 
ensnared  hy  worldliness.  One  of  the 
most  gigantic  dangers  against  which 
God's  people  have  speciaHy  to  guard — 
an  enemy  to  all  spirituality  of  thought 
and  feeling.     2.  It  is  ensnared  hy  selfish- 


7,8.) 

ness — a  foe  to  all  simple-hearted  charity, 
to  all  expansive  generosity  and  Chris- 
tian philanthropy.  3.  It  is  ensnared 
hy  unbelief — the  enemy  of  prayer,  of 
ingenuous  confidence,  of  all  personal 
Christian  effort.  These  are  not  ima- 
ginary dangers.  We  meet  them  in 
every- day  life.      They  threaten  us  at 

331 


F8ALM  OXXT. 


EOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


every  point,  and  often  have  we  to 
lament  over  the  havoc  they  make  in  our 
hearts. 

II.  That  the  dangers  surrounding 
the  soul  are  not  invincible.  "The 
snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped" 
(ver.  7).  1.  May  he  overcome  hywcLtch- 
fulness.  2.  By  prayer.  3,  By  obedience. 
And  yet  all  our  endeavours  will  fail,  if 
we  depend  on  them  rather  than  on  God. 
We  cannot  boast  of  our  natural  powers. 
"  What  pride  has  a  bird  in  its  wings 
and  feathers  when  once  caught  in  the 
silken  thread,  or  fast  in  the  golden 
wire]  However  splendid  their  endow- 
,  ments,  only  God  can  deliver  souls  from 
evil,  and  keep  them  free.'* 

IIL  That  a  way  is  divinely  provided 
for  the  escape  of  the  soul  from  all 
danger.  "Our  help  is  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  who  made  heaven  and  earth  "  (ver. 
8).  Here  we  learn  that  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah is  the  source  of  help,  and  that  this 
help  is  omnipotent.  He  "who  made 
heaven  and  earth "  is  infinite  in  re- 
sources :  all  the  forces  of  the  universe 


are  within  His  view,  and  obedient  to 
His  nod.  "  We  may  not  see  any  peril, 
when  our  safety  is  to  let  our  Saviour 
see  for  us.  We  only  see  beautiful 
shrubs  and  shadowy  trees.  He  who  is 
on  our  side  sees  the  foe  behind  them 
in  ambush.  We  only  see  the  pleasing 
bait  on  a  bosom  of  shining  grass  and 
showy  flowers.  Our  constant  Friend 
sees  there  the  hidden  trap.  We  only 
see  the  smooth  turf  inviting  our  feet, 
tired  of  ruts  and  stones.  He  who  is 
yet  for  us  sees  the  pit  artfully  con- 
cealed. We  only  see  the  glancing  water 
and  the  smiling  sky.  Our  Keeper  sees 
the  hurrying  squall,  and  cries,  ''Beware I 
take  in  sail"  {The  Caravan  and  Temple). 
As  we  look  back  upon  the  past,  we  see 
that  our  help  in  extremity  has  come 
from  Jehovah.  In  Eiin,  therefore,  may 
we  place  implicit  confidence  for  the 
future. 

Lessons  : — 1.  Our  greatest  dangers 
are  those  we  least  suspect.  2.  The  ut- 
most vigilance  does  not  ahvays  avail, 
3.  The  only  reliable  help  is  from  God, 


PSALM     CXXV. 

Introduction. 

This  Psalm  belongs  most  probably  to  the  times  after  the  Captivity,  and  hai  been  applied, 
with  apparent  propriety,  to  the  opposition  which  Sanballat  the  Horonite,  Geshem  the  Arabian, 
and  Tobiah  the  A.mmonite  gave  to  the  Jews  wliile  employed  in  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
and  restoring  tlie  Temple.  It  is  designed  to  encourage  and  comfort  God's  people  in  all  agea 
against  the  plots  and  malice  of  their  enemies.  The  three  prominent  themes  are  danger, 
defence,  and  duty;  and  every  verse  contains  a  word  descriptive  of  those  for  whom  the  Songa 
of  Degrees  were  intended,  and  of  the  militant  Church  in  every  age  and  country.  They  are 
called  Israel,  the  good,  the  upright  in  their  hearts,  the  righteous,  the  people  of  Jehovah,  they 
that  trust  in  the  Lord. 


The  PRiviLBaB  and  Security  of  the  Good. 
{Verses  1,  2.) 


I.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  good  to 
trust  in  the  Lord.  "  They  that  trust 
in  the  Lord."  Man  cannot  trust  him- 
self ;  he  is  too  conscious  of  personal 
weakness  and  infirmity.  He  cannot 
trust  in  others  ;  he  has  been  too  often 
disappointed  and  deceived.  He  finds 
true  rest,  comfort,  and  peace  by  trusting 
in  the  Lord,  the  All-Perfect,  the  All- 
Powerful,  the  AU-Sufficient  One.  This 
trust  should  be  unhesitating  and  com- 
plete. 

332 


**  Thy  God  hath  said  'tis  good  for  thee 
To  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight : 
Take  it  on  trust  a  little  while, 

Soon  shalt  thou  read  the  mystery  right, 
In  the  bright  sunshine  of  His  smile." 

—Kehle. 

II  It  is  the  security  of  the  good  to 
be  guarded  by  the  Divine  Presence. 

1.  The  Divine  Presence  is  the  guarantee 
of  stability.  '/  Shall  be  as  Mount  Zion, 
which  cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth 
for  ever"  (ver.  1).  Zion  was  a  moun- 
tain,   built    upon   and    surrounded    by 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  pbalm  oxxv. 


other  monntains  :  to  all  natural  appear*  avail ;  Jerusalem  was  laid  low    by   the 

ance  it  was  immovable.  But  the  spiritual  hand  of  the  Assyrian  and  the  Roman. 

Zion  is  still  more  stable  and  enduring.  Jehovah   surrounds  His  people  with  an 

It   rests    on   the   mountains  of  unchal-  unpierceable  shield.      He  is  above,  be- 

lengable  truth,  and  is  bound  together  by  neath,  around  them  ;  they  defy  the  fury 

the  invisible  bands  of  Divine  safeguards.  of  the  foe. 

2.  The  Divine  Presence  is  an   impreg-  III.  The  security  of  the  good  is  per- 

ndble  defence.     "  As  the  mountains  are  petual.     "  From    henceforth,    even    for 

round  about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  ever "  (ver.  2),    Mountains  may  crumble 

round    about    His    people "    (ver.    2).  and  come  to  nought,  and  the  rocks  be 

Jerusalem   was  fortified    by   nature;  it  removed  out  of  their  place,  but  God's 

was  situated  on  a  rocky  elevation,  and,  promise  to  His  obedient  people  cannot 

with  the  exception  of  a  small  space  to  be  broken,  nor  will  His  protecting  care 

the  north,  was  encircled  by  deep  valleys,  be  withdrawn.     (Isa.   liv.    10).     While 

and  these  again  were  protected  by  an  they  keep  within  it  their  fortress  is  im- 

amphitheatre    of   hills.     The   situation  pregnable,  and  they  can  suffer  no  eviL 

was  such  as  to  be  easily  rendered  im-  The   security   of  the  good   reaches  its 

pregnable  ;  but  the   most  impenetrable  highest  realisation  in  the  heavenly  Jeru- 

rampart     was     the     Divine     presence,  salem. 

While   this   hovered   over   the   city,  it  Lessons  : — 1.   There  is  no  trtie  good- 

defied   the   skill   and   prowess    of    the  ness  apart  from  trust  in  God,     2.  Faith 

mightiest    armies  ;  when    it    was   with-  in  God  will  give  strength  in  temptation 

drawn,  the  hills  and  valleys  were  of  no  and  victory  in  conflict, 

Thb  Tyranny  of  the  Wicked  Transibnis, 

(Verse  3.) 

L  That  the  rule  of  the  wicked  is  II.  That  the  tyranny  of  the  wicked 

one  of  tyranny.  "  The  rod  of  the  is  transient.  "  The  rod  of  the  wicked 
wicked  upon  the  lot."  When  Israel  shall  not  rest  upon  the  lot  of  the 
reached  its  highest  point  of  wealth  and  righteous."  The  righteous  may  not 
influence  under  David  and  Solomon,  always  escape  the  rod  of  the  oppressor, 
there  were  many  who  coveted  possession  "  They  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ 
of  its  rich  inheritance.  The  sceptres  of  Jesus  must  suffer  persecution."  The 
the  Babylonians,  Romans,  and  Moham-  mailed  hand  that  smote  shall  not  rest 
medans  often  fell  upon  Zion,  like  the  rod  on  its  victim.  The  triumph  of  the 
of  a  merciless  oppressor.  "  What  was  wicked  is  short.  The  reign  of  terror 
signified  in  their  assaults  and  successes  1  cannot  be  permanent.  It  wearies  and 
The  rod  of  sin,  in  the  power  and  autho-  disgusts  its  most  brutal  agents.  It 
rity  of  the  outward  oppressor,  often  breeds  a  rebellion  which  erelong  over- 
answered  to  the  ascendancy  of  iniquity  throws  its  power.  The  fierceness  of 
in  the  heart  of  Jerusalem.  The  preva-  tyranny  consumes  itself, 
lence  of  spiritual  wickedness  within  IIL  That  the  unchecked  tyranny  of 
Israel  attracted  the  earthly  tyranny  of  the  wicked  would  be  a  serious  dis- 
heathenism  outside.  God  was  working  couragement  to  the  righteous.  "  Lest 
in  every  instance,  using  the  rods  of  the  righteous  put  forth  their  hands  unto 
wickedness  for  the  probation  and  pun-  iniquity."  If  the  wicked  had  absolute 
ishment  of  those  who  ought  to  have  sway  religion  would  soon  become  ex- 
been  righteous ;  and  He  still  chastises  tinct.  The  professor  would  become 
sinners  by  means  of  sin  j  their  own  in-  weary  of  a  cause  that  involved  unmiti- 
viting  wrath,  and  that  of  aliens  inflicting  gated  suffering,  and  would  be  tempted 
it — thus  extirpating  iniquity,  purifying  to  give  it  up.  His  faith  would  become 
and  preserving  the  Church,  and  making  demoralised,  and  he  would  cast  off  God, 
unfaithfulness  and  apostacy  praise  Him."  thinking  he  was  forsaken  of  Him.  In  a 
— The  Caravan  and  Temple,  moment  of  despair  he  would  adopt  uh' 

333 


PSALM  CXXT, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


lawful  means  to  rid  himself  of  his 
misery  (Eccles.  vii.  7).  But  the  Lord 
proportions  trial  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  sufferer,  and  never  per- 
mits it  to  remain  longer  than  required 
to  accomplish  a  beneficent  purpose  (Isa. 
X.  24-26). 


Lessons  : — 1.  The  policy  of  the 
wicked  is  short-sighted ^  and  defeats  itself. 
2.  True  goodness  cannot  he  crushed  hy 
oppression.  3.  The  Lord  knows  the 
right  moment  in  which  to  deliver  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  wicked. 


The  Obedient  and  the  Apostate  Contrasted* 

{Verses  4,  6.) 


L  That  the  ohedient  are  sustained 
by  a  consciousness  of  personal  recti- 
tude. *'  Them  that  are  upright  in  their 
hearts"  (ver.  4).  The  holy  principle 
imparts  uprightness  of  heart  and  prompts 
to  uprightness  of  life.  The  way  of  holi- 
ness is  straightforward;  there  are  no 
"winding's  and  turnins-s  in  it.  Job  was 
an  upright  man,  one  who  feared  God 
and  eschewed  evil ;  and  his  conscious 
integrity  bore  him  up  under  the  un- 
paralleled trials  that  fell  upon  himself, 
his  family,  and  his  possessions.  When 
the  sense  of  right  becomes  dim  in  the 
soul,  the  man  gives  way  and  is  lost. 

II.  That  the  obedient  enjoy  the 
Divine  aid  and  blessing.  1.  T'heir 
goodness  is  Divinely  strengthened.  "  Do 
good,  O  Lord,  unto  those  that  be  good" 
(ver.  4).  Goodness  intensifies  the  de- 
sire for  more  ;  it  claims  the  fulfilment 
of  the  Divine  promises  ;  it  lays  hold  on 
the  power  of  God.  "  Truly  God  is 
good  to  Israel,  even  to  such  as  are  of  a 
clean  heart"  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  1).  The  rod  of 
the  oppressor  has  been  used  as  a  trowel 
by  the  wise  Master  Builder  in  restoring 
and  strengthening  His  spiritual  temple. 
2.  Their  very  troubles  shall  result  in 
peace.  *'  But  peace  shall  be  upon 
Israel "  (ver.  5).  While  those  who 
apostatise  from  God  meet  with  punish- 
ment and  ruin,  the  faithful  shall  find 
that  their  distresses  will  issue  in  a  per- 
manent and  more  hallowed  peace.  The 
calm  that  succeeds  the  furious  tempest 
is  all  the  more  soothing  and  refreshing 
because  of  the  terrors  and  tumults  of  the 


previous  storm.  The  prayer  for  peace 
in  Psalm  cxxii.  is  here  answered.  This  is 
what  comes  of  serving  God,  and  trusting 
in  His  defence.  Peace  is  an  unspeak- 
able blessing  to  the  empire,  the  church, 
and  the  individual.  Peace  in  its  widest 
range  of  meaning  and  blessing  is  the 
special  gift  of  Christianity  (Eph.  ii.  14). 

III.  That  the  apostates  will  be  cer- 
tainly punished.  1.  By  their  own  tor- 
tuous policy.  **As  for  such  as  turn 
aside  unto  their  crooked  ways  "  (ver.  5). 
The  unfaithful  get  into  the  spirit  of  the 
world,  and  are  warped  into  its  crooked 
and  winding  ways.  They  twist  about 
to  conceal  their  base  intentions,  to  ac- 
complish their  sinful  purposes,  or  to  elude 
punishment  for  their  crimes  ;  but  dis- 
appointment, confusion,  and  misery  over- 
take them.  "  No  suflferings  in  God's 
service  are  reasons  for  unfaithfulness 
and  apostacy.  His  grace  makes  us  able 
to  drink  whatever  cup  His  providence 
administers.  At  the  worst,  it  is  death  ; 
and  then  the  worst  is  best."  2.  By  an 
act  of  Divine  justice.  "The  Lord  shall 
lead  them  forth  with  the  workers  of 
iniquity  "  (ver.  5).  As  malefactors  are 
led  to  the  place  of  execution.  The  jus-, 
tice  of  God  binds  Him  to  punish  sin., 
The  apostate  will  exchange  the  lot  of  thai 
righteous  for  the  heritage  of  evil-doers. 

Lessons  : — 1.   There  is  an  eternal  dis-l 
tinction  between  right   and    wrong.     2. 
Jehovah  is  the  fr'iend  of  the  upright^  and] 
the  foe  of  every  worker  of  iniquity.     3, 
The  most  consummate  hypocr^ite  will  6#] 
exposed  and  punished. 


384 


HOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY:  PS  ALMS, 


PSALM  OXXVX. 


PSALM    CXXVL 

Introduction. 

ThiB  Psalm  was  penned  with  reference  to  some  great  deliverance  of  the  people  of  God  out  of 
bondage  and  distress,  most  likely  their  return  out  of  Babylon  in  Ezra's  time.  It  is  very 
beautiful  and  highly  descriptive  of  the  circumstances  which  it  represents.  The  liberation  of 
the  captive  Hebrews  was  a  type  of  the  redemption  of  the  human  race,  and  the  return  to  Zion 
of  such  as  improved  their  opportunity  a  figure  of  the  salvation  of  believers. 


DBLIVERANOa    A  ThEME    FOR    JOTOUS    SONO. 
(Verses  1-4.) 


I.  Because  of  the  misery  from  which 
It  emancipates.  "  The  Lord  turned 
again  the  captivity  of  Zion "  (ver.  1). 
To  a  free  and  privileged  people  it  is  a 
painful  indignity  to  be  robbed  of  liberty 
and  treated  as  slaves.  Though  the 
captivity  of  the  Jews  in  Babylon  might 
not  be  marked  by  any  acts  of  cruelty,  it 
was  sufifering  keen  enough  to  feel  they 
were  in  bondage  at  all.  But,  lo !  how 
real,  how  degrading,  how  miserable  is 
the  slavery  of  sin.  To  liberate  from  sin 
is  a  Divine  work.  The  Lord  must  turn 
again  our  captivity. 

II.  Because  of  its  unexpectedness. 
**  We  were  like  them  that  dream  "  (ver. 
7).  The  deliverance  was  so  unlooked 
for,  and  came  upon  them  with  such  a 
surprise  that  it  seemed  more  an  illusion 
than  a  reality.  But  when  the  full  mean- 
ing of  the  event  dawned  upon  them, 
their  joy  knew  no  bounds.  A  similar 
incident  is  recorded  by  Livy,  when  the 
Romans,  having  conquered  Philip  of 
Macedon,  restored  liberty  to  all  the 
Grecian  cities.  The  proclamation  was 
made  by  the  herald  in  the  midst  of  the 
circus  when  a  vast  multitude  of  the 
Greeks  were  assembled  to  witness  the 
Isthmian  games.  The  people  were  so 
stunned  with  the  news  that  they  could 
scarcely  believe  their  own  ears.  They 
**were  like  them  that  dream."  But 
when,  at  their  request,  the  proclamation 
was  repeated,  and  the  glad  tidings  thus 
confirmed,  they  shouted  and  clapped 
their  hands  with  such  vigour  as  showed 
how  heartily  they  appreciated  the  bless- 
ing of  liberty.  The  Lord  often  surprises 
and  gladdens  His  people  with  His 
marvellous  deliverances. 


III.  Because  of  its  reviving  effects. 

"  Turn  again  our  captivity,  O-  Lord,  as 
the  streams  of  the  South "  (ver.  4). 
Accomplish  our  deliverance,  as  well  in 
delivering  of  our  brethren  which  are  yet 
remaining  in  Babylon,  as  in  fulfilling  of 
ours,  who  yet  lie  languishing  under 
grievous  burdens ;  that  it  may  be  such 
a  comfort  and  refreshing  to  us  as  water- 
ing is  to  dry  and  desolate  places,  which 
are  refreshed  and  flourish  again  by  the 
coming  in  of  running  streams  (Diodati). 
Drought  and  barrenness  disappear  under 
the  showers  of  Divine  blessing  ;  and  the 
Church  is  quickened  with  new  life  and 
hope. 

IV.  Because  of  the  irrepressible 
gladness  it  occasions.  '*  Then  was  our 
mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our 
tongue  with  singing "  (ver.  2).  It  was 
like  being  in  a  new  world.  Our  deliver- 
ance came  upon  us  with  such  a  surprise, 
that  we  could  not  contain  ourselves.  We 
burst  into  a  transport  of  rapture,  and 
laughed  and  sung  in  turns  with  delirious 
joy.  The  heathen,  who  had  rejoiced  in 
our  captivity,  noticed  the  gladness  occa- 
sioned by  our  deliverance,  and  acknow- 
ledged its  Divine  source.  "  Then  said 
they  among  the  heathen.  The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  them"  (ver,  3). 
How  much  more  is  our  deliverance  from 
sin  and  death  the  theme  of  endless  re- 
joicing and  praise  ! 

V.  Because  of  its  evidence  of  the 
Divine  mightiness.  "  The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  usj  whereof  we 
are  glad  "  (ver.  3).  The  predictions  of 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  were  fulfilled  (Isa. 
lii.  9,  10;  Jer.  xxxiii.  10,  11).  The 
Lord  has  more  pleasure  in  exerting  His 

335 


PSALM  CXXVL 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


power  to  deliver  His  people  than  in 
creating  a  world,  or  in  sustaining  the 
whole  fabric  of  existing  things. 

''"Twas  great  to  speak  a  world  from  nought, 
*Twas  greater  to  redeem.*' 


Lessons  : — 1.  God  is  not  unmmdful 
of  His  captive  people.  2.  Deliverance 
is  near  when  we  least  suspect  it.  3.  Every 
act  of  Divine  deliverance  ii  an  occasion 
for  joyous  praise. 


Sowing  and  Eeaping. 
(Verses  5,  6.) 


Sowing  and  reaping,  tears  and  laugh- 
ter, are  never  far  asunder  in  a  world  like 
this.  The  Jews  who  escaped  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon  were  not  without  their 
trials.  The  joy  of  deliverance  was 
sobered  by  their  toils  and  difficulties. 
Their  journey  to  Zion  was  long,  weari- 
some, and  full  of  peril.  When  they 
reached  their  beloved  country  it  was  to 
find  it  a  wilderness  waste — Jerusalem 
and  its  Temple  in  ruins.  How  great 
must  be  the  labour  and  sacrifice,  and 
how  long  the  period  before  the  city  could 
be  restored  and  the  Temple  once  more 
erected.  Pestered  by  violent  enemies, 
and  invaded  by  bands  of  roaming  rob- 
bers, it  was  with  trembling  the  Hebrew 
husbandman  ventured  into  the  field  and 
hastily  buried  the  grain,  not  knowing 
whether  he  or  the  enemy  would  reap  the 
harvest. 

It  is  ever  so  in  every  work  we  do 
for  God — the  tears  of  anxious  labour 
give  place  to  the  gladness  of  success. 
"Toiling,  rejoicing,  sorrowing;  onward 
through  life  we  go."     Observe — 

I.  That  the  time  of  sowing  is  often 
attended  with  anxiety  and  sorrow. 
"  They  that  sow  in  tears  :  he  that  goeth 
forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed." 

1.  Because  of  the  high  estimate  we  have 
formed  of  the  value  <f  the  seed  sown. 
"  Precious  seed."  The  teacher  of  God*8 
holy  Word,  whetlier  from  desk  or  pulpit, 
cannot  be  too  strongly  imbued  with  the 
unspeakable  value  of  the  Divine  treasure 
which  is  thus  put  into  earthen  vessels. 
The  views  that  are  sometimes  caught  of 
the  grandeur  and  appropriateness  of  the 
Divine  Word  are  overwhelming;  and 
the  human  vehicle  trembles  with  fear 
lest  the  truth  should  lose  any  of  its 
Divine  force  and  meaning  in  transmis- 
sion— in  tlie  act  of  sowing. 

2,  Because  of  the  toil  involved  in  he- 

336 


coming  possessed  of  the  seed.  The  greatest 
prizes  of  life  are  not  obtained  without 
pains.  The  blessing  that  does  the  most 
in  elevating  and  perfecting  the  human 
soul,  and  in  conferring  the  greatest  good 
on  others,  is  secured  only  after  numberless 
failures  and  infinite  efforts.  No  wonder 
that  is  "precious"  to  man  which  has 
cost  him  so  much.  The  gardener  values 
the  plant  the  more  which  has  involved 
so  much  care  in  bringing  to  its  present 
state  of  perfection  and  beauty. 

3.  Because  of  the  meagre  residts  wit- 
nessed in  comparison  with  the  effort  put 
forth.  True  worth  is  not  always  appre- 
ciated. It  is  the  fate  of  every  man  who 
raises  himself  by  his  talents  and  industry 
above  the  common  level  to  be  abused 
and  hated  by  those  whom  he  has  eclipsed. 
Joseph  was  envied  by  his  brethren, 
and  David  was  persecuted  by  his.  Jere- 
miah, the  weeping  prophet,  who  be- 
wailed the  fallen  fortunes  of  Jerusalem, 
and  whose  fate  was  like  Cassandra's, 
always  to  speak  truth  but  never  to  be 
believed,  pathetically  exclaimed,  "  O  my 
mother,  thou  hast  borne  me  a  man  of 
strife!"  (Jer.  xv.  10).  And  it  is  often 
cause  of  bitterest  sorrow  to  the  Christian 
worker  that  so  few  accept  his  testimony, 
or  understatid  the  nature  and  drift  of 
his  most  unselfish  labours. 

n.  That  the  time  of  reaping  is  one  of 
inexpressible  joy.  "  Shall  reap  in  joy : 
Shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoic- 
ing, bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

1.  Because  it  is  the  realisation  of 
patient  hope.  The  man  who  blossoms 
suddenly  into  a  genius  has  often  been 
toiling  and  suffering  for  years  in  ob- 
scurity, though  assured  in  himself  his 
day  of  triumph  would  come.  There  is 
a  kind  of  prophetic  instinct  in  great 
minds  that  tells  them  of  the  bright  pro- 
spects in  reserve  for  them,  and  whisperi 
to  them  the  secret  of  their  after  great- 


HOMILBTIO  COMMENTABT:  FSALMiS. 


P8AL1I  0XX7IL 


ness.  In  early  youth,  Joseph  saw  by 
anticipation  his  sheaf  higher  than  all  the 
sheaves  of  the  field,  and  the  sun  and 
moon  and  the  eleven  stars  bowing  down 
to  the  soles  of  his  feet.  Nelson,  stung 
by  the  neglect  of  his  superiors  to  his 
professional  claims,  said,  "  I  shall  one 
day  have  a  gazette  to  myself" — and  he 
had.  Raffaelle,  in  youth,  triumphantly 
exclaimed,  "  I,  too,  am  a  painter ;"  and 
posterity  endorsed  the  estimate  he  had 
formed  of  himself.  It  is  with  every  true 
work,  as  with  every  true  worker  :  patient 


waiting  and  working  will  bear  fruit  in 

joyous  success. 

2.  Because  it  brings  blessing  to  many 
for  whose  welfare  we  have  been  painfully 
concerned. 

3.  Because  it  is  an  additional  evidence 
of  the  Divine  faithfulness  (I«a.  Ixi.  11). 

Lessons  : — Here  is  encouragement — 
1,  To  the  Christian  thinker ;  2,  the  true 
patriot;  3,  the  faithful  preacher  ;  4,  the 
Sunday-School  teacher;  5,  the  anxious 
parent. 


PSALM    CXXVIL 

Introduction. 

Yarions  considerations  taken  together  require  the  opinion  that  this  middle  Song  of 
Degrees  was  composed  by  Solomon.  It  suits  the  time  of  peaceful  house-building  and  civil 
settlement  and  progress  during  which  he  reigned.  It  uses  a  word  answering  to  his  name 
Jedidiah,  meaning  beloved  of  the  Lord,  and  seems  in  connection  with  it  to  refer  to  the 
promise  made  to  him  of  wisdom,  riches,  honour,  and  length  of  days.  '*So  He  giveth  His  be- 
loved sleep,"  or  to  His  beloved  in  sleep  (2  Sam.  xii,  25  ;  1  Kings  iii.  5-15).  It  appears  to 
suggest  that  the  claims  of  the  Temple  to  the  efforts  of  builders  are  superior  to  those  of  any 
other  intended  erection.  And  it  agrees  with  Solomon's  sententious  style  in  his  proverbs.  The 
ambitious  may  not  boast  of  their  own  wisdom  and  might ;  and  the  prosperous  may  not 
suppose  they  are  self-sufficient.  It  is  God  who  gives  skill  to  plan  and  ability  to  execute.  He  is 
the  Source  of  blessing. — The  Caravan  and  Temple. 

The  Happiness  of  Society  dependent  on  the  Divine  Blessing. 

(Verses  1,  2.) 


L  That  family  greatness  should  be 
founded  in  the  Divine  blessing.  "  Ex- 
cept the  Lord  build  the  house,  they 
labour  in  vain  that  build  it"  (ver.  1). 
It  has  been  the  ambition  of  many  to 
found  a  family  and  to  hand  down  a 
name  to  posterity.  The  love  of  posthu- 
mous fame  is  a  mania  with  some  men. 
But  if  God  be  ignored  and  the  law  of 
righteousness  disobeyed,  the  most  co- 
lossal efforts  to  raise  a  distinguished 
and  enduring  house,  though  protected 
by  all  the  laws  that  the  ingenuity  of 
the  legislature  can  invent,  will  prove 
futile.  The  history  of  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  among  the  families  of 
some  of  our  old  nobility  furnishes  some 
of  the  saddest  and  most  humiliating 
revelations  of  social  life. 

II.  That  the  safety  of  civil  society 
is  secured  by  the  Divine  blessing. 
"  Except  the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the 
watchman  waketh  but  in  vain  "  (ver.  1). 

VOL,  IL 


It  is  sometimes  a  marvel  with  some  how 
the  vast  populations  of  our  large  cities 
are  fed :  it  is  no  less  a  marvel  how 
they  are  protected.  Around  the  masses 
of  society  is  drawn  the  strong  cordon 
of  Divine  law,  and  over  all  there  rest 
the  ample  wings  of  the  Divine  protec- 
tion. If  the  Lord  were  to  withdraw 
His  presence,  the  vigilance  of  the  police 
and  the  utmost  alertness  of  the  civic 
authorities  would  not  avail.  Society 
would  be  unendurable,  indeed  impos- 
sible, as  at  present  constituted,  but 
for  the  action  of  our  Divine  Guardian. 
How  much  less  can  a  spiritual  common- 
wealth be  reared  or  preserved  without 
the  blessing  of  God  ! 

III.  That  the  prosperity  of  society 
is  dependent  on  the  Divine  blessing. 

I.  Labour  is  useless  without  the  Divine 
blessing.  "It  is  vain  for  you  to  rise 
up  early,  to  sit  up  late,  to  eat  the  bread 
of    sorrows"  (ver,    2).     Labour    is  the 

Y  337 


MALM  CXXVII. 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


prime  necessity  of  man  and  the  first 
condition  of  prosperity.  The  most 
princely  fortunes  have  sprung  from 
toil,  and  are  kept  together  by  it.  A 
wealthy  farmer  when  asked  why  he 
should  trouble  himself  to  rise  so  early 
as  he  did,  replied — "If  you  want  the 
world  you  must  rise  and  seek  it,  and 
if  you  have  the  world  you  must  rise 
and  keep  it."  Often  more  anxious 
labour  is  involved  in  taking  care  of 
this  world's  goods  than  was  spent  in 
first  acquiring  them.  And  yet  no  amount 
of  labour,  no  amount  of  parsimonious 
care  will  suflfice,  if  God  withhold  His 
blessing. 

"Except  the  Lord  conduct  the  plan, 
The  best  concerted  Bch ernes  are  vain, 

And  never  can  succeed  ; 
We  spend  our  wretched  strength  for 

nought : 
But  if  our  works  in  Thee  be  wrought, 
They  shall  be  blest  indeed." 


2.  Rest  is  a  Divine  gift.  "For  so 
He  giveth  His  beloved  .sleep  "  (ver.  2). 
Sleep  is  L;ilf  nieat;  it  is  the  most  bene- 
ficent medicine  of  wearied  and  suffering 
humanity.  "  The  sleep  of  a  labouring 
man  is  sweet,  whether  he  eat  little  or 
much ;  but  the  abundance  of  the  rich 
will  not  suffer  him  to  sleep  "  (Eccl.  v. 
12):  if  he  eat  much  when  he  ought  to 
eat  little,  or  if  his  plenty  be  a  h^ad 
upon  his  conscience,  or  if  his  godless 
puzzle  day  and  night  be  how  to  retain. 
The  man  loved  of  God  may  lie  down  in 
peace  and  sleep.  Prosperity  brings  no 
joy  to  him  who  cannot  sleep. 

Lessons  : — 1.  Jehovah  is  the  founder^ 
defender^  and  preserver  of  the  family,  the 
State ^  and  the  Church.  2.  The  happiness 
of  society  rests,  not  on  the  wisdom  and 
toil  of  its  most  gifted  members,  hut  on 
the  Divine  blessing. 


Children  the  Gift  of  Godw 

(Verses  3-5.) 


I.  That  children  are  the  gift  of  God. 
**  Lo,  children  are  an  heritage  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  is 
His  reward"  (ver.  3).  This  view  is  fre- 
quently and  emphatically  stated  (Gen. 
XXX.  2,  18  ;  xxxiii.  5  ;  xlviii.  9  ;  Deut. 
vii.  13  ;  Prov.  xix.  14).  The  gift  of 
children  is  an  evidence  of  the  Divine 
favour.  They  are  to  be  welcomed  with 
joy  and  affection,  and  not  to  be  regarded 
as  an  encumbrance  and  a  burden.  The 
childless  pair,  whatever  worldly  affluence 
they  possess,  feel  that  one  of  heaven's 
choicest  gifts  is  withheld.  It  is  a  most 
unenviable  home,  if  home  it  can  be  called, 
where  a  child  is  unwelcome. 

II.  That  children  are  to  be  firmly 
and  judiciously  trained.  "  As  arrows 
are  in  the  hand  of  a  mighty  man  ;  so  are 
children  of  the  youth  "  (ver.  4).  They 
are  a  sacred  trust  and  solemn  responsi- 
bility :  not  to  be  weakly  fondled  or 
foolishly  spoilt ;  but  to  be  wiselv, 
kindly,  and  strictly  discipimea  tc» 
obedience  and  duty.  **  Parents  must 
not  trifle  with  their  children,  like  idiots 
playing  with  sharp  tools ;  but  as  the 
bowman  stiaightens  and  polishes  his 
arrow,  gives  it  a  solid  point  and  wines 

338 


it  with  proper  feathers,  they  must 
educate  their  sons  and  daughters  in  tl^e 
name,  and  with  the  help  of  the  Re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
Him."  The  arrows  that  are  not  pre- 
pared and  directed  when  in  the  hand, 
may,  when  they  are  gone  abroad  into 
the  world  and  all  parental  training  is  too 
late,  prove  arrows  in  the  heart. 

III.  That  a  large  family  is  a  source 
of  domestic  joy.  "  Happy  is  the  man 
that  hath  his  quiver  full  of  them  "  (ver. 
5).  The  parents  live  over  again  the 
ha]ipy  period  of  their  youth  in  the 
gambols  and  laughter,  and  the  indescrib- 
able "  little  ways  "  of  their  children.  It 
is  a  dismal  house  where  there  is  a  silent 
nursery.  It  may  be  scrupulously  clean 
and  faultlessly  prim,  but  there  is  a 
strangely  felt  absence  of  life,  of  voice,  of 
genial  humanity.  When  the  father  of 
John  Wesley  received  liis  son  unscathed 
from  the  wijidowof  tliP  burning  pa'^'^p- 
age,  tie  excKumea,  *'  Come,  neighbours. 
let  us  kneel  down  ;  let  us  give  thanks 
unto  God  :  He  has  given  me  all  m^ 
eight  children  ;  let  the  house  go,  I  am 
rich  enough."  The  good  children  of  a 
large  family  help  one  nnother,  nrid  are  o 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXVIII. 


source  of  comfort  and  support  to  their 
aged  parents. 

IV.  That  children  are  the  strength 
and  defence  of  the  home.  **  They  shall 
not  be  ashamed,  but  they  shall  speak 
with  the  enemies  in  the  gate  "  (ver.  5). 
The  parents  shall  courageously  plead 
their  cause  in  courts  of  judicature,  which 
were  held  at  the  gates  of  cities,  not  fear- 
ing to  be  crushed  by  the  might  of  their 
adversaries,  as  weak  and  helpless  persons 
frequently  are.  Or,  as  some  understand 
the  words,  the  children  shall  not  be 
ashamed  to  plead  for  their  parents  in  the 
gates,  but  will  be  ready  at  all  titnes  to 
appear  for  them,  to  answer  any  charge, 
and  to  vindicate  them  in  their  persons. 


their  good  name,  or  their  property.  The 
Chinese  have  a  proverb — "  When  a  son 
is  born  into  a  family,  a  bow  and  arrow 
are  hung  before  the  gate."  In  Eastern 
books  sons  are  spoken  of  as  the  arrows 
of  their  fathers.  Peoj)le  fear  to  offend  a 
family  where  there  are  many  sons,  lest 
the  arrows  should  be  sent  at  them.  The 
training  of  children  has  a  reflex  influence 
for  good  upon  parents.  Many  a  hint  is 
unconsciously  given  as  to  "  training  up 
9k  parent  in  the  way  he  should  go." 

Lessons  : — 1.  A  large  family  has  itt 
eareSy  but  it  has  also  its  special  rewards.  2. 
The  training  of  children  is  also  a  training 
of  the  parents.  3,  Children  may  become 
the  greatest  blessing,  or  the  greatest  curse. 


PSALM    CXXVIIL 
Introduction. 

This,  like  the  former,  is  a  Psalm  for  families.  In  that,  we  were  taught  that  the  prosperity  of 
onr  families  depends  upon  the  blessing  of  God  :  in  this,  we  are  taught  that  the  only  way  to 
obtain  that  blessing  which  will  make  our  families  comfortable,  is  to  live  in  the  fear  of  God,  and 
in  obedience  to  Him.  It  is  thought  by  many  to  have  been  sung  at  the  marriages  of  tho 
Iflraeliteg,  as  it  is  a  part  of  the  matrimonial  service  used  in  modern  times. 

The  Blessedness  of  the  Good. 


{Verses 

I.  That  the  blessedness  of  the  good 
is  the  result  of  a  holy  life.  1.  A  holy 
life  begins  in  the  fear  of  God.  "  Blessed 
is  every  one  that  feareth  the  Lord"  (ver. 
1).  Not  the  shuddering  fear  of  con- 
scious guilt.  Not  the  fear  of  the  hypo- 
crite, or  the  formalist.  But  the  fear 
that  arises  out  of  a  profound  reverence 
and  love  of  God.  This  fear  of  the  Lord 
is  the  beginning  of  wisdom.  2.  A  holy 
life  is  maintained  by  constant  obedience. 
"  That  walketh  in  His  ways"  (ver.  1). 
As  Comber  remarks — "  He  only  truly 
feai  s  God  who  is  afraid  to  displease  Him 
by  forsaking  the  paths  of  His  command- 
ments," Loving  fear  is  the  strongest 
motive  to  obedience  ;  and  obedience  is 
the  practical  manifestation  of  true  piety. 
That  is  a  happy  home  indeed  where  the 
fear  of  God  is  the  regulating  principle. 

IL  That  the  blessedness  of  the  good 
consists  in  a  happy  and  contented 
livelihood.  "  For  thou  shalt  eat  the 
labour  of  thine  hands  :  happy  shalt  thou 
be,  and  it  shall  be  well  with  thee"  (ver. 


1-6.) 

2).  Some  men  labour  and  worry,  and 
all  in  vain.  They  are  never  any  better 
off,  and  they  have  no  enjoyment  in  the 
fruit  of  their  labour.  But  the  good  man, 
though  not  exempt  from  toil,  is  happy  in 
his  daily  work,  and  enjoys  what  he  earns. 
The  fruit  of  his  labour  is  not  taken  from 
him  and  possessed  by  others,  as  was 
threatened  to  the  disobedient  Israelites 
(Deut.  xxviil  33,  38-40;  Lev.  xxvi.  16). 
**  Noble,  upright,  self-denying  toil," 
wrote  Hugh  Miller,  "  who  that  knows 
thy  solid  worth  and  value  would  be 
ashamed  of  thy  hard  hands,  thy  soiled 
vestments  and  thy  obscure  tasks,  thy 
humble  cottage  and  hard  couch  and 
homely  fare  ! "  E-eligion  gives  dignity 
to  labour,  and  transmutes  what  was 
originally  a  part  of  man's  curse  into  a 
blessing. 

III.  That  the  blessedness  of  the  good 
is  found  in  the  joys  of  domestic  life. 
'*  Thy  wife  shall  be  as  a  fruitful  vine  by 
the  sides  of  thine  house  :  thy  children 
like  olive  plants  round  about  thy  table" 

339 


JP8ALM  OXXn. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


(ver.  3).  The  woman  pictured  in  the 
Song  is  not  to  be  seen  lounging  at  the 
door,  an  idle  gossip,  with  something  to 
say  to  every  passer-by,  but  attends  to 
her  duties  in  the  interior  of  the  dwell- 
ing, and,  like  her  husband,  fears  the 
Lord  (Prov.  ix.  13,  14;  Amos  vi  10). 
The  clinging  vine  is  a  symbol  of  attach- 
ment, grace  and  fruitfulness,  dressing 
the  props  and  walls  to  which  its  curling 
tendrils  hold  with  leaves  that  shade  the 
verandah  and  cool  the  house,  and  en- 
riching them  with  clusters  of  juicy  fruit 
that  maketh  glad  the  heart  of  man.  The 
pious  and  loving  wife,  the  screen,  adorn- 
ment, and  crown  of  the  God-fearing  hus- 
band, who  is  her  support  and  strength, 
BO  smiles  and  speaks  and  acts  that  the 
master  is  happy  everywhere  because  most 
happy  when  at  home.  The  children  are 
like  olive-plants — vigorous,  able  to  stand 
alone  and  separate,  bright  with  the  pro- 
mise of  goodly  fruit  and  rivers  of  oil. 
Rooted  to  the  spot,  glad  to  stay  at  home, 
"  round  about  thy  table,"  loving  and 
dutiful,  they  shall  abundantly  delight 
thy  heart — The  Caravan  and  Temple, 


IV.  That  the  blessedness  of  the  good 
is  augmented  by  witnessing  the  ad- 
vancing  prosperity  of  Zion.  "  Behold, 
that  thus  shall  the  man  be  blessed,"  &c 
(vers.  4-6).  The  good  man  is  not  only 
blessed  by  the  Church,  he  is  also  a  bless- 
ing to  it.  He  becomes  identified  with 
all  its  interests ;  mourns  over  its  reverses 
and  rejoices  in  its  success.  A  happy 
home  is  a  blessing  both  to  the  Church 
and  to  the  nation.  *'It  is  a  circle  of 
blessing,  the  Lord,  the  saint,  and  the 
neighbour ;  closet  prayer,  family  wor- 
ship and  temple  service  ;  the  Home,  the 
Church  and  the  State.  Like  the  cloud 
falling  upon  the  earth,  the  river  running 
to  the  sea,  and  the  ocean  rising  to  the 
sky,  it  is  a  perpetual  round  of  fertility, 
beauty,  and  thanksgiving,  regarded  with 
complacence  by  the  radiant  Artificer 
enthroned  in  the  heavens."  The  chief 
concern  of  the  good  is  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  Israel. 

Lessons  : — 1.  There  is  no  blessedness 
apart  from  goodness.  2.  None  are 
excluded  from  this  blessedness — it  is  for 
"  evert/  one  thatfeareth  the  Lord^ 


PSALM    CXXIX. 

Introduction, 

Thii  Psalm  wai  written  after  the  Captivity,  and  contains  a  reference  to  the  many  tribnlac 
tiong  which  the  Jews  passed  through  from  their  youth — i.t.y  the  earliest  part  of  their  history, — 
their  bondage  in  Egypt.  The  intent  of  the  Psalmist  is  to  comfort  the  Church  in  afHiction,  and 
to  stir  her  up  to  glorify  Qod  for  His  providence  over  her,  always  for  her  good,  and  bringing  her 
enemiea  to  confusion  and  sadden  ruin. — A.  Clarke, 


The  Afflictions  of  the  Good. 
(Verses  1-4.) 


I.  That  the  good  in  all  ages  have 
been  greatly  afflicted. 

1.  The  afflictions  of  the  good  are  mani- 
fold. "  Many  a  time  have  they  afflicted  me 
from  my  youth  "  (ver.  1).  The  Jews  had 
been  oppressed  by  Pharaoh  in  Egypt,  by 
the  tribes  north  of  the  wilderness,  by  the 
Canaanites,  Philistines,  and  Ammonites, 
by  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians;  and 
now  they  were  harassed  by  the  time-serv- 
ing Samaritans.  So  has  it  been  in  all 
ages.  The  Church  has  suflfered  from  a 
variety  of  enemies — from  the  reigning 
powers  for  the  time  being,  from  the  envy 
340 


and  hatred  of  unbelievers,  from  the  false- 
ness and  apathy  of  professed  friends. 

2.  The  afflictions  of  the  good  are 
marked  by  unusual  severity.  '*  The 
plowers  plowed  upon  my  back;  they 
made  long  their  furrows  "  (ver.  3).  The 
sufferings  of  God's  people  have  been 
unparalleled.  They  have  been  torn  as 
the  husbandman  tears  the  ground  with 
his  ploughshare.  Many  martyrs  for  the 
truth  have  been  "  first  lashed  with  the 
terrible  scorpion  and  loaded  whips ;  and 
then,  as  they  hung  on  the  little  horse, 
torn  with  the  hooked  rake,  which  lite- 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


FSaLM  oxxiz. 


rally  dug  deep,  long  furrows  in  their 
bleeding  and  quivering  flesh."  But 
there  is  One  in  whom  we  see  all  Israel, 
and  in  whose  sufferings  the  words  of  the 
text  received  a  remarkable  fulfilment. 
The  incarnate  Son  of  God  gave  His 
back  to  the  smiters  (Isa.  1.  6). 

II.  That  the  good  have  always  sur- 
vived the  cruelty  of  their  tormentors. 
"Yet  they  have  not  prevailed  against 
me  "  (ver.  2).  The  combined  powers  of 
evil  have  not  been  able  to  destroy  the 
Church.  A  Swedish  captain  has  recently 
invented  a  fire-proof  dress,  the  wearer  of 
which  is  enabled  to  walk  up  and  down 
in  the  fiercest  furnace  without  being  in- 
jured. So  the  people  of  God  have  out- 
lived the  fiery  assaults  of  the  wicked, 
because  clothed  in  the  unconsumable 
panoply  of  the  Divine  protection.  The 
afflictions  of  the  Church  have  tended  to 
its  purity  and  strength.  When  Ignatius, 
Bishop  of  Antioch  (a.D.  107),  was  taken 
to  Rome  and  cast  to  the  lions,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  I  am  God's  wheat,  and  must 
be  ground  by  the  teeth  of  the  wild 
beasts  that  I  may  be  found  His  pure 
bread."  The  Church  of  God  is  uncon- 
querable. "  It  is,"  says  Trapp,  "  as  the 
palm  tree,  which  spreadeth  and  springeth 


up  the  more  it  is  oppressed ;  as  th« 
bottle  or  bladder  that  may  be  dipped 
but  not  eirowned  :  as  the  oak  that 
sprouts  out  the  thicker  from  the  maims 
and  wounds  it  receiveth." 

III.  That  the  afflictions  of  the  good 
are  Divinely  limited. 

1.  The  character  of  God  is  a  pledge  of 
timely  deliverance.  "  The  Lord  is  righte- 
ous" (ver.  4).  As  His  people  become 
worldly  and  unfaithful,  He  permits  them 
to  be  afflicted ;  but  when  they  cry  to 
Him  in  penitence  and  faith,  he  delivers 
them  out  of  their  distresses.  They  suf- 
fer not  a  moment  longer  than  may  be 
necessary  for  their  more  complete  conse- 
cration to  God  and  holiness. 

2.  The  power  of  the  wicked  to  harm  is 
limited.  "  He  hath  cut  asunder  the 
cords  of  the  wicked"  (ver.  4).  Evil  is 
not  omnipotent,  and  it  is  restrained  and 
defeated  by  the  strong  hand  of  God. 
The  very  instrumentalities  by  which  the 
wicked  sought  to  destroy  the  rising 
Church  have  been  used  to  frustrate  their 
cruel  designs,  and  to  effect  their  own  ruin. 

Lessons  : — 1.  The  holiest  are  not  ex- 
empt from  suffering.  2.  Affliction  may 
prove  a  blessed  moral  discipline.  3.  The 
good  are  Divinely  rescued  from  trial* 


The  Lamentable  Fate  of  the  Church's  Enemies. 

{Verses  5-8.) 


L  They    are    signally    defeated. — 

"Let  them  all  be;"  or,  "They  shall  all 
be  confounded,  and  turned  back  that  hate 
Zion"  (ver.  5).  Though  advancing  in  for- 
midable and  threatening  array,  they  shall 
be  thrown  into  confusion  and  driven  into 
ignominious  retreat.  They  are  engaged 
in  an  unequal  conflict.  They  are  allowed 
to  gain  some  unimportant  conquests, 
and  while  full  of  boastful  daring,  and 
I'f^ckoning  upon  certain  and  final  victory, 
they  are  "  melted  like  snow  in  the  glance 
of  the  Lord"  (Job  xxxiv.  20,  21  ;  Ps. 
Ixx.  2). 

II.  Their  wicked  life-purpose  is  abor- 
tive. "  Let  them  be  as  the  gniss  upon 
the  house  tops,  which  withereth,"  <fec. 
(vers.  6,  7).  On  the  flat  roofs  of  Eastern 
houses  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  grass 
growing,  but  for  want  of  proper  nourish- 


ment and  soil,  it  cannot  grow  to  maturity, 
and  speedily  withers  away.  It  is  sad  to 
see  one's  life-purpose  suddenly  collapse 
and  hopelessly  perish.  But  so  must  it  be 
with  the  designs  of  the  wicked,  after  a 
lifetime  of  plotting  and  toiling ;  so  must 
it  be  with  the  wicked  themselves  (Isa. 
xxxvii.  27^. 

III.  They  remain  unblessed.  "Neither 
do  they  which  go  by  say.  The  blessing 
of  the  Lord  be  upon  you:  we  bless  you 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  (ver.  8).  An 
emblem  of  Israel  blessed  by  the  Lord  is 
a  wide  field  of  thickly  growing  corn 
stirred  by  gentle  breezes  under  a  ripen- 
ing sun.  As  the  labourers,  humming 
or  shouting  snatches  of  cheery  song, 
bind  the  sheaves  and  carry  load  after 
load  away,  they  receive  friendly  saluta- 
tions   from    people    passing    by    (Rutb 

341 


fBALM  cxtx.  mMJLEflG  GOMMBNTARt:  PSAL  I\fS. 


ii.    4).     The    thought   ia   ridiculous    of  overtake  the  enemies  of  God.     It  is  the 

house-top    harvesting   occasioning   such  highest  aggravation  of  their  sufferings 

benedictions.    Equally  out  of  question  is  that  they  remain  for  ever  unblest. 
it   for   the   Church's  adversaries  to  be  Lkssons  : — 1.  A  life  of  sin  is  a  series 

blessed  by  God  or  man.     (The  Caravan  of  disappointments  and  defeats.     2.   The 

and    Temple.)       It    is    impossible    for  enemiesof  God  cannot  escape  Ills  righteous 

nature  to  furnish  an  emblem  that  can  vengeance.     3.    21ie  haters  of  Zion  ignore 

sufficiently  express  the  utter  confusion,  the   hope   of  salvation^  which   it   alone 

disaster,  and  misery  that  will  certainly  offers. 


PSALM    CXXX. 

Introduction. 

The  Psalm  before  ns,  like  the  other  pilgrim-songs,  implies  circumstances  of  bitterness;  bat 
it  is,  as  in  truth  is  each  of  them,  more  than  a  cry  occasioned  by  outward  hardship  and  danger. 
The  sixth  of  the  seven  penitential  Psalms,  so  styled  by  way  of  eminence,  and  not  with  a  mean- 
ing that  there  are  no  other  Psalms  of  penitence — this  is  intensely  spiritual.  It  is  at  once  a 
soliloquy,  a  petition,  a  statement,  and  an  exhortation,  a  hymn  for  private  use  and  public 
service,  the  voice  of  the  soul  and  of  the  congregation.  The  former  half  is  an  address  to  the 
Lord  :  the  latter  is,  first  a  profession  of  hope  and  expectation  in  His  mercy,  and  then  an 
argued  invitation  to  the  mind  and  course  described  as  happily  adopted.  Throughout  it  is  the 
language  of  deep  distress  on  account  of  sin,  a  prayer  for  compassion  and  forgiveness,  and  aa 
expression  of  trust  in  the  promises  and  provisions  of  Qod's  love. — 2'he  Caravan  and  TemjpU, 

De  Profundis. 
(Verses  1-4.) 

L  That  a  consciousness  of  sin  sinks  privilege  to  cry  to  God  and  to  be  heard, 
the  soul  into  depths  of  penitential  To  cry  to  God  in  sorrow  for  sin  is  to 
sorrow.  The  Psalmist  is  penetrated  pray  to  be  delivered  from  it  :  it  is  an 
•with  a  sense  of  personal  defilement,  and  appeal  for  mercy.  It  is  only  when  we 
measuring  sin  according  to  the  standard  taste  the  bitterness  of  sin,  only  when  we 
of  Divine  purity,  is  plunged  as  into  an  are  surrounded  by  its  black  horrors  and 
abyss  of  humiliation  and  despair.  "  If  the  terrible  vengeance  it  merits,  that  we 
thou,  Lord,  shouldest  mark  iniquities,  0  are  truly  in  earnest  in  pleading  for  for- 
Lord,  who  shall  stand  1 "  The  light  giveness.  The  wail  of  despair  is  trans- 
makes  manifest  the  darkness,  the  beau-  formed  into  a  song  of  hope  when  assured 
tiful  in  nature  reveals  by  contrast  the  that  pardon  is  attainable.  "  There  is 
ugly  and  repulsive  ;  so  an  exalted  purity  forgiveness  with  Thee."  But  for  this, 
brings  out  the  loathsomeness  and  de-  the  soul  might  cry  in  vain  :  answered 
formity  of  sin.  Better  to  be  over-  only  by  its  own  mocking  echo  ;  despair 
whelmed  with  a  genuine  sorrow  for  sin  recoiling  upon  yet  deeper  despair, 
than  with  the  wrath  of  God  that  will  III.  That  the  penitent  soul  seeks 
certainly  overtake  the  impenitent  (2  pardon  in  order  to  serve  God  accept- 
Thess.  L  7-9).  ably.     "  But  there  is  forgiveness   with 

II.  That  from  the  depths  of  peni-  Thee,  that  Thou  may  est  he  feared  "  (ver. 

tential  sorrow  the  soul  cries  earnestly  4).     True  religion  is  justly  defined  as 

for  pardon.     "  Out  of  the  depths  have  the  fear  of  God.    Not  the  cowering  terror 

I  cried  unto  thee,  O  Lord.     Lord,  hear  of  the  slave,  not  the  sullen,  pouting  fear 

my  voice  ;  let  Thine  ears  be  attentive  to  of  the  culprit,  not  the  half-hope  and  half- 

the  voice  of  my  supplications  "  (vers.  1,  dread  of  the  awakened   sinner,  but  the 

2).     The  distressed  soul  finds  relief  in  loving,  reverential,  obedient  fear  of  the 

cries  and  tears.     The  heart  would  break  forgiven  and  accepted  child.     Pardon  ia 

if  it  found  no  outlet  for  its  pent-up  grief.  absolutely  necessary  for  acceptable  and 

In  the  darkest,  deepest  sorrow,  it  ib  our  useful    Christian  work.     God    forgives, 
342 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


l^BAtM  OXIX. 


not  simply  to  deliver  from  the  depths  of 
penitence,  not  to  give  license  for  indul- 
gence in  wickedness ;  but  to  create  a 
moral  fitness  for  exalted  and  extensive 
service  (Psalm  li.  12,  13). 

Lessons  : — 1.  From  the  deepest  depths 


of  misery  the  cry  of  penitence  reaches  thi 
heights  of  heaven.  2.  The  more  vivid 
our  sense  of  sin,  the  more  appreciative  are 
we  of  the  blessing  of  forgiveness.  3.  The 
Lord  delivers  from  sin  that  we  may  serve 
Him  with  loving  fear. 


The  Hope  of  Redemption. 
(Verses  b-^.) 


1  Is  based  on  the  revelation  of  the 

Divine  Word.  "  I  wait  for  the  Lord, 
my  soul  doth  wait,  and  in  His  Word  do 
I  hope "  (ver.  5).  Hope  must  have  a 
solid  foundation  to  rest  upon,  else  it  la 
mere  dreamy  conjecture,  the  rosy  bloom 
of  fancy  that  is  shrivelled  up  by  the 
first  rude  blast  of  trial.  The  Word  of 
God  is  the  foundation  of  the  soul's  hope 
of  redemption  ;  and  that  redemption  is 
the  theme  which  pervades  every  page  of 
revelation.  The  word  translated  to  wait, 
properly  signifies  the  extension  of  a  cord 
from  one  point  to  another.  The  Word  of 
God  is  one  point,  the  soul  the  other ; 
and  the  extended  cord  between  both  is 
the  earnest  believing  desire  of  the  soul. 
This  desire,  this  hope,  strongly  extended 
from  the  heart  to  God,  is  the  active 
energetic  waiting  which  God  requires 
«,nd  which  will  be  successful.  God 
jever  disappoints  :  His  Word  never  fails. 
Myriads  have  looked  to  Him  for  re- 
demption, and  not  in  vain. 

IL  Rouses  the  most  passionate  long- 
ings of  the  human  soul.  *'  My  soul 
waiteth  for  the  Lord  more  than  they 
that  watch  for  the  morning :  I  say, 
more  than  they  that  watcli  for  the 
morning"  (ver.  6).  It  is  an  emphatic 
repetition,  indicating  that  the  whole 
soul  is  waiting  and  watching  for  re- 
demption. '*  The  priest  staying  in  the 
temple  for  the  moment  of  the  early 
oblation,  the  warder  on  the  tower  look- 
ing for  the  first  streak  of  day,  the  be- 
nighted traveller  unable  to  take  another 
step  till  the  long  darkness  shall  be  over, 
the  sick  man  sleeplessly  longing  for  the 
family  to  be  astir,  the  mariner  wanting 
the  light  that  he  may  examine  the 
doubtful  coast, —  not  one  of  them  so 
earnestly  hopes  for  the  morning  which 
will  end    his   watch  as   my   soul  yaits 


for  the  Lord,  who  forgives  repented 
iniquity."  The  nearer  a  great  blessing 
appears  to  us  the  more  eager  are  we  to 
possess  it.  The  blessing  of  redemption 
is  worthy  of  the  most  ardent  and 
patient  hope. 

IIL  Is  encouraged  by  reflecting  on 
the  amplitude  of  the  Divine  mercy. 
*'  Let  Israel  hope  in  the  Lord  :  for  with 
the  Lord  there  is  mercy,  and  with  Him 
is  plenteous  redemption  "  (ver.  7).  The 
first  conception  of  redemption  was  the 
ofi'spiing  of  the  Divine  pity  and  com- 
passion. The  Lord  yearns  to  deliver 
man  from  sin  :  He  delighteth  in  mercy. 
(Compare  Jer.  xxxi.  20  ;  James  v.  11  ; 
Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7).  There  can  be  no 
true  peace,  no  moral  safety,  without 
pardon.  How  great  and  condescending 
is  that  act  of  Divine  mercy  by  which 
the  sinner  is  pardoned,  and  his  soul, 
wearied  and  distracted  with  long  and 
anxious  waiting,  is  set  at  rest  and  filled 
with  unutterable  peace  ! 

IV.  Is  strengthened  by  the  assur- 
ance of  the  completeness  of  redemp- 
tive blessings.  '*  And  He  shall  redeem 
Israel  from  all  his  iniquities "  (ver.  8), 
It  is  no  temporary,  or  indistinct,  bless- 
ing that  is  so  anxiously  sought  ;  it  is 
nothing  less  than  a  complete  deliverance 
from  all  iniquity.  Redemption  from 
sin  includes  redemption  from  all  other 
evils  :  it  is  the  greatest  and  most  perfect 
work  of  God,  and  bestows  the  most 
exalted  blessings  on  man.  *'  A  sacred 
presence  in  this  Psalm  asks  the  con- 
science a  succession  of  important  ques- 
tions. Have  you  been  in  depths  of 
distress  on  account  of  sin?  Did  you  cry 
to  the  Lord  to  deliver  you  from  thi 
deep  waters  ?  Have  you  given  up  all 
thought  of  escaping  by  your  own  right- 
eousness?    Is  all  your  appeal  to  God's 

343 


PSALM  OXXZI. 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


redeeming  mercy  1  Are  you  contentedly 
waiting  and  watching  till  He  shall  give 
you  His  promised  blessing?  Is  your 
heart  set  upon  the  full  daylight  of  holi- 
ness to  the  Lord  % " 


Lessons  : — 1.  Redemption  is  a  Divine 
work,  2.  The  most  degraded  soul  is  not 
beyond  the  hope  of  recovery.  3.  Redemp* 
tion  must  be  eagerly  and  prayerfully 
sotight 


PSALM    CXXXL 

Introduction. 

*•  A  Song  of  Degrees."  See  introduction  to  Psalm  cxi.  In  the  superscription  thig  Psalm  ii 
ascribed  to  David,  and  although  it  is  so  short,  it  contains  marks  of  its  Davidic  origin.  **  Thia 
short  Psalm,"  says  Perowne,  '*  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  whole  Book,  assuredly  breathes 
David's  spirit.  A  childlike  simplicity,  an  unaffected  humility,  the  honest  expression  of  that 
humility  as  from  a  heart  spreading  itself  out  in  conscious  integrity  before  God — this  ii  what 
we  find  in  the  Psalm,  traits  of  a  character  like  that  of  David." 

Aspects  and  Expressions  of  Humility. 


We  have  here — 

I.    Humility    in    certain    of    its 

features.  "  Lord,  my  heart  is  not 
haughty,  nor  mine  eyes  lofty :  neither 
do  I  exercise  myself  in  great  matters, 
or  in  things  too  high  for  me."  Here  are 
three  negative  features  of  humility. 

1.  The  absence  of  the  jyroud  heart, 
''  Jehovah,  my  heart  is  not  haughty." 
In  the  heart  of  the  truly  humble  man 
all  high  thoughts  of  self-righteousness,and 
all  notions  of  self-reliance,  are  effectually 
abased.  He  is  "poor  in  spirit,"  conscious 
of  spiritual  poverty  and  deep  need,  and 
consequently  humble  before  God, 

2.  The  absence  of  the  **  high  look.** 
"  Nor  mine  eyes  lofty."  Hengstenberg  : 
"  Pride  has  its  seat  in  the  heart,  and  be- 
trays itself  especially  in  the  eyes."  (Com- 
pare Ps.  xviii.  27  ;  ci.  5 ;  Pro  v.  vi.  16, 
17.)  The  man  of  proud  heart  will  look 
disdainfully  upon  his  fellow-man,  as  the 
Piiarisee  did  upon  the  Publican,  in  the 
parable  of  our  Lord.  That  Pharisee 
may  fairly  be  regarded  as  an  illustration 
of  spiritual  pride,  and  the  Publican  of 
sincere  humility. 

3.  The  absence  of  ambitious  projects. 
"  Neither  do  I  exercise  myself  in  great 
matters,  or  in  things  too  high  for  me.'' 
The  marginal  reading  is  the  correct  one. 
The  Psalmist  did  not  strive  with  or  after 
things  that  lay  beyond  his  power  or  his 
sphere.  (1.)  He  did  not  seek  to  know 
the  mysteries  of  the  humanly  unknow- 
able. Even  if  we  could  "  understand 
all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge,"  that 
would  not  give  rest  to  our  soul.    (2.)  He 

344 


did  not  attempt  to  do  that  which  was 
beyond  his  power.  Rest  is  not  attained 
through  the  efforts  of  daring  and 
**  vaulting  ambition." 

*'  I  would  not  have  the  restless  will 
That  hurries  to  and  fro, 
That  seeks  for  some  great  thing  to  do. 

Or  secret  thing  to  know  ; 

I  would  be  treated  as  a  child. 

And  guided  where  I  go." 

— A.  L.  Waring. 

n.  Humility  as  connected  with  con- 
tentment and  rest.  **  Surely  I  have 
behaved  and  quieted  myself  as  a  child 
that  is  weaned  of  his  mother ;  my  soul 
is  even  as  a  weaned  child."  Perowne's 
note  is  excellent  :  "  /  have  stilled  mt/ 
soulf  i.e.j  the  pride  and  passions  which 
were  like  the  swelling  waves  of  an  angry 
sea.  The  word  is  used  in  Isa.  xxviii.  25, 
of  leveling  the  ground  after  the  clods 
have  been  broken  by  the  plough.  The 
K  V.  uses  '  behaved  '  in  the  old  sense  of 
restraining,  managing,  as  for  instance  in 
Shakespeare's  Timon  of  Athens,  *  He  did 
behave  his  anger  ere  'twas  spent.'  The 
next  two  clauses  of  the  verse  would  be 
more  exactly  rendered: — 

*A8  a  weaned  child  upon  his  mother,' 
{i.e.,  as  he  lies  resting  upon  his  mother's 
bosom)  ;  *  As  the  weaned  child  (I  say), 
lies  my  soul  upon  me.'  The  figure  is 
beautifully  expressive  of  the  humility  of 
a  soul  chastened  by  disappointment.  As 
the  weaned  child  when  its  first  fretf ill- 
ness and  uneasiness  are  past  no  longer 
cries,  and  frets,  and  longs  for  the  breast, 
but  lies  still  and  is  content,  because  it  is 
with  its  mother;  so  my  soul  is  weaned 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PtALM  OXZXI. 


from  all  discontented  thoughts,  from  all 
fretful  desires  for  earthly  good,  waiting 
in  stillness  upon  God,  finding  its  satis- 
faction in  His  presence,  resting  peace- 
fully in  His  arms. 

"'  The  weaned  child,'  writes  a  mother, 
with  reference  to  this  passage,  '  has  for 
the  first  time  become  conscious  of  grief  , 
The  piteous  longing  for  the  sweet 
nourishment  of  his  life,  the  broken  sob 
of  disappointment,  mark  the  trouble  of 
his  innocent  heart :  it  is  not  so  much 
the  bodily  suffering ;  he  has  felt  that 
pain  before,  and  cried  while  it  lasted  ; 
but  now  his  joy  and  comfort  are  taken 
awayy  and  he  knows  not  why.  When  his 
head  is  once  more  laid  upon  his  mother's 
bosom,  then  he  trusts  and  loves  and 
resrs,but  he  has  learned  the  first  lesson  of 
humility,  he  is  cast  down,  and  clings  with 
fond  helplessness  to  his  one  friend.'" 

And  M.  Henry  :  "  Thus  does  a  gra- 
cious soul  quiet  itself  under  the  loss  of 
that  which  it  loved,  and  disappointment 
in  that  which  it  hoped  for,  and  is  easy 
whatever  happens,  lives,  and  lives  com- 
fortably, upon  Ood  and  the  covenant- 
grace,  when  creatures  prove  dry  breasts." 
Pride  is  never  satisfied,  never  restful,  but 
fretful  and  discontented.  Humility  is 
content  with  the  Divine  allotments,  and 
restful  in  the  Divine  love.  The  child- 
like spirit  is  simple,  docile,  modest,  and 
lowly.     Such  a  spirit  was  the  Psalmist's. 

III.  Humility  growing  into  hope. 
"  Let  Israel  hope  in  the  Lord  from  hence- 
forth and  for  ever."  The  ancient  Hebrews 
were  animated  bygreat  hopes.  But  greater 
and  more  exalted  are  the  hopes  of  the 
Christian.  He  hopes  for  complete  triumph 
over  evil,  for  utter  purity  of  heart,  for  the 
vision  of  God,  for  transformation  into 
His  image,  (fee.  "  We  are  saved  by  hope." 
But  mark  the  characteristics  of  this  hope, 

1.  It  is  Divine.  "  Hope  in  the  Lord." 
The  Christian's  hope  rests  not  in  any- 
thing transient,  changeable,  or  limited  ; 
but  in  the  eternal,  unchangeable,  infinite. 


holy  God.  A  true  hope  resting  in  Him 
"  maketh  not  ashamed." 

2.  It  is  common.  "Let  Israel  hope 
in  the  Lord."  It  was  not  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  the  poet,  the  priest,  the  pro- 
phet, or  any  one  class.  The  whole  nation 
is  here  called  to  exercise  it,  and  rejoice  in 
it.  In  the  inspiring  and  glorious  hope  of 
the  Christian  believer  all  men  may  share. 

3.  It  is  present  *'  From  henceforth." 
If  we  have  not  cherished  this  hope 
hitherto,  we  may  begin  to  do  so  at  once. 
We  should  cherish  it  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances. 

4.  It  is  perpetual.  "  From  hence- 
forth, and  for  ever."  Hope,  like  faith 
and  charity,  is  an  abiding  thing.  Earth 
and  time  cannot  exhaust  the  hope  of 
the  Christian.  His  being  will  eternally 
rest  in  God.  His  expectation  will  be 
directed  to  Him  for  ever.  In  heaven  it- 
self the  child  of  God  will  have  much  to 
hope  for;  further  discoveries  of  the  perfec- 
tion and  glory  of  God,  and  further  growth 
of  the  faculties  and  capacities  of  his  own 
being,  will  for  ever  invite  him  onward. 

Now,  this  glorious  hope  grows  out  of 
humility.  The  humble  soul  claims  no- 
thing, yet  hopes  for  everything,  from  God. 
Humility  is  the  root  of  all  Christian 
graces. 

'*  Humility,  that  low,  iweet  root, 
From  which  all  heavenly  virtues  shoot** 

— Moore, 

Humility  is  becoming  in  us^  agreeable  to 
others,  and  acceptable  to  God.  Prayer- 
fully and  diligently  let  us  cultivate  it. 

"  The  bird  that  soars  on  highest  wing 
Builds  on  the  ground  her  lowly  nest; 
And  she  that  doth  most  sweetly  sing 

Sings  in  the  shade  \vhen  all  things  re$t : 
In  lark  and  nightingale  we  see 
What  honour  hath  humility. 

"The  saint  that -wears  heaven's  brightest 
In  deepest  adoration  bends  ;        [crown 
The  weight  of  glory  bows  him  down 

The  most  when  most  his  soul  ascends  ; 
Nearest  the  throne  itself  must  be 
The  footstool  of  humility," — Montgomery. 


Exemplary  Humility. 
{Verse  1.) 

If  good  men  cannot  always  use  this 
language  of  David,  it  is  their  prevailing 
desire  to  be  able  to  do  so ;  and  if  at 
any  time  they  have  been  ^'  exalted  above 


measure,'*     like    Hezekiah,     they    will 
humble  themselves  for  the  pride  of  their 
hearts  (2  Chron.  xxxii.  26). 
L  The  humility  he  displayed. 

346 


MALM  oxxzn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


1,  This  is  a  grace  of  the  Spirit — the 
fruit  and  product  of  inward  religion. 
Humility  is  not  a  plant  that  grows  in 
Nature's  garden.  Of  all  the  evils  in 
our  corrupt  nature  there  is  none  more 
natural  tban  pride  :  this  is  the  grand 
wickedness — self-exaltation  in  our  own 
or  others*  esteem.  St.  Augustine  truly- 
said  :  ''  That  which  first  overcame 
man  is  the  last  thing  he  overcomes." 
Nothing  can  effectually  overcome  it  but 
Divine  grace.  If  we  imagine  that  we 
can  humble  our  own  proud  hearts  by  our 
own  strength,  we  shall  be  disappointed. 
That  pride,  which  is  the  curse  of  our 
nature,  has  strnck  its  roots  too  deeply 
within  us  for  any  human  arm  to  pluck 
it  thence.  We  are  not  able  to  plant  a 
single  grace  in  our  hearts,  nor  to  pre- 
serve it  when  planted  ;  but  every  spirit- 
ual good  is  God's  gift,  a  gift  as  freely 
bestowed  as  the  rain  that  comes  down 
from  heaven.  But  though  we  are  thus 
weak  and  worthless  in  ourselves,  the 
Holy  Spirit  generally  works  His  pur- 
poses of  grace  by  the  use  of  means,  and 
through  these  He  allows  and  commands 
us  to  seek  His  grace.  He  is  ready  to  pour 
down  His  richest  spiritual  gifts,  <kc. 

2.  It  is  peculiarly  acceptable  in  the 
sight  of  God.  The  Lord  "  giveth  grace 
unto  the  humble."  He  gives  grace  to 
make  them  humble,  to  keep  them 
humble,  and  then  honours  the  grace 
He  has  given.  There  is  no  mansion 
He  loves  so  well  as  a  sinner's  humble 
heart.  (Conip.  Isa.  Ivii.  15.)  "  He  giveth 
grace  to  the  humble;"  pours  it  out  plen- 
tifully upon  devout  and  humble  hearts. 
His  sweet  dews  and  showers  of  grace 
slide  off  the  mountains  of  Pride,  and  fall 
on  the  low  valleys  of  humble  hearts  to 
make  them  fertile  and  prosperous.  The 
law  of  God's  procedure  is,  that  '*  before 
honour  is  humility."  He  pours  the  oil 
of  grace  into  none  but  broken  hearts. 
God  first  humbles,  then  exalts.  So  David, 
Abigail,  Moses,  Luther.     As  the  lower 


the  ebb  the  higher  the  tide,  so  the 
measure  of  our  humility  is  often  the 
measure  of  our  exaltation  :  the  lower  the 
foundation  of  our  humility,  the  higher 
is  the  crown  of  our  glory  (1  Pet.  v.  6). 

3.  This  grace  has  shone  most  brightly 
in  the  most  eminent  saints.  Specify 
Moses  and  Elias  under  the  Law ;  Isaiah 
and  Daniel  among  the  Prophets ;  and 
John  the  Baptist  and  Paul  under  the 
Gospel.  But  Christ  is  the  great 
Exemplar  and  Pattern. 

II.  Some  of  the  methods  in  which 
the  possession  of  this  grace  will  be 
shown  and  attested. 

1.  It  will  regulate  our  inquiries  after 
truth.  "  I  do  not  exercise  myself  in 
things  too  high  for  me." 

2.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  exercises 
of  devotion.  The  Pharisee  stood  and 
boasted  ;  the  publican  smote  upon  his 
breast  and  prayed. 

3.  It  will  prepare  us  to  receive  the 
principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  cu 
the  basis  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  It 
led  Paul  to  a  simple  dependence  upon 
Christ  —  renouncing  everything  else. 
(Comp.  Phil.  iii.  4-9.)  He  neither  de- 
pends upon  his  graces  as  a  Christian, 
his  attainments  as  a  man,  his  labours 
as  an  Apostle,  nor  his  success  as  a 
minister.  Dependence  on  Christ  must 
flow  from  humility  of  heart.  Nothing 
but  a  heartfelt  sense  of  our  sinfulness 
will  lead  us  to  the  Cross,  or  keep  us  there, 

4.  It  will  be  seen  in  practical  submis- 
sion to  Godh  ivill. 

III.  Some  of  the  means  of  produc- 
ing it— 

1.  Meditate  upon  the  greatness  and 
holiness  of  God, 

2.  Keep  near  to  the  Cross  of  Christ, 

3.  Frequently  review  your  transgres- 
sions and  sins. 

4.  Think  of  your  obligations  to  Divine    ^ 
grace.  * 

5.  Anticipate  the  Judgment  Bay,-^ 
The  Late  Samuel  Thodey, 


PSALM    CXXXIL 
Introduction. 

The  anthor  of  this  Psalm  and  the  occasion  upon  which  it  was  composed  are  both  unknown. 

The  opinion  of  M.   Henry,  Perowne,  and  others,  is  that  it  was  composed  for  the  dedication  of 

Solomon's  Temple.     Many  ancient  expositors  *ield  that  it  was  composed  by  David,  either  at  the 

time  of  the  bringing  of  the  Ark  to  Zion,  or  at  the  time  when  it  was  in  his  heart  to  build  the 

3i6 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  CZXZII. 


Temple  of  the  Lord.  Many  modern  expositors  hold  that  it  was  composed  for  the  dedication  of 
the  Second  Temple.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  certain  conclusion  on  the  question. 
"This  Psalm,"  says  Perowne,  "  is  a  prayer  that  God's  promises  made  to  David  may  not  fail 
of  fulfilment,  that  He  will  dwell  for  ever  in  the  habitation  which  He  chose  for  Himself  in 
Ziuii,  and  that  the  children  of  David  may  for  ever  sit  upon  His  throne.  It  opens  with  a  recital 
of  David's  efforts  to  bring  the  Ark  to  its  resting-place;  it  ends  with  a  recital  of  the  promises 
made  to  David  and  to  his  seed." 

Homiletically  we  shall  view  it  as  presenting  Lessons  for  Ohureh- Builders,  and  Encourage^ 
mentsfor  Church-Builders, 


Lessons  for  Chqrch-Buildbrs. 
(Ferses  1-10.) 


From  these  verses  we  learn — 
I.  That  when  churches  are  needed 
their  erection  is  of  great  importance 
(vers.  1-6).  Previous  to  the  bringing 
of  the  Ark  to  Mount  Zion,  the  arrange- 
ments for  religious  worship  were  most  un- 
satisfactory. "  The  sacred  tent  was  with- 
out the  Ark  of  the  covenant,  a  body 
without  a  soul  ;  and  the  Ark  was  at 
Kirjath-jearini,  deposited  as  in  its  grave, 
without  any  rites  of  worship,  well-nigh 
lost  sight  of."  David  himself  said. 
"  Let  us  bring  again  the  Ark  of  our 
God  to  us  ;  for  we  inquired  not  at  it 
in  the  days  of  Saul"  He  was  deeply- 
solicitous  for  the  revival  of  the  national 
religion,  and  that  arrangements  should 
be  made  for  the  worship  of  Jehovah, 
with  suitable  dignity  and  magnificence. 
The  Psalmist  represents  him  as  torment- 
ing himself  with  anxiety  to  prepare  a 
becoming  dwelling-place  for  the  Lord. 
The  intensity  of  his  concern  was  mani- 
fest in — (1.)  The  solemnity  of  his  decla- 
ration concerning  it.  '*  He  sware  unto 
the  Lord,  and  vowed  unto  the  mighty 
One  of  Jacob."  This  solemn  vow  is 
not  recorded  in  the  history.  Nor  do  we 
know  whether  it  was  made  concerning 
the  removal  of  the  Ark  to  Zion,  or  the 
fixing  the  site  of  the  Temple  and  the 
preparation  of  materials  for  its  erection 
(1  (Jhron.  xxii.  1-5).  But  that  it  was 
made  is  an  evidence  of  the  anxious  care 
of  David  that  appropriate  provision 
sliould  be  made  for  the  worship  of  the 
people.  This  care  was  manifest  in — 
(2.)  The  promptitude  of  his  declaration. 
"  Surely  I  will  not  come  into  the 
tabernacle  of  my  house,  nor  go  up  into 
my  bed,"  <fec.  (vers.  3-5).  So  in  1 
Chron.  xxii.  6  David  says,  "I  will  now 
make  preparation  for  it."     The  matter 


was  too  important  and  urgent  to  admit 
of  any  delay ;  so  he  resolved  to  make 
it  his  first  business  and  to  set  about  it 
at  once. 

Now  the  lesson  we  deduce  from  this 
is,  that  when  adequate  and  appropriate 
provision  is  not  made  for  religious  wor- 
ship, the  building  of  churches  is  of  great 
importance.  This  will  appear  from  the 
following  considerations  : — 

1.  The  religious  element  in  man  is  the 
grandest  portion  of  his  nature.  Beason, 
conscience,  affections,  and  that  in  us 
which  wonders,  admires,  adores — these 
are  the  highest  things  in  us. 

2.  The  religious  element  in  man  needs 
worship  for  its  right  development  and 
growth.  The  worship  of  the  Highest 
humbles,  purifies,  exalts,  enriches  our 
being.  Worship  transforms  the  wor- 
shipper into  the  image  of  the  object  of 
worship.  The  complete  and  harmonious 
development  of  our  being  is  impossible 
apart  from  worship. 

3.  That  churches  are  needed  for  the 
becoming  and  profitable  exercise  of  wor- 
ship. We  need  the  absence  of  distract- 
ing scenes  and  circumstances,  the  aid 
of  quiet  and  of  hallowed  associations,  in 
order  to  worship  in  a  becoming  manner 
and  with  spiritual  advantage.  These  are 
secured  by  the  erection  of  churches. 

But  are  not  the  temple  of  nature  and 
the  sanctuary  of  home  sufficient  for  the 
worship  of  man  1  They  would  be  if  man 
were  not  a  social  being ;  but  man  is  a 
social  being.  "  It  is  not  good  that  man 
should  be  alone."  In  work  and  play,  in 
enjoyment  and  sorrow,  man  needs  and 
delights  in  fellowship.  Private  and 
family  worship  is  not  enough  ;  we  need 
public  worship  also  to  help  us  to  realise 
our  relation  to  our  fellow  men,  that  we 

347 


PSALM  cxzxn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


are  members  of  one  great  family,  children 
of  one  Divine  Father.  We  need  both 
the  closet  and  the  temple,  both  the  quiet 
and  solitude  of  private  worship,  and  the 
fellowship  and  inspiration  of  public 
worship.  Where  adequate  provision  is 
not  made  for  the  public  worship  of  the 
people,  the  building  of  Christian  churches 
is  a  work  the  importance  of  which  it  is 
impossible  to  exaggerate. 

II.  That  churches  should  be  erected 
for  the  worship  of  God.  "  We  will  go 
into  His  tabernacles  ;  we  will  worship 
at  His  footstool."  We  fear  that  all 
persons  who  are  zealous  in  the  building 
of  churches  do  not  always  regard  the 
worship  of  God  as  the  great  purpose  for 
which  they  are  to  be  used.  The  grand 
use  of  Christian  churches  is — 

1.  Not  the  propagation  of  any  cede- 
tiastical  system.  The  laudation  of  *'  the 
church"  or  of  " our  denomination"  or 
of  "  our  hodyy^^  seems  to  be  the  object 
for  which  some  churches  are  built.  This 
is  misleading  and  injurious. 

2.  I^or  the  propagation  of  any  theo- 
logical system.  Some  churches  seem  to 
be  built  chiefly  for  the  propagation  of 
Calvinism,  Arminianism,  Sacramen- 
tarianism,  <kc.  But  our  interpretations 
of  God  and  His  Word  are  one  thing, 
while  God  and  His  Word  are  other 
and  sometimes  very  different  things. 
Even  at  best "  our  little  systems  are  but 
broken  lights  "  of  the  Most  High. 

3.  Nor  for  the  delivery  of  religious 
addresses  or  theological  lectures^  however 
able  or  eloquent  they  may  be.  We  are 
far  from  undervaluing  the  importance  of 
the  preaching  of  the  Word,  but  it  seems  to 
us  that  the  worship  of  God  is  a  higher  use 
of  Christian  churches  than  even  that. 

4.  Nor  for  ritualistic  display  however 
brilliant,  or  musical  performances  how- 
ever perfect.  When  forms  and  cere- 
monies, processions  and  pageants,  are  the 
great  things  in  what  ought  to  be  Chris- 
tian churches,  intelligent  and  earnest 
Christians  cannot  but  regard  such  a 
state  of  things  as  a  prostitution  of  such 
edifices. 

5.  But  far  the  worship  of  God.  The 
grand  use  of  churches  is  to  worship  the 
Lord  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  This 
worship  should  be  humble  and  reverent. 

348 


We  are  not  worthy  to  approach  His 
throne  or  look  into  His  face,  but  we 
may  "  worship  at  His  footstool." 

IIL  That  in  the  worship  of  Grod  in 
His  Church  the  manifestation  of  His 
presence  should  he  earnestly  sought. 
"Arise,  0  Lord,  into  Thy  rest,"  &c. 
(vers.  8,  9).  The  Lord  is  here  en- 
treated to  d^^ell  in  His  Church — 

1.  As  an  abiding  presence.  "Arise, 
0  Lord,  into  Thy  rest."  This  may  have 
been  spoken  when  the  Ark  was  brought 
to  Zion,  and  certainly  was  spoken  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Temple.  The  Ark  was 
no  more  to  be  removed  from  place  to 
place,  but  was  to  be  fixed  there.  We 
need  the  abiding  presence  of  God  in  our 
churches ;  for  without  this,  however 
stately  and  beautiful  they  may  be,  they 
will  be  but  as  beautiful  corpses. 

2.  As  a  strengthening  presence.  "Thou, 
and  the  Ark  of  Thy  strength."  The  Ark 
was  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  presence 
and  power.  When  it  was  taken  with 
them  into  battle,  the  people  were  nerved 
to  courage  and  endurance  and  conquest. 
When  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost  dwells 
among  His  people,  they  are  "strength- 
ened with  might  in  the  inner  man." 

3.  As  a  sanctifying  presence,  "  Let 
Thy  priests  be  clothed  with  righteous- 
ness." One  of  the  effects  of  the  abiding 
presence  of  God  in  the  Church  will  be 
that  His  ministers  will  be  holy  in  heart 
and  life.  "  Righteousness  is  the  best 
ornament  of  a  minister."  It  is  an  essen- 
tial qualification  for  the  oflice. 

4.  As  a  Joy-inspiring  presence.  "  Let 
Thy  saints  shout  for  joy."  Sincere 
worshippers  of  Jehovah  are  here  desig- 
nated His  "saints."  They  find  their 
highest  blessedness  in  the  realisation  of 
His  presence.  They  sing,  "  In  Thy  pre- 
sence is  fulness  of  joy." 

Here  is  the  great  want  of  religious 
assemblies  and  of  the  Church  of  God  as 
a  whole  in  this  day — the  realisation  of 
His  abiding  presence.  Having  this,  she 
will  be  nerved  with  might,  clothed  with 
righteousness,  and  inspired  with  joy. 

IV.  That  in  seeking  the  manifes- 
tation of  the  presence  of  God  in  His 
Church,  we  have  powerful  pleas  which 
we  may  urge.  We  may,  like  the 
Psalmist,  plead — 


HOMILETIQ  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXZZII. 


1.  The  solicitude  of  our  pious  ancestors 
for  His  worship.  ''  Lord,  remember 
David,  and  all  his  afflictions."  David's 
anxiety  to  provide  for  the  becoming 
celebration  of  the  worship  of  God  is 
here  urged  with  God  on  behalf  of  his 
descendants.  And  as  we  seek  the 
Divine  blessing  we  may  surely  make 
mention  of  the  devotion  of  our  godly 
forefathers. 

2.  His  covenant  relation  with  our  pious 
ancestors  and  with  us,  *'For  Thy  servant 
David's  sake,  turn  not  away  the  face 
of  Thine  anointed."  Perowne  :  "  The 
anointed  here  must  be  Solomon,  or  some 
one  of  David's  descendants,  who  pleads 
David  and  the  promises  made  to  David 
as  a  reason  why  his  prayer  should  not  be 
rejected."     And  we  in  this  age  plead — 


"  God  of  our  fathers,  be  the  God 
Of  their  succeeding  race." 

God  will  ever  be  mindful  of  His 
covenant,  and  we  shall  do  well  to  en- 
courage ourselves  in  prayer  by  the  re- 
mciubrance  of  this. 

Conclusion. — To  build  churches  for 
the  seeking  of  tlie  manifestation  of  the 
Divine  Presence,  and  for  the  offeriiig  of 
humble  and  reverent  worship  to  the 
Divine  Being,  is  to  engage  in  a  work  of 
sacred  significance  and  great  importance. 
Churches  consecrated  to  such  purposes 
are  blessings  of  incalcuhible  worth  to 
society  ;  they  aid  the  spiritual  education 
and  growth  of  the  race  towards  perfec- 
tion; they  promote  in  a  high  degree  the 
wellbeing  of  man,  and  they  honour  the 
Lord  God. 


Blessings  on  the  Sanctuary. 


{Verses 
Notice  two  or  three  thoughts — 
I.  The  Temple  is  here  called  the 
place  of  rest,  or  the  abiding  place  of 
God.  "  Arise,  O  Lord,  into  Thy  rest," 
<fec.  The  words  mark  a  transition  from 
the  nomadic  condition  of  the  tribes  to 
the  compacted  life  of  the  nation,  and  a 
transfer  of  obligation  that  was  suited 
to  the  change.  In  the  free,  wild  life  of 
the  desert,  with  its  perpetual  migrations, 
the  Sacred  Tent  might  be  pitched  and 
struck  like  the  others.  But  when  the 
city  was  laid  out  for  man,  God  would 
have  His  honoured  house  chiefest  and 
costliest  of  all.  .  .  .  The  Christian 
dispensation,  although  it  is  a  dispensa- 
tion of  universality,  and  bases  all  its 
promises  and  sanctions  upon  the  fact  of 
spiritual  service,  has  not  annulled  the 
seemly  and  the  sacred  in  connection 
with  the  worship  of  God.  It  nowhere 
approves  the  idea  that  all  places  are 
equally  sacred,  or  that  God  has  ceased 
to  visit  Zion,  and  to  dwell  in  its  taber- 
nacles with  His  manifestations  of  peculiar 
regard.  If  you  want  to  know  whether 
God  can  manifest  His  Spirit  and  His 
power  in  connection  with  the  houses 
that  are  set  apart  for  Him,  you  have  but 
to  think  of  the  building  of  the  Temple. 
"It  seems  as  if  God  had  built  a  Solo- 
mon on  purpose  that  Solomon    might 


8,9.) 

build  a  house."  And  then,  underneath 
that,  how  all  inferior  forces  were  brought 
into  tribute  !  .  .  .  Has  not  the  Lord 
Himself  proclaimed  it, — "The  Lord 
loveth  the  gates  of  Zion  more  than  all 
the  dwellings  of  Jacob"? 

II.  The  Temple,  gorgeous  as  it  was, 
was  altogether  incomplete  and  value- 
less without  the  Ark.  In  all  ages  the 
Ark  in  the  Tem[)le  is  its  life.  Still  the 
quick  heart  within  the  man,  and  you 
will  have  the  stately  skeleton  soon. 
Withdraw  the  magic  vapour,  and  the 
wheels  whirr  no  longer,  and  the  most 
exquisite  contrivances  are  mute  and 
motionless  machinery.  Take  the  breath 
from  the  great  organ's  heart,  and  in  vain 
you  bid  it  discourse  its  harmonies.  And 
as  the  heart  to  the  man,  as  the  engine  to 
the  machinery,  and  the  breath  to  the 
instrument  of  sound,  so  is  the  Ark  to 
the  Temple,  because  it  is  the  symbol  of 
the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

There  is  no  age  that  needs  to  be  more 
impressed  with  this  truth  than  the  age 
in  which  we  live.  Our  organisations  are 
multiplied,  <fec.  We  are  too  apt  to  vaunt 
of  our  institutions,  of  our  efforts,  of  our 
sacrifices,  and  thus  damage  our  useful- 
ness fatally  by  putting  the  instrument 
in  the  place  of  the  power. 

III.  Look    at    the  other  blessings 

349 


PSALM  cxxxn.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


which  are  asked  for,  either  obviously  comprehensive  import,  and  it  includei 
or  hy  direct  implication  in  the  Psalm,  all  that  is  alleged  of  it  touching  the  puri- 
The  presence  of  God  is  the  chief,  the  fication  of  the  soul  before  God.  .  ,  • 
all-absorbing  object  of  desire  j  but  then  It  is,  in  fact,  Paul's  Thessalonian  sup- 
that  presence  is  manifested  by  the  diffu-  plication,  embodied  in  a  solemn  litany, 
sion  of  itself  in  blessing.  "  And  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify 

1.  The  Ark  of  God's  strength  in  the  you  wholly,"  &c.  (1  Thess.  v.  23).  If 
Temple  implies  that  God's  power  is  in  the  we  are  to  be  a  strong  church,  we  must 
Temple,  and  He  waits  to  exert  it  in  the  be  a  pure  church. 

"Word,  in  the  ministers*  appeals,  in  the  3.  The  third  blessing  that  is  asked  for 

people's  prayers.     God's  power  is  always  is  holy  joy  in  God,  which  has  its  founda- 

in  the  Temple  when  God's  presence  is  tion  in  oneness  with  God,  both  in  favour 

there.       Power   "  to    make    the   sinner  and  feeling,  and  which  has  its  outlet  in 

quail,'*  and  to  "  sound  the  unbelieving  the   appropriate    expressions  of  praise, 

heart ;"  power  to  send  healing  to  the  This  will,  indeed,  be  a  natural  result  of 

spirit  of  the  wounded ;  power  to  make  the  blessings  already  asked,  for  if  we 

the  selfish  bountiful,  <fec.  take  hold  of  God's   power,  and  if  we 

2.  The  prayer  proceeds  to  ask  that  reflect  God's  purity,  be  sure  we  shall 
the  priests  may  be  "  clothed  with  righte-  never  lack  materials  for  praise, 
ousness,"  which  is,  in  fact,  a  petition  for  I  cannot  dwell,  except  for  a  moment, 
universal  purity.  There  is  no  priest-  upon  the  beautiful  answer  which  the 
hood  now  except  the  priesthood  of  the  prayer  received  —  so  prompt,  so  gene- 
Saviour  in  heaven,  and  the  priesthood  rous,  so  full.  In  every  case  the  answer 
of  the  whole  community  of  the  faithful,  is  more  large  than  the  request.  The 
who  are  "  kings  and  priests  unto  God."  prayer  is  contained  in  the  first  ten  verses 
It  is  a  prayer,  therefore,  not  only  for  us  of  the  Psalm ;  in  the  eleventh  the  answer 
who  minister,  but  for  you  who  hearken,  begins.  It  is  worth  looking  at.  .  .  . 
that  we  may,  all  of  us,  be  robed  always,  Mark  the  ineffable  wealth  with  which 
robed  already,  in  the  new  linen,  clean  He  fulfils  the  promises  He  makes  to  His 
and  white,  in  which  the  saints  were  seen  people. —  W.  M,  Funshon,  LL,D^ 

in  heaven.      Righteousness  is  a  word  of 

Encouragements  for  Church- Builders. 

(Verses  11-18.) 

The  Psalmist,  for  the  encouragement  David,"  even  by  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord, 

of  the   people,  recalls  certain  promises  In  Him  the  promises  made  to  David 

which  were  made  to  David.     The  Lord  have  their  full  and  splendid  realisation, 

had  promised  him  that  the  government  Here,  in  this  section   of  the  Psalm, 

should  be  perpetuated  in  his  family  (2  are  promises  which  are  richly  fraught 

Sam.  vii.  12—16).     But  the  promise  was  with  encouragement  for  those  who  are 

conditional.     The  great  majority  of  the  engaged  in  the  building  of  churches,  or 

Divine   promises  are  so.      It  was  dis-  in  any  other  work  for  the  extension  of 

tinctly   intimated  to  David  that  if  the  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.    We  have  here 

conditions  were  not  fulfilled,  though  the  a  promise  of — 

promise  would  not  be  withdrawn,  yet  L  The  presence  of  God  in  His  Church. 

its  operation  would  be  suspended.     The  "  For  the  Lord  hath  chosen  Zion,"  (fee. 

descendants  of  David  failed  to  comply  (vers.  13,  14).     (See  Horn.  Com.  on  Ps. 

with  the  conditions;  they  violated  the  xlviii  1,  2  ;  and  Ixxvi.  2.) 

covenant;    and   the   sovereignty   for   a  1.  He  dwells  there  hy  JSis  own  choice. 

long  time  passed  away  from  the  house  "  The  Lord  hath  chosen  Zion  ;  He  hath 

of  David.     But  that  sovereignty  in  a  desired  it,"  <fec.     "I  have  desired  it" 

higher  form,  on  a  vastly  wider  scale,  Henstenberg   translates:   "He   has  se- 

and  with  more  glorious  significance,  was  lected  it  for  His  habitation.  ...  I  have 

resumed  by  "  the  Root  and  Offspring  of  selected  it."    God  dwells  in  the  Church, 
360 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXQ. 


not  because  of  the  excellence  or  worthi- 
ness of  the  members  thereof,  but  because 
of  His  own  good  pleasure. 

2.  He  dwells  there  per2)etually»  "This 
is  My  rest  for  ever."  "Shiloh,"  says 
Perowne,  "  bad  been  abandoned ;  for  a 
time  the  Ark  was  at  Bethel  (Judg.  xx. 
27) ;  then  at  Mizpah  (Judg.  xxi.  5); 
afterwards,  for  twenty  years,  at  Kirjath- 
jearim  (1  Sam.  vii  2)  ;  and  then  for 
three  months  in  the  house  of  Obed-Edom, 
before  it  was  finally  brought  to  its  last 
resting-place.'*  The  Ark  and  the  Temple 
have  long  since  passed  from  Zion;  but 
this  Divine  assurance  finds  its  fulfilment 
in  the  Christian  Church.  In  the  darkest 
days  of  her  history  His  presence  has  not 
been  withdrawn  ;  nor  will  He  ever  with- 
draw from  His  Church.  Here  then  is  a 
most  inspiring  assurance  for  all  who  are 
interested  in  His  Church.  Here  is  con- 
solation for  Christians  in  the  dark  and 
stormy  day.  Here  also  is  inspiration 
for  the  Christian  worker. 

II.  The  blessing  of  God  in  His 
Church. 

1.  His  blessing  as  an  accompaniment 
of  her  ordinances.  "  I  will  abundantly 
bless  her  provision ;  I  will  satisfy  her 
poor  with  bread."  M.  Henry  interprets 
this  as  provision  for  both  body  and 
soul,  and  applies  it  to  both  "  the  poor 
of  this  world  "  and  "  the  poor  in  spirit. '* 
And  Barnes  says  :  **  A  strong  affirma- 
tion, meaning  that  He  would  do  it  in 
every  way ;  that  every  needed  blessing 
would  be  imparted ;  that  God  would 
provide  abundantly  for  their  support." 
But  it  seems  to  us  to  refer  to  spiritual 
provision.  God  by  His  blessing  will 
vitalise  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  ; 
He  will  make  her  services  means  of 
grace  indeed  to  His  people, — channels 
by  which  pardon  shall  flow  to  the  guilty, 
comfort  to  the  mourner,  strength  to  the 
weak,  holiness  to  those  who  long  for  it, 
&c. 

2.  His  blessing  upon  her  ministers, 
"I  will  also  clothe  her  priests  with 
salvation.**  This  is  an  assurance  that 
the  petition  in  verse  9  should  be  granted. 
(See  on  that  verse.)  Perhaps  the 
change  of  the  word  "righteousness" 
for  "  salvation  **  is  meant  to  indicate  that 
God  will  not  only  bless  them  with  holi- 


ness of  heart  and  life,  but  also  make 
them  instrumental  in  saving  souls.  Use- 
fulness is  a  result  of  holiness. 

3.  His  blessing  upon  her  members, 
"And  her  saints  shall  shout  aloud  for 
joy."  This  also  is  a  promise  that  the  peti- 
tion inverse  9  should  be  granted.  (See  on 
that  verse.)  M.  Henry  :  "  It  was  desired 
that  the  saints  might  shout  for  Joy ;  it 
is  promised  that  they  shall  shout  aloud 
for  Joy.  God  gives  more  than  we  ask, 
and  when  He  gives  salvation  He  will 
give  an  abundant  joy."  Here  then  is 
encouragement,  (fee. 

III.  The  triumph  and  glory  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church.  "  There  will  I 
make  the  horn  of  David  to  bud,"  <fec. 
(vers.  17,  18).  David  is  here  put  for 
the  house  of  David.  And  we  must 
look  to  the  Christ  for  the  complete  ful- 
filment of  these  promises.  The  horn  is 
the  symbol  of  power.  To  "  make  the 
horn  to  bud  "  is  to  make  it  shoot  forth 
and  grow.  In  Christ  God  "  raised  up  an 
horn  of  salvation  in  the  house  of  His 
servant  David."  He  is  "  mighty  to 
save."    We  have  here  an  assurance  of — 

1.  The  subjugation  of  His  enemies, 
"  His  enemies  will  I  clothe  with  shame." 
God  will  frustrate  their  deepest  designs, 
and  overthrow  their  mightiest  forces. 
"  He  must  reign  till  He  hath  put  all 
enemies  under  His  feet." 

2.  The  success  and  glory  of  His  reign, 
"  I  have  ordained  a  lamp  for  Mine 
Anointed."  (On  the  application  of  this 
to  David,  comp.  1  Kings  xi.  36.)  But 
the  lamp  is  frequently  used  in  the 
Scripture  as  an  emblem  of  prosperity. 
And  so  we  regard  it  here  in  its  applica- 
tion to  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord.  We 
have  the  same  idea  in  the  last  clause  of 
tne  Psalm :  "  Upon  Himself  shall  His 
crown  flourish,"  or  blossom.  The  glory 
of  the  Redeemer's  crown  shall  never 
fade  j  amaranthine  are  the  flowers  which 
adorn  His  brow. 

**0'er  every  foe  victorious, 

He  on  His  throne  shall  resti 
Prom  age  to  age  more  glorious 

All-blessing  and  all-blest; 
The  tide  of  time  shall  never 

His  covenant  remove ; 
His  name  shall  stand  for  everi 

That  name  to  us  is — Love.** 

— MontgomsPf, 
351 


psALu  cxxxn. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Conclusion. — 1.  Here  is  warning  to 
the  enemies  of  the  Lord.  If  you  persist 
in  your  opposition  to  Him  He  will 
clothe  you  with  shame,  and  crush  you 
by  His  power.  2.  Here  is  exhortation 
to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord.  Submit 
yourselves  to  Him,  ere  His  anger  wax 
hot  against  you.     3.  Here  is  amplest  en- 


couragement  to  His  people^  and  especially 
to  those  who  heartily  labour  in  His  cause. 
According  to  His  promise  He  is  ever 
present  to  enrich  His  Church  with  grace 
and  power  :  and  all  who  labour  for  the 
extension  of  His  kingdom  will  find  in 
the  end  their  labour  crowned  with  com- 
plete and  glorious  success. 


The  Song  of  the  Builders, 
{The  whole  Psalm.) 


Our  Psalm  has  been  universally  and 
wisely  applied  to  the  Church  of  these 
Christian  days,  and  its  invocations  and 
promises  claimed  as  expressive  of  the 
desires  and  confidences  of  Christian 
people  in  their  work  for  God.  We  are 
God's  building,  and  we  are  God's 
builders  too.  The  Psalm  is  full  of 
strength  and  encouragement  for  us  in 
both  characters.  .  .  .  We  may  call  it 
the  Song  of  the  Builders.  .  .  .  For  our 
present  purpose  it  will  be  most  con- 
venient to  divide  the  whole  into  three 
sections,  in  tlie  first  of  which,  extending 
to  the  close  of  the  seventh  verse,  the 
Church  pleads  with  God  the  many 
thoughts  and  long  toil  that  had  laid  the 
foundation  for  His  house. 

I.  Let  us  gather  from  this  portion 
some  lessons  touching  preparatory 
work.  '*  Lord,  remember  David,  and 
all  his  afilictions."  The  Psalmist  looks 
upon  the  fair  dwelling,  reared  at  last  for 
God,  and  goes  back  in  thought  to  the 
days  when  the  design  thus  happily  ac- 
complished was  first  conceived.  It  was 
David's  thought  which  was  the  parent 
of  this  holy  and  beautiful  house,  though 
Solomon  was  its  builder ;  and  his  name 
springs  first  to  the  singer's  lips.  .  .  . 
Not  the  toil  of  hand  and  arm  which  car- 
ries out,  but  the  mind  which  conceives 
the  plan  is  its  true  author.  ''  Lord, 
remember  Davids  Look  at  the  picture 
which  is  given  of  the  aged  king  setting 
himself  to  his  task.  (Conip.  2  Sam.  vii.  1 
and  2  with  vers.  3  and  4  of  the  Psalm). 
He  was  an  old  man  now,  wearied  with 
"  all  his  afflictions,"  &c.  And  he  had 
the  other  excuse  for  repose  that  he  had 
done  much  work,  as  well  as  suffered 
many  changes.  .  .  .  But  not  so  does  a 
true  man  think.  ...  He  will  put  his 
352 


own  comfort  second,  God's  service  first. 
The  picture  may  be  a  rebuke  to  the 
slothfulness  of  us  all,  &c.  But  it  should 
come  with  a  special  message  to  men  and 
women  of  comparative  leisure  and  free- 
dom from  corroding  frets  and  consuming 
toils,  whose  lives  are  only  too  apt  to  be 
frittered  away  in  triflies  and  dissolved  in 
languid  idleness,  or  corrupted  by  self- 
indulgence.  To  such  the  lesson  from 
that  picture  of  the  old  soldier-king  is, 
Brace  yourselves  for  continuous  ser- 
vice, (fee. 

Notice,  too,  that  David's  devotedness 
does  make  a  plea  with  God.  The  prayer 
goes  upon  the  supposition  that  his  toil 
and  self-sacrifice  will  not,  cannot,  be  all 
in  vain.  And  the  prayer  is  answered. 
God  does  not  require  perfect  faithful- 
ness in  us  ere  He  blesses  us  with  His 
smile ;  He  does  not  need  that  the 
temple  shall  be  all  complete  ere  He  enters 
in.  He  receives,  and  pardons,  and 
loves  an  imperfect  faith  ;  a  wandering 
heart  He  still  blesses  and  welcomes; 
stained  services,  in  which  much  of  the 
leaven  of  earthly  motives  may  be  fer- 
menting, and  many  a  taint  of  sloth  and 
selfishness  may  be  found,  are  not  there- 
fore rejected  of  Him.  | 

And  consider,  too,  how  God's  remem-  ' 
hrance  of  such  preparatory  ivork  is  shown. 
David  saw  no  result  from  all  his  toils  to 
build  the  Temple.  He  got  together  the 
great  store,  but  it  was  reserved  for 
another  to  mould  it  into  completeness, 
and  to  see  the  cloud  of  glory  fill  the 
house.  But  none  the  less  was  it  true 
that  God  remembered  David,  and  ac- 
cepted and  crowned  his  work.  We  all 
receive  unfinished  tasks  from  those  who 
go  before ;  we  all  transmit  unfinished 
tasks  to  them  who   come   after.     Ouf 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oxxxn. 


vocation  is  to  advance  a  little  the 
dominion  of  God*s  truth,  and  to  be  one 
of  the  long  line  who  pass  on  the  torch 
from  hand  to  hand.  "  One  soweth  and 
another  reapeth,'*  <fec.  You  may  never 
see  the  issues  of  your  toils.  If  you  can 
see  them,  they  will  genenilly  not  be 
worth  looking  at.  We  work  for  eter- 
nity. We  may  well  wait  for  the  scaffold- 
ing to  be  taken  away. 

II.  The  prayer  for  God's  blessing  on 
the  builders'  work  (vers.  8-10).  Pic- 
ture to  yourselves  the  moment.  The 
Tem[>le  is  finished,  shining  in  its  new 
beauty  on  its  hill  top.  (See  2  Chron. 
v.— vii.)  The  Psalmist  asks  first  that  God 
would  dwell  in  the  completed  Temple, 
and  that  the  symbol  of  His  presence 
may  now  at  last,  after  so  many  wander- 
ings, rest  there,  &c. 

May  we  not,  from  all  this,  draw  needful 
lessons  for  ourselves  *?  And  first,  as  to  the 
one  great  blessing  which  all  builders  for 
Go'l  should  desire.  The  Temple  may  be 
finished.  But  something  more  is  needed. 
Not  till  the  Ark  is  in  the  Holiest  of  all, 
and  the  cloud  of  glory  fills  the  house 
could  they  say,  "  It  is  finished."  The 
lesson  is  of  everlasting  importance.  We 
need  to  guard  ourselves  most  jealously 
lest  we  come  to  put  the  instrument  in 
the  pliice  of  the  power.  You  may  per- 
fect your  machinery,  but  all  its  nicely- 
fitting  parts  stand  motionless — a  dead 
weight ;  and  not  a  spindle  whirrs  till 
the  strong  impulse,  born  of  fire,  rushes 
in.  .  .  .  When  we  have  done  all,  we 
have  to  pray,  "  Arise,  O  Lord,  into  Thy 
rest,"  &c. 

That  presence  will  surely  be  given,  if 
we  desire  it. 

And  that  presence  is  all  which  we 
need  to  make  ourselves  strong  and  our 
Work  effectual. 

From  this  fundamental  petition  all 
the  other  clauses  of  the  prayer  flow.  I 
can  only  glance  hastily  at  them. 

There   is    first    power — **  The  ark  of 


Thy  strength.^*  They  in  whom  God 
dwells  will  be  strong.  .  .  .  There  is  next 
righteousness,  with  which  the  Psalmist 
prajs  that  the  priests  may  be  clothed. 
In  the  new  Israel  all  the  people  are 
priests.  Righteousness  is  to  be  the  robe 
of  every  Christian  soul.  .  .  .  Thank 
G(^d  for  that  '*  fine  linen,  clean  and 
white,  the  righteousness"  with  which 
Christ  covers  our  wounded  nakedness. 
Remember  that  growing  purity  in  life 
and  deed  is  the  main  proof  that  Christ's 
righteousness  is  indeed  ours.  If  we  are 
to  do  God's  work  in  the  world  we  must 
be  good,  true,  righteous  men.  .  .  . 
Further,  the  prayer  desires  that  glad- 
ness from  God's  presence  and  the  pos- 
session of  His  righteousness  may  burst 
into  the  shout  of  praise.  All  true  re- 
ligion is  joyful.  .  .  .  Finally,  the  Psalmist 
prays  that  the  king  of  Israel  and  his 
people  with  him  may  be  heard  and  ac- 
cepted when  they  pray.  Such  are  his  de- 
sires for  his  nation.  What  do  we  desire 
most  for  onr  brethren,  and  for  ourselves  1 

III.  The  Divine  answer,  which  more 
than  fulfils  the  Psalmist's  desires 
(vers.  11-18).  Throughout  these  verses 
there  is  constant  allusion  to  the  preced- 
ing petitions.  The  shape  of  the  response 
is  determined  by  the  form  of  the  desires. 
(Comp.  ver.  2  with  ver.  11,  and  ver.  5 
with  ver.  13).  Not  in  us,  but  in  Him, 
lies  the  motive  for  His  grace,  and  so  it 
can  never  change. 

Then,  notice,  that  each  single  petition 
is  enlarged  in  the  answer  to  something 
much  greater  than  itself.  (Comp.  ver. 
8  with  vers.  14,  15  ;  ver  9  with  ver.  16  ; 
and  ver.  10  with  vers.  17,  18.)  Put 
this  in  its  widest  form,  and  what  does  it 
come  to  but  that  great  law  of  His  grace 
by  which  He  over-answers  all  our  poor 
desires,  and,  giving  us  more  than  we  had 
expected,  shames  us  out  of  our  distrust  ? 
And  the  law  holds  for  us  in  all  our 
works  and  in  all  our  prayers. — A,  Ma<^ 
lareiif  D.D, 


L  God's  delight  in  Zion. 

1.  There  He  dispensed  His   ordi- 
nances. 

VOL.  II. 


ZioN  A  Type  of  the  Church. 
{Verses  13-16.) 

2.  There  He  vouchsafed  His  presence. 

3.  There    he     communicated    His 

blessings. 

a  353 


PSALM  oxxxnL 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


II.  God's  promises  to  Zion. 

1.  In  respect  to  its  institutions, 

2.  In  respect  to  its  ministers. 

3.  In  respect  to  all  its  worship- 
pers. 


Infer — 

(1.)    That   formalists   do   not    really 

belong  to  the  Church.  (2.)  That 
the  Church  cannot  be  overthrown.  (3.) 
That  Christians  are  bound  to  serve  and 
honour  God. — George  Brooks, 


PSALM   CXXXIIL 

Introduction. 

In  the  superscription  this  Psalm  is  attributed  to  David.  It  has  been  thought  by  some  that 
it  was  composed  on  the  occasion  of  the  coming  of  the  elders  of  Israel  to  Hebron  to  anoint  hiii 
king  over  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  (2  Sam.  v.  1-3  ;  1  Chron.  xii.  38-40).  Others  have  opined 
that  the  assembling  of  the  people  in  great  multitudes  at  Zion  to  celebrate  the  great  religious 
festivals  gave  rise  to  the  Psalm.  But  it  is  impossible  to  come  to  any  certain  conclusion  as  to 
the  date  or  occasion  of  its  composition. 

Herder  says  that  this  Psalm  "  has  the  fragrance  of  a  lovely  rose;"  and  Perowne  :  "  Nowhera 
has  the  nature  of  true  unity — that  unity  which  binds  men  together,  not  by  artificial  restraints, 
but  as  brethren  of  one  heart — been  more  faithfully  described  ;  nowhere  has  it  been  so  gracefully 
illustrated,  as  in  this  short  ode.  True  concord  is,  we  are  here  taught,  a  holy  thing,  a  sacred 
oil,  a  rich  perfume  which,  flowing  down  from  the  head  to  the  beard,  from  the  beard  to  tho 
garments,  sanctifies  the  whole  body.  It  is  a  sweet  morning  dew,  which  lights  not  only  on 
the  lofty  mountain -peaks,  but  on  the  lesser  hills,  embracing  all,  and  refreshing  all  with  ita 
influence." 

The  Excellence  and  Beauty  of  Fraternal  Unity. 


By  unity  we  do  not  mean  uniformity, 
or  the  harmony  which  is  brought  about 
by  regulations  and  restrictions.     We  are 
unable   to    discover   any  beauty  worth 
speaking  of  in  the  unity  which  is  the 
result  of  artificial  and  mechanical    ar- 
rangements.    It  is  the  unity  of  life  and 
activity  and  variety  which  is  here  cele- 
brated.      Uniformity    is    monotonous, 
wearisome  ;  but  unity  is  refreshing  and 
beautiful.     The  only  unity  worth  con- 
tending for  is  **  the  unity  of  the  Spirit." 
We  have  seen   an    orchestra   with  five 
thousand  musicians  and  singers  playing 
and  singing  magnificent  choruses  with 
the  most  inviolate  and  enrapturing  har- 
mony.    There  was  a  great  diversity  of 
instruments,    and    of    performers    upon 
them,    and   of    voices,   yet  there  was  a 
sublime  and  splendid  unity.      Unity  of 
spirit  and  aim  it  is  that  is  insisted  upon 
In  the  Scriptures.     (See  Eph.  iv,  1-16.) 
The  Psalmist  sets  before  us — 
I.  The    propriety    of   this    unity. 
**  Behold  how  good  and  pleasant  it  is 
for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 
Those    who    form    part   of  one   family, 
should  surely  live  together  in  peace  and 
harmony.      All   mankind   are   children 
of  one  father,  and  are   "  made  of  one 
354 


blood,"  and  should  therefore  live  In 
peace  and  harmony.  The  words  of 
Abram  to  Lot  are  applicable  between 
man  and  man  all  the  world  over  :  *'  Let 
there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  between 
me  and  thee;  for  we  be  brethren." 
"  He  that  soweth  discord  among  breth- 
ren" is  "an  abomination  unto  the 
Lord."  This  unity  is  specially  binding 
upon  and  appropriate  amongst  Christian 
brethren.  Barnes  :  "  They  are  redeemed 
by  the  same  Saviour  ;  they  serve  the 
same  Master ;  they  cherish  the  same 
hope ;  they  are  looking  forward  to  the 
same  heaven  ;  they  are  subject  to  the 
same  trials,  temptations,  and  sorrows ; 
they  have  the  same  precious  consolations. 
There  is,  therefore,  the  beauty,  the 
*  goodness,'  the  *  pleasantness  *  of  obvious 
fitness  and  propriety  in  their  dwelling 
together  in  unity." 

II.  The  comprehensiveness  of  this 
unity.  Perowne  holds  that  it  is  this 
which  the  poet  intends  to  set  forth  by 
the  figures  of  the  anointing  oil  and  the 
dew.  He  says,  **  The  first  figure  is  taken 
from  the  oil  which  was  poured  on  the 
head  of  the  high  priest  at  his  consecra- 
tion (Exod.  xxix.  7 ;  Lev.  viii.  12,  xxL 
10).     The  point  of  the  comparison  does 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


FSALM  czxxm. 


not  lie  in  the  preciousness  of  the  oil,  or 
in  its  all-pervading  fragrance;  but  in 
this,  that  being  poured  on  the  head,  it 
did  not  rest  there,  but  flowed  to  the 
beard,  and  descended  even  to  the  gar- 
ments, and  thus,  as  it  were,  consecrated 
the  whole  body  in  all  its  parts.  All  the 
members  participate  in  the  same  bless- 
ing. (Comp.  1  Cor.  xii.)  This  is  the 
point  of  the  comparison.  ...  If,  as  is 
commonly  assumed,  the  point  of  com- 
parison lay  in  the  all-pervading  fragrance 
of  the  oil,  the  addition  to  the  figure, 
which  descended  upon  the  beard  .  .  . 
which  descended  to  the  edge  of  his  gar- 
ments,  would  be  thrown  away.  But 
understand  this  as  typifying  the  conse- 
cration of  the  whole  man,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  the  figure  at  once  becomes  appro- 
priate, and  full  of  meaning."  Luther 
remarks  : — *'  In  that  he  saith  '  from  the 
head,*  he  ahoweth  the  nature  of  true  con- 
cord. For  like  as  the  ointment  ran 
down  from  the  head  of  Aaron,  the  high 
priest,  upon  his  beard,  and  so  descended 
unto  the  borders  of  his  garment,  even  so 
true  concord  in  doctrine  and  brotherly 
love  floweth  as  a  precious  ointment,  by 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  from  Christ,  the 
High  Priest  and  Head  of  the  Church, 
unto  all  the  members  of  the  same.  For 
by  the  beard  and  extreme  parts  of  the 
garment,  he  signifieth  that  as  far  as  the 
Church  reacheth,  so  far  spreadeth  the 
unity  which  floweth  from  Christ,  her 
Head."  Perowne  holds  that  in  the 
figure  of  the  dew,  the  same  idea  is  con- 
spicuous. "Here,  again,  it  is  not  the 
refreshing  nature  of  the  dew,  nor  its 
gentle,  all-pervading  influence,  which  is 
the  prominent  feature.  That  which 
renders  it  to  the  poet's  eye  so  striking 
an  image  of  brotherly  concord,  is  the 
fact  that  it  falls  alike  on  both  moun- 
tains :  that  the  same  dew  which  descends 
on  the  lofty  Herraon  descends  also  on 
the  humbler  Zion.  High  and  low  drink 
in  the  same  sweet  refreshment.  Thus 
the  image  is  exactly  parallel  to  the 
last;  the  oil  descends  from  the  head 
to  the  beard,  the  dew  from  the  higher 
mountain  to  the  lower." 

IIL  The  joyousness  of  this  unity. 
Anointing  with  oil  was  practised  by 
the  Jews  on  occasions  of  rejoicing  and 


festivity.  From  this  custom  it  became 
an  emblem  of  prosperity  and  gladness. 
(Comp.  Ps.  xxiii.  5,  and  Isa.  ixi.  3.) 
As  Perowne  thinks  that  the  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  unity  is  the  chief  feature 
in  the  comparison,  so  Barnes  regards 
the  joyousness  of  the  unity.  He  says, 
"  There  is  no  other  resemblance  between 
the  idea  of  anointing  with  oil  and  that 
of  harmony  among  brethren  than  this 
which  is  derived  from  the  gladness — 
the  joyousness — connected  with  such  an 
anointing.  The  Psalmist  wished  to  give 
the  highest  idea  of  the  pleasantness  of 
such  harmony ;  and  he,  therefore,  com- 
pared it  with  that  which  was  most  beau- 
tiful to  a  pious  mind  —  the  idea  of  a 
solemn  consecration  to  the  highest  office 
of  religion."  Discord  and  strife  are 
painful  things;  peace  and  concord  are 
delightful. 

IV.  The  influence  of  this  unity. 
This  is  represented  as — 

1.  Delightful.  The  anointing  oil  was 
beautifully  perfumed,  and,  when  it  was 
poured  forth,  it  difi'used  its  fragrant 
odours  to  the  great  delight  of  all  who 
were  near.  Unity  is  not  only  good  and 
pleasant  in  itself,  but  it  agreeably  affects 
all  who  behold  it.  When  the  world 
beholds  a  truly  united  Church,  it  will 
speedily  be  won  to  Christ.  (John  xvii.  21.) 

2.  Gentle.  "As  the  dew."  Quiet, 
yet  most  mighty,  is  the  influence  of 
unity.  We  may  apply  to  it  the  words 
of  Tennyson — 

**  Right  to  the  heart  and  brain,  though  unde- 

scried, 
Winning  its  way  with  extreme  gentleness 
Through   all    the    outworks  of    suspicious 

pride." 

3.  Refreshing.  "  As  the  dew."  In 
eastern  climes,  because  of  its  refreshing 
effiects  upon  vegetation,  the  dew  is  ines- 
timably precious.  So  unity  cheers  and 
invigorates  the  heart. 

4.  Powerful.  "Union  is  strength." 
**  A  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken." 
'*  Separate  the  atoms  which  make  the 
hammer,  and  each  would  fall  on  the 
stone  as  a  snowflake ;  but  welded  into 
one,  and  wielded  by  the  firm  arm  of  the 
quarry  man,  it  will  break  the  massive 
rocks  asunder.  Divide  the  waters  of 
Niagara   into   distinct   and    individual 

355 


PSALM  OXXXIT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


drops,  and  they  v»ould  be  no  more  than 
the  falling  rain ;  but,  in  their  united 
body,  they  would  quench  the  fires  of 
Vesuvius,  and  have  some  to  spare  for 
the  volcanoes  of  other  mountains." — Dr, 
Guthrie. 
6.  Securing  the  Divine  blessing.  Where 


true  brotherly  unity  is,  "  the  Lord  com- 
mands the  blessing,  life  for  evermore." 
A  life  of  }'eace  and  love  is  Divine  and 
everlasting. 

Conclusion.  —  "  Behold,  how  good 
and  pleasant  it  is,"  &c.  1.  Behold,  and 
admire.     2.  Behold,  and  imitate. 


Christian  Union. 
{Verse  1.) 


Christian  union  is  my  theme  on  this 
occasion.  Christian  union — not  simply 
the  union  which  should  prevuil  among 
the  members  of  any  particular  denomi- 
nation of  Christians,  but  the  love  and 
unity  which  ought  to  exist  among  all 
the  real  people  of  God. 

I.  Its  nature. 

1.  Unity  in  sentiment. 

2.  Union  of  feeling. 

3.  Union  of  effort. 

II.  The  desirableness,  or  importance, 
of  Christian  union. 


1.  The  teachings  of  Scripture, 

2.  The  example  of  the  early  Christiana, 

3.  The  evils  of  division. 

4.  Christians  are  engaged  in  the  sam4 
cause. 

5.  Union  is  strength. 

6.  Union  is  promotive  of  happiness, 

7.  It  is  only  hy  the  exercise  of  that  love, 
which  is  the  substratum  of  union,  that 
one  can  resemble  God  and  become  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  heaven.  —  W.  C-  Whit" 
comb,  in  "  Tlie  Preachers^  Treasury," 


PSALM     CXXXIV. 

Introduction. 

"  Three  things,"  eayg  Delitzsch,  *'  are  clear  with  regard  to  this  Psalm.  First,  that  it  con- 
sists of  a  greeting,  verses  1,  2,  and  a  reply,  verse  3.  Next,  that  the  greeting  is  addressed  to 
those  priests  and  Levites  who  had  the  night-watch  in  the  Temple.  Lastly,  tliat  this  Psalm  is 
purposely  placed  at  the  end  of  the  collection  of  Pilgrim  Songs  in  order  to  take  the  place  of  a 
final  blessing."  The  words  of  verses  1  and  2  were  probably  addressed  by  the  people  to  the  priests 
and  Levites,  and  those  of  verse  3  by  the  priests  to  the  people.  Both  the  author  of  the  Psalm 
and  the  occasion  of  its  composition  are  unknown. 

DOXOLOGY    AND    BENEDICTION. 


I.  Doxology.  In  verses  1  and  2  the 
people  exhort  the  priests  and  Levites  to 
praise  the  Lord.      Consider — 

1.  The  offering  to  be  presented,  "Be- 
hold, bless  ye  the  Lord."  The  ministers 
of  the  Temple  are  called  to  offer  the 
sacrilice  of  thanksgiving  unto  the  Lord. 
Here  are  two  points.  (1.)  The  nature 
of  this  offering.  Praise.  "  Bless  ye  the 
Lord.'*  This  should  be  presented  (a) 
because  of  what  He  does  for  us.  Grati- 
tude urges — "  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul, 
and  forget  not  all  His  benefits."  And 
(b)  because  of  what  He  is  in  Himself. 
He  is  "  glorious  in  holiness."  Admira- 
tion and  reverence  urge  us  to  "Bless  His 
holy  Name."  (2.)  The  importance  of 
this  offering.  "  Behold."  This  word 
35G 


calls  attention  to  the  exhortation  which 
follows  as  a  thing  of  importance  and 
urgency.  Worship  is  an  engagement  of 
the  utmost  moment  to  man.  The  obli- 
gations to  it  are  most  binding.  And 
the  exercise  of  it  is  essential  to  the  right 
development  and  to  the  perfection  of  the 
human  spirit. 

2.  TJie  persons  by  whom  it  is  to  be 
offered.  *'  All  ye  servants  of  the  Lord, 
which  by  night  stand  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord."  The  priests  and  Levites  are 
here  addressed.  But  in  this  Christian 
dispensation  priesthood  is  a  thing  of 
character,  not  of  class.  Every  believing 
and  reverent  soul  is  a  priest  unto  God 
by  virtue  of  the  highest  and  holiest  con- 
secration.    Every  Christian  is  exhorted 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS.  psalm  oxxxy. 


to     offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  made  heaven  and  earth  bless  thee  out  of 
continually,  that  is  the  fruit  of  lips  giv-  Zioii."    Thi«  benediction  is  taken  in  part 
ing  thanks  to  His  Name."  from   ti.e   form   used  by  the  high  priest 
ic  -p  •        i  ^T^  S^        ""    ^^  ^*  ^^  *^  '''^^''^^-  ^''  blessing  the  children  of  Israel      This 
13y  night.       Some  of  the  ministers  of  accounts  for   the  use    of   the    sincrular 
the  Temple  were  m  attendance  there  all  'Uhee^'  not  the  plural,  you      Notice- 
night.     (Compare  Exod.  xxvii.  20,  21 ;  1.   The  power  of  God  to  bless.     "  The 
1   Obron.  ix.   33.)     They  were  there  to  Lord  that  made  heaven  and  earth  "  is 
guard  the  sacred  and  precious  things  of  omnipotent.     He  -  is  able  to  do  exceed- 
the  iemple,  and  to  keep  the  lamps  alight  ing  abundaritly,"  &c 
aiid   the    fire    upon    the    altar   burning.  2.   The  means    hy  wJdch    God  blesses 
Hengstenberg    thmks    that    when    the  man,      "Bless  thee  out  of  Zion  "     God 
Pilgrim  bands  arrived  at  the  Temple  in  blesses  the  world  through  the  Church 
the  evening  they  addressed  this  exhort^i-  He  employs  the  Church  in  communicat- 
tion  to  the  servants  of  the  Lord.     The  ing  spiritual  blessings  to  mankind 
rest  and  quiet  of  the   night  render  it  a  3.   The  authority  of  the  servants  of  God 
suitable  season  for  praising  God.    When  to  pronounce  IJis  blessing.     The  poet  re- 
the  duties  of  the  day  are  done,  and  its  presents  the  priests  as  authoritatively  pro- 
busy  and  confused  noises  are  silenced,  nouncing  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the 
the  soul  may  be  lifted  up  in  adoration  to  people.     And  the  ministers  of  the  Lord 
God  ^vlthout  interruption.  Jesus  Chri.t  still  possess  this  authority. 
4.   Ihe  place  towards  which  it  is  to  he  not  because  they  are  priests,  but  because 
ofered.     ';  Lift  up   your    hands  in  the  they   are    Christians.     Every   Christian 
sanctuary         Margin  :     '*in    holiness.;  has  the  right  to  pronounce  the  benedic- 
Hengstenberg  and  Perowne  regard  ^-\p  tion  of  God  upon  devout  worshippers ; 
as  "  the  accusative  of   direction,"  and  and  the  minister  of  Christ  has  this  right 
translate,    "  to    the    sanctuary."       The  not  only  as   being  himself  a  Christian, 
most  holy  place   was   regarded    as    the  but  as  the  representative  of  the  Church! 
audience-chamber   of   the    Most    High,  Conclusion.— Here  are  two  of   the 
the  place  where   God   hears  prayer,  and  highest  privileges  to  which  any  created 
whence    He    communicates   answers    to  spirit  can  aspire.     Through   Christ  we 
His  people.     The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  "lay  draw  near  to  the  great  God  with 
the  true  Shekinah  and  Holy  of  Holies.  ascriptions  of  honour  and  praise,  being 
We  draw  near  unto  God  through  Him.  confident  of  audience,   acceptance,  and 
He  is  the  meeting-place  between  God  blessing.     And  by  our  voice  the  Divine 
and  man.      Thus,  then,  let  us  off'er  to  blessing  may  be    conveyed  to   the    ear 
God  the  sacrifice  of  praise  from  grateful  and  heart  of  our  fellow-men.     Let  us 
and  adoring  hearts.  endeavour   to  live  in  the  grateful  and 
II.  Benediction.      "  The   Lord   that  reverent  exercise  of  these  privileges. 

PSALM    CXXXV. 
Introduction. 

*.««,r!iT*  ^^?.r^?,r  ^^f  Hengstenberg,  "  a  group  of  twelve  Psalms,  Bung  after  the  prosperoM 
completion  of  the  Temple,  and  probably  at  its  dedication,  consisting  of  thrern«^  Psalms  at 
David  ^'°"'"Sn'"-'r  ''  '^'  '^''  ?f-  ,«^l-i-. -l^ich  enclose  in  the  middle  ^ght  Psalms  o 
than  th^t'i;  whic^h    h^  T  °l"''  f""'^^"  ^"'  *^?  appropriation  of  this  Davidic  cycle  of  Psalms 
^.^^vZa        T;         1      ^■^y^^^<i  stem  was,  poorly  enough,  represented  by  Zerubbabel    wliose 

faTa  firme"  ^dlet'r  fJd  T'fr'l  ''^  ^''^'''''  ''''^^'  P^^^«^'  H^^^'  and  Zechariah   to 
^    nH.T,  J  r  *?  u  n  1  "J",  ^l'.'  "^^  promises  given  to  the  race  of  David." 

i  his  IS  one  of  the  Hallelujah  Psalms  ;  it  was  intended  for  use  in  the  Temple  service  •  it  ia 
Z:^:  ^^^WV^^^^^^^  ''  exhortations  to  praise  Jehovah,  wXreasons  for  s^^^ 

wor  hi^     both  an^d^^l    ?.    'I  '''"°''"  '''}\  ^^'^  preceding  one.     Both  are  exhortations  to 

rstrhtrrXlai:^^  :^:^-  -^^-^  ^  ^^«  ^-^-^  -^  -  ^-w  !:st; 

367 


PSALM  OXXXT. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


Incitements  to  Praise  the  Lord. 
(Verses  1-7.) 


In  this  strophe  we  have  a  fervent  ex- 
hortation to  celebrate  the  praise  of  God, 
supported  by  weighty  motives  to  do  so. 
Consider — 

I.  The  persons  to  whom  this  exhor- 
tation is  addressed.  **  Praise  ye  the 
Lord.  Praise  ye  the  Name  of  the  Lord," 
&c.  (vers.  1,  2).  (See  the  Horn.  Com, 
on  Ps.  cxxxiv.  \.)  The  exhortation  is 
addressed  "to  the  Levites  who  sang 
psalms  and  played  on  the  different  musi- 
cal instruments  which  were  used  in  the 
service  of  God,  and  to  the  priests  who 
blew  with  the  trumpets  and  repeated  the 
liturgical  prayers  and  the  blessings."  In 
this  age  we  have  no  priestly  class,  for  all 
Christians  are  priests,  and  the  exhorta- 
tion of  the  text  is  applicable  to  all  Chris- 
tians. Two  characteristics  of  those  to 
whom  it  is  addressed  are  here  specified — 

1.  They  have  access  to  God.  They 
"  stand  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  in  the 
courts  of  the  house  of  our  God."  Every 
believer  in  Jesus  Christ  may  '*  enter  into 
the  holiest  by  His  blood."  *' Through 
Him  we  have  access  unto  the  Father." 

2.  They  serve  God.  "  Servants  of  the 
Lord,  that  stand  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord."  They  stand  ministering  in  His 
Temple.  They  wait  His  behests,  and 
then  hasten  to  obey  them.  The  Chris- 
tian looks  to  Christ  not  only  as  a  Savi- 
our to  be  trusted,  but  as  a  Sovereign  to 
be  obeyed.  They  who  are  thus  admitted 
into  the  presence  and  service  of  God  are 
under  special  obligations  to  praise  Him. 

II.  The  reasons  by  which  this  ex- 
hortation is  enforced. 

1.  Because  of  the  holiness  of  God. 
"  Praise  the  Lord ;  for  the  Lord  is  good." 
In  Himself  God  is  absolutely  perfect. 
"  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness 
at  all"  In  Him  the  conscience  finds  the 
Supremely  Righteous  ;  the  intellect,  the 
Supremely  Intelligent;  the  heart,  the 
Supremely  Kind ;  the  soul,  the  Supremely 
Beautiful.  Therefore  it  is  fitting  that 
He  should  be  praised,  and  that  with  all 
our  powers. 

2.  Because  of  the  delight  which  the 
txercise  yields,     "  Sing  praises  unto  His 

358 


Name;  for  it  is  pleasant.**  Sincere 
praise  to  God  exalts  and  exhilarates  the 
spirit  of  him  who  presents  it,  strengthens 
his  faith,  increases  his  strength,  and 
transforms  him  into  the  image  of  God. 
The  reverent  and  hearty  praise  of  the 
Divine  Being  is  the  heaven  of  the  godly 
soul. 

3.  Because  of  His  special  relation  to 
Israel.     (1.)  In  a  special  sense  they  were 
His  people.      "  For  the  Lord  hath  chosen 
Jacob    unto    Himself,     Israel    for   His 
peculiar  treasure."     As  His  people  they 
enjoyed  special  privileges.     He  guided 
them,   sustained   them,  gave  to  them  a 
goodly  inheritance;  many  a  time  He  de- 
livered them,  &c.     As  His  people  they 
had  special  obligations.    They  were  called 
to  be  witnesses  to  the  great  truths  of 
His  unity,  spirituality,  and  holiness,  to 
the  heathen  nations.     By  their  civil  and 
religions  institutions,  and  by  their  life 
and  conduct,  they  were  to  testify  for  the 
Lord  God  amongst  men.     (2.)   In  His 
esteem    they    were    specially  precious. 
"  His    peculiar   treasure."     *'  The  Lord 
taketh  pleasure  in  His  people."     "  If  ye 
will  obey  My  voice,  indeed,  and   keep 
My  covenant,  then  ye  shall  be  a  peculiar 
treasure  unto  Me  above  all  people ;  for 
all  the  earth  is  Mine."     "  God  is  good 
to  all ; "  but  to  His  people  He  manifests 
His  special  regard.     He — 

*•  Keeps  with  most  distinguished  care 
The  man  who  on  His  love  depends.** 

(3.)  He  had  chosen  them  for  this  posi- 
tion. They  did  not  attain  it  by  their 
own  effort,  or  merit  it  by  their  own  ex- 
cellence ;  but  were  selected  to  it  by  Him 
in  His  sovereign  favour.  This  special 
and  privileged  relation  to  Hina  supplies 
most  cogent  reasons  for  praising  Him. 
And  the  argument  applies  with  still 
greater  force  to  the  people  of  God 
to-day. 

4.  Because  of  His  sovereignty  in  na- 
ture. "  For  I  know  that  the  Lord  is 
great,  and  that  our  Lord  is  above  all 
gods,"  &c.  (vers.  5-7).  The  poet  repre- 
sents this  sovereignty  as  (L)  Absolute, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXtT. 


^  Whatsoever  the  Lord  pleased  that  did 
He."  '*  He  does  what  He  pleases,  because 
He  pleases,  and  gives  not  account  of  any 
of  His  matters."  (2.)  Omnipotent,  What- 
soever in  His  sovereignty  He  willed,  that 
by  His  power  He  effected.  (3.)  Univer- 
sal. "  In  heaven,  and  in  earth,  in  the 
seas,  and  all  deep  places."  By  these 
expressions  the  Psalmist  intends  to  set 
forth  the  entire  universe. 

**  He  everywhere  hath  sway, 
And  all  things  serve  His  might." 

The  poet  represents  the  Lord  as  abso- 
lutely supreme  over  all  the  forces  and 
phenomena  of  nature.  And  this  repre- 
sentation we  regard  as  (a)  Philosophic; 


{(3)  Scriptural ;  (y)  Assuring,  (See  the 
Horn.  Com.  on  Ps.  cvii.  23-32.)  As 
the  universal  Sovereign,  He  has  a  right 
to  universal  praise. 

Conclusion.  —Let  us  offer  to  God  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  continually.  Let  us 
praise  Him  not  only  with  the  lip,  but 
with  the  life  ;  not  only  in  church,  but 
everywhere  ;  not  only  on  the  Lord's  day, 
but  every  day.  Let  us  seek  for  a  heart 
of  constant  praise — 

"  Not  thankful,  when  it  pleaseth  me  ; 
As  if  Thy  blessings  had  spare  days  : 
But  such  a  heart  whose  pulse  may  be 
Thy  praise." 

— Herbert, 


The  Greatness  of  God  an  Incentive  to  Praise  Him. 

{Versa  8-14.) 


In  this  strophe  the  poet  presents  illus- 
trations of  the  greatness  and  supremacy 
of  the  Lord  to  invite  the  people  to  praise 
Him.     He  illustrates  His  greatness  by — 

I.  His  judgments  upon  the  heathen. 
**  Who  smote  the  firstborn  of  Egypt,  both 
of  man  and  beast,"  <fec.  (vers.  8-11). 

1.  His  judgments  fall  upon  all  classes 
of  me7i,  and  even  upon  the  brute  creation. 
**  Who  smote  the  firstborn  of  Egypt, 
both  of  man  and  beast.  Who  sent 
tokens  and  wonders  into  the  midst  of 
thee,  O  Egypt,  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon 
all  his  servants."  Servants  suffer  for 
their  masters'  sins.  The  consequences 
of  a  king's  obstinate  tyranny  over  man, 
and  rebellion  against  God  will  fall 
heavily  upon  his  subjects.  And  even 
the  brute  creation  feel  the  smart  of  the 
penalty  of  human  transgressions.  When 
the  Divine  judgments  fall  upon  the  land, 
all  classes,  from  the  sovereign  to  the 
serf,  feel  the  weight  of  the  stroke. 

2.  His  judgments  reach  the  mightiest 
powers.  "  Who  smote  great  nations,  and 
slew  mighty  kings,"  <fec.  "  Sihon  king 
of  the  Amorites,"  was  a  man  of  great 
courage  and  audacity,  and  a  distinguished 
military  leader.  "  And  Og  king  of 
Bashan,"  was  a  man  of  gigantic  size  and 
stature,  the  ruler  over  sixty  proud  fenced 
cities,  inhabited  by  a  brave  and  powerful 
people.  Yet,  these  great  and  warlike 
kings,  with  their  valiant  armies,  were 
smitten  and  slain  when  the  Most  High 


arose  against  them.  His  frown  strikes 
with  dismay  the  heart  of  the  most 
courageous,  and  the  strong  arm  falls 
nerveless,  and  great  and  powerful  nations 
are  brought  to  nought. 

3.  His  judgments  are  lessons.  They 
are  *'  tokens  and  wonders."  *'  Wonders" 
— things  calculated  to  beget  surprise  and 
amazement.  '*  Tokens,"  or  "  signs  " — 
things  calculated  to  excite  inquiry,  and 
to  teach  inquirers  important  truths.  The 
plagues  of  Egypt  were  significant  of  im- 
portant truths  concerning  the  Divine 
Being  and  His  government.  To  the 
"  earnest  listener  "  they  announced  the 
almighty  power  of  God,  His  hatred  of 
tyranny  and  oppression.  His  regard  for 
the  oppressed,  &c.  These  miracles  of 
judgments  were  parables  of  the  Divine 
character  and  procedure  towards  men. 
In  this  great  power  which  is  arrayed 
against  tyranny  and  oppression  we  have 
a  motive  for  celebrating  the  praise  of  the 
Lord. 

II.  His  regard  for  His  people. 

1.  He  makes  His  judgments  upon  the 
heaiittn  an  advantage  to  His  people. 
He  '*  gave  their  land  for  an  heritage,  an 
heritage  unto  Israel  His  people."  (See 
Ps.  cxl  6.)  In  His  government  of  the 
world  the  Loi-d  has  special  regard  to  the 
interests  of  His  loyal  subjects.  He 
makes  "  all  things  work  together  for 
their  good." 

2.  He  defends  tht  cause  of  His  people, 

359 


PBAtM  CXXXY. 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


"  For  the  Lord  will  judge  His  people." 
(See  Deut.  xxxii.  36.)  He  will  see  that 
they  have  that  which  is  right,  and  in 
due  time  will  rid  them  of  their  op- 
pressors, and  avenge  tbem  of  their  ad- 
versaries. 

3.  He  pities  them  in  their  distresses, 
"  He  will  repent  Himself  concerning 
His  servants."  (See  the  Horn.  Com.  on 
Ps.  xc.  13.)  He  will  not  suffer  them  to 
be  oppressed  beyond  their  power  of  en- 
durance, but  in  His  mercy  He  will  visit 
them  in  their  afflictions  and  "compass 
them  about  with  songs  of  deliverance." 
Here  then  is  a  stirring  incentive  to  praise 
the  Lord  ;  an  incentive  that  should  move 
the  dullest  heart  to  joyous  and  reverent 
strains. 

IIL  His  eternity  and  unchangeable- 
ness.  "Thy  Name,  O  Lord,  endureth 
for  ever;  Thy  memorial,  0  Lord,  through- 
out all  generations."  God's  eternity 
involves  His  immutability.  It  is  the 
omnipotent  and   unchangeable  eternity. 


All  earthly  things  are  transient  and  mut- 
able ;  but  God  abides  for  ever,  and  He 
is  for  ever  the  same.     In  this  we  have — 

1.  An  encouragement  to  faith.  He  is 
still  the  same  as  when  He  wrought 
mighty  wonders  and  signs  on  behalf  of 
Israel.  Age  does  not  diminish  His 
interest  in  His  people,  or  His  faithful- 
ness to  them,  or  His  power  to  aid  them. 
Therefore  they  may  sing,  "  Behold,  God 
is  my  salvation  ;  I  will  trust,  and  not 
be  afraid." 

2.  An  argument  for  2)raise.  The  con- 
stancy of  God's  love  for  His  people  and 
of  His  great  and  t^lorious  doings  for 
them,  should  constrain  them  to  offer  to 
Him  the  hjwliest  adoration  and  the 
heartiest  praise. 

Here,  then,  in  these  illustrations  of 
the  greatness  of  God,  we  have  what 
ought  to  prove  to  all  who  are  loyal  to 
Him,  irresistible  incentives  to  exalt  and 
magnify  His  holy  Name. 


The  Vanity  of  Idols  an  Incentive  to  Praise  the  Lord  God. 

{Verses  16-21.) 


"  To  show  more  fully  the  propriety  of 
praising  God,  and  Him  alone  as  God, 
the  Psalmist  institutes  a  comparison 
between  Him  and  idols,  showing  that 
the  gods  worshipped  by  the  heathen 
lacked  every  ground  of  claim  to  divine 
worship  and  homage.  They  were,  after 
all  that  could  be  done  to  fashion,  to  de- 
corate, and  to  adorn  them,  nothing  but 
silver  and  gold,  and  could  have  no  better 
claim  to  worship  than  silver  and  gold  as 
such." — Barnes.  Verses  15-20  corre- 
spond almost  exactly  to  Ps.  cxv.  4-1 1. 
And  as  that  passage  has  already  engaged 
attention  in  this  work,  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient in  this  place  to  indicate  briefly  a 
homiletical  method  of  treatment.  Here 
are  four  main  points  for  consideration — 

I.  The  innate  religiousness  of  human 
nature.  The  manufacture  of  idols  indi- 
cates the  religious  tendency  of  human 
nature.  Man  must  have  a  god  of  some 
kind  ;  he  must  worship.  Without  an 
object  of  worship  there  are  instinctive 
desires  and  cravings  of  the  human  soul 
which  find  no  satisfaction. 

1.  Man  wants  an  object  of  trust.  Man 
360 


is  conscious  of  insufficiency  for  the  deep 
meanings  and  momentous  issues  of  life, 
and  looks  for  help  from  beyond  and 
above  himself.  If  he  find  nothing 
higher,  he  will  trust  even  in  a  dead 
idol  (ver.  18). 

2.  Man  wants  an  object  of  worship. 
He  has  instincts  which  urge  him  to  pay 
homage  and  reverence  to  a  being  or 
beings  higher  than  himself.  Worship 
is  not  imposed  upon  human  nature,  but 
the  development  of  some  of  the  deepest 
instincts  of  that  nature.  If  it  be  ob- 
jected that  peoples  have  been  discovered 
amongst  whom  there  was  no  sign  of  the 
religious  element,  the  reply  is  obvious, 
that  such  extreme  exceptions  prove  the 
rule. 

II.  The  sad  perversion  of  the  reli- 
gious element  in  human  nature 
(vers.  15-18).  That  which  should 
find  its  exercise  and  satisfaction  and 
blessedness  in  the  holy  and  ever-blessed 
God  is  here  exhibited  as  turning  to  dead 
idols — vain  simulacra — in  trust  and 
reverence. 

1.  This  perversion  indicates  amazing 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  ozxxn. 


itupidity.  How  irrational  !  how  absurd 
to  suppose  that  a  wooden,  silver,  or 
golden  thing  can  be  worthy  of  homage 
or  of  trust  ! 

2.  This  perversion  indicates  moral  de- 
rangement. If  the  conscience  and  the 
alfections  were  in  their  normal  con- 
dition, idolatry  would  bo  impossible. 
Idolatry  is  sin  as  well  as  folly. 

3.  This  perversion  is  deplorably  de- 
grading in  its  effects.  "  They  that  make 
them  are  like  unto  them,  so  is  every 
one  that  trusteth  in  them."  "  They 
who,  turning  away  from  God's  witness 
of  Himself  in  the  visible  creation,  wor- 
ship! led  the  creature  rather  than  the 
Creator,  received  in  themselves  the  sen- 
tence of  tlieir  own  degradation.  *  Their 
foolish  heart  became  darkened.'  They 
became  bliml,  and  deaf,  and  dumb,  and 
dead,  like  the  idols  they  set  up  to 
worship." — Perowne.  Worship  is  trans- 
forming. Man  becomes  like  his  god. 
These  remarks  are  applicable  to  the 
idolatries  of  our  own  land, — the  wor- 
ship of  wealth,  social  status,  <fec. 

III.  The  grand  Object  of  worship  for 
man  as  a  religious  being.  "  Bless  the 
Lord,"  <kc.  (vers.  19,  20).  Here  is  an 
Object — 

1.  Suited  to  the  needs  of  man.  We 
have  pointed  out  that  man  wants  in  his 
god  an  object  of  trust  and  of  worship. 
Th  e  Lord  is  supremely  trustworthy.  He 
is  unchangeable  and  infinite  in  power, 


kindness,  and  faithfulness.  He  is  sup- 
remely excellent.  He  is  "  glorious  in 
holiness."     "  God  is  light." 

2.  Suited  to  the  needs  of  man  as  man 
and  of  all  men.  The  "  house  of  Israel," 
the  ''  house  of  Aaron,"  the  "  house  of 
Levi,"  and  all  "  that  fear  the  Lord,"  are 
here  called  upon  to  praise  Him.  The 
Lord  is  the  God  not  of  any  one  class  or 
race,  but  '*  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all 
flesh." 

Here  is  the  grand  object  of  wor- 
ship for  all  men.  All  others  are  false 
and  vain.  Let  all  men  worship  the  Lord 
God,  and  in  so  doing  they  will  find  the 
satisfaction,  perfection,  and  blessedness 
of  being. 

IV.  The  chief  place  of  worship  for 
man  as  a  religious  being.  "  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  out  of  Zion,  who  dwelleth 
at  Jerusalem.  Hallelujah."  '*  As  in 
cxxviii.  5,  cxxxiv.  3,  Jehovah  blesses 
out  of  Zion,  so  here,  on  the  other  hand, 
His  people  bless  Him  out  of  Zion.  For 
there  they  meet  to  worship  Him ;  there 
not  only  He,  but  they  may  be  said  to 
dwell  (I-^a.  X.  24);  and  thence  accord- 
ingly His  praise  is  sounded  abroad." — 
Perowne.  The  church,  though  not  the 
exclusive,  is  the  chief  place  of  woiship. 
There  devout  souls  meet ;  there  He  has 
promised  to  meet  with  them,  Jcc. 

To  the  Lord  God,  and  to  Him  alone, 
let  the  hearty  and  reverent  praise  of  all 
men  be  given.     "  Praise  ye  the  Lord." 


PSALM    CXXXVL 
Introduction. 

••Tbig  Psalm,**  Bays  Perowne,  "is  little  more  than  a  variation  and  repetition  of  the 
precedinur  Psalm.  It  opens  with  the  same  liturgical  formula  with  which  the  106th  and  118th 
Psalms  open,  and  w;i8  evidently  designed  to  be  sung  antiphonally  in  the  Temple  worship. 
Us  structure  is  peculiar.  The  first  line  of  each  verse  pursues  the  theme  of  the  Psalm,  the 
Becond  line,  '  For  His  loving-kindness  endureth  for  ever,'  being  a  kind  of  refrain  or  response, 
like  the  responses,  for  instance,  in  our  Litany,  hreaking  in  upon  and  yet  sustaining  the  theme 
of  the  Psalm  :  the  first  would  be  sung  by  some  of  the  Levites,  the  second  by  the  choir  as  a 
body,  or  by  the  whole  congregation  together  with  the  Levites.  We  have  an  example  of  a 
similar  antiphonal  arrangement  in  the  first  four  verses  of  the  118th  Psalm  ;  but  there  is  no 
otlier  instance  in  which  it  is  pursued  throughout  the  Psalm.  The  nearest  approach  to  the 
same  repetition  is  in  the  'Amen '  of  the  people  to  the  curses  of  the  Law  as  pronounced  by  the 
Levites  (Deut.  xxii.  14)." 

The  subjects  mentioned  as  the  ground  of  the  praise  of  the  eternal  mercy  of  God  have  so 
frequently  engaged  our  attention  in  prerioos  Psalms  at  to  require  but  little  additional 
illastration. 


161 


PSALM  c^xzn. 


EOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Meroy  in  God  and  in  Creation. 

{Verses  1-9.) 


I.  Mercy  in  the  Divine  Being  and 
Character  (vers.  1-3).  We  have  here — 
1.  A  revelation  of  God  in  the  names 
applied  to  Him,  (1.)  ''  0  give  thanks 
unto  Jehovah.^*  Jehovah  =  6  wv  =  the 
Self- Existing,  the  Continuing,  the  Per- 
manent, the  Everlasting.  (2.)  '*  0  give 
thanks  unto  the  God  of  gods" —  the 
Most  High  God,  the  Supremely  Power- 
ful, who  is  far  above  all  that  is  called 
God  or  worshipped  as  God.  (3.)  "  O 
give  thanks  to  the  Lord  of  lords" —  the 
Ruler  of  rulers,  whose  authority  is  sup- 
reme over  all  governors,  princes,  and 
kings.  Such,  then,  are  the  ideas  of  God 
embodied  in  the  names  which  are  applied 
to  Him  by  the  poet — the  Self-Existing, 
the  Supremely  Powerful,  and  the  Sup- 
remely Authoritative. 

(2.)  A  revelation  of  God  in  His  char- 
acter. "  0  give  thanks  unto  Jehovah  ; 
for  He  is  good."  (See  Horn.  Com.  on 
Ps.  cvi.  1,  and  cxxxv.  3.)  He  is  good 
both  in  Himself  and  in  His  dealings 
with  His  people. 

3.   A  revelation  of  God  in  His  relation 
to  men.    "  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever." 
Mercy  is  a  modification  of  goodness.     It 
is  goodness  in  its  relation  to  the  sinful, 
the  ill-deserving,  and  the  miserable.     To 
men  *'  God  is  rich  in  mercy."     He  de- 
lights   in     showing     mercy    to    them. 
Connect  the  mercy  of   God   with  those 
aspects  of  His  Being  which  are  brought 
into  view  in  the  names  applied  to  Him. 
**  Jehovah,"  the  Self-Existing,  is  essenti- 
ally merciful.      His  mercy  is  eternal  as 
His  Being.    *' The    God   of    gods,"   the 
Supreme    Deity,    the    Omnipotent,    is 
merciful.      We   cannot    reverence    mere 
power.      Might    is    sometimes    terrible. 
But  the  Most  High  is  as  tender  as  He 
is  strong.      He  is  infinite  in  mercy  as  in 
power.      "  The  Lord  of  lords,"  the  Sup- 
reme   Ruler   over   all   kinojs   and   mat;!- 
str;ites,  is  a  merciful  Being.     His  com- 
passion is  as  wide  and  deep  and  lasting 
&8    His  authority.      For   these    reasons 
let  lis  praise  Him. 

II.   Mercy  in  the  Divine  work  in 
cieation  (vers.  4-9).     To  the  Psalmist 
JG2 


the   universe  was   neither   eternal,    nor 
self-originated,  but  a  creation  of  God. 

1.  Creation  is  a  work  of  wonder  to 
man.  *'  To  Him  who  alone  doeth  great 
wonders."  The  contrivances  and  con- 
structions of  the  universe  are  wonderful 
in  their  skill  and  in  their  strength.  The 
more  thoroughly  man  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  the  more  astonishing  are  the 
evidences  which  he  discovers  of  infinite 
intelligence  in  designing  and  almighty 
power  in  creating  them. 

2.  Creation  is  an  embodiment  of  the 
wisdom  of  God.  "  To  Him  that  by  wis- 
dom made  the  heavens."  The  scientific 
student  discovers  design  and  the  most 
benevolent  and  beautiful  adaptations 
in  every  department  of  nature.  Only 
a  being  of  infinite  intelligence  could 
have  designed  the  universe  with  its  in- 
describable wonders,  beauties,  and  uti- 
lities. 

3.  Creation   is  an   expression  of  the 
mercy  of  God.     It  exhibits  the  benevo- 
lence  as    well   as    the    wisdom    of   the 
Creator.     In  the  devout  student  it  ex- 
cites not  only  wonder  and  admiration, 
but  gratitude  and  praise.     His  mercy  is 
manifest  171  the  heavens.    In  their  order 
and  harmony  and  beauty,  and  in  their 
benign  influences,   we    discover   indica- 
tions of  His  mercy.     It  is  manifest  also 
in    the  earth.     In  making  the  earth  fit 
for  human   habitation,   and  a    pleasant 
habitation  ;  in  making  it  so  fruitful,  so 
safe,  and  so  varied  and  beautiful  in  ap- 
pearance, we   see   His   kindness.      It   is 
manifest  in  the  sun  and  the,  day.     The 
sun  is  the  source  of  light,  warmth,  life, 
and    beauty.      The    reign    of    darkness 
would  soon  lead  to  the  reign  of  death. 
By  its  light  and  warmth  the  sun  sustains 
life  and  promotes  joy.     In  a  great  mea- 
sure the  beauties  of  the    universe   are 
produced  by  his  influence,  and  without 
his  light  no  gleam  of  beauty  would  be 
discernible.     So  we  see  in  the  sun  and 
the  day  the  kindness  of   the  Creator. 
His    mercy   is   manifest   in    the    night 
and   the  moon  and  stars.    Night  with 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXTL 


its  darkness  and  silence  so  eminently 
adapted  for  sleep  and  rest,  with  its 
enchanting  and  refining  beauties  of 
moon  and  stars  in  the  heavens,  and  their 
reflection  on  the  rippling  surface  of 
rivers  and  the  restless  waves  of  the 
sea, — for  these  we  have  felt  deep  thank- 
fulness times  innumerable.  But  the 
Psalmist  represents  the  sun  as  ordained 
**  to  7'ule  by  day,"  and  "  the  moon  and 
stars  to  rule  by  night."  (a.)  They  rule 
by  determining  the  duration  of  day  and 
night.  (See  Horn.  Com,  on  Ps.  civ. 
19-23.)  (6.)  Their  rule  is  an  illustration 
of  the  principle  taught  by  our  Lord  that 
he  who  is  chief  in  service  shall  be  chief 
in  sovereignty, —  the  true  ruler  most 
diligently  and  heartily  serves  those 
whom  he  governs.  (Luke  xxii.  25-27.) 
The  mercy  of  God  which  is  manifested 


in  creation  is  eternal,  "  His  mercy  en- 
dureth  for  ever  ;  "  literally  :  "  For  unto 
eternity  His  mercy."  When  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  shall  have  passed  away,  the 
mercy  which  was  manifested  in  them  shall 
continue.  We  shall  need  mercy  through- 
out this  life,  in  the  hour  of  death,  and 
in  the  day  uf  judgment ;  and  mercy  will 
still  endure  and  meet  our  need.  The 
generations  that  shall  tread  this  globe 
in  the  future  will  need  mercy  as  much 
as  we  do,  and  for  them  also  mercy  shall 
remain  as  free  and  plenteous  as  ever, 
"  Unto  eternity  is  His  mercy." 
Let  us — 

*'  Make  life,  death,  and  that  vast  for-ever, 
One  grand  sweet  song  " 

of   praise    to    Him    whose   mercy,    like 
Himself,  is  eternal. 


Mercy  in  the  HEVOLUxioKis  of  Providence. 
(Verses  10-22.) 


There  is  no  difficulty  in  discovering 
the  kindness  of  the  dealings  of  God  with 
Israel.  But  where  is  mercy  manifest  in 
His  treatment  of  the  people  of  Egypt, 
of  Pharaoh,  Sihon,  and  Og  ?  This  we 
will  endeavour  to  show.     There  was — 

I.  Mercy  in  the  judgments  upon 
Egypt.  ^*  O  give  thanks  to  him  that 
smote  Egypt  in  their  firstborn ;  for  His 
mercy  endureth  for  ever."  The  Egyptian 
oppression  of  the  Israelites  was  unjust, 
wicked,  cruel;  they  had  reduced  them 
to  slavery;  they  treated  them  with 
brutality ;  they  refused  to  liberate  them, 
although  the  command  to  do  so  was 
authenticated  by  extraordinary  wonders 
and  signs;  judgments  of  less  severity 
had  produced  only  a  transient  and  brief 
effect  upon  them ;  and  so  the  Lord 
brought  upon  them  the  severe  stroke  of 
the  death  of  the  firstborn,  both  of  man 
and  beast,  and  of  small  and  great.  It 
is  not  only  right  but  merciful  to  compel 
the  strong  to  respect  the  rights  of  the 
weak,  if  they  will  not  do  so  without 
compulsion.  It  is  merciful  to  insist 
upon  the  doing  of  justice  amongst  men. 

IL  Mercy  in  the  destruction  of 
tyrannical  kings.  **  O  give  thanks  to 
Him  who  overthrew  Pharaoh  and  his 
host  in  the  Bed  Sea ;  for  His  m«rcy  en- 


dureth for  ever.  To  Him  who  smote 
great  kings,"  <fec.  (vers.  15,  17-20). 
(See  Horn.  Com,  on  Ps.  cxxsv.  8-11.) 
We  hold  that  it  is  in  mercy  that  tyran- 
nical and  oppressive  rulers  are  swept 
from  the  earth. 

1.  It  is  a  mercy  to  themselves.  (1.)  Sup- 
posing there  be  no  retributory  state  in 
the  future,  then  it  is  a  mercy  to  terminate 
their  existence ;  for  their  life  must  be 
tormented  by  the  passions  which  they 
cherish  in  their  breasts.  Ambition,  lust 
of  power,  cruelty,  impoison  their  life  at 
its  very  springs.  (2.)  Supposing  there 
be  a  retributory  state  in  the  future  (and 
the  evidence  for  the  existence  of  such  a 
state  is  to  us  irresistible),  then  it  is  a 
mercy  to  terminate  the  earthly  existence 
of  the  incorrigibly  evil ;  for  while  it 
continues,  they  are  increasing  their  guilt, 
and  **  treasuring  up  unto  themselves 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  re- 
velation of  the  righteous  judgment  of 
God.*'  For  them  prolongation  of  life  in 
the  present  will  involve  corresponding 
increase  of  misery  in  the  future,  therefore 
it  is  merciful  to  them  to  cut  short  their 
wicked  career. 

2.  It  is  a  mercy  to  mankind.  The 
existence  of  cruel  and  tyrannical  oppres- 
sors afflicts  humanity  like  some  terrible 

S63 


PSALM  CXXXTI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


nightmare.  When  they  are  removed  the 
race  breathes  freely  once  again.  Such 
ambitious  tyrants,  if  unchecked,  would 
convert  the  fair  world  into  a  slaughter- 
house reeking  with  human  gore.  The 
peace  and  progress  of  mankind  unite  in 
demanding  the  removal  of  ambitious 
tyrants  and  cruel  oppressors  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  To  destroy  such  men 
is  a  mercy  to  the  entire  human  race. 
Therefore  let  us  **give  thanks  to  Him 
who  smote  great  kings ;  for  His  mercy 
endureth  for  ever." 

III.  Mercy  in  the  history  of  Israel. 
It  was  manifest — 

1.  In  their  emancipation  from  Egypt 
and  its  bondage.  This  was  not  accom- 
plished by  a  single  act  or  effort.  It  in- 
volved a  series  of  Divine  interpositions. 
The  poet  here  mentions : — (1.)  Their 
deliverance  from  slavery  and  from  the 
land  of  Egypt  (vers.  10-12).  It  was  in 
mercy  to  them  and  to  mankind  that  the 
Israelites  were  rescued  from  the  crushing 
burdens  which  their  oppressors  imposed 
upon  them.  The  greatness  of  the  mercy 
may  be  approximately  estimated  by  the 
severity  of  the  sufferings  from  which  it 
rescued  them,  and  by  the  persistency 
and  power  exert'ed  in  doing  so.  Bless- 
ings have  flowed  to  the  entire  human 
race  through  the  deliverance  of  Israel 
from  Egypt.  (2.)  Their  deliverance 
from  peril  at  the  Red  Sea  (Exod.  xiv.). 
Point  out  their  extremely  perilous  posi- 
tion. Can  they  be  rescued  from  it? 
And  how'?  Jehovah  answers  (a.)  By 
dividing  the  waters  of  the  sea.  "  To 
Him  that  divided  the  Red  Sea  into 
parts."  (/S.)  By  nerving  them  to  pass 
through  the  watery  walls.  "  And  made 
Israel  to  pass  through  the  midst  of  it." 
He  manifested  His  i)ower  over  the  waters 
in  dividing  them,  and  over  the  hearts 
of  the  dismayed  people  by  giving  them 
courage  to  travel  through  a  passage  so 


unprecedented,  and  apparently  so  peril- 
ous, {y.)  By  the  destruction  of  their 
enemies  by  the  same  sea.  "And  over- 
threw Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red 
Sea."  Thus  the  Lord  completely  and 
gloriously  delivered  them  from  the  hands 
of  their  enemies,  and  conspicuously  dis- 
played His  mercy  to  them. 

2.  In  leading  them  through  and  sup- 
porting them  in  the  wilderness.  "  To 
Him  which  led  His  people  through  the 
wilderness;  for  His  mercy  endureth  for 
ever."  For  the  space  of  forty  years  He 
protected  them  from  their  enemies,  pro- 
vided for  their  necessities,  and  guided 
them  in  their  wanderings  by  super- 
natural acfencies  ;  and  He  did  this  not- 
withstanding  their  oft-repeated  unbelief 
and  rebellion  against  Him.  In  His 
dealings  with  them  in  the  wilderness,  we 
have  a  most  impressive  display  of  His 
mercy  to  them. 

3.  In  giving  to  them  the  land  of  Canaan 
for  an  inheritance.  He  "  slew  famous 
kings;  and  gave  their  land  for  an  heri- 
tage unto  Israel,  His  servant ;  for  His 
mercy  endureth  for  ever."  (See  the 
Hom.  Com.  on  Ps.  cxxxv.  12.)  The 
land  had  been  defiled  by  the  wars,  the 
crimes,  and  the  idolatries  of  the  ancient 
Canaanites,  so  God  overthrew  and  dis- 
inherited them,  and  gave  their  land  for 
an  heritage  to  the  people  of  His  choice, 
God  manifests  His  mercy  to  His  people  by 
a  special  regard  to  their  interests  in  His 
providential  government  of  the  world. 

Conclusion. — Inasnmch  as  the  mercy 
of  the  Lord  is  perpetual — 1.  Let  op- 
pressors take  warning.  The  constancy 
of  His  mercy  towards  His  peo])le  is  a 
pledge  of  the  constant  course  of  His  jus- 
tice against  their  enemies.  2.  Let  the 
oppressed  and  afflicted  take  encourage- 
ment. His  mercy  is  far  greater  than 
their  misery  j  it  is  infinite,  and  it  "  en- 
dureth for  ever." 


Mercy  in  Human  Redemption  and  Provision. 
{Verses  23-26.) 

The  poet  refers  in  the  23rd  and  24th  be  applied  to  the  spiritual   redemption 

verses   to   the   deliverance   of   the  Jews  and  sustentation  of  man.     Consider — 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity.     But  this  I.   The  mercy  of  God  in  redemption 

section  of  the  Psalm  may  appropriately  (vers.  23,  24). 
364 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXVL 


1.  The  need  of  redemption.  This  arose 
from  (1.)  MavbS  depressed  condition. 
"  Our  low  estate."  From  bis  high  estate 
man  fell  by  sin ;  the  crown  and  glory  of 
his  being  are  gone ;  the  completeness 
of  his  moral  power  is  broken  ;  he  is  a 
degraded,  ruined  being.  (2.)  Man^s  op- 
pressed condition.  He  is  troubled  from 
without  as  well  as  from  within.  He  is 
begirt  by  *' enemies."  The  Chaldeans 
had  taken  the  Jews  into  captivity  and 
oppressed  them.  Man  is  enslaved  by 
sin,  led  captive  by  the  devil ;  his 
spiritual  enemies  are  many  and  subtle 
and  strong ;  and  he  is  unable  to  cope 
successfully  with  them.  He  needs  an 
emancipator,  a  redeemer. 

2.  The  stages  of  redemption.  The  poet 
mentions  two  steps  in  the  process  of  the 
redemption  of  man.  (I.)  The  exercise 
of  Divine  thoughtfulness.  He  "  remem- 
bered us  in  our  low  estate."  It  is  un- 
speakably assuring  and  encouraging  to 
know  that  the  Lord  thinketh  upon  us 
in  our  helplessness  and  need.  He  is 
interested  in  us.  He  careth  for  us.  We 
never  pass  beyond  His  kindly  notice  and 
care.  (2.)  The  exertion  of  Divine  power. 
**  He  hath  redeemed  us  from  our  enemies." 
He  set  free  the  Jews  from  their  captivity 
in  Babylon.  He  has  redeemed  sinful 
and  l(-st  men  by  the  power  of  His  love, 
manifested  in  the  teaching  and  work, 
the  life  and  death,  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  "Ye  were  redeemed  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ."  "  We  have 
redemption  through  His  blood,"  (fee. 

3.  The  source  of  redemption.  **  For 
His  mercy  endureth  for  ever."  In  the 
heart  of  God  our  redemption  took  its 
rise.  The  streams  of  mercy  by  which 
we   are    refreshed,    strengthened,    and 


saved,  flow  from  the  throne  of  God. 
Our  redemption  must  be  traced  to  the 
loving-kindness  of  the  Lord  God.  "  O 
give  thanks  unto  the  Lord ;  for  He  is 
good  ;  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever." 
II.  The  mercy  of  God  in  provision. 
'*  He  giveth  food  to  all  flesh  ;  for  His 
mercy  endureth  for  ever."  "  At  length," 
says  Calvin,  "  He  extends  the  fatherly 
providence  of  God  indiscriminately,  not 
only  to  the  whole  human  race,  but  to 
all  animals,  so  that  it  might  not  appear 
wonderful  He  should  be  so  kind  and 
provident  a  Father  towards  His  own 
elect,  since  He  does  not  reckon  it  a 
burden  to  provide  for  oxen  and  asses, 
ravens  and  sparrows."  (Comp.  Ps.  civ. 
27,  28.)  Two  inquiries  may  fairly  lie 
proposed  here — 

1.  If  He  giveth  food  to  the  leasts,  will 
He  he  unmindful  of  the  needs  of  man 
who  is  made  in  His  own  image  ?  '*  How 
much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a 
sheep  ?  "  "  Ye  are  of  more  value  than 
many  sparrows."    (Ps.  xxxiv.  9,  10.) 

2.  If  He  provides  food  for  mans 
bodily  necessities,  will  He  not  much  more 
provide  for  His  spiritual  needs  ?  He 
who  has  redeemed  us  from  sin  has  also 
promised  us  strength  to  empower  us  for 
life's  duties,  and  grace  to  sustain  us  in 
life's  trials.  "The  Lord  wi^l  give  grace 
and  glory  ;  no  good  will  He  withhold 
from  them  that  walk  uprightly."  The 
mercy  to  which  we  owe  so  many  and 
great  blessings,  both  in  the  past  and  in 
the  present,  will  never  fail  us.  Through 
all  eternity  it  will  continue  to  enrich  us 
with  purest  and  most  precious  treasures. 
"  O  give  thanks  unto  the  God  of  heaven ; 
for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever," 


Human  Wretchedness  and  Divine  Compassion. 


(Verses  23,  24.) 

Any  one  would  remember  us  in  a  high 
©state;  but  Jesus  remembers  us  in  a 
low  one. 

I.  To  take  a  view  of  the  wretched 
condition  of  mankind,  in  consequence 
of  their  apostacy  from  God. 

Language  does  not  afford  a  more  em- 
phatic description  of  complete  wretched- 


ness than  to  say  of  a  man  that  he  is  hat 
— a  captive — a  subject  of  corruption — 
dead  / 

1.  Mart  has  gone  astray  from  the  path 
of  life  and  happiness.  Apart  from  Re- 
velation, human  nature  itself  bears  wit- 
ness to  itself  by  evident  marks  of  de- 
generacy and  corruption.     The  passions 

365 


VSALHOXXXTL 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


which  enslave  our  minds ;  the  diseases 
that  afflict  our  bodies ;  the  disorders  in 
the  natural  and  moral  world  around  us ; 
the  various  wretchedness  of  man ;  and 
the  universal  law  of  mortality,  all  pro- 
claim that  some  unhappy  change  has 
passed  on  our  nature  since  its  original 
formation.      Various   conjectures   have 
been  formed  to  account  for  this  state  of 
things.     But  the  Bible  alone  solves  the 
appearances  so  difficult  to  be  reconciled 
by   unassisted   reason.       Here   we   are 
taught  that  man,  by  transgression,  has 
debased  himself  below  the  rank  origin- 
ally  assigned   him   in  the  creation    of 
God ;  and  that  the  consequences  of  the 
sin  of  our  first  parents  attach  to  all  their 
offspring,  in  the  evils  which  arise  from  a 
sinful,  sorrowful,  and  mortal  condition. 
Our  steps  are  now  voluntarily  turned  far 
away  from  the  only  path  of  happiness. 
(See  Job  xxi.  14  ;  Jer.  il  13 ;  Kom.  iii. 
11,  12.)     For  this  is  the  habitual  state 
of  mind,  not  of  the  more  grossly  profli- 
gate and  abandoned  only,  but  of  man- 
kind generally,   however   improved  by 
culture  and  enlightened  by  education — 
the  active  principle  of  rebellion  against 
God,  which  Grace  alone  can  subdue. 

2.  Man  has  not  only  left  the  path  of 
life,  but  stands  exposed  to  the  fatal  effects 
of  Divine  displeasure ^  by  actual  transgres- 
sion.  The  sentence  of  the  broken  law 
holds  in  full  force  (Gal.  iii.  10;  Col. 
iii.  6).  And  who  knoweth  the  power  of 
God's  angerl  Who  can  imagine  the  judg- 
ments which  God  has  in  store  against 
the  enemies  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness] (Job  xxxiv.  29,xxxviii.  22,  23;  Ps. 
xxxix.  11).  If  such  be  the  effect  of  His 
fatherly  chastisement  under  a  dispensa- 
tion of  mercy,  how  dreadful  must  His 
fiery  indignation  be  when  Guilt  has  run 
its  full  course,  and  Justice  is  compelled 
to  take  its  unrestricted  sway  I  (Heb.  x. 
31.)  There  is  not  a  part  of  these  fleshly 
tabernacles  which  He  cannot  visit  with 
exquisite  anguish  ;  and  if  but  a  spark 
of  His  wrath  [fall  upon  the  soul,  how 
dreadful  is  the  ruin  !  Witness  Cain, 
Judas,  Simon  Magus,  Ananias,  and 
Sapphira. 

3.  Thai  toe  are  unequal  to  our  own 
deliverance, 

IL  To  admire  the  method  of  Divine 
366 


compassion  to  man  in  his  rescue  from 
this  state  of  guilt  and  misery. 

1.  By  the  incarnation  and  death  of  the 
Son  of  God,  Throwing  a  veil  over  the 
dazzling  glories  of  Divinity,  He  came 
among  us  in  great  humility,  bearing  the 
attractive  character  of  a  kinsman  and  a 
friend.  He  is  a  Physician  to  heal,  a 
Shepherd  to  seek,  and  a  Saviour  to  re- 
store.   (Luke  xix.  10.) 

To  see  the  nature  and  importance  of 
His  work,  look  back  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. See  what  a  space  our  redemption 
has  occupied  in  the  Divine  counsels; 
see  how  all  events  in  Providence  were 
made  to  prepare  for  it ;  see  what  lofty 
representations  are  given  of  it  by  the 
ancient  prophets  ;  see  how  all  the  types 
and  institutions  of  the  law  prefigured 
His  approach,  and  how  all  these  ancient 
prefigurations  are  accomplished  in  His 
death. 

You  become  convinced  of  His  high 
qualifications  for  this  important  work, 
when  you  observe  the  perfection  of  His 
mediatorial  nature,  blending  the  attri 
butes  of  earth  and  heaven — all  the  ten- 
derness of  suffering  humanity  with  all 
the  glory  of  the  unapproached  Divinity, 
In  magnitude  the  work  of  redemption 
has  no  rival ;  and  none  but  the  Lord  of 
life  and  glory  was  equal  to  such  a  work. 
We  know  that  Infinite  Wisdom  would 
not  make  choice  of  a  weak  and  ineffec- 
tual instrument,  or  appoint  to  so  import" 
ant  an  office  one  unqualified  to  perform 
it.     All  objections  vanish  and  all  feart 
are  banished  when  we  read  of  Him  a» 
'*  Emmanuel,  God  with  us."    (Matt.  i. 
23 ;  John  L  U  ;  1.  Tim.  iii.  16).     You 
may  see  the  ability  of  Christ  to  save 
in   the   high  attestations  He   received. 
Thrice  did  the  Voice  from  heaven  pro- 
claim, "  This  is  My  beloved  Son,"  <kc. 
On  the  Cross,  when  He  offered  Himself 
a  sacrifice  holy  and  acceptable,  all  nature 
was  convulsed,  and  the  veil  of  the  Temple 
was  rent  in  twain.     At  His  resurrection 
the  stone  was  rolled  away  from  the  door 
of  the  sepulchre,  and  He  was  declared 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power.     By 
His   ascension   He    rose   victorious    to 
heaven,    that  he  might  fill  all  things. 
And  He  is   now   exalted  at  the  right 
hand  of  power  as  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


rSiXM  OXXXYIL 


(Heb.  viL  26).  Meditate  much,  there- 
fore, upon  His  equal  ability  and  willing- 
ness to  save.  As  the  merit  of  His 
atonement  exceeds  by  infinite  degrees 
the  guilt  of  your  sin,  so  does  the  power 
of  His  grace  surpass  the  strength  of  your 
corruption. 

2.  By  the  work  and  agency  of  His 
Blessed  Spirit.  He  who  made  your 
hearts  can  surely  renew  them  ;  and  He 
who  glorified  Christ  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles  can  glorify  Him  still  in  your 
experience,  by  applying  the  testimony 
of  the  Word|  and  raising  you  from  the 


death  of  sin  to  the  life  of  holiness. 
Commit  yourself  to  Christ,  therefore,  as 
the  great  Physician.  He  will  purify 
your  souls  by  His  Spirit,  tkc. 

3.  By  the  combined  injiuence  of  His 
Providence  and  Grace.  Christ  is  engaged 
to  bring  many  sons  to  glory ;  and  He 
overrules  all  the  scenes  of  their  earthl); 
lot  and  mortal  history,  to  guide  theil 
footsteps  through  time  and  discipline 
their  hearts  for  the  purity  and  bliss  of 
heaven.  (Isa.  xxvi.  7;  Psa.  xvL  11.) — 
Samuel  Thodey,    - 


PSALM    CXXXVIL 

Introduction. 

••There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever,"  says  Perowne,  **  as  to  the  time  when  this  Psalm  was 
written.  It  expresses  the  feeling  of  an  exile  who  has  but  just  returned  from  the  land  of  hia 
captivity.  In  all  probability  the  writer  was  a  Levite,  who  had  been  carried  away  by  the 
armies  of  Nebuchadnezzar  when  Jerusalem  was  sacked  and  the  Temple  destroyed,  and  who  wag 
one  of  the  first,  as  soon  as  the  edict  of  Cyrus  was  published,  to  return  to  Jerusalem.  He  is 
again  in  his  own  land.  He  sees  again  the  old  familiar  scenes,  the  mountains  and  the  valleys 
that  his  foot  trod  in  youth  are  before  him.  The  great  landmarks  are  the  same,  and  yet  the 
change  is  terrible.  The  spoiler  has  been  in  his  home,  his  vines  and  his  fig-trees  have  been  cut 
down,  the  house  of  his  God  is  a  heap  of  ruins.  His  heart  is  heavy  with  a  sense  of  desolation, 
and  bitter  with  the  memory  of  wrong  and  insult  from  which  he  has  but  lately  escaped. 

"  He  takes  his  harp,  the  companion  of  his  exile,  the  cherished  relic  of  happier  days, — the 
harp  which  he  could  not  string  at  the  bidding  of  his  conquerors  by  the  waters  of  Babylon  ;  and 
now  with  faltering  hand  he  sweeps  the  strings,  first  in  low,  plaintive,  melancholy  cadence 
pouring  out  his  griefs,  and  then  with  a  loud  crash  of  wild  and  stormy  music,  answering  to  the 
wild  and  stormy  numbers  of  his  verse,  he  raises  the  psean  of  vengeance  over  his  foes. 

•*  What  a  wonderful  mixture  is  the  Psalm  of  soft  melancholy  and  fiery  patriotism  !  The 
hand  which  wrote  it  must  have  known  how  to  smite  sharply  with  the  sword,  as  well  as  how  to 
tune  his  harp.  The  words  are  burning  words  of  a  heart  breathing  undying  love  to  his  country, 
ondyiug  hate  to  his  foe.     The  poet  is  indeed — 

••  *  Dower'd  with  the  hate  of  hate,  tho  scorn  of  scorn. 
The  love  of  love.' " 


Precious,  yet  Sorrowful,  Recollections. 
(Verses  1-6.) 


The  poet  here  expresses  the  deep 
Borrow  of  Israel  daring  their  exile  from 
the  land  of  their  fathers,  and  their 
solemn  vow  never  to  forget  the  holy 
city.  No  song  of  praise  was  heard 
amongst  them,  their  harps  were  hung 
upon  the  willows,  and  their  recollec- 
tions of  Zion  filled  them  with  sadness. 
Attracted  by  a  common  sympathy,  a 
fellowship  of  suffering,  they  assembled  in 
companies  upon  the  banks  of  the  Baby- 
lonian streams,  and  expressed  their  deep 
grief  in  sighs  and  tears.  The  scene 
is    intensely   poetic;    it    awakens   our 


sympathy,  and  excites  our  imagination. 
But  our  business  is  to  elicit  its 
teachings. 

I.  They  wept  at  the  recollection  of 
lost  privileges.  "We  wept  when  we 
remembered  Zion.** 

1.  Their  tears  express  their  patriotism, 
"  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,"  &c, 
(vers.  5,  6).  We  all  know  something  of 
love  of  country.  Whatever  may  be  the 
natural,  political,  or  moral  characteris- 
tics of  the  country  which  gave  us  birth 
and  education,  there  is  none  like  unto  it 
in  heart  attractions.     In  everything  else 

367 


PSALM  CXXXVIL 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


It  may  be  greatly  surpassed  by  other 
countries;  but  in  its  hold  upon  our 
heart  it  stands  unrivalled.  "  No  power 
can  sever  our  heart  from  the  land  of  our 
birth."  But  if  a  country  be  beautiful 
or  sublime  in  its  scenery,  fertile  in  its 
soil,  wise  and  liberal  in  its  institutions 
and  government,  and  rich  in  historical 
associations,  then  its  bold  upon  the 
heart  of  its  people  is  more  intense  and 
close.  Thus  stood  the  case  in  respect  of 
the  Jews  and  tlieir  country.  To  them 
there  was  no  land  like  Canaan.  It  was  a 
magnificent  country,  with  grand  old  moun- 
tains towering  sky-ward,  and  delicious 
plains  fertile  and  flower-clad,  and  watered 
by  delightful  streams.  *'  A  good  land, 
a  land  of  brooks  of  water,"  <fec.  (Dent, 
viii.  7—9).  Moreover,  it  was  sacred  to 
them  by  immortal  and  precious  memo- 
ries,— memories  of  Abraham  and  Moses, 
Joshua  and  Samuel,  David  and  Solo- 
mon, Elijah  and  Elisha, — memories  of 
the  glorious  doings  of  God  on  behalf  of 
their  fathers.  Well  may  these  Jews 
love  such  a  country.  But  this  country 
they  had  lost  j  and  these  tears  bewail 
their  loss. 

2.  Their  tears  express  their  yearning 
fw  freedom.  Once  they  were  free  under 
their  glorious  theocracy.  But  their  free- 
dom they  had  lost.  They  had  lost  their 
civil  liberty,  and  were  captives ;  their 
religious  liberty,  and  were  in  the  land 
of  idolaters.  Their  tears  expressed  their 
sorrow  for  the  loss  of  their  liberty,  and 
their  longing  for  its  recovery.  Their 
tears  expressing  their  yearning  for  liberty 
tell  us  that  man  was  not  made  for  bond- 
age, that  in  proportion  to  the  force  and 
fulness  of  his  manhood  will  be  his  un- 
willingness to  submit  to  bondage  in  any 
form.  In  the  same  proportion  he  will 
feel  the  degradation  and  smart  of  the 
yoke  of  the  oppressor,  and  pine  and 
strug(;;"le  for  liberty.  God  made  man  to 
be  free.  Freedom  is  the  birthright  of 
man  as  man,  and  of  every  man. 

3.  Their  tears  express  their  love  for  the 
house  of  God  and  the  ordinances  of  wor- 
ship. The  loss  of  their  country  and  of 
their  political  privileges  was  great,  and 
was  deeply  felt  by  them ;  but  their 
spiritual  deprivation  in  being  sundered 
from  Zion  was  a  greater  loss,  and  was 
368 


more  deeply  felt  by  them.  **We  wept 
when  we  remembered  Zion."  (On  Zion 
and  its  associations,  see  Horn.  Com.  on 
Ps.  xlviii.  1-3,  Ixxvi.  2,  cxxxii.  13,  14.) 
Zion  was  inseparably  connected  with  the 
sup[)ly  of  their  spiritual  requirements, 
and  the  development  of  their  moral  and 
relioious  nature.  The  loss  of  those 
things  which  tend  to  ennoble  and  de- 
velop our  higher  nature — our  true  self — 
is  the  greatest  of  all  losses.  Having  those 
things  upon  which  the  growth  and  pro- 
gress of  our  soul  depend  we  are  rich, 
though  in  other  respects  we  may  be 
as  destitute  as  Lazarus  :  without  those 
things  we  are  abjectly  poor,  though  in 
other  respects  we  may  be  as  rich  as  he 
at  whose  gafce  Lazarus  was  laid.  These 
most  costly  things,  these  divinest  things, 
the  Jews  had  lost.  From  Zion,  with  all 
its  sacred  mementoes,  and  delightful 
associations,  and  divine  ordinances,  and 
religious  privileges,  they  were  ruthlessly 
torn.  They  had  lost  all.  Country  lost, 
liberty  lost,  the  Temple  lost,  the  manifes- 
tation of  God  lost, — all  lost  /  Well  may 
they  weep  1  Two  facts  are  suggested  by 
this  portion  of  our  subject : — (1.)  Tme 
love  is  independent  of  bodily  presence  or 
nearness.  When  far  removed  from  Zion 
the  love  of  the  captive  Jew  for  the 
sacred  place  became  not  cold,  but  more 
fervent.  Material  distance  cannot  quench 
the  holy  flame.  Moral  distance  is  the 
only  thing  which  can.  (2.)  True  love 
endures  through  time  and  all  its  changes. 
Seventy  weary  years  of  deprivation  and 
sorrow  failed  to  extinguish  the  love 
of  the  pious  and  patriotic  Jew  for  Zion. 
Neither  duration  nor  change  can  exhaust 
genuine  affection  :  it  is  a  growing  and 
abiding  thing. 

II.  They  wept  at  the  recollection  of 
privileges  which  they  had  lost  by 
reason  of  their  non-appreciation  of 
them.  They  were  removed  from  their 
country  and  their  home  because  of  their 
sins.  They  were  carried  to  Babylon  in 
consequence  of  their  neglect  of  Divine 
ordinances,  their  idolatry,  rebellion 
against  God,  and  spiritual  apostacy.  No 
people  were  more  favoured,  or  were 
so  favoured  as  they  were.  They  had 
been  warned,  exhorted,  entreated,  en- 
couraged, &c.     (Comp.  Jer.  vii  25,  26, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PS^lI  OXXXTH. 


XXV.  l-ll.)  They  were  thoughtless,  dis- 
obedient, stiff-necked,  determined  to  pur- 
sue their  own  course ;  and  it  led  them 
to  Babylon  with  all  its  sorrows.  And 
now  in  the  sufferings  of  exile  they  begin 
to  consider,  now  recollection  plays  its 
part,  now  their  eye  is  turned  upon  them- 
selves, and  reflection  brings  self-reproach 
and  added  sorrow.  How  painful  must 
have  been  their  recollections  of  Zion  ! 
Zion  which  they  had  neglected,  dis- 
honoured, despised ;  and  from  which 
they  were  justly  exiled; — Zion  which 
once  in  the  beauty  of  its  situation  they 
had  regarded  as  "  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth,"  now  ruined  and  desolated  by 
their  Pagan  foes,  the  fertile  vales  of 
Palestine  all  dreary  and  neglected,  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  levelled  to  the  ground, 
the  city  destroyed,  the  Temple  desecrated 
— painful,  indeed,  must  have  been  their 
recollections !  Yet,  could  they  forget 
their  country  and  Zion  ?  Never  I  Re- 
collection constantly  led  them  there,  and 
their  sins  rose  darkly  before  them.  When 
they  had  their  privileges  they  failed  to 
appreciate  them,  neglected  them ;  when 
tliey  lost  them  they  saw  their  value.  "The 
well  is  never  prized  until  it  is  dry." 
Observe  here  three  important  facts — 

1.  We  are  prone  to  disparage  the  ordi- 
nary and  regular  blessings  of  life.  We 
see  this  as  regards  the  blessings  of  the 
kind  and  pious  home,  the  Christian 
ministry  and  means  of  grace,  the  Bible, 
and  even  salvation  and  the  Saviour. 
Familiarity  engenders  neglect. 

2.  The  disparagement  of  these  blessings 
is  an  ample  cause  for  their  withdrawal. 
The  Jews  disparaged  their  privileges, 
and  for  seventy  years  God  withdrew 
from  them  some  of  His  most  precious 
gifts.     Let  those  who  neglect  the  fami- 


liar blessings  of  this  Christian  land  and 
age  be  warned.  God  may  withdraw  His 
most  precious  gifts  from  you,  &c. 

3.  Should  these  blessings  be  withdrawn 
their  value  would  then  be  felt — be  felt 
when  it  is  too  late.  The  privileges  of 
Zion  were  valued  by  the  Jews  in 
Babylon  ;  they  were  valued  when  lost. 

*'  Like  birds   whose   beauties   languish,   half 

concealed, 

Till  mounted  on  the  win<r,  their  glossy  plumes 

Expanded  shine  with  azure,  green,  and  gold  ; 

How  hlessings  brighten  as  they  take  their 

flight  I"  —Young. 

Let  us  be  wise  and  appreciate  Heavec's 
gifts  while  we  have  them. 

What  a  solemn  view  of  life  this  sub- 
ject presents  /  Every  circumstance  and 
action  of  life  by  the  operation  of  memory 
is  endless  in  its  influence.  Memory 
eternalises  the  records  of  life.  Memory 
makes  the  fleeting  present  everlasting. 
How  important  then  is  life  !  Do  you  love 
Zion  ?  Are  you  wisely  estimating  and 
using  your  religious  advantages  and 
opportunities  ?  Or  are  you  penitently 
sorrowing  at  the  recollections  of  the  past  ? 
What  opportunities  neglected,  blessings 
depreciated  !  <fec.  Thank  God  I  the 
blessings  are  not  yet  withdrawn  ;  salva- 
tion is  still  offered,  <fec.  Look  from  the 
guilty  past  to  Jesus  for  pardon  and  life. 
Then  take  your  harp  from  the  willows, 
and  join  in  the  song  of  the  ransomed, 
"  Unto  Him  that  loved  us,"  (fee.  Our 
responsibilities  are  proportioned  to  our 
privileges.  The  Jews  were  banished 
from  their  Temple  and  country  for 
neglecting  their  privileges.  This  was 
the  most  bitter  ingredient  in  their 
sorrow  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon.  How 
great,  then,  are  the  responsibilities  of  the 
people  of  this  land  and  age  1 


Harps  on  the  Willows. 


(Ftfm2.) 

This  is  a  beautiful  and  pathetic  picture      bends  above  it. 
of  the  captive  Jews  and  their  sorrows  in 
the  land  of  Babylon.  .  .  . 

And  is  not  that  a  picture  of  many  con- 
ditions of  your  human  life  ?  Sorrow  has 
invaded  our  lives.  We  wander  by  the 
side  of  some  Babylonian  stream.  We 
hang  our   harp    upon  the    willow  that 

YOL.  U.  2  4 


We  weep  when  we 
remember  the  happier  moments  that 
have  fled. 

There  are  three  things  that  we  would 
learn  from  this  picture  of  sorrow. 
I.  Every  man  has  a  harp. 
The  harp  was  the  well-known  instru- 
ment for  the   accompaniment  of  song. 

369 


FBALM  OZZXTIL 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Its  music  was  sweet  and  delightful. 
When  calamity  fell  upon  the  nation 
their  harps  were  silenced,  &c. 

And  thus  it  is  with  all  our  lives.  We 
have  the  elements  of  joy  in  them,  the 
powers  of  song  and  gladness,  and  there 
is  no  man  who  has  not  the  capacity  and 
the  occasion  for  delightful  mirth. 

1.  Just  think  of  tJte  constitution  of  our 
nature,  wherein  a  place  is  secured  for 
joy.  The  body  is  attuned  to  pleasure. 
God  might  have  made  us  with  organisa- 
tions fitted  for  life,  for  recreation,  for 
intelligence  and  activity,  and  yet  alto- 
gether without  the  capacity  of  experienc- 
ing pleasure.  Consider  the  sense  of 
hearing.  Sounds  might  have  been  so  in- 
distinct that  to  hear  would  have  required 
the  constant  exercise  of  attention,  the 
strain  of  effort  painful  and  wearying  ;  or 
they  might  have  been  so  powerful  that 
a  whisper  would  be  shocking,  whilst  the 
natural  speech  of  our  friends  would  be 
like  the  explosion  of  cannon  close  to  th« 
ear.  And  yet  how  exquisitely  has  God 
harmonised  the  sound  and  the  sense  ! 

2.  What  a  harp  man  possesses  in 
physical  nature  if  he  would  only  let  its 
music  be  heard.  Every  sight  and  sound, 
every  scene  and  action,  all  things  fair 
and  good,  bright  and  godly,  are  but 
fingers  of  Nature's  skilful  hand,  which 
will  touch  the  strings  of  the  harp  of  our 
being,  and  wake  their  perfect  tones  of 
rapture. 

3.  Man  has  the  harp  for  pleasant  ac- 
companiment of  happy  song  in  the  region 
of  the  immaterial  and  the  intellectual. 
What  delights  there  are  in  intellectual 
operations  I  The  joy  of  learning — when 
it  is  indeed  learning  worthy  of  the 
name  ;  the  discovery  of  the  unknown  ; 
the  pursuit  of  the  law  which  underlies 
obscure  phenomena ;  the  search  for 
causes ;  the  enumeration  of  effects — 
these  and  others  afford  keen  and  lasting 
delight. 

4.  The  pleasure  which  belongs  to  the 
stiM  higher  spherewhich  we  are  privileged 
to  enter.  I  forbear  to  pursue  the  de- 
lights of  our  soul  in  its  affections — the 
raptures  of  home  ;  the  loves  of  children, 
&c.  Let  me  now  only  remind  you  of 
that  sacred  melody  which  is  attuned  when 
the  Joys  of  the  spirit  are  experienced    The 

370 


sinner  seeks  his  Saviour,  and  finds  the 
pardon  of  Father  and  of  Friend.  You 
remember  the  hour  of  forgiveness. 
Heaven's  clouds  were  cleared,  the  storm 
was  hushed,  the  dread  was  dissipated, 
and  a  Father's  love  received  you  through 
the  mighty  merits  of  a  Saviour's  death. 
The  best  music  of  all  the  Christian  poets 
falls  far  short  of  the  rapture  which 
dwells  within  the  forgiven  heart. 

And  with  what  language  shall  we  tell 
of  the  occasions  for  harping  that  have 
occurred  so  often  since  the  first  forgive- 
ness !  Have  there  not  been  Bethels  of 
a  Divine  covenantinsr,  Horebs  of  refresh- 
ment,  and  Eed  Sea  passages  of  deliver- 
ance and  triumph  1  Prayer  has  had  its 
blessed  answers,  and  meditation  its  holy 
raptures.  Nothing  but  song  could  ex- 
press our  heightened  feeling ;  and  we 
felt  as  if  angel-hands  were  sweeping  the 
cords  of  our  harp  of  life,  and  making 
the  glad  accompaniment  to  our  joyous 
mood.    (Comp.  Isa.  li.  11.) 

Remember,  this  harp  must  be  tuned 
and  practised  on.  And  yet  it  is  the 
last  thing  some  Christians  think  of— 
tuning  their  harp.  Let  Zion  re-echo 
with  your  songs. 

IL  But  sometimes  the  harp  has  to 
he  hung  upon  the  willows.  In  the 
land  of  Babylon  the  Israelites  had  no 
heart  to  sing.  Tears  were  the  only  out- 
pourings of  which  they  were  capable. 
And  so  it  is  with  the  harps  of  life.  We 
have  to  lay  them  aside  or  hang  them 
upon  willows  that  droop  over  rivers  of 
sadness,  by  whose  banks  we  sit  and 
wail. 

1.  It  is  thus  when  disease  invades  our 
bodies  or  sorrow  smites  the  soul.  Songs 
are  not  suitable  to  funerals,  and  harp- 
ingg  in  the  house  of  mourning  are  out 
of  place  and  impertinent. 

2.  There  are  some  silences  still  more 
profound  that  fall  upon  the  music  of  our 
life.  The  father  whose  eldest  son  for- 
swears his  father's  faith,  and  throws 
away  his  father's  virtues,  and  wins  only 
a  name  that  will  be  a  dishonour  among 
men — such  a  father  has  little  heart  for 
harpings,  and  is,  indeed,  in  a  silent  land 
of  bitter  exile. 

3.  And  then  how  useless  ii  the  harp 
when  we  ourselves  are  in  the  hours  of 


^OMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSA.LM  OXXXTII, 


ipiritual  distress.  God  i&  absent,  and 
we  know  no  gladness  till  Hq  shows  His 
face  again.  They  sang  a  hymn  when 
the  Master  was  among  them,  even 
though  when  they  rose  from  the  anpper 
it  was  to  pass  to  Getbsemane,  and 
Pilate's  bar,  and  Calvary.  But  their 
hearts  had  no  desire  for  singing  in  th^ 
suspense  and  numb  agony  of  the  hour 
when  the  Christ  lay  dead.  And  so  it  is 
with  the  Christian  still,  &a 

in.  But  though  there  is  no  heart  or 
place  for  song,  and  the  harp  must  be  laid 
aside,  it  needs  not  to  be  cast  away. 

They  had  been  foolish  and  wicked 
men  of  Israel  if  they  had  flung  their 
harps  beneath  the  running  river,  and 
thus  deprived  themselves  altogether  of 
the  means  of  melody  when  the  days  of 
joy  came  back  again.  (See  Ezra  iii.  9-13.) 

So,  brethren,  cast  not  away  your  harp. 
The  weather  will  clear  and  the  soul  will 
awake  to  gladness  when  the  sunshine 
comes. 

And  the  sickness  will  depart,  and  the 
Btrengthened  frame  shall  recover  its 
wonted  sense  of  health  and  vigour. 
Not  always  the  darkened  room,  <&c 


Yea,  and  there  shall  be  some  hours 
of  gladness  even  for  the  wailing  weary 
heart  that  sickens  over  the  sinfulness  of 
child  and  friend.  It  was  a  sad  home 
when  the  prodigal  was  far  away.  But 
one  day  the  father  saw  the  returning 
son,  ragged,  worn,  and  disgraced,  and 
that  night  there  was  music  and  dancing 
in  the  long  silent  homestead.  Keep 
your  harp,  my  friend,  &c. 

And  thou,  too,  depressed  and  cast 
down  Christian,  throw  not  away  thy 
harp.  There  shall  be  peace  and  joy  and 
fulness  of  blessing  yet  for  thee.  God 
shall  show  Himself,  and  Christ  will  yet 
return. 

The  time  when  the  harp  shall  be 
needed  may  not  come  until  the  moment 
of  death.  A  life  of  sorrow,  doubt,  or 
conflict  may  not  have  one  hour  of  leisure 
or  delight,  and  only  swan-like  can  be 
the  song ;  and  yet,  then  the  harp  will 
be  needed,  though  only  one  chord  may 
be  struck  from  it  upon  earth — its  strains 
sounding  amid  the  music  of  heaven. 
Then,  for  all  a  harp  will  be  gained,  for 
all  shall  sing  the  new  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb. — LL  D,  Bevan,  LIuB. 


The  Diffoultt  of  Singino  Songs  in  Exile. 

(Versed.) 


L  What  the  world  is  to  the  Chris- 
tian. "  A  strange  land."  Like  Babylon 
to  the  Israelites.  There  they  had  many 
comforts ;  for  God  **  made  them  to  be 
pitied  of  all  those  that  carried  them  cap- 
tives." They  were  treated  more  like 
colonists  than  captives;  and  many  of 
them  grew  wealthy  and  were  even  loth 
to  return.  But  it  was  not  their  home. 
What  Babylon  was  to  Israel  such  is  the 
present  evil  world  to  the  Christian.  Like 
a  man  born  in  a  cottage,  the  son  of  a 
prince,  to  whom  a  rich  inheritance  be- 
longs in  another  country,  when  he  comes 
to  know  the  secret  of  his  birth,  the  rank 
he  sustains,  and  the  possessions  that 
belong  to  him ;  then  that  which  was  his 
home  ceases  to  be  so,  and  he  longs  to 
cross  the  river,  or  climb  the  mountain, 
or  set  sail  for  his  true  country  :  so  it  is 
with  the  Christian  who,  though  born  a 
worldling,  and  once  satisfied  with  his 


portion,  now  learns  the  secret  of  his  true 
and  nobler  birth.  Many  of  the  sons  of 
the  captives  were  born  in  Babylon  ;  but, 
having  the  heart  of  an  Israelite,  felt  it 
not  a  home  :  it  was  "  a  strange  land  "  to 
them. 

On  earth  the  Christian  feels  himself 
to  be  an  exile — distant  from  his  Father's 
home — distant  from  near  and  beloved 
connections  and  friends  who  have  got 
home  before  him.  True,  he  has  many 
comforts,  &c  But  still  this  is  not  his 
rest ;  not  his  birthplace ;  not  the  con- 
dition for  which  his  faculties  and  affec- 
tions were  originally  designed.  There 
are  times  in  which  his  hope  is  full  of 
Immortality,  and  he  has  bright  glimpses 
of  the  better  country  in  his  hours  of 
faith  and  devotion ;  and  then  he  feels 
indeed  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim ;  he 
spurns  the  yoke ;  he  mourns  the  chain  ; 
and,  like  a  captiye  minstrel,  hangs  hit 

571 


PfiALM  CXXXVII. 


BOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALifS. 


harp  upon  tlie  willows,  and  cries,  "  Oh, 
that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,"  &c. 

IL  Whence  arises  the  difficulty  of 
singing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  world  like 
this  ?  It  may  be  done  ;  it  is  important 
that  it  should  be  done ;  provisions  are 
made  for  doing  it,  for  they  had  harps  and 
they  had  the  subject  of  their  song,  just 
as  Christians  have  now  the  means,  the 
materials,  and  the  elements  of  their 
spiritual  joy.  Yet  there  are  obstruc- 
tions to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  peace 
which  the  Gospel  brings.  Whence  arises 
the  hindrance  ] 

1.  From  want  of  sympathy  in  those 
around  u$  Their  oppressors  did  not  ask 
for  the  song  from  love  to  the  religion, 
or  sympathy  with  the  captives,  but  to 
add  insult  to  their  misery  by  holding  up 
their  religion  to  contempt,  and  mocking 
at  the  hope  and  promise  it  contained. 
Here  we  admire  the  captives.  They  did 
not  forget  to  take  their  harps  with  them 
to  Babylon.  They  did  not  refuse  to  sing 
because  they  were  ashamed  of  their  reli- 
gion, or  would  make  a  secret  of  it. 
They  did  not  hide  their  harps,  as  if  they 
were  afraid  of  their  avowal ;  and  they 
did  not  break  their  harps,  as  if  they  were 
abandoned  to  despair;  but  they  hung 
them  upon  the  willows  in  sight  of  the 
foe,  and  only  refused  to  sing  because  the 
company  was  uncongenial. 

And  is  it  not  so  still  ?  Are  not  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  the  children  of  Zion 
grievously  diminished  by  the  uncongenial 
society  with  which  they  are  called  to 
mingle — sometimes  in  their  own  families, 
when  a  believing  wife  is  yoked  to  an  un- 
believing husband,  or  a  religious  husband 
to  an  irreligious  wife  ?  "  Can  two  walk 
together,  except  they  be  agreed  ?"  (Amos 
iii.  3).  How  much  less  can  two  sing 
together  1  When  Christians  mingle  with 
irreligious  persons  in  the  same  house,  the 
same  shop,  the  same  workroom,  &c. 


2.  From  ihe  pressure  of  outward  trial 
and  of  mental  grief.  I  know  that  all  the 
troubles  of  the  wilderness  ought  not  to 
put  us  out  of  tune  for  singing  the  songs 
of  Zion ;  but  they  sometimes  do.  We 
have  often  observed  a  counter-effect  pro- 
duced for  a  season  by  the  calamities  of 
]ife — that  whereas  they  are  both  designed 
and  adapted  to  lead  us  at  once  and 
directly  to  God,  yet  under  the  first  and 
immediate  pressure  \\\\  opposite  effect  is 
produced,  till  principle  has  time  to  rally 
and  grace  obtains  her  triumph.  The 
cup  intoxicates ;  the  bio \v  stuns.  David 
expresses  this  in  Ps,  Ix.  3. 

But  even  then  the  Christian  does  not 
break  his  harp  ;  he  only  suspends  it ; 
and  if  he  cannot  find  a  song,  he  will  at 
least  hush  the  breath  of  nuinnuring  and 
complaint.  David  corrects  his  despon- 
dency, and  at  the  very  worst  anticipates 
brighter  times  (Ps.  xlii.  11).  Yet  the 
Lord  Jesus  anticipates  even  His  suffer- 
ings with  a  song  (Matt.  xxvi.  30.) 

3.  Because  our  hearts  are  out  of  tune 
for  the  exercise.  Under  the  conscious- 
ness of  spiritual  declension  it  is  very 
difficult  to  *' sinoj  the  Lord's  son^f." 

III.  What  answer  shall  be  returned 
to  the  inquiry — *'  How  shall  we  sing 
the  Lord's  song"?  &c. 

\,  If  you  would  sing  the  Lord^s  song 
in  adversity,  make  yourself  well  ac- 
quainted with  it  in  prosperity.  It  is  bad 
to  have  our  comforts  to  seek  when  we 
want  to  enjoy  them ;  our  anchor  to  pro- 
vide when  we  want  to  use  it ;  our  song 
to  learn,  (kc.  (Isa.  xii.  1). 

2.  Live  close  to  God,  and  exercise  re- 
newed  acts  of  faith  in  Christ.  Retrace 
your  steps  if  you  have  wandered.  *'  Re- 
pent, and  do  thy  first  works." 

3.  Be  much  in  prayer.  "  Open  Thou 
my  lips,"  (fee. 

4.  Honour  the  work  and  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit, — Samuel  Thodey. 


I.  The  Christian  on 
strange  land — 

1.  As  to  his  feelings. 

2.  As  to  his  supplies. 
S.  As  to  his  dangers 

372 


earth  is  in  a 


Songs  in  a  Strange  Land. 
{Verse  4.) 

IL  The  Christian  on  earth,  although 
in  a  strange  land,  has  songs — 

1.  Of  gratitude. 

2.  Of  penitence. 

3.  Of  resignation. 

4.  Of  hope. — George  Brook$, 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXTn, 


Retribution. 
{Verses  7-9.) 


We  have  in  these  verses — 
I.    An   important   feature   of   the 
Divine  government  of  the  world.    The 
designs  of  God  are  sometimes  wrought 
out  by  wicked  men,  but  this  affords  no 
excuse  to  such  men,  nor  will  it  secure 
to  them   any  exemption   from  the  just 
consequences    of   their   deeds.      In   the 
Babylonish  captivity  this  is  strikingly 
exemplified.       The   Jews    were    carried 
into  Babylon  by  the  permission  of  God 
as  a  punishment   for  their  many  sins, 
particularly  their  idolatry.     And  in  one 
respect,   at   least,   the  captivity  accom- 
plished its  purpose ;  for  the  Jews  have 
never  since  relapsed  into  idolatry.     So 
far   the    Babylonians  did  the  work  of 
God.     But  they  did  it  unintentionally, 
unconsciously.     They  had  no  thought  of 
working  out  the  purposes  of  God  in  so 
doing,  but  simply  of  fulfilling  their  own 
proud  and  lawless  designs.     The  cap- 
tivity   was   overruled    by  God  for  the 
accomplishment  of  His  designs,  yet  on 
the  part  of  Babylon  it  was  unjustifiable 
and  wicked.  And  did  she  go  unpunished  ? 
No.     The   hour   of  retribution  struck, 
the  strange  fingers  appeared  in  the  royal 
banquet  hall,  the  letters  of  doom  with 
appalling  distinctness  and  mystery  were 
inscribed  upon  the  wall,  the  enemy  even 
then  was  close  upon  the  city :  "  in  that 
night  was  Belshazzar  king  of  the  Chal- 
deans slain,"  and  Babylon,  "  the  lady  of 
kingdoms,"  was  a  kingdom   no  longer. 
We  see  the  same  principle  in  operation 
in  the  life  of  Joseph  (Gen.  1.  20  :  Ps. 
Ixxvi.  10). 

How  magnificent  is  this  aspect  of  the 
Divine  government  1  All  things  in  the 
universe  are  under  the  control  of  the 
Almighty,  and  the  most  malignant 
powers  are  used  for  the  accomplishment 
of  His  glorious  purposes.  There  is  no 
real  triumph  of  falsehood  and  evil.  Their 
victories  are  only  brief  appearances.  All 
things  in  the  universe  are  aiding  to 
enthrone  the  True  and  the  Good. 

IL  A  cry  for  retribution.  "Re- 
member, O  Lord,  the  children  of  Edom," 
ko,       "Deepest    of    all,"    says    Dean 


Stanley,  "  was  the  indignation  roused  by 
the  sight  of  tlie  nearest  of  kin,  the  race 
of  Esau,   often    allied   to    Judah,   often 
independent,  now  bound  by  tlie  closest 
union  with  the  power  that  was  truly  the 
common    enemy    of    both.      There    was 
an  intoxication  of   delight  in   the  wild 
Edomite  chiefs,   as    at    each   successive 
stroke  against  the  venerable  walls  they 
shouted,    *  Down    with    it !    down    with 
it  !  even  to  the  ground  ! '     They  stood  in 
the    passes  to   interrupt   the    escape    of 
those  who  would  have  fled  down  to  the 
Jordan  valley  ;  they  betrayed  the  fugi- 
tives ;  they  indulged  in  their  barbarous 
revels  on  the  Temple   hill.      Long   and 
loud  has    been    the    wail  of   execration 
which  has    gone    up    from    the    Jewish 
nation    against    Edom.     It    is   the   one 
imprecation   which     breaks    forth   from 
the    Lamentations    of   Jeremiah ;  it    is 
the  culmination  of  the  fierce  threats  of 
Ezekiel ;  it  is  the  sole  purpose  of   the 
short,  sharp  cry  of  Obadiah;  it  is  the 
bitterest  drop  in  the  sad  recollections  of 
the  Israelite  captives  by  the  waters  of 
Babylon  ;  and  the  one  warlike  strain  of 
the  Evangelical  Prophet  is  inspired  by 
the    hope   that  the    Divine    Conqueror 
should    come    knee   deep    in    Idumean 
blood    (Lam.    iv.    21,   22;    Ezek.   xxv. 
12-U;  Obad.   1-21;  Jer.  xlix.  7-22: 
Isa.  Ixiii.  1-4)." 

This  cry  to  the  Lord  for  retribution 
to  Edom  implies — 

1.  The  existence  of  the  sense  of  justice 
in  the  human  soul, 

2.  Belief  in  the  righteous  government 
of  God, 

3.  Belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer 
to  God, 

HI.  An  illustration  of  the  nature  of 
retribution.  *'  O  daughter  of  Babylon, 
who  art  to  be  destroyed,  happy  shall  he 
be  that  rewardeth  thee  as  thou  hast 
served  us."  Margin :  "  That  recom- 
penseth  unto  thee  thy  deed  which  thou 
didst  to  us."  Perowne,  literally  :  "  The 
requital  wherewith  thou  hast  requited 
us."  "  Agreeably  to  His  justice," 
says  Tholuck,  "  God  exercises  the  Jut 

373 


PSALM  OXXXTin. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


talioms.  Justice  Is  elastic ;  the  unjust 
blow  I  inflict  upon  another,  by  the 
order  of  the  moral  world,  recoils  upon 
myself."  (Comp.  Judges  i.  6,  7  ;  Jer. 
li.  54-56.)  "  God  has  undertaken,"  says 
Bushnell,  **  to  dispense  justice  by  a  law 
of  natural  consequence.  He  has  con- 
nected thus,  with  our  moral  and  phy- 
sical nature,  a  law  of  reaction,  by  which 
any  wrong  of  thought,  feeling,  dispo- 
sition, or  act,  provokes  a  retribution 
exactly  fitted  to  it,  and  to  the  desert  of 
it.  And  this  law  is  just  like  every  law 
of  natural  order,  inviolable,  not  subject 
to  suspension,  or  discontinuance,  even 
by  miracle  itself.  And  justice  is,  in 
this  view,  a  fixed  principle  of  order,  as 
truly  as  the  laws  of  the  heavenly  bodies.'* 
IV.  The  desire  for  retribution  is 
prone  to  develop  into  vindictiveness 
towards  those  who  have  injured  us. 


**  Happy  shall  he  be  that  taketh  and 
dasheth  thy  little  ones  against  the  rock.** 
In  ancient  warfare  the  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  persons  of  all  ages  and  of 
both  sexes  was  common.  Perhaps  the 
Psalmist  in  this  utterance  "  only  acts 
as  a  Divine  herald  to  confirm  former  pre- 
dictions." As  a  matter  of  fact  Cyrus, 
the  conqueror  of  Babylon,  is  reckoned 
amongst  the  heroes  of  history.  But 
"there  is  great  need  to  have  the  heart 
well  guarded  with  the  fear  of  God,  for, 
otherwise  to  allow  the  dashing  of  little 
ones  against  the  stones,  might  make  a 
man  guilty  of  savage  cruelty."  Guard 
earnestly  against  a  vindictive  spirit. 

**  Consider  this, — 
That,  in  the  course  of  justice,  none  of  us 
Should  see  salvation  :  we  do  pray  for  mercy  ; 
And  that  same  prayer  doth  teach  ua  all  to 

render 
The  deeds  of  mercy." — ShaJcespeart, 


PSALM    OXXXVIIL 

Introduction. 

**Thii,**  Bays  Barnes,  "is  the  first  of  a  series  of  eight  Psalms  (P«.  xxiviii.-cxlv.) 
placed  together  in  this  part  of  the  book,  and  ascribed  to  David.  They  appear  to  be  of  the 
nature  of  a  supplement  to  the  Book  of  Psalms,  composed  of  Psalms  unknown  to  the  original 
collector  and  arranger  of  the  Book,  and  subsequently  discovered  and  ascertained  to  be  the 
works  of  David.  It  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  strange  that  there  should  be  Psalms  of  this  nature 
composed  by  David  at  different  periods  of  his  life,  which  might  have  been  preserved  in  dif- 
ferent branches  of  his  family,  and  which  might  not  have  been  generally  known  to  exist.  It  is 
rare  that  the  works  of  an  author,  especially  a  poet,  are  collected  and  published,  and  that  things 
of  this  kind — fugitive  and  occasional  pieces — are  not  subsequently  found  ;  nor  is  it  very  un- 
usual that  such  pieces  may,  after  all,  be  amongst  the  most  tender,  touching,  and  beautiful  of  his 
compositions.  Burn's  '  Highland  Mary,*  so  much  admired,  and  his,  *  When  wild  War's  deadly 
blast  was  blown,' — a  poem  which  no  one  can  read  without  tears, — with  not  a  few  others  of  his, 
are  of  this  description.  They  are  said,  in  his  Biography,  to  have  been  *  extracted  from  the 
correspondence  of  Burns.* 

"  The  occasion  on  which  this  Psalm  was  composed  cannot  now  be  determined." 


A  Devout  Resolution,  Grateful  Recollection,  and  an  ENcouRAaiNO 

Anticipation. 

(Verses  1-5.) 


We  have  here-^ 

I  A  devout  resolution  (vers.  1,  2). 
The  poet  resolves  to  celebrate  the  praise 
of  God,  and  to  do  so — 

1.  In  the  most  excellent  manner.  (1.) 
Heartily.  "  I  will  praise  Thee  with  my 
whole  heart"  It  is  remarkable  that  he 
does  not  say  whom  he  will  praise  until 
he  comes  to  the  fourth  verse.  This  is 
significant.  '<  It  is  at  though  in  the 
374 


Psalmist's  heart  there  could  be  but  one 
object  of  praise,  whether  named  or  un- 
named." Whole  -  heartedness  and  fer- 
vour in  worship  are  acceptable  unto 
God.  (2.)  GonjidenUy.  ''Before  the 
gods  will  I  sing  praise  unto  Thee." 
"  *  The  gods,' "  says  Perowne,  "  are  the 
false  gods,  the  objects  of  heathen  wor- 
ship, in  the  very  presence  of  whom,  and 
to  the  confusion  of  their  worshippers, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oxxxvm. 


the  Psalmist  will  utter  his  praise  of  the 
true  God."  When  our  faith  in  God  is 
strong  we  shall  be  neither  afraid  nor 
ashamed  to  praise  Him  before  any  per- 
son. (3.)  Becomingly.  "I  will  worship 
toward  Thy  holy  temple."  The  Psalmist 
was  not  allowed  to  enter  the  interior  of 
the  tabernacle,  which  he  here  designates, 
"Thy  holy  temple."  The  tabernacle 
was  regarded  as  the  special  residence  of 
the  Most  High.  Because  He  specially 
manifested  Himself  there,  the  pious 
Israelites  turned  their  faces  towards  it 
when  they  worshipped.  Thus  Daniel 
in  his  exile  prayed  with  **  his  windows 
open  in  his  chamber  toward  Jerusalem." 
There  are  certain  forms  and  arrange- 
ments for  worship  which  are  reverent 
and  seemly,  and  these  every  devout  wor- 
shipper will  endeavour  to  conform  to. 
"Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  into 
the  house  of  God,"  <fec.  We  must  wor- 
ship reverently  through  the  mediation 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  For  the  most  excellent  reasons.  "  I 
will  praise  Thy  Name  for  Thy  loving- 
kindness  and  for  Thy  truth ;  for  Thou 
hast  magnified  Thy  word  above  all  Thy 
Name."  The  poet  resolves  to  praise  the 
Lord  because  of  th«  kindness  and 
faithfulness  which  He  had  manifested 
according  to  His  Word.  The  final  clause 
in  the  second  verse  has  occasioned  con- 
siderable difficulty  to  some  expositors. 
The  interpretation  of  Barnes,  Hengsten- 
berg,  Henry,  Perowne,  and  others  seems 
to  us  undoubtedly  correct, — that  the 
revelation  of  Himself  which  God  has 
given  to  man  in  His  Word  surpasses  in 
clearness  and  preciousness  all  the  other 
manifestations  which  He  has  made  of 
Himself.  Thus  Perowne  :  "  Thy  word, 
or  *  promise.'  (Comp.  Ps.  Ivi.  10,  Ix.  6, 
Ixii.  11.)  No  particular  promise  is 
meaiLt.  The  same  word  occurs  fre- 
quently in  Ps.  cxix.  Above  all  Thy  Name. 
The  expression  seems  to  mean  that  to 
the  soul  waiting  upon  God,  and  trust- 
ing in  His  word,  the  promise  becomes 
so  precious,  so  strong  a  ground  of  hope, 
that  it  surpasses  all  other  manifestations 
of  God's  goodness  and  truth  ;  or  in  the 
promise  may  here  also  be  included  the 
fulfilment  of  the  promise."  In  His  Word 
God  has  given   many   exceeding  great 


and  precious  promises,  and  they  are  all 
worthy  of  acceptation  ;  for  God  in  His 
fulfilment  is  better  even  than  in  His 
promises.  Here  then  is  an  excellent 
reason  for  praising  God,  because  He  has 
manifested  so  much  of  Himself,  and 
especially  of  His  loving-kindness  and 
faithfulness  to  us  in  His  Word.  Our 
revelation  is  much  fuller  and  richer  than 
was  that  of  David.      "  We  see  Jesus," 

**  And,  in  His  face  a  glory  stands, 
The  noblest  labour  of  Thy  hands ; 
The  radiant  lustre  of  His  e.yes 
Outshines  the  wonders  of  tiie  skies." 

—Watti, 

Therefore,  our  praise  should  be  more 
hearty  and  confident  than  was  that 
of  David. 

II.  A  grateful  recollection.  "In 
the  day  when  I  cried  Thou  answeredst 
me,  and  strengthenedst  me  with  strength 
in  my  soul."  Perowne  :  "  Thou  madest 
me  courageous  with  strength  in  my 
soul."  In  time  of  need  the  Psalmist 
had  sought  the  Lord  in  prayer,  and  the 
Lord  had  heard  and  graciously  answered 
him.     God  had  answered  him — 

1.  Speedily.  "  In  the  day  when  I 
cried  Thou  answeredst  me."  "  Before 
they  call,  I  will  answer  ;  and  while  they 
are  yet  speaking,  I  will  hear.'*  (Comp. 
Dan.  ix.  20-24.) 

2.  Spiritually,  "Thou  madest  me 
courageous  with  strength  in  my  soul." 
We  pray  in  time  of  difficulty,  and  He 
gives  us  wisdom  and  courage  to  meet 
and  surmount  the  difficulty  ;  in  time  of 
affliction,  and  He  gives  us  patience  and 
strength  to  bear  the  suffering.  "  My 
grace,"  saith  He,  "  is  sufficient  for  thee." 
Kecollections  such  as  this  one  of  David's 
stimulate  the  heart  to  grateful  and  joy- 
ous praise. 

III.  An  encouraging  anticipation. 
The  Psalmist  confidently  anticipates  a 
time  when  all  the  kings  of  the  earth 
shall  recognise  Jehovah  as  God,  and 
render  to  Him  devout  homage  and 
cheerful  obedience. 

1.  All  kings  shall  he  made  acquainted 
with  the  highest  revelation  of  God  and 
with  His  glory.  They  shall  "  hear  the 
words  of  His  mouth,"  and  see  that 
"  great  is  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  The 
Gospel    shall   be    preached   in   all   th« 

375 


PSALM  CXTXVm, 


BOMJLETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


world,  and  the  glory  of  the  Divine  grace 
shall  be  exhibited  to  all  peoples.  God  in 
Christ  shall  be  made  known  to  all  men. 

2.  When  all  kings  are  acquainted 
with  "  the  words "  and  "  the  glory  of 
the  Lord "  they  will  heartily  praise  and 
cheerfully  serve  Him.  "  Shall  praise 
Thee,  O  Lord,"  &c.  "  Yea,  they  shall 
sing  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord."  "  The 
ways  of  the  Lord  "  are  those  of  obedience 
and  worship ;  the  ways  of  reverence  to- 
wards God  and  righteousness  towards 
men.  They  shall  tread  them  with 
cheerfulness.  Obligation  will  be  re- 
garded  as   a  privilege.     Duty  will   be 


transformed  into  delight.  Statutes  will 
be  translated  into  songs,  and  set  to 
joyous  music.  A  true  acquaintance 
with  the  highest  revelation  of  God  is  cal- 
culated to  lead  to  such  a  result.  The 
revelation  of  God  in  Christ  is  fitted  to 
inspire  our  trust,  to  captivate  our  affec- 
tions, and  to  secure  our  enthusiastic 
obedience.  Let  the  world  heartily  ac- 
cept Christ — the  Christ  not  of  the 
creeds  and  the  churches,  but  of  the 
Evangelists — as  the  supreme  Revelation 
of  God,  and  it  will  speedily  bow  to  His 
authority,  resound  with  His  praise,  and 
delight  in  His  service. 


God's  Word  Exalted. 

(Verse  2.) 
"  Thou  has  magnified  Thy  word  above  all  Thy  Name.* 

I.  As  the  medium  of  His  self-mani-  III.  As  the  record  of  His  will, 

festation.  IV.  As  the  instrument  of  His  power. 
II.  As  the  exposition  of  His  govern-  V.  As  the  revelation  of  His  love, 

ment.  —W.  W.  Wythe, 

An  Earnest  Prayer,  and  an  Immediate  Answer. 

(Verse  3.) 


Consider — 

L  The  earnestness  of  his  prayer. 

*'  I  cried  unto  Thee."  Beautiful  de- 
scription of  prayer — crying  unto  God. 
"  Prayer,"  says  Mrs.  More,  "  is  the  cry 
of  want,  to  Him  that  can  relieve  it ;  of 
guilt,  to  Him  who  is  able  to  pardon  it ; 
of  sorrow,  to  Him  who  is  able  to  relieve 
it."     (So  Ps.  cxix.  145.) 

1.  It  supposes  the  pressure  of  distress, 
under  the  frowns  of  the  world  ;  under 
the  temptations  of  Satan ;  under  the 
difficulties  of  the  way ;  under  the 
exigencies  of  the  Christian  conflict. 
The  day  of  trial,  a  long  day — a  dark 
day — a  stormy  day — a  day  that  brings 
God  and  the  soul  together.  The  time  of 
affliction  is  the  time  of  supplication. 
God  afflicts  us  that  He  may  hear  from 
us. 

2.  It  supposes  the  ready  recourse  of 
the  Christian  to  God  in  prayer.  No 
sooner  does  the  storm  of  danger  come 
down  than  the  cry  of  faith  and  fervour 
goes  up.  It  is  this  spirit  of  heartfelt 
continued  instancy  in  prayer  that  keeps 

376 


the  Christian  in  the  hour  of  temptation, 
or  in  the  floods  of  adversity,  and  main- 
tains the  spiritual  life  within.  But  often 
is  the  Christian  constrained  to  acknow- 
ledge that  his  heart  has  little  to  do  with 
the  cry  of  his  lips.  Yet  in  danger  still 
he  cries — sometimes  with  a  cry  which 
no  words  could  fully  express,  that  vents 
itself  only  in  "groanings  which  cannot 
be  uttered" — a  cry  that  "enters  into 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth." 

3.  It  supposes  previous  habits  of  ac- 
quaintance with  God;  for  we  do  not  run 
to  a  stranger  in  distress,  much  less  to  an 
enemy,  but  to  a  known  and  tried  friend. 

4.  It  supposes  the  union  of  prayer  and 
thankfulness.  Praise  should  always  fol- 
low where  prayer  is  answered.  A  gra- 
cious man  is  a  praising  and  a  grateful 
man.  As  answers  come  down,  praises 
should  go  up. 

II.  The  effectual  relief  he  gained. 

God  is  a  prayer-hearing  and  a  sin- 
pardoning  God. 

1.  He  obtained  an  immediate  answer. 
"  In    the    day    when     I    cried    Thou 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXVIH 


answeredst,"  <fec.  Moses  cried  at  the 
Red  Sea,  and  had  instant  help.  No 
needless  delay  :  no  indifference  to  the 
state  and  condition  of  the  Church  on 
the  part  of  God.  (Compare  Ps.  xxxii. 
3-5.)  .  .  .  While  the  voice  of  penitent 
confession  was  suppressed,  his  cries  and 
lamentations  were  disregarded;  but  upon 
the  first  utterance  of  prayer  from  his 
lips,  or  rather  on  the  first  purpose  of 
contrition  formed  in  his  heart,  the 
pardon,  the  full  and  free  pardon,  is 
granted.  "  I  said,  I  will  confess,  .  .  . 
and  Thou  forgavest."  How  prompt  was 
the  answer  to  Jacob's  prayer  at  Jabbok 
(Gen.  xxxii.  24-30)  ;  to  Gideon's  (Judges 
vi.  36-40  ;  to  Daniel's  (Dan.  ix.  20-23). 
2.  He  was  replenished  with  inward 
grace.  "  Thou  strengthenedst  me  with 
strength  in  my  soul."  Strength  to  bear 
troubles  ;  strength  to  overcome  tempta-* 
tions ;  strength  to  war  with  the  powers 
of  evil.  Especially  was  he  strengthened 
in  the  actings  of  faith — led  to  renewed 
exercises  of  dependence  upon  the  power 
and  grace  of  Christ.  Weak  indeed  are 
our  purposes  without  grace  to  strengthen 
them,  and  worthless  our  good  resolu- 
tions without  grace  to  carry  them  out ; 


but  when  the  grace  is  enjoyed,  difficulties 
give  way,  enemies  are  overcome,  and  in- 
ward peace  is  attained  amidst  outward 
trials.  This  is  God's  way  of  putting 
life  into  the  soul,  when  by  an  inexpres- 
sible sweetness  and  power  He  allures  the 
soul  to  Himself.  Every  step,  indeed,  to 
the  very  end  will  be  a  conflict  with  be- 
setting sin  or  with  remaining  enmity 
and  unbelief.  But  in  answer  to  prayer 
there  will  be  a  continual  drawing  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  towards  high  and  holy 
things.  The  same  Hand  that  gave  a 
new  bias  to  the  soul  in  a  heavenward 
motion,  will  confirm  and  strengthen  it 
to  the  end. 

3.  The  principle  of  hope  was  itself 
reinvig orated,  that  he  was  not  only 
strengthened  for  the  present,  but  en- 
abled to  anticipate  the  future.  "Though 
I  walk  in  the  midst  of  trouble.  Thou 
wilt  revive  me." 

III.  The  force  and  inspiration  of 
his  example  upon  other  minds. 

"  All  the  kings  of  tlie  earth  shall 
praise  Thee,  O  Lord,  when  they  hear 
the  words  of  Thy  mouth,"  (fee.  We  not 
only  must  be  religious  ourselves,  but  help 
others  to  be  so. — Samuel  Thodey, 


God's  Treatment  of  Different  Classes  of  Character. 

{Verses  6-9.) 


I.  God's  treatment  of  the  humble. 
**  Though  the  Lord  be  high,  yet  hath  He 
respect  unto  the  lowly." 

1.  The  character.  "  The  lowly."  Not 
the  lowly  in  outward  condition  merely, 
but  in  inward  disposition — the  humble. 
Humility  is  not  a  thing  of  circumstances, 
but  of  soul. 

2.  The  treatment.  *'  The  Lord  hath 
respect  unto  the  lowly."  He  "looks 
upon  "  them.  He  not  only  sees  them, 
but  regards  them  graciously.  He  views 
them  with  approving  interest,  and  affords 
them  kindly  aid. 

3.  I'he  reason.  "  Because  the  Lord 
is  high  He  hath  respect  unto  the  lowly." 
The  A.  V.  in  giving  the  impression  that 
the  Lord  looks  upon  the  humble  notwith- 
standing His  greatness  does  not  repre- 
sent the  poet's  meaning.  God  graciously 
regards  the  poor  in  spirit  because  He  is 


so  great.  A  more  correct  rendering  is, 
"  For  the  Lord  is  lifted  up,  and  looks 
upon  the  lowly." — Hengstenherg.  Or  : 
'Tor  lofty  is  Jehovah,  and  the  humble 
He  sees." — Barnes.  God  is  a  great 
Being,  and  therefore  He  is  condescend- 
ing. Hengstenberg  :  "  The  lofty  eleva- 
tion of  the  Lord  forms  the  ground,  on 
account  of  which  He  lifts  up  the  lowly, 
brings  down  the  proud  ;  not :  and  yet ; 
but  :  and  therefore."  *'  Thus  saith  the 
high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth 
eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy;  I  dwell 
in  the  high  and  holy  place,  with  him 
also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble 
spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble 
and  to  revive  the  heart  of  the  contrite 
ones." 

II  God's  treatment  of  the  proud. 

"  The  proud  He  knoweth  afar  off." 
\.   The  character.    "The  proud."    Not 

377 


roiXM  oxxxTin. 


SOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


the  exalted  in  station,  but  the  haughty, 
the  arrogant.  Pride  is  unbecoming , 
foolish,  sinful.  "  Pride,"  says  Sidney 
Smith,  "  is  not  the  heritage  of  man ; 
humility  should  dwell  with  frailty,  and 
atone  for  ignorance,  error,  and  imperfec- 
tion." 

2.  The  treatment.  Jehovah  knoweth 
the  proud  afar  off.  He  regards  them 
only  at  a  distance.  Pride  is  an  insuper- 
able barrier  between  God  and  man.  A 
haughty  man  is  not  regarded  by  God 
with  favour,  nor  can  he  have  any  com- 
munion with  Him.  "Every  one  that 
is  proud  in  heart  is  an  abomination  to 
the  Lord." 

m  God's  treatment  of  His  afflicted 
people.  "  Though  I  walk  in  the  midst 
of  trouble,"  (fee.     We  have  here — 

1.  A  depressing  possibility  in  the  life 
of  good  men.  The  life  of  a  good  man 
may  be — (1.)  Surrounded  hy  trouble — 
a  journey  "in  the  midst  of  trouble." 
Piety  does  not  secure  a  man  from  the 
afflictions  of  life.  The  godly  man  is 
exposed  to  infirmities  and  diseases  of 
the  body,  to  losses  and  difficulties  in 
temporal  affairs,  to  family  and  social 
trials  and  bereavements,  to  spiritual 
conflicts  and  distresses.  Like  Job,  the 
godly  man  is  sometimes  almost  over- 
whelmed with  trouble.  The  life  of  a 
good  man  may  be— (2.)  Imperilled  by 
angry  enemies.  The  Psalmist  seems  to 
have  been  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  his 
adversaries  when  he  wrote  this  Psalm. 
The  godly  soul  is  exposed  to  the  assaults 
of  spiritual  foes.  The  lusts  of  the  flesh, 
the  cares  and  anxieties,  pomps  and 
vanities,  shams  and  dissipations  of  the 
world,  and  the  subtlety  and  power  of 
the  devil  are  arrayed  against  him.  The 
good  man  is  acquainted  with  both 
trouble  and  peril ;  he  has  trials  and 
enemies. 

2.  An  encouraging  confidence  in  the 
life  of  good  men.  David  was  confident 
of — (1.)  Revival  in  trouble.  "  Thou  wilt 
revive  me."  He  had  an  unfailing  hope 
that  the  Lord  would  quicken  and 
strengthen  him  to  bear  his  trials.     He 


sustains  and  comforts  His  afflicted 
people.  David  was  confident  of — (2.) 
Deliverance  from  enemies.  "  Thou  shalt 
stretch  forth  Thine  hand  against  the 
wrath  of  mine  enemies,  and  Thy  right 
hand  shall  save  me."  God  exerts  His 
almighty  power  for  the  protection  and 
salvation  of  His  peoi)le.  The  good  are 
shielded  by  Omnipotence. 

IV.  God's  treatment  of  His  trustful 
people.  "  The  Lord  will  perfect  that 
which  concern eth  me,"  (fee.     Notice  : — 

1.  The  inspiring  assurance.  The  poet 
was  confident  that  the  Lord  would 
accomplish  the  work  which  He  had 
begun  concerning  him.  God  does  not 
abandon  His  work  in  an  incomplete 
state.  We  are  "confident  that  He 
which  hath  begun  a  good  work  in  you 
will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ."  "  Grace  will  complete  what 
grace  begins." 

2.  The  firm  basis  of  this  assurance. 
The  confidence  of  the  Psalmist  was 
grounded  on  the  unchangeableness  of 
God's  everlasting  merc3\  "  Thy  mercy, 
O  Lord,  endureth  for  ever."  He  who 
bases  his  trust  of  complete  and  glorious 
salvation  on  this  foundation  will  never 
be  put  to  shame. 

3.  The  humble  dependence  of  thii 
assurance.  "  Forsake  not  the  works  ol 
Thine  own  hands."  The  poet  here 
translates  into  a  prayer  what  he  had 
just  before  expressed  as  a  conviction  of 
his  soul.  Prayer  is  one  of  the  means 
whereby  the  completion  of  the  Divine 
work  in  us  and  for  us  is  secured.  The 
good  man  is  sensible  of  his  own  weak- 
ness and  waywardness,  and  depends 
upon  God  to  perfect  His  own  work  in 
his  salvation.  In  the  material  universe 
there  are  no  unfinished  worlds  or  sys- 
tems ;  no  half-made  and  forsaken  works 
of  His  hands.  And  His  work  in  the 
soul  that  trusts  Him  He  will  continue 
until  it  attains  full  and  glorious  perfec- 
tion. 

Here,  then,  is  encouragement  to  His 
people  to  trust  in  Him  at  all  times. 


S78 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTART:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OZXXIX. 


The  Majesty  and  Condescension  of  God. 
(Verse  6.) 
•*  Though  the  Lord  be  high,  yet  hath  He  respect  unto  the  lowly." 


I.  The  majesty  of  God. 

1.  Consider  His  eternity. 

2.  Consider  His  immutability. 

3.  Consider  His  power. 

4.  Consider  His  goodnesa. 


II.  The  condescension  of  God. 

1.  Consider  the  persons  to  whom  His 
preference  is  shown. 

2.  Consider  the  special  blessings  with 
which  He  honours  them. — Geo.  Brookt, 


PSALM     CXXXIX. 

Introduction. 

"Nowhere,**  says  Perowne,  "are  the  great  attribateg  of  God — His  omniscience,  His 
omnipresence.  His  omnipotence,  set  forth  so  strikingly  aa  they  are  in  this  magnificent  Psalm. 
Nowhere  is  there  a  more  overwlielming  sense  of  the  fact  that  man  is  beset  and  compassed  about 
by  God,  pervaded  by  His  Spirit,  unable  to  take  a  step  without  His  control ;  and  yet  nowhere  is 
tliere  a  more  emphatic  assertion  of  the  personality  of  man  as  distinct  from,  not  absorbed  in  the 
Deity.  This  is  no  pantheistie  speculation.  Man  is  here  the  workmanship  of  God,  and  stands 
in  the  presence  and  under  the  eye  of  One  who  is  his  Judge.  The  power  of  conscience,  the 
sense  of  sin  and  of  responsibility,  are  felt  and  acknowledged,  and  prayer  is  offered  to  One  who 
is  not  only  the  Judge  but  the  Friend ;  to  One  who  is  feared  ai  none  else  are  feared,  who  is 
loved  as  none  else  are  loved. 

"Both  in  loftiness  of  thought  and  in  expressive  beauty  of  language  the  Psalm  standi 
pre-eminent,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Aben  Ezra  should  have  pronounced  it  to  be  *  the 
crown  of  all  the  Psalms.*    The  Psalm  both  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  LXX.  is  ascribed  to  David. 

"The  rhythmical  structure  ii,  on  the  whole,  regular.  There  are  four  strophes,  each  con- 
sisting of  six  verses ;  the  first  three  strophes  containing  the  proper  theme  of  the  Psalm,  and 
the  last  the  expression  of  individual  feelinir. 

**  I.  In  the  first  strophe  the  poet  dwells  on  the  omniscience  of  God,  as  manifested  in  His 
knowledge  of  the  deepest  thoughts  and  most  secret  workings  of  the  human  heart,  vers.  1-6. 

'*  n.  In  the  second,  on  His  omnipresence,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  corner  of  the  universe 
go  remote  that  it  is  not  pervaded  by  God's  presence,  no  darkness  so  deep  that  it  can  hide  from 
His  eyee,  vers.  7-12. 

"III.  The  third  strophe  gives  the  reason  for  the  profound  conviction  of  these  truths  of 
which  the  poet's  heart  is  full.  No  wonder  that  God  should  have  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  man, 
for  man  is  the  creature  of  God  :  the  mysterious  beginnings  of  life,  which  none  can  trace  ;  thf 
days,  all  of  which  are  ordered  before  the  first  breath  is  drawn, — these  are  fashioned  and  orderei 
by  the  hand  of  God,  vers.  13-18, 

"  IV.  In  the  last  strophe  the  Psalmist  turns  abruptly  aside  to  express  his  utter  abhorrence 
of  wicked  men — an  abhorrence,  no  doubt,  deepened  by  the  previous  meditation  on  God  and 
His  attributes,  and  called  forth  probably  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  ;  and 
then  closes  with  a  prayer  that  he  himself  may,  in  his  inmost  heart,  be  right  with  that  God  who 
has  searched  him  and  known  him  and  laid  His  hand  upon  him,  and  that  he  may  be  led  by  Him 
in  the  way  everlasting,  ver.  19-24." 


God's  Perfect  Knowledge  of  Man. 
(Verses  1-6.) 

Our  purpose  is  not  to  write  on  the      strophe  the   omniscience  of  God  as  re- 
omniscience  of    God   in  general,   or  to      lated  to  human  life. 

I.  God  knows  all  men.  David  does 
not  write  of  himself  alone.  That  the 
Psalm  is  addressed  "  to  the  chief  musi- 
cian "  is  a  proof  that  it  was  intended  to 
the  Psalmist,  and  to  indicate  the  prac-  be  set  to  music  for  use  in  public  wor- 
tical  bearing  of  these  aspects  upon  ship.  The  entire  congregation  was  to 
human  life.     The  poet  sets  forth  in  this      use  the  Psalm.     Its  utterances  were  to 

379 


make  an  attempt  to  set  it  forth  with  com- 
pleteness and  show  its  relations  and 
bearings ;  but  to  call  attention  to  those 
aspects  of   it  which   are  mentioned  by 


PSALM  CXXXIX. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


be  adopted  by  every  member  of  the  con- 
gregation. Every  person  in  the  world 
may  say  with  truth,  "  0  Lord,  Thou 
hast  searched  me  and  known  me,"  &c. 
Neither  is  there  any  creature  that  is  not 
manifest  in  His  sight ;  but  all  things  are 
naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  Him 
with  whom  we  have  to  do." 

II.  Grod  knows  all  men  thoroughly. 

1.  He  knows  all  their  words  and 
actions.  "  Thou  art  acquainted  with 
all  my  ways,  for  there  is  not  a  word 
on  my  tongue,  but  lo,  O  Lord, 
Thou  knowest  it  altogetlier."  The 
entire  course  of  every  human  life,  and 
every  step  in  every  individual  course, 
are  perfectly  known  to  God,  and  not 
a  word  that  is  uttered  by  human 
tongues  escapes  His  ear. 

2.  He  knows  all  their  thoughts.  "  Thou 
under^tandestmy  thought  afar  off."  How- 
ever great  the  distance  between  God  and 
man  may  seem  to  be,  yet  He  is  "  a  dis- 
cerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  his 
heart,"  Calvin  :  **  God  is  not  shut  up 
in  heaven,  as  if  He  delighted  in  an  idle 
repose  (as  the  Epicureans  feigned),  and 
neglected  human  affairs ;  but  though 
we  live  at  a  great  distance  from  Him, 
still  He  is  not  far  from  us."  All  worthy 
thoughts  and  pure  and  generous  feelings 
He  knows,  and  all  evil  thoughts  and 
impure  and  malignant  feelings  He  also 
knows.     *'  Before  men  we  stand,"  says 

JBeecher^  *'  as  opaque  beehives.  They 
'can  see  the  thoughts  go  in  and  out  of 
us  ;  but  what  work  they  do  inside  of  a 
man  they  cannot  tell.  Before  God  we 
are  as  glass  beehives,  and  all  that  our 
thoughts  are  doing  within  us  He  per- 
fectly sees  and  understands." 

III.  God  knows  all  men  constantly. 
At  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances 
He  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  Qs.  He 
knows  us  in  work  and  in  rest^  in  our 
daily  walk  and   in   our  nightly  repose. 

*  Thou  knowest  my  downsitting "  for 
rest,  '*  and  mine  uprising"  for  action. 
"  Thou  compassest  my  path  and  my 
lying  down."  Perowne  :  "  My  path  and 
my  bed  Thou  hast  examined."  Lit. 
"Thou  hast  witmowed,"  or  "sifted." 
Hengstenberg  :  "  n"1T    properly,  to  sift, 

then    poetically,    to    prove,    to    know." 
God    knows    our    '*  path,"    our  way  of 
380 


active  life,  and  our  *'  couch"  or  "  bed," 
our  thoughts  and  feelings  in  our  place 
of  rest.  We  are  a'togetluT  and  always 
perfectly  known  unto  Him.  God's  know- 
ledge of  us  differs  from  our  knowledge 
of  each  other  not  only  in  its  extent  and 
completeness,  but  in  other  respects. 

First,  His  knowledge  is  underived 
and  independent.  We  receive  instruc- 
tion from  tutors  and  information  from 
books.  But  He  receives  not  his  know- 
ledge from  anything  without  Him.  His 
knowledge  is  as  independent  as  Him- 
self and  His  own  essence.  "Who  hath 
directed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or,  be- 
ing His  counsellor,  hath  taught  Him  1  " 
"  Our  knowledge,"  says  Charnock, 
"  depends  upon  the  object,  but  all 
created  objects  depend  upon  God's 
knowledge  and  w  ill  :  we  could  not 
know  creatures  unless  they  were  ;  but 
creatures  could  not  be  unless  God 
knew  them." 

Second,  His  knowledge  is  clear  and 
perfect.  "  We  see  through  a  glass, 
darkly;"  and  only  "k»io»v  in  part." 
He  knows  all  things  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly, intimately  and  thoroughly,  in- 
fallibly and  perfectly.  "  God  is  light, 
and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all." 
"  His  understanding  is  infinite." 

Let  us  endeavour  to  point  out  the 
practical  bearing  of  this  knowledge  on 
us  and  on  our  life.     It  ought  to  prove — 

1.  An  antidote  to  the  pride  of  intel- 
lect. "  Such  knowlege  is  too  wonderful 
for  me ;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain 
unto  it."  We  cannot  comprehend  the 
Divine  omniscience.  Our  attempts  to 
do  so  end  in  ignominious  failure.  We 
can  but  cry,  "  Oh,  the  depth  of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  know- 
ledge of  God !  "  <kc.  How  vain  and 
ridiculous  it  is  for  any  man  to  pride 
himself  in  his  intellectual  attainments 
or  acquisitions !  What  we  know  is  al- 
most as  nothing  in  contrast  to  what 
we  do  not  know.  "  We  have  a  drop 
of  knowledge,  but  nothing  to  the 
Divine  ocean.  What  a  vain  thing  is 
it  fo  a  shallow  brook  to  boast  of  its 
streams  before  a  sea,  whose  depths  are 
unfathomable !" 

2.  An  effectual  restraint  from  sins 
both  of  heart  and  of  action.     The    eye 


EOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXXXIZ. 


of  man  often  imposes  a  restraint  upon 
the  evil-doer;  and  shall  the  eye  of 
God,  which  is  ever  upon  us,  be  disre- 
garded ?  Men  seek  to  hide  their  evil 
doings  by  the  darkness  of  night,  say- 
ing, "  How  doth  God  know  ?  can  He 
judge  through  the  dark  cloud  1"  But 
darkness  cannot  hide  from  Him.  He 
knows  the  evil  thought,  the  dark  de- 
sign, the  impure  feeling.  §ecret  sin 
is  impossible.  Let  the  fact  of  God's 
omniscience  check  evil  in  its  first 
beginnings. 

3.  A  solemn  warning  to  the  sinner. 
Secrecy  does  not  hide  from  God,  hypo- 
crisy  does  not  deceive  Him,  the  lapse  of 
time  does  not  cause  Him  to  forget,  all 
sins  are  known  to  Him,  and  will  be  visited 
upon  the  sinners  unless  they  are  par- 
doned. "  What  a  terrible  consideration 
is  it  to  think  that  the  sins  of  a  day  are 
upon  record  in  an  infallible  understand- 
ing, much  more  the  sins  of  a  week : 
what  a  number,  then,  do  the  sins  of  a 
month,  a  year,  ten  or  forty  years  arise 
to  ! "     Sinner,  take  warning. 

4.  The  utter  impossibility/  of  any  man 
Justifying  himself  in  the  sight  of  God. 
God  knows  all  and  everything.  **  Our 
secret  sins  are  in  the  light  of  His  coun- 
tenance." He  sees  defects  and  imper- 
fections even  in  our  best  deeds.  "  Enter 
not  into  judgment  with  Thy  servant; 
for  in  Thy  sight  shall  no  man  living  be 
justified." 

5.  A  comfort  to  the  people  of  God  when 


misjudged  by  man.  Men  frequently  mis-' 
take  the  motives  of  their  fellow-men  and 
judge  them  harshly.  But  how  comforting 
it  is  to  turn  from  man  unto  God.  "Behold, 
my  witness  is  in  heaven,  and  my  record  is 
on  high.  He  knoweth  the  way  that  I  \ 
take,"  &c.  Our  cause  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  Omniscient  and  All-Merciful. 

6.  A  guarantee  of  the  well-being  of  the 
people  of  God.  God  not  only  knows, 
but  also  cares  for  His  people.  "As  pro^ 
vidence  infers  omniscience  as  the  guide  | 
of  it,  so  omniscience  infers  providence  as/ 
the  end  of  it."  He  knows  them  in  their 
weakness  to  sustain  them,  in  their  need 
to  provide  for  them,  in  their  dangers  to 
rescue  them,  in  their  sorrows  to  comfort 
them,  (fee.  Our  Lord  Himself  set  forth 
the  Divine  knowledge  as  an  encourage- 
ment to   His   people   to  trust  in   God. 

"  Your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth  that 
ye  have  need  of  all  these  things,"  <fec. 
(Matt.  vL  31,  32). 

7.  A  pledge  of  the  triumph  of  the 
Divine  government.  All  the  dark  and 
cunning  designs  of  His  enemies  are 
known  to  Him.  Their  most  secret  plans 
cannot  surprise  Him.  Their  most  subtle 
plans  cannot  baffle  Him.  He  will  make 
their  counsel  of  no  effect,  and  frustrate 
their  deepest  schemes.  His  omniscience 
assures  us  of  the  triumph  of  His  cause. 
All  things  are  under  His  control.  He, 
and  He  alone,  can  say,  *'My  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  My  plea- 
sure." 


God's  Omnipresence. 
(Verses  7-12.) 


The  Psalmist  here  treats  of  the  omni- 
/  presence  of  God,  not  as  a  metaphysical 
[  conception,  but  as  a  momentous  prac- 
V^ical  truth.     This  truth  he  sets  forth  in 
language  of  great  force  and  beauty.     In 
other   portions  of  the  Holy  Word  this 
truth  is  clearly  and  forcibly  expressed. 
1   Kings  viil   27 ;  Jer.   xxiii.   23,  24 ; 
Amos  ix.  2,  3.     According  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  David — 

L  God  is  personally  present  every- 
where. The  Psalm  was  not  written  by 
a  Pantheist.  He  speaks  of  God  as  a 
P«r80u  everywhere  present  in  creation, 


yet  distinct  from  creation.  In  our  text 
He  says,  "  Thy  Spirit,  .  .  .  Thy  pre- 
sence, .  ,  .  Thou  art  there,  .  .  .  Thy 
hand,  .  ,  .  TAy  right  hand,  .  .  .  dark- 
ness hideth  not  from  Thee."  God  is 
everywhere,  but  He  is  not  everything. 
All  things  have  their  being  in  Him,  but 
He  is  distinct  from  all  things.  He  fills 
the  universe,  but  is  not  mingled  with  it. 
He  is  the  Intelligence  which  guides,  and 
the  power  which  sustains ;  but  His  per- 
sonality is  preserved,  and  He  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  works  of  His  hands,  how- 
ever vast  and  noble.  Oharnock  :  "  Where 

381 


PBALM  CXXXIX. 


EOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


light  is  ill  every  part  of  a  crystal  globe, 
and  encircles  it  close  on  every  side,  do 
they  become  one  ?  No  ;  the  crystal  re- 
mains what  it  is,  and  the  light  retains 
its  own  nature.  God  is  not  in  us  as  a 
part  of  us,  but  as  an  efficient  and  pre- 
serving cause."  "In  Him  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being."  "  We  live 
and  move  in  God,  so  we  live  and  move 
in  the  air ;  we  are  no  more  God  by  that 
than  we  are  mere  air  because  we  breathe 
in  it,  and  it  enters  into  all  the  pores  of 
our  body." 

II.  God  is  influentially  present  every- 
where. The  Psalmist  felt  that  where- 
ever  he  was — in  heaven,  in  Sbeol,  or  on 
the  utmost  verge  of  creation — he  would 
be  led  and  sustained  by  God.  "  Even 
there  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me,  and  Thy 
right  hand  shall  hold  me."  He  is  every- 
where present  in  His  sustaining  energy. 
"  0  Lord,  Thou  preservest  man  and 
beast."  "  By  Him  all  things  consist." 
"  He  upholds  all  things  by  the  word  of 
His  power."  He  is  everywhere  present 
by  His  controlling  energy.  He  restrains 
and  overrules  all  evil.  He  originates 
and  fosters  all  good.  "  This  influential 
presence  may  be  compared  to  that  of  the 
sun,  which,  though  at  so  great  a  dis- 
tance from  the  earth,  is  present  in  the 
air  and  earth  by  its  light,  and  within  the 
earth  by  its  influence  in  concocting  those 
metals  which  are  in  the  bowels  of  it,  with- 
out being  substantially  either  of  them." 

III.  Grod  is  intelligently  present 
everywhere.  The  poet  felt  that,  wherever 
he  was  and  in  whatever  circumstances, 
he  would  be  fully  known  to  the  Lord. 

"  And  should  I  say  :  Only  let  darkness 
cover   me,   and  the  light  about  me  be 
night ;  even  darkness  cannot  be  too  dark 
for  Thee,  but  the  night  is  light  as  the 
day ;  the  darkness  and  light  (to  Thee 
are^    both   alike."     "  The    eyes   of  the 
Lord  are  in  every  place,  beholding  the 
^evil  and  the  good."     "  With  one  single 
look  He  beholdeth  the  whole  universe. 
;  As  I  am  accounted  present  in  this  audi- 
'  tory,  because  I  see  the  objects  that  are 
J  here,  because  I  am  witness  of  all  that 
passes  here  ;  so  God  is  everywhere,  be- 
cause He  sees  all,  because  veils  the  most 
impenetrable,  darkness  the  most  thick, 
.  distances  the  most  immense,  can  conceal 
382 


nothing  from  His  knowledge.  Soar  to ' 
the  utmost  heights,  fly  into  the  remotest , 
climates,  wrap  thyself  in  the  blackest  • 
darkness,  everywhere,  everywhere,  thou/ 
wilt  be  under  His  eye." — Saurin. 

IV.  God's  presence  is  everywhere 
realised  by  the  godly  soul.  To  the 
Psalmist  the  Divine  omnipresence  was 
not  a  mere  opinion,  not  a  mere  article 
of  a  creed,  but  a  realised  fact.  "  Whither 
shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit  ?  or  whither 
shall  I  flee  from  Thy  presence  1 "  He 
felt  the  presence  of  God  everywhere. 
At  every  step  and  in  every  circumstance 
of  life  he  felt  himself  in  that  presence. 
In  all  the  phenomena  of  nature  he  re- 
cognised that  presence.  To  him  all 
things  are  full  of  God,  "  yet  all  distinct 
from  Him.  The  cloud  on  the  mountain 
is  His  covering ;  the  muttering  from  the 
chambers  of  the  thunder  is  His  voice ; 
that  sound  on  the  top  of  the  mulberry 
trees  is  His  *  going ; '  in  that  wind, 
which  bends  the  forest  or  curls  the 
clouds,  He  is  walking ;  that  sun  is  His 
still  commanding  eye."  The  godly  soul 
is  possessed  by  an  intense  consciousness 
of  the  constant  presence  of  God. 

"  God  is  a  sphere  or  circle,  whose 
centre  is  everywhere,  and  circumference 
nowhere."  So  far  is  His  presence  from 
being  bounded  by  the  universe  itself, 
that,  as  we  are  taught  in  our  text,  were 
it  possible  for  us  to  wing  our  way  into 
the  immeasurable  depths  and  breadths 
of  space,  God  would  there  surround  us, 
in  as  absolute  a  sense  as  that  in  which 
He  is  said  to  be  about  our  bed  and  our 
path,  in  that  part  of  the  world  where 
His  will  has  placed  us.  As  He  is  larger 
than  all  time,  so  He  is  vaster  than  all 
space. 

Let  us  now  point  out  the  practical 
bearings  of  this  great  truth. 

1.  It  should  restrain  us  from  evil. 
The  eye  of  a  child  will  eff'ectually  check 
the  execution  of  some  evil  purposes; 
more  the  eye  of  man  or  woman ;  yet 
more  the  eye  of  a  holy  man  or  woman. 
Men  chose  darkness  and  secrecy  for  the 
perpetration  of  evil.  But  "  there  is  no 
darkness  nor  shadow  of  death  where  the 
workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  them- 
selves." God*s  eye  sees  all  things  every- 
where.    He  is  in  the  darkness  by  the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXXZIZ. 


side  of  the  worker  of  iniquity.      And 

He  is  perfectly  holy. 

2.  It  should  lead  us  to  hold  humble 
thoughts  of  ourselves  and  exalted  ideas  of 
God.  How  small  are  we  to  God !  Our 
existence  seems  almost  as  non-existence 
when  placed  beside  His  immensity.  Let 
His  greatness  excite  our  reverence.  Let 
our  littleness  lead  us  to  constant  lowli- 
ness. 

3.  It  should  comfort  and  strengthen 
the  people  of  God  in  severe  trial,  in  pain- 
ful loneliness,  and  in  arduous  duty.  He 
accompanies  His  people  into  the  furnace 
of  affliction,  and  preserves  them  from 
injury.  "  When  thou  passest  through 
the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee,"  &c.  (Isa. 
xliii.  2).  When  exiled  from  friends, 
or  forsaken  of  friends,  or  bereaved  of 
friends  by  death.  His  presence  is  never 
withdrawn.  If  He  call  us  to  some  diffi- 
cult task,  He  assures  us,  *''My  presence 
shall  go  with  thee."  His  realised  pre- 
sence is  the  secret  of  the  success  of 
Moses,  Paul,  <fec. 

4.  It  should  he  an  incentive  to  holy 
action.  The  athletes  of  Greece  and 
Rome  were  inspired  to  run  or  wrestle 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  surrounded  by  a  vast  assembly  of 


spectators.  It  is  said  that,  at  the  battle 
of  Prestonpans,  a  Highland  chief  of  the 
noble  house  of  McGregor  was  wounded 
by  two  balls  and  fell.  Seeing  their  chief 
fall,  the  clan  wavered,  and  gave  the 
enemy  an  advantage.  The  old  chieftain, 
beholding  the  effects  of  his  disaster, 
raised  himself  up  on  his  elbow,  while 
the  blood  gushed  in  streams  from  his 
wounds,  and  cried  aloud,  "  I  am  not 
dead,  my  children  :  I  am  looking  at  you 
to  see  you  do  your  duty."  These  words 
revived  the  sinking  courage  of  the  brave 
Highlanders,  and  roused  them  to  put 
forth  their  mightiest  energies ;  and  they 
did  all  that  human  valour  could  do  to 
stem  and  turn  the  dreadful  tide  of  battle. 
Oh  !  if  we  but  realised  God's  presence, 
felt  Him  near  to  us,  our  life  would  be- 
come brave  and  beautiful  and  holy. 
God  is  not  only  present  everywhere,  but 
everywhere  present  to  inspire,  and  aid, 
and  bless. 

5.  It  is  of  vital  importance  to  all 
worshippers  of  God.  The  consideration 
of  the  Divine  omnipresence  is  calculated 
to  destroy  formality,  to  inspire  reverence^ 
and  to  strengthen  faith.  *'  Where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  My  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 


The  Omnipresence  of  God  and  its  Impressions  upon  Man. 

(Verses  7-12.) 


There  is  one  circumstance  in  the  text 
which  directs  a  humble  mind  how  it 
ought  to  be  treated,  and  that  is  with 
the  utmost  humility  of  devotion  ;  for  it 
is  a  direct  address  to  God  Himself. 
However  discursive  the  imagination 
might  be  on  other  texts,  on  this  it  is 
quite  out  of  character. 

If  this  thought  be  powerful  on  the 
mind  of  your  preacher,  there  is  another 
which  ought  equally  to  affect  the  minds 
of  the  hearers  ;  and  that  is,  that  you  are 
now  in  a  place  where  you  ought  to  feel 
yourself  most  exposed  to  His  survey. 
God  indeed  is  about  your  bed  and  about 
your  path  ;  but  in  the  house  of  prayer 
you  voluntarily  expose  yourself  to  His 
immediate  notice,  you  court  His  scru- 
tiny. Recollect  that  God  is  present ; 
the  King  is  now  come  in  to  see  His 


guests :  He  knows  with  what  motives 
you  have  come  hither;  whether  you 
prayed  before  you  came;  whether  you 
listened  to  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
as  to  the  Word  of  God;  whether  you 
prayed  in  prayer ;  whether  you  sung 
with  devotion,  *'  making  melody  in  your 
heart  to  the  Lord."  Yes,  my  brethren, 
even  now  you  are  weighed  in  the 
balances  of  the  sanctuary.  God  grant 
that  you  may  not  be  found  wanting. 

I.  Let  us  endeavour  to  realise  the 
grand  sentiment  which  the  text  con- 
tain?* 

God  is  everywhere  present.  The  first 
thought  of  the  sinner  is  how  he  may 
escape.  "  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy 
Spirit?"  ikc.  How  vain!  A  reflection 
upon  human  nature.  Grace  is  wiser;  it 
teaches  us  to  seek  His  presence.     ''  Let 

S83 


PSALM  OXXXIZ. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY'  PSALMS. 


him  take  hold  of  My  strength,"  <fec. 
*'  When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before 
God  1" 

How  many  present  have  never  re- 
flected upon  the  subject;  and  though 
always  surrounded  by  God,  have  never 
derived  comfort  from  His  presence ! 
Without  hope,  without  God  —  awful 
thought ! 

1.  How  great  must  he  the  Being  who 
possesses  such  an  empire/  These  are 
His  attributes ;  these  are  not  limited. 
A  wing  that  never  tires :  an  eye  that 
never  sleeps. 

2.  How  melancholy  the  reflection  that 
the  great  thought  that  occurs  to  the  sinner 
is  how  he  may  escape  Him  !  "  Whither 
shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit  r'  &c.  This 
is  not  natural :  sin  is  the  cause  of  it. 
How  false  the  hope !  How  miserable 
the  condition  ! 

3.  How  valuable  is  that  religion  which 
teaches  us  to  hope  in  His  mercy ;  which 
tells  us  that  over  all  worlds  He  exercises 
a  Father's  care ;  that  His  fostering  wing 
extends  to  the  minutest  object ;  and  that 


He    especially    discerns   the    returning 
sinner. 

II.  Let  us  trace  some  of  the  impres- 
sions which  it  ought  to  produce  on 
individual  character. 

1.  The  utter  hopelessness  of  a  career 
of  crime  or  of  indifference  to  God. 
Wherever  you  are  engaged  in  guilt,  God 
is  there  to  interrupt,  to  recoid,  to  dis- 
appoint, to  vex  the  soul.  Think  of  tliis 
in  your  plans  of  life,  in  business,  in  your 
families.  Examples :  Achan  (Josh,  vii, 
16-26),  Gehazi  (2  Kings  v.  20-27). 

2.  The  strong  consolation  afforded  to 
the  humble  penitent.  He  sees  every  de- 
sire, hope,  effort.  *'  Why  sayest  thou, 
O  Jacob  1"  (fee.  (Isa.  xl.  27-31). 

3.  The  absolute  necessity  of  making 
this  God  our  Friend. 

4.  The  glory  of  heaven,  where  His  pre- 
sence is  felt  only  to  bless. 

5.  The  dreadfulness  of  that  world  in 
which  His  mercies  are  ^^  clean  gone  for 
every"  and  His  influence  is  felt  as  an 
unmitigated  and  insiipportable  curse,-^ 
Samuel  Thodey, 


Man  a  Wonderful  Creation  of  God. 
(Fmw  13-16.) 


The  connection  of  these  verses  with 
the  preceding  seems  to  be  this — God 
must  needs  have  a  perfect  acquaintance 
with  man  because  He  created  him. 
Hengstenberg  suggests  that  verse  13 
refers  back  to  verse  2.  "  Thou  knowest 
my  downsitting  and  mine  uprising,  Thou 
understandest  my  thought  afar  off.  .  .  . 
For  Thou  hast  formed  my  reins,"  <fec. 
The  Psalmist  here  states  that — 

I.  Man  is  a  creation  of  God.  "  Thou 
hast  formed  my  reins.  Thou  didst  weave 
me  together  in  my  mother^s  womb.** — 
Perown^s  translation, 

Man  was  created — 

1.  According  to  God's  design.  "In 
Thy  book  all  my  members  were  written,** 
&c.  What  the  architect  is  to  the  edifice 
God  is  to  man.  We  existed  first  as  an 
idea  in  the  Divine  mind.  And  if  we 
read,  "In  Thy  book  all  of  them  were 
written,  the  days  which  were  ordered 
when  as  yet  there  was  none  of  them," 
we  still  have  the  idea  of  the  Divine 
384 


design  in  the  life  of  man.     Man's  entire 
being  is  prearranged  by  God. 

2.  Under  God's  inspection.  ''  My 
substance  was  not  hid  from  Tiiee,  when 
I  was  made  in  secret,**  &c.  Tiie  great 
Creator  superintended  the  formation  of 
man's  bodily  frame  in  the  secrecy  and 
obscurity  of  the  womb. 

3.  By  God's  power.  "Thou  hast 
formed  my  reins,  Thou  didst  weave  me 
together  in  my  mother's  womb."  God 
is  the  Author  of  our  being :  our  parents 
are  but  the  instruments  thereof.  Every 
human  being  is  a  creation  of  the  Divine 
power. 

II.  Man  is  a  wonderful  creation  of 
God.  *'  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made  ;  marvellous  are  Thy  works,  and 
that  my  soul  knoweth  right  well."  This 
is  manifest — 

1.  In  his  body.  "  The  frame  of  man*8 
body,  and  the  cohesion  of  its  parts," 
says  Lord  Herbert,  "  are  so  strange  and 
paradoxical,  that  I  hold  it  to   be   the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


P8AJ.1I  OXZXIZ. 


greatest  miracle  of  nature.**  '*  An  ana- 
tomist, as  Dr.  Paley  observes,  who 
understood  the  structure  of  the  heart, 
might  say  beforehand  that  it  would 
play ;  but  he  would  expect,  I  think, 
from  the  complexity  of  its  mechanism, 
and  the  delicacy  of  many  of  its  parts, 
that  it  should  always  be  liable  to  derange- 
ment, or  that  it  would  soon  work  itself 
out.  Yet  shall  this  wonderful  machine 
go  night  and  day,  for  eighty  years  to- 
gether, at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand strokes  every  twenty-four  hours, 
having  at  every  stroke  a  great  resistance 
to  overcome ;  and  shall  continue  this 
action  for  this  length  of  time  without 
disorder  and  without  weariness.  Each 
ventricle  will  at  least  contain  one  ounce 
of  blood.  The  heart  contracts  four 
thousand  times  in  one  hour,  from  which 
it  follows,  that  there  passes  through  the 
heart  every  hour  four  thousand  ounces, 
or  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  of 
blood.  Now  the  whole  mass  of  blood 
is  said  to  be  about  twenty-five  pounds, 
so  that  a  quantity  of  blood,  equal  to  the 
whole  mass  of  blood  passes  through  the 
heart  ten  times  in  one  hour ;  which  is 
once  every  six  minutes.  When  we 
reflect  also  upon  the  number  of  muscles, 
not  fewer  than  four  hundred  and  forty- 
six  in  the  human  body,  known  and 
named  ;  how  contiguous  they  lie  to  each 
other,  as  it  were,  over  one  another ; 
crossing  one  another;  sometimes  em- 
bedding in  one  another  ;  sometimes  per- 
forating one  another ;  an  arrangement 
which  leaves  to  each  its  liberty,  and  its 
full  play ;  this  must  necessarily  require 
meditation  and  council.  Dr.  Nienentyt, 
in  the  Leipsic  Transaction,  reckons  up 
a  hundred  muscles  that  are  employed 
every  time  we  breathe  :  yet  we  take  in, 
or  let  out,  our  breath  without  reflecting 
what  a  work  is  hereby  performed — what 
an  apparatus  is  laid  in  of  instruments 
for  the  service,  and  how  many  such  con- 
tribute their  assistance  to  the  effect. 
Breathing  with  ease  is  a  blessing  of 
every  moment;  yet  of  all  others,  it  is 
that  which  we  possess  with  the  least 
consciousness.** — Buck, 

"  The  human  body  is  ever  changing, 
ever  aoiding ;  a  temple  always  complete, 
and  yet  always  under  repair;  a  mansion 

VOL.  II.  2 


which  quite  contents  its  possessor,  and 
yet  has  its  plans  and  its  materials  altered 
each  moment ;  a  machine  which  never 
stops  working,  and  yet  is  taken  to  pieces 
in  the  one  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  put 
together  in  the  other ;  a  cloth  of  gold 
to  which  the  needle  is  ever  adding  on 
one  side  of  a  line,  and  from  which  the 
scissors  are  ever  cutting  away  on  the 
other.  Yes  :  Life,  like  Penelope  of  old, 
is  ever  weaving  and  unweaving  the  same 
web,  whilst  her  grim  suitors,  Disease  and 
Death,  watch  for  her  halting ;  only  for 
her  is  no  Ulysses  who  will  one  day  in 
triumph  return.*' — Dr.  G.  Wilson. 

Truly  we  are  "  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully made.** 

2.  In  his  rational  soul.  That  which 
thinks,  feels,  desires,  resolves,  we  call 
the  soul.  The  soul  is  wonderful  in  itself. 
We  do  not  know  what  it  is  ;  we  cannot 
apprehend  it  by  any  of  the  senses  ;  it  has 
neither  shape  nor  size ;  it  is  a  mystery. 
It  is  wonderful  in  its  powers.  How 
great  and  marvellous  are  its  powers  of 
memory,  reflection,  reasoning,  anticipa- 
tion, imagination,  &c.  And  these  powers 
are  capable  of  endless  development  and 
increase.  How  fearfully  and  wonder- 
fully are  we  made. 

3.  In  the  union  of  soul  and  body. 
How  dissimilar  they  are ;  yet  they  are 
united  !  Man  "  is  sure  that  he  is  dis- 
tinct from  the  body,  though  joined  to 
it,  because  he  is  one,  and  the  body  is 
not  one,  but  a  collection  of  many  things. 
He  feels,  moreover,  that  he  is  distinct 
from  it  because  he  uses  it ;  for  what  a 
man  can  use  he  is  superior  to.  No  one 
can  mistake  his  body  for  himself.  It  is 
Aw,  it  is  not  he.  .  .  .  When  two  things 
which  we  see  are  united,  they  are  united 
by  some  connection  which  we  can  under- 
stand. A  chain  or  cable  keeps  a  ship 
in  its  place.  We  lay  a  foundation  of  a 
building  in  the  earth,  and  the  building 
endures.  But  what  is  it  that  unites 
soul  and  body  ?  how  do  they  touch  ? 
how  do  they  keep  together?  So  far 
from  its  being  wonderful  that  the  body 
one  day  dies,  how  is  it  that  it  is  made 
to  live  and  move  at  all  ?  how  is  it  that 
it  keeps  from  dying  a  single  hour  1 

"  Again  :  the  soul  is  in  every  part  of 
the  body.     It  is   nowhere,   yet   every- 
m  385 


PSALM  OXXXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


where.  Since  every  part  of  his  body 
belongs  to  him,  a  man's  self  is  in  every 
part  of  his  body.  The  hands  and  feet, 
the  head  and  trunk,  form  one  body 
under  the  presence  of  the  soul  within 
them.  Unless  the  soul  were  in  every 
part,  they  would  not  form  one  body ;  so 
that  the  soul  is  in  every  i)art,  uniting 
it  with  every  other,  though  it  consists 
of  no  part  at  all." — J.  H.  Newman, 
This  seems  contradictory,  yet  it  is  true. 
How  mysterious  is  our  being  !  How  fear- 
fully and  wonderfully  we  are  made ! 

III.  Because  man  is  a  wonderful 
creation  of  God  he  should  celebrate  the 
praise  of  his  Creator.  '*  I  will  praise 
Thee ;  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made."  Man  as  a  creation  of  God  pre- 
sents many  and  remarkable  illustrations 
of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of 
his  Creator,  and  these  should  excite 
his  wonder,  admiration,  gratitude,  and 
praise. 


The  highest  praise  we  can  offer  to  our 
Creator  is  to  fulfil  His  design  in  our 
creation.  He  who  most  completely 
embodies  and  most  clearly  expresses  the 
will  of  God  presents  to  Him  the  truest 
and  highest  worship. 

Verses  1-16  maybe  taken  as  the  text  of 
one  homily  and  its  teachings  developed 
under  an  arrangement  of  this  kind  : — 

I.  The  Statement  of  God's  perfect 
knowledge  of  man  (vers.  1-6). 

II.  The  Proof  of  God's  perfect  know- 
ledge of  man.     This  is  drawn  from — 
1.    His  Omnipresence  (vers.  7-12)  ;     2. 
His  Creatorship  (vers.   13—16). 

III.  The  Effect  of  this  knowledge 
upon  the  godly  man.  1.  A  deep  impres- 
sion of  intellectual  limitation  (ver.  6) ;  2. 
An  inspiration  to  celebrate  His  praise 
(ver.  14). 

IV.  The  Practical  uses  of  this  great 
truth. 


The  Preoiousness  and  Number  of  God*s  Thoughts. 

(Verses  17,  18.) 


In  forming  so  wonderful  a  being 
as  man  there  must  have  been  much 
thought.  Many  thoughts  and  deep 
are  embodied  in  man.  Yet  man  is  only 
a  small  portion  of  the  creation  of  God. 
Looking  at  the  universe  as  an  embodi- 
ment of  Divine  ideas,  we  are  almost 
overwhelmed  at  the  number,  profundity, 
and  preciousness  of  God's  thoughts. 
The  thoughts  of  a  being  indicate  his 
character.  "As  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart  so  is  he."  But  in  order  to  be 
known,  thoughts  must  be  expressed. 
Men  express  their  tlioughts  by  means  of 
speech,  wi^iting,  and  action.  Action  is 
embodied  thought.  God  has  unfolded 
some  of  His  thoughts.  What  a  reve- 
lation of  wisdom,  goodness,  beauty  we 
have  in  the  universe  !  God's  thoughts 
in  relation  to  the  human  race  as  sinners 
are  expressed  in  the  Bible.  Jesus  Christ 
is  a  Revelation  and  Re  veal  er  of  the 
thoughts  of  God.  What  purity,  tender- 
ness, love,  righteousness,  majesty  shine 
forth  in  Him  !  David  rejoiced  in  God's 
thoughts.  We  have  more  of  His 
thoughts  and  more  precious  ones  than 
386 


David    had ;    how    much     more    then 
should  we  rejoice  !     Consider — 

I.  The  preciousness  of  God's  thoughts. 
*'  How  precious  also  are  Thy  thoughts 
unto  me,  O  God."  God's  thoughts  are 
precious — 

1.  Because  of  their  originality.  If  a 
man  be  the  originator  of  some  new  and 
useful  process  or  machine,  or  the  author 
of  a  clever  or  able  book,  he  is  honoured 
as  a  genius  and  a  benefactor  of  the  race. 
But  absolute  originality  is  not  in  man. 
The  most  original  thinkers  can  only 
make  new  groupings  of  old  ideas,  or 
bring  old  thoughts  into  new  associations 
and  applications.  But  God's  thoughts 
are  absolutely  original.  The  astonish- 
ing ideas  of  the  moral  restoration  of 
man  and  the  mode  of  effecting  it  are 
God's  own  original  thoughts.  There  is 
originality  in  God's  thoughts  in  nature, 
in  the  superintendence  of  human  affairs, 
and  in  the  great  redemptive  plan  and 
work. 

2.  Because  of  their  moral  excellence. 
Distinguish  between  great  thoughts 
and  good  ones.     The  devil  is  a   great 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  OXZXIX. 


thinker,  but  his  thoughts  are  not  pre- 
cious. Thoughts  must  be  good  to  be 
precious.  God's  thoughts  combine  the 
highest  intellectual  power  with  supreme 
moral  excellence.  All  the  ideas  of  the 
Divine  Mind  that  have  been  revealed  are 
perfectly  true,  righteous,  and  beautiful. 

3.  Because  of  their  praclicahleness  and 
utility.  Amongst  men  there  are  many 
original  and  morally  excellent  thinkers 
whose  ideas  are  utterly  impracticable — 
they  will  not  work.  But  God's  thoughts 
are  all  practicable.  See  this  in  nature^ 
in  history y  in  redemption.  Ultimately 
His  every  plan  will  be  fully  developed, 
His  every  thought  perfectly  embodied. 
His  ideas  are  useful  in  themselves, 
and  they  stimulate  others  to  usefulness. 
They  arouse  men  to  thought  and  action. 

4.  Because  of  their  influence  upon  our 
thoughts.  God's  thoughts  quicken  ours. 
See  how  His  thoughts  in  the  Bible  have 
stimulated  the  minds  of  men.  Poets 
and  artists  have  obtained  from  it  their 
grandest  subjects  and  their  mightiest 
and  holiest  inspirations.  Nature  and 
the  Bible  are  of  exhaustless  significance. 
They  are  replete  with  germs  of  thought. 
God's  thoughts  correct  ours.  Without 
the  thoughts  of  God  ours  would  be  wild, 
chaotic,  conflicting.  Our  ideas  of  God, 
the  soul,  truth,  &c.,  are  regulated  by  the 
revealed  thoughts  of  God. 

5.  Because  of  their  generosity.  For- 
giveness for  the  guilty,  holiness  for  the 
depraved,  rest  for  the  weary — these  are 
some  of  His  thoughts.  "  I  know  the 
thoughts  that  I  think  toward  you,  saith 
the  Lord,  thoughts  of  peace,  and  not  of 
evil."  "  As  the  heavens  are  higher  than 
the  earth,  so  are  My  thoughts  higher 
than  your  thoughts." 

II.  The  number  of  God's  thoughts. 

"  How  great  is  the  sum  of  them  !  If 
I  should  count  them,  they  are  more  in 
number  than  the  sand."  Many  of  His 
thoughts  are  revealed,  and  we  see  them. 
Many  others  may  be  revealed,  but  we 
have  not  yet  the  capacity  to  perceive 
them.  And  many  more  may  be  revealed 
by  Him  in  the  future.  His  mind  is  in- 
finite, ever  active,  ever  productive,  ever 
revealing.  His  thoughts  are  not  only 
multitudinous  in  number,  but  profound 


in  meaning.  In  our  present  state  we 
have  neither  the  time,  the  facilities,  nor 
the  capacity  fully  to  number  and  com- 
prehend the  thoughts  of  God.  But  in 
the  future,  with  quickened  faculties,  in- 
creased facilities,  and  everlasting  exist- 
ence, some  of  the  great  thoughts  of  God 
will  probably  be  perceived  in  their  com- 
pleteness by  us.  "Now  we  see  through 
a  glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face," 
&C.  If  one  of  God's  ideas  is  so  precious 
as  that  of  redemption  is,  how  infinitely 
valuable  must  be  the  whole  of.  His 
thoughts  !  "  Many,  O  Lord  my  God, 
are  Thy  wonderful  works  which  Thou 
hast  done,  and  Thy  thoughts  which  are 
to  US-ward,"  &c. 

IIL  The  realisation  of  God's  presence. 
'*  When  I  awake,  I  am  still  with  Thee." 
"  As  often  as  he  awakes  from  sleep,  he 
finds  that  he  is  again  in  the  presence  of 
God,  again  occupied  with  thoughts  of 
God,  again  meditating  afresh  with  new 
wonder  and  admiration  on  His  wisdom 
and  goodness." — Perowne.  The  poet  had 
an  abiding  sense  of  the  presence  of  God 
with  him,  which  was  a  comfort,  and  re- 
freshment, and  strength  to  his  soul. 

Conclusion. — 1.  Endeavour  to  under- 
stand God's  thoughts.  Examine  them, 
meditate  upon  them  as  you  find  them  in 
nature,  the  Bible,  and  Christ. 

2.  Rejoice  in  the  preciousness  of  God's 
thoughts.  Rejoice  in  them  notwithstand- 
ing that  many  of  them  are  mysterious, 
and  perhaps  even  painful  at  present. 
David  said,  "  Such  knowledge  is  too 
wonderful  for  me,"  (fee.  Yet  he  rej(nced. 
His  thoughts  may  be  too  great  for  us, 
yet  they  are  all  wise  and  kind.  Think 
of  a  few  of  His  thoughts.  Here  is 
one  of  His  thoughts  for  the  guilty: 
"  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,"  (fee. 
(Isa.  Iv.  7).  For  the  suffering :  "  Our 
light  affliction  which  is  but  for  a 
moment,"  (fee.  (2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18).  For 
the  perplexed:  *' In  all  thy  ways  ac- 
knowledge Him,"  (fee.  (Prov.  iii.  6).  For 
the  bereaved  :  "  I  would  not  have  you 
to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning 
them  which  are  asleep,"  (fee.  (1  Thess.  iv. 
13,  14). 

3.  Seek  to  become  embodiments  of  Ood*» 
thoughts.     Live  them. 


S8T 


MALM  CXXZIX. 


EOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


The  Poet's  View  of  the  Wioked. 
(Verses  19-22.) 


"  How  strangely    abrupt,"    remarks 
Perowne,  "is  the  turning  aside  from  one 
of  the  sublimest  contemplations  to  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  Bible,  to  express 
a  hope   that   righteous   vengeance  will 
overtake  the  wicked.     Such  a  passage  is 
startling — startling  partly   because   the 
spirit  of  the  New  Testament  is  so  dif- 
ferent ;   partly  too,  no   doubt,    because 
*  our  modern   civilisation   has   been  so 
schooled  in  amenities'  that  we  hardly 
know  what  is  meant  by  a  righteous  in- 
dignation.    It  is  well,  however,  to  notice 
the  fact,  for  this  is  just  one  of  those 
passages  which  help  ug  to  understand  the 
education  of  the  world.     Just  because  it 
startles  us  is  it  so  instructive.    The  63d 
Psalm  presents  us  with  a  similar   con- 
trast.    There,   however,  the  feeling  ex- 
pressed is  of  a  more  directly  personal 
kind.     David  is  encompassed  and  hard 
pressed  by  enemies  who  are  threatening 
his  life.     He  has  been  driven  from  his 
throne  by  rebels,  and  the  deep  sense  of 
wrong  makes   him  burst   forth   in  the 
strain  of  indignation  and  of  anticipated 
victory.     *  They    that  seek  my  life  to 
destroy  it  shall  be  cast  into  the  pit,'  <fec. 
Here,    apparently,    the   prayer   for  the 
overthrow  of  the  wicked  does  not  arise 
from   a   sense   of  wrong   and   personal 
danger,  but  from  the  intense  hatred  of 
wickedness  as  wickedness,  from  the  deep 
conviction   that,   if   hateful  to   a  true- 
hearted  man,  it  must  be  still  more  in- 
tensely hateful  to  Him  who  searcheth 
the  hearts  and  trieth   the  reins.     The 
soul,  in  the  immediate  presence  of  God, 
places  itself  on  the  side  of  God,  against 
all  that  is  opposed  to  Him.     Still,  the 
prayer,   *  Oh  that    Thou    wouldest  slay 
the  wicked,'  can  never   be  a  Christian 
prayer." 

I.  The  character  of  the  wicked  de- 
scribed.    They  are — 

1.  Cruel.  "Bloody  men."  Perowne: 
"  Bloodthirsty  men."  (Comp.  Ps.  v.  6, 
xxvi.  9,  Iv.  23.) 

2.  Mebellious,  "They  speak  against 
Thee  wickedly  ....  Those  that  rise 
up  against  Thee."    Wicked  men   rebel 

388 


against  the  most  righteous  and  beneyo> 
lent  authority. 

3.  Enemies  of  God,  "  Them  that  hate 
Thee."  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  hate 
a  Being  of  infinite  wisdom  and  truth, 
righteousness  and  love.  Men  may,  and 
sometimes  do,  grow  so  wicked  that  they 
hate  the  God  whose  holy  law  condemns 
them. 

II.  The  end  of  the  wicked  predicted. 
"  Surely  Thou  wilt  slay  the  wicked,  O 
God."  We  may  interpret  this  in  three 
ways.  1.  As  expressing  the  assurance 
of  the  Psalmist  that  God  would  destroy 
the  toichedy  that  he  would  "  slay  "  them, 
bring  them  to  an  utter  end.  Or,  2.  As 
expressing  the  assurance  of  the  Psalmist 
that  God  would  severely  punish  the 
wicked.  He  might  perhaps  have  used 
the  word  "  slay  "  figuratively,  to  denote 
the  punishment  which  would  be  inflicted 
on  cruel  and  rebellious  haters  of  the 
Lord.  Or,  3.  May  we  not  say  that 
God  will  "  slay  the  vricked "  by  slaying 
their  wickedness  ?  You  destroy  an  enemy 
when  you  make  him  your  friend. 
"  He  must  reign  till  He  hath  put  all 
enemies  under  His  feet." 

III.  The  companionship  of  the 
wicked  avoided.  "Depart  from  me 
therefore,  ye  bloody  men."  The  Psalmist 
seeks  to  separate  himself  from  theworkers 
of  iniquity.     He  is  moved  to  this  by — 

1.  Desire  for  his  own  safety.  Dark 
and  threatening  are  the  prospects  of 
evildoers,  and  therefore  David  shunned 
association  with  them  (ver.  19). 

2.  Sympathy  with  God.  "  Do  not 
I  hate  them,  O  Lord,  that  hate  Thee  %  " 
&c.  The  man  who  sincerely  loves  God 
will  find  the  society  of  the  wicked  re- 
pugnant to  him. 

3.  The  influence  of  divergent  charae- 
ters.  "  What  fellowship  hath  righteous- 
ness with  unrighteousness?  and  what 
communion  hath  light  with  darkness  1 " 

Conclusion. — "Let  the  wicked  for- 
sake his  way,"  &c.  (Isa.  Iv.  7).  "  As  I 
live,  saith  the  Lord  God,"  &c.  (Ezek. 
xxxiii.  11). 


HOMILETia  COMMENT  ART:  PSALMS. 


rSALM  OXXXUb 


A  Prater  of  the  Upright. 
(Ferset  23,  24.) 


We  have  here— 

I.  A  request  for  Divine  examination. 
"Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my 
heart :  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts." 
This  request  implies — 

1.  Consciousness  of  sincerity.  It  is 
not  the  request  of  one  who  was  ignorant 
of  his  true  character  and  inflated  with 
presumption,  but  of  one  who  was  con- 
scious of  his  freedom  from  hypocrisy 
and  of  his  integrity  of  heart.  To  make 
an  appeal  like  this  unto  the  great 
Searcher  of  hearts  a  man  must  be  tho- 
roughly conscious  of  his  own  sincerity, 
or  must  Lave  fallen  very  low  indeed. 

2.  Distrust  of  self  David  felt  his 
liability  to  error,  and  to  self-deception, 
and  therefore  he  appealed  to  the  Omni- 
scient and  the  Infallible. 

3.  Confidence  in  God,  We  would  not 
that  our  heart  should  be  completely  ex- 
posed, that  all  our  thoughts  should  be 
fully  revealed  even  to  our  most  trusted 
friend.  "  That  man, "  says  Calvin, 
**  must  have  a  rare  confidence  who  of- 
fers himself  so  boldly  to  the  scrutiny  of 
God's  righteous  judgment."  There  are 
many  things  we  would  not  disclose  to 
any  fellow  -  creature,  and  yet  we  are 
thankful  that  God  knows  them.  This 
thought  is  beautifully  expressed  in 
Keble's  Hymn  for  the  '*  Twenty-fourth 
Sunday  after  Trinity." 

II.  A  desire  for  entire  freedom  from 
evil.  This  seems  to  be  implied  in  the 
request,  "  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me."  The  poet  was  not  aware 
of  any  wicked  way  in  him.  But  if  any 
evil  tendency  or  way  had  escaped  his 
scrutiny,  it  could  not  escape  that  of 
God.     And  if  God  discovered  such,  the 


clearly  implied  desire  of  the  Psalmist 
was  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  it. 
**  Any  wicked  way."  Margin  :  **  Way  of 
pain  or  grief."  "  The  way  of  pain  is 
the  way  which  leads  to  pain."  The 
wicked  man  causes  pain,  Fiirst  says 
that  the  idea  here  is  the  way  of  "  afflio- 
tion,  injury  which  one  causes."  The 
wicked  man  suffers  pain,  "  The  way  of 
transgressors  is  hard."  David  wishes 
to  be  free  from  every  evil  way.  One 
unguarded  entrance  to  the  beleagured 
city  may  admit  the  invading  hosts ;  one 
wicked  way  may  ruin  a  soul. 

III.  A  request  for  Divine  guidance 
in  the  way  of  righteousness.  ^'  Lead 
me  in  the  way  everlasting."  "  The  one 
true  abiding  way  which  leads  to  the 
true  and  everlasting  God."  "The  way 
which  leads  to  everlasting  life."  *'  The 
way  which  leads  to  the  blessed  eternity." 
"The  way  everlasting"  is  in  contrast 
to  "  the  way  of  pain."  The  one  leads  to 
misery  ;  the  other  leads  to  joy.  Here 
are  two  points — 

1.  Mans  need  of  guidance.  David 
felt  this.  We  are  exposed  to  tempta- 
tion, prone  to  go  astray,  <fec. 

2.  MarHs   infallible    Guide.      David 
sought  the  Divine  lead.     The  Lord  is 
perfectly  acquainted  with  both  the  tra 
Teller  and  the  way. 

"  Lead  ug,  O  Father,  in  the  paths  of  right ; 
Blindly  we  stumble  when  we  walk  alone, 
Involyed  in  shadows  of  a  darksome  night, 
Only  with  Thee  we  journey  safely  on. 

"  Lead  us,  0  Father,  to  Thy  heavenly  rest, 
However  rough  and  steep  the  path  may  be, 
Through  joy  or  sorrow,  as  Thou  deemestbest, 
Until  our  lives  are  perfected  in  Thee." 

— JT.  H,  Burleigh, 


A  Needful  Prayer. 

{Verses  23,  24.) 
This  is  a  very  honest  prayer — a  very 


practical  prayer.     The    text   before    us 
is  a  very  personal  text.     "  Search  wie,  O 
God,  and  know  my  heart,"  <fec.    We  will 
consider — 
I.  The  need  there  is  for  such  a  prayer 


as  this.  You  have  not  to  travel  far  to 
find  out  the  need  for  such  a  prayer. 
You  have  but  to  look  within, — to  con- 
sider the  motives  and  the  thoughts  and 
the  desires  and  the  purposes  which  are 
continually  working  within   your   own 

389 


rSALM  CXXXIX. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


hearts,  and  you  will  find  out,  if  you  be 
honest,  the  need  for  such  a  prayer  as 
this.  There  may  be  some  amongst  you 
who  know  that  you  are  cherishing  sin  in 
the  heart,  and  who  have  no  desire  to 
part  with  it.  Does  not  that  prove  the 
necessity  for  such  a  prayer  as  this,  that 
God  would  search  your  heart,  and  make 
you  so  feel  your  need  of  repentance  and 
of  a  Saviour  that  you  might  forsake  that 
sin  this  very  night? 

But  the  prayer  is  rather  the  prayer  of 
a  true  servant  of  God.  There  may  exist 
in  the  heart  of  a  genuine  Christian  much 
undetected  evil.  A  conviction  of  the 
omniscience  and  omnipresence  of  God  is 
quite  consistent  with  the  presence  of  evil 
in  the  heart.  We  have  no  grander  de- 
scription of  those  great  attributes  of 
Jehovah  than  in  this  Psalm;  and  yet 
the  Psalmist  recognised  the  possibility 
that  evil  was  lurking  within.  A  convic- 
tion of  the  evil  of  sin,  a  deep  abhorrence 
of  iniquity,  is  quite  consistent  with 
the  presence  of  evil  in  the  soul.  .  ,  , 
Again,  a  deep  sense  of  our  acceptance  in 
Christ,  of  our  reconciliation  to  God,  of 
our  pardon,  and  of  our  blessedness  in 
Christ,  is  consistent  with  the  presence 
of  evil  in  the  heart.  Our  acceptance  in 
Christ  does  not  destroy  the  old  nature. 
That  nature  remains,  and  shall  be  de- 
stroyed, but  not  yet.  Once  more.  We 
may  say  also,  that  an  earnest  purpose 
and  determination  to  get  rid  of  all  evil 
is  consistent  with  its  presence.  The 
man  of  God  longs  for  the  complete  deli- 
verance which  shall  be  the  perfect  answer 
to  the  prayer  before  us.  There  is  need, 
then,  for  such  a  prayer  as  this. 

II.  The  manner  in  which  such  a 
prayer  as  this  receives  its  answer. 
Let  us  be  well  assured  that  God  knows 
the  heart.  But  the  question  is.  How 
does  God  make  that  known  to  us  which 
is  known  so  perfectly  to  Him  1  How 
does  God  search  the  heart?  Take  an 
illustration.  After  David's  great  fall,  sin 
certainly  was  in  his  heart.  For  months, 
apparently,  he  lived  without  confession 
and  without  forgiveness.  .  . .  (See  2  Sam. 
xii.  1-14.)  "  Thou  art  the  man.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God."  It  was  God's  autho- 
ritative word  that  brought  conviction, — 
which  revealed  and  detected  the  evil. 
390 


David  confessed  his  sin,  was  pardoned, 
and  restored.  Peter  denied  his  Lord,  <kc. 
"  And  Peter  remembered  the  word,"  (fee 
(Matt.  xxvi.  76).  That  word  searched 
him,  and  he  went  forth  and  wept  bit- 
terly. The  Word,  then,  is  that  instru- 
ment which  the  Lord  God  uses  to  search 
the  depths  of  the  human  heart;  and 
bringing  home  that  Word  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  He  reveals  the  sinner  to 
himself,  and  so  teaches  him  his  need  of 
repentance. 

There  is  no  one  present  who  has  not 
a  history.  There  are  facta  in  every  life, 
perhaps,  which  we  would  not  tell  to 
those  nearest  and  dearest  to  us.  There 
have  been  sins  cherished  in  the  heart, 
if  not  practised  in  the  life.  There  are 
secrets  unrevealed,  scarcely,  perhaps, 
remembered,  seldom  dwelt  upon ;  but 
there  is  a  history  in  each  one  of  us. 
Now,  the  Word  of  God  has  a  wonderful 
power  of  fastening  upon  some  critical 
point  in  that  history,  so  as  to  detect  the 
evil — to  lay  bare  the  secret — to  drag  it 
out,  as  it  were,  into  light,  and,  letting 
the  light  of  truth  shine  in  upon  it,  to 
lead  the  man  to  know  himself.  Take, 
for  example,  the  secret  of  sin.  Illus- 
tration :  Our  Lord  and  the  woman  of 
Samaria  (John  iv.  1-42). 

Or,  again,  a  case  the  very  opposite  to 
the  woman  of  Samaria,  a  man  upright, 
moral,  devout,  religious,  learned,  admired, 
honoured,  respected.  You  have  it  in 
Nicodemus;  and  how  does  the  Lord 
meet  that  man's  conscience  ?  (John  iii. 
1-13).  Or  one  who  was  wedded  to  one 
particular  idol,  though  all  the  rest  of 
his  life  was  fair  and  good  and  upright 
(Matt.  xix.  16-22).  And  would  you 
have  an  example  of  one  who  was  up- 
right, who  feared  God,  and  who  eschewed 
evil,  and  who  yet  was  brought  to  con- 
fess that  he  was  a  grievous  sinner  ?  You 
have  it  in  the  well-known  case  of  the 
patriarch  Job.  .  .  .  And  how  are  those 
convictions  wrought  ?  By  the  suspicious 
silence  of  his  friends?  No.  By  the 
blunt  and  open  charges  of  those  same 
friends  %  No.  By  the  wiser  counsel  and 
the  more  truthful  accusations  of  Elihu  1 
No  ;  but  by  the  solemn  word  of  Jeho- 
vah, (fee.  (Job  xxxviii.-xli.).  And  what 
is  the  result  1    (Job  xl.  3-6  ;  xlii.  5,  6). 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXXXIX. 


There  are  probably  few  Christians 
present  who  do  not  feel  the  pointed 
application  of  these  words  to  their  own 
hearts.  You  know  that  there  is  evil 
lying  within.  What  you  want  to  know 
is  how  to  get  rid  of  that  evil.  You 
must  get  rid  of  the  evil  within  by  the 


application  of  the  very  same  principle 
of  faith  as  that  by  means  of  which  you 
have  become  established  in  Christ.  We 
are  justified  by  faith ;  we  are  sanctified 
by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus. — Sir  Emilius 
Bayley. 


The  Wicked  Way  within  us,  and  the  Prayer  Preferred. 
(Verse  24) — "  See  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me/* 


This  a  beautiful  and  impressive  prayer 
for  the  commencement  of  every  day. 

It  is,  also,  a  great  sentiment  to  ad- 
monish  us  at  the  beginning  or  close  of 
each  day. 

"  The  law  of  sin  in  our  members," 
warring  against  the  law  of  truth,  of 
holiness,  and  of  God,  is  still  very 
powerful,  and  often  very  painfully 
exemplified. 

There  is  the  way  of  unbelief  within, 
to  which  we  are  very  prone. 

There  is  the  way  of  vanity  and  pride, 
to  which  we  often  accustom  ourselves — 
vain  of  something  in  connection  with  the 
body,  the  accomplishments  of  the  mind, 
&c.  And  then  how  frequently  we  show 
a  proud  and  inflated  spirit,  instead  of 
the  temper  of  deep  humility. 

There  is  the  way  of  selfishness  in 
which  we  frequently  walk.  We  are 
sometimes  quite  absorbed  in  considera- 
tions which  relate  only  to  our  personal 
advancement  or  happiness. 

There  is  the  way  of  worldliness  we 
often  pursue.  The  empty  pleasures,  the 
shadowy  honours,  &c. 

There  is  the  way  of  sluggishness,  by 
which  we  are  often  marked,  and  in  con- 
nection with  which  we  are  sadly  injured. 
What  apathy  in  prayer,  in  the  examina- 
tion and  application  of  God's  Word,  we 
manifest ! 

There  is  the  way  of  self-dependencCy 
by  which  we  often  dishonour  God  and 
injure  ourselves.  There  is  not  simple, 
unhesitating,  unbroken  reliance  on  the 
perfect  work,  the  infinite  merits  of 
our  Divine  Eedeemer  always  unfolded, 


which    we    are    bound     invariably    to 
exercise. 

There  is,  unhappily,  the  way  of  dis" 
obedience  in  which  we  often  walk.  At 
any  rate,  our  obedience  is  cold,  reluc- 
tant, uncertain — not  distinguished  by  its 
simplicity,  its  entireness,  its  fervency. 

Now,  each  of  the  *'  ways "  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  is  radically 
unsound,  radically  bad, — to  every  one 
of  which  we  are  individually  prone,  and 
from  which  we  require  to  be  delivered. 

How  necessary  is  it,  then,  to  go  to 
God  at  once,  and,  with  the  utmost 
earnestness,  to  prefer  the  petition, 
"  Lord,  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way 
in  me."  Anything  dark  to  enlighten, 
anything  erroneous  to  correct,  anything 
injurious  to  remove,  anything  degrading 
to  elevate,  anything  impure  to  cleanse, 
anything  deadening  to  quicken.  Let 
nothing  that  is  wrong,  that  is  opposed 
to  Thy  character,  repugnant  to  Thy 
Word,  or  injurious  and  debasing  to 
ourselves,  remain,  or  be  harboured  with- 
in us. 

Can  anything  be  more  consistent  than 
this*?  Anything  be  wiser  than  thisi 
Can  any  prayer  issue  in  a  larger,  richer, 
or  more  abiding  blessing  % 

Let  us  remember  that  if  there  be 
what  is  holy  within,  there  will  be 
nothing  that  is  unholy  without ;  if 
there  be  irregularity  within,  there  must 
be  irregularity  and  confusion  without. 
If  the  heart  be  unsound,  the  Ife  must 
inevitably  be  unsound  also. 

Can  you  prefer,  with  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity, this  fine  prayer  % — T.  Wallace, 


391 


FflALM  OtXt. 


BOM  I  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMB. 


PSALM   OXL. 

Introduction, 

••  This  Psalm  is  a  prayer  for  protection  against  enemies  who  were  at  once  violent  and  crafty, 
and  unscrupulous  in  the  use  of  their  tongues.  The  general  strain  of  the  Psalm  is  like  that  of 
many  which  occur  in  the  earlier  books,  and  like  them  it  is  ascribed  to  David.  In  tone  and 
language  it  resembles  Psalms  Iviii,  and  Ixiv.  The  chief  peculiarity  of  the  Psalm  is,  that  it 
has  several  words  which  occur  nowhere  else." — Perovme. 

In  ascribing  the  Psalm  to  David,  the  superscription  is  confirmed  by  the  Davidic  style  and 
spirit  of  the  Psalm.  The  Psalm  is  addressed  *'To  the  chief  musician,"  which  shows  that  it 
was  intended  to  be  set  to  music  for  use  in  the  public  services.  The  occasion  on  which  it  was 
composed  is  not  known. 

Trouble  in  Life,  Prayer  in  Trouble,  and  Confidence  in  Prayer, 


L  Trouble  in  life.  It  is  quite  clear 
that  the  occasion  on  which  the  Psalm 
was  written  was  one  of  trouble,  and 
that  this  trouble  arose  from  the  enemies 
of  the  Psalmist.  From  what  he  says  of 
tbem  in  the  first  part  of  the  Psalm  we 
have  a  clear  idea  of  the  character  of  his 
enemies.     They  were — 

1.  Malignant.  "  The  evil  man  ;  .  .  . 
which  imagine  mischiefs  in  their  heart ; 
.  .  .  the  wicked."  Their  hostility  arose 
not  from  any  misapprehension,  but  from 
malice;  not  from  the  suggestions  or 
force  of  circumstances,  but  from  their 
depraved  souls.  Many  of  the  troubles 
of  life  spring  from  the  mischievous 
devices  of  wicked  hearts. 

2.  Confederate.  "  Continually  are 
they  gathered  together  for  war."  They 
had  banded  themselves  into  an  organi- 
sation for  the  accomplishment  of  their 
wicked  designs.  The  archleader  of  the 
forces  of  evil  aims  at  unity  of  design 
and  effort  in  the  great  struggle  against 
the  right  and  true 

3.  Slanderous  "They  have  shar- 
pened their  tongues  like  a  serpent; 
adders*  poison  is  under  their  lips."  They 
invented  and  published  malicious  lies 
against  the  poet  to  ruin  his  reputation. 
The  words  of  the  slanderer  are  like  the 
poison  of  the  bite  of  the  adder,  which  is 
among  the  most  poisonous  of  serpents. 
The  slanderous  tongue  is  the  virulent 
weapon  of  the  malignant  heart. 

4.  Violent.  *'  Preserve  me  from  the 
violent  man."  They  used  not  only  the 
slanderous  tongue,  but  the  strong  arm 
against  the  Psalmist.  The  tongue,  the 
pen,  and  the  sword  have  all  been  used 

392 


at  times  against  the  people  of  God. 
The  reviler,  the  controversialist,  and 
the  persecutor  have  set  themselves 
against  the  Church  of  God. 

6.  Determined.  *'  Who  have  pur- 
posed to  overthrow  my  goings."  Their 
evil  thoughts  and  feelings  had  led  to 
the  formation  of  an  evil  design.  Their 
attempted  injuries  to  the  poet  were  the 
expression  of  their  firm  determination 
to  effect  his  ruin.  Men  sin  not  only 
through  weakness,  but  by  settled  pur- 
pose. There  are  men  who  "do  evil 
with  both  hands  earnestly." 

6.  Fraud.  "  The  proud  have  hid  a 
snare  for  me."  They  were  haughty  and 
arrogant,  "conceited  of  themselves  and 
confident  of  their  success;  and  herein 
they  resemble  Satan,  whose  reigning 
ruining  sin  was  pride.  The  pride  of 
persecutors,  though  at  present  it  be  the 
terror,  yet  may  be  the  encouragement 
of  the  persecuted,  for  the  more  haughty 
they  are  the  faster  are  they  ripening 
for  ruin.  *  Pride  goes  before  destruc- 
tion.* " 

7.  Cunning.  "  The  proud  have  hid 
a  snare  for  me,  and  cords ;  they  have 
spread  a  net  by  the  wayside  ;  they  have 
set  gins  for  me."  They  employed  fraud 
against  him  as  well  as  force.  They  not 
only  made  open  war  against  him,  but 
they  plotted  and  schemed  to  overthrow 
him  suddenly  and  unawares.  "  Great 
persecutors  have  often  been  great  poli- 
ticians, which  has  indeed  made  them 
the  more  formidable."  Such  is  the 
description  which  David  here  gives  of 
his  foes.  We  cannot  wonder  that  they 
troubled   his  life.     The   good    man    is 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY.  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  OIL. 


atill  troubled  in  his  life  upon  earth  by 
outward  enemies  and  inward  fears,  by 
bodily  sufferings  and  mental  distresses, 
by  social  trials  and  spiritual  conflicts. 
"  In  the  world  ye  have  tribulation." 

TI.  Prayer  in  trouble.  The  Psalmist 
prays  for — 

1.  Preservation  from  his  enemies. 
**  Deliver  me,  O  Lord,  from  the  evil 
man  ;  preserve  me  from  the  violent 
man  ;  keep  me  from  the  hands  of  the 
wicked."  His  enemies  were  endeavour- 
ing to  blast  his  reputation,  to  rob  him 
of  his  throne,  and  to  take  away  his  life; 
he  knew  their  malice  and  cunning  and 
power,  and  his  own  peril,  and  he  en- 
treated the  Lord  for  deliverance  and 
looked  to  Him  for  protection. 

Prayer  is  the  great  resource  of  the 
righteous  in  the  troubles  and  perils  of 
life.  When  every  other  refuge  fails, 
there  is  safety  at  the  throne  of  grace. 
He  whom  God  protects  is  inviolably 
secure.  *'  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of 
trouble  :  I  will  deliver  thee,"  <fec.  **  God 
is  our  refuge  and  strength,"  <fec.  The 
Psalmist  prays  for — 

2.  The  overthrow  of  his  enemies.  He 
asks  that  this  may  be  accomplished  by 
(1.)  The  recoil  of  their  evil  designs.  "  As 
for  the  head  of  those  that  compass  me 
about,  let  the  mischief  of  their  own  lips 
cover  them."  His  wish  is  that  the  mis- 
chief which  they  had  designed  against 
him  might  fall  upon  their  own  heads. 
The  cruel  and  cowardly  calumniator,  the 
violent  persecutor,  and  the  crafty  plot- 
ter of  the  overthrow  of  his  fellow-men, 
will  each  find  the  injury  which  he  has 
inflicted  upon  others  falling  with  fury 
upon  himself.  There  are  many  Hamans 
who  to-day  are  building  gallows  for  many 
Mordecais  upon  which  they  will  be  hung 
themselves.  (2.)  By  the  infliction  of 
Divine  judgments.  "  Let  burning  coals 
fall  upon  them ;  let  them  be  cast  into 
the  fire,  into  deep  pits,  that  they  rise  not 
up  again.  Let  not  an  evil-speaker  be 
established  in  the  earth :  evil  shall  hunt 
the  violent  man  to  overthrow  him." 
Instead  of,  "into  deep  pits,"  Hengsten- 
berg  translates,  "  into  water-floods,"  and 
Perowne,  '*  into  floods  of  water."  We  are 
by  no  means  certain  that  a  retaliative 
and  sinful  spirit  did  not  give  rise  to  the 


tenth  verse.  But  it  is  inspiring  to  know 
that  an  evil-speaker  shall  not  be  estab- 
lished in  the  earth  or  anywhere  else.  A 
lie  cannot  live  always.  The  slanderer 
builds  on  the  sand,  and  his  building 
shall  fall  into  ruin  upon  the  builder. 
"*Evil  shall  hunt  the  violent  man,'  as 
the  blood-hound  hunts  the  murderer  to 
discover  him,  as  the  lion  hunts  his  prey 
to  tear  it  to  pieces.  Mischievous  men 
will  be  brought  to  light,  and  brought  to 
ruin ;  the  destruction  appointed  shall 
run  them  down  and  overthrow  them. 
'Evil  pursues  sinners.'" — M.  Henry. 

III.  Confidence  in  prayer.  The 
prayer  of  David  was  neither  the  cry  of 
despair  nor  the  entreaty  of  doubt  or  fear, 
but  a  confident  appeal  to  the  Lord  God. 
The  confidence  of  the  Psalmist  was  based 
upon — 

1.  His  relation  to  God.  "  I  said  unto 
the  Lord,  Thou  art  my  God."  In  the 
time  of  trouble,  when  we  approach  God 
in  prayer,  it  is  most  inspiring  to  be  able 
to  claim  personal  relationship  to  Him, 
and  to  cling  to  Him  by  faith.  If  He  is 
"  my  God,"  He  will  not  leave  me  to  the 
might  and  malice  of  my  foes. 

2.  His  ideas  of  God.  *'  O  God  the 
Lord,  the  strength  of  my  salvation." 
His  appeal  is  to  Jehovah  Adonai,  Jeho- 
vah is  the  Self-Existent  One ;  Adonai  is 
the  Supreme  Ruler,  the  Governor  of  all 
things  and  all  beings.  The  possession 
of  an  interest  in  such  a  Being  may  well 
inspire  confidence.  So  the  Psalmist 
looks  to  Him  as  the  strength  of  his  sal- 
vation. "  Behold,  God  is  my  salvation : 
I  will  trust  and  not  be  afraid ;  for  the 
Lord  Jehovah  is  my  strength,"  &c. 

3.  His  experience  of  the  protection  of 
God,  "Thou  hast  covered  my  head  in 
the  day  of  battle."  As  the  helmet 
shields  the  head  (that  vital  part)  amid 
the  perils  of  the  battle-field,  so  God  had 
guarded  him  from  the  assaults  of  his 
enemies.  The  experience  we  have  had 
of  God's  protecting  care  in  the  past 
should  inspire  us  with  confidence  in  the 
present,  and  with  hope  for  the  future. 
"  Behold,  the  Lord's  hand  is  not  shortened 
that  it  cannot  save ;  neither  is  His  ear 
heavy  that  it  cannot  hear."  He  is  "  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever." 

4.  His  faith  in  the  righteous  rule  of 

393 


PSALM  OXL. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


God,  "  I  know  that  the  Lord  will  main- 
tain the  cause  of  the  afflicted,  the  right 
of  the  poor.  Surely  the  righteous  shall 
give  thanks  unto  Thy  name;  the  up- 
right shall  dwell  in  Thy  presence."  The 
Psalmist  was  convinced  that  the  govern- 
ment of  God  was  opposed  to  wicked  op- 
pressors. God  is  the  Champion  of  His 
oppressed  people.  He  will  vindicate 
their  cause,  and  give  them  abundant 
reason  to  offer  unto  Him  grateful  praise. 
The  wicked  shall  shrink  in  dismay  from 
His  frown ;  but  the  upright  shall  dwell 
in  His  presence,  and  rejoice  in  His 
favouLT.     (Comp.  Ps.  xi.  7,  xvi.  11^  Ixi. 


7.)  A  faith  like  this  in  the  government 
of  God  is  one  of  the  truest  and  greatest 
supports  of  man  amid  the  trials  and 
difficulties  of  life. 

Conclusion.  —  Learn,  —  1.  That  the 
true  and  good  are  sometimes  exposed  to 
severe  trials  and  extreme  perils.  2.  Thai 
the  true  and  good  have  no  adequate  reason 
for  fear  at  any  time.  3.  That  the  re- 
sources of  the  true  and  good  are  more  than 
adequate  to  every  trial  and  peril.  Their 
security  is  guaranteed  by  One  who  is 
infinite  in  wisdom,  almighty  in  power, 
and  unchangeable  in  truth. 


The  Day  of  Battle  and  the  Protection  of  God. 


{Verse 

Consider : — 

L  The  period  spoken  of. 

«  The  day  of  battle."  Heb.  lit.  "  ar- 
mour," as  in  1  Kings  x.  25 ;  2  Kings  x. 
2  ;  Ezek.  xxxix.  9,  10.  *'  *  The  day  of 
armour'  is  not  the  day  of  preparation 
for  battle,  but  the  day  on  which  the 
armour  is  carried  for  the  battle,  conse- 
quently the  day  of  battle." — Moll. 

David  had  been  in  many  battles ;  he 
was  well  acquainted  with  their  toils  and 
dangers,  their  excitements  and  horrors. 
But  let  us  notice — 

1.  What  the  battle  implies.  (1.)  Ene- 
mies. The  Psalmist  had  many  foes ;  and 
they  were  bitter  and  violent,  crafty  and 
combined,  in  their  hostility  to  him.  The 
godly  soul  has  to  contend  against  "  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil " — against 
evil  in  society  (John  xv.  18-21 ;  1  John 
iii.  13  ;  iv.  i,  5  j  v.  4,  5),  in  our  own 
nature  (Rom.  vii.  21-23;  Gal.  v.  7), 
and  in  malignant  spirits  (Eph.  vi.  10-18; 
1  Pet.  V.  8).  Our  enemies  are  many, 
subtle,  and  strong.  (2.)  Peril.  The  field 
of  battle  is  a  scene  of  danger.  The  day 
of  moral  battle  has  its  perils.  The  godly 
soul  may  be  injured.  There  is  danger 
that  we  may  yield  to  the  subtle  sugges- 
tions, or  be  overpowered  by  the  vigorous 
onslaughts  of  our  foes.  Good  men 
have  received  injury  in  this  battle  ;  e.g., 
Moses  and  Aaron  (Num.  xx.  12);  David 
(2  Sam.  xi.,  xii.  7-12;  Peter  (Matt, 
xxvi.  69-76).  Few,  if  indeed  any,  come 
out  of  this  battle  without  some  wounds 
394 


7.) 

or  scars.  (3.)  Effort.  There  is  no  battle 
without  strenuous  exertion.  The  godly 
soul  has  to  resist  the  attacks  of  his  ene- 
mies ;  to  watch  and  ward  that  he  be  not 
surprised  by  his  foes,  and  to  endeavour 
to  overcome  them.  We  have  to  act  not 
only  on  the  defensive,  but  on  the  offen- 
sive; not  only  to  guard  ourselves,  but 
to  conquer  the  world  for  Jesus  Christ. 
The  maintenance  and  growth  of  the 
Christian  life  cannot  be  attained  by 
merely  wearing  the  uniform  and  carry- 
ing the  weapons  of  a  soldier,  or  by 
appearing  in  the  army  on  review  days 
only.  We  must  fight  if  we  would  con- 
quer ;  we  must  fight  if  we  would  not 
sustain  defeat. 

2.  How  long  the  battle  lasts.  "  The 
day  of  battle."  The  conflict  is  only  for 
a  brief  season.     It  is  severe,  but  short, 

"  The  strife  will  not  be  long ; 
This  day  the  noise  of  battle, 
The  next  the  victor's  song.** 

The  battle  is  but  for  a  day;  the 
triumph  is  eternal.  Therefore,  Christian 
soldier,  fear  not,  faint  not.  **  Fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith,"  (fee. 

II.  The  protection  acknowledged. 

"  0  Jehovah  Lord,  the  strength  of 
my  salvation.  Thou  hast  covered  my 
head  in  the  day  of  battle."  God  had 
defended  David  in  many  battles,  kept 
him  in  safety  amidst  many  perils.  Grate- 
fully and  hopefully  he  calls  this  protec- 
tion to  mind  in  his  present  dangers. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARl,  PSALMS. 


P8ALM  OXLL 


1.  Protection  of  a  vital  part.  "  Thou 
hast  covered  my  head,"  *.e.,  as  with  a 
helmet.  (Comp.  Psa.  Ix.  7.)  In  the  battle 
of  life  we  may  suffer  in  many  things, 
but  our  vital  interests  are  safe  :  we  may 
be  wounded,  but  we  shall  not  be  slain  : 
we  may  suffer  loss,  but  we  shall  not  fall 
a  prey  to  our  adversaries. 

2.  Protection  hy  an  all-sufficient  Being. 
*'  Jehovah,  the  Lord,  the  strength  of  my 
salvation.''  Here  is  a  Being  of — (1.) 
Independent  existence.  "  Jehovah,"  the 
Self-Existing,  the  Permanent,  the  Ever- 
lasting. He  ever  lives  to  guard  and  save 
His  people.  (2.)  Sovereign  authority, 
"  The  Lord,"  the  Supreme  Governor. 
"His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all."  (3.) 
Saving  power.  "  The  strength  of  my 
salvation."     He  is  "  mighty  to  save.*' 

III.  The  encouragement  to  be  de- 
duced. 

1.  To  ti-ust  in  Him  for  protection. 
What  He  has  done  is  an  earnest  of  what 


He  will  yet  do.  David  was  accustomed 
to  argue  from  the  past  to  the  future. 
"  The  Lord  that  delivered  me  out  of  the 
paw  of  the  lion,"  &c.  (1  Sam.  xvii.  37). 
"  Because  Thou  hast  been  my  help, 
therefore  in  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings 
will  I  rejoice.*'  He  who  has  protected 
us  in  the  past  still  lives,  still  He  is 
sovereign  in  authority,  and  still  He  is 
strong  to  save,  therefore  let  us  trust 
Him. 

2.  To  pray  to  Him  for  protection.  The 
Lord  will  '*  be  inquired  of  by  the  house 
of  Israel  to  do  for  them."  Sincere  and 
believing  prayer  is  a  Divinely-appointed 
condition  of  blessing.  Let  His  protec- 
tion in  past  times  inspire  our  petitions  in 
the  present.  **  Because  He  hath  inclined 
His  ear  unto  me,  therefore  will  I  call 
upon  Him  as  long  as  I  live."  Let  our 
own  experience  stimulate  and  strengthen 
our  confidence  in  Him  and  our  prayers 
to  Him  as  the  God  of  our  salvation. 


PSALM    CXLL 

Introduction. 

••This  Psalm  presents,**  says  Perowne,  "some  peculiar  difficulties  of  interpretation,  which, 
however,  are  due  neither  to  the  words  employed  nor  to  the  grammatical  construction,  but  to  the 
extreme  abruptness  with  which  in  vers.  6-7  the  thoughts  follow  one  another,  and  the  extreme 
obscurity  which  hangs  over  the  allusions.  To  translate  each  sentence  by  itself  is  no  difficult 
matter,  but  it  is  almost  hopeless  either  to  link  the  sentences  plausibly  together,  or  to  discover 
in  them  any  tangible  clue  to  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Psalmist  was  placed.  As  all  the 
ancient  versions  must  have  had  substantially  the  same  text,  the  deviations  in  any  of  them  being 
very  slight,  it  is  hardly  probable  that,  as  Olshausen  and  Hupfield  maintain,  the  text  is  corrupt : 
it  is  more  likely  that  our  entire  ignorance  of  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Psalm  was 
written  prevents  our  piercing  the  obscurity  of  the  writer's  words. 

"It  has  been  usual  to  accept  the  inscription  which  assigns  the  Psalm  to  David,  and  to 
assign  it  to  the  time  of  his  persecution  by  Saul.  Verse  6  has  generally  been  supposed  to  allude 
to  David's  generous  conduct  in  sparing  the  life  of  his  foe  when  he  was  in  his  power  (see  1  Sam. 
zxiv.);  but  it  is  quite  impossible  on  this  supposition  to  give  any  plausible  interpretation  to 
ver.  7. 

•'  Delitzsch,  with  more  probability,  refers  the  Psalm  to  the  time  of  Absalom's  rebellion.  He 
sees  an  allusion  to  David's  distance  from  the  sanctuary  and  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary  in  ver. 
2,  and  he  explains  ver.  6  of  the  punishment  which  shall  overtake  the  rebel  leaders,  and  the 
return  of  the  people  to  their  allegiance." 

It  is  unmistakably  clear  from  vers. .  7-10  that  the  Psalm  was  written  at  a  time  of  trial  and 
peril.     And  it  brings  before  our  notice— 


The  Conduct  of  a  Good  Man  in  a  Time  of  Trial. 


We  can  trace  in  this  Psalm  with  con- 
siderable clearness  the  spiritual  mood 
and  exercises  of  the  Psalmist  in  this 
time  of  trouble  and  danger.  We  have 
here — 

L  Earnest  prayer.     In  his  distresF 


David  lifted  up  his  voice  and  his  heart 
to  God  in  prayer.     He  asks — 

1.  For  Divine  audience.  **  Give  ear 
unto  my  voice,  when  I  cry  unto  Thee.** 
Not  even  the  whisper  of  sincere  prayer 
escapes  the  ear  of  God ;  yet  it  is  becom- 

595 


PBALM  oxLi.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


ing  in  us  humbly  to  entreat  Him  to  eiffect  that  God  would  not  leave  him  to 

hear  favourably  our  prayers.     Our  ask-  himself  to  go  astray,  or  to  any  evil  in- 

ing  tends  to  strengthen  our  faith  in  His  fluence   that   would    lead    him   astray, 

hearing.  He  seeks  preservation  from  (1)  sinful 

2.  For  Divine  acceptance.     "  Let  my  practices,    that    God   would   keep   him 

prayer  be  set  forth  before  Thee  as  in-  from  the  wicked  doings  of  the  workers 

cense,  the  lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  the  of    iniquity.       And     from    (2)    sinful 

evening  sacrifice."     "  The  sacrifice  here  pleasures,    that   God   would    keep  him 

meant,"  says  Perowne,  **  is  strictly  the  from  the  easy,  luxurious,  sensual  life  of 

offering  consisting  of  fine  flour  with  oil  the  wicked  who  have  their  portion  in 

and  frankincense,  or  of  unleavened  cakes  this  world,  that  he  may  "not  eat  of  their 

mingled  with  oil,  which  was  burnt  upon  dainties."     Two  points   are  worthy  of 

the  altar  (Heb.  mincJiah,  E.  V.  '  meat-  notice  here — 

offering:*    see   Lev.    ii.    1-11).      This,  First:    This  sense   of  dependence   on 

however,   like   the   *  incense,*  was  only  God^  which  the  Psalmist  manifested^  would 

added  to  the  burnt-offering,  the  lamb  ensure  his  safety,     *'  Tliey  that  ti  ust  in 

which  was  offered  every  morning  and  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion,  which 

evening    (Exod.    xxix.    34-42 ;    Num.  cannot   be    removed,    but   abideth    for 

xxviii.  3-8).     It  would  seem,  therefore,  ever." 

that  these  two,  '  the  incense '  and  *  the  Second  :  In  thus  taking  his  trouble  to 

offering  of  fine  flour,'  &c.,  stand  for  the  God  hy  prayer  the  Psalmist  would  find 

morning  and  evening  sacrifice ;  and  the  relief.      The    mere    utterance    of    our 

sense  is,  *  Let  my  daily  prayer  be  ac-  anxieties  or  griefs  to  a  Being  of  perfect 

ceptable  to  Thee  as  are  the  daily  sacri-  love  and  faithfulness  affords  us  relief, 

fices  of  Thine  own  appointment.' "    The  The  exercise  of  prayer  to  God  is  itself  a 

incense  which  ascended  in  a  fragrant  helpful  and  blessed  thing. 
cloud  was  a  symbol  of  acceptable  prayer.  II.  Noble  resolutions.      David    ex- 

And  the  lifting  up  of  the  hands  was  a  presses  his  resolution — 
symbol  of  the  lifting  up  of  the  heart.  1.     To  welcome    the    rebukes    of   the 

The  poet  offered  his  heart  to  God  in  righteous.      "Let   the   righteous   smite 

prayer.     And  he  asks  that  his  prayer  me,  it  shall  be  a  kindness ;  and  let  him 

may  find  acceptance  with  God.  reprove    me,    it   shall    be   an    excellent 

^.  For  speedy  Divine  assistance,  "Lord,  oil,  which  shall   not   break   my  head.'* 

I  cry  unto  Thee,  make  haste  unto  me."  Perowne  more  correctly  translates  thus  : 

The  burden  of  his  trouble  was  heavy,  "  It  shall  be  as  oil  upon  (my)  head,  let 

and  his  peril  was  imminent  and  his  need  not  my  head  refuse  (it)."     The  rebuke 

urgent;  therefore   he   entreats  God  to  of  the   righteous   may  be  painful,   but 

appear  quickly  for  his  help.  it  promotes  our  well-being.     The  pain 

4.  For  preservation  from  tinful  speech,  which  it  causes  is,  like  that  which  is  in- 

"Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my  mouth ;  flicted  by  the  knife  in  the  hand  of  the 

keep  the  door  of  my  lips."     He  asks  to  skilful   surgeon,    for   the   good   of   the 

be  kept  from  the  utterance  of  foolish  or  sufferer.     The  true  friend  who,  because 

bitter  words  in  his  time  of  trial.     (See  of  his  regard  for  us,  faithfully  reproves 

the  Horn.  Com.  on  Ps.  xxxix.  1.)  us  when  we  are  in  fault,  is  a  great  bless- 

6.  For  preservation  from  sinful  can-  ing.     And  the  man  who,  like  David,  is 

duct.     "  Incline  not  my  heart   to   any  wise  and  good  will  welcome  his  reproofs 

evil  thing,  to  practise  wicked  works  with  with  joy,  though  they  are  painful.     He 

men  that  work  iniquity  ;  and  let  me  not  will  not  only  not  refuse  them,  but  will 

eat  of   their   dainties."      Not  for   one  receive  them  as  the  oil  which  was  poured 

moment  can  we  entertain  the  idea  that  on  the  head  on  festive  occasions,  *'  the 

God  ever  exerts  any  positive  influence  to  oil  of   gladness."      "  Faithful    are  the 

induce  men  to  sin.      His  holy  nature,  wounds  of  a  friend."     "  It  is  better  to 

His  revealed  will,  and  all  His  arrange-  hear  the  rebuke  of  the  wise,  than  for  a 

ments  are  utterly  opposed  to   such  an  man  to  hear  the  song  of  fools." 
idea.     The  prayer  of  the  Psalmist  is  in  2,  To  defend  himself  by  prayer  against 

396 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


MALM  OZLI. 


hU  adversaries.  It  appears  to  us  that 
our  translation  of  the  last  line  of  ver.  5 
does  not  give  the  true  meaning.  Heng- 
stenberg  renders  it :  "If  still,  then,  I 
shall  pray  against  their  wickedness." 
And  Perowne  :  "  For  yet  is  my  prayer 
against  their  wickedness."  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  he  would  have  recourse 
to  prayer  as  the  best  defence  against 
the  wickedness  of  his  persecutors.  He 
would  not  seek  to  retaliate  upon  them, 
or  meet  their  wickedness  towards  him 
with  wickedness  towards  them,  but  he 
would  commit  his  cause  unto  the  Lord 
in  prayer.  Surely  these  resolutions  in- 
dicate a  true  and  great  soul. 

III.  Confident  expectation.  The 
Psalmist  expresses  his  assured  hope  of 
deliverance  from  peril  and  of  the  tri- 
umph of  his  cause.  His  statement  of 
his  expectation  presents  three  points : — 

1.  That  the  chief  men  among  his 
enemies  would  be  overthrown^  and  that 
their  overthrow  would  promote  his  tri- 
umph. "  When  their  judges  are  over- 
thrown in  stony  places,  they  shall  hear 
my  words ;  for  they  are  sweet."  Per- 
owne :  "  This  verse,  difficult  in  itself,  is 
still  more  difficult,  because  it  has  no 
very  obvious  connection  either  with 
what  precedes  or  with  what  follows. 
The  allusions  are  so  obscure  that  it  is 
impossible  to  do  more  than  guess  at 
their  meaning."  The  interpretation 
which  he  proceeds  to  suggest  seems  to 
us  the  most  probable.  "  ( When)  their 
judges  have  been  hurled  down  the  sides 
of  the  rock,  then  they  shall  hear  my 
words  that  they  are  sweet."  Their  judges 
must  be  the  rulers  or  princes  of  the 
wicked  adversaries  of  the  poet.  The 
verb  hurled  down  is  the  same  which  is 
used  of  the  throwing  down  of  Jezebel 
from  the  window  (2  Kings  ix.  33) ;  and 
it  indicates  a  punishment  which  David 
anticipates  will  be  inflicted  upon  these 
rebel  rulers  (see  2  Chron.  xxv.  12).  The 
words  they  shall  hear  refer  not  to  the 
judges,  but  to  their  followers  who  have 
been  led  astray  by  them."  If  the  Psalm 
refers  to  the  rebellion  of  Absalom  or 
any  similar  occasion,  the  sense  will  be, 
"  when  the  leaders  in  the  insurrection 
meet  with  the  fate  they  deserve,  then 
the  subjects  of  the  king  will  return  to 


their  allegiance."  And  the  expression, 
"  they  shall  hear  my  words  that  they 
are  sweet,"  would  be  a  thoroughly  ori- 
ental mode  of  describing  the  satisfaction 
with  which  they  would  welcome  the 
gracious  amnesty  pronounced  by  their 
offended  sovereign. 

2.  That  his  pi^esent  sufferings  would 
promote  his  triumph.  "Our  bones  are 
scattered  at  the  grave's  mouth,  as  when 
one  cutteth  and  cleaveth  wood  upon  the 
earth."  The  explanation  of  this  verse 
also  is  difficult.  It  seems  quite  clear 
that  the  supplying  of  the  word  "  wood  " 
as  the  object  of  the  verb,  as  in  the  A. 
v.,  is  both  unnecessary  and  misleading. 
Perowne  translates  :  "  As  when  one  fur- 
roweth  the  earth  (with  the  plough),  our 
bones  have  been  scattered  at  the  mouth  of 
the  grave."  The  interpretation  of  Deli- 
tzsch  and  Hengstenberg  seems  to  us  cor- 
rect It  is  thus  stated  by  the  latter  :  *'  As 
in  ploughing  the  tearing  up  of  the  earth 
is  not  the  ultimate  design,  but  only  the 
means  of  a  fruitful  result,  only  serves 
the  purpose  of  making  the  earth  yield 
its  produce ;  therefore,  with  an  equally 
beneficent  design,  or  in  order  that, 
through  the  present  injury,  new  life  may 
arise,  our  bones  also  are  scattered  about. 
While  the  enemies  are  conducted  from, 
life  to  death  (ver.  6),  we  are  conducted 
from  death  to  life."  The  sufferings  of 
the  present  were  as  the  seed  from  which 
would  grow  a  plenteous  harvest  of  pros- 
perity and  joy.  This  truth  is  taught 
frequei\tly  and  clearly  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment (Rom.  V.  3-5 ;  James  i.  2,  3). 

3.  That  his  confidence  was  reposed  in 
God,  "  But  mine  eyes  are  unto  Thee, 
O  God  the  Lord;  in  Thee  is  my  trust." 
His  expectation  of  deliverance  and  tri- 
umph was  fixed  in  God,  —  not  in  the 
skill  of  his  strategy,  or  .the  strength  of 
his  forces,  but  in  Jehovah  the  Lord. 

The  poet  closes  the  Psalm  as  he  began 
it,  with — 

IV.  Earnest  prayer.  He  prays — 
1.  That  he  may  he  protected  from  his 
enemies.  "  Leave  not  my  soul  destitute. 
Keep  me  from  the  snares  which  they 
have  laid  for  me,  and  the  gins  of  the 
workers  of  iniquity."  Here  are  three 
points : — (1.)  His  enemies  had  cunningly 
devised    his  overthrow.     (2.)  God  was 

397 


PSALM  GXLI. 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


able  to  [irotect  him  against  their  deepest 
designs.  (3.)  For  this  protection  he 
prays,  in  it  he  trusts.  The  all-wise  and 
Almighty  One  will  baffle  the  most 
subtle  plots  that  are  formed  against  His 
people. 

2.  That  the  designs  of  his  enemies  may 
he  turned  against  themselves.  "  Let  the 
wicked  fall  into  their  own  nets,  whilst 
that  I  withal  escape."  The  sinner  digs 
the  pit  for  his  own  destruction,  builds 
the  prison   for   his   own   incarceration, 


collects  the  fuel  for  his  own  hell-fire. 
The  blow  which  he  aims  against  others 
recoils  upon  himself.  "No  law  can 
be  more  just  than  that  the  architects 
of  destruction  should  perish  by  their 
own  c(mtrivances."  (See  the  Hom.  Com. 
on  Ps.  cxl.  9.)  When  the  wicked  are 
overthrown,  like  Pharaoh  and  his  host, 
by  the  waters  of  that  sea  into  which 
they  have  presumptuously  and  wickedly 
adventured,  the  righteous  shall  pass  in 
safety  and  triumph  unto  the  other  side. 


The  Sufferings  of  God's  Servants,  and  the  Relief  which 

THE  Gospel  affords. 

{Verses  1,  8.) 


I.  That  God's  most  favoured  ser- 
vants have  often  been  exposed  to  the 
utmost  extremity  and  danger. 

"  Our  bones  are  scattered,"  (fee.  It  is 
an  expression  denoting  the  extreme  of 
suffering  —  hopeless  calamity.  When 
the  prophet  Ezekiel  would  express  the 
overwhelming  ruin  under  which  Israel 
was  sunk,  he  compares  their  case  to  a 
valley  of  dry  bones,  many,  and  exceeding 
dry;  and  explains  the  allegory  thus — 
"  Our  bones  are  dried,  and  our  hope  is 
lost "  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  1 1). 

A  similar  destitution  of  hope  and 
happiness  has  often  characterised  God's 
people.  David  was  hunted  like  a  part- 
ridge upon  the  mountains,  whilst  Saul 
was  on  the  throne.  Moses  was  a  fugi- 
tive and  outlaw  from  Egypt.  Paul  was 
in  bonds,  whilst  Festus  was  on  the 
bench.  Job  was  on  the  dunghill.  Those 
"  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy " 
were  "destitute,  afflicted,  tormented." 
Christ  was  a  prisoner  at  the  bar,  whilst 
Herod,  in  royal  apparel,  sat  on  the 
judgment-seat.  More  remarkable  still, — 
they  who  possessed  miraculous  powers 
could  not  employ  them  for  the  relief  of 
their  own  wants.  Peter's  shadow  could 
heal  the  diseases  of  others ;  but  he 
could  not  release  himself  from  prison. 

But  why  is  all  this  suffered  ?  Cer- 
tainly not  from  indifference  to  their 
interests  ;  for  He  calls  them  His  jewels. 
His  children,  His  flock.  Not  from  in- 
ability to  help  or  save  j  for  He  has  all 
power  in  heaven  and  earth, — and  He 
398 


who  conducts  them  to  thrones  of  glory 
in  the  next  world  could  equally  enrich 
them  with  the  treasures  of  this. 

1.  To  lead  the  soul  to  Gody  in  the  im- 
mediate exercise  of  faith  and  dependencej 
for  better  treasure  than  the  world  can 
give.  This  was  the  immediate  effect 
here :  "  Our  bones  are  scattered ;  .  .  . 
but  mine  eyes  are  unto  Thee."  God 
reveals  Himself  as  the  Refuge  :  He  loves 
to  be  known  and  trusted  under  that 
character.  He  is  never  more  present 
with  His  people  than  when  the  world 
forsakes.  Nothing  is  more  delightful 
than  the  view  afforded  by  the  Cross  of 
Christ  of  the  revealed  character  of  God. 

Every  creature  has  its  refuge — some 
place  of  defence  to  which  it  can  betake 
itself  in  the  hour  of  threatening  danger. 
The  lion  has  its  den ;  the  hunted  deer 
betakes  itself  to  the  running  stream ; 
the  dove  flies  to  the  clefts  of  the  rock, 
<fec. ;  the  good  man  turns  to  God. 

2.  To  prove  principle  and  purify 
character.  These  trials  are  necessary  to 
prove  grace  and  to  improve  it.  "That 
the  trial  of  your  faith  being  much  more 
precious,"  <kc.  (1  Pet.  i.  7).  God  often 
chooses  His  people  in  the  furnace  of 
affliction,  but  always  refines  them  in  it. 
Whilst  you  are  under  affliction  you  are 
under  a  process  of  cure.  The  true 
thought  is,  that  sin  introduced  suffering, 
but  God,  superior  at  all  points  to  evil, 
employs  suffering  as  an  instrument  by 
which  sin  may  be  destroyed  in  His  own 
people. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLn. 


Tt  ifl  one  means  of  fulfilling  the 
prayer :  "  Keep  me  from  the  snares 
they  have  laid  for  me  "  (ver.  9). 

3.  To  prepare  for  greater  usefulness 
herey  and  for  endless  happiness  here- 
after. 

II.  That  in  the  most  hopeless  cir- 
cumstances the  Gospel  affords  relief. 

1.  From  the  fact  of  Divine  appoint- 
ment. He  causes  grief  ;  not  an  enemy. 
They  come  not  from  the  enemy  of  souls, 
but  the  Friend  of  sinners.  The  same 
hand  that  opens  the  fountain  of  our 
joys  opens  that  of  our  sorrows  too. 
God  administers  them.     They  are   the 


signs  of  His  love.  They  shall  not 
exceed  the  measure  of  your  strength, 
nor  be  continued  a  moment  longer  than 
needful. 

2.  From  the  sympathy  and  compaS' 
sion  of  Christ 

3.  From  the  promises  of  the  Gospel. 

4.  From  the  bright  prospects  of  future 
glory. 

III.  That  in  proportion  to  the  hap- 
piness and  safety  of  God's  children 
must  be  the  misery  and  wretchedness 
of  His  enemies. 

•        •        •        •         .        • 

Samuel  Thodeff, 


PSALM    OXLIL 

Introduction. 

•*  A  maschil  of  David,**  i«.,  an  instruction  or  a  didactic  poem  by  David.  "  A  prayer  when 
he  was  in  the  cave  ; "  "  That  is/'  says  Barnes,  "either a  prayer  which  he  composed  while  there, 
or  which  he  composed  afterwards,  putting  into  a  poetic  form  the  substance  of  the  prayer  which 
he  breathed  forth  there.  The  reference  may  be  either  to  the  cave  of  AduUam  (1  Sam.  xxii. 
1),  or  to  that  in  Eiigedi  (1  Sam.  xxiv.  3).  In  both  cases  the  circumstances  were  substantially 
the  same,  for  David  had  fled  to  the  cave  to  escape  from  Saul.  It  is  a  cry  of  distress  when  there 
was  no  refuge — no  hope — but  in  God  ;  when  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape  from  his 
enemies ;  and  when,  forsaken  by  his  friends,  and  pursued  by  an  enemy  who  sought  his  life,  he 
seemed  now  to  be  in  the  power  of  his  foe.  It  may  also  be  used  to  express  the  feelings  of  one 
now  in  danger, — as  of  a  sinner  under  condemnation,  seeing  no  way  of  escape,  exposed  to  ruin, 
and  shut  up  entirely  to  the  mercy  of  God.  Sucrf  a  one  feels  as  David  did  on  this  occasion,  that 
there  can  be  no  escape  but  through  the  interposition  of  God." 

Many  of  the  Psalms  give  utterance  to  the  same  feelings.  Over  and  over  again  we  have 
Psalms  containing  an  expression  of  trouble,  prayer  for  relief,  and  believing  expectation  of  deli- 
verance. With  such  similarity  of  sentiment,  variety  of  homiletic  treatment  is  very  difficult,  if 
the  main  points  in  each  Psalm  are  to  be  indicated  in  such  treatment.  The  chief  characteris- 
tics of  this  Psalm — distress,  prayer,  and  hope — we  have  met  with  repeatedly  in  our  survey  of 
this  book. 


A  Pkayer  of  the  Godly  Man  from  the  Depths  of  Distress. 


We  have  here  : — 

L     A  picture    of    deep     distress. 

Several  features  of  the  distress  of  the 
poet  are  here  set  forth. 

1.  The  persecution  of  his  enemies. 
*'  In  the  way  wherein  I  walked  have 
they  privily  laid  a  snare  for  me.  .  .  . 
Deliver  me  from  my  persecutors ;  for 
they  are  stronger  than  I."  His  enemies 
were  (1)  cunning.  In  his  path  they 
had  hidden  a  snare  for  him,  with  a  view 
to  entrap  and  injure  him.  Their  per- 
secution was  not  open  and  manly,  but 
secret  and  artful.  Even  in  the  path  of 
his  duty  they  had  concealed  their 
snares  for  his  overthrow.  They  were 
(2)   powerful.      "  My    persecutors    are 


stronger  than  I."  Saul  and  his  emis- 
saries are  here  referred  to.  They  were 
more  in  number,  better  equipped,  and 
better  fitted  for  warfare  than  David  and 
his  party  were.  He  felt  that  he  was 
no  match  for  his  enemies.  There  were 
times  in  which  David  suffered  the  deep- 
est dejection  and  distress  of  spirit  by 
reason  of  the  persecutions  of  Saul  (1 
Sam.  XX.  1,  3,  41,  42  ;  xxvii.  1).  Of 
ourselves  we  are  unable  to  cope  success- 
fully with  the  enemies  of  our  spiritual 
life  and  interests.  Our  foes  are  too 
subtle  and  too  strong  for  our  unaided 
efforts  ;  but,  like  David,  we  can  seek 
help  from  on  high. 

2.   Tlie  failure  of  human  help.     "  I 

3dd 


rSALM  OXLII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


looked  on  my  right  hand  and  beheld, 
but  there  was  no  man  that  would  know 
me  ;  refuge  failed  me ;  no  man  cared  for 
my  soul."  These  words  are  not  to  be 
taken  as  a  literal  description  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  David  either  in  the  cave 
of  Adullam  or  in  that  of  Engedi.  The 
meaning  is  that  there  was  no  one  to 
whom  he  could  look  for  protection,  no 
one  on  whom  he  could  rely.  Those 
who  were  with  him  were  not  able  to 
protect  him ;  those  who  were  able  to  do 
so  cared  not  for  his  life.  Deep  and 
painful  was  his  sense  of  loneliness.  He 
was  in  constant  peril,  yet  of  those  who 
might  perhaps  have  rendered  him  ejffec- 
tual  aid  none  were  concerned  for  him. 
There  are  times  in  the  life  of  almost 
every  man  when  he  seems  bereft  of 
human  sympathy  and  help.  There  are 
some  cases  in  which  man  might  render 
aid  if  he  would,  but  he  will  not.  There 
are  others  in  which  man  would  render 
aid  if  he  could,  but  he  cannot.  There 
are  needs  to  which  only  He  who  is  both 
God  and  man  can  minister. 

3.  The  depression  of  his  outward  cir- 
cumstances and  inward  condition.  In 
his  outward  circumstances  he  seems  to 
have  been  greatly  reduced.  *'  I  am 
brought  very  low."  And  his  spiritual 
state  was  that  of  deep  distress,  *  *  My 
spirit  is  overwhelmed  within  me." 
His  outward  condition  was  almost  des- 
perate, and  the  deep  prostration  of  his 
spirit  corresponded  thereto.  Darkness 
seemed  to  be  settling  down  upon  both 
his  soul  and  his  circumstances.  Many 
a  godly  soul  has  passed  through  similar 
experiences.  Darkness  and  trial  to  some 
extent  fall  to  the  lot  of  every  good  man 
in  this  life.  It  is  well  that  it  is  so.  The 
gloom  of  the  night  is  as  needful  as  the 
glory  of  the  day.  '*  Sweet  are  the  uses 
of  adversity." 

II.  A  prayer  of  strong  confidence. 
The  Psalmist  manifests  his  faith  in — 

1.  God^s  accessibleness  to  him.  "  I 
cried  unto  the  Lord  with  my  voice  ; 
with  my  voice  unto  the  Lord  did  I  make 
my  supplication.  I  poured  out  my  com- 
plaint before  Him  ;  I  sliowed  before 
Him  my  trouble."  The  fact  that  he 
thus  unfolded  the  tale  of  his  woes  to 
Qod,  and  entreated  His  mercy,  is  con- 
400 


elusive  evidence  that  he  believed  that 
God  may  be  approached  by  His  creatures 
in  prayer. 

2.  God's  interest  in  him.  Unless  the 
Psalmist  had  believed  in  God's  kind 
interest  in  him,  he  could  not  have 
poured  out  his  complaint  before  Him  as 
he  does  in  this  Psalm.  God  is  both 
accessible  to  us  and  interested  in  us. 
"  The  righteous  cry,  and  the  Lord 
heareth,  and  delivereth  them  out  of  all 
their  troubles."  "  The  Lord  heareth 
the  prayer  of  the  righteous."  "If  we 
ask  anything  according  to  His  will.  He 
heareth  us."     **  He  careth  for  you." 

3.  God's  knowledge  of  him.  "  When 
my  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within  me, 
then  Thou  knewest  my  path."  The 
dangers  that  beset  the  poet  and  the 
troubles  that  distressed  him  were  all 
known  to  God.  The  conviction  of  this 
must  have  been  a  source  of  unspeakable 
comfort  and  strength  to  David.  This 
assurance  was  precious  to  the  afflicted 
Patriarch  of  Uz.  "  He  knoweth  the  way 
that  I  take :  when  He  hath  tried  me  I 
shall  come  forth  as  gold."  Be  com- 
forted, my  distressed  brother  ;  the  Lord 
knoweth  thy  path.  He  is  watching  over 
thee,  He  caret!)  for  thee,  <kc. 

4.  God's  protection  of  him.  **  I  cried 
unto  Thee,  O  Lord  ;  I  said,  Thou  art 
my  refuge,  my  portion  in  the  land  of  the 
living."  Tlie  Psalmist  found  security 
and  comfort  in  the  Lord,  who  was  the 
source  of  his  help  and  the  God  of  his 
salvation.  The  Lord  was  his  only  re- 
fuge. There  is  a  well-known  picture  of 
a  large  cross  hewn  out  in  the  form  of  a 
rock  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  wild  and 
raging  sea  to  which  a  struggling  form 
clings  with  the  tenacity  of  despair.  Our 
Lord  is  that  rock.  The  floods  of  this 
world's  strife  and  sorrow  and  pain  may 
well-nigh  overwhelm  us,  the  seething 
waves  of  sin  may  lash  wildly  about  us,  but 
if  we  have  found  Him,  He  will  be  to  us  a 
sure  refuge  and  rock  of  defence.  God 
is  the  oidy  sure  refuge  in  the  storms  of 
life,  and  He  is  a  refuge  which  is  inviol- 
ahlji  secure  and  ever  available. 

5.  Upon  this  confidence  in  God  the 
Psalmist  bases  his  prayer  to  Him  for  de- 
liverance. '*  Attend  unto  my  cry,  for  I 
am  brought  very  low ;  deliver  me  from 


EOMILETIO  COMMBNTART:  PSALMS. 


MALM  OXLH. 


my  persecutors,  for  they  are  stronger 
than  I.  Bring  my  soul  out  of  prison, 
that  I  may  praise  Thy  name."  David 
seemed  imprisoned  by  difficulties  and 
dangers,  encompassed  with  enemies,  and 
unable  to  effect  his  escape,  and  he  cried 
with  well-founded  confidence  to  God  for 
emancipation.  We  know  how  glorious 
an  answer  he  received  to  his  prayer, 
God  granted  him  complete  deliverance 
and  high  distinction — translated  him,  in 
His  own  time  and  way,  from  the  cave  of 
the  outlaw  to  the  throne  of  the  king.  In 
this  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  way 
in  which  He  ever  answers  sincere  and 
believing  prayer. 

III.  An  anticipation  of  a  happy 
issue  of  his  distress. 

The  poet  anticipates — 

1.  That  God  would  completely  deliver 
him,  "  Thou  shalt  deal  bountifully  with 
me."  He  anticipated  not  mere  deliver- 
ance, but  such  a  deliverance  and  such 
blessings  as  would  result  from  the  boun- 
tiful dealings  of  the  gracious  Lord. 

2.  That  he  would  praise  God,  '*  That 
I  may  praise  Thy  name."     In  the  com- 


plete deliverance  which  he  anticipated 
he  would  have  occasion  to  praise  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  he  would  joy- 
fully improve  the  occasion.  The  benefit 
of  the  salvation  being  his,  its  glory  he 
would  heartily  ascribe  to  God. 

3.  That  the  righteous  would  rejoice  in 
his  deliverance.  **  The  righteous  shall 
compass  me  about,  for  Thou,"  <fec.  David 
anticipated  that  the  righteous  would  be 
encouraged  by  his  salvation,  and  would 
resort  unto  him  with  gladness  and  with 
congratulations.  Thus  in  his  distress 
the  poet  anticipates  complete  and  joyous 
deliverance, — a  deliverance  that  shall 
awaken  his  own  heart  to  glad  and  grate- 
ful praise,  and  call  forth  the  congratu- 
lations of  all  the  godly. 

Conclusion. — Distress  is  a  common 
experience  in  this  life.  But  the  resources 
of  men  when  in  distress  greatly  differ. 
There  is  but  one  true  and  adequate  Re- 
fuge. To  Him  David  turned  in  confi- 
dence, and  found  safety  and  relief.  Let 
all  distressed  souls  look  to  Him,  and 
they  shall  not  be  disappointed* 


Thb  Sorrows  of  the  Soul  and  the  Knowledge  of  God. 

(VerseZ.) 
"  When  my  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within  me,  then  Thou  knewest  my  path.' 


We  have  here — 

I.  A  figure  indicating  great  sorrow. 

"  My  spirit  was  overwhelmed  within 
me."  The  expression  sets  forth  the 
sorest  distress. 

1.  Distress  in  that  part  of  man*s  nature 
where  it  is  most  severely  felt,  "  My 
spirit."  "  The  spirit  of  a  man  will  sus- 
tain his  infirmity ;  but  a  wounded  spirit 
who  can  bear  ] "  If  the  spirit  be  peace- 
ful and  blessed,  if  it  be  inspired  by  joy 
and  hope,  it  enables  man  to  triumph 
over  the  severest  physical  sufferings, 
Paul  and  Silas  at  Philippi,  in  the  inner 
prison,  with  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks, 
and  their  backs  torn  and  tortured  by 
many  stripes,  rose  superior  to  their  cir- 
cumstances and  their  sufferings,  and 
caused  the  prison  to  resound  with  their 
songs  of  praise.  Christian  martyrs  have 
exulted  in  the  flames  which  were  con- 
suming their  bodiesw     Bt  Stephen,  who 

YOL.  II,  .  2 


was  stoned  to  death,  '*  fell  asleep."  Phy- 
sically his  death  was  a  cruel  and  painful 
thing ;  but  the  faith  and  hope  and  vision 
which  animated  his  spirit  made  his  death 
a  euthanasia.  But  who  can  rise  above 
the  sorrows  of  the  souH  When  the 
spirit  suffers,  the  man  himself  suffers; 
when  it  is  overwhelmed,  the  whole 
nature  is  overwhelmed. 

2.  Distress  of  the  severest  kind,  "  My 
spirit  was  overwhelmed."  Sorrow  had 
submerged  him.  Great  afiOiictions  are 
frequently  represented  by  the  figure  of 
overwhelming  floods.  "  Deep  calleth 
unto  deep,"  <kc.  (Ps.  xlii.  7).  "  Let 
me  be  delivered  out  of  the  deep  waters," 
&c.  (Ps.  Ixix.  U,  15).  "Thou  hast 
afflicted  me  with  all  Thy  waves"  (Ps. 
Ixxxviii.  7).  "  When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with 
thee,"  &c.  (Isa.  xliii.  2).  Such  sore 
distress  sometimes  befalla  the  servants 
O  401 


PSALM  OXLII. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


of  God.  Great  saints  have  great  sorrows. 
*'  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasten- 
eth,"  &c.  (Heb.  xii.  6,  7). 

II.  A  fact  affording  great  consola- 
tion. 

"  Then  Thou  knewest  my  path."  All 
the  painful  and  perilous  wanderings  of 
David  were  known  to  God.  (Comp. 
Ps.  Ivi.  8.) 

1.  This  fact  may  he  abundantly  con- 
firmed. An  infinite  Being  must  know 
all  things.  Nothing  is  so  great  as  to 
exceed  His  comprehension ;  nothing  so 
small  as  to  elude  His  notice.  The  Bible 
nsserts  God's  omniscience  (2  Kings  xix. 
27;  Ps.  cxxxix.  1-4;  Heb.  iv.  13). 
How  strikingly  our  Lord  declared  God's 
perfect  knowledge  of  His  people  !  (Matt. 
vi.  32 ;  x.  30.)  The  history  of  good 
men  illustrates  it.  In  the  lives  of  Joseph 
and  Moses,  David  and  Daniel,  Paul  and 
John,  how  clearly  does  this  truth  shine 
forth, — "  Thou  knewest  their  path." 

2.  This  fact  is  very  comprehensive.  It 
implies  much  more  than  it  expresses. 
The  knowledge  which  is  here  affirmed 
implies  approbation  and  guidance,  pro- 
tection and  provision,  kindness  and  care. 
Thus  David  Dickson  says  :  **  *  Thou 
knewest  my  path;'  that  is.  Thou  ap- 
provedst  my  part,  who  was  unjustly 
pursued."  And  Charnocke :  **  This 
knowledge  adds  to  the  simple  act  of 
the  understanding,  the  complacency  and 
pleasure  of  the  will.  *  The  Lord  knows 
who  are  His/  that  is.  He  loves  them; 


He  doth  not  only  know  them  but  ac- 
knowledge them  for  His  own.  It  notes 
not  only  an  exact  understanding,  but  a 
special  care  of  them.  .  .  .  On  the  con- 
trary, also,  whom  God  doth  not  approve, 
He  is  said  not  to  know  (Matt.  xxv.  12), 

*  I  know  you  not,'  and  (Matt.  vii.  23), 

*  I  never  knew  you ; '  He  doth  not  ap- 
prove of  their  works.  It  is  not  an 
ignorance  of  understanding,  but  an 
ignorance  of  will ;  for  while  He  saith 
He  never  knew  them,  He  testifies  that 
He  did  know  them,  in  rendering  the 
reason  of  His  disapproving  them,  because 
He  knows  all  their  works :  so  He  knows 
them,  and  doth  not  know  them  in  a 
diflferent  manner :  He  knows  them  so  as 
to  understand  them,  but  He  doth  not 
know  them  so  as  to  love  them."  "  Thou 
knewest  my  path"  implies.  Thou  didst 
approve  and  direct,  sustain  and  secure, 
my  way. 

3.  This  fact  is  very  consolatory.  That 
it  was  so  to  David  appears  from  our 
text,  and  from  Ps.  Ivi.  8.  It  was  so 
to  the  sorely-afflicted  Job  :  "  He  know- 
eth  the  way  that  I  take,"  <fec.  (Job  xxiii. 
10).  Amid  misrepresentation  to  be  able 
to  make  our  appeal  to  Him ;  amid  per- 
secution to  be  assured  of  His  protection; 
amid  sorrow  of  soul  to  know  that  we 
have  His  sympathy ;  in  loneliness  to 
realise  His  friendly  presence, — these 
aflford  the  richest  consolation  and  the 
most  effective  help.  To  possess  these  is 
the  privilege  of  every  child  of  God, 


The  Duty  of  Caring  for  Souls. 

(Verse  4.) 

"  No  man  cared  for  my  soul.** 


Let  ns  inquire — 

I.  What  it  is  to  care  for  the  souls 

of  others.      The  care  of   the  soul   in- 
volves— 

1.  A  deep  and  heartfelt  conviction  of 
its  worth.  Tlie  care  of  an  object  is 
generally  in  proportion  to  its  value. 
The  soul  is  spiritual  in  its  nature,  noble 
in  its  capacities,  and  eternal  in  its  dura- 
tion. 

2.  A  deep  and  thorough  sense  of  the 
danger  to  which  it  is  exposed.  We  are 
not  in  the  habit  of  caring  for  that  which 

402 


is  invaluable  if  it  is  secure ;  but  here  is 
an  object  of  inestimable  worth  exposed 
to  danger  the  most  imminent — to  a  de- 
struction the  most  severe. 

3.  Tender  solicitude  for  its  welfare. 
Examples  of  tender  solicitude  for  souls 
are  not  wanting  in  the  inspired  volume 
(Ps.  cxix.  136;  Jer.  ix.  1).  But  if  we 
want  to  see  true  solicitude  for  souls,  we 
must  look  for  its  manifestation  in  the 
conduct  of  Him  who,  when  He  beheld 
the  city,  wept  over  it,  &c. 

4.  Zealous  exertion  for  their  salvation. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLIL 


If  love  to  souls  really  exist,  it  will  mani- 
fest itself  in  ardent  and  continued  effort 
to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  Christ  among 
men.  In  solemn  warning,  affectionate 
entreaty,  earnest  prayer,  and  liberal 
contribution. 

II.  On  whom  this  duty  devolves. 

1.  It  is  incumbent  on  the  heads  of 
families.  God  holds  them,  to  a  certain 
extent,  accountable  for  the  souls  under 
their  care. 

2.  On  all  the  members  of  the  Church. 
Collectively  and  individually.  To  these 
is  committed  the  evangelisation  of  the 
world. 

3.  Pre-eminently  on  ministers.  The 
**  care  of  souls "  is  the  minister's  pro- 
vince. His  studies  in  private,  his  dis- 
courses in  public,  his  prayers,  his  visits, 
his  time,  his  talents,  ought  all  to  be  de- 
voted to  this  object. 

III.  The  great  evil  of  neglecting 
this  duty. 

1.  It  is  cruel.  A  man  would  be  con- 
sidered cruel  who  saw  one  of  the  "  beasts 
that   perish''   in   danger,   and  did  not 


attempt  its  rescue.  He  is  cruel,  who, 
having  it  in  his  power  to  relieve  the 
necessitous,  or  save  the  perishing,  does 
not  do  it.  But  the  cruelty  of  the  man 
who,  knowing  the  danger  of  souls,  does 
not  care  for  them,  is  beyond  expression. 

2.  It  is  ungrateful.  If  others  had 
not  cared  for  us,  we  must  have  perished. 
And  shall  we  refuse  to  feel  and  labour 
for  those  who  are  now  what  we  were 
once,  and  for  whom  the  Saviour  has,  as 
well  as  for  us,  shed  His  own  precious 
blood? 

3.  It  is  criminal.  We  cannot  neglect 
the  salvation  of  others  and  be  innocent. 
Disobedience  to  God,  and  cruelty  to 
men,  are  joined  in  neglecting  to  care  for 
souls. 

4.  It  is  fatal.  Fatal  to  those  who 
are  perishing,  and  fatal  to  those  who 
have  a  name  to  live;  fatal  to  all  genuine 
piety,  fatal  to  all  ardent  love  to  the 
Saviour's  cause,  fatal  to  zealous  exer- 
tions for  others,  but  especially  fatal  to 
our  own  souls. — N.  in  Sketches  of  Ser- 
mons.    Abridged. 


Human  Imprisonment  and  Divine  Emancipation. 

(Verse  7.) 
**  Bring  my  soul  out  of  prison,  that  I  may  praise  Thy  name." 


We  shall  use  these  words  to  illus- 
trate— 

I.  Man's  imprisonment  as  a  sinner. 
Man  as  a  sinner  is  in  bondage,  oppressed 
with  guilt,  enslaved  by  carnal  passions 
and  evil  habits;  he  is  in  "prison.'*  Now 
imprisonment  implies — 

1.  The  criminality  of  the  prisoner. 
The  prisoner  is  either  awaiting  his  trial 
on  a  charge  of  crime,  or  enduring  his 
punishment  as  a  criminal.  Man  has 
sinned  and  is  guilty  before  God.  The 
voice  of  God,  both  in  the  Bible  and  in 
his  own  conscience,  condemns  him. 

2.  Deprivation  to  the  prisoner.  The 
prisoner  is  deprived  of  (1.)  Liberty.  He 
is  confined  by  massive  walls,  strong 
bolts  and  bars,  <fec.  The  sinner  is 
bound  by  the  chain  of  his  sins.  (2.) 
Light.  Darkness  is  almost  entirely  sup- 
reme in  the  prison  cells.  The  soul 
which  is  dominated  by  tin  is  blind  to 


the  beautiful  light  of  the  spiritual  uni- 
verse :  its  "  understanding  is  darkened.'* 
(3.)  Society.  The  prisoner  is  secluded 
from  society.  The  unrenewed  soul  is  a 
stranger  to  the  highest  fellowship ;  he 
is  self-exiled  from  the  society  of  true 
and  holy  souls. 

The  imprisonment  of  the  soul  is  a 
far  greater  evil  than  that  of  the  body. 
When  the  body  is  imprisoned,  the  soul 
may  be  free  and  joyous.  When  the 
bodies  of  Paul  and  Silas  were  in  prison 
at  Philippi  with  '*  their  feet  fast  in  the 
stocks,"  their  souls  went  forth  in  wor- 
ship, <kc.  When  the  body  of  Bunyan 
was  in  Bedford  jail,  his  soul  went  forth 
on  that  glorious  pilgrimage  to  the  cele- 
stial city.  His  body  was  in  the  jail, 
but  his  soul — himself — was  in  the  inter- 
preter's house,  and  the  house  beautiful, 
on  the  delectable  mountains,  &c. 

403 


FIALM  OXUIL 


HOMILBTJO  COMMBNTART:  PSALMS. 


*' Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make, 

Nor  iron  bars  a  cage  ; 
Minds  innocent  and  quiet  take 

That  for  a  liermitage. 
If  I  have  freedom  in  my  lore, 

And  in  my  soul  am  free, 
Angels  alone  that  soar  above 

Enjoy  such  liberty." — Lovdace, 

But  the  imprisonment  of  the  soul  is 
the  imprisonment  of  the  man  himself. 
Death  terminates  the  imprisonment  of 
the  body,  if  it  is  not  terminated  before. 
But  death  has  no  power  to  liberate  the 
soul  from  the  prison  and  the  fetters  of 
corrupt  passions,  sinful  habits,  <fec.  "  If 
ye  believe  not  that  I  am  He,  ye  shall 
die  in  your  sins." 

II.  Man's  emancipation  by  the 
Saviour,  '*  Bring  my  soul  out  of  pri- 
son."    This  prayer  implies — 

1.  A  consciousness  of  the  misery  of  im- 
prisonment. This  is  the  first  step,  and 
an  essential  step,  to  liberation. 

2.  A  desire  for  emancipation.  "  O 
wretched  man  that  I  am  I  who  shall  de- 
liver me  ? "  <kc. 

3.  A  consciousness  of  inability  to  effect 


his  own  deliverance,  Man  is  too  com- 
pletely and  securely  fettered  to  be  able 
to  liberate  himself.  He  must  feel  this 
before  he  can  obtain  his  freedom, 

4.  Gonfidtnjce  in  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the 
great  Emancipator.  He  was  •'  anointed 
to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and 
the  opening  of  the  prison  to  the  bound." 
"  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye 
shall  be  free  indeed." 

III.  Man's  praise  to  the  Emanci- 
pator.   *'  That  I  may  praise  Thy  name." 

1.  Imprisonment  restrains  true  praise. 
Sin  crushes  the  affections  and  aspira- 
tions of  the  soul  towards  God. 

3.  Emancipation  gives  occasion  for 
praise.  It  would  be  such  an  expression 
of  the  goodness  of  God  as  would  merit 
grateful  and  hearty  acknowledgment. 

3.  Emancipation  imparts  inspiration 
to  praise.  The  sense  of  freedom,  the 
beauty  of  light,  the  pleasures  of  society, 
to  which  the  liberated  soul  is  introduce*  I, 
will  constitute  an  irresistible  impulse  to 
praise  the  Emancipator, 


PSALM    OXLIIL 

Introduction, 

This  is  the  last  of  what  are  called  the  Seven  Penitential  Psalms.  In  the  Hebrew  it  has  the 
superscription,  **  A  Psalm  of  David,"  And  in  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate  there  is  added, 
*'  When  Absalom,  his  son,  pursued  him."  Yet  many  expositors  regard  the  Psalm  as  written 
in  subsequent  times,  after  the  manner  of  David.  Thus  Delitzsch  views  it  as  **a  later  effort  to 
copy  after  the  Davidic  Psalm-poetry."  And  Moll  doubts  **  whether  such  a  poet  as  David  would 
liave  so  copied  himself,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  Davidic  authorship  were  proved.  One  might 
pray  in  the  same  language,  but  would  not  repeat  himself  in  different  poems."  Perowne  regards 
the  Psalm  as  having  been  written  after  the  exile.  '*  The  spirit  and  the  language,"  he  says, 
"  it  is  true,  are  not  unworthy  of  David  j  yet  the  many  passages  borrowed  from  earlier  Psalms 
make  it  more  probable  that  this  Psalm  is  the  work  of  some  later  poet."  This  objection  loses 
sight  of  the  fact  that  "  there  are  many  instances  of  repetitions  in  Psalms  in  the  earlier  portion 
of  the  Psalter,  which  are  acknowledged  to  be  those  of  David,  and  they  do  not  occasion  any  diffi- 
culty. ...  At  all  events,  the  poem,  even  with  the  familiarity  of  its  ideas,  forms  a  eomplete 
whole,  which  is  worthy  of  David,  and  which  no  critic  need  on  that  score  hesitate  to  assign  to 
him."  Alexander,  Barnes,  Hengstenberg,  Henry,  Wordsworth,  and  most  English  commenta- 
tors, accept  the  Davidic  authorship. 

"The  Psalm,"  says  Perowne,  "consists  of  two  parts,  each  of  which  is  of  six  verses,  the 
conclusion  of  the  first  being  marked  by  the  Selah.  The  first  portion  contains  the  complaint 
(vers.  1-6) ;  the  second,  the  prayer  founded  on  that  complaint  (vers.  7-12)." 

Homiletically  we  regard  the  Psalm  as  presenting  to  us  Thecryofa  distressed  servant  <i(f 
Qod  (vers.  1-6),  and  The  prayer  of  a  distressed  servant  of  Qod  (vers,  7-12). 

The  Cry  of  a  Distressed  Servant  of  God. 

{Verses  1-6.) 

In  this  cry  of  the  troubled  poet  to  the  "  For  the  enemy  hath  persecuted  my 

Lord,  we  have —  soul ;   he    hath   smitten   my  life,"  d^a 

L  A  picture  of  great  distress.  (vers.  3,  4).     He  was  distressed  by — 
404 


HOMILETIO  OOMMBNTARJ:  PSALMS. 


HAUfOIIinL 


1.  Malignant  outward  persecution, 
**  The  enemy  hath  persecuted  my  soul ; 
he  hath  smitten  my  life  down  to  the 
ground ;  he  hath  made  me  to  dwell  in 
darkness,  as  those  that  have  long  been 
dead."  "The  Psalmist,"  says  Moll, 
"evidently  means  to  say  that  his  enemies 
are  intent  upon  his  utter  destruction, 
and  that  he  would  remain  without  deli- 
verance, unless  God  in  mercy  were  to 
take  up  his  defence.*'  With  what  ter- 
rible malignity  and  untiring  persistence 
did  Saul  persecute  David!  And  how 
bitterly  David  suffered  from  the  rebel- 
lion of  his  son  Absalom !  (2  Sam.  xv.  30.) 
And  the  servants  of  God  still  suflfer  from 
without, — from  the  persecutions  of  the 
world  (2  Tim.  iii.  12);  from  the  treachery 
of  those  whom  they  had  trusted,  as 
David  did  from  Ahithophel ;  from  tem- 
poral losses,  (fee.  "  In  the  world  ye  have 
tribulation." 

2.  Insupportable  inward  suffering, 
**  Therefore  is  my  spirit  overwhelmed 
within  me  ;  my  heart  within  me  is  deso- 
late." Thus  the  poet  expresses  (1.)  Eia 
tore  sorrow.  "  My  spirit  is  overwhelmed 
within  me."  (See  a  sketch  on  Ps.  cxliL 
3a.)  (2.)  ffis painful  perplexity.  "My 
heart  within  me  is  desolate,"  "  or  rather, 
*  is  full  of  amazement,*  lit.,  *  astonies 
itself ;  *  seeks  to  comprehend  the  mystery 
of  its  sufiferings,  and  is  ever  beaten  back 
upon  itself  in  its  perplexity  :  such  is  the 
full  force  of  the  reflexive  conjugation 
here  employed." — Perowne. 

The  mystery  of  suffering  is  to  many 
minds,  and  those  not  the  least  noble,  its 
most  painful  element.  The  experience 
of  the  poet  was  not  a  solitary  or  excep- 
tional one.  Good  men  are  still  liable  to 
outward  persecution  and  inward  anguish ; 
they  still  suffer  both  in  their  circum- 
stances and  in  their  souls.  **  Beloved, 
think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery 
trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some 
strange  thing  happened  unto  you,"  <fec. 
"My  son,  despise  not  thou  the  chas- 
tening of  the  Lord,"  <fec.  (Heb.  xii 
5-11). 

II.  An  exercise  indicating  great 
wisdom. 

*'  I  remember  the  days  of  old;  I  medi- 
tate on  all  Thy  works ;  I  muse  on  the 
work  of  Thy  hands." 


1.  The  distinguished  mental  powers 
exercised,  (1.)  Recollection,  "I  re- 
member the  days  of  old."  The  poet 
recalled  the  past ;  made  it  live  again 
before  his  "  mind's  eye."  (2.)  Meditor 
lion.  He  reflected  upon  the  scenes 
which  recollection  reproduced;  and  thus 
endeavoured  to  ascertain  their  signifi- 
cance, learn  their  lessons,  kc. 

2.  The  great  subjects  on  which  these 
mental  powers  were  exercised,  (1.)  **  The 
daps  of  old."  What  a  wondrous  volume 
is  the  past  I  How  marvellous  are  its  re- 
velations i  how  instructive  its  contents  1 
how  wise  its  lessons !  To  this  volume 
the  poet  turned  his  attention.  (2.)  The 
doings  of  God.  "  All  Thy  works,  .  .  . 
the  work  of  Thy  hands."  How  vast  a 
theme  for  meditation  is  this  I  and  how 
sublime  1  how  fitted  to  inspire  the  soul 
with  confidence  and  hope !  (For  a  fuller 
treatment  of  the  hints  given  under  this 
head,  see  on  Ps.  Ixxvii.  3-6,  11,  12; 
vol.  i.,  pp.  431-437.)  Now,  in  all  this 
the  Psalmist  seems  to  act  with  great 
wisdom.  In  turning  his  mind  from  the 
restless  present  to  the  calm  past,  and 
from  the  cruel  doings  of  his  enemies  and 
the  sore  troubles  of  his  heart  to  the 
glorious  deeds  of  ancient  date  which  God 
had  done,  he  adopted  a  course  calculated 
to  calm  his  fears,  strengthen  his  faith  in 
God,  arouse  his  courage,  and  inspire  his 
hope. 

III.  An  appeal  of  great  power. 
"  Hear  my  prayer,  O  Lord  ;  give  ear 
to  my  supplications,"  &c.     This  appeal 


1.  Directed  to  the  best  Being.  **  O 
Jehovah,  hear  my  prayer,"  <fec.  He 
never  turns  away  His  ear  from  the  cry 
of  the  troubled  heart;  He  is  merciful 
and  gracious ;  He  is  able  to  succour  all 
suffering  and  needy  souls ;  and  "  His 
love  is  as  great  as  His  power." 

2.  For  real  blessings.  He  solicits  from 
Jehovah — (1.)  Acceptance  of  his  prayer, 
"  Hear  my  player,  O  Jehovah  ;  give  ear 
to  my  supplications  :  in  Thy  faithfulness 
answer  me,  and  in  Thy  righteousness." 
No  utterance  of  man  escapes  the  Divine 
ear.  The  Psalmist  prays  not  for  a  mere 
hearing,  but  for  a  gracious  audience,  and 
a  favourable  answer  to  his  appeal.  (2.) 
Forgiveness  of  his  sins,     "And  enter  not 

406 


F8ALH  CXLIII. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


into  judgment  with  Thy  servant ;  for  in 
Thy  sight  no  man  living  is  righteous." 
The  poet  here  manifests — (a)  His  con- 
sciousness of  sin.  *'  He  traces  his  suffer- 
ing to  his  sin  :  the  malice  of  his  enemies 
is  the  rod  of  God's  chastisement,  calling 
him  to  repentance."  (|S)  His  conviction 
of  the  Divine  holiness.  He  who  appears 
quite  righteous  before  man,  appears  sin- 
ful before  the  infinite  purity  of  God. 
*'  What  is  man,  that  he  should  be  clean  V* 
(fee.  (Job  XV.  14-16).  "How  can  man 
be  justified  with  God  ^ "  <fec.  (Job  xxv. 
4-6).  (y)  His  belief  in  the  Divine 
judgment  of  man.  "  Enter  not  into 
judgment,"  <kc.  "  God  shall  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,"  (fee.  (p)  His 
earnest  desire  for  Divine  forgiveness. 
The  petition  that  God  would  not  enter 
into  judgment  with  him  implies  his 
longing  for  mercy  and  pardon  of  his 
sins.  Here  is  a  need  which  is  common 
to  all  men  in  this  world.  Our  hope 
must  ever  be  in  the  forbearing  and  for- 
giving mercy  of  God.  (3.)  Deliverance 
from  his  enemies  and  distresses.  This, 
though  not  directly  expressed  in  this 
section  of  the  Psalm,  is  the  great  object 
of  the  Psalmist's  appeal  to  God.  Such 
were  the  blessings  which  the  distressed 
poet  sought,  (fee. 

3.  Enf(yrced  hy  the  strongest  pleas. 
(1.)  The  sore  need  of  the  suppliant 
(vers.  3,  4).  (2.)  The  relation  sustained 
by  the  suppliant  to  God.  ''  Thy  servant." 
The  phrase,  "Thy  servant,"  in  ver.  2,  "is 
not  a  mere  oriental  circumlocution  for  the 
person  speaking,  and  not  merely  a  term 
of  polite  address,"  as  appears  from  the 
way  in  which  it  is  used  in  ver.  12. 
"  The  expression,  *  with  Thy  servant,' 
contains,"  says  Hengstenberg,  "  the 
grounding  of  the  prayer ;  with  His 
servants  God  cannot  go  into  judgment ; 
He  chastens  them  indeed,  but  He  does 
not  give  them  over  to  death."  (3.)  The 
revealed  character  of  God.  "  In  Thy 
faithfulness  answer  me,  and  in  Thy 
righteousness."  '*  The  faithfulness  of 
God,"  says  Moll,  "  is  His  faithfulness  to 


His  promises,  or  the  truthfulness  of  His 
nature,  in  conformity  with  which  every- 
thing that  He  has  spoken  or  ordained  is 
reliable  and  unchangeable.  His  right- 
eousness is  the  corresponding  course  of 
action  by  which  His  ordinances  are 
firmly  established  and  fulfilled  in  the 
world,  so  that  there  is  rendered  to  every 
man  according  to  his  works.  God's 
faithfulness  and  righteousness  are  thus 
assured,  as  in  1  John  i.  9,  and  the  re- 
penting receive  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins,  but  the  impenitent,  judgment." 
This  is  the  most  powerful  plea  that  we 
can  use  with  God.  He  cannot  be  untrue 
to  His  promise  or  to  His  character. 
"  He  cannot  deny  Himself." 

IV.  A  desire  of  great  fervour. 

"  I  stretch  forth  my  hands  unto  Thee  ; 
my  soul  thirsteth  after  Thee  as  a  thirsty 
land."     Notice  : — 

1.  The  Object  of  his  desire.  "Unto 
Thee ;  .  .  .  after  Thee."  "  Observe  how 
he  binds  himself  to  God  alone,  cuts  off 
every  other  hope  from  his  soul,  and,  in 
short,  makes  his  very  need  a  chariot 
wherewith  to  mount  up  to  God."  (On 
this  and  on  the  next  point  see  on 
Ps.  xlii.  1,  2 ;  Ixiii.  1 ;  vol.  i.  pp.  206, 
207,  314.) 

2.  The  fervour  of  his  desire.  "  I 
stretch  forth  my  hands  unto  Thee,"  "  as 
the  weary  child  stretches  forth  its  hands 
to  its  mother,  that  on  her  bosom  it  may 
be  hushed  to  rest." — Perowne.  "  My 
soul  thirsteth  after  Thee  as  a  thirsty 
land."  "As  a  parched  land,"  says 
Hengstenberg,  "  stands  related  to  the 
rain,  so  my  soul  to  Thee,  and  to  Thy 
salvation."  And  Calvin  :  "  In  great  heat 
we  see  the  earth  cracking  and  gaping,  as 
though  with  open  mouth  she  asked  for 
the  rain  from  heaven."  So  fervently 
the  soul  of  the  poet  craved  the  help  and 
joy  of  the  presence  of  God. 

Conclusion. — Exhibit  the  Psalmist 
in  this  cry  to  God  in  his  distress  as 
an  example  to  the  servants  of  God  in 
times  o/  (1)  severe  spiritual  suffer ing, 
and  (2)  tribulation  from  without. 


406 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLtn. 


Divine  Judgment  Deprecated. 
{Verse  2.) 


Let  us  consider  — 

I.  The  truths  which  are  here  im- 
plied. 

1.  That  the  Psalmist  was  conscious  of 
sin.  So  far  as  his  enemies  were  con- 
cerned he  felt  that  they  were  persecut- 
ing him  without  cause  ;  he  was  innocent 
in  relatiofi  to  them  ;  but  in  relation  to 
God  he  felt  tliat  he  was  not  innocent. 
The  persecutions  of  his  enemies  he 
regarded  as  the  chastisement  of  God 
because  of  his  sins. 

2.  lliat  the  Lord  is  the  Judge  of  man. 
The  poet  regards  Him  as  having  autho- 
rity to  enter  into  judgment  with  His 
creatures.  This  truth  is  frequently 
expressed  in  the  Psalms.  "  God  is 
Judge  Himself."  "  God  is  the  Judge  ; 
He  putteth  down  one,"  &c.  "  Lift  up 
Thyself,  Thou  Judge  of  the  earth,"  &c. 
"The  Lord  will  judge  His  people,"  &c. 

3.  That  the  Lord  is  a  righteous  Judge. 
He  cannot  pass  by  unrepented  sin.  If 
sin  be  not  forgiven  and  forsaken,  He  will 
visit  with  His  judgments  because  of  it, 
and  His  judgmentsare  true  and  righteous. 
"  He  shall  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
ness ;  He  shall  minister  judgment  to 
the  people  in  uprightness."  *'  He  shall 
judge  the  people  righteously,"  "  He 
shall  judge  the  world  with  righteous- 
ness, and  the  people  with  His  truth." 

II.  The  petition  which  is  here  of- 
fered. 

"  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  Thy 
servant."     This  is  a  petition  for — 

1.  Forbearing  mercy.  It  is  a  request 
that  God  will  not  call  him  to  render  a 
strict  account  for  his  offences  against 
Him.  "  If  Thou,  Lord,  shouldest  mark 
iniquities,  O  Lord,  who  shall  stand  ? " 
We  need  the  forbearance  of  God,  because 
of  our  imperfections,  omissions,  and 
transgressions. 

2.  Forgiving  mercy.  Though  not 
directly  expressed,  this  is  sought  by 
implication  in  this  petition.  Even  a 
faithful  servant  of  the  Lord  needs  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  arising  from  remain- 
ing depravity  and  moral  weakness.  And 
it  is   an    encouragement  to   know   that 


"  there  is  forgiveness  with  Him ;  .  .  . 
with  the  Lord  there  is  mercy,  and  with 
Him  is  plenteous  redemption."  "  He 
will  abundantly  pardon."  Freely,  gra- 
ciously, and  completely  He  forgives  all 
those  who  in  sincere  penitence  seek  Him. 

III.  The  reasons  which  are  here 
urged. 

''With  Thy  servant;  for  in  Thy 
sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified." 
Perowne  more  correctly  translates  :  "  For 
before  Thee  no  man  living  is  righteous." 
Here  are  two  pleas  by  which  the  Psalmist 
strengthens  his  petition — 

1.  The  universal  sinf illness  of  man, 
"  Before  Thee  no  man  living  is  right- 
eous." "  No  one  of  the  race,  no  matter 
what  his  rank,  his  outward  conduct, 
his  gentleness,  his  amiableness,  his 
kindness — no  matter  how  just  and  up- 
right he  may  be  towards  his  fellow-men," 
he  is  not  righteous  before  the  holy  God. 
Before  man  we  may  appear  righteous; 
but  not  before  a  Being  of  infinite  holi- 
ness. Most  clear  is  the  testimony  of 
the  Bible  on  this  point.  ''There  is  no 
man  than  sinneth  not."  "  There  is  none 
that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one."  "Who 
can  say,  I  have  made  my  heart  clean, 
I  am  pure  from  my  sin  1 "  "  There  is 
not  a  just  man  upon  earth  that  doetli  good 
and  sinneth  not."  "  If  we  say  that  we 
have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and 
the  truth  is  not  in  us."  Hence  if  God 
were  swift  to  judge  and  strict  to  punish, 
all  men  must  perish. 

2.  The  relation  of  the  Psalmist  to  God, 
"Thy  servant."  David  was  a  distin- 
guished servant  of  God,  yet  he  felt  that 
he  was  a  sinner  before  Him.  Even  a 
sincere  and  faithful  servant  of  God 
cannot  stand  before  Him  in  judgment ; 
cannot  plead  any  merits  of  his  own,  or 
appeal  to  God  on  the  ground  of  His 
justice.  '*  When  ye  shall  have  done  all 
those  things  which  are  commanded  you, 
say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants ;  "  &c. 
But  when  a  man  can  sincerely  speak  of 
himself  to  the  Lord  as  His  servant,  he 
has  good  ground  upon  which  to  bas6 
his  hope  of   protection   and   salvatioD 

407 


FSALH  OXLIII. 


HOMILBTIC  aOMMENTART:  PSALMS. 


from  Hiiu  in  His  mercy.  "  When  a  man 
resolves  with  heart  and  soul  to  be  and 
remain  a  servant  of  God,  God  will  not 
forsake  him ;  but  where  He  is,  there 
will  also  His  servant  be/' 

Conclusion  : — 

\.  If  a  true  tervant  of  God  cannot 
stand  before  Him  injudgnenty  how  shall 
the  wicked  appear  at  His  bar?  "The 
ungodly  are  like  the  chaff  which  the 
wind  driveth  away,"  <fec.  (Ps.  i.  4-6). 


2.  Let  every  man  seek  an  interest  in 
the  infinite  mercy  of  God,  "Let  the 
wicked  forsake  his  way,"  <fec.  (Isa. 
Iv.  7).  "  Keturn,  thou  backsliding  Is- 
rael, saith  the  Lord,"  <fcc.  ( Jer.  iii.  1 2). 
"God  is  rich  in  mercy."  "The  Lord 
is  merciful  and  gracious,"  <fec.  (Ps.  ciiL 
8-12).  "  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  Thee, 
that  pardoneth  iniquity,"  &c.  (Mic.  vii. 
18,  19). 


The  Prayer  of  a  Distressed  Servant  op  God, 

{Verses  1-U.) 


Notice : — 

I.  The  blessings  which    axe    here 

sought. 

The  Psalmist  first  solicits  the  Divine 
favour  in  general,  and  a  speedy  answer 
to  his  prayer :  "  Hear  me  speedily,  O 
Lord ;  my  spirit  faileth :  hide  not  Thy 
face  from  me,"  <fec.  (ver.  7).  He  then 
proceeds  to  specify  certain  blessings  in 
particular,  and  to  entreat  the  Lord  to 
bestow  them.     He  asks  for — 

1.  The  lovingkindness  of  God,  "Cause 
me  to  hear  Thy  lovingkindness  in  the 
morning."  It  is  a  petition  for  an  early 
assurance  of  the  mercy  of  God.  Divine 
lovingkindness  is  the  root  of  which  all 
other  blessings  are  branches — the  foun- 
tain from  which  all  other  blessings  flow. 
It  is  also  the  crown  of  all  other  blessings. 
"Thy  lovingkindness  is  better  than 
life." 

2.  Deliverance  from  his  distresses.  (1.) 
From  outward  enemies.  "Deliver  me, 
O  Lord,  from  mine  enemies.  .  .  .  And 
of  Thy  mercy  cut  off  mine  enemies,  and 
destroy  all  them  that  afflict  my  soul." 
Perowne  translates  :  "  And  of  Thy  lov- 
ingkindness cut  off  mine  enemies,  and 
destroy  all  the  adversaries  of  my  soul." 
On  this  verse  Barnes  says,  "The 
destruction  of  the  wicked  is  a  favour  to 
the  universe ;  just  as  the  arrest  and 
punishment  of  a  robber  or  a  pirate  is  a 
mercy  to  society,  to  mankind ;  just  as 
every  prison  is  a  display  of  mercy  as 
well  as  of  jt^tice  : — mercy  to  society  at 
large  ;  justice  to  the  offenders."  There 
is  truth  in  this  ;  but  the  prayer  for  the 
destruction  of  our  enemies  is  not  becom- 
ing in  the  lips  of  a  Chriatian.     "  I  say 

408 


unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them 
that  curse  you,"  &c.  (Matt.  v.  44,  45). 
"  Bless  them  which  persecute  you,"  <fec 
"  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him,"  <fec. 
Such  is  the  Christian  rule.  But  we 
may  petition  God  for  deliverance  from 
our  adversaries.  (2.)  From  inward 
sufferings,  "For  Thy  righteousness' 
sake  bring  my  soul  out  of  trouble." 
The  poet  was  in  sore  distress  of  soul ; 
he  looks  to  the  faithfulness  and  mercy 
of  God  for  deliverance  from  the  same. 
Let  the  godly  in  all  times  of  spiritual 
trial  and  sorrow  direct  their  prayer  to 
the  same  gracious  Being.  "  Call  upon 
Me  in  the  day  of  trouble ;  I  will  deliver 
thee,"  &c. 

3.  Inward  and  spiritual  blessings.  In 
the  view  of  the  Psalmist  his  salvation 
requires  both  external  deliverances  and 
internal  communications  of  Divine  grace. 
"The  way  of  deliverance,"  says  Moll, 
"  is  to  the  servant  of  God  no  external 
one,  but  a  way  of  salvation,  which  the 
commandments  of  God  point  out,  in 
which  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  good, 
is  the  Guide."  So  the  Psalmist  petitions 
for — (1.)  Divine  teaching  ; — (a.)  That 
he  might  know  the  way  which  God 
would  have  him  to  pursue.  "  Cause 
me  to  know  the  way  wherein  I  should 
walk."  Even  the  most  experienced  and 
holy  of  men  need  the  direction  of  God 
in  life.  (jS.)  That  he  might  do  the  will 
of  God.  "  Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will." 
Correct  knowledge  alone  cannot  save 
man  from  sin  or  suffering ;  correct  con- 
duct must  be  added  thereto.  Mere 
theories,  however  true  and  good,  never 
raised  a  life  into  sanctity  and  strength. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALMOXUn. 


To  do  this,  theories  must  be  reduced  to 
practice — embodied  in  life.  Most  need- 
ful and  important  is  the  petition,  **  Teach 
me  ti)  do  Thy  will."  (2.)  Divine  help. 
**  Thy  Spirit  is  good ;  lead  me  into  the 
land  of  uprightness."  Perowne:  "*Let 
Thy  good  Spirit  lead  me  in  a  plain 
country/ lit.,  *in  a  level  land/  or  'on 
level  ground/  where  there  is  no  fear 
of  stumbling  and  falling."  Conant 
translates  :  "  Let  Thy  good  Spirit  guide 
me  on  even  ground."  The  poet  desires 
to  be  led  into  a  way  of  safety.  It  is  a 
request  not  simply  for  enlightenment ; 
but  for  the  Holy  Spirit's  help,  His 
guiding,  guarding,  and  strengthening 
influence.  Hengstenberg*8  note  is  to 
the  point:  ** David's  proper  regard  is 
directed  to  the  obtaining  of  deliverance, 
which  is  the  object  of  all  his  prayers  in 
the  preceding  and  following  verses.  But 
he  shows  himself  throughout  deeply 
penetrated  with  the  conviction,  that  the 
foundation  of  the  deliverance  is  right- 
eousness— that  it  never  can  come,  where 
this  foundation  is  wanting,  but  that 
it  of  necessity  must  come  where  this 
foundation  exists.  He  knew,  also,  that 
nothing  could  be  done  here  by  one's 
own  power  (Comp.,  for  example,  Ps. 
xix. ;  11)  Hence  he  prays  here,  ex})and- 
ing  his  views  farther,  that  the  Lord 
would  (internally)  teach  him  to  do 
His  will,  convinced  that  this  first  gift 
must  necessarily  draw  the  second  in  its 
train,  that  of  salvation ;  so  he  prays 
that  the  good  Spirit  of  God  would  make 
him  good,  and  consequently  would  guide 
him  upon  the  path  of  salvation.  .  .  . 
The  good  Spirit  works  good  in  those 
who  partake  of  the  gift."  (3.)  Divine 
life,  "  Quicken  me,  O  Lord,  for  Thy 
name's  sake."  Here  the  poet  prays  for 
an  increase  of  spiritual  life  and  strength. 
In  the  way  of  the  Divine  commands 
there  is  salvation  ;  and  the  teaching,  the 
guidance,  the  life,  and  the  strength 
which  are  necessary  to  tread  that  way, 
God  alone  can  bestow.  Like  the 
Psalmist,  let  us  seek  them  from  Him. 

II.  The  grounds  upon  which  these 
blessings  are  sought. 

1.  y/te  sore  need  of  tJie  Psalmist. 
"  Hear  me  speedily,  O  Lord ;  my  spirit 
faileth  ;  hide  not  Thy  face  from  me,  lest 


I  be  like  unto  them  that  go  down  into 
the  pit."  "The  pit"  is  the  grave. 
Apart  from  the  help  of  God,  the  Psalmist 
despairs  even  of  life  itself.  The  great- 
ness of  his  misery  is  a  touching  and 
forcible  appeal  to  the  tender  and  infinite 
mercy  of  God. 

2.  The  personal  relations  of  the  Psal- 
mist to  God.  (1.)  Gonfideiice  in  God.  In 
various  ways  does  the  Psalmist  give 
expression  to  this :  *'  For  in  Thee  do  I 
trust.  ...  I  flee  unto  Thee  to  hide  me." 
Margin  :  "  Heb.,  *  Hide  me  with  Thee.' " 
Perowne :  "  *  Unto  Thee  have  I  fled  to 
hide  me;"  lit.,  *Unto  Thee  have  I  hidden 
(myself).'  But  the  phrase  is  very  pecu- 
liar, and  its  meaning  doubtful."  Conant : 
"With  Thee  I  hide  myself."  "The 
notions  of  covering  and  refuge,"  says 
Moll,  "are  united  in  the  intermediate 
one  of  hiding."  The  expression  un- 
doubtedly indicates  strong  confidence. 
(Comp.  Ps.  xxvii.  5  ;  xxxi.  20.)  Heng- 
stenberg  says  admirably,  "  The  allusion 
points  in  this  direction,  that  God  must 
conceal  those  who  conceal  themselves 
with  Him."  Could  He  fail  to  deliver 
one  who  so  utterly  confided  in  Him  ? 
(2.)  Prayer  to  God.  "  For  I  lift  up  my 
soul  unto  Thee."  This  language  denotes 
earnest  desire  and  confident  expectation. 
"  Prayer  is  the  ascent  of  the  soul  to 
God."  "  Where  the  soul  is  really  directed 
towards  God,  it  is  full  of  seeking  for  help, 
and  longing  for  salvation."  "  To  lift 
up  the  soul  to  God  is  to  begin  the  lift- 
ing of  the  entire  man  out  of  all  need." 
Could  God  disregard  such  a  desire,  or 
disappoint  such  an  expectation  as  this  1 
(3.)  Consecration  to  God.  "For  Thou 
art  my  God  ;  ...  for  I  am  Thy  servant." 
If  we  have  sincerely  taken  the  Lord  for 
our  God,  and  consecrated  ourselves  to 
Him  as  His  servants,  we  may  be  sure 
that  He  will  guide  and  defend  us,  sus- 
tain and  save  us.     (See  on  ver.  2.) 

3.  I'he  revealed  character  of  God.  The 
Psalmist  pleads  (1.)  His  righteousness. 
"  For  Thy  righteousness'  sake,  bring  my 
soul  out  of  trouble."  (See  notes  on  ver. 
1.)  (2.)  His  grace.  "And  of  Thy 
mercy  cut  off  mine  enemies."  He  pleads 
that,  in  the  lovingkindness  which  He 
had  declared  to  His  people.  He  would 
interpose  for  his  deliverance.     (3.)  His 

409 


PflALM  CXLin. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


honour.  "  Quicken  me,  O  Lord,  for 
Thy  name's  sake."  This  is  a  bold  and 
powerful  plea.  Moses  used  it  with  re- 
markable results  (Exod.  xxxii.  11-14; 
Num.  xiv.  13-20).  So  also  did  Joshua  : 
'*What  wilt  Thou  do  unto  Thy  great 
name?"  (Jos.  vii.  6  seq.)  And  fre- 
quently David  urged  it  with  God.  As- 
suredly God  will  not  fail  to  maintain 
the  honour  of  His  holy  name.  Thus 
cogent  are  the  arguments  with  which  the 
Psalmist  entreats  God  for  salvation. 

III.  The  urgency  with  whicli  these 
blessings  are  sought.  "  Hear  me 
speedily,  0  Lord;  my  spirit  faileth," 
&c.     Perowne  translates :  '*  Make  haste 


to  answer  me,  O  Jehovah  ;  my  spirit 
faileth,"  (fee.  "Matters  had  now  come 
with  the  Psalmist  to  an  extremity. 
Where  this  is  the  case  with  the  servants 
of  God,  there  the  Divine  help  cannot  be 
longer  withheld."  The  poet  manifests 
similar  urgency  in  the  petition,  "  Cause 
me  to  hear  Thy  lovingkindness  in  the 
morning/'  i.e.,  soon,  si)eedily.  *'  The  idea 
is  not  that  He  would  wait  for  another dav, 
but  that  He  would  interpose  as  the  very 
first  act, — as  when  one  enters  on  a  day." 
A  prayer  like  unto  this,  with  such 
powerful  pleas  and  such  urgency  of  en- 
treaty, is  itself  a  sign  of  the  nearness  of  the 
interposition  and  salvation  of  the  Lord. 


A  Good  Man's  Prayer  for  Grace  and  Guidance. 

(Verse  8.) 


Value  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  as  pre- 
senting a  test  of  religious  character  and 
experience.  Shows  what  religion  is — 
what  religion  can  do  :  what  it  once  was, 
it  always  is — what  it  has  once  done,  it 
can  always  do. 

I.  David  prays  for  God's  distinguish- 
ing favour  as  a  Grod  of  grace.  "  Cause 
me  to  hear  Thy  lovingkindness,"  &c. 

1.  The  blessing  itself  is  very  empha- 
tic. "  Thy  lovingkindness."  Not  God's 
general  benevolence  as  it  shines  in 
nature  ;  not  His  general  protection  as  it 
is  seen  in  Providence;  but  His  special 
manifestation  of  mercy  as  it  shines  in 
the  covenant  of  grace.  "  Remember  me, 
O  Lord,  with  the  favour  of  Thy  people." 
"  Look  Thou  upon  me,  and  be  merciful 
unto  me,  as  Thou  usest  to  do  unto  those 
that  love  Thy  name." 

This  he  desires  beyond  created  good — 
beyond  his  crown  as  a  monarch — beyond 
his  eminent  distinction  as  a  man  of 
genius — beyond  his  highest  estimation 
as  a  gifted  prophet,  he  values  God's 
favour ;  just  as  Moses  did  *'  the  good- 
will of  Him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush " 
beyond  "the  chief  things  of  the  ancient 
mountains  and  the  precious  things  of  the 
lasting  hills."  These  desires  are  com- 
mon to  all  the  saints.  In  New  Testa- 
ment phrase — the  love  of  the  Father,  the 
grace  of  the  Son,  and  the  fellowship  of 
the  Spirit.  Judge  of  your  character  by 
your  habitual  desires. 
410 


2.  The  period  in  which  it  is  desired* 
"In  the  morning."  It  is  sought  first  in 
point  of  time — first  in  point  of  import- 
ance.  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  (fee.  "  In  the  morning "  of  the 
day,  that  we  may  begin  it  with  God. 
"  In  the  morning "  of  the  week — the 
Sabbath.  "  In  the  morning  "  of  life — 
youth.  "  In  the  morning  "  of  the  resur- 
rection. "  Cause  me  : "  Divine  influence 
needful. 

II.  For  God's  daily  guidance  as  a 
God  of  Providence.  "  Cause  me  to 
know  the  way,"  (fee. 

1.  Prompted  hy  a  sense  of  our  weak- 
ness and  ignorance.  How  much  we 
need  a  guide  !  We  have  as  much  need 
of  daily  guidance  as  of  daily  bread.  We 
cannot  get  safely  through  a  world  of  sin 
and  danger  without  the  Presence  and 
Grace  of  Christ.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  in- 
difference to  the  Christian  how  he  passes 
through  life.  Not  enough  to  say,  "  What 
shall  1  eat  r'  (fec.j  but,  '*  Lord,  lift  Thou 
up  the  light  of  Thy  countenance  upon 
us."  The  soul  has  wants  as  well  as  the 
body.  The  Christian  has  moral  interests 
to  secure ;  he  has  a  race  to  run — a 
battle  to  fight — a  prize  to  gain — a  God 
to  glorify — a  soul  to  be  lost  or  saved. 
He  is  in  a  world  where  the  great  de- 
stroyer has  his  seat.  He  knows  that  the 
interests  of  others  are  linked  in  with  his 
own  :  cannot  stand  or  fall  alone.  Hence 
he  prays,  "  Cause  me  to  know,"  (fee. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY  :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OZUII. 


2.  Prompted  by  knowledge  of  the  charac- 
ter of  Christ  as  a  Guide.  Wise,  powerful, 
gracious.  *'  The  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  your  souls."  Having  had  large  ex- 
perience of  the  conduct  of  sinners. 

III.  For  the  constant  acceptance  of 
his  devotions  as  a  prayer-hearing  God. 

''In  Thee  do  I  trust;  .  .  .  I  lift 
up  my  soul  unto  Thee."     This  is  partly 


a  profession  of  his  daily  faith  and  ex- 
perience, and  partly  a  plea  for  the 
exercise  of  God's  mercy.  "  In  Thee  do 
I  trust :  "  Thou  wilt  not  disappoint. 

God  is  a  perfect  circle  of  wonders  and 
miracles ;  a  good  perfectly  adapted  to 
our  moral  nature.  They  who  know  any- 
thing of  Him  are  anxious  to  know  more. 
— Samuel  Thodey, 


Divine  Guidanob. 
(Versed.) 

'*  Cause  me  to  know  the  way  wherein  I  should  walk  ;  for  I  lift  up  my 

soul  unto  Thee." 


Life  is  like  a  heath  with  paths  stretch- 
ing in  various  directions.  Many  appear 
pleasant  and  safe  that  lead  astray.  Man 
is  often  bewildered.  He  often  chooses 
wrongly.     How  important  this  prayer. 

I.  This  was  the  prayer  of  one  who 
felt  his  need  of  Divine  guidance. 

Many  will  be  their  own  guides.  They 
are  self-reliant ;  like  wayward  children, 
or  foolish  Alpine  travellers,  forgetting 
their  own  ignorance  and  liability  to 
error.  Some  are  wise  ;  they  will  not 
take  a  step  without  God.  They  feel 
their  need  of  His  guiding  hand.  This 
sense  of  need  may  arise — 

1.  From  seeing  the  errors  of  others. 
Men,  however,  are  seldom  wise  enough 
to  learn  from  the  sorrows  that  attend 
the  wanderings  of  others.  Second-hand 
experiences  do  not  teach  much. 

2.  From  bitter  experiences  gained  in 
self-chosen  paths.  God  does  not  always 
save  us  from  erroneous  ways,  but  often 
through  them.  Our  freedom  is  part  of 
our  discipline. 

3.  From  Divine  enlightenment.  Seldom 
will  a  man  be  humble  enough  to  seek 
God  until  he  sees  what  he  is  by  the  light 
of  God's  Spirit.  Bitter  experiences  fail 
to  teach  us  without  grace. 

II.  This  was  the  prayer  of  one  who 
believed  that  God  had  a  way  marked 
out  for  him. 

Life  is  not  a  pathless  wilderness.  God 
has  a  way  laid  down  for  every  man. 
He  regards  the  individual  life.  Laws 
are  general,  but  the  progress  of  each  life 
is  a  speciality.  There  is  a  way  in  which 
every  man  should  walk. 


1.  This  is  true  morally.  Right  is 
straight,  wrong  is  zigzag.  Right  is  dis- 
tinct from  wrong, — a  Divine  way,  clear 
to  those  who  will  see  it. 

2.  This  is  true  intellectually.  Truth 
is  the  Divine  path  for  the  intellect. 
Truth,  as  a  narrow  way,  lies  often  in  the 
midst  of  the  devious  windings  of  error ; 
but  they  who  are  guided  by  God  shall 
not  fail  to  discover  it. 

3.  This  is  true  circumstantially. 
From  the  cradle  to  the  grave  God  has 
a  way  for  every  man.  The  prayerless 
miss  it ;   the  prayerful  find  it. 

III.  This  was  the  prayer  of  one  who 
believed  that  God  could  reveal  His 
way  to  him. 

The  days  of  Divine  revelations  are  not 
over.  "  There  is  a  spirit  in  man  ;  and 
the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth 
him  understanding."  He  causes  us  to 
know  His  way — 

1.  JBy  His  Holy  Spirit.  God  is  nigh 
to  every  man.  He  can  act  directly  upon 
each  man's  spirit.  He  often  leads  men 
when  they  know  it  not.  His  si  nrs  are 
often  conspicuously  guided. 

2.  By  His  Word.  Its  j>u  ^  ..  in- 
struct, its  revelations  enlighten,  ils  ex- 
amples encourage  and  warn  us. 

3.  By  the  incarnate  life  of  His  Son, 
He  is  the  way.  Those  who  follow  Him 
do  not  walk  in  darkness. 

4.  By  the  force  of  events.  Way  after 
way  is  hedged  up,  and  only  God's  way 
is  left  to  us.  By  this  God  causes  us 
to  know  the  way  wherein  we  should 
walk. 

IV.  This  was  the  prayer  of  one  who 

411 


PSALM  oxLiv.  EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


had  placed  himself  in  the  right  atti-  He  would  not  be  denied  the  light  he 

tude  to  receive  Divine  guidance.  sought.    He  would  continue  before  Him 

Attitude    is    important.       Some   are  until  the   mists   rolled   away,  and  the 

listless,  others  fanatical,  others  unbeliev-  Divine  path  shone  out  as  light  in  the 

iiig.     This  was —  midst  of  obscurity.     Such  an  attitude 

1.  An  attitude  of  expectancy.     Faith  is  sure  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  God's 
was  stretching  out  the  soul-hands  to  re-  way. 

ceive  (ver.  6).    Every  faculty  was  awake  Learn  : — 

and  eager.     God  would  find  a  receptive  1.  To  distrust  self, 

nature,  a  waiting  heart.  2.  To  take  no  step  until  God  makes 

2.  The  attitude  of  ardent  desire,    De-  known  His  way. 

sire  had  raised  the  soul  out  of  its  ordi-  3.  For  in  His  way  there  will  he  found 

nay  life.    It  was  rising  to  meet  God.    It  safety^  peace,  and  ultimately  heaven. — 

was  lifted  up  to  take  hold  of  Him.  W.  O.  Lillby.     From  "  The  ffomiletio 

3.  The  attitude  of  importunate  prayer.  Quarterly,*' 


PSALM    OXLIV. 

Introduction. 

*  This  is  a  singularly  composite  Psalm.  The  earlier  portion  of  It,  to  the  end  of  ver.  11, 
consists  almost  entirely  of  a  cento  of  quotations,  strung  together  from  earlier  Psalms  ;  and  it  is 
not  always  easy  to  trace  a  real  connection  between  them.  The  latter  portion  of  the  Psalm, 
vers.  12-16,  difi^ers  completely  from  the  former.  It  bears  the  stamp  of  originality,  and  is 
entirely  free  from  the  quotations  and  allusions  with  which  the  preceding  verses  abound.  It  is 
hardly  probable,  however,  that  this  concluding  portion  ig  the  work  of  the  poet  who  compiled 
the  rest  of  the  Psalm  :  it  is  more  probable  that  he  has  here  transcribed  a  fragment  of  some 
ancient  poem,  in  which  were  portrayed  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  in  its 
brightest  days,  under  David,  it  may  have  been,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Solomon. 
His  object  seems  to  have  been  thus  to  revive  the  hopes  of  his  nation,  perhaps  after  the  return 
from  ihe  exile,  by  reminding  them  how  in  their  past  history  obedience  to  God  had  brought  with 
it  its  full  recompense." 

Thus  Dean  Perowne  writes — rejecting  the  Davidic  authorship,  and  bestowing  no  notice 
whatever  on  the  superscription,  which  ascribes  the  Psalm  to  David.  And  Moll  says,  **It  is 
doubtful  whether  it  should  be  assigned  to  David  himself."  But  Hengstenberg  says  "that  it  is 
one  of  David's  peculiarities  to  derive  from  his  earlier  productions  a  foundation  for  new  ones. 
.  .  .  This  Psalm  can  only  have  been  composed  by  David."  And  Alexander  :  **The  Davidic 
origin  of  the  Psalm  is  as  marked  as  that  of  any  in  the  Psalter."  And  Perowne,  notwith- 
standing the  passage  above  quoted,  says,  **  The  language  of  vers.  1-4,  as  well  as  the  language 
of  ver.  10,  is  clearly  only  suitable  in  the  mouth  of  a  king,  or  some  powerful  and  recognised 
leader  of  the  nation  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  person  of  rank  in  the  later  history  in  whose 
mouth  such  a  Psalm  as  this  would  be  appropriate."  For  ourselves  we  are  inclined  to  accept  the 
superscription,  and  regard  the  Psalm  as  a  composition  or  compilation  of  David's. 

**  The  Psalmist  recounts  glorious  victories  in  the  past,  complains  that  the  nation  is  now 
beset  by  strange,  i.e.,  barbarous  enemies,  so  false  and  treacherous  that  no  covenant  can  be  kept 
with  them,  prays  for  deliverance  from  them  by  an  interposition  great  and  glorious  as  had  been 
vouchsafed  of  old,  and  anticipates  the  return  of  a  golden  age  of  peace  and  plenty," 

Inspibino  Aspects  of  the  Divine  Being. 

(Verses  1,  2.) 

These   verses  are  taken  almost  ver-  poet  had  in  the  use  of  the  weapons  of 

batim   from   different    portions   of  Ps.  war,  he  attributes  to  the  Lord.      The 

xviii.     We  regard  them  as  presenting  to  abilities  by  which  battles  are  planned 

us  the  Divine  Being  in  certain  inspiring  and  victories  won  come  from  Him.     All 

aspects.  beauty    of    design,    and    dexterity    in 

I.  As  the  Author  of  human  skill.  labour,  and  success  in  achievement  in 

''  He  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  my  human  works,  must  be  attributed  to  the 

fingers  to  fight."     The  skill  which  the  Great  God. 

412 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oxLnr, 


n.  As  the  Protector  of  human  life. 

In  •  several  different  forms  the  poet 
expresses  this.  **  Jehovah  my  rock." 
Two  Hebrew  words,  which  slightly  differ 
in  meaning,  are  translated  by  the  word 
rock.  The  one  which  is  employed  here 
(l^ik)  suggests  the  ideas  of  strength  and 
fixedness;  Jehovah  is  a  strong  and  stead- 
fast refuge.  "  My  fortress"  i.e.^  a  strong 
place,  generally  difficult  of  access,  and 
thus  a  secure  retreat.  **  My  high  tower" 
i.e.f  a  place  so  high  as  to  be  out  of  the 
reach  of  danger,  or  some  almost  inacces- 
sible crag  affording  safety  to  those  who 
reached  it.  "  My  deliverer" who  rescues 
me  from  the  power  of  my  enemies. 
**  My  shield"  protecting  me  from  the 
arrows  of  the  enemies  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Now  these  figures  set  forth  a 
protection  which  is — 

1.  Unchangeable f  as  a  rock. 

2.  Enduring,  as  a  rock. 

3.  Inviolable.  The  various  figures 
which  the  poet  employs  suggest  this 
fact.  ''  On  the  heaping  together  of  epi- 
thets and  titles  of  God  Calvin  remarks, 
that  it  is  not  superfluous,  but  designed 
to  strengthen  and  confirm  faith ;  for 
men's  minds  are  easily  shaken,  especially 
when  some  storm  of  trial  beats  upon 
them.  Hence,  if  God  should  promise 
us  His  succour  in  one  word,  it  would 
not  be  enough ;  in  fact,  in  spite  of  all 
the  props  and  aids  He  gives  us,  we  con- 
stantly totter  and  are  ready  to  fall,  and 
such  a  forgetfulness  of  His  lovingkind- 
ness  steals  upon  us,  that  we  come  near 
to  losing  heart  altogether." — Perowne, 
So  these  various  figures  are  used  to  im- 
press us  with  the  invincibility  of  the 
Divine  protection,  and  to  inspire  our 
confidence  therein. 

4.  Ever  available,  "  The  name  of 
the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower ;  the  right- 
eous runneth  into  it  and  is  safe."  By 
prayer,  by  the  exercise  of  faith  in  Him, 
we  can  at  any  time  avail  ourselves  of  the 
inviolable  protection  of  Jehovah.  "  If 
God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  1 " 

in.  As  the  Source  of  human  autho- 
rity. 

"  Who  subdueth  my  people  under 
me."  "  The  Psalmist  is  not  triumphing 
in  the  exercise  of  despotic  power,  but 
gratefully  acknowledges  that  the  autho- 


rity he  wields  comes  from  God."  David 
was  chosen  to  be  king  by  God,  and  in 
His  providence  all  the  tribes  were  led 
to  submit  to  his  government.  "  Let 
every  soul,"  saith  St.  Paul,  "  be  subject 
unto  the  higher  powers.  For  there  is 
no  power  but  of  God  :  the  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God."  "  For  promo- 
tion Cometh  neither  from  the  east,  nor 
from  the  west,  nor  from  the  south.  But 
God  is  the  Judge;  He  putteth  down  one, 
and  setteth  up  another." 

IV.  As  the  Object  of  human  trust. 
"And  He  in  whom  I  trust."    Perowne 

translates  :  "  He  in  whom  I  find  refuge." 
The  idea  is  that  the  Psalmist  confided 
in  Him,  sought  unto  Him  for  protection 
in  times  of  peril,  fled  unto  Him  as  His 
refuge  in  trouble.  The  Lord  is  an  ade- 
quate object  of  trust  for  man,  and  the 
only  one.  "  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord 
shall  be  as  Mount  Zion,  which  cannot 
be  removed,  but  abideth  for  ever." 
*' Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their 
trust  in  Him." 

V.  As  the  Supreme  Good  of  human 
life. 

'*  My  goodness."  Margin  :  "  My 
mercy.'*  Perowne  :  "  My  lovingkind- 
ness."  So  also  Conant.  The  idea  seems 
to  be  that  the  Psalmist  regarded  the 
Lord  as  his  Chief  Good,  as  the  Source 
of  all  his  blessings.  David  frequently 
gives  expression  to  this  sentiment. 
"  There  be  many  that  say.  Who  will 
show  us  any  good  1  Lord,  lift  Thou  up 
the  light  of  Thy  countenance  upon  us." 
"  In  His  favour  is  life."  "  Thy  loving- 
kindness  is  better  than  life,"  And 
Asaph  also  :  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven 
but  Thee  ? "  <fec.  In  Him  we  have  the 
supreme  truth  for  the  intellect,  the 
supreme  righteousness  for  the  conscience, 
the  supreme  love  for  the  heart,  the 
supreme  beauty  for  the  soul. 

VI.  As  the  Recipient  of  human 
praise. 

"  Blessed  be  Jehovah  my  rock,"  <fec. 
The  Psalmist  here  praises  Jehovah  for 
what  He  is  to  him,  and  for  what  He 
does  for  him. 

1.  Gratitude  urges  to  this.  Its  lan- 
guage is,  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  the 
Lord  for  all  His  benefits  toward  me  ? " 

2.  Reason  urges  to  this.     It  is  in  the 

413 


FBALU  CXLVf. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  P8ALM8, 


highest  degree  rational  that  He  who  is 
Supremely  Good  should  be  reverenced 
and  loved  ;  that  our  greatest  Benefactor 
should  be  praised  by  us,  (fee. 

3.  This  is  blessed.  He  who  sincerely 
blesses  God  finds  blessing  in  so  doing. 
True  worship  tends  to  purify  and 
strengthen,  to  sanctify  and  gloriously 
transform  the  worshipper. 


Conclusion.— The  people  of  God  in 
this  world  are  still  a  militant  people ; 
but  the  Lord  their  God  is  still  their 
omnipotent  Protector  and  their  Supreme 
Good.  Let  them  loyally  trust  Him, 
and  heartily  worship  Him,  and  soon  and 
for  ever  they  shall  become  a  triumphant 
people  over  all  foes. 


The  Insignifioanob  and  Greatness  of  Man. 


(Verses 

The  connection  of  these  verses  with 
the  preceding  is  correctly  pointed  out 
by  Calvin  :  *'  David  remembers  all  that 
God  has  done  for  him,  and  then,  like 
Jacob,  thinks  :  Lord,  I  am  too  little  for 
all  Thy  lovingkindness,  and  so  contrasts 
his  own  nothingness  and  that  of  man- 
kind generally  with  the  greatness  of 
such  a  gracious  God."  Thus  the  good- 
ness of  God  produced  humility  in  the 
poet;  and  the  truest,  deepest  humility 
is  always  produced  by  the  grace  of  God. 
The  poet  sets  before  us — 

L  The  insignificance  of  human  life. 

"  Lord,  what  is  man  1  .  .  .  Man  is 
like  to  vanity ;  his  days  are  as  a  shadow 
that  passe th  away."  Here  are  two 
ideas : — 

1.  Human  life  is  unsubstantial.  It 
is  here  compared  to  **  vanity " — more 
correctly,  "a  breath" — and  **a  shadow." 
St.  James  also  speaks  of  human  life  as 
"  a  vapour."  How  unsubstantial  are  a 
**  breath  "  and  a  "  shadow  "  !  So  is 
human  life.  We  may  see  this — (1.)  /n 
the  objects  for  which  men  live.  "  All  the 
fret  and  stir,"  says  Perowne,  "  all  the 
eager  clamour  and  rivalry  of  men,  as 
they  elbow  and  jostle  one  another  to 
obtain  wealth  and  rank,  and  the  enjoy- 
ments of  life,  are  but  a  breath."  "  With 
what  idle  dreams,  what  foolish  plans, 
what  vain  pursuits,  are  they  for  the 
most  part  occupied  !  They  undertake 
dangerous  expeditions  and  difficult  en- 
terprises in  foreign  countries,  and  they 
acquire  fame ;  but  what  is  it? — Vanity/ 
They  pursue  deep  and  abstruse  specula- 
tions, and  give  themselves  to  that '  much 
study  which  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh,' 
and  they  attain  to  literary  renown,  and 
survive  in  their  writings;  but  what  is 
414 


3,  4.) 

iti — Vanity/  They  rise  up  early,  and 
sit  up  late,  and  eat  the  bread  of  anxiety 
and  care,  and  thus  they  amass  wealth ; 
but  what  is  it  ? —  Vanity  /  They  frame 
and  execute  plans  and  schemes  of  ambi- 
tion— they  are  loaded  with  honours  and 
adorned  with  titles — they  afford  employ- 
ment for  the  herald,  and  form  a  subject 
for  the  historian;  but  what  is  it? — 
Vanity/  In  fact,  all  occupations  and 
pursuits  are  worthy  of  no  other  epithet, 
if  they  are  not  preceded  by,  and  con- 
nected with,  a  deep  and  paramount  re- 
gard to  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  the 
honour  of  God,  and  the  interests  of 
eternity.  .  ,  .  Oh,  then,  what  phantoms, 
what  airy  nothings  are  those  things 
that  wholly  absorb  the  powers  and  oc- 
cupy the  days  of  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind around  us  !  Their  most  substantial 
good  perishes  in  the  using,  and  their 
most  enduring  realities  are  but  *  the 
fashion  of  this  world  that  passeth 
away.' " — Dr.  Raffles.  The  great  majo- 
rity of  those  who  seek  these  things  do 
not  attain  them ;  and  the  few  who  do 
attain  them  find  them  utterly  unsatis- 
factory. (2.)  In  life  itself.  How  un- 
substantial is  our  life  as  it  appears  here ! 
How  easily  is  the  vital  flame  extin- 
guished !  A  breath  of  air  laden  with 
disease  may  soon  lay  the  most  robust 
frame  low  in  death.  A  draught  of  tainted 
water  may  quench  the  vital  spark  in  the 
most  beautiful  body.  A  very  little 
accident  may  still  for  ever  the  brain  of 
the  wisest  man.  Men  "  dwell  in  houses 
of  clay,  whose  foundation  is  in  the  dust, 
which  are  crushed  before  the  moth. 
They  are  destroyed  from  morning  to 
evening ;  they  perish  for  ever  without 
any  regarding  it    Doth  not  their  excel- 


HOMiLETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Malm  oxlIV. 


lency  which  is  in  them  go  away  t  They 
die,  even  without  wisdom." 

2,  Human  life  is  transitory,  "  As  a 
shadow  that  passeth  away."  "  Come 
like  shadows,  so  depart,"  seems  to  be  a 
law  of  human  life.  (1.)  "  A  shadow 
passeth  away"  constantly.  It  is  never 
stationary.  As  the  sun  advances  the 
shadow  moves  onward.  It  cannot  rest. 
So  is  it  with  human  life. 

'*  Whate'er  we  do,  where'er  we  be. 
We're  travelling  to  the  grave.** 

(2.)  "A  shadow  passeth  away"  rapidly. 
How  soon  the  sun  sets,  and  the  shadow 
is  gone !  But  the  sun  may  be  obscured 
by  clouds  long  before  hia  setting  ;  then 
also  the  shadow  is  gone.  A  striking 
illustration  of  the  brevity  of  human  life. 
If,  like  Jacob,  a  man  lived  an  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  like  Jacob  he  would 
say,  "  Few  and  evil  have  the  days  of  the 
years  of  my  life  been."  But  the  great 
majority  of  men  do  not  live  half  so  long 
as  that.  Much  more  rapidly  do  they 
pass  away.  (3.)  '*  A  shadow  passeth 
away"  completely.  The  departing  shadow 
leaves  not  a  trace  behind.  Is  it  not  so 
with  almost  all  men  1  How  few  of  all 
the  millions  that  have  lived  in  the  past 
have  any  memorial  upon  earth  now ! 

**  Some  sink  outright, 

O'er  them  and  o'er  their  names  the  billows 
close. 

To-morrow  knows  not  they  were  ever  born. 

Others  a  short  memorial  leave  behind  ; 

Like   a  flag  floating  when  the  bark's  en- 
gulfed, 

It  floats  a  moment,  and  is  seen  no  more. 

One  Caesar  lives ;  a  thousand  are  forgot." 

—  Young. 

This  aspect  of  life  should  humble  human 
pride.  Life  is  unsubstantial  and  transi- 
tory, as  a  mere  **  breath  "  or  a  passing 


"  shadow."  "  It  is  even  a  vapour,  that 
appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then 
vanisheth  away." 

*•  Life's  but  a  walking  shadow — a  poor  player. 
That  struts  and   frets   his  hour  upon  the 

stage, 
And  then  is  heard  no  more  :  it  is  a  tale 
Told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury. 
Signifying  nothing." — Shakespeare. 

II.    The  greatness  of  human  life. 

*'  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  Thou  takest 
knowledge  of  him  1  A  son  of  man,  that 
Thou  makest  account  of  him  ?"  Man  is 
thought  of,  cared  for,  graciously  regarded 
by  God.  This  invests  human  nature 
with  great  importance  and  dignity. 
God's  regard  for  man  is  manifest — 

1.  In  the  provision  which  He  has  madi 

for  us  in  nature.     He  has  created  all 

nature    to    minister    to    man's   needs. 

Earth  and  sea,  air  and  sky,  all  serve  us. 

(Comp.  Gen.  i.  28,  29.) 

2.  In  His  care  over  us  in  Providence. 
It  was  this  protecting  and  sustainin|i 
providential  care  which  led  the  Psalmist 
to  inquire,  "Lord,  what  is  man?"  <fec. 
He  guides  and  guards  and  sustains  with 
tenderest  care  and  infinite  wisdom. 
(Comp.  Ps.  xl.  17.) 

3.  In  the  redemption  which  He  hcu 
wrought  for  tis.  *'  He  remembered  us 
in  our  low  estate,"  <kc.  (Ps.  cxxxvi.  23, 
24).  "God  so  loved  the  world,"  &c. 
"  God  commendeth  His  love,"  <fec. 

4.  In  the  home  which  He  has  provided 
for  us.  *'In  My  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions,"  <fec.  "He  hath  be- 
gotten us  again  unto  an  inheritance 
incorruptible,"  <fec.  When  man  passeth 
away  like  a  shadow,  it  is  to  enter  upon 
an  immortal  and  glorious  life. 

Conclusion. — Let  our  lives  harmonise 
with  God's  regard  for  ua. 


Man. 
(Ver»e  3.) 


**  Lord,  what  Is  man  1 " 
I.  What  was  man  as  he  came  from 
the  hands  of  his  Creator  7 

1.  Rational. 

2.  Responsible. 

3.  Immortal. 

4.  Holy  and  happy. 


II.  What  is  man  in  his  present  con- 
dition ? 

1.  He  is  fallen. 

2.  He  is  guilty. 

3.  He  is  sinfuL 

4.  He  is  miserable,   and  helpless  In 
ilis  misery. 

415 


fHALM  UXLltr. 


BOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


III.  What  is  man  when  he  has  be- 
lieved in  Christ  ? 

1.  He  is  restored  to  a  right  relation 
to  God. 

2.  He  is  restored  to  a  right  disposi- 
tion toward  God. 

3.  He  enjoys  the   influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

4.  He  is  in  process  of  preparation  for 
the  heavenly  world. 


IV.  What  shall  man  be  when  he  ia 
admitted  into  heaven  ? 

1.  Free  from  sin  and  sorrow. 

2.  Advanced  to  the  perfection  of  hia 
nature. 

3.  Associated  with  angels. 

4.  Near  to  hia  Saviour  and  his  God. 

-^George  Brook*, 


Human  Life  a  Shadow. 

(Verse  4.) 
Man  and  hia  days  are  here  compared      and   is   contracted 


to  "a  shadow;"  and  the  propriety  of 
the  similitu(ic  is  attested  by  the  experi- 
ence of  all  mankind.  The  resemblance 
lies  in  the  following  particulars  : — 

I.  A  shadow  is  compounded  of  light 
and  darkness ;  for  when  no  object  inter- 
cepts the  light  of  the  sun,  or  when  the 
light  of  the  sun  is  withdrawn,  no  shadow 
is  produced.  In  like  manner,  the  state 
of  man  in  the  present  world  is  made  up 
of  joy  and  sorrow ;  while,  as  in  the  em- 
blem, the  latter  greatly  preponderates. 

II.  A  shadow  seems  to  be  some- 
thing, when  in  reality  it  is  nothing. 
If  you  grasp  it,  you  prove  its  emptiness. 
The  pleasures,  riches,  and  honours  of 
the  present  world  seem  important  to  the 
eye  of  the  carnal  mind  when  viewed  at 


in  its   dimensions. 

From  thence  to  sunset  it  gradually  be- 
comes less  distinct,  and  at  last  suddenly 
and  wholly  disappears.  Man,  survey  in 
this  emblem  thy  life  !  How  lively  and 
affecting  the  description !  (Comp.  Job 
xiv.  1,  2  ;  James  iv.  14.) 

IV.  A  shadow  cannot  exist  longer 
than  the  sun's  continuance  above  the 
horizon,  and  is  every  moment  liable 
to  annihilation  by  the  intervention  of 
a  cloud.  In  like  manner,  human  life 
generally  lasts  but  three  score  years  and 
ten,  or  four  score  years ;  and  may,  by  a 
sudden  accident  or  the  power  of  disease, 
be  much  curtailed.  We  have  no  security 
for  the  protraction  of  life  through  an- 
other day  or  hour ;  and  the  probability 
that  our  life  will  not  reach  its  customary 


a  little  distance ;  they  attract  attention,      limit  is  as  great  as  that  the  shadow  will 


excite  desire,  and  are  eagerly  pursued. 
But  when,  the  object  being  attained, 
they  are  closely  examined,  how  empty 
and  unsatisfactory  do  they  prove  ! 

III.  A  shadow  is  the  subject  of  con- 
tinual changes,  till  at  length  it  finally 
and  suddenly  ceases.  In  the  morning, 
when  the  sun  first  rises  above  the  hori- 
zon, it  is  weak  and  extended  to  a  great 
length.     Towards  noon  it  gains  strength, 


cease  before  the  eveninsc  arrives. 

V.  A  shadow,  when  gone,  leaves  no 
track  of  its  existence  behind.  This 
also  is  the  case  with  the  riches,  pleasures, 
and  honours  of  the  world.  '*  We  brought 
nothing  into  the  world,  and  it  is  certain 
we  can  carry  nothing  out."  This  world 
is  no  further  substantial,  or  of  import- 
ance, than  as  it  stands  connected  with 
the  next. — *'  The  Christian  Guardian*^ 


A  Prayer  of  the  Godly  for  Deliverance  from  their  Enemies. 

{Verses  5—11.) 


In  these  verses  we  have  the  Psalmist's 
prayer  for  the  overthrow  of  his  enemies, 
and  for  his  own  victory.    Let  us  notice — 

L  His  description  of  his  enemies. 

1.  They  were  foreigners.  The  Psal- 
mist speaks  of  them  as  "  strange  chil- 
dren ;"  or,  taking  Perowne'a  rendering, 
416 


"sons  of  the  alien"  (ver.  7),  and 
"strange  persons"  (ver.  II).  It  aeema 
that  at  this  time  David  was  engaged 
in  warfare  with  some  of  the  heathen 
nations ;  but  with  what  people  or 
peoples  we  know  not.  The  spiritual 
enemies   of    the    people    of    God   are 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLIT. 


strangers  both  to  Him  and  to  them.  **  If 
ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would 
love  his  own,"  &c.  (John  xv.  18-21  ; 
xvi.  1-3.) 

2.  They  were  deceivers.  "  Whose  mouth 
speaketh  vanity,  and  their  right  hand 
is  a  right  hand  of  falsehood."  "  Decep- 
tion," or  **  falsehood,"  would  be  a  better 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  than  "  vanity." 
The  right  hand  amongst  the  Jews  was 
uplifted  towards  heaven  in  taking  an 
oath.  These  enemies  swore  falsely  ; 
they  were  covenant-breakers ;  their  most 
solemn  engagements  were  not  reliable. 
In  the  present  day  falsehood  is  rife. 
On  every  hand  and  in  almost  every  pro- 
vince of  life  we  are  confronted  with 
shams.  The  great  enemy  of  God  and 
man  is  the  original  liar,  the  arch 
deceiver.  "  The  devil  abode  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him," 
<fec.  (John  viii.  44),  "  Satan  himself  is 
transformed  into  an  angel  of  light."  Let 
the  godly  be  on  their  guard,  *'  lest  Satan 
should  get  an  advantage  of  us  ;  for  we 
are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices."  Let 
them  be  true  in  word  and  deed  and  life. 

3.  They  caused  him  great  trouble. 
The  Psalmist  represents  himself  as  in 
**  great  waters."  This  is  a  Scriptural 
figure  for  deep  distress.  "  All  Thy 
waves  and  Thy  billows  are  gone  over 
me "  "  Thou  hast  afflicted  me  with 
all  Thy  waves."  "When  Thou  passest 
through  the  waters,"  <fec.  (Isa.  xliii.  2). 
The  people  of  God  sometimes  suffer 
sorely  from  their  spiritual  enemies. 

II.  His  prayer  for  deliverance  from 
his  enemies.  This  is  expressed  in  lan- 
guage which  is  vigorously  and  strik- 
ingly poetical ;  and  which  is  very 
natural  in  so  strong-winged  a  poet  as 
David.  "  Bow  Thy  heavens,  O  Jehovah, 
and  come  down,"  <fec.  "  The  Psalmist 
longs  for  a  Theophany,  a  coming  of  God 
to  judgment,  which  he  describes  in  lan- 
guage again  borrowed  from  xviii.  9,  14- 
16."  These  poetic  figures  having  been 
dealt  with  there,  we  need  not  dwell 
upon  them  here.  He  prays  that  he  may 
be  delivered — 

1.  With  Divine  majesty.  "Bow  Thy 
heavens,  O  Jehovah,  and  come  down,"&c. 
(ver.  5).  The  ideas  are  doubth\ss  those 
of  awful  majesty  and  irresistible  power. 

sou  li.  3 


2.  By  Divine  power,  "  Cast  forth 
lightnings,  and  scatter  them ;  shoot  out 
Thine  arrows,  and  destroy  them.  Send 
Thine  hand  from  above,"  <fec.  The 
lightnings  are  the  Lord's  arrows.  The 
poet  prays  that  his  deliverance  may  be 
accomplished  by  Divine  power,  as  verily 
effected  by  the  immediate  presence  and 
finger  of  God  as  if  He  had  come  down 
in  visible  form  to  accomplish  it. 

3.  With  Divine  completeness.  *'  Scatter 
them ;  .  .  .  destroy  them,"  or  "  dis- 
comfit them."  They  whom  God  scatters 
and  discomfits  are  utterly  overthrown  ; 
they  whom  He  delivers  are  triumphantly 
saved.  The  Lord  is  the  glorious  Deli- 
verer of  His  people  from  their  spiritual 
foes.  "  The  God  of  peace  shall  bruise 
Satan  under  your  feet  shortly.'*  "  We 
are  more  than  conquerors  through  Him 
that  loved  us."  "  Thanks  be  to  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

III.  His  resolution  to  praise  God  for 
deliverance  from  his  enemies. 

*'  I  will  sing  a  new  song  unto  Thee, 
O  God,"  &c.  (vers.  9,  10).  Notice  here— 

1.  77id  assurance  of  deliverance.  He 
speaks  of  God  as  a  present  Deliverer 
to  him  (ver.  10),  and  he  looks  forward 
with  confidence  to  singing  the  new  song 
for  the  new  victory.  The  people  of  God 
may  well  be  assured  of  victory  in  their 
moral  conflicts ;  for  the  purposes,  the  pro- 
mises, and  the  power  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  unite  to  guarantee  it  unto  them. 

2.  The  basis  of  this  assurance  of  de- 
liverance. The  Psalmist  seems  to  have 
grounded  His  confidence  upon  God's 
wonted  doings.  "  He  giveth  salvation 
unto  kings  ;  who  delivereth  David  His 
servant  from  the  hurtful  sword."  God 
was  the  great  giver  of  victory  to  kings  ; 
many  a  time  had  He  delivered  David 
from  the  sword  of  his  enemies.  What 
He  has  done  in  the  past,  we  may  expect 
Him  to  do  again  in  similar  circum- 
stances and  to  similar  characters.  Let 
His  past  deliverances  be  to  us  so  many 
pledges  of  our  full  and  final  triumph. 

3.  The  promised  song  of  deliverance. 
"  I  will  sing  a  new  song  unto  Thee,  O 
God ;  upon  a  psaltery,  an  instrument  of 
ten  strings,  will  I  sing  praises  unto  Thee." 
More  correctly  :   *'  Upon  a  ten-stringed 

P  4U 


SflALMOXLlT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


lute  will  I  make  music  unto  Thee." 
The  goodness  of  God  in  the  new  victory 
shall  be  celebrated  in  a  new  song ;  and 
the  new  song  shall  be  accompanied  with 
the  sweet  strains  of  music. 

Let  new  mercies  evoke  new  gratitude ; 


and  let  the  new  gratitude  be  expressed 
in  new  songs.  Let  us  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  anticipate  with  confidence 
the  new  song  of  heaven  :  "  And  they 
sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art 
worthy,"  <fec.  (Rev.  v.  9-14:). 


A  Picture  of  a  Happy  People. 
(Verses  12-15.) 


We  regard  these  verses  as  presenting 
a  picture  of  prosperity  which  the  poet 
desired  for  Israel.  Let  us  look  at  its 
main  features — 

L  The  blessing  of  a  noble  offspring. 

1.  Sons  characterised  by  strength. 
"  That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants 
grown  up  in  their  youth."  The  idea 
is  that  of  young  men  of  vigorous 
and  well-proportioned  growth.  But 
the  Psalmist  certainly  could  not  mean 
strength  of  body  simply.  We  inter- 
pret his  meaning  to  be  vigorous  young 
manhood,  including  physical,  mental, 
and  moral  strength.  (1.)  Physical 
strength  is  good.  (2.)  Intellectual 
strength  is  better.  (3.)  Moral  strength 
is  best.  The  strength  of  righteous 
principles,  virtuous  habits,  holy  attach- 
ments, and  devout  aspirations — this  it 
is  which  ennobles  manhood.  What 
greater  blessing  can  be  desired  for  any 
nation  than  that  its  manhood  should  be 
of  this  order  1 

2.  Daughters  characterised  by  beauty. 
"  Our  daughters  as  corner  -  stones 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace."  Conant  translates :  "  Our 
daughters  as  corner -pillars,  sculp- 
tured after  the  structure  of  a  palace." 
AndPerowne  :  "  Our  daughters  as  corner- 
pillars,  sculptured  to  grace  a  palace." 
Some  expositors  discover  here  the  idea 
of  usefulness  :  useful  as  pillars  support- 
ing a  building,  or  as  corner-stones 
uniting  an  edifice.  But  the  main 
idea  is  undoubtedly  that  of  the  grace- 
fulness and  beauty  of  the  maidens. 
The  Psalmist  cannot  mean  external 
beauty  merely.  (1.)  Beauty  of  feature 
and  of  form  is  desirable.  It  is  a  gift 
of  God.  (2.)  Beauty  of  mind  and  of 
manner  is  much  more  desirable.  It  is 
of  a  higher  order,  and  more  lasting  than 

4ia 


that  of  feature  and  form.  (3.)  Beauty 
of  soul  and  temper  is  pre-eminently 
desirable.  This  is  the  highest,  the 
divinest,  the  unfading,  and  immortal 
beauty.  This  is  an  unmixed,  a  pure 
blessing.  Beauty  of  form  and  feature, 
when  associated  with  mental  weakness  and 
vacuity,  appears  misplaced  and  incon- 
gruous ;  when  associated  with  moral 
deformity  it  becomes  repulsive  and 
loathsome  even.  The  highest  visible 
beauty  is  that  of  the  soul  manifesting 
itselfinthe  "human  face  divine."  **Ihave 
come  to  the  conclusion,"  says  Professor 
Upham,  "  if  man,  or  woman  either, 
wishes  to  realise  the  full  power  of 
personal  beauty,  it  must  be  by  cherish- 
ing noble  hopes  and  purposes ;  by 
having  something  to  do,  and  something 
to  live  for,  which  is  worthy  of  human- 
ity, and  which,  by  expanding  the  capa- 
cities of  the  soul,  gives  expansion  and 
symmetry  to  the  body  which  contains  it.'* 

*  What's  female  beauty,  but  an  air  divine 
Through  which  the  mind's  all-gentle  graces 

shine  ? 
They,  like  the  sun,  irradiate  all  between  ; 
The  body  charms,  because  the  soul  is  seen.** 

— Young. 

Who  does  not  wish  that  our  daughters 
may  shine  in  the  beauty  of  meekness, 
gentleness,  purity,  piety,  and  love  ? 

II.  The  blessing  of  secular  pros- 
perity. 

"  That  our  garners  may  be  full,"  (kc. 
(vers.  13,  14).  Several  rare  expressions 
occur  in  these  verses,  which  are  of  very 
doubtful  interpretation.  It  is  certain 
that  it  is  intended  to  set  forth  great 
temporal  prosperity ;  and  the  entire 
picture  contains  three  prominent  fea- 
tures : — 

1.  Well-stored  granaries.  "  Our  gar- 
ners full,  afifording  all  manner  of  store." 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARr:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OXLIT. 


Heb.  as  in  Margin  :  *'  From  kind  to 
kind."  Conant :  "  Supplying  of  every 
kind."  The  idea  is,  abundance  of  all 
kinds  of  produce. 

2.  Fruitful  flocks.  "  Our  sheep  bring- 
ing forth  thousands  and  ten  thousands  in 
our  streets."  More  correctly,  "  In  our 
fields."  A  great  part  of  the  wealth  of 
eastern  peoples  consisted  of  flocks  of 
sheep. 

3.  Laden  oxen,  "  Our  oxen  strong  to 
labour."  Margin:  "Able  to  bear  bur- 
dens, or  loaden  with  flesh."  The  Hebrew 
is  simply  :  "  Our  oxen  laden."  But  with 
what  %  (1.)  With  fat  and  flesh,  say  some, 
and  therefore  strong  to  labour.  (2.) 
With  young,  say  others,  and  interpret 
the  clause  as  descriptive  of  the  fruitful- 
ness  of  the  herds.  (3.)  With  the  abun- 
dant produce  of  the  fields,  say  others. 
"  Laden  oxen  presuppose  a  rich  abun- 
dance of  produce.''  The  exact  meaning 
is  doubtful ;  but  the  interpretation  last 
named  appears  to  us  the  most  probable. 
This  however  is  certain,  that  the  poet 
is  setting  forth  the  great  temporal  pros- 
perity of  an  eastern  people. 

III.  The  blessing  of  settled  peace. 

"  No  breaking  in,  nor  going  out,  and 
no  complaining  in  our  streets."  Perowne 
translates  :  "  No  breach  and  no  sallying 
forth,  and  no  cry  (of  battle)  in  our 
streets."  He  says,  "  *  No  sallying 
forth,'  lit,  *  going  out,*  which  has 
been  interpreted  either  of  *  going  forth 
to  war,'  or  *  going  forth  into  captivity.* 
This  and  the  previous  expression,  taken 
together,  most  naturally  denote  a  time 
of  profound  peace,  when  no  enemy  lies 
before  the  walls,  when  there  is  no  need 
to  fear  the  assault  through  the  breach, 
no  need  to  sally   forth  to   attack  the 


besiegers."  There  are  other  interpreta- 
tions of  these  clauses ;  but  this  seems 
to  us  the  most  probable.  "  The  image 
is  that  of  security,  peace,  order,  pros- 
perity." 

IV.  These  blessings  are  viewed  as 
flowing  from  the  favour  of  God. 

"  Happy  is  the  people  that  is  in  such 
a  case  ;  happy  is  the  people  whose  God 
is  Jebovah."  It  was  common  amongst 
the  ancient  Hebrews  to  regard  temporal 
prosperity  as  an  evidence  of  the  Divine 
favour.  "  National  piety,"  says  Matthew 
Henry,  "  commonly  brings  national  pros- 
perity ;  for  nations,  in  their  national 
capacity,  are  capable  of  rewards  and 
punishments  only  in  this  life."  And 
Barnes  :  *'  The  worship  of  Jehovah — 
the  religion  of  Jehovah — is  adapted 
to  make  a  people  happy,  peaceful, 
quiet,  blessed.  Prosperity  and  peace, 
such  as  are  referred  to  in  the  previous 
verses,  are,  and  must  be,  the  result  of 
pure  religion.  Peace,  order,  abundance, 
attend  it  everywhere,  and  the  best 
security  for  a  nation's  prosperity  is  the 
worship  of  God  ;  that  which  is  most 
certain  to  make  a  nation  happy  and 
blessed,  is  to  acknowledge  God  and  to 
keep  His  laws." 

But  the  Christian  view  of  the  evi- 
dences of  the  Divine  blessing  is  truer, 
deeper,  nobler  than  that  of  the  ancient 
Hebrew.  God  has  granted  unto  us  a 
fuller  and  clearer  revelation  of  Divine 
truth.  We  look  for  the  evidences  of 
His  favour  in  our  souls  rather  than  in 
our  circumstances ;  in  inward  joy  rather 
than  in  outward  happiness ;  not  in  well- 
stored  granaries,  but  in  the  abounding 
"  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  in  all  goodneaa  and 
righteousness  and  truth,*' 


Solicitude  ok  Behalf  of  Sons  and  Dauqhtebs. 


(  Verse 

L  The  objects  of  this  soUcitude. 

First :  Our  sons  are  objects  of  solici- 
tude. '*  That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants 
grown  up  in  their  youth."  The  desire 
is — 

1.  That  our  sens  may  he  cu  plants  of 
the  right  kind.  We  desire  that  they 
may     possess    right    knowledge,    right 


12.) 

principles,  right  habits,  and  be  found 
truly  righteous  in  all  they  think,  say, 
and  do. 

2.  That  our  sons  may  he  as  plants  in 
a  good  situation.  There  are  honourable 
situations :  such  are  the  lawful  callings 
of  life,  all  stations  of  virtuous  industry. 
There  is  one  situation  we  covet  for  our 

419 


PBALM  CXLIV. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


sons.  We  mean  that  described  in  Ps. 
xcii.  13.  We  desire  that  our  sons  may 
value  and  enjoy  religious  ordinances,  &c. 

3.  That  our  sons  may  he  as  plants 
rightly  cultivated.  Our  sons,  left  to 
themselves,  will  grow  wild,  and  bring 
forth  the  fruit  of  a  depraved  heart.  A 
change  of  heart  is  indispensable  before 
our  youth  can  grow  up  as  plants  of 
righteousness.  Training  is  absolutely 
necessary  (Prov,  xxii.  6).  And  with  their 
training  pruning  is  requisite. 

4.  That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  that 
flourish  well,  A  good  profession,  with 
consistency,  is  a  great  ornament  to 
character.  They  will  flourish  most  who 
make  God's  Word  their  study,  <fec.  (Ps. 
i.  2,  3). 

5.  That  our  sons  may  be  cw  plants 
most  fruitful  and  useful.  The  plants 
most  admired  are  fruit-bearing.  We 
would  have  our  sons  abound  in  good 
works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to 
communicate,  doing  good  to  all  men  as 
they  have  means  and  opportunity. 

6.  That  our  sons  may  he  as  plants  of 
perennial  verdure  and  perpetual  stability. 
The  Psalmist  speaks  of  the  blessedness 
of  those  whose  "  leaf  shall  not  wither." 
He  speaks  also  of  the  righteous  bringing 
forth  fruit  in  old  age.  So  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  says, "  Blessed  is  the  man  that 
trusteth  in  the  Lord,"  &c.  (Jer.  xvii.  7, 
8).  Here  is  the  perennial  verdure  and 
stability  we  desire.  We  would  have 
piety  adorn  both  youth  and  age.  We 
would  have  our  sons  grow  in  grace  as 
they  grow  in  years. 

Second  :  Our  daughters  are  objects  of 
solicitude.  "  That  our  daughters  may 
be  as  corner-stones,  polished  after  the 
similitude  of  a  palace." 

1.  That  our  daughters  may  be  polished 
with  sound  education,  *'  If  either  of  the 
sexes  ought  to  have  superior  training, 
that  privilege  should  be  especially  ceded 
to  women.  If  you  have  ignorant  women, 
you  must  have  a  large  mass  of  foolish 
and  depraved  men  ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, make  the  female  portion  of  any 
nation  •  intellectual,  and  the  other  sex 
must  also  be  mentally  improved." 

2.  That  our  daughteis  may  he  polished 
with  good  manners.  Beauty  of  person, 
without    good    manners,    is    worthless. 

420 


"  Favour  is  deceitful,"  <fec  (Prov.  xxxi. 
30).  Grace  and  affability  are  adorn- 
ments to  the  female  character.  Ur- 
banity, tenderness,  sympathy,  charity,  a 
constant  desire  to  promote  universal 
happiness, — are  embellishments  above 
the  most  splendid  attire. 

3.  That  our  daughters  may  he  polished 
with  true  piety.  Piety  is  an  adornment 
which  all  our  daughters  may  possess.  A 
polished  education,  and  polished  manners, 
in  the  sense  in  which  these  terms  are 
understood  in  the  fashionable  and  polite 
world,  can  be  the  lot  of  but  few.  But 
true  piety  is  open  to  all  (James  ii. 
5).  Religion  refines  and  elevates  the 
character  when  all  merely  secular  educa- 
tion fails.  It  adorns  with  a  meek  and 
quiet  spirit,  <kc. 

4.  That  our  daughters  may^  as  corner^ 
stones,  cement  and  adorn  our  families. 
Benjamin  Parsons  observes  justly  :  "  In 
the  character  of  companions,  friends, 
sisters,  wives,  mothers,  nursemaids, 
nurses,  and  domestic  servants,  there  is  a 
sphere  of  usefulness  assigned  to  women 
which  angels  might  envy.  In  a  majority 
of  cases  the  minds  of  youth  of  both 
sexes  are  formed  by  females.  Girls  are 
generally  educated  by  their  own  sex, 
and  boys,  in  most  instances,  have  their 
character  stamped  before  they  leave  the 
guardianship  of  mothers  and  gover- 
nesses." Sisters  may  make  home  to  be 
home  to  our  sons,  &c. 

6.  That  our  daughters  may,  as  corner- 
stones, support  and  beautify  the  fabric  of 
the  state.  **  Verily,  it  is  of  more  im- 
portance to  have  an  intelligent  and 
moral  population,  than  to  have  great 
capitalists  or  landowners.  Wealth  can- 
not make  any  nation  great.  Enlightened 
moral  principle  is  the  true  glory  of  any 
kingdom  or  empire ;  but  this  dignity 
cannot  be  obtained  apart  from  the  due 
cultivation  of  all  the  powers  of  the 
human  soul,  and  to  accomplish  this  we 
must  have  the  agency  of  mothers." 

6.  77iat  our  daughters  may  be  as  corner- 
stones in  the  Church  of  the  living  God. 
Our  Sabbath-schools,  our  ignorant  and 
destitute  neighbourhoods,  our  sick- 
chambers,  our  walks  of  benevolence,  can 
all  yield  spheres  of  usefulness  for  our 
daughters.  .  .  .   But  all  this  is  prepara- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS.  psalm  oxliv. 


tory  to  a  higher  state.  The  stones  that  First  :  The  cherished  anxiety  of  all 
are  polished  liere  are  preparing  to  be  right-minded  parents. 
built  up  in  tlie  heavenly  Temple.  Whilst,  Second:  That  of  the  friends  of  the 
therefore,  we  may  aim  to  promote  their  young.  Among  these  are  the  Sabbath- 
temporal  interest,  let  us  not  overlook  the  school  teachers  of  our  land,  <kc. 
infinitely  more  valuable  inheritance  of  Third :  That  of  true  patriots  and 
personal  salvation  and  eternal  glory.  genuine  philanthropists. 

IL     The    subjects    of    this    solici-  Let  us   remember  that    without    the 

tude.     This  desire   may  be  considered  Divine    blessing    all  our  efforts   are  in 

as, —  vain. — J.  Sayer. 

The  God  in  Whom  Man  is  Blessed. 

(Verse  15.) 

**  Happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  Jehovah." 

Our  text  warrants  two  observations —  trust.      Idols,    wealth,    friends,  priests, 

I.  That  all  peoples  have  a  god.  ourselves,  each  and   all  are  terribly  in- 

This  is  clearly  implied  in  the  text.  sufficient  as  objects  on  which  the  soul 

Man  must  have  a  god.     The  need  of  a  may    repose    its    confidence.     They   are 

god  is  constitutional,  it  is  innate,  in  the  unstable,  transient,  and   equal  only  to 

case  of  man.  very  few    of   the    emergencies    of    life. 

1.  Man  must  trust.  Every  man  does  Jehovah  is  all-sufl5cient ; — eternal,  un- 
trustl  n  some  being  or  in  some  thing.  changeable,  equal  to  every  emergency, 
The  credulousness  of  man  is  amazing  \  infinite  in  His  resources,  <fec. 

and  is   often   a  great   curse.     Men   are  2.   He  is  the  only  worthy  Object  of  our 

trusting  in  idols,  in  wealth,  in  friends,  supreme  love.     To  love  material  things 

in  priests,  in  themselves,  in  Jehovah.  is  degrading  to  the  lover.     To  love  re- 

2.  Man  must  love.  "  Some  one  to  hitives  or  friends  or  any  created  person 
love "  is  perhaps  the  deepest  cry  of  the  supremely,  is  to  seek  our  own  disap- 
human  heart.  Every  man  loves,  at  pointment  and  sorrow,  because  they  are 
least,  some  person  or  some  thing, — e.g..,  changeable,  mortal,  imperfect,  &c.  The 
wealth,  honour,  self,  friends,  God.  Every  object  of  our  chief  love  should  be  a 
man  loves  some  person  or  something  person  perfectly  lovable,  true,  good, 
pre-eminently  \  has  some  object  of  sup-  beautiful,  unchangeable,  and  ever-living, 
rerae  love.  Jehovah  is  all  this. 

3.  Man  must  worship.  There  are  in  3.  He  is  the  only  worthy  Object  of  our 
each  of  us  at  times  feelings  of  wonder,  worship.  The  worship  of  Jehovah  is  the 
awe,  and  reverence,  which  compel  us  to  only  worship  which  purifies,  strengthens, 
worship.  You  hold  your  breath  in  the  ennobles,  and  crowns  our  nature.  The 
felt  presence  of  mystery ;  you  are  silent  old  idolatries  were  terribly  degrading ; 
in  the  presence  of  death  ;  the  realisation  they  produced  terror,  cruelty,  unclean- 
of  the  sublime  fills  you  with  awe — these  ness,  and  other  evils  in  the  worshippers, 
are  signs  of  the  working  of  the  religious  Worship  wealth,  and  you  will  degrade 
element  and  instincts  of  your  being,  your  being,  <kc.  Make  a  relative  or 
Now,  that  which  man  chiefly  trusts,  friend  your  god,  and  you  are  lost  to 
supremely  loves,  and  truly  worships,  is  progress,  <fec.  Make  self  your  god,  and 
his  god.  All  history  testifies  with  unmis-  you  forego  all  that  is  noble,  <kc.  The 
takable  clearness  to  the  fact  that  man  object  of  our  worship  should  be  such  as 
must  have  a  god.  tends  to  educate,  exalt,  satisfy,  and  per- 
il. That  that  people  only  is  blessed  feet  our  spiritual  nature.     In  Jehovah, 

whose  God  is  Jehovah.  and  in   Him  alone,  have   we    such  a 

"  Happy  is  the  people  whose  God  is  God. 

Jehovah."  **  Happy  the    people  whose   God   is 

1.  He  it  the  only  adequaie  Object  of  Jehovah ; "   because   He    is   supremely 

421 


PSALM  OUT.  HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


good,   unchangeable,    and    eternal,    and  His  goodness  and  faithfulness,  are  all 

He   stands   in   covenant   relation   with  pledged  to  them.     **  If  God  be  for  u^ 

His   people.     His  wisdom  and  power,  who  can  be  against  us  ] " 

Thb  Happy  People. 
{Verne  16.) 

**  Happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  goodness  to  supply  their  needs.     And 

Jehovah."     Let  us —  faithfulness  to  perform  all  that  He  has 

I.  Examine  what  is  comprehended  spoken. 

in  the  relation  referred  to.    It  refers —  2.   Because  in  Him  they  are  assured 

1.  To  God  as  the  Object  of  religious  of  finding  a  refuge  in  time  of  need, 
worship.  3.  Because  they  are  warranted  to  ex- 

2.  To  Him  as  the  Author  of  every  pect  every  needful  supply. 

blessing.  4.    Because  in   Him  they   have    "  a 

3.  To  the  covenant  relation  in  which  Friend    that    sticketh    closer    than    a 
He  condescends  to  stand  to  His  people —  brother." 

including  Divine  acceptance,  delightful  5.  Because   all    the    promises  of  the 

intercourse,  pleasing  satisfaction.  Gospel  are  "  yea  and  Amen  "  in  Christ 

II.  Confirm  and  illustrate  the  de-  Jesus, 

^laration  itself.     They  are  happy —  6.  Because  they  have  a  sure  prospect 

1.   Because  all  the  Divine  perfections  of  being  with  Him  for  ever, 

are  engaged  in  their  behalf.     Mercy  to  Learn.  —  1.   How  mistaken  the  men 

pardon  their  sins,  and  deliver  them  from  of  the  world   are   with   respect  to  the 

guilt.    Wisdom  to  direct  and  guide  them  people  of  God.     2.  How  insignificant  is 

through  the  intricate  mazes  of  the  world  the  worldling's  portion.     3.  How  dan- 

to  heaven.     Omnipotence  to  guard  and  gerous  is   the   condition  of  those  who 

defend  them.     Omnipresence  to  survey  have   not   the   Lord  for  their  portion, 

them  in  all   conditions.      Consummate  — L  ...  a 


PSALM    OXLV. 

Introduction. 

"This  is  the  last  of  the  Alphabetical  Psalms,"  says  Perowne,  "of  which  there  are  eight  In 
all,  if  we  reckon  the  ninth  and  tenth  Psalms  as  forming  one.  Like  four  other  of  the  Alphabe- 
tical Psalms  this  bears  the  name  of  David,  although  there  can  in  this  case  be  no  doubt  tiiat  the 
inscription  is  not  to  be  trusted.  As  in  several  other  instances,  so  here,  tlie  acrostic  arrangement 
is  not  strictly  observed.  The  letter  nun  (^)  is  omitted."  In  the  Septuagint,  a  verse  which 
begins  with  J  is  supplied  between  vers.  13  and  14.  But  this  is  unquestionably  an  interpola- 
tion, and  is  borrowed  from  ver.  17,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  word,  whicli  is  taken  from 
the  nun-strophe  of  the  Alphabetical  Psalm  cxi. 

While  Perowne,  in  the  passage  quoted  above,  pronounces  so  positively  against  the  trust- 
worthiness of  the  superscription,  Hengstenberg  is  equally  firm  in  asserting  **  the  originality  of 
the  superscription,"  which,  he  holds,  does  not  admit  of  doubt.  Barnes,  David  Dickson,  M. 
Henry,  and  others,  accept  the  Davidic  authorship. 

•*  This  is  the  only  Psalm  which  is  called  a  Tehillah,  i.e.,  *  Praise'  or  '  Hymn,'  the  plural  of 
which  woril,  Tehillim,  is  the  general  name  for  the  whole  Psalter."  The  word  is  admirably 
descriptive  of  the  contents  of  the  Psalm,  which  is  laudatory  throughout. 

"  The  Ancient  Church  employed  this  Psalm  at  the  mid-day  meal,  and  ver.  15  at  the  Pass- 
over. The  Talmud  assures  us  (Berachoth,  4  b.)  that  every  one  who  repeats  this  Psalm  three 
times  daily  may  be  satisfied  tliat  he  is  a  child  of  the  future  world.  The  Gemarra  adduces  in 
support  of  this  the  curious  reason,  that  it  is  not  only  written  in  Alphabetical  order,  like  Ps. 
cxix.  and  others,  and  not  only  praises  the  Divine  care  overall  creatures,  like  Ps.  cxxxvi.  25,  but 
combines  both  these  important  characteristics  in  itself." 

This  Psalm  "admits  of  no  analysis,  being  made  up  of  variations  on  a  single  theme,  the 
righteousness  and  goodness  of  God  to  men  in  general,  to  His  own  people  in  particalar.  and 
more  especially  to  those  that  Buffer." 
422 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


riALMOXLT. 


Thb  Praise  of  the  Divinb  Greatness, 
(Versei  1-7.) 


Here  are  two  main  lines  of  thought  for 
OB  to  pursue — 

I.  The  reasons  of  the  Divine  praise. 
The  grand  reason  of  praise  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  Psalm  seems  to  be  the  great- 
ness of  God.  "  Great  is  Jehovah,  and 
greatly  to  be  praised ;  and  His  great- 
ness is  unsearchable."  Jehovah  is  great 
in  Himself;  His  being  is  underived, 
independent,  eternal,  infinitely  perfect. 
"  God's  greatness — His  infinity — is  in 
itself  a  just  ground  of  praise,  for  vre 
should  rejoice  that  there  is  One  Infinite 
Eternal  Being ;  and  as  all  that  greatness 
is  employed  in  the  cause  of  truth,  of 
law,  of  good  order,  of  justice,  of  kind- 
ness, of  mercy,  it  should  call  forth 
continued  praise  in  all  parts  of  His 
dominions." — Barnes. 

1.  He  is  great  in  His  deeds.  **  Thy 
mighty  acts ;  .  .  .  Thy  wondrous  works ; 
.  .  .  The  might  of  Thy  terrible  acts." 
"  We  must  see  God,*'  says  Matthew 
Henry,  **  acting  and  working  in  all  the 
affairs  of  this  lower  world.  Various  in- 
struments are  used,  but  in  all  events 
God  is  the  supreme  director;  it  is  He 
that  performs  all  things.  Much  of  His 
power  is  seen  in  the  operations  of  Provi- 
dence (they  are  *  mighty  acts,'  such  as 
cannot  be  paralleled  by  the  strength  of 
any  creature),  and  much  of  His  justice — 
they  are  'terrible  acts,*  awful  to  saints, 
dreadful  to  sinners.  These  we  should 
take  all  occasions  to  speak  of,  observing 
the  finger  of  God,  His  hand.  His  arm, 
in  all,  that  we  may  marvel." 

2.  He  is  great  in  His  majesty.  "  I 
will  speak  of  the  glorious  honour  of 
Thy  majesty."  "  By  this  accumulation 
of  words,"  says  Geier,  **the  incompar- 
able glory  and  majesty  of  God  are  set 
forth."  The  Psalmist  is  "  striving  after 
a  suitable  mode  of  expression  for  his 
exuberant  feeling."  Or,  as  Barnes 
puts  it :  "  This  accumulation  of  epithets 
shows  that  the  heart  of  the  Paalmist 
was  full  of  the  subject,  and  that  he 
laboured  to  find  language  to  express  his 
emotions.     It  is  beauty ;  it  is  glory ;  it 


is  majesty ; — it  is  all  that  Is  great,  sub- 
lime, wonderful — all  combined — all  con- 
centrated in  one  Being." 

3.  He  is  great  in  His  goodness.  "They 
shall  abundantly  utter  the  memory  of 
Thy  great  goodness."  "Great  good- 
ness," says  Moll,  "  is  not  referred  to  in 
the  sense  of  abundant  mercy  (most),  but 
in  the  sense  of  the  universal  excellence 
of  His  attributes,  His  goodness  in  every 
relation."  Hengstenberg :  "  The  essen- 
tial goodness." 

4.  He  is  great  in  righteousness.  "They 
shall  sing  of  Thy  righteousness."  The 
goodness  of  God  is  not  that  weak, 
molluscous  quality  which  is  sometimes 
called  goodness  in  man  :  it  is  a  strong 
thing,  a  righteous  thing.  He  ever 
manifests  the  strictest  regard  for  justice 
and  truth.  How  great  is  God !  sup- 
remely, infinitely  great ! 

II.  The  characteristics  of  the  Divine 
praise. 

1.  It  is  constant  "  Every  day  will  I 
bless  Thee."  Hengstenberg  translates  : 
"  Continually  will  I  praise  Thee."  The 
translation  of  the  A.  V.  is  more  faithful 
to  the  letter ;  but  Hengstenberg  seems 
to  us  to  present  the  idea  of  the  poet, 
that  he  will  offer  to  God  constant  wor- 
ship. Praise  with  the  godly  man  is  not 
an  occasional  exercise  of  the  voice,  but 
a  continual  disposition  of  the  soul. 
"  Praising  God  must  be  our  daily  work  ; 
no  day  must  pass,  though  ever  so  busy 
a  day,  without  praising  God.  We  ought 
to  reckon  it  the  most  needful  of  our 
daily  employments,  and  the  most  de- 
lightful of  our  daily  comforts.  God  is 
eveiy  day  blessing  us,  doing  well  for 
us;  there  is  therefore  reason  that  we 
should  be  every  day  blessing  Him, 
speaking  well  of  Him." — Henry. 

2.  It  is  perpetual.  "  I  will  extol 
Thee,  my  God,  O  King ;  and  I  will  bless 
Thy  name  for  ever  and  ever.  ...  I 
will  praise  Thy  name  for  ever  and  ever." 
Here  are  two  aspects  of  the  perpetuity 
of  the  praise  of  God: — (1.)  The  devout 
soul  will  praise   God  for  ever.     "So 

423 


PBALM  CXLV. 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


long  as  his  being  lasted  in  the  loving- 
kindness  of  God,  he  must  also  continue 
to  give  praise." 

"Through  all  eternity  to  Thee 
A  joyful  Bong  I'll  raise  : 
But  oh  !  eternity's  too  short 

To  utter  all  Thy  praise." — Addiscm* 

(2.)  Every  succeeding  generation  shall 
praise  God.  "  One  generation  shall 
praise  Thy  works  to  another,  and  shall 
declare  Thy  mighty  acts.'*  "The 
generation  that  is  going  off  shall  tell 
them  to  that  which  is  rising  up,  shall 
tell  what  they  have  seen  in  their  days 
and  what  they  have  heard  from  their 
fathers ;  and  the  generation  that  is 
rising  up  shall  follow  the  example  of 
that  which  is  going  off:  so  that  the 
death  of  God's  worshippers  shall  be  no 
diminution  of  His  worship,  for  a  new 
generation  shall  rise  up  in  their  room 
to  carry  on  that  good  work  to  the  end 
of  time,  when  it  shall  be  left  to  that 


world  to  do  it  in  in  which  there  is  no 
succession  of  generations." 

3.  It  is  fervent.  "  Greatly  to  be 
praised.  .  .  .  They  shall  abundantly 
utter  the  memory  of  Thy  great  good- 
ness," <fec.  Conant  translates  :  "  Let 
them  pour  forth  the  memory,"  <fec.  The 
idea  is  that  the  heart  is  filled  to  over- 
flowing with  thoughts  of  the  great 
goodness  of  God,  and  that  it  pours 
forth  its  feelings  in  grateful  and  fervent 
praise.  God  shall  be  praised  with 
glowing  enthusiasm. 

4.  It  is  songful.  "They  shall  sing 
aloud  of  Thy  righteousness."  His  praise 
is  celebrated  by  His  people  openly  and 
publicly ;  not  in  cold  and  measured 
prose,  but  in  glowing  and  rapturous 
poetry ;  not  in  ordinary  speech,  but 
with  music's  highest  and  sweetest  strains. 
Their  adoring  joy  pours  itself  forth  in 
holy  and  exultant  songs. 

Let  our  hearts  and  voices  be  much  en- 
gaged in  this  holy  and  delightful  service. 


Thb  Praise  op  Time. 
(Versed.) 


We  may  consider  this — 

L  As  the  decree  of  God. 

He  who  made  the  world  has  willed 
that  it  should  praise  Him.  The  works 
of  God  carry  out  His  decree.  The  sun 
and  moon  proclaim  His  power.  Day 
and  night  utter  His  wisdom.  The 
seasons  declare  His  bounty  and  His 
faithfulness.  And  the  history  of  man, 
even  yet  more  strikingly,  sets  forth 
God's  glory.  This  truth  is  ever  written 
—"The  Lord  is  King."  He  rules. 
"  None  can  stay  His  hand,  or  say  unto 
Him,    What    doest    Thou?"     Look    at 


Pharaoh 


Nebuchadnezzar.       Or 


call  to  mind  the  history  of  Joseph, 
Bahiam,  Jonah,  Sennacherib,  Cyrus,  Saul 
of  Tarsus.  Or  the  Jewish  rulers  who 
crucified  the  Lord  of  glory,  &c.  (Acts  iv. 
27,  28).  The  mysteries  of  affliction  teach 
the  same  lesson.  The  erring  has  been 
thus  brought  back,  or  the  faithful  con- 
firmed, or  God's  power  displayed  (John 
ix.  3).  And  the  Church  of  Christ  is  a 
standing  witness  of  the  same  great  truth. 
"  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
4?4 


against  it.'*  Man's  opposition  has 
proved  the  wave  that  has  wafted  the 
truth  onward  (Acts  iv.  31  ;  xi.  19 ;  xiii. 
51  ;  xiv.  20  \  xvii.  15  j  xxv.  11 ;  xxviii. 
31). 

What  a  contrast  is  there  in  all  this  to 
the  name  and  acts  of  men !  How  does 
every  annual  revolution  of  time  find 
human  propositions  annulled,  human 
names  forgotten,  human  greatness 
brought  low.  But  each  succeeding  year 
finds  one  Name  unchanged ;  one  arm 
still  mighty  to  deliver  j  one  King  ruling, 
as  ever ;  one  Lord  still  faithful  to  His 
promise;  one  memorial  enduring  through 
all  generations.  The  decree  of  God  is 
kept.     All  time  sets  forth  His  praise. 

II.  As  expressing  the  resolution  and 
work  of  Christ's  Church, 

Praise  is  the  rightful  attitude  of  the 
redeemed  (Ps.  cvii.  2).  Mercy  felt, 
love  appreciated,  salvation  embraced 
and  enjoyed,  is  sure  to  beget  true 
thanksgiving.  God  hath  chosen  His 
people  to  praise  Him  (Isa.  xliii.  21  ;  1 
Pet.   ii.    9).     And    even    angels  cannot 


aOMILETIC  COMMSNTART:  PSALMS, 


PSALM  OliiV. 


sing  the  new  song  wLich  belongs  to  the 
saved  from  earth  alone  (Rev.  xiv.  3). 
And  the  people  of  God  have  ever  claimed 
their  holy  privilege.  They  have  sung 
of  creation  and  of  providence,  and  the 
wonders  of  redeeming  love.  God  has 
never  left  Himself  without  this  witness 
in  the  world.  In  every  age,  however 
corrupt,  there  have  been  those  who  re- 
joiced to  declare  His  mighty  acta.  Even 
before  the  Flood,  there  was  Noah ;  in 
the  time  of  idolatrous  Ahab,  Elijah ;  in 
Babylon,  Daniel  In  New  Testament 
days  we  have  the  same  history.  Every 
martyr,  from  Stephen  onward,  bore  in 
his  blood  the  testimony  of  praise.  If 
Job  said,  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will 
I  trust  in  Him,"  Paul  answered,  "  I  am 
willing  ...  to  die  for  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.'*  If  David  said,  "  I  will 
bless  the  Lord  at  all  times,"  Paul,  again, 
added,  "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  alway." 
If  Elijah  showed  himself  to  Ahab, 
Luther  did  not  shrink  from  meeting 
those  who  sought  to  take  his  life.  If 
the  Apostles  went  forth,  in  obedience  to 
the  Lord's  command,  and  preached  the 
Gospel,   hazarding   their   lives  for   the 


Saviour's  Name,  this  noble  act  of  praise 
has  been  re-echoed  in  later  days  in  Sierra 
Leone,  in  New  Zealand,  in  India,  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  in  Central  Africa,  by 
those  who  have  gone  forth  to  brave  every 
danger  in  making  known  the  same  good 
tidings.  Thus  in  all  time  the  resolution 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  one  and  the 
same.  "  One  generation  shall  praise 
Thy  works  to  another." 

Three  thoughts  seem  to  arise  in  con- 
clusion : — 

1.  What  are  wb  doing  to  make  our 
generation  one  of  praise?  We  have 
received  from  the  generations  before  a 
glorious  light ;  are  we  sending  it  onward 
and  around  ? 

2.  Do  we  possess  in  ourselves  that 
salvation  which  alone  enables  us  truly  to 
praise  ?  Have  we  tasted  that  the  Lord 
is  gracious  ? 

3.  How  glorious  shall  he  the  praise  of 
heaven  I  Now  one  age  to  another,  one 
land  to  another,  praise  God.  What  shall 
be  the  glory  of  the  song  when  every  age 
and  every  land  shall  join  in  the  song  of 
Moses  and  theLanib ! —  W.  8.  Bruce^M,A. 
From  "  The  Homiletic  Quarterly." 


The  Praise  of  the  Divine  Goodness. 
{Verses  8-10.) 


In  these  verses  the  poet  celebrates  the 
praise  of  God  as  a  good  or  benevolent 
Being.  Three  leading  considerations 
ulaim  our  attention  : — 

I.  The  various  manifestations  of 
God's  goodness. 

Tbe  goodness  or  benevolence  of  God 
is  here  clearly  stated.  "  Jehovah  is 
gracious  .  .  . ;  Jehovah  is  good  to  all." 
And  it  seems  to  us  that  the  expressions 
used  by  the  Psalmist  suggest  certain 
manifestations  of  this  goodness.  Here 
is  an  indication  of  His — 

1.  Pity  for  suffering  men.  "  Jehovah 
is  full  of  compassion."  Perowne :  "  Of 
tender  compassion  is  Jehovah."  It  pre- 
sents to  us  the  goodness  of  God  in  its 
attitude  towards  the  wretched.  How 
great  and  manifold  are  the  sufferings 
and  sorrows  of  human  life !  God  re- 
gards all  sufferers  with  tenderest  pity. 
In   all  their  afflictions  He  is  afflicted. 


He  is  "  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities ;"  and  touched  deeply,  for  He 
is  "  full  of  compassion."  "  The  Lord  is 
very  pitiful,  and  of  tender  mercy." 

2.  Patience  with  sinful  men.  '*  Slow 
to  anger."  He  holds  back  the  outgoings 
of  His  wrath.  He  has  great  patience 
with  perverse  rebels.  "  The  Lord  is 
long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance." 

3.  Pardon  for  penitent  men.  "  Of 
great  mercy;"  or,  "great  in  mercy." 
How  freely  and  fully  in  His  great  mercy 
does  God  forgive  all  who  penitently 
seek  Him  !  His  "  mercy  is  great  unto 
the  heavens."  "  His  mercy  is  ever- 
lasting." The  greatness  of  His  mercy 
is  seen — (1.)  In  the  immense  numbers 
to  which  it  extends.  **  His  tender  mer- 
cies are  over  all  His  works."  He  is 
"  not  willing  that  any  should  perish." 

426 


Hum  cxlv. 


ItOMtLSTlC  COMMSNTAHY :  PSALMS. 


(2.)  In  the  characters  to  which  it  ex- 
tends. It  reaches  to  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners. It  offers  pardon  to  the  most 
guilty.  It  "  saves  unto  the  uttermost." 
(3.)  In  the  sacrifice  which  its  exercise 
involved.  "  God  cornmendeth  His  love 
toward  us,  in  that  wliile  we  were  yet 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us."  "  God  who 
is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great  love 
wherewith  He  loved  iis,"  <fec.  "  He 
spared  not  His  own  Son,"  <fec.  (4.)  In 
the  blessings  which  flow  from  it.  The 
free  and  full  forgiveness  of  sins  is  but 
the  beginning  of  its  blessings.  Holiness, 
peace,  joy,  heaven,  are  all  bestowed  upon 
believers  in  Christ  Jesus,  in  the  exercise 
of  the  Divine  mercy.  The  blessings 
which  flow  from  it  are  rich,  inexhaus- 
tible, everlasting,  and  unspeakably  pre- 
cious. Truly  God  is  *'  great  in  mercy." 
"  He  delighteth  in  mercy." 

II.  The  universality  of  God's  good- 
ness. 

*'  Jehovah  is  good  to  all,  and  His 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  works." 
It  has  been  well  observed  that  "  this  is 
a  saying  which  does  not  seem  as  true  in 
the  winter  as  in  the  summer  of  life. 
Spoken  in  the  quiet  church,  amid  all 
the  accompaniments  of  prayer  and  praise, 
with  the  quietude  of  the  holy  place  to 
calm  us,  and  music  and  memory  and 
hope  to  bear  us  company,  it  is  a  saying 
that  men  will  let  pass  as  something 
they  do  not  think  of  questioning ;  but, 
spoken  to  a  poor  woman  who  has  just 
lost  the  stay  of  her  home ;  spoken  to  a 
hard-working  man  who  has  just  seen 
the  hopes  of  years  disappear ;  spoken  to 
little  children  who  have  just  been  thrown 
on  the  world  without  father,  or  mother, 
or  friend,  or  home;  spoken  to  a  good 
man  whose  reward  seems  nothing  but 
disappointment  and  trouble  and  loss, — 
I  do  not  wonder  that  it  sounds  to  some 
like  a  mockery :  and  I  do  not  wonder 
that  men  have  turned  away  and  said 
that  these  things  are  all  very  well  in  the 
church,  but  that  they  break  down  when 
men  go  into  the  open  world. 

"  Let  us  look  at  these  words,  then, 
that  we  may,  if  possible,  find  some  solid 
ground  for  this  saying  that  God  is  *  good 
to  alL'  And  here  the  fact  we  have  to 
master  is  this : — That  we  must  judge  of 
426 


God's  dealings  towards  us  with  reference 
to  some  system  or  order  under  which  we 
live.  The  system  under  which  we  live 
is  something  like  this  : — 

"1.-4  vast^  complicated y  and  benefi- 
cent set  of  laws  are  at  work^  which  apply 
in  common  to  all.  We  are  in  a  world 
the  central  principle  of  which  is  the 
universality  and  certainty  of  every  pre- 
vailing law — this  necessitating  that  God 
shall  not  come  forth  to  accommodate  the 
facts  and  the  laws  of  the  universe  to 
every  individual  need,  but  that  He  shall 
provide  for  the  steadfast  abiding  of 
everything  in  its  place,  and  for  the  con- 
stancy of  that  thing  to  the  law  of  its 
being.  In  this  very  thing,  then,  which 
has  seemed  so  hard,  inexorable,  and 
cruel ;  in  this  steadfastness  of  the  laws 
of  the  universe,  I  find  the  first  proof  of 
the  universal  goodness  of  God — a  good- 
ness which  would  not  be  increased, 
which  would  indeed  be  marred  and 
spoiled  and  thwarted  if  He  made  the 
connection  between  cause  and  effect  un- 
certain ;  and  if,  by  special  interferences 
on  behalf  of  individuals.  He  brought 
uncertainty  into  the  common  life  of  the 
race.  For  if  He  specially  came  forth, 
to  interfere  in  particular  cases,  to  reverse 
or  suspend  the  ordinary  laws  of  life,  or 
to  save  men  from  the  eff'ects  of  causes, 
every  man  would  look  for  such  interfer- 
ences on  his  behalf;  and  recklessne.^s, 
and  presumption,  and  indolence,  with 
all  their  attendant  miseries  and  disap- 
pointments, would  be  increased  a  thou- 
sandfold. Here,  then,  where  God's 
goodness  seems  to  be  defective^  we  find 
an  abiding  proof  of  it. 

"  2.  We  see  that  in  the  Divine  admi- 
nistration of  the  laws  of  the  universe, 
there  is  no  partiality:  all  these  great 
laws  are  steadfast,  whoever  applies  to 
them.  God  is  good  to  all  in  working  by 
beautiful  and  beneficent  laws  that  are  as 
generous  and  as  steadfast  as  Himself 
A  man  who  has  just  denied  the  very 
existence  of  God  goes  into  his  field,  and 
sows  his  seed ;  and,  in  a  moment,  all 
the  wonderful  laws  of  God  leap  to  obey 
and  bless  him,  and  to  give  him  the  result 
of  his  seed-sowing,  quite  as  readily,  quite 
as  speedily,  as  in  the  case  where  the 
sower  thanks  God  and  sows  his  seed 


BOMILBTIC  COMMBNTARt :  PSALMS, 


Malm  oxLt. 


with  prayer.  God  is  clearly  no  partial 
administrator  of  His  laws.  His  sun 
shines  and  His  rain  falls  on  the  evil  and 
on  the  unthankful.  He  holds  all  the 
myriad  laws  of  the  universe  to  their 
appointed  place,  for  He  is  *  good  to  all.* 

"  3.  Then,  closely  connected  with  that, 
is  His  impartial  hestowment  of  all  the 
common  mercies  of  life  for  all.  God  dis- 
tributes His  mercies,  not  to  bless  this 
man  or  that,  any  more  than  He  main- 
tains His  beautiful  laws  to  advantage 
this  man  or  that ;  but  He  scatters  His 
mercies  as  men  scatter  seed,  as  though 
He  reflected  not  which  should  prosper, 
this  or  that,  or  which  was  good  or  which 
was  thorny  ground.  God's  sun  shines  ; 
but  if  the  sinner  opens  his  eyes  first,  he 
will  first  behold  it.  God's  pure  air 
comes  on  the  wings  of  the  morning ;  but 
if  the  impious  one  goes  out  first  to 
breathe  it,  he  will  first  be  invigorated  by 
it.  God's  rain  falls  on  every  field,  and 
if  the  sinner's  seed  is  in,  it  will  first  get 
the  sweet  enrichments  of  it.  It  is  the 
same  with  everything.  The  mercies  of 
God  come  to  all,  are  open  to  alL  It  is 
only  when  sin  makes  a  man  naturally 
unable  to  find  or  keep  a  mercy  of  God 
that  he  finds  the  mercy  disappear ;  but 
in  every  case  there  is  a  natural  connec 
tion  between  the  sin  and  the  depriva- 
tion. Thus,  again,  if  a  man  be  pure, 
and  wise,  and  good,  he  may  be  blest 
above  the  man  who  is  impure,  and  fool- 
ish, and  debased ;  but  if  so,  it  will  be 
because  there  is  a  necessary  and  natural 
connection  between  his  virtue  and  the 
blessing  he  finds,  the  one  growing  out  of 
the  other,  and  not  because  God  selects 
him  for  rewards. 

**  4.  We  may  find  His  universal  good- 
ness in  that  wonderful  law  of  our  being y 
by  which,  as  a  rule,  men  are  so  easily 
and  insensibly  adapted  to  their  condition. 
Thus,  we  find  that  a  condition  of  life 
which  would  be  insupportable  to  one, 
has  become  quite  bearable  or  even  satis- 
factory to  another.  The  back  adjusts 
itself  to  the  burden ;  and  the  mind,  the 
temperament,  the  tastes,  the  habits,  the 
hopes,  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  a  man, 
all,  as  a  rule,  naturally  fall  into  harmony 
with  his  state ;  and  this  without  his 
knowing  it,  or  planning  it,  or  striving 


after  it.  Thus,  it  is  really  quite  an  open 
question,  whether  men  who  are  very  rich 
enjoy  life  more  than  men  who  are  mode- 
rately poor ;  or  whether  the  palaces  have 
contained  more  pleasure  than  the  cottages 
of  the  world.  You  have  heard  men 
express  their  love  for  occupations  that 
you  would  despise,  and  their  content- 
ment in  habitations  that  made  you 
shudder,  and  even  their  delight  in  per- 
sons from  whom  you  shrink.  You  won- 
der how  they  can  do  without  this  or 
that  —  how  they  can  bear  with  this 
or  that;  but  the  want  is  not  felt  by 
them,  the  burden  galls  them  not.  To 
this  I  might  add  the  touching  and 
most  significant  fact,  that  time  seems  to 
have  a  gentle  healing  virtue  in  it  to 
soothe  and  comfort  men;  so  that  not 
only  to  our  general  condition  in  life, 
but  to  our  special  griefs,  this  blessed 
law  applies.  It  is  not  that  we  forget ; 
for  often,  as  time  goes  on,  memory 
only  brightens  and  deepens  with  the 
passing  years ;  but  a  gracious  hand 
seems  to  steal  over  us,  smoothing  down 
the  wrinkles  of  the  spirit,  and  healing 
the  wounds  of  the  heart,  and  in  this  we 
may  see  a  touching  proof  that  God  is 
*good  to  alL' 

"  5.  We  may  look  for  a  closing  proof  of 
this  statement  to  the  results  that  follow 
much  of  what  we  call  not  good  and  not 
merciful  in  this  world.  Much  that  seems 
not  good,  much  that  sv;ems  not  merciful, 
is  the  best  part  of  the  discipline  of  life — 
or  sometimes  even  the  best  guide  to  the 
*  still  waters  '  and  the  *  green  pastures.' 
A  vast  number  of  the  ills  of  life  are 
incentives  to  action,  calls  to  duty, 
motives  for  exertion,  wonderful  school- 
masters to  give  us  the  needed  mastery 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 
Many  of  the  results  of  hardships  are 
beneficent. 

"  God  is  indeed  good  to  all ;  to  every 
creature — to  the  lowest,  the  saddest, 
the  meanest,  the  sinfullest ;  and  His 
tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  works." 

III.  The  praise  of  God's  goodness. 

"All  Thy  works  shall  praise  Thee, 
O  Jehovah  ;  and  Thy  saints  shall  bless 
Thee."  Concerning  this  praise  two 
points  require  notice  : — 

1,  Its  universality.     "  All  Thy  works 

427 


fSALlI  CXLY. 


HOMIL^TIC  COMMBNTARt:  PSALMS. 


praise  Thee,  O  Jehovah."  "  All  God's 
works  do  praise  Him,  as  the  beautiful 
building  praises  the  builder,  or  the  well- 
drawn  picture  praises  the  painter."  All 
His  works  combine  in  setting  forth  His 
perfections ;  they  manifest  His  power, 
and  wisdom,  and  goodness.  "  The  hea- 
vens declare  tlie  glory  of  God,"  <fec. 

2.  Its  diversity.     "  Thy  works  praise 
Thee  ;  and  Thy  saints  bless  Thee."  "  His 


saints  praise  Him  actively,  while  His 
other  works  praise  Him  only  objec- 
tively." Angels  and  glorified  saints  in 
heaven,  and  His  people  upon  earth, 
praise  Him  with  their  will  and  affec- 
tions, their  reverence  and  loving  obe- 
dience. 

"  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul  ;  and  all 
that  is  within  me  bless  His  holy  name/' 


Errors  Respecting  the  Divine  Being. 
{Verse  9.) 


Right  views  of  God  are  most  im- 
portant. Our  religion  will  necessarily 
be  a  reflection  of  them.  Our  spirit,  our 
hopes  or  fears,  will  be  influenced,  <fec. 
Nations  always  are  as  the  gods  they 
worship.  For  the  moral  character  of 
God  we  must  go  to  His  Word.  Our 
text  is  an  epitome. 

I.  Let  us  see  what  it  means. 

The  goodness  or  benevolence  of  God 
is  that  which  makes  Him  the  source  of 
blessing  to  His  creatures.  It  takes  in 
kindness,  goodwill,  love,  benignity,  <kc. 
In  our  text  it  includes  mercy,  kindness 
to  the  guilty  and  miserable.  Now, 
observe,  this  view  of  God  is  the  doc- 
trine of  all  dispensations — 

1.  See  God  as  mans  creator  (Gen.  L 
26-28). 

2.  Hear  God  undvr  the  law  (Exod. 
xxxiii.  18, 19  ;  xxxiv.  6). 

3.  In  the  a^ge  of  Solomon  and  the 
Temple  (2  Chron.  v.  13). 

4.  The  prophet  Nahum  sayinig^  *' The 
Lord  is  good ;  a  stronghold,"  &c.  (Nah. 
L7). 

6.  NoWf  hear  the  Apostles.  John : 
"God  is  love."  Paul:  *' God  is  rich 
in  mercy  "  (Eph.  it  4).  James  :  "  The 
Lord  is  very  pitiful  and  of  tender 
mercy"  (James  v.  11).  Peter:  "If  so 
be  ye  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious,"  <fcc.  (1  Pet.  ii.  3-9).  Now, 
before  we  leave  this  view  of  God,  see 
the  extent  of  the  Divine  goodness. 
"To  all"  "Over  all."  It  must  be 
80.  God  is  infinite,  and  His  goodness 
and  love  are  thus  unbounded.  "  A 
sea  without  a  bottom,  or  a  shore,"  <kc. 
And  see  its  duration.  "  From  ever- 
428 


lasting    to    everlasting."       "Endureth 
for  ever."     Unchanging  and  eternal. 

II.  What  views  of  God  are  incon- 
sistent with  this  portrait,  and  there- 
fore necessarily  erroneous. 

1.  The  view  that  represents  God  a$ 
possessing  implacable  wrath.  This  is 
the  opposite  pole ;  never  can  harmo- 
nise ;  and  thus  is,  of  necessity,  false. 
He  hateth  all  evil;  but  His  mercy 
embraces  all  sinners. 

2.  Views  which  represent  God's  good' 
ness  as  partial  and  limited.  Flatly  con- 
tradicting the  text  and  the  passages  we 
have  quoted. 

3.  Views  of  the  Divine  reprobative 
decrees.  By  which  men  have  been 
unconditionally  appointed,  or  left  by 
God,  to  perish  for  ever.  This  is  at 
total  variance  with  the  text. 

4.  Views  which  represent  Go(Vs  good- 
ness as  only  attainable  through  sacrifice. 
That  God  would  not  be  good  to  sinners 
until  Christ  appeased  His  wrath,  <kc. 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son,"  &c 
Christ  is  the  effect,  not  the  cause,  of  the 
Divine  mercy.  The  channel  through 
which  it  flows,  not  the  spring  from 
whence  it  rises. 

5.  That  God  can  he  made  good  by 
some  acts  or  ceremonies  of  ours.  Tears, 
penance,  (kc.  How  futile  !  We  may 
come  to  it  by  tears,  repentance,  and 
faith ;  but  there  it  was  in  God  before 
we  wept,  &c. 

6.  That  God  will  only  be  good  in 
the  highest  sense  to  a  very  few.  But 
the  Scriptures  say  :  "  The  earth  is  full 
of  His  goodness."    "He  deli^hteth  in 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


rSALH  OTht 


mercy. **     "  Not  willing  that  any  should 
perish."     Such,  then,  is  the  great  good- 
ness  of  God  ;   His  true  merciful  char- 
acter. 
Application.     If  so — 

1.  Then  even  reason  says,  Adore  Him. 

2.  Gratitu'h  says,  Love,  praise,  and 
serve  Him.     We  say  to  all — 

3.  Come  to  Him  by  faith.  Trust 
Him  with  all  your  hearts,  and  ever- 
more, &C. 


4.  Love  says,  Delight  in  Him;  be 
filled  with  His  complacent  favour. 

5.  Wonder  marvels  at  it.  "  Herein 
is  love,"  <kc.  "  God  coramendeth  His 
love  to  us,"  <fec.  It  "  passeth  knowledge." 
Here  is  redemption's  rock  —  eternal, 
immutable,  <kc.      "  Oh  give  thanks,"  <fec. 

6.  Jesus  is  the  grand  unspeakable 
manifestation  of  it.  "  God  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  Himself,"  ike. 
(2  Cor.  V.  19,  seq.). — Jabez  Burns,  D,D. 


The  Praise  of  the  Divine  Reign. 

{Verses  n-n.) 


The  Psalmist  here  celebrates  the 
greatness  and  goodness  of  God  as  a 
King  in  His  kingdom.  The  suggestions 
of  this  part  of  the  Psalm  may  be  grouped 
under  two  heads  : — 

I.  The  characteristics  of  the  reign 
of  the  Lord. 

The  poet  here  speaks  of  it  as — 

1.  Glorious.  "  They  shall  speak  of 
the  glory  of  Thy  kingdom ;  .  .  .to 
make  known  to  the  sons  of  men  the 
glorious  majesty  of  His  kingdom."  The 
glory  of  Jehovah's  kingdom  is  not  in 
external  pomp  and  pageantry,  but  in  its 
moral  perfections.  In  its  goodness,  its 
righteousness,  its  beneficence  ;  in  the 
fact  that  He  reigns  to  bless  His  subjects, 
"  Where,"  asks  Perowne,  "  is  the  con- 
spicuous excellence  of  that  kingdom 
Been?  Not  in  the  symbols  of  earthly 
pride  and  power,  but  in  gracious  con- 
descension to  the  fallen  and  the  crushed, 
in  a  gracious  care  which  provides  for  the 
wants  of  every  living  thing."  (See  our 
remarks  on  "  the  blessings  of  His  reign" 
in  vol.  I  pp.  383,  384.) 

2.  Mighty.  **  They  shall  talk  of  Thy 
power ;  to  make  known  to  the  sons  of 
men  His  mighty  acts."  Barnes  refers 
this  to  His  power  "  as  put  forth  in  the 
works  of  creation ;  as  manifested  in  the 
dispensations  of  His  providence ;  as 
evinced  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  ;  as 
displayed  in  carrying  His  truth  around 
the  world;  as  exhibited  in  sustaining 
the  sufferer,  and  in  giving  peace  and 
support  to  the  dying."  The  might  of 
the  reign  of  Jehovah  is  moral,  the  power 
of  truth,  righteousness,  goodness 


3.  Perpetual.  "  Thy  kingdom  Is  an 
everlasting  kingdom,  and  Thy  dominion 
endureth  throughout  all  generations," 
(On  **  the  perpetuity  of  His  reign"  see 
vol.  i.  pp.  224  and  385.) 

II.  The  conversation  on  the  reign  of 
the  Lord. 

"  They  shall  speak  of  the  glory  of 
Thy  kingdom,  and  talk  of  Thy  power ; 
to  make  known,"  (fee.  Three  homiletical 
points  are  here  : — 

1.  Delight  in  His  reign.  This  is  here 
clearly  implied.  **  Out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh." 
We  talk  of  the  things  in  which  we  are 
interested,  and  of  those  which  afford  us 
pleasure.  The  reign  of  the  Lord  is  to 
His  people  a  delightful  theme  of  medi- 
tation and  discourse. 

2.  Praise  of  His  reign.  The  poet 
here  celebrates  its  perfection  and  per- 
petuity. The  saints  speak  of  it  because 
they  feel  that  it  is  worthy  of  praise  and 
honour.  It  is  one  of  the  reasons  for 
which  His  saints  do  bless  Him.  (On 
**  the  praise  of  His  reign  "  see  vol,  i.  p. 
385.) 

3.  Desire  for  the  extension  of  His 
reign.  The  saints  speak  of  its  glory 
and  power  "  to  make  known  to  the 
sons  of  men  His  mighty  acts,  and 
the  glorious  majesty  of  His  kingdom." 
They  are  solicitous  that  others  should 
understand  and  appreciate  the  per- 
fections of  His  reign  ;  that  they 
might  be  led  **  to  yield  themselves 
His  willing  subjects,  and  so  put  them- 
selves under  the  protection  of  such 
a    mighty   potentate."      "  The    Lord," 

429 


MALM  OXLT. 


BOM  I  LET IC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


says  David  Dickson,    ^*  will  have  His  and  made  subjects  of  His  special  king- 
saints  to  instruct  such  as  are  not  con-  dom  of  grace." 

verted  to  know  His  glory,  power,  and  What  is  our  relation  to  this  glorious 

majesty,  that  they  may  be  brought  in  Kingi 


The  Glory  of  Christ's  Kingdom 
(Verse  11.) 


As  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  so  con- 
spicuous an  object  in  both  Testaments, 
and  is  the  only  one  among  men  by 
whose  government  their  hnppiness  can 
be  secured,  it  cannot  be  improper,  from 
the  words  before  us,  to  direct  your  atten- 
tion to  some  particulars  relating  to  the 
nature,  extent,  and  durability  of  its 
glory. 

I.  The  glory  of  this  kingdom  is 
manifested  in  its  origin. 

It  had  its  origin  in  infinite  mercy  and 
grace.  It  entered  into  the  councils  of 
the  Eternal  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world  was  laid. 

In  order  to  establish  this  kingdom, 
it  was  necessary  that  the  Son  of  God 
should  become  incarnate.  .  .  .  The 
foundation  of  the  kingdom  was  laid  in 
the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  the 
Son  of  God ;  a  foundation  proportionate 
to  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  edifice 
that  was  to  be  erected. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  were,  and 
are,  the  grand  instruments  in  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  for  bringing  souls  into 
subjection  to  His  sceptre.  The  warfare 
is  entirely  spiritual ;  it  is  carried  on  by 
the  light  of  truth  and  the  burning  of 
conviction.  This  is  a  glorious  manner 
of  raising  a  kingdom,  worthy  of  Him 
who  is  a  Spirit,  and  who  reigns  by 
spiritual  and  intellectual  means  in  the 
hearts  of  His  people. 

II.  The  glory  of  Christ's  kingdom  is 
manifested  in  the  manner  and  spirit  of 
its  administration. 

The  last  words  of  David  describe  the 
manner  of  administering  this  govern- 
ment ;  "  The  anointed  of  the  God  of 
Jacob,"  &c.  (2  Sam.  xxiii.  1-4). 

The  most  essential  quality  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  any  government  is  justice; 
and  justice  is  most  conspicuous  in  this 
administration.  "  With  righteou&ness 
shall  He  judge  the  poor,"  &c.  (Isa.  xi. 
430 


4,  5).  He  will  render  to  each  of  His 
subjects,  not  for  their  works,  yet  accord- 
iiig  to  their  works. 

The  administration  of  His  kingdom  is 
also  benign  and  gracious — it  is  indeed 
a  kingdom  of  grace.  He  revealeth  His 
grace,  which  is  His  glory  ;  and  thus  He 
captivates  the  hearts  of  His  people. 
"  He  delivers  the  poor  when  he  cries, 
the  needy,  and  him  that  hath  no  helper." 
*'  When  the  poor  and  needy  seek  water,*' 
Ac.  (Isa.  xli.  17,  18). 

In  earthly  kingdoms  the  subjects  are 
governed  by  general  laws,  which  must 
necessarily  be  very  inadequate  to  the 
variety  of  cases  and  occurrences.  But 
our  King  is  intimately  acquainted  with 
all  hearts,  and  being  present  in  all 
places.  He  can  apply  His  acts  to  indi- 
vidual examples,  and  appropriate  smiles 
and  frowns  to  each,  as  if  there  were  no 
other  beings  that  participated  in  His 
attention.  In  human  administrations, 
the  law  extends  only  to  outward  acts  ; 
it  relates  only  to  objects  of  sense  :  but 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  a  spiritual 
one — it  extends  to  the  heart;  it  is 
"within  you,"  and  relates  to  "right- 
eousness, peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

It  is  justly  considered  a  high  excel- 
lence in  a  ruler,  that  he  is  disinterested, 
that  he  pursues  no  interest  of  his  own 
apart  from  the  general  good  of  the 
empire.  But  never  was  any  one  so  dis- 
interested as  the  King  of  Zion,  who  laid 
down  His  life  for  His  people,  while 
they  were  yet  enemies.  The  glory  of 
the  Father,  and  the  good  of  man  :  these 
engaged  His  heart,  these  brought  Him 
from  heaven,  &c. 

III.  The  glory  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  appears  in  the  character  of  His 
subjects. 

1.  These  subjects  are  enlightened. 
They  form  right  estimates  of  objects,  as 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


PSALM  GtJLf. 


they   are   holy   or  sinful,  temporal  or 
eternal,  (kc. 

2.  The  subjects  of  this  kingdom  are 
renewed.  They  are  made,  imperfectly, 
yet  truly  holy.  It  is  in  this  kingdom 
that  patience,  purity,  humility,  faith, 
and  love  to  God  and  men,  reside. 

3.  The  subjects  of  this  kingdom  have 
in  them  a  preparation  for  perfect  blessed- 
ness. They  have  that  which  renders 
them  meet  "to  be  partakers  of  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light."  All 
the  love  and  joy  that  glow  with  celestial 
fervour  before  the  throne  of  the  Heavenly 
Majesty,  is  only  the  consummation  of 
seeds  like  those  which  are  sown  in  the 
hearts  of  believers. 

IV.  The  glory  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  is  manifest  in  the  privileges 
that  are  attached  to  it. 

1.  Peace  is  a  peculiar  blessing  of  this 
kingdom.  This  begiius  in  reconciliation 
witli  God.  The  consequence  of  peace 
with  God  is  peace  with  one  another. 

2.  The  dignity  of  the  subjects  of  this 
kingdom  is  another  privilege.  To  "as 
many  as  receive  Him,"  <fec.  (John  i.  12; 
Rom.  viil  16,  17;  1  John  iii.  1,  2). 


3.  Immortality  shall  be  the  blessing 
of  this  kingdom  ;  the  subjects  shall  par- 
take of  endless  life  (John  vi.  54,  68). 
Believers  receive  in  them  the  embryo  of 
eternal  life ;  the  spiritual  life  rises  up 
into  eternal  life,  and  will  be  displayed 
in  its  perfection  in  the  world  of  glory. 
These  terms  include  everlasting  felicity 
in  the  presence  of  God. 

I  might  mention  other  properties  of 
this  kingdom,  which,  though  they  do 
not  enter  into  the  essence  of  it,  are  very 
important. 

It  is  a  growing  kingdom.  "Of  its 
increase  there  shall  be  no  end.** 

The  perpetuity  of  this  kingdom  must 
endear  it  to  a  good  man.  It  shall  never 
be  taken  away  to  be  given  to  any  other 
people. 

Let  us,  while  we  live  here,  sincerely 
pray  and  labour  for  the  advancement 
and  glorious  increase  of  this  kingdom. 

Finally,  let  us  look  to  ourselves,  that, 
while  we  hear  these  things,  we  may 
possess  a  personal  interest  in  this  gloii- 
ous  and  happy  kingdom. — Robert  Hall, 
AM. 


The  Praise  of  the  Divine  Relation  to  Different  Characters. 

(Verses  14-21.) 


In  these  verses  Jehovah  is  praised 
because  of  the  attitude  He  sustains  and 
the  blessmgs  He  bestows  upon  persons 
in  different  classes  of  character. 

I.  His  relation  to  the  weak  and 
the  burdened. 

1.  He  sustains  the  weak,  "Jehovah 
upholdeth  all  them  that  fall."  The 
weak  a)id  the  sinking  are  here  meant; 
those  who  by  reason  of  their  feebleness 
are  ready  to  fall.  Many  are  ready  to 
sink  beneath  life's  sorrows,  many  are 
a'most  falling  before  temptations  to  sin; 
but  the  Lord  is  their  Sustainer :  He  up- 
holds them. 

2.  He  relieves  the  burdened,  "  And 
raiseth  up  all  those  that  be  bowed  down." 
The  Psalmist  means  those  who  are  heavily 
laden  with  the  duties,  the  cares,  and  the 
trials  of  life  ;  to  whom  these  things  are 
a  heavy  burden,  bowing  them  down. 
Such  persons  the  Lord  relieves : — (1.) 


By  removing  the  burden.  In  answer  to 
prayer  He  sometimes  takes  away  the 
load  of  care  or  trial.  (2.)  By  increasing 
the  strength  of  those  who  are  burdened. 
By  giving  more  grace  the  weight  and  pain- 
fulness  of  the  burden  are  taken  away — 
the  burden  ceases  to  be  a  burden.  Let  the 
weak  and  the  lieavy-laden  trust  in  Him. 
11.  His  relation  to  the  dependent. 
"The  eyes  of  all  wait  upon  Thee,"  <fcc. 
(vers.  15,  16).     We  have  here — 

1.  Universal  dependence.  "  The  eyes 
of  all  wait  upon  Thee ;  .  .  .  Thou  satis- 
fiest  the  desire  of  every  living  thing." 
Every  creature  in  the  universe  is  a  depen- 
dent one.  God  alone  is  independent. 
All  creatures  depend  upon  Him.  "  By 
Him  all  things  consist."  Dependent 
creatures  should  be  humble. 

2.  Divine  provision,  "Thou  givest 
them  their  meat  in  due  season,"  dec 
Here  are  three  points — (1.)  The  season- 

431 


FBALM  CXLV. 


ROM  T  LET  I C  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


ahleness  of  the  Divine  provision.  "  In 
due  season."  God's  gifts  are  always 
timely.  He  will  not  bestow  them  too 
soon  ;  He  will  not  withhold  them  one 
moment  after  their  due  time.  (2.)  The 
ease  of  the  Divine  provision.  To  supply 
the  needs  of  the  universe  does  not  tax 
the  resources  of  God,  or  cause  Him  any 
anxiety  or  effort.  He  has  but  to  open 
His  hand,  and  the  countless  and  end- 
lessly diversified  needs  of  His  creatures 
are  supplied.  "Thou  openest  Thine 
hand,"  <fec.  (3.)  The  sufficiency  of  the 
Divine  provision.  *'And  satisfiest  the 
desire  of  every  living  thing."  '*  This," 
says  Barnes,  "  is  to  be  taken  in  a  general 
sense.  It  cannot  mean  that  absolutely 
no  one  ever  wants,  or  ever  perished 
from  want,  but  the  idea  is  that  of  the 
amazing  beneficence  and  fulness  of  God 
in  being  able  and  willing  to  satisfy  such 
multitudes ;  to  keep  them  from  perish- 
ing by  cold,  or  hunger,  or  nakedness. 
And,  in  fact,  how  few  birds  perish  by 
hunger;  how  few  of  the  infinite  number 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea ;  how  few 
animals  that  roam  over  deserts,  or  in  vast 
plains ;  how  few  men  ;  how  few  even  of 
the  insect  tribes — how  few  in  the  world 
revealed  by  the  microscope — the  world 
beneath  us — the  innumerable  multitudes 
of  living  things  too  small  even  to  be 
seen  by  the  naked  eye  of  man  !  ** 

All  this  implies  unlimited  resources 
in  God ;  and  should  inspire  the  hearty 
confidence  of  man  in  Him. 

III.  His  relation  to  the  prayerful. 

*'The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that 
call  upon  Him,"  <kc.  (vers.  18,  19). 
Notice — 

1.  The  character  indicated.  This  is 
marked  by — (1.)  Pray  erf ulness.  **  Them 
that  call  upon  Him."  Here  we  have  not 
simply  dependence,  but  dependence  felt 
and  acknowledged  ;  dependence  rising 
into  prayer.  We  have  also  an  interest- 
ing and  true  view  of  prayer ;  it  is  here 
presented  to  us  as  expressed  longing,  the 
cry  of  desire.  "  He  will  fulfil  the  desire 
of  them  that  fear  Him;  He  also  will  hear 
their  cry,"  <kc.  (2.)  Sincerity.  "All 
that  call  upon  Him  in  truth."  Sincerity 
is  utterly  indispensable  to  acceptable 
approach  unto  God.  (3.)  Reverence. 
"Them  that  fear  Him."  This  fear  is 
432 


not  the  terror  of  a  slave,  but  the  filial 
reverence  of  a  child. 

2.  llie  blessings  promised.  (1.)  The 
manifestation  of  His  presence.  "Jeho- 
vah is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon 
Him,"  &c.  He  is  near  unto  all  men ; 
but  His  true  worshippers  feel  Him  near 
unto  them,  they  have  communion  with 
Him.  "  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  them 
that  are  of  a  broken  heart,"  <fec.  (2.) 
The  granting  of  their  desires.  "  He  will 
fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  Him." 
"  Delight  thyself  in  the  Lord,  and  He 
shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thine 
heart."  The  desires  of  godly  souls  ac- 
cord with  the  holy  will  of  God.  (3.) 
The  bestowment  of  His  help.  "  He  also 
will  hear  their  cry,  and  will  save 
them."  Perowne :  "And  when  He 
heareth  their  cry  He  helpeth  them.** 
"  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
and  I  will  deliver  thee,"  (fee.  The 
unanimous  testimony  of  the  history  of 
His  people  confirms  these  assurances. 

IV.  His  relation  to  His  saints. 

"  The  Lord  preserveth  all  them  that 
love  Him." 

1.  The  human  character.  "Them  that 
love  Him."  They  have  confidence  and 
complacency  in  Him  ;  they  have  given 
their  hearts  unto  Him.  Their  language  is, 
"Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee]" 
&c.  "  The  chiefest  among  ten  thousand 
....    He  is  altogether  lovely." 

2.  The  Divine  keeping,  "  Jehovah 
preserveth,"  or  "  keepeth  them."  It  is 
implied  that  they  are  exposed  to  danger. 
They  are  beset  by  spiritual  enemies ; 
they  are  weak  and  liable  to  receive  in- 
jury ;  their  spiritual  interests  are  threat- 
ened. But  Jehovah  keepeth  them. 
They  "  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  faith  unto  salvation."  "  He 
preserveth  the  souls  of  His  saints ;  He 
delivereth  them  from  the  hand  of  the 
wicked."  By  curbing  the  power  of 
temptation ;  by  restraining  from  evil 
by  His  Holy  Spirit ;  by  quickening  the 
conscience,  and  strengthening  the  will, 
and  increasing  the  spiritual  life  and 
activity  by  the  same  Holy  Spirit,  the 
Lord  keepeth  His  people. 

V.  His  relation  to  the  wicked. 

"  But  all  the  wicked  will  He  destroy." 
See  here — 


HOMILETJC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


nULLM  OXLT. 


1.  A  sad  character.  This  character  is 
the  opposite  of  the  godly  in  all  those  asr 
pects  which  have  come  under  our  notice. 
The  wicked  do  not  love  God,  do  not  re- 
verence Him,  do  not  pray  to  Him  ;  but 
the  evil  of  their  character  is  positive 
and  deep  rooted  ;  they  have  fitted  them- 
selves for  destruction. 

2.  A  dread  destiny.  "Will  He 
destroy."  "  The  enemies  of  the  Cross 
of  Christ ;  whose  end  is  destruction.** 
They  *'  shall  be  punished  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  His 
power." 

VI.  His  righteousness  and  kindness 
in  all  His  relations. 

"  Jehovah  is  righteous  in  all  His 
ways,  and  holy  in  all  His  works."  In- 
stead of  **  holy,'*  the  Margin  has  "  mer- 
ciful, or  bountiful."  Conant  :  "  kind." 
Perowne  :  "  loving."  In  His  relations 
to  all  His  creatures,  whatever  may  be 
their  character,  He  is  just  and  merciful. 


righteous  and  kind.  He  wrongs  no  one ; 
He  requires  of  no  one  services  which 
would  be  unjust.  Even  to  the  rebellious 
and  wicked  He  is  kind.  "  He  maketh 
His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust."  He  is  slow  to  anger 
even  with  the  greatest  sinners,  and  swift 
to  save  them  when  they  turn  to  Him. 

VII.  His  praise  because  of  all  His 
relations. 

"  My  mouth  shall  speak  the  praise  of 
the  Lord  ;  and  let  all  flesh  bless  His  holy 
name  for  ever  and  ever."  We  have  here — 

1.  A  resolution  to  of er  personal  praise. 
''  My  mouth  shall  speak  the  praise  of 
Jehovah." 

2.  A  desire  that  He  might  he  praised 
universally.  "  Let  all  flesh  bless  His 
holy  name."  The  godly  soul  intensely 
desires  that  all  men  should  worship  the 
Lord. 

3.  A  desire  that  He  might  he  praised 
perpetually.     *'  For  ever  and  ever." 


Univebsal  Dependence  and  Divink  Support. 
{Verses  15,  16.) 


The  Psalmist  here  teaches — 

I.  The  universality  of  dependence 
amongst  creatures. 

"The  eyes  of  all  wait  upon  Thee." 
We  depend  upon  God  for  "  life,  and 
breath,  and  all  things."  "  He  giveth 
breath  to  the  people  upon  earth,  and 
spirit  to  them  that  walk  therein." 
*'  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift 
is  from  above,"  (kc.  Entire  dependence 
should  beget  deep  humility.  "  What 
hast  thou  that  thou  (iidst  not  receive] 
now  if  thou  didst  receive  it,  why  dost 
thou  glory,  as  if  thou  hadst  not  received 
itr' 

II.  The  infinitude  of  the  Divine 
resources. 

"  Thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  due 
season  ;  .  .  .  and  satistiest  the  desire 
of  every  living  thing."  This  indicates 
the  possession  of  resources — 

1.  Infinitely  vast.  "Every  beast  of 
the  forest  is  Mine,  the  cattle  upon  a 
thousand  hills."  "  The  silver  is  Mine, 
and  the  gold  is  Mine,  saith  the  Lord  of 
b(»is."     His  resources  are  adequate  to 

T9*»  \h  % 


the  abundant  supply  of  all  the  wants  of 
all  creatures.  His  riches  are  unsearch- 
able. 

2.  Infinitely  various.  They  are  not 
only  more  than  sufficient  for  all  neces- 
sities, but  adapted  to  every  variety  of 
need. 

TIL  The  timeliness  of  the  Divine 
communications. 

"  In  due  season."  The  Divine  Being 
is  punctual  in  the  fulfilment  of  every 
engagement.  His  gifts  are  bestowed  at 
that  time  which  infinite  wisdom  and 
infinite  goodness  adjudges  to  be  the 
"due  season."  In  this  we  have  a 
reason  for  patience  if  His  interpositions 
or  connnuuications  seem  to  be  delayed. 

IV.  The  sublime  ease  of  the  Divine 
communications. 

"Thou  openest  Thine  hand,  and 
satisfiest  the  desire  of  every  living 
thing."  To  satisfy  the  innumerable 
needs  of  the  myriads  of  His  creatures 
does  not  tax  His  resources,  or  challenge 
an  exertion  of  His  power.  He  has  but 
to  open  His  hand,  and   the   '-ountlefi 


PSALM  OSLT. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTART:  PSALMS, 


oeeds  of  the  universe  are  satisfied. 
What  an  encouragement  is  this  to 
believing  prayer !  He  *'  is  able  to  do 
exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think." 

V.  The  sufficiency  of  the  Divine 
communications. 

"  And  satisfiest  the  desire  of  every 
living  thing."  "God  givetb  to  all 
liberally."  The  provisions  of  His  table 
are  both  bounteous  and  free.  He  gives 
"bread  enough  "for  all  His  creatures, 
*'  and  to  spare."  So  in  spiritual  things, 
His  "  grace  is  sufficient."  "  God  is  able 
to  make  all  grace  abound  toward  you ; 


that  ye,  always  having  all  sufficiency  in 
all  things,  may  abound  to  every  good 
work :  being  enriched  in  everything  to 
all  liberality." 

Our  subject  urges  all  men  to — 

1.  Gratitude.  Constant  provision 
should  lead  to  constant  thankfulness 
and  consecration. 

2.  Trust.  (1.)  For  temporal  supplies. 
"  Be  not  careful  for  your  life,  what  ye 
shall  eat,  and  what  ye  shall  drink,"  <fec. 
(Matt.  VL  25-34.)  (2.)  F(yr  spiritual 
supplies.  "Grace  to  help  in  time  of 
need"  will  surely  be  given  to  all  who 
look  to  Him. 


Attributes  and  Advantages  of  Acceptable  Pratkb. 

{Verses  18,  19.) 


What  is  prayer  ?  According  to  ver. 
18,  it  is  a  sincere  calling  upon  God. 
According  to  ver.  19,  it  is  the  cry  of 
the  desire  of  the  godly  soul.  In  our 
text  we  have — 

I.  Some  attributes  of  acceptable 
prayer. 

1.  Sincerity.  "  All  that  call  upon 
Him  in  truth."  "  God  is  a  Spirit;  and 
they  that  worship  Him  must  worship 
Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  All  un- 
reality is  known  unto  Him,  and  is  ab- 
horred by  Him.  Words  and  forms  of 
prayer  without  the  heart  are  an  abomi- 
nation in  His  sight. 

2.  Reverence.  "  Them  that  fear  Him." 
This  is  not  dread,  but  reverence, — a 
devout,  trustful,  filial  spirit.  Religious- 
ness of  s[)irit  is  an  essential  condition  of 
acceptable  prayer. 

There  are  other  attributes  of  accept- 
able prayer,  which  are  not  expressed 
here,  although  they  are  perhaps  implied. 
Of  these,  two  are  of  prime  importance, 
viz., — Faith.  "  Without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  Him."  And,  Accord- 
ance with  the  Divine  will.  "  If  we  ask 
anything  according  to  His  will,  He 
heareth  us  ;  and  if  we  know  that  He 
hear  us,  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know 
that  we  have  the  petitions  that  we  de- 
sired of  Him," 

II.  Some  advantages  of  acceptable 
prayer. 

1.  T}i.e  realisation  o/  His  presence 
43i 


"  Jehovah  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call 
upon  Him,"  <fec.  In  His  omnipresence  and 
omnipotence  He  is  near  unto  all  men,  but 
in  gracious  fellowship  He  is  near  only  to 
devout  souls.  Locall)%  He  is  everywhere 
present ;  but  sympathetically.  He  is  pre- 
sent only  with  the  truly  pious.  "To 
this  man  will  I  look,  even  to  him  that 
is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit,"  <kc.  In 
gracious  interest  and  tenderest  regard 
He  is  nigh  unto  them  ;  they  realise  His 
blessed  presence.  "  Our  fellowship  is 
with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ." 

2.  The  fulfilment  of  their  desires, 
"  He  will  fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that 
fear  Him."  God  does  not  promise  to 
grant  the  desire  of  the  irreligious,  the 
worldly,  or  the  wicked.  It  would  be 
neither  kind  nor  right  to  do  so.  But  He 
pledges  His  word  to  grant  the  desire  of 
the  godly.  Their  desires  are  pure,  un- 
selfish, spiritual,  in  harmony  with  His 
will;  and  to  fulfil  them  will  promote 
both  His  own  glory  and  the  good  of  His 
universe.  This  truth  is  very  clearly 
stated  in  the  book  of  Job  xxii.  21-23, 
26,  27  ;  and  by  David  :  "  Delight  thy- 
self in  the  Lord  ;  and  He  shall  give  thee 
the  desires  of  thine  heart."  (See  also 
John  XV.  7  ;  Jas.  v.  16.) 

3.  The  obtainment  of  His  salvation, 
"  He  also  will  hear  their  cry,  and  will 
save  them."  "There  is  no  rhetoric, 
nothing  charming,  in  a  cry,  yet  God's 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY :  PSALM iS. 


PSALM  OXLTI. 


ears  are  open  to  it,  as  the  tender  mother's 
to  the  cry  of  her  sucking  child,  which 
another  would  take  no  notice  of."  In 
answer  to  prayer  He  helps  His  people  in 
all  their  need,  and  ultimately  saves  them 
from  all  evil  into  perfect  purity  and  joy. 


Conclusion. — "Oh,  fear  the  Lord, 
ye  His  saints ;  for  there  is  no  want  to 
them  that  fear  Him."  "  Trust  in  Him 
at  all  times ;  ye  people,  pour  out  your 
heart  before  Him :  God  ia  a  refuge  for 


us. 


PSALM    OXLVL 
Introduction. 

In  the  Hebrew  ibis  Psalm  has  no  superscription.  The  Septuagint  has  the  supencription, 
••  Hallelujah.  Of  Haggai  and  Zechariah  ; "  and  is  followed  in  this  respect  by  the  Vulgate  and 
the  Syriac.  This  is  based  perhaps  on  ancient  tradition  ;  but  has  no  higher  authority.  Modern 
expositors  are  generally  agreed  that  the  Psalm  was  composed  after  the  exile.  Thus  Perowne  : 
'*  The  Psalm  bears  evident  traces,  both  in  style  and  language,  and  also  in  its  allusions  to  other 
Psalms,  of  belonging  to  the  post-exile  literature."  All  that  can  be  determined  concerning  the 
occasion  of  its  composition  is  well  expressed  by  Hengstenberg :  "  That  the  Psalm  was  composed 
in  a  period  of  depression  for  the  people  of  God,  is  indicated  by  the  predicates  given  to  God, 
which  are  all  of  a  kind  fitted  to  elevate  the  distressed,  to  console  the  afflicted,  and  give  them 
confidence  in  their  God." 

This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  five  Hallelujah  Psalms,  with  which  the  Psalter  is  closed.  At  a 
later  time  this  series  wag  used  in  the  daily  morning  prayers,  in  conjunction  with  portions  of 
other  Psalms  and  Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  Psalm  is  chiefly  an  exhortation  and  an  argument  to  trust  not  in  man,  but  in 
Jehoyah. 


Trust  and  Praise. 


Let  us  notice — 

L  The  trust  prohibited. 

"  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes,  in  a 
son  of  man,  in  whom  there  is  no  help," 
<fec.  Trust  even  in  the  most  exalted  and 
powerful  of  men  is  here  prohibited  ;  and 
reasons  are  given  for  the  prohibition. 
Trust  them  not,  because  of — 

1.  Their  inability.  '*Put  not  your 
trust  iti  princes,  in  a  son  of  man,  in 
whom  there  is  no  help,"  or  "salvation." 
We  are  prone  to  confide  in  the  great  and 
the  high  ones  of  the  earth,  who  seem 
able  to  do  for  us,  able  to  help  us,  to  pro- 
mote us  to  rank  and  wealth,  and  to  estab- 
lish our  state,  therefore  the  Psalmist 
declares  that  no  man,  not  even  the 
mightiest,  has  power  to  save  either  him- 
self or  others.  Prince  and  pauper  are 
alike  destitute  of  salvation  in  themselves ; 
alike  they  must  receive  it  from  God,  or 
remain  without  it.  "  He  giveth  salva- 
tion to  kings." 

2.  Their  mortality.  "  His  breath  goeth 
forth,  he  return  eth  to  his  earth ;  in  that 
very  day  his  thoughts  perish."  Here  are 
three  points : — (1.)  lie  termination  of 
bodily  life.     "  His  breath  goeth  forth." 


Without  respiration,  i«,,  without  in- 
spiration and  expiration,  we  cannot  live. 
While  there  is  breath  there  is  life.  But 
the  time  comes  when  expiration  takes 
place,  and  is  not  followed  by  inspira- 
tion ;  when  "  his  breath  goeth  forth " 
and  returns  not  again,  and  life  hat 
ceased.     Death 

**  Is  the  cessation  of  onr  breath ; 
Silent  and  motionless  we  lie, 
And  no  one  knoweth  more  than  this. 
I  saw  our  little  Gertrude  die ; 
She  left  ofif  breathing,  and  no  mor« 
I  smooth'd  the  pillow  beneath  her  head." 

(2.)  The  destiny  of  the  body.  "He 
returneth  to  his  earth."  Barnes  says, 
'*  The  earth — the  dust — is  his: — (a.)  It 
is  his,  as  that  from  which  he  was  made : 
he  turns  back  to  what  he  was  (Gen. 
iii.  19)  (6.)  Theearth— the  dust— the 
grave  is  his,  as  it  is  his  home — the  place 
where  he  will  abide,  (c.)  It  is  his,  as  it 
is  the  only  property  which  he  has  in  re- 
version. All  that  a  man — a  prince,  a 
nobleman,  a  monarch,  a  millionaire — 
will  soon  have  will  be  his  grave — his 
few  feet  of  earth.  Thai  will  be  his  by 
right  of  possession  \  by  the  fact  that,  fof 

435 


PSALM  OXLTL 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


the  time  being,  he  will  occupy  it,  and 
not  another  man.  But  that,  too,  may 
soon  become  another  man's  grave,  so 
that  even  there  he  is  a  tenant  only  for  a 
time ;  he  has  no  permanent  possession 
even  of  a  grave.  How  poor  is  the  richest 
man  1 "  (3.)  The  failure  of  temporal 
projects.  "  In  that  very  day  his  thoughts 
perish."  All  man's  plans  and  purposes 
which  relate  only  to  time  and  this  world 
are  cut  off  by  death.  The  patriarch  Job 
gives  striking  utterance  to  this  truth  : 
**  My  days  are  past,  my  purposes  are 
broken  off,  even  the  thouglits  of  my 
heart."  When  the  breath  goeth  forth, 
*'  however  grand  the  conception,  how- 
ever masterly  the  execution,  all  come  to 
an  end.  The  science,  the  philosophy,  the 
statesmanship  of  one  age  is  exploded  in 
the  next.  The  men  who  are  the  masters 
of  the  world's  intellect  to-day  are  dis- 
crowned to-morrow.  In  this  age  of 
restless  and  rapid  change  they  may  sur- 
vive their  own  thoughts  :  their  thoughts 
do  not  survive  them."  This  truth  has 
a  very  dread  aspect  to  those  whose 
thoughts  and  purposes  are  wholly  or 
even  chiefly  of  the  things  of  sense  and 
time ;  and  this  aspect  our  Lord  brings 
into  prominence  in  Luke  xii.  16-2L 
But  the  practical  aspect  of  this  truth 
with  which  we  have  now  to  do  is  that 
which  shows  the  utter  vanity  of  man  as 
an  object  of  human  trust.  All  the  kind 
purposes  and  designs  which  man  has  for 
us  come  to  an  end  when  he  dies  ;  and 
all  the  hopes  that  are  placed  on  him 
perish  at  his  death.  Therefore,  "  Trust 
not  in  princes,  in  a  son  of  man,  in  whom 
there  is  no  help,"  <fec.  "  Cursed  is  the 
man  that  trusteth  in  man,"  &c.  (Jer.  xvii. 
5-8). 

II.  The  trust  encouraged.  *'  Happy 
is  he  that  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his 
help,"  <fec.  (vers.  5-10).  We  regard  the 
word  "  Jacob  "  as  denoting  in  this  place 
the  whole  people  of  Israel ;  and  "  the 
God  of  Jacob"  as  the  Lord  Jehovah 
whom  they  worshipped,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  gods  of  the  heathen.  The 
position  of  the  Psalmist  is,  that  they  are 
blessed  who  trust  in  Him  ;  and  that  for 
the  following  reasons  -.—because  of — 

1 .  His  almighty  power.  '*  Who  made 
^eaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  aiid  g^U  that 

436 


therein  is."  The  creation  of  the  world 
manifests  the  omnipotence  of  God,  and 
this  is  engaged  on  behalf  of  them  whose 
hope  is  in  Him.  The  Divine  name 
which  is  here  used  (/X  =  God)  is  also 

expressive  of  strength.  He  is  strong  to 
succour  and  help  His  people. 

2.  His  unchangeable  fidelity.  "  Who 
keepeth  truth  for  ever."  Perowne  holds 
that  this  is  "  the  central  thought  of  the 
Psalm.  For  on  this  ground  beyond  all 
others  is  God  the  object  of  trust.  He 
is  true,  and  His  word  is  truth,  and  that 
word  He  keeps,  not  for  a  time,  but  for 
ever."  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass 
away." 

3.  His  righteous  judgment.  **  Who 
executeth  judgment  for  the  oppressed." 
"  The  Lord  executeth  righteousness  and 
judgment  for  all  that  are  oppressed." 
By  His  Providence  He  calmly  and  stead- 
fastly works  for  the  vindication  of  the 
injured.  And  in  the  last  judgment  He 
will  redress  every  wrong,  &c. 

4.  His  bountifulness  to  the  needy. 
"Who  giveth  food  to  the  hungry." 
**  He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul,  and 
fiUeth  the  hungry  soul  with  goodness." 
'*  The  hungry,"  says  Hengstenberg,  "  re- 
presents generally  all  who  stand  in  need 
of  help."  Jehovah  is  the  liberal  bene- 
factor of  all  the  necessitous,  and  espe- 
cially those  of  them  who  trust  in  Him. 

5.  His  compassion  for  the  afflicted. 
The  poet  mentions  several  classes  of  dis- 
tressed or  troubled  men,  and  of  God's 
gracious  deulings  with  each  class.  (1.) 
*'  Jehovah  looseth  the  prisoners."  By 
the  prisoners  we  understand  captives — 
those  that  are  bound,  and  those  also 
who  are  in  the  prison  of  distress.  He 
thus  set  Israel  free  from  their  bondage 
in  Egypt,  and  afterwards  from  their  cap- 
tivity in  Assyria.  Christ  is  the  great 
Emancipator.  It  is  His  **to  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening 
of  the  prison  to  the  bound."  "  If  the 
Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free 
indeed."  (2.)  "Jehovah  openeth  the 
eyes  of  the  blind."  Heb.,  lit. :  "  Jeho- 
vah openeth  the  blind."  Hengstenberg : 
"  The  blind  are  the  naturally  blind,  and 
such  as  carmot  discern  the  way  of  salva- 
Uo^  without  wisdom  and  help^  bliud* 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:   PSALMS. 


FSALMOZfin. 


ness  occurs  as  an  image  of  want  of  wis- 
dom and  support  in  Deut.  xxviii.  29 ; 
Isa.  lix.  10;  Job  xii.  25.*  (Comp.  also 
Ps.  cxix.  18;  Isa.  xxxv.  5.)  (3.)  ** Jeho- 
vah raiseth  up  them  that  are  bowed 
down."  Those  who  are  weighed  down 
and  crushed  by  the  burden  of  anxiety, 
trial,  or  sorrow.  He  sustains  and  cheers. 
(See  our  remarks  on  Ps.  cxlv.  14.)  (4.) 
**  Jehovah  preserveth  the  strangers,  He 
relieveth  the  fatherless  and  widow."  In- 
stead of  "  relieveth  "  Hengstenberg  tran- 
slates, "raises  up  ;"  and  Perowne,  *'8et- 
teth  up."  *'  The  stranger,  the  widow,  and 
the  fatherless  are  representatives  of  per- 
sons in  a  miserable  condition ; "  they  are 
"the  three  great  examples  of  natural  de- 
fencelessness."  The  Lord  succours  all 
the  helpless ;  He  has  a  gracious  regard 
for  all  who  stand  in  special  need  of  His 
care  ;  He  espouses  the  cause  of  the  desti- 
tute and  the  weak.  "  A  Father  of  the 
fatherless,  and  a  Judge  of  the  widows,  is 
God  in  His  holy  habitation."  In  Him 
"  the  fatherless  findeth  mercy." 

6.  His  complacency  in  His  people. 
**  Jehovah  loveth  the  righteous."  Starke 
says,  "  What  a  sweet  word  :  the  Lord 
loves  thee  !  I  would  not  take  a  king- 
dom for  that  word.  Love  unites  God's 
heart  to  mine."  And  how  broad  and  firm 
is  the  basis  of  trust  which  it  supplies  ! 

7.  His  righteous  retribution  to  the 
wicked.  "  The  way  of  the  wicked  He 
turneth  upside  down."  Perowne  :  "  He 
turiieth  aside."  Conant :  "  He  subver- 
teth "  The  projects  of  the  wicked 
Jehovah  defeats.  Under  His  govern- 
ment their  way  leads  down  to  ruin. 
Moll :  "  The  crooked  way  of  the  wicked 
in. which  death  lies  (Prov.  xii.  28)  is 
turned  by  Jehovah  down  towards  hell 
(Prov.  XV.  24;  comp.  ii.  18,  Ps.  i. 
6).  "  Delitzsch  :  "  There  is  only  a  single 
line  devoted  to  Jehovah's  punitive  jus- 
tice. For  He  rules  in  love  and  wrath, 
but  delights  most  to  rule  in  love." 

8.  His  everlasting  reign.     "  The  Lord 


shall  reign  for  ever ;  thy  God,  0  Zion, 

unto  all  generations."  No  opposition 
can  shake  His  throne.  All  the  subtlety 
and  strength  of  His  enemies  are  utterly 
powerless  against  H  im.  (On  the  everlast- 
ing reign  of  Jehovah,  see  vol.  i.  pp.  224 
and  385.)  In  the  perpetuity  of  His 
reign  we  have  another  evidence  of  the 
blessedness  of  those  who  trust  in  Him. 
Surveying  all  these  reasons  for  con- 
fidence, are  we  not  prepared  with  the 
accent  of  conviction  to  say  with  the 
Psalmist,  "  Happy  is  he  that  hath  the 
God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  whose  hope 
is  in  the  Lord  his  God'M  (Comp. 
Ps.  ii.  12  ;  Ixxxiv.  12  ;  Jer.  xvil  7,  8.) 

III.  The  praise  celebrated. 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  the 
Lord,  0  my  soul,"  &c.      Here  is — 

1.  A  declaration  of  personal  praise. 
The  poet  determines  to  praise  God — 
(1.)  Spiritually.  "  Praise  Jehovah,  0 
my  soul."  "  For  discharging  the  duty 
of  praise,"  says  David  Dickson,  "all 
the  powers  of  the  soul  must  be  stirred 
up  ;  the  mind,  to  meditate  ;  the  memory, 
to  bring  forth  former  observations ;  the 
heart  and  affections,  for  discharging  the 
duty  of  praise  in  the  best  manner."  (2.) 
Perpetually.  "While  I  live  will  I  praise 
Jehovah ;  I  will  sing  praises  unto  my 
God  while  I  have  any  being." 

"  ril  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers  ; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last, 
Or  immortality  endures." — Watts. 

*'  Not  in  this  song  only  will  he  utter 
his  praise,  but '  his  life  shall  be  a  thanks- 
giving unto  the  Power  that  made  him.'  " 

2.  A  summons  to  others  to  praise  Him, 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord."  Heb.,  as  in 
Margin  :  "  Hallelujah."  Thus  the  Psalm 
begins,  and  thus  also  it  closes.  "  As  one 
light  kindles  another,"  says  Starke,  "so 
a  believing  heart  seeks  to  awaken  others 
and  excite  them  to  the  righteous  praise 
of  God." 


The  Philosophy  of  Death. 

{Verses  4,  6.) 

The  text  refers--  day."     This  is  the  day  of  death.     There 

L    To  the  destiny  of  all.  are  many  important  days  in    a  man's 

I,  To  a  s^taal  day.     "  io  that  very      history.     Qfteji  days  of  great  moment. 


nALMOZLTI. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


Each  perhaps  the  crisis  of  some  eventful 
period  of  our  history.  But  the  day  of 
death  is  peculiarly  momentous  :  it  is 
invested  with  unusual  solemnity.  It  is 
the  termination  of  probation,  and  the 
entrance  on  the  unchanging  realities  of 
a  future  world. 

The  aspect  of  this  day  depends  en- 
tirely on  the  moral  condition  of  the  in- 
dividual, whether  it  be  bright  or  dark — 
a  day  of  bliss  or  woe — of  exaltation  to 
heaven  or  degradation  even  to  the  lowest 
abyss  of  helL  It  would  be  well  to  read 
and  meditate  on  this  day ;  to  look  at  it 
in  all  lights,  and  in  all  its  consequences  ; 
and  especially  for  this  reason, — it  is  a 
day  which  we,  every  one,  must  personally 
realise.  "  It  is  appointed  unto  men 
once  to  die,"  <fec.  "  I  know  Thou  wilt 
bring  me  to  death,"  <fea 

Our  text  refers — 

2.  To  a  striking  view  of  death.  "  His 
breath  goeth  forth."  When  God  made 
man,  He  *'  breathed,"  <kc.  Life  is  a 
succession  of  breathings.  By  the  act  of 
inspiration  we  take  in  the  air,  which 
supplies  the  blood  with  a  fresh  supply 
of  oxygen,  and  thus  makes  it  wholesome 
and  nutritious  to  the  system.  By  the 
act  of  expiration,  the  breath  which  has 
become  impure  is  thrown  off.  Now, 
this  ceasing  to  breathe  is  the  extinction 
of  life,  and  this  may  be  produced  by  a 
variety  of  causes, — impure  air,  organic 
disease  of  the  heart,  affections  of  the 
lungs,  &c.  Oh  think  of  this,  and  re- 
member every  instant  there  is  but  one 
step  between  us  and  death.  The  text 
refers — 

3.  To  man* 8  last  earthly  home.  "  He 
retumeth  to  his  earth."  From  that  our 
first  parents  sprung.  On  that  we  move 
and  live.  It  yields  our  supplies  of  food. 
V/e  at  length  return  to  it.  '*  Dust  thou 
art,"  (fee.  *'  His  earth  " — every  man  has 
a  claim  on  the  earth  for  a  sepulchra 
The  poorest  have  this,  and  the  richest 
only  this.  "  I  know  Thou  wilt  bring 
me  to  death,  and  to  the  house  ap- 
pointed," <fec.  "  If  I  wait,  the  grave  is 
mine  house,"  <fec     The  text  refers — 

4.  To  the  cessation  of  mental  activity/. 
"  In  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish." 
His  worldly  plans  and  schemes ;  his 
auxieties  and  cares;    his  purposes  and 


projects;  even  his  religious  thoughts  of 
repentance  and  serving  God.  His  reso- 
lutions and  vows,  tkc,  all  perish — all  die 
with  him.  Whether  king  or  peasant, 
philosopher  or  rustic.  Not  his  soul — 
no,  that  still  lives.     Our  text  refers — 

II.  To  the  peculiar  privileges  and 
happiness  of  a  certain  description  of 
character. 

The  character  introduced  is  repre- 
sented under  two  interesting  featurea 

1.  .4*  sustained  by  the  God  of  Jacob. 
"  The  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help."  Man 
requires  Divine  help.  This  help  Jesus 
obtained  by  His  obedience  and  sacrifice. 
Even  the  Old  Testament  saints  enjoyed 
this  help  by  prospective  faith  in  the 
Kedeemer.  How  God  helped  Jacob  I 
delivering  him  from  the  wrath  of  his 
brother,  and  the  oppression  of  Laban. 
Helped  him  to  sustain  his  domestic 
troubles  ;  helped  him  in  all  his  trials 
and  difficulties,  and  led  him  at  last  to 
dwell  in  the  rich  and  fruitful  land  of 
Goshen.  God  is  the  help  of  all  the 
spiritual  posterity  of  Jacob — all  who 
like  Jacob  are  distinguished  for  prayer, 
faith,  and  obedience  to  His  word.  God 
is  a  help  at  hand ;  all-sufficient ;  un- 
changeable ;  everlasting.  This  charac- 
ter is  represented — 

2.  As  expecting  all  good  in  and  from 
God.  "  Whose  hope  is  in  the  Lord  his 
God."  The  hope  of  the  pious  has  re- 
spect to  God's  wisdom,  truth,  goodness, 
mercy,  fidelity,  <fec.  Hope  is  the  balm 
of  life,  the  very  joy  of  existence.  What 
would  man  do  in  the  sorrows  and  trials 
of  his  present  state,  or  what  in  looking 
towards  the  eternal  future,  without 
hope]  He  alone  can  sustain,  deliver, 
bless,  and  save.     Hence,  notice — 

3.  The  blessedness  of  this  character. 
"  Happy  is  he,"  <fec.  We  are  often  struck 
most  forcibly  by  contrasts.  Contrast  the 
godly  man  who  hath  Jehovah  for  his  help 
with  the  poor  benighted  pagan^  dwel- 
ling in  the  region  of  death — anxious, 
wretched,  despairing.  Contrast  him  with 
the  sceptic,  who  is  all  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty. With  the  worldly,  whose  hope 
and  happiness  are  identified  with  gold 
and  silver.  With  the  neglector  of  re- 
ligion, who  trifles  away  opportunities, 
and  mercies,  and  privileges,  until  "  the 


BOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLTn. 


harvest  is  past/*  <fec.  Ob,  yes,  the  godly 
man  is  happy — happy  in  the  enjoyment 
of  heavenly  knowledge — happy  in  the 
enJDyment  of  Divine  peace,  internal 
tranquillity — happy  in  the  prospect  of 
immortality  and  eternal  life.  *'  Tht  y 
shall    return    and    come    to    Zion    with 


"(fee. 


songs, 

Our  subject  contains  matter — 


1.  For  solemn  admonition.  Think  of 
the  day  of  death,  <fec. 

2.  For  rejoicing,  to  those  who  have  God 
for  their  help.  What  a  privilege  !  Oh, 
value  it — often  praise  God  for  it, 

3.  For  exhortation.  Who  will  con- 
secrate himself  to  the  Lord? — Jahea 
BurnSf  D,D, 


The    Lord    the    Libebatob. 

(Verse  7.) 
"The  Lord  looseth  the  prisoners." 


The  text  suggested  to  the  preacher 
to  go  through  the  corridors  of  the  great 
world- prison  in  which  prisoners  were 
confined. 

I.  The  common  prison — the  ward  of 
sin. 

IL  The  solitary  cell — the  place  of 
penitence,  where  was  a  secret  spring, 
called  faith,  which,  if  a  man  could  touch, 
he  could  go  forth. 

IIL  The  silent  cell,  where  he  met 
with  people  who  could  not  pray. 


IV.  The  cell  of  ignoranoa 

V.  The  prison  of  habit. 

VI.  The  hard  labour  room. 

VII.  The  low  dungeon  of  despon- 
dency. 

VIII.  The  inner  prison — ^the  hold  of 
despair. 

IX.  The  devil's  torture- chamber. 

X.  The  condemned  cell. — C,  E, 
Spurgeon.  From  "  Lamps,  Pitchers,  and 
Trumpets,"  by  E,  F,  Hood, 


PSALM    CXLVII. 

Introduction. 

*'  Like  the  last  Psalm,  and  like  those  which  follow  it,  this  ii  evidently  an  anthem  intended 

for  the  service  of  the  Second  Temple.  It  celebrates  God's  almighty  and  gracious  rule  over 
lliB  people  and  over  the  world  of  nature,  but  mingles  with  this  a  special  commemoration  of 
His  goodness  in  bringing  back  His  people  irom  their  captivity  and  rebuilding  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem.  In  the  allusions  to  these  events  in  vers.  2,  3,  and  vers.  13,  14,  we  shall  probably 
be  justified  in  seeing  the  occasion  of  the  Psalm.  It  may  have  been  written  for  the  dedication 
of  the  wall  at  Jerusalem,  which,  as  we  learn  from  Neh.  xii.  27,  was  kept  'with  gladness, 
both  with  thanksgivings  and  with  singing,  with  cymbals,  psalteries,  and  with  harps.'  It  is 
indeed  not  improbable,  as  Hengstenberg  suggests,  that  not  this  Psalm  only,  but  the  rest  of 
the  Psalms  to  the  end  of  the  Book,  are  all  anihems  originally  composed  for  the  same  occasion. 
The  wall  had  been  built  under  circumstances  of  no  ordinary  difficulty  and  discouragement 
(Neh.  ii.  17  ;  iv.  23) ;  its  completion  was  celebrated  with  no  common  joy  and  thankfulness; 
*  for  God  had  made  them  rejoice  with  great  joy  ;  the  wives  also  and  the  children  had  rejoiced  : 
so  that  the  joy  of  Jerusalem  was  heard  even  afar  off.'     (See  Neh.  xii.  27-43.) 

**  The  Psalm  cannot  be  said  to  have  any  regular  strophical  arrangement,  but  the  renewed 
exhortations  to  praise,  in  vers.  7,  12,  suggest  a  natural  division  of  the  Psalm.  It  is  a  Trifih 
Hum  of  praise. **--Perow7i«. 

The  Excellence  of  Praise  to  God. 

(Verses  1-6.) 

The  Psalm  opens  with  the  summons  1.  The  praise  of  God  is  excellent  in 

to   praise    Jehovah,   and    proceeds     to      itself. 

adduce  motives  for  praising  Him.     We  *'  Praise  ye  the  Lord,  for  " — 

may  arrange  these  under  two  heads :—        ,    1.  "  Jt  is  good  to  sing  praises  unto 

439 


TCALM  OXLTIL 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTRT :  PSALMS. 


our  God."  The  adjective  here  used  is  a 
very  comprehensive  one  —  2^10,  xaXo;, 
pulcheTf  beautiful ;  or,  dya&6;,  honus^ 
good ;  or,  useful,  profitable,  beneficent. 
The  same  word  is  applied  to  the  praise 
of  God  in  Ps.  xcii.  1.  (See  our  remarks 
on  that  verse,  vol.  ii.  pp.  63,  64.) 

2.  ^*  It  is  pleasant"  To  the  godly 
soul  praising  God  is  a  delightful  thing  ; 
a  thing  affording  purest  satisfaction, 
and  real  joy  to  the  heart.  This  truth 
is  expressed  also  in  Ps.  cxxxv.  3 ; 
"  Sing  praises  unto  His  name,  for  it  is 
pleasant." 

3.  It  "  is  comely."  This  clause  is 
probably  taken  from  Ps.  xxxiii  1. 
*' Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright." 
To  praise  God  is  a  most  seemly  thing. 
Nothing  can  be  more  appropriate  than 
that  man,  who  owes  to  God  so  much, 
and  is  to  some  extent  capable  of  ap- 
preciating the  perfections  and  glories 
of  His  character,  should  pay  to  Him 
humble  and  hearty  worship.  It  is  a 
becoming  thing  in  man  ;  an  honour  and 
an  ornament  to  him. 

II.  The  praise  of  God  is  excellent  in 
its  reasons. 

"Jehovah  doth  build  up  Jerusalem," 
&c.  (vers.  2-6).  God  is  here  praised 
because  of — 

1.  His  relation  to  His  Church. 
"  Jehovah  doth  build  up  Jerusalem ; 
He  gathereth  together  the  outcasts  of 
Israel."  There  are  references  here  to 
the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  and  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  after  the  Captivity, 
and  to  the  restoration  of  the  exiled 
people  to  their  own  land.  (Comp. 
Isa.  xi.  12  ;  Ivi.  8.)  The  Lord  is  the 
builder  of  His  Church.  "  Upon  this 
rock  will  I  build  My  Church."  *'Ye 
are  God's  building."  He  hews  the 
stones  out  of  the  quarries  of  nature, 
cuts  them  into  shape,  works  them  into 
the  glorious  edifice,  and  carves  them 
into  grace  and  beauty.  "  The  Lord 
added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved."  He  will  carry  on- 
ward the  building  to  splendid  com- 
pleteness. And  when  His  people  have 
been  scattered  by  persecution,  or  fa- 
mine, or  strife.  He  brings  them  to- 
gether again.  "  As  a  shepherd  seeketh 
out  his  flock  in  the  day  that  he  i^  among 

44Q 


his  sheep  that  are  scattered,  so  will  I 
seek  out  My  sheep,  and  will  deliver 
them  out  of  all  places  where  they 
have  been  scattered  in  the  cloudy  and 
dark  day." 

2.  His  relation  to  troubled  souls.    **  He 
healeth  the  broken  in  heart,  and  bindeth 
up  their  wounds."    There  is  much  sorrow 
of  heart  in  the  world.     It  is  probable 
that  broken   hearts  are  more  frequent 
amongst  men  than  is  generally  supposed. 
Broken   hearts  are  not  paraded ;    they 
are  rather  carefully  concealed.     Hearts 
are  broken  by  sorrow  for  sin,  by  painful 
disappointments,  by  wicked  calumnies, 
by  distressing  bereavements,  by  severe 
afflictions,  by  heavy  losses.     The  Lord 
is   the   comforter   and    healer   of   such 
sufifering  souls.     He  heals  the  troubled 
penitent  with  His  gracious  forgiveness 
of  sin  ;  to  the  disappointed  He  presents 
new    and     brighter     and    well-assured 
hopes ;  to  the  calumniated  He  gives  the 
assurance  of  a  splendid  vindication  (Ps. 
xxxvii,  5,  6) ;  before  the  bereaved  He 
holds  out   the    prospect   of    everlasting 
and   joyful    reunion  with   the    beloved 
departed    in   our  Father's   house ;    He 
transforms  afflictions  into  angels  laden 
with    blessings ;   and    out    of    temporal 
losses  He  evolves  eternal  gains.      "  He 
heals  the  broken  in  heart,"  <fec.      It  is 
His   *'  to    comfort   all    that  -  mourn,   to 
appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion," 
<fec.   (Isa.  Ixi.  2,  3).     "  As   one  whom 
his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  com- 
fort you,"  (fee. 

3.  His  relation  to  heavenly  hosts.  **  He 
telleth  the  number  of  the  stars ;  He 
calleth  them  all  by  their  names,"  <kc. 
(vers.  4,  6).  ''This  is  adduced,"  says 
Perowne,  "  as  a  proof  of  the  omniscience 
and  omnipotence  of  God,  and  hence  as 
a  ground  of  consolation  to  His  people, 
however  they  may  have  been  scattered, 
and  however  they  may  have  been 
oppressed.  Surely  He  must  know,  He 
must  be  able  to  succour,  human  woe,  to 
whom  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  count  those 
stars  which  are  beyond  man's  arithmetic 
(Gen.  XV.  5).  The  argument  is  precisely 
the  same  as  in  Isa.  xl.  26-29  :  '  Lift 
up  your  eyes,'  <kc.  .  .  .  Evidently  th« 
words  of  the  prophet  were  in  the  mind 
of  the  Psalmist,"    Jt  is  stated  that  in 


HOMILETW  GOMMPim'A  R  T     PSIA  L  lf5. 


PSALU  otLvrt. 


our  sky  there  are  one  hundred  milliona 
of  stars  visible  by  the  aid  of  a  telescope, 
each  of  which  is  the  centre  of  a  cluster 
of   tribatary   stars,    making   altogether 
"a  great  multitude  which  no  man  can 
number."      "If     we    ask,"    says     Dr. 
Chalmers,  "  the  number  of  suns  and  of 
systems,  the  unassisted  eye  of  man  can 
take  in  a  thousand,  and  the  best  teles- 
cope which  the  genius  of  man  has  con- 
structed can  take  in  eighty  millions.* 
But  why  subject  tha  dominions  of  the 
universe  to  the  eye  of  man,  or  to  the 
powers  of  his  genius  ?     Fancy  may  take 
its  flight  far  beyond  the  ken  of  eye  or 
of  telescope.     It  may  expatiate  in  the 
outer  regions  of  all  that  is  visible — and 
shall  we  have  the  boldness  to  say,  that 
there  is  nothing  there  ?  that  the  wonders 
of  the  Almighty  are  at  an  end,  because 
we  can  no  longer  trace  His  footsteps? 
that    His    omnipotence    is    exhausted, 
because  human  art  can  no  longer  follow 
Him  1  that  the  creative  energy  of  God 
has  sunk  into  repose,  because  the  ima- 
gination is  enfeebled  by  the  magnitude 
of  its  efforts,  and  can  keep  no  longer  on 
the  wing  through  those  mighty  tracts, 
which  shoot  far  beyond  what  eye  hath 
seen,  or  the  heart  of  man  hath  conceived 
— which  sweep  endlessly  along,  and  merge 
into  an  awful  and  mysterious  infinity  ?  " 
Yet    God    counts    all    these    stars ; 
marshals   all   these    stars.       What    an 
illustration   we   have   in   this   of — (1.) 
His  unlimited  might  /    What  power  is 
involved  in   marshalling  the   countless 
hosts  of  stars,  in  guiding  and  keeping 
them  in  their  spheres  I     "  Great  is  our 
Lord,  and  of   great  power."     (2.)  His 
infinite  knowledge.     **  He  calleth  them 
all  by  their  names."     Perowne :  "  He 
giveth    names    unto    them    all."     The 
expression  indicates  "  the  most  intimate 
knowledge  and  the  most  watchful  care, 
as  that  of  a  shepherd  for  his  flock  (John 
X.  3)."     Or  the  figure  has  been  inter- 
preted thus  :  "  *  He  calleth  them  all  by 
their    names' — as   if    each    one    had    a 
name,  and  God  could  call  them  forth 
one  by  one  by  their  names,  like  the 
muster-roll  of  an  army."     "  His  under- 
standing  is   infinite."      Margin:    "Of 
His  understanding  there  is  no  number." 

*  The  namber  ia  now  said  to  be 


In  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  play  upon  the 
word  which  is  translated  '"  number"  in 
ver,  4.  Unlimited  is  the  number  both  of 
His  understanding  and  of  the  stars. 
The  limit  of  human  knowledge  is  soon 
reached,  but  "there  is  no  searching  of 
His  understanding."  Now  this  infinite 
intelligence  and  almighty  power  of  God 
should  prove  an  encouragement  and  an 
inspiration  to  all  who  trust  in  Him. 
The  idea  has  been  well  expressed  by 
Dr.  Chalmers :  "  The  God  who  sitteth 
above,  and  presides  in  high  authority 
over  all  worlds,  is  mindful  of  man ; 
and  though  at  this  moment  His  energy 
is  felt  in  the  remotest  provinces  of 
creation,  we  may  feel  the  same  security 
in  His  Providence  as  if  we  were  the 
objects  of  His  undivided  care.  It  is  not 
for  us  to  bring  our  minds  up  to  this 
mysterious  agency.  But  such  is  the  in- 
comprehensible fact,  that  the  same  Being, 
whose  eye  is  abroad  over  the  whole  uni- 
verse, gives  vegetation  to  every  blade  of 
grass,  and  motion  to  every  particle  of 
blood  which  circulates  through  the  veins 
of  the  minutest  animal ;  that,  though  His 
mind  takes  into  its  comprehensive  grasp 
immensity  and  all  its  wonders,  I  am  as 
much  known  to  Him  as  if  I  were  the 
single  object  of  His  attention — that  He 
marks  all  my  thoughts — that  He  gives 
birth  to  every  feeling  and  every  move- 
ment within  me — and  that  with  an  exer- 
cise of  power  which  I  can  neither  describe 
nor  comprehend  :  the  same  God  who  sits 
in  the  highest  heaven,  and  reigns  over  the 
glories  of  the  firmament,  is  at  my  right 
hand  to  give  me  every  breath  which  I 
draw,  and  every  comfort  which  I  enjoy." 

4.  His  retributive  relation  to  men. 
"  Jehovah  lif teth  up  the  meek  ;  He 
casteth  the  wicked  down  to  the  ground." 
He  who  "  rules  the  stars  in  their  courses, 
rules  also  the  world  of  man."  (1.)  He 
exalts  the  humble  and  the  oppressed. 
"Jehovah  lifteth  up  the  meek,"  or  "the 
aflQicted.'^  (See  our  remarks  on  Ps.  cxlv. 
14;  cxlvi.  8.)  (2.)  He  abases  the  wicked. 
(See  our  remarks  on  Ps.  cxlvi.  9.)  "  His 
rule  and  His  order  are  a  correction  of 
man's  anarchy  and  disorder." 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord  ;  for  it  is  good/' 


one  hundred  millions  or  more. 


441 


PSALM  CXLVn, 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


The  Greatness  and  Gentleness  of  God. 

{Verses  2-6.) 


The  text  reveals  the  constructive  side 
of  the  Divine  government. 

I.  As  shown  in  the  building  of  the 
Church. 

**The  Lord  doth  build  up  Jerusalem," 
&c.  That  He  should  do  so  shows  (1) 
that  the  Church  is  self-demolished ;  (2) 
that  it  is  self -helpless ;  and  (3)  that 
God  is  the  Gatherer,  the  Redeemer,  and 
the  Builder  of  the  Church. 

It  is  not  God's  purpose  to  destroy.  It 
is  His  very  nature  to  preserve,  extend, 
complete,  and  glorify.  He  c?o<?s  destroy, 
but  never  willingly.  His  arm  does  not 
become  terrible  until  His  heart  has  been 
grieved,  until  His  patience  has  been  ex- 
hausted, and  until  the  vital  interests  of 
the  universe  have  been  put  in  peril. 

II.  As  seen  in  the  gentle  care  of 
human  hearts. 

"  He  healeth  the  broken  in  heart,  and 
bindeth  up  their  wounds."  Still,  you 
see  how  constructive  and  preservative  is 
God.  His  work  is  edification,  not  de- 
struction. Who  cares  for  broken-hearted 
men  %  Who  has  patience  with  the  weak 
and  faint  f  The  greater  the  nature,  the 
greater  the  compassion.  "It  is  better 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  God  than  into 
the  hands  of  men."  Learn  from  this 
gentle  care  of  human  hearts — 

1.  The  personality  of  God's  knowledge. 
He  knows  every  bruised  reed.  Hearts 
BufiFer  ill  secret ;  there  is  nothing  hidden 
from  O'hI  ! 

2.  I'/ce  infinite  adaptations  of  Divine 
grace.  Every  heart,  whatever  its  grief, 
may  be  healed  !  There  is  **  a  sovereign 
balm  for  every  wound."  Are  we 
wounded  on  account  of  sin  ?  Are  we 
writhing  under  the  agonies  of  penitence  f 
Are  we  tortured  by  circumstances  over 
which  we  have  no  control — the  way- 
wardness of  children,  physical  prostra- 
tion, the  opposition  of  bad  men,  and  the 
like  1  For  every  wound  there  is  healing 
in  the  grace  of  God. 

3.  The  perfectness  of  Divine  healing. 
Other  healers  say,  "  Peace,  peace,  when 


there  is  no  peace.**  Others,  "  Heal  the 
hurt  of  the  daughter  of  My  people 
slightly."  We  are  not  healed  until  God 
heals  us.  God  oj^ers  to  heal  us  ;  our 
disease  and  our  sorrow  are  challenges  to 
prove  His  grace.  What  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  refusal  ? 

III.  As  seen  in  the  order,  the  regu- 
larity, and  the  stability  of  creation. 

''  He  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars  ; 
He  calleth  them  all  by  their  names." 
Creation  is  a  volume  open  to  all  eyes. 
Read  it,  and  see  the  might  and  gentle- 
ness, the  wisdom  and  patience,  of  God. 
"  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold 
who  hath  created  these  things,  that 
bringeth  out  their  host  by  number  :  He 
calleth  them  all  by  names  by  the  great- 
ness of  His  might,  for  that  He  is  strong 
in  power ;  not  one  faileth."  Jesus 
Christ  taught  us  to  reason  from  the 
natural  to  the  spiritual :  '*  Consider  the 
lilies,"  <fec. ;  **  Behold  the  fowls  of  the 
air,"  <fec. 

(1.)  God  takes  care  of  the  great  uni- 
verse, may  I  not  trust  Him  with  my  life"? 

(2. )  Where  God's  will  is  unquestioned, 
the  result  is  light,  beauty,  music :  why 
should  I  oppose  myself  to  its  gracious 
dominion  1 

Let  the  Church  be  of  good  courage. 
"  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion, 
He  shall  a[>pear  in  His  glory."  "  The 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail." 

Are  we  truly  broken  in  heart  1  Hear, 
then,  the  Saviour  :  "  He  hath  sent  Me 
to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted," — sent 
His  Son  to  heal  us. 

Are  we  contrite,  humble,  penitent! 
"  Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One 
that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is 
Holy  :  I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy 
place,  with  him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite 
and  humble  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of 
the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of 
the  contrite  ones."  Our  brokenness 
attracts  Him.  The  cry  of  our  sorrows 
brings  Him  down  from  heaven. — Joseph 
Parker,  D,D, 


443 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PtALM  CXLVII. 


The  Supremely  Great. 
(  Verse  5.) 


Here  are  three  aspects  of  the  Divine 

greatness  : — 

I.  God  is  great  in  His  essence. 

"  Great  is  the  Lord."  He  is  great  by 
reason  of — 

1.  His  spirituality.  "  God  is  a 
Spirit."  Spiritual  substances  are  more 
excellent  than  material.  "  The  more 
perfect  anything  is  in  the  rank  of 
creatures,  the  more  spiritual  and  simple 
it  is,  as  gold  is  the  more  pure  and  perfect 
that  hath  least  mixture  of  other  metals." 
So  God  is  a  pure  and  perfect  Spirit :  He 
"  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at 
bU."  In  Him  there  is  **  spirituality 
without  any  matter,  perfection  without 
any  shadow  or  taint  of  imperfection." 

2.  His  self-existence.  His  Being  is 
underived  and  independent.  With  Him 
life  is  essential.  He  is  the  **  I  Am."  His 
name  is  Jehovah,  the  Self-Existent  One. 

3.  ffis  infinity.  (1.)  He  is  infinite 
as  regards  duration.  "From  everlast- 
ing to  everlasting  Thou  art  God."  He 
is  eternal  in  the  largest  sense  of  that 
word.  He  endures  always.  He  "  in- 
habiteth  eternity."  (2.)  He  is  infinite 
as  regards  space.  He  is  present  every- 
where, from  infinity  to  infinity.  "  There 
is  no  part  of  the  universe,  no  portion  of 
space,  uninhabited  by  God,  none  where- 
in this  Being  of  perfect  power,  wisdom, 
and  benevolence  is  not  essentially  pre- 
sent. Could  we  with  the  swiftness  of 
a  sunbeam  dart  ourselves  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  creation,  and  for  ages  con- 
tinue our  progress  in  infinite  space,  we 
should  still  be  surrounded  with  the 
Divine  presence,  nor  ever  be  able  to  reach 
that  space  where  God  is  not."  (Comp. 
Ps.  cxxxix.  7-12  ;  Jer.  xxiii.  23,  24.) 

4.  His  unity.  There  is  but  one  God. 
"  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord."  "  If 
God  be  an  infinitely-perfect  Being,"  says 
Bishop  Wilkins,  "it  is  impossible  to 
imagine  two  such  beings  at  the  same 
time,  because  they  must  have  several 
perfections  or  the  same.  If  the  former, 
neither  of  them  can  be  God,  because 
neither  of  them  has  all  possible  perfec- 
tions. If  they  have  both  equal  perfections, 


neither  of  them  can  be  absolutely  per- 
fect, because  it  is  not  so  great  to  have 
the  same  equal  perfections  in  common 
with  another  as  to  be  superior  to  all 
others."  Well  did  Masillon  exclaim, 
**  God  alone  is  great ! " 

II.  God  is  great  in  power. 

"And  of  great  power."  " The  power 
of  God  is  that  ability  and  strength 
whereby  He  can  bring  to  pass  whatsoever 
He  please;  whatsoever  His  infinite  wis- 
dom can  direct,  and  whatsoever  the  in- 
finite purity  of  His  will  can  resolve." 
This  power  is  manifested — 

1.  In  the  creation  and  sustentation  of 
the  universe.  "He  spake,  and  it  was 
done,"  (fee.  "  He  is  mighty  in  strength," 
Ac.  (Job  ix.  4-10).  "He  stretcheth 
out  the  north  over  the  empty  place," 
&c.  (Job  xxvl  7-14).  "By  Him  aU 
things  consist." 

2.  In  the  government  of  the  universe. 
He  rules  over  holy  angels.  "  He  maketh 
His  angels  spirits,"  <fec.  He  presides 
over  human  governments.  He  "  bringeth 
the  princes  to  nothing,"  &c.  (Isa.  xl.  23, 
24).  "  He  putteth  down  one,  and  setteth 
up  another."  "  He  doeth  according  to 
His  will  in  the  army  of  heaven,  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,"  <kc. 
He  rules  even  over  His  enemies.  "  Surely 
the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Thee,"  <fec. 
"  The  angels  which  kept  not  their  first 
estate,"  (fee.  (Jude  6). 

3.  In  the  redemption  of  mankind.  We 
see  here  the  power  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  truth  and  love  overcoming  the  anta- 
gonism of  rebellious  wills,  the  alienation 
of  estranged  hearts,  (fee.  This  is  the 
grandest,  sublimest  display  of  the  power 
of  God.     He  is  "  mighty  to  save." 

The  consideration  of  the  almightiness 
of  God  should  (1.)  prove  a  warning  to 
the  wicked.  He  has  power  to  fulfil  His 
threatenings.  "  Hast  thou  an  arm  like 
Godi"  (2.)  Awaken  awe  in  all  men. 
We  should  reverently  fear  so  great  a 
Being.  (3.)  Encourage  faith  in  Hi% 
'people.  Omnipotence  is  pledged  for  their 
help  and  keeping.  "The  Lord  is  the 
strength  of  my  life ;  of  whom  shall  I  be 

443 


iHSALlf  OXLVn. 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


afraid  % "     **  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can 
be  against  us  1 " 

III.  God  is  great  in  knowledge. 

"His  understanding  is  infinite." 

1.  He  knows  Himself.  "The  Spirit 
searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  things 
of  God,"(kc.  (1  Cor.  ii.  10,  11). 

2.  He  knows  all  creatures.  Angels, 
men,  and  even  the  meanest  creatures. 
(Comp.  Job  xxxviii.  41 ;  Ps.  1.  11 ;  Luke 
xii.  6,  7.)  And  He  knows  them  clearly 
and  completely.  Thus  He  is  perfectly 
acquainted  with  man's  thoughts  (Ps. 
cxxxix.  2 ;  Ezek.  xi.  5),  and  secret  sins 
(Ps.  xc.  8),  and  necessities  (Matt.  vi.  32), 
and  circumstances,  and  works,  and  ways 
(Ps.  cxxxix.  1-6). 

3.  He  knows  all  events.  (1.)  KWpast 
events.  He  never  forgets  anything. 
This  knowledge  is  clearly  implied  in 
Eccles.  xii.  14;  Rev.  xx.  12.  (2.)  All 
'present  events.  Nothing  escapes  the 
vigilance  of  His  eye  (Heb.  iv.  12,  13). 
(3.)  All /w^wre  events  (Isa.  xll  21-26; 
Acts  XV.  18).  (4.)  All  possible  events. 
All  the  possibilities  of  all  things,  and  be- 
ings, and  worlds  must  be  present  to  Him 
"  whose  understanding  is  infinite.'* 


The  consideration  of  this  infinite  know- 
ledge of  the  holy  God  should  (i)  Check 
sin  both  in  thotight  and  in  deed.  You 
cannot  sin  in  secret.  "  There  is  no  dark- 
ness nor  shadow  of  death  where  the 
workers  of  iniquity  may  hide  them- 
selves." (ii. )  Humble  all  pride  of  intel- 
lect. As  compared  with  God,  what  does 
even  the  most  intelligent  man  know  ? 
"We  are  but  of  yesterday,  and  know 
nothing,"  <fec.  (iiu)  Destroy  all  notions 
of  our  self-righteousness.  In  the  pre- 
sence of  this  holy  and  heart-searching 
Being,  "  Who  can  say,  I  have  made  my 
heart  clean,  I  am  pure  from  my  sin?" 
(iv.)  Inspire  confidence  in  the  triumph  of 
His  cause.  His  enemies  cannot  outwit 
Him.  His  designs  are  formed  in  infinite 
knowledge  and  wisdom.  "The  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against"  His 
Church,  (v.)  Inspire  confidence  in  His 
providential  dealings  with  us.  His  in- 
finite knowledge  is  pledged  to  all  who 
trust  in  Him.  He  knows  their  trials 
and  dangers  and  sorrows,  their  wants 
and  ways ;  and  He  will  guide  and  sup- 
port them,  <ka  "He  knoweth  our 
frame,"  <fec. 


The  Providence  and  Pleasure  op  God  a  Keason  for  Praising  Him. 

7-11.) 

and  beauty.  (Comp.  Ps.  civ.  14 ;  Acta 
xiv.  17.) 

3.  Providing  for  the  wants  of  His 
creatures.  "  He  giveth  to  the  beast  his 
food,  and  to  the  young  ravens  which 
cry."  (See  our  remarks  on  Ps.  civ.  21, 
27,  28  ;  cxlv.  16,  16.)  The  ravens  are 
mentioned  here  rather  than  other  birds 
probably  because  they  are  ofi*ensive 
birds,  in  order  to  show  that  no  creature, 
however  regarded  by  man,  is  uncared 
for  by  God.  Seeing  that  He  supplies 
the  needs  of  the  ravens,  is  not  the  con- 
clusion irresistible  that  He  will  provide 
for  His  children  ?  (Comp.  Matt.  vL  26  ; 
Luke  xii.  6,  7.) 

IL  The  pleasure  of  God. 

1.  It  is  not  in  those  who  trust  in  their 
own  resources.  "He  delighteth  not  in 
the  strength  of  the  horse ;  He  taketh 
not  pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man." 
Horse  and  foot  soldiers  are  here  meant ; 
the  cavalry  and   infantry  of  an  army^ 


(  Verse 

Let  us  consider — 

L  The    providence    of   God.     The 

Psalmist  exhibits  the  providential  agency 
of  God  in — 

1.  Presiding  over  the  elements.  "  He 
covereth  the  heaven  with  clouds.  He 
prepareth  rain  for  the  earth."  (Comp. 
Job  V.  10 ;  xxviii.  25,  26 ;  xxxvi.  27, 
28;  Ps.  civ.  13.)  The  clouds  do  not 
cover  the  heavens,  neither  does  the  rain 
descend  upon  the  earth  by  chance ;  both 
are  governed  by  fixed  laws;  and  these 
laws  were  appointed  and  are  controlled 
by  God.  He  is  sovereign  over  all  th^ 
arrangements  and  forces  of  nature. 

2.  Creating  vegetation.  "  He  maketh 
grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains." 
The  mountains  are  mentioned  because 
Palestine  was  a  mountain  -  land.  "  A 
land  of  hills  and  valleys,  and  drii)keth 
water  of  the  rain  of  heaven  "  (Dent.  xi. 
11).  And  these,  which  are  not  watered 
by  the  rivers,  God  clothes  with  verdure 

444 


HOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


P8ALM  OXLTIL 


Gbd  has  no  deliglit  in  armies  great  and 
strong,  or  in  those  who  trust  in  them. 
Perowne  expresses  his  idea  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  verse  thus :  "  His  delight  is 
not  in  thoie  who  trust  in  their  own 
strength  and  swiftness."  It  is  one  thing 
to  trust  in  great  and  mighty  armies  and 
skilful  generals ;  it  is  another,  and  in 
the  sight  of  God  a  far  nobler  thing,  to 
say  with  Jehoshaphat,  **  O  our  God,  we 
have  no  might  against  this  great  com- 
pany," &c.  (2  Chron.  xx.  12). 

2.  It  is  in  those  who  reverence  and  trust 
in  Him.  "  The  Lord  taketh  pleasure 
in  them  that  fear  Him,  in  those  that 
hope  in  His  mercy."  **  A  holy  fear  of 
God,"  says  Matthew  Henry,  **  and  hope 
in  God,  not  only  may  consist,  but  must 
concur.  In  the  same  heart,  at  the  same 
time,  there  must  be  both  a  reverence  of 
His  majesty  and  a  complacency  in  His 
goodness,  both  a  believing  dread  of  His 
wrath  and  a  believing  expectation  of 
His  favour ;  not  that  we  must  hang  in 
suspense  between  hope  and  fear,  but  we 
must  act  under  the  gracious  influences 
of  hope  and  fear.  Our  fear  must  save 
our  hope  from  swelling  into  presumption, 
and  our  hope  must  save  our  fear  from 
sinking  into  despair."  God  delights  in 
the  man  who  looks  to  Him  for  all  good, 
who  reverences  Him  in  all  things,  and 
who  leans  upon  Him  at  all  times  and  in 
all  circumstances.  Man's  confidence  in 
God  is  a  pleasure  to  Him.  He  loves  to 
be  trusted  by  His  creatures. 

UL  Tlie  praise  of  God. 


"Sing  unto  Jehovah  with  thanks- 
giving ;  sing  praise  upon  the  harp  unto 
our  God."  The  praise  which  man  offers 
unto  God  is  here  represented  as — 

1.  A  response  for  Divine  favours, 
"Sing  unto  the  Lord."  The  funda- 
mental signification  of  the  word  here 
translated  **  sing  "  is  to  reply,  to 
answer ;  and,  according  to  Fiirst,  as 
used  here  it  means  **  always  to  sing  in 
reply,  not  to  sing  merely."  Conant 
translates :  "  Answer  Jehovah  with 
thanksgiving."  And  Moll :  "  *  Answer 
to  Jehovah.'  There  is  no  allusion  here 
to  an  antiphonal  choral  song,  as  in 
Exod.  XV.  21,  but  a  song  of  praise  ii 
called  for  as  the  answer  of  grateful  men, 
to  the  honour  of  the  Divine  Giver  (Exod. 
xxxii.  18  ;  Num.  xxi.  17  ;  Isa.  xxvii.  2)." 
The  idea  seems  '*  to  be,  that  we  are  to 
make  a  suitable  response  or  answer  to 
the  manifold  favours  which  we  have 
received  at  the  hand  of  God."  God 
blesses  man  by  the  bestowal  of  His  gifts, 
and  man  responds  to  God  by  the  pre- 
sentation of  praise  to  Him. 

%  An  expression  of  gratitude  for  Di- 
vine favours.  "Answer  unto  Jehovah 
with  thanksgiving,"  <fec.  A  grateful  re- 
collection of  the  goodness  of  God  to  us 
should  find  expression  in  our  songs  to 
Him.  In  our  hymns  of  praise  His  bless- 
ings to  us  should  be  thankfully  acknow- 
ledged, and  the  glory  of  them  should  be 
given  to  Him  alone. 

In  the  spirit  of  such  worship  let  oi 
endeavour  to  live. 


Gbass,  and  its  Moral  Analogixs. 
(Versed.) 

He  maketh  grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains.* 


Mr.  Kuskin  in  his  Modern  Painters 
(III.  Pt.  iv.  ch.  xiv.  §  51,  52)  says 
some  beautiful  and  suggestive  things 
concerning  grass. 

"  Gather  a  single  blade  of  grass,  and 
examine  for  a  minute,  quietly,  its  nar- 
row sword-shaped  strip  of  fluted  green. 
N'thing,  as  it  seems  there,  of  not- 
able goodness  or  beauty.  A  very  little 
strength,  and  a  very  little  tallness,  and 
a  few  delicate  long  lines  meeting  in  a 
point — not  a  perfect  point  neither,  but 


blunt  and  unfinished,  by  no  means  a 
creditable  or  apparently  much-cared-for 
example  of  Nature's  workmanship ; 
made,  as  it  seems,  only  to  be  trodden 
on  to-day,  and  to-morrow  to  be  cast  into 
the  oven  ;  and  a  little  pale  and  hollow 
stalk,  feeble  and  flaccid,  leading  down 
to  the  dull  brown  fibres  of  roots.  And 
yet,  think  of  it  well,  and  judge  whether 
of  all  the  gorgeous  flowers  that  beam 
in  summer  air,  and  of  all  strong  and 
goodly  trees,  pleasant  to  the  eyes  or  good 

445 


PSALM  CXLVn. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


for  food — stately  palm  and  pine,  strong 
ash  and  oak,  scented  citron,  burdened 
vine — there  be  any  by  man  so  deeply 
loved,  by  God  so  highly  graced,  as  that 

narrow  point  of    feeble   green 

Consider  what  we  owe   merely  to  the 
meadow  grass,  to  the   covering  of  the 
dark  ground  by  that  glorious  enamel,  by 
the  companies  of  those  soft,  and  count- 
less, and   peaceful  spears.     The  fields  ! 
Follow  but  forth  for  a  little  time  the 
thoughts  of  all  that  we  ought  to  recog- 
nise in    those    words.     All  spring  and 
summer  is  in  them — the  walks  by  silent, 
scented    paths  —  the    rests   in   noonday 
Heat — the  jwy  of  herds  and  flocks — the 
power  of  all  shepherd  life  and  meditation 
— the  life  of  sunlight  upon  the  world, 
falling  in    emerald  streaks,  and  failing 
in  soft  blue  shadows,  where  else  it  would 
have  struck  upon  the  dark    mould,  or 
scorching    dust  —  pastures    beside    the 
pacing   brooks — soft  banks  and  knolls 
of  lowly  hills — thymy  slopes  of  down 
overlooked  by  the  blue  line  of  lifted  sea 
— crisp  lawns  all  dim  with  early  dew,  or 
smooth   in    evening   warmth  of    barred 
sunshine,    dinted     by    happy   feet,    and 
softening   in    their    fall    the    sound   of 
loving  voices  :  all  these  are  summed  in 
those  simple  words  j  and  these  are  not 
all.     We  may  not  measure  to  the  full 
the  depth  of  this  heavenly  gift,  in  our 
own  land  ^  though  still,  as  we  think  of 
it  longer,  the  infinite  of  that  meadow 
sweetness,    Shakespeare's    peculiar  joy, 
would  open  on  us  more  and  more,  yet 
we  have  it  but  in  part.     Go  out  in  the 
spring  time,   among  the  meadows  that 
slope  from  the  shores  of  the  Swiss  lakes 
to  the  roots  of  their  lower  mountains. 
There,  mingled  with  the  taller  gentians 
and  the  white  narcissus,  the  grass  grows 
deep  and  free  ;  and   as  you  follow  the 
winding  mountain  paths,  beneath  arch- 
ing  boughs   all   veiled   and    dim    with 
blossom, — paths  that  for  ever  droop  and 
rise  over  the  green  banks  and  mounds 
sweeping  down  in  scented  undulation, 
steep  to  the  blue  water,  stildded  here 
and  there  with  new-mown  heaps,  filling 
all  the  air  with  fainter  sweetness, —  look 
up  towards  the  higher  hills,  where  the 
waves  of  everlasting  green  roll  silently 
into  their  long  inlets  among  the  shadows 
446 


of  the  pines;  and  we  may,  perhaps,  at 
last  know  the  meaning  of  those  quiet 
words  of  the  147th  Psalm,  *  He  maketh 
grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains.* 

"  There  are  also  several  lessons  sym- 
bolically connected  with  this  subject, 
which  we  must  not  allow  to  escape  us. 
Observe,  the  peculiar  characters  of  the 
grass,  which  adapt  it  especially  for  the 
service  of  man,  are  its  apparent  humi- 
lity and  cheerfulness" 

We  discover  in  the  grass  an  illustrar 
tration  of — 

I.  Christian  humility. 

It  illustrates — 

1.  Tke  usefulness  of  humble  service. 
Grass  "  seems  created  only  for  lowest 
service, — appointed  to  be  trodden  on 
and  fed  upon."  Yet  of  what  great  use 
and  value  it  is  1  In  like  manner  the 
lowly  services  of  humble  souls  are 
indispensably  necessary  and  unspeak- 
ably precious. 

2.  The  beauty  of  humble  service.  To 
a  person  of  pure  and  refined  taste  grass 
is  very  beautiful.  To  gaze  upon  it  is 
in  the  highest  degree  restful  and  grate- 
ful to  the  tired  eye.  How  beautiful  is 
a  life  of  humble  service  !  Our  Lord 
"came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister."  He  said,  "  I  am  among 
you  as  He  that  serveth."  He  "  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,"  &c. 

3.  The  divine  cuxeptance  of  humble 
service.  "  Whosoever  shall  give  to 
drink  unto  one  of  these  little  ones  a 
cup  of  cold  water,"  <fec.  The  Most 
High  has  declared  His  special  regard 
for  the  humble.  (See  Prov.  xvi.  19; 
xviii.  12;  xxiL  4;  xxix.  23;  Isa.  Ivii 
16  ;  1  Pet.  V.  5.) 

Let  us  cultivate  lowly  thoughts  of 
ourselves  ;  for — (1.)  They  are  most  likely 
to  be  true.  (2.)  They  will  promote  our 
usefulness.  (3.)  They  attract  the  Divine 
regard. 

II  Christian  cheerfulness. 

Grass  illustrates — 

1.  Cheerfulness  in  the  prosperity  of 
others.  When  spring  comes  the  grass 
"  rejoices  with  all  the  earth, — glowing 
with  variegated  flame  of  flowers, — wav- 
ing in  soft  depth  of  fruitful  strength." 
The  Christian  rejoices   with  them  that 


HOMILETIG  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  oxlth. 


rejoice ;   he   looks   "  not   on    his    own 

things,  but  also  on  the  things  of 
others ; "  he  is  animated  by  the  charity 
which  "  seeketh  not  her  own." 

2.  Cheerfulness  in  the  midst  of  adver- 
sity. When  winter  conies,  the  grass, 
**  though  it  will  not  mock  its  fellow- 
plants  by  growing  then,  it  will  not 
pine  and  mourn,  and  turn  colourless  or 
leafless  as  they.  It  is  always  green, 
and  is  only  the  brighter  and  gayer  for 
the  hoar  frost."  In  like  manner  the 
Christian  '*  glories  in  tribulation,"  &c. 
(Rom.  V.  3-5).  He  "  reckons  that  the 
suflferings  of  this  present,"  <fec.  (Rom. 
viii.  18).  Thus  the  truly  pious  are 
cheerful  in  the  midst  of  adversity. 

3.  Cheerfulness  increased  hy  adver- 


sity. Qrass  "  seems  to  exult  under  all 
kinds  of  violence  and  suffering.  You 
roll  it,  and  it  is  stronger  the  next  day  ; 
you  mow  it,  and  it  multiplies  its  shoots, 
as  if  it  were  grateful;  you  tread  upon 
it,  and  it  only  sends  up  richer  perfume." 
Thus  afflictions  increase  the  serenity  and 
cbeerfulness  and  strength  of  humble 
souls.  The  proud  are  hardened  and 
embittered  by  them  ;  the  humble  are 
enriched  and  blessed.  Their  "  chastening 
yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness." (Comp.  James  l  2,  3 ;  1  Pet, 
i.  6-9.) 

Let  us  learn  the  lessons  which  the 
grass  may  teach  us  (Matt.  vi.  28-30). 

Let  us  cultivate  humility  of  spirit^ 


Pbaibb  from  Eiobllbnt  Society  and  for  Exoellbnt  Reasons. 

(Fer^M  12-20.) 


We  have  here  another  paragraph  in 
this  hymn  of  praise,  in  which  the  poet 
appeals  especially  to  Jerusalem  to  cele- 
brate the  praise  of  Jehovah ;  and  men- 
tions the  special  reasons  which  its  in- 
habitants had  for  doing  so.  Here  are 
two  main  lines  of  thought — 

L  Praise  from  excellent  society. 

"  Praise  Jehovah,  O  Jerusalem ;  praise 
thy  God,  0  Zion."  By  Jerusalem  and 
Zion  the  Psalmist  means  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  the  ancient  Church.  The 
people  of  God  are  under  special  obliga- 
tions to  praise  Him. 

1.  They  have  a  clearer  knowledge  of 
Him  tlian  others.  They  have  His  re- 
vealed mind  and  will.  He  manifests 
Himself  unto  them  as  He  does  not  unto 
the  world.  He  bestows  upon  them  His 
Holy  Spirit  for  their  instruction  and 
sanctification. 

2.  They  have  a  closer  relation  to  Him 
than  others.  **  Thy  God"  (ver.  12). 
Jehovah  was  in  covenant  relation  with 
Israel.  He  speaks  of  them  as  "  My 
people  Israel."  "  I  will  walk  among 
you,  and  will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall 
be  My  people."  **  Say  unto  Zion,  Thou 
art  My  people."  Christians,  in  like 
manner,  are  now  spoken  of  as  the  people 
of  God.  (See  Acts  xv.  14  ;  Tit.  ii.  14  ; 
Heb.  viil  10 ;  1  Pet.  u.  9,  10.)     Into 


this  relationship  they  were  called  with  a 
view  to  the  praise  of  God,  as  Peter  dis- 
tinctly states  (1  Pet.  ii.  9). 

3.  They  receive  richer  blessings  from 
Him  than  others.  This  is  a  result  of 
their  closer  relation  to  Him.  It  was  so 
in  the  case  of  Israel  (Lev.  xxvi.  1-13). 
It  is  so  in  the  case  of  Christians.  They 
are  guided  by  Him  (Rom.  viii.  14) ; 
heirs  of  Him  (Ibid.  17) ;  interceded  for 
by  His  Spirit  (Ibid.  26) ;  have  all  good 
guaranteed  by  Him  (Ibid.  32)  ;  have 
communion  with  Him  (1  John  i,  3)  ;  are 
called  and  kept  by  Him  unto  a  glorious 
inheritance  (1  Pet.  i.  3-6).  Therefore 
they  are  under  special  obligation  to 
praise  Him. 

IL  Praise  for  excellent  reasons. 

1.  For  the  blessings  of  His  providence^ 
"  He  hath  blessed  thy  children  within 
thee."  Three  of  these  blessings  are 
specified  by  the  poet.  (1.)  Protection. 
*'  He  hath  strengthened  the  bars  of  thy 
gates."  The  reference  is  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
setting  up  of  the  gates  by  Nehemiah 
(Neh.  vii.  1-3).  God  had  enabled 
them  to  succeed  in  this,  notwithstand- 
ing crafty  and  determined  opposition. 
"  God's  almighty  protection  is  the  true 
defence  of  a  country ;  without  it  all 
other  defences  can  neither  help  or  en- 

447 


nALHOXLTiL 


EOMILETW  COMMENT ARY:  PSALMa, 


dure."  God  is  the  guardian  of  His 
people  and  of  His  Church.  (2.)  Peace. 
*'  He  maketh  peace  in  thy  borders."  The 
Margin  is  correct :  "  Who  maketh  thy 
border  peace."  (Comp.  Isa.  Ix.  17,  18: 
*'  I  will  also  make  thy  officers  peace," 
(fee.)  **  If  there  be  trouble  anywhere," 
says  Matthew  Henry,  **  it  is  in  the 
borders,  the  marches  of  a  country;  the 
frontier  towns  lie  most  exposed,  so  that, 
if  there  be  peace  in  the  borders,  there  is 
a  universal  peace,  a  mercy  we  can  never 
be  sufficiently  thankful  for."  Peace  in 
the  soul,  in  society,  and  in  the  world  is 
the  gift  of  God.  The  universal  supre- 
macy of  the  spirit  and  principles  of 
Christ  would  result  in  universal  peace, 
(3.)  Plenty.  "  He  fiUeth  thee  with  the 
finest  of  the  wheat."  The  literal  render- 
ing is,  "  He  satisfieth  thee  with  the  fat  of 
wheat."  (Comp.  Ps.  IxxxL  16.)  God 
gave  them  abundance  of  provisions,  and 
those  of  the  best  kind.  Here,  then,  we 
have  reasons  for  praising  God. 

2.  For  His  agency  in  nature.  "  He 
sendeth  forth  His  commandment  upon 
earth,"  <fec.  (vers.  15-18).  He  is  here 
represented  as — (1.)  The  controller  of 
Nature.  All  its  changes  are  ordered  and 
eflfected  by  Him.  And  they  are  eflfected 
with  ease.  *'  He  sendeth  forth  His  com- 
mandment," and  it  is  at  once  fulfilled. 
"  He  spake,  and  it  was  done,"  <fec.  (Ps. 
xxxiii.  9).  They  are  effected  also  with 
rapidity.  "  His  word  runneth  very 
swiftly."  Snow,  frost,  ice,  cold,  warmth, 
wind,  all  obey  Him  without  reluctance 
and  without  delay.  (2.)  The  projyrietor 
of  Nature.  It  is  *'  His  ice,  His  cold,  His 
wind."  God  is  still  the  sovereign  Pro- 
prietor of  His  universe.  (3.)  The  in- 
stritctor  of  man  by  means  of  Nature,  (a) 
His  sovereignty  over  the  changes  of 
Nature  illustrates  His  control  over  the 
changes  of  the  life  of  His  people, 
Hengstenberg  :  "In  vers.  15-18  there 
is  probably  not  only  an  allusion  to  the 
omnipotence  of  God  as  manifested  in 
Nature  not  less  than  in  the  government 
of  His  people,  but  at  the  same  time  an 
allegorical  representation  of  this  govern- 
ment, so  that  the  Psalmist  perceived  in 
the  operations  of  God  in  Nature  the 
image  of  His  administration  in  Grace — 
in  the  snow,  hoar-frost,  and  frost,  an 
448 


image  of  the  now  no  longer  existing 
time  of  trouble;  in  the  spring  (ver.  18) 
an  image  of  the  returning  salvation. 
(Comp.  the  similar  figurative  representa- 
tions in  Ps.  cvii.)"  He  regulates  the 
vicissitudes  of  their  life,  and  causes  them 
to  "  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  God."  (/3)  His  agency  in 
nature  shows  the  futility  of  opposing 
Him.  "Who  can  stand  before  His 
cold  1 "  "  If  we  cfannot  stand  before 
the  cold  of  His  frosts,  how  can  we  stand 
before  the  heat  of  His  wrath  1 "  (y)  The 
ready  obedience  of  Nature  to  Him 
is  both  a  rebuke  and  an  example  to 
man.  The  immediate  and  universal 
obedience  of  Nature  is  a  reproach  to 
disobedient  man.  He  alone  is  rebel- 
lious, (fee.  He  may  profitably  imitate 
winds  and  stars,  heat  and  cold,  in 
their  prompt  fulfilment  of  the  Creator's 
will. 

3.  For  the  blessings  of  His  revelation. 
"He  showeth  His  word  unto  Jacob," 
&c.  (vers.  19,  20).  *' God's  works  in 
Nature,"  says  Perowne,  "are  for  all 
men ;  *  He  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on 
the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth 
rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust' 
(Matt.  V.  45) ;  but  there  is  a  special 
privilege  belonging  to  His  chosen  people. 
They,  and  they  alone  in  the  world, 
have  received  the  lively  oracles  of  His 
mouth.  (Comp.  Rom.  iii.  1,  2.)"  De- 
litzsch :  "  The  joyful  Hallelujah  is  not 
sounded  because  these  other  nations  do 
not  possess  such  a  positive  knowledge 
of  God's  judgments,  but  because  Israel 
does  possess  it.  It  is  declared  abun- 
dantly in  other  places  that  this  know- 
ledge of  Israel  shall  be  the  means  of 
making  salvation  the  common  property 
of  the  whole  world  of  nations."  And 
Barnes  :  "  There  is  no  nation  now  so 
favoured  as  the  nation  that  has  the 
revealed  will  of  God — the  Bible.  The 
possession  of  that  Book  gives  a  nation  a 
vast  superiority  in  all  respects  over  all 
others.  In  laws,  customs,  morals,  in- 
telligence, social  life,  purity,  charity, 
prosperity,  that  Book  elevates  a  nation 
at  once,  and  scatters  blessings  which 
can  be  derived  from  nothing  else.  The 
highest  benevolence  that  could  be  showed 
to  any  nation  would  be  to  put  it  in  pos- 


HOMILBTIO  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


FflAUf  OZLYfl. 


session  of  the  Word  of  Qod  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  people." 

Here,   then,  we   have  abundant  and 
excellent   reasons   for   uniting    in    the 


praise  of  God.  Let  us  praise  Him  not 
only  occasionally  with  our  voice,  but 
constantly  by  the  loyal  obedience  of  our 
life. 


Winter,  and  its  Moral  Suggbstionb. 
(Verses  16,  17.) 


The  Psalmist  believed  in  God/s  S2ip- 
remacy  over  Nature.  He  saw  His  band 
in  all  its  various  changes.  The  more 
we  discover  of  law  and  order  in  Nature 
tbe  more  should  we  be  impressed  with 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  God ;  and  so 
we  should  render  to  Him  a  more  intel- 
ligent worship,  and  exercise  in  Him  a 
firmer  trust. 

The  Psalmist  also  believed  in  the 
moral  significance  of  Nature.  So  also 
did  David  :  "  The  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God,"  <fec.  Our  great  dramatist 
speaks  of  finding 

**ToDgaeg   in   trees,   books  in   the  ranning 

brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

And  the  Supreme  Teacher  read  and 
pointed  out  the  significance  of  Nature  : 
"  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,"  <fec. 

The  seasons  of  the  year  are  full  of 
instruction.  Spring  is  a  manifestation 
of  the  beauty  and  tenderness  and  love 
of  God ;  summer,  with  its  light  and 
heat,  speaks  of  His  glory ;  autumn 
proclaims  His  bountifulness  ;  and  winter 
indicates  the  stern  aspects  of  His  char- 
acter. Let  us  consider  some  of  the 
suggestions  of  winter. 

I.  Winter  indicates  the  severity  of 
God. 

It  hints  that  there  is  wrath  as  well 
as  love  in  God,  Nor  is  it  alone  in  its 
testimony  in  this  respect.  Earthquakes, 
floods,  storms,  also  testify  to  a  terrible 
power  in  Nature,  and  to  something 
answering  to  it  in  the  God  of  Nature. 
(Comp.  Rom.  xi.  22;  Rev.  vi.   16,  17.) 

II.  Winter  suggests  the  retributive- 
ness  of  the  Divine  arrangements. 

Many  of  those  who  during  the  pre- 
ceding seasons  have  been  guilty  of  in- 
dolence, intemperance,  or  extravagance, 
will  find  the  bitter  result  now.  It  is 
in  winter  that  the  defective  garment 
is  painfully  felt,  and  the  dreary  home 

TOXk  II.  ^  ^ 


seems  utterly  intolerable.  "Whoso 
break eth  an  hedge,  a  serpent  shall  bite 
him."  These  retributive  laws  are  at 
work  in  the  spiritual  realm  also. 

III.  Some  of  the  things  which  are 
peculiar  to  this  season  have  special 
instruction  for  us. 

1.  Snow  illustrates  the  wisdom  and 
tastefulness  of  God.  "  Snow  is  congealed 
vapour  formed  in  the  air  by  the  vapour 
being  frozen  there  before  it  is  collected 
into  drops  large  enough  to  form  hail 
In  the  descent  of  the  vapour  to  the 
earth  it  is  frozen,  and  descends  in  the 
numerous  variety  of  crystallised  forms 
in  which  the  flakes  appear.  Perhaps 
there  is  nothing  more  fitted  to  excite 
pleasing  conceptions  of  the  wisdom  of 
God — not  even  the  variety  of  beauty 
in  flowers — than  the  various  forms  of 
crystals  in  which  snow  appears.  These 
crystals  present  an  almost  endless 
variety  of  forms.  Captain  Scoresby, 
who  gave  much  attention  to  the  subject 
and  to  other  Arctic  phenomena,  says 
that,  *  The  extreme  beauty  and  the 
endless  variety  of  the  microscopic  objects 
perceived  in  the  animal  and  vegetable 
kingdoms  are  perhaps  fully  equalled, 
if  not  surpassed,  in  both  particulars  of 
beauty  and  variety,  by  the  crystals  of 
snow.  Some  of  the  general  varieties  in 
the  figures  of  the  crystals  may  be  referred 
to  the  temperature  of  the  air ;  but  the 
particular  and  endless  modification  of 
the  same  classes  of  crystals  can  only  be 
referred  to  the  will  and  pleasure  of  thei 
First  Great  Cause,  whose  works,  even 
the  most  minute  and  evanescent,  and  in 
regions  the  most  remote  from  human 
observation,  are  altogether  admirable.' " 
The  Divine  wisdom  and  love  of  beauty 
are  everywhere  manifest. 

2.  Siiow  illustrates  the  power  of  GocU 
"Not  the  thunder  itself  speaks  God*8 
power  more  than  the  snow.     It  bean 

9  449 


PIALM  OZliTII. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS, 


His  omnipotence,  soft  and  beautiful  as 
it  seems.  While  it  is  yet  in  the  air,  it  is 
lord  of  the  ocean  and  the  prairies.  Ships 
are  blinded  by  it.  It  is  a  white  dark- 
ness. All  harbours  are  silent  under  this 
plashy  embargo.  The  traveller  hides. 
The  prairies  are  given  up  to  its  behest, 
and  woe  to  him  that  dares  to  venture 
against  the  omnipotence  of  soft-falling 
snow  upon  those  trackless  wastes  !  .  .  . 
But  when  flake  is  joined  to  flake,  and 
the  frosts  within  the  soil  join  their  forces 
to  the  frosts  descended  from  the  clouds, 
who  shall  unlock  their  clasped  hands? 
Who  shall  disannul  their  agreement  1  or 
who  shall  dispossess  them  of  their  place  ? 
Gathered  in  the  mountains,  banked  and 
piled  till  they  touched  the  very  clouds 
again  in  which  once  they  were  born  and 
rocked,  how  terrible  is  their  cold,  and 
more  terrible  their  stroke  when,  slipping, 
some  avalanche  comes  down  the  moun- 
tain-side, the  roar  and  the  snow-stroke 
loud  as  thunder  and  terrible  as  light- 
ning !  God  gives  to  the  silent  snow  a 
voice,  and  clothes  its  innocence  and 
weakness  with  a  power  like  His  own." 

3.  Snow  also  illustrates  *'  the  power  of 
littles."  Small,  insignificant,  and  feeble 
in  the  extreme  is  the  snow-flake  when 
alone  ;  but  when  multitudes  of  them  are 
united  and  firmly  frozen,  their  power  is 
dreadful — sometimes  irresistible  and  ter- 
ribly destructive. 

IV.  Winter  is  an  emblem  of  old  age. 

Poets  and  artists  in  personifying  win- 
ter have  generally  pictured  it  as  an  aged 


man  or  woman.  Spring  is  an  emblem 
of  youth ;  summer  of  young  manhood  ; 
autumn  of  mature  manhood ;  and  then 
our  life  passes  into  the  winter  of  old  age. 
How  frequently  does  old  age  seem  like 
winter — cold,  cheerless,  barren  !  But  as 
spring  is  being  prepared  in  winter,  and 
winter  shall  pass  into  spring,  so  the  aged 
Christian  is  preparing  for  eternal  youth, 
and  the  winter  of  his  age  shall  pass  into 
the  "everlasting  spring"  of  heaven. 

V.  Winter  is  an  emblem  of  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  bodies  of  the  departed. 

In  winter  Nature  is  not  dead;  it 
only  seems  so.  It  is  full  of  life  and 
activities;  and  the  result  will  be  mani- 
fest in  spring.  So  also  with  the  bodies 
sown  in  *'  God's  acre."  God  shall  awake 
them  from  their  deep  wintry  slumbers. 
*'  All  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear 
His  voice,"  &c. 

VI.  Winter  is  an  emblem  of  the 
present  moral  state  of  the  world  as  it 
often  appears  to  us. 

We  see  much  of  evil  and  suffering, 
much  of  darkness  and  mystery,  much  of 
madness  and  more  of  sin  amongst  men. 
But  it  will  not  be  so  always.  God  is  at 
work ;  and  out  of  the  darkness  He  will 
educe  light,  <fec. 

**  Ye  noble  few  who  here  unbending  stand 
Beneath  life's  pressure,  yet  bear  up  awhile, 
And  what  your  bounded  view,  which  only 

saw 
A  little  part,  deemed  evil  is  no  more ; 
The  storms  of  wintry  time  will  quickly  pass. 
And  one  unbounded  spring  encircle  all." 

— ThoiMon, 


The  Divine  Goodness  in  Nature,  Providence,  and  Graob. 

{Verse  18.) 


We  owe  much  to  Divine  revelation  for 
the  more  exalted  views  we  entertain  of 
the  character,  the  perfections,  and  the 
grace  of  God.  It  was  the  distinction  of 
the  Jews  that  they  possessed  **  the  lively 
oracles."  Hence  the  superiority  of  their 
faith  and  worship  over  those  of  neigh- 
bouring nations. 

Men  mould  their  idols  in  their  own 
shape  and  image :  and  the  worshipper 
soon  reflects  the  character  of  the  idols 
he  adores.  God  condemns  this.  The 
controversy  between  Him  and  man  has 
450 


been, — "Thou  thoughtest  that  I  was 
altogether  as  thyself." 

I.  We  see  much  of  the  Divine  good- 
ness in  the  vast  economy  of  Nature 
and  Providence. 

*'  He  sendeth  out  His  word,  and 
melteth  them,"  <fec.  God  changes  the 
times  and  seasons — 

1.  In  an  unexpected  moment.  When 
the  frost  was  at  its  height. 

The  wintry  season  was  sometimes  very 
severe  in  Judea  and  Palestine ;  usually 
lasted  about  six   weeks  ;  though  some- 


HOMILBTIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXLVIIT. 


times  intermingled  with  casual  mitiga- 
tions. Severe  about  Jerusalem — having 
both  hail  and  snow.  But  when  the  sky 
is  agitated  by  those  tempestuous  winds 
called  Levanters,  the  cold  is  so  piercing, 
the  conflict  so  great  of  hail,  ice,  snow, 
and  rain,  that  many  of  the  poor  people 
and  their  cattle  perish.  And  it  is  dread- 
ful to  be  at  the  mercy  of  armed  bands 
at  those  times.  An  Oriental  describing 
a  defeated  army  near  Ascalon  says  :  '*  In 
haste  they  threw  away  their  armour  and 
clothes,  but  soon  sunk  under  the  cold, 
together  with  want  of  food,  slippery  and 
rugged  roads,  which  were  everywhere 
furrowed  and  broken  up  by  torrents,  that 
they  were  taken  captives  in  the  woods 
and  on  the  mountains,  and  threw  them- 
selves into  the  hands  of  their  enemies 
rather  than  perish."  How  welcome, 
then,  the  sudden  and  unexpected  change 
in  the  text !     "  He  causeth  His  wind," 

2.  B^  very  simple  means.  The  south 
wind  particularly; — for  then  the  waters, 
before  still  and  motionless,  flow  abun- 
dantly. So  it  is  by  very  slight  means 
that  God  in  His  Providence  relieves 
trial  and  restores  peace.  (Com  p.  Ps. 
cxxvi.  1,  4.)  A  word  of  advice  from  a 
friend  may  change  our  plaiis — a  letter 
— or  an  accidental  interview  with  a 
stranger,  <fec 

n.  We  owe  much  to  God  in  the 
economy  of  Grace. 

God  has  His  Bofteuing  dispensa- 
tiona. 


1.  In  the  conversion  of  the  sinner  it  is 
not  all  terror,  but  much  mildness.  The 
Lord  opened  the  heart  of  Lydia.  By 
nature  the  heart  of  man  is  hard  and 
impenetrable,  like  the  earth  beneath 
the  frost ;  cold  and  stubborn  ;  without 
any  w.lrmth  of  love  to  God  and  Christ 
and  spiritual  things.  But  when  God 
sends  His  word,  accompanied  with 
Divine  power,  it  melts  them.  When 
the  south  wind  of  His  blessed  Spirit 
penetrates  the  heart,  they  are  con- 
vinced of  sin  and  righteousness  and 
judgment. 

2.  In  the  edification  of  believers  it  is 
not  all  terror.  They  owe  much  to  Bar- 
nabas the  son  of  Consolation,  as  well  as 
to  Boanerges  the  son  of  Thunder.  The 
strong  wind,  earthquake,  and  fire  were 
succeeded  by  the  "still  small  voice," 
When  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arises 
on  them,  it  is  with  healing  in  His 
wings.  *'  Awake,  O  north  wind ;  and 
come,  tliou  south"  ...  to  show  that 
every  wind  may  blow  kindly  to  the 
Christian. 

3.  /?i  the  descent  of  the  Dark  Valley 
it  is  not  all  terror.  Death  conies  \\itli 
gentle  step.  We  tread  on  velvet. 
Stephen  pleading,  (fee.  (Acts  vii.  59, 
60.) 

Ill  We  shall  owe  much  to  God  in  a 
future  world. 

The  curse  banished.  A  more  favour- 
ing constitution  of  things.  "  Long  nights 
and  darkness  dwell  below,"  —  Samiiel 
Thodey. 


PSALM    CXLVIH 
Introduotion. 

••  In  thii  splendid  anthem  the  Psalmist  calls  upon  the  whole  creation,  in  its  two  great  divi- 
sions (according  to  the  Hebrew  conception)  of  heaven  and  earth,  to  praise  Jehovah.  Things 
with  and  things  without  life,  beings  rational  and  irrational,  are  summoned  to  join  the  mighty 
chorus.  The  Psalm  is  an  expression  of  the  loftiest  devotion,  and  embraces  at  the  same  time 
the  most  comprehensive  view  of  the  relation  of  tlie  cresiture  to  the  Creator.  Whether  it  is 
exclusively  the  utterance  of  a  heart  filled  to  the  full  with  the  thoutrht  of  the  infinite  majesty  of 
God,  or  whether  it  is  also  an  anticipition,  a  prophetic  forecast,  of  ihe  final  glory  of  creation, 
when,  at  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God,  the  creation  itself  shall  also  be  redeemed  from  the 
bondage  of  corru{>tion  (Rom.  viii.  18-23),  and  the  homage  of  praise  shall  indeed  be  rendered  by 
all  things  that  are  in  heaven  and  earth  and  under  the  earth,  is  a  question  into  which  we  need 
not  enter  The  former  seems  to  my  mind  the  more  probable  view ;  but  the  other  is  as  old  ai 
Hilary,  who  sees  the  end  of  the  exhortation  of  the  Psalm  to  he,  '  Ut  oh  depulsam  saculi  vanU 
totem  creaiura  omnia,  ex  magnis  oficiorum  suorum  lahorihns  aJ)iolutay  et  in  beato  regno  ceUrnitatit 

i6l 


MAUI  OZIiTm. 


MOMILSTIC  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


ra^uand^  retpirans,  Deum  tuum  et  Iceta  pradtcat  et  mtteta,  tt  ipta  teeundum  A»0ttoUm  fa 
glonam  beatce  cetemitatU  asmmptci, '  >«^  -nr  -• 

"  The  Psalm  consists  of  two  equal  parts — 
"I.  The  praise  of  God  in  heaven  (vers.  1-6). 
**II.  The  praise  of  God  on  earth  (vers.  7-12)."— Pej-otwia 

God's  Praise  in  the  Heavens, 


(Vnses 

Tht  opening  verse  of  the  Psalm  **  is 
not  to  be  restricted  merely  to  the  angels. 
It  is  the  prelude  comprising  all  after- 
wards enumerated,  angels,  sun,  and 
moon,"  stars,  highest  heavens,  and 
waters  above  the  heavens.     Notice — 

I.  The  praise  of  God  by  heavenly 
beings. 

"Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  angels; 
praise  ye  Him,  all  His  hosts."  "His 
hosts  "  we  understand  as  signifying  His 
angels,  as  in  1  Kings  xxii.  19.  The 
expression  indicates  (1.)  Their  immense 
number.  "The  number  of  them  was 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and 
thousands  of  thousands"  (Rev.  v.  11). 
(2.)  Their  disciplined  order.  Like  a 
vast  army  they  execute  the  commands 
of  the  Lord,  their  great  Leader.  The 
praise  which  they  ofifer  to  God  is — 

1.  Voluntary.  They  are  intelligent 
beings,  and  possess  moral  freedom ;  and 
their  worship  is  free,  fervent,  and  joy- 
ous. The  hosts  of  stars  praise  God 
without  will  j  the  hosts  of  angels  praise 
Him  in  full  and  hearty  exercise  of  their 
will. 

2.  Constant.  The  praise  of  God  is 
the  vital  breath  of  their  being.  "  Their 
worship  no  interval  knows."  "  They 
have  no  rest  day  and  night,  saying. 
Holy,  holy,  holy,"  &c.  And  yet  they 
ever  rest ;  for  all  their  service  is  refresh- 
ing and  rapturous. 

3.  Thorough.  They  praise  God  with 
all  their  powers, — with  their  songs  and 
their  services ;  with  their  lips  and  their 
lives ;  with  their  reverent  adoration 
(Isa.  vi.  2,  3),  and  their  ready  obedience 
(Ps.  ciii.   20,  21  ;  Dan.  ix.  21-23). 

I  .  The  praise  of  God  by  heavenly 
bodies. 

"  Praise  ye  Him,  sun  and  moon,"  &c. 
(vers.  3-6).  "The  heaven  of  heavens" 
is  the  highest  heavens.  "  The  waters 
above  the  heavens "  are,  we  think,  the 
clouds.  (Comp.  Gen.  i  7.)  Thus  in 
462 


1-6.) 

the  first  member  of  ver.  4  the  highest 
region  of  heaven  is  spoken  of,  and  in 
the  second  member  the  lowest  region  of 
heaven.  These  heavenly  bodies  and 
places  are  called  upon  to  praise  Jehovah 
because  they  were, 

1.  Created  hy  Him.  "  Let  them 
praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah;  for  He 
commanded,  and  they  were  created." 
How  great  is  the  power  that  created  all 
these,  and  that  with  such  perfect  ease  I 
He  merely  uttered  His  commands ; 
and  they  came  at  once  into  existence, 
(Comp.  Gen.  i.  3;  Ps.  xxxiii.  6,  9.) 

2.  Sustained  by  Him.  "  He  hath 
also  stablished  them  for  ever  and  ever." 
Perowne:  "And  He  made  them  to  stand 
(fast)  for  ever  and  ever."  The  stability 
and  permanence  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
are  owing  to  the  omnipotent  will  of 
God,  He  commands,  and  they  stand 
fast.     "  By  Him  all  things  consist." 

3.  Governed  by   Him.       "  He   hath 
made  a  decree   which  shall  not  pass." 
Perowne  :  "  *  He  hath  given  them  a  de- 
cree, and  they  transgress  it  not : '  lit., 
*  And  none  of  them  transgresses  it ;  *  for 
the  verb  is  in  the  singular,  and  therefore 
distributive.   .  .  .   The    verb   is   never 
used  elsewhere  of  the  passing  away  of  a 
law,  but  always  of  the  transgression  of 
a  law."    "  The  law,"  says  Hengstenberg, 
"is  the  sphere  of  being  which  is  ap- 
pointed to  each  part  of  creation,  and  in 
which  it  is  held  by  the  Divine  omni- 
potence ;  as,  for  example,  the  stars  must 
pursue  their  course,  the  upper  and  lower 
waters  must  remain  continually  distinct." 
He  has  marked  out  the  orbits  in  which 
the  heavenly  bodies  "  move ;  He  has  so 
bound  them  that  they  perform  their  re- 
volutions with  unerring  accuracy  in  the 
very  path  which  He  has  prescribed.     So 
accurate  are  their  movements  that  they 
can  be  predicted  with  exact  precision ; 
and  so  uniform,  that  any  succession  of 
ages  does  not  vary  or  affect  them." 


HOMILBTIO  COMMENT!  RT:  PSALMS.  malm  oxLvni, 


In   thus   fulfilling  their   course,  and  The  derout  Psalmist  calls  upon  the 

answering  so  perfectly  the  design  of  their  heavenly  beings   and    bodies  to   praise 

Creator,  they  praise  Him.      As  a  faith-  Jehovah.     We  may  not  infer  from  this 

ful    and    masterly    rendering    of    The  that  they  need  any  incitements  from  us 

Messiah   is  the  most   eloquent   tribute  to  awaken  their  praise  to  God  ;  but  it  is 

to  the  splendid  genius  of   Handel ;  as  an  evidence  that  pious  souls  would  have 

St    Paul's    cathedral    is    the    grandest  Him   praised  universally.      "When  we 

memorial  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren  ;  so  call  upon  the  angels  to  praise  God  "says 

the  stability  and  order,  the  serviceable-  Matthew  Henry,  "  we  mean  that  we  de- 

ness    and    beauty    of    God's    creations  sire  God  may  be  praised  by  the  ablest 

praise  Him.     They  exhibit  His  power,  hands  and  in  the  best  manner,— that  we 

and  wisdom,  and  goodness,  «fec.      "  All  are  sure  it  is  fit  He  should  be  so  —that 

Thy   works  shall   praise  Thee.''     "  The  we  are  pleased  to  think  He  is  so —that 

heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,"  &c.  we  have   a   spiritual   communion   with 

(See  Exposition  of  Ps.   xix.   1-6;  cxlv.  those  that  dwell  in  His  house  above  and 

TTT    mi.  are  still  praising  Him, — and  that  we  have 

III.  The  interest  of  godly  men  In  come  by  faith,  and  hope,  and  holy  love 

God  s  praise  in  the  heavens.  to  the  *  innumerable  company  of  angelaL'* 

God's  Praise  on  the  Earth. 

(Verses  7-U.) 

Let  ns  consider—  3.  The  animal  creation.     "Praise  Je- 

I.  The  variety  of  God's  praise  on  hovah  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons  and 

**^D    •       T  ^^^  deeps.  .  .  .   Beasts,   and  all   cattle, 

*  Praise  Jehovah  from  the  earth,  ye  creeping  things,  and  flying  fowl"     The 

dragons,   and    all    deeps,"    &c.       The  sea-monsters  are  named  in  particular,  be- 

Psalmist  calls  upon    every  province  of  cause  ''by  their  gigantic  size  they  more 

our  world  and  every  variety  of  life  to  especially  proclaim  the  omnipotence  of 

celebrate  the  praise  of  God.     He  sum-  God's  creative  power.     The  same  end  is 

mons —  served  by  the  description  of  leviathan  in 

1.  The  inorganic  creation.  '*  Fire  the  Book  of  Job."  By  **  beasts  and  all 
and  hail,  snow  and  vapour,  stormy  cattle"  the  poet  probably  intended  to 
wind  fulfilling  His  word  ;  mountains  set  forth  wild  and  tame  beasts  ;  "  those 
and  all  hills."  "  Mountains  and  hills  "  which  roam  the  forests,  and  those  which 
are  mentioned  probably  because  they  are  have  been  domesticated  for  the  service 
the  most  conspicuous  objects  on  earth,  of  man."  "  Creeping  things  and  winged 
and  rise  nearest  to  the  heavens.  The  fowl "  "  are  grouped  together  for  a 
"stormy  wind"  is  named,  because  in  its  reason  similar  to  that  for  which  fruitful 
wild  course  it  seems  to  spurn  all  law,  trees  and  cedars,  and  beasts  and  cattle, 
and  to  defy  all  control,  and  yet  it  fulfils  are  grouped  together,  to  embrace  the 
the  will  of  God  and  faithfully  performs  whole.  The  expression  embraces  the 
His  behests.  The  *'fire"  is  probably  loftiest  and  lowest;  those  which  ascend 
the  lightning,  and  the  "vapour"  is  not  farthest  above  the  earth,  and  those 
mist,  but  smoke,  answering  to  fire  as  which  creep  upon  its  surface." 

snow  answers  to  hail.  All  these— the  whole  of  the  inorganic, 

2.  The  vegetable  creation.  "Fruitful  of  the  vegetable,  and  of  the  animal 
trees,  and  all  cedars."  Fruit-trees  are  creation — are  summoned  by  the  Psalmist 
mentioned  in  distinction  from  forest  to  praise  God.  According  as  they  fulfil 
trees,  and  because  of  their  usefulness,  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
"The  cedars  are  named  because  they  created  they  may  be  said  to  unite  in 
especially  proclaim  the  creative  power  the  great  chorus  of  praise  to  God,  inas- 
of  God  through  their  greatness  and  much  as  in  their  sphere  and  measure 
majesty;  on  which  account  they  are  they  manifest  the  power,  and  wisdom, 
called  the  cedars  of  God  in  Ps.  Ixxx.  10."  and  goodness  of  God.  (See  Exposition 

453 


MALU  OXLTin. 


MOMILBTJO  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


of  the  preceding  verses,  and  of  Ps.  xix. 
1-6  ;  cxlv.  10.) 

4.   The  rational  creation.     "  Kings  of 
the  earth,  and  all  peoples,"  <fec.   (vers.  1 1 
-13)     Perowne  :    "  Man    is    mentioned 
last,  as  the  crown  of  all.     The  first  step 
(see  ver.  7)  and  the  last  are  the  same 
as  in  Gen.  i."     The  Psalmi^it  clearly  in- 
tends to  include  all  men  in    His  sum- 
mons to  praise  God.     (1.)  Persons  of  all 
ranks.     "  Kings  of    the  earth,  and  all 
people ;    princes,  and  all  judges  of  the 
earth."    The  rulers  and  the  ruled  ;  those 
who    have    much    authority  and   those 
who  have  none  ;  the  high  and  the  low. 
Those  high  in  position  and  in  authority 
are  under  special  obligations  to  praise 
God,  and  those  in  the  lowest  position 
are  not  exempt  from  this  obligation.  (2.) 
Persons  of  both  sexes.     "Young  men 
and    maidens."    Men  by  their  strength 
and    skill,  women   by  their   trust  and 
tenderness,  <fcc.,  must  praise  God.     (3.) 
Persons  of  all  ages.     "  Both  young  men 
and  maidens ;   old  men  and  children." 
**  Those  in  the  morning  of  life,"  says 
Barnes,  "just  entering  on  their  career  ; 
just    forming    their     character  —  with 
ardour,  elasticity,  cheerfulness,  hope  ; — 
let  them  consecrate  all  this  to  God  : — let 
all  that  there  is  in  the  buoyancy  of  their 
feelings,  in  the  melody  of  their  voices, 
in  their  ardour  and  vigour,  be  employed 
In  the  praise  and  the  service  of  God. 
Old  men,  with  what  remains  of  life,  and 
children,  with  all  that  there  is  of  joyous- 
ness— let  all  unite  in  praising  God.  Life 
as  it  closes,  life  as  it  begins,  let  it  all  be 
devoted  to  God," 

As  the  unreasoning  creation  praises 
God  unconsciously,  the  rational  creation 
should  praise  Him  intelligently  and 
voluntarily.  By  the  songs  of  their 
voices,  by  the  affections  of  their  hearts, 
by  the  adoration  of  their  spirits,  and  by 
the  obedience  of  tbeir  lives,  all  men 
should  praise  God. 

II.  The  universality  of  God's  praise 
on  earth. 

The  Psalmist  calls  for  universal  praise. 
In  the  first  part  of  the  Psalm  he  sum- 
mons all  the  heavens  and  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
Psalm  everything  upon  earth,  to  join 
the  grand  anthem  to  the  honour  of  God. 
454 


The  lower  ranks  of  creation  never  fail 
to  praise  God.  "The  material  world, 
with  its  objects  sublimely  great  or 
meanly  little,  as  we  judge  them ;  its 
atoms  of  dust,  its  orbs  of  fire ;  the  rock 
that  stands  by  the  seashore,  the  water 
that  wears  it  away  ;  the  worm,  a  birth 
of  yesterday,  which  we  trample  under 
foot ;  the  streets  of  constellations  that 
gleam  perennial  overhead  ;  the  aspiring 
palm-tree  fixed  to  one  spot,  and  the  lions 
that  are  sent  out  free  ; — these  incarnate 
and  make  visible  all  of  God  their 
natures  will  admit,"  and  thus  they  praise 
Him.  Man  alone  fails  in  the  tribute 
of  praise  to  God.  But  this  summons  to 
universal  praise  may  be  regarded  as  a 
declaration  of — 

1.  CocTs  right.  The  homage  of  the 
universe  is  due  to  Him. 

2.  The  good  man's  desire.  The  cry  of 
the  heart  of  the  godly  man  is,  "Be 
Thou  exalted,  0  God,  above  the  heavens ; 
Thy  glory  above  all  the  earth."  "  Give 
unto  the  Lord,  0  ye  kindreds  of  the 
people,"  <fec.  (Ps.  xcvl  7-9). 

3.  A  fact  which  loill  he  realised  in  the 
future.  "All  the  ends  of  the  world 
shall  remember,"  <fcc.  (Ibid.  xx.  27). 
"  All  the  earth  shall  worship  Thee,"  &c 
(Ibid.  Ixvi.  4).  "The  earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge,"  &c.  (Isa.  xi.  9). 
"  Unto  Me  every  knee  shall  bow,"  &c. 
(Ibid.  xlv.  23;  ilom.  xiv.  11). 

III.  The  rationality  of  God's  praise 
on  earth. 

It  is  manifestly  and  sublimely  reason- 
able that  universal  worship  should  be 
offered  to  God.  The  Psalmist  adduces 
certain  reasons  for  praising  Him. 

1.  The  glorious  majesti/ of  God.  "Let 
them  praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah ;  for 
His  Name,"  &c.  (1.)  His  majesty  is 
supreme.  "  His  Name  alone  is  exalted." 
"  Who  in  the  heaven  can  be  compared 
unto  Jehovah?"  <fec.  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  6) 
(2.)  His  majesty  is  universal.  "  Hia 
glory  is  above  the  earth  and  heaven.*' 
As  His  majesty  is  universally  manifest^ 
His  praise  also  should  be  universal. 

2.  The  great  goodness  of  God.  (1.) 
In  bestowing  prosperity  upon  His  peo[)le. 
"He  also  exalteth  the  horn  of  His 
people, — the  praise  of  all  His  saints." 
The   lifting   up   of  their   horn   is   the 


HOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


TC4LM  CXLTltL 


bestowment   of  power   and    prosperity 
upon  His  people.     The  line,  "a  praise 
for  all  His  saints,"  is  of  doubtful  inter- 
pretation.    Perowne  :  "  This  may  either 
be   (1)   in   apposition  with   the   whole 
previous  sentence,  viz.,  the  lifting  up  of 
the  horn  is  *a  praise,'  a  glory  to  His 
beloved  (comp.  Isa.  Ixi.  3-1 1  ;  Ixii.  7) ; 
or  (2)  in  apposition  with  the  subject  of 
the  previous  verb,  God  Himself  is   *a 
praise  (i.e.,  object  of  praise)  to,'  <fec.     So 
the  LXX.,  UfMvoi,  Jerome,  laus.     So  the 
P.    B.    V.   gives   the    sense :    *  All    His 
saints  shall  praise  Him.'"     The  latter 
seems  to   us  the   more   probable  inter- 
pretation.    God    had   so    blessed    His 
people  that  praise  to  Him  was  especially 
binding   upon    them,    and    appropriate 


from  them.  (2.)  In  bringing  His 
people  near  to  Himsel£  "The  children 
of  Israel,  a  people  near  unto  Him."  The 
Israelites  were  blessed  spiritually  above 
other  nations.  "  Unto  them  were  com- 
mitted the  oracles  of  God.''  "  Israelites  j 
to  whom  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and 
the  glory,"  (fee.  "But  now  in  Christ 
Jesus  ye "  (Gentiles)  "  who  sometimes 
were  far  off  are  made  nigh  by  the  blood 
of  Christ."  In  these  things  we  have  the 
most  cogent  reasons  for  praise  to  God. 
That  man  should  praise  Him  is  more 
than  reasonable ;  it  is  obligatory ;  it  is 
sacredly  binding.  Nut  to  praise  Him 
is  to  manifest  an  utter  want  of  reverence, 
and  to  be  guilty  of  basest  ingratitude. 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord," 


A  Summons  to  Universal  Praise, 


{Verses 

We  regard  these  verses  as  suggesting 
three  aspects  of  God's  revelation  of 
Himself : — 

I.  As  adapted  to  persons  of  all 
ranks,  and  of  the  most  varied  duties. 

"  Kings  of  the  eai  th,  and  all  people ; 
princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth." 
God's  revelation  of  His  mind  and  will 
must  be  adapted  to  these,  or  this 
sunjmons  to  praise  Him  would  be 
unreasonable.     It  is  so  adapted — 

1.  BecaiLse  of  its  provision  for  the 
needs  which  they  have  in  common.  Kings 
and  their  subjects  alike  need  pardon, 
long  for  immortality,  &c.  God  reveals 
these,  and  the  conditions  upon  which 
they  may  be  obtained. 

2.  Because  of  its  provision  for  the  needs 
which  pertain  to  their  respective  ranks 
and  duties.  It  has  messages  for  both 
kings  and  subjects,  rich  and  poor,  <kc. 

II.  As  adapted  to  persons  of  all  ages. 

"Both  young  men,  and  maidens;  old 
men,  and  children."  He  reveals  Him- 
self as  moral  Governor,  wise  and  kind 


11-13.) 

Father,  infallible  Guide,  abiding  and 
unchanging  Friend,  &c.  "Children" 
can  understand  fatherhood;  "young 
men  and  maidens "  need  guidance ; 
"  old  men  "  can  appreciate  the  Friend 
that  knows  neither  change  nor  death  ; 
and  to  all  beings  of  conscience  moral 
government  is  intelligible. 

III.  As  fitted  to  inspire  the  praises 
of  persons  of  all  ranks  and  ages. 

"  Le  t  them  praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah ; 
for,"  (fee.  Men  of  all  ranks  and  ages  are 
here  called  to  praise  God,  because  of — 

1.  The  incomparable  excellence  of  His 
character,  "For  His  Name  alone  is 
exalted." 

2.  The  conspicuous  duplay  of  His 
majesty.  "  His  glory  is  above  the  earth 
and  heaven."     And,  we  may  add — 

3.  Because  He  confers  rich  and  abun- 
dant blessings  upon  persons  of  all  ranks 
and  ages.  No  man  can  refuse  to  praise 
Him  without  incurring  the  guilt  of 
blackest  ingratitude.  With  heart,  and 
voice,  and  life,  let  us  praise  the  Lord. 


A  People  Near  unto  the  Lord, 

(Verse  U.) 
"A  people  near  unto  Him." 

L  They  are  near  to  Him  because  II.  They  are  near  to  Him  becanse 
they  are  reconciled  to  Him  by  faith  in  they  live  in  habitual  communion  with 
Christ.  Him. 

455 


P8ALM  OILIZ. 


POMILBTTO  OOMMBNTART.  PSALMM. 


III.  They  are  near  to  Him  because 
they  seek  conformity  to  Him. 

IV.  They  are  near  to  Him  because 
they  enjoy  His  protection. 


V.  They  are  near  to  Him  because 
they  shall  be  with  Him  fbr  eTer.^> 
George  Brooke, 


PSALM    CXLIX. 

Introduction. 

Th!i  Pbalm,  like  the  others  of  the  series  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  bears  evident  traces  both 

in  style  and  language,  and  in  the  feelings  which  it  expresses,  of  belonging  to  the  post-exile 
literature.  It  was  probably  composed  soon  after  the  return  from  the  captivity  in  Babylon. 
"It  breathes,"  says  Perowne,  "  tlie  spirit  of  intense  joy  and  eager  hope  which  must  have  been 
in  the  very  nature  of  things  characteristic  of  the  period  which  succeeded  the  return  from  the 
Babylonish  captivity.  Men  of  strong  faith  and  religious  enthusiasm  and  fervent  loyalty  must 
have  felt  that  in  the  very  fact  of  the  restoration  of  the  people  to  their  own  land  was  to  be  seen 
so  signal  a  proof  of  the  Divine  favour,  that  it  could  not  but  be  regarded  as  a  pledge  of  a  glorious 
future  yet  in  store  for  the  nation.  The  burning  sense  of  wrong,  the  purpose  of  a  terrible  revenge, 
which  was  the  feeling  uppermost  when  they  had  first  escaped  from  their  op{)ressors  (as  in  Ps. 
cxxxvii.),  was  soon  changed  into  the  hope  of  a  series  of  magnificent  victories  over  all  the  nations 
of  the  world,  and  the  setting  up  of  a  universal  dominion.  It  is  such  a  hope  which  is  expressed 
here.  The  old  days  of  the  nation  and  the  old  martial  spirit  are  revived.  God  is  their  King 
(ver.  2),  and  they  are  His  soldiers,  going  forth  to  wage  His  battles,  with  His  praises  in  their 
mouth,  and  a  two-edged  sword  in  their  hands.  A  spirit  which  now  seems  sanguinary  and 
revengeful  had,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  its  proper  function  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  was 
not  only  natural  but  necessary,  if  that  small  nation  was  to  maintain  itself  against  the  powerful 
tril)e8  by  which  it  was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides.  But  it  ought  to  require  no  proof  that  language 
like  that  of  vers.  6-9  of  this  Psalm  is  no  warrant  for  the  exhibition  of  a  limilar  apirit  in  th« 
Chriitian  Church." 

The  Jubilant  People  of  God. 
(Verses  1-6.) 


The  Bummons  to  praise  in  this  Psalm 
is  addressed  to  the  people  of  God.  He 
is  to  be  praised  **  in  the  congregation  of 
saints.  Let  Israel  rejoice  in  Him,"  &c 
The  tone  of  the  Psalm  is  intensely  joy- 
ous.    Let  us  notice — 

I.  The  reasons  of  their  rejoicing. 

1.  l^he  mercies  received  by  them  from 
God.  That  they  had  received  recent  and 
great  mercies  from  God  is  implied  in  the 
summons  to  "  sing  unto  Him  a  new 
song."  The  new  song  was  for  some  new 
and  special  occasion  for  praise.  Probably 
the  mercies  to  be  thus  celebrated  were 
the  return  from  captivity,  and  the  re- 
building of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and 
of  the  Temple.  And  these  blessings  had 
awakened  new  hopes  which  were  also  to 
find  expression  in  the  new  song.  In  the 
life  of  the  people  of  God  new  mercies 
are  ever  calling  for  new  songs.  His 
goodness  should  enkindle  the  gratitude 
and  joy  of  His  people. 

2.  The  relationships  sustained  hy  them 
to  God.  (1.)  They  are  His  subjects. 
"Let  the  children  of  Zion  be  joyful  in 

466 


their  King."  Barnes :  **  In  God  as  their 
King,  (a.)  That  they  have  a  King,  or 
that  there  is  One  to  rule  over  them.  (6.) 
That  they  have  such  a  King;  One  so 
wise,  so  powerful,  so  good,  (c.)  That 
He  administers  His  government  with 
so  much  efficiency,  impartiality,  equity, 
wisdom,  goodness."  Perowne  :  '*  Such 
a  King  will  not  leave  them  under  foreign 
rule ;  He  will  break  the  yoke  of  every 
oppressor  from  their  neck."  Let  the 
Christian  rejoice  that  he  is  a  subject 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  (2.)  They  are  His 
saints.  "  The  congregation  of  saints. 
Let  Israel  rejoice  in  Him  that  made 
him.  Jehovah  taketh  pleasure  in  His 
people.  Let  the  saints  be  joyful  in 
glory."  They  are  His  people  and  His 
saints  because  He  has  made  them  what 
they  are.  He  selected  and  called  the 
Israelites  to  their  high  spiritual  privi- 
leges ;  He  made  them  His  own  covenant- 
people.  Christians  are  now  made  by 
Him.  "  All  that  they  have  and  are  is 
to  be  traced  to  Him,  as  really  as  the 
universe  of  matter  is  to  be  traced  to  His 


HO  M I  LET W  COMMENTARY :  PSALMS. 


PSALM  OXIilX. 


power.  Their  condition  is  not  one  of 
development,  or  one  which  is  the  result 
of  their  own  wisdom,  grace,  or  power;" 
but  of  His  giace  and  power.  (3.)  They 
are  His  (Jdiyht.  "Jehovah  taketh  plea- 
sure in  His  people."  He  regards  them 
with  complacency.  He  taketh  pleasure 
(a)  in  their  progress  and  prosperity ; 
{h)  in  their  worship  and  service ;  (c)  in 
their  future  destiny.  He  has  provided 
heaven  for  them,  and  He  is  preparing 
them  for  heaven.  "  So  shall  we  ever  be 
with  the  Lord," 

3.  The  adorning  wrought  in  them  hy 
God.  "  He  beautifieth  the  meek  with 
Balvation."  The  [)rimary  significance  of 
these  words  is  well  expressed  by  Moll: 
"  The  help  which  God  vouchsafes  to  His 
oppressed  people  against  their  oppressors 
is  not  merely  manifested  to  the  world  as 
deliverance  and  salvation  generally,  but 
serves  also  as  an  ornament  and  honour 
to  that  people  themselves,  so  that,  coming 
forth  arrayed  in  it,  they  gain  for  it  re- 
cognition and  praise  (Isa.  Iv.  5;  Ix.  7, 
9,  13  ;  Ixi.  3 ;  Ixii.  7)."  God's  spiritual 
salvation  is  a  beautifying  of  the  human 
character  and  life.  The  lowly  and  meek 
He  clothes  with  Divine  grace.  "The 
beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  is  upon 
them."  "Beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  they  are  changed  into 
the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  as 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."  For  all  these 
reasons  let  the  people  of  God  rejoice  in 
Him. 
II.  The  character  of  their  rejoicing. 

1.  It  is  religious.  They  are  called 
to  "sing  unto  Jehovah;"  to  "rejoice 
in  Him;"  and  to  "praise  His  Name." 
Their  exultation  is  not  sinful  or  selfish, 
but  holy  and  in  hon(mr  of  God. 

2.  It  is  constant.  Both  by  day  and 
**  in  the  congregation  of  saints,"  and  also 
by  night  and  "  upon  their  beds."  They 
are  to  cultivate  an  abiding  spirit  of  pious 
gladness;  to  "rejoice  evermore." 

3.  It  is  intense.  The  number  of  times 
and  the  various  forms  of  expression  em- 
ployed by  the  Psalmist  in  calling  upon 
them  to  rejoice,  and  the  various  modes 
in  which  he  calls  upon  them  to  express 
their  joy,  show  that  the  joy  is  deep  and 
full,  active  and  abounding. 

III.  The  expression  of  their  rejoicing. 


The  poet  calls  upon  Israel  to  expreas 

their  joy — 

1.    With '' a  new  song."     The  exultant 

soul  naturally  speaks  the  language  of 
poetry  in  the  tones  of  music.  New  mer- 
cies demanded  "a  new  song."  They 
required  "a  new  song"  also  to  express 
"  all  the  new  hopes  and  joys  of  a  new 
era,  a  new  spring  of  the  nation,  a  new 
youth  of  the  Church  bursting  forth  into 
a  new  life." 

"  Thus  far  His  arm  hath  led  as  on  % 
Thus  far  we  make  His  mercy  known  : 
And  while  we  tread  this  desert  land, 
New  mercies  shall  new  songs  demand." 

2.    With  music  and  dancing.     "Let 
them  praise  His  Name  in  the  dance ;  let 
them  sing  praises  unto  Him  with  the 
timbrel  and  harp."     "  The  dance,"  says 
Dr.    Hayman,  "is  spoken  of  in   Holy 
Scripture  universally  as  symbolical  of 
some  rejoicing,  and  is  often  coupled  for 
the  sake  of  contrast  with  mourning,  as 
in  Eccles.  iii.  4,  *a  time  to  mourn  and 
a  time  to  dance '  (comp.  Ps.  xxx.   1 1 ; 
Matt.  xi.  17).     In  the  earlier  period  it 
is  found  combined  with  some  song  or 
re/ram  (Exod.  xv.   20;  xxxii.   18,   19; 
1    Sam.   xxi.    U);  and   with  the   tam- 
bourine (A.  v.,  *  timbrel'),  more  especially 
in  those  impulsive  outbursts  of  popular 
feeling  which  cannot  find  sufficient  vent 
in  the  voice  or  in  gesture  singly,  .  .  . 
Women  among  the  Hebrews  made  the 
dance  their  especial  means  of  express- 
ing their  feelings."    But,  as  Barnes  re- 
marks, "there  is  much  in  the  Hebrew 
mode  of  worship  which  cannot  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  forms  of  Christian  worship 
without  an  obvious  incongruity  and  dis- 
advantage ;  and  because  a  thing  has  been 
done,    and   is   not   in   itself   wrong,   we 
should  not  infer  that  it  should  always 
be   done,   or   that  it   would  be  always 
best."     Yet  whatever  is  seemly  and  suit- 
able in  muoic  may  be  employed  as  an  aid 
in  the  expression  of  religious  joy. 

3.  Both  in  public  and  in  private. 
"  In  the  congregation  of  saints,"  and 
"  upon  their  beds."  In  the  public  as- 
semblies for  religious  worship  we  should 
extol  our  King  and  our  God.  And  iu 
the  quiet  of  the  night  our  holy  joy  may 
rise  to  Him  in  songs  of   praise.     The 

457 


PSALH  OXUX. 


HO  MI  LET IC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


godly  man  praises    God   both   in    the      cultivate  and  exhibit  a  spirit  of  religions 
chamber  and  in  the  church.  thankfulness  and  joy.     "  Rejoice  in  the 

Let  Christians  see  their  privilege,  and      Lord  alway  :  again  I  say,  Rejoice." 

The  People  and  Pleasure  of  the  Lord* 
{Verse  4.) 
"  For  the  Lord  taketh  pleasure  in  His  people," 


L  The  people. 

1.  They  have  a  special  relation  to  God. 

2.  They  are  regenerated  and  sancti- 
fied by  His  Spirit. 

3.  They  are  conformed  to  His  image. 

4.  They  are  zealous  for  His  glory. 
n.  The  pleasure. 

L  In  their  persons. 


2.  In  their  welfare, 

3.  In  their  services, 

4.  In  their  graces. 

5.  In  their  fellowship. 

(1.)  Are  we  the  Lord's  people  t  (2.) 
Do  we  realise  our  privilege  as  the  ob- 
jects of  the  Divine  delight?  (3.)  Do 
we  delight  in  God  ? — George  Brooki, 


**  The  Beauties  of  Holiness." 

{Verse  4.) 
**He  beautifieth  the  meek  with  salvation." 


**  Salvation  '*  is  a  word  which  is  used 
by  men  to  represent  very  different  things. 
The  lowest  conception  of  it  is  that 
miserably  selfish  one  of  deliverance  from 
punishment  and  the  realisation  of  hap- 
piness. The  highest  is  perhaps  this, 
the  attainment  of  spiritual  beauty,  be- 
coming like  Christ,  finding  our  heaven 
in  God.  Salvation  beautifies  human 
character  and  life.  I  fear  we  are  not 
sufficiently  alive  to  the  importance  of 
beauty  in  the  culture  of  chatacter, 
God  has  made  the  soul  receptive  of  the 
beautiful,  capable  of  appreciating  it, 
and  profiting  by  it ;  and  "  He  hath 
made  everything  beautiful  in  its  time," 
to  minister  to  man's  thirst  for  beauty. 
The  beautiful  in  character  is  for  many 
reasons  the  highest  beauty.  This  God 
promises  to  the  meek.  How  many 
blessings  come  to  the  meek  which  the 
proud  never  receive  !  "  The  meek  will 
He  guide  in  judgment,  and  the  meek 
will  He  teach  His  way."  "The  meek 
shall  inherit  the  earth,  and  shall  delight 
themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace." 
"  The  Lord  lifteth  up  the  meek"  *'  The 
High  and  Lofty  One  that  inhabiteth 
eternity  dwelleth  with  him  that  is  of 
a  contrite  and  humble  spirit,  to  revive 
the  spirit  of  the  humble  and  to  revive 
the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones."  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  To  this  man  wiU  I  look, 
458 


even  to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  con- 
trite spirit."  "  Blessed  are  the  meek,  for 
they  shall  inherit  the  earth."  *'  Jehovah 
beautifieth  the  meek  with  salvation." 

Meekness  in  itself  is  beautiful.  Who 
does  not  love  the  modest  violet  ?  **The 
ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit  is 
in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price."  Our 
Lord  Jesus  is  "  meekand  lowly  in  heart." 
Haughtiness  repels  ;  meekness  attracts. 

Meekness  is  fur  titer  beautified  with  sal- 
vation. Salvation  is  the  transforming  of 
our  morally  disfigured  natures  into  glo- 
rious and  unfading  beauty. 

I.  Salvation  promotes  physical 
beauty. 

Sin  is  moral  ugliness ;  and  it  tends  to 
produce  physical  ugliness.  The  sins  of 
the  drunkard,  and  glutton,  and  sen- 
sualist, banish  refinement,  purity,  and 
beauty  from  the  features,  and  make 
them  coarse,  vulgar,  and  brutal.  Every 
debauch  thickens  the  lips,  dims  the  fire 
of  the  eye,  effaces  something  of  the 
spiritual  from  the  countenance,  and 
stamps  it  with  something  animal  or 
even  brutal.  Now",  as  salvation  pro- 
motes temperance,  chastity,  and  spi- 
rituality, it  also  promotes  physical 
beauty.  Purity  of  heart  will  gradually 
and  silently  mould  even  coarse  features 
into  refinement  and  comeliness.  Again, 
evil    passions  deform  their  victims      I 


i 


HO  MI  LET  10  COMMENT  ART:  PSALMS, 


HALM  OXUX. 


once  saw  three  portraits  of  one  man, 
taken  at  different  periods  of  Ms  life. 
There  was  that  of  youth — fair,  beau- 
tiful, and  apparently  ingenuous;  there 
was  that  of  young  manhood,  still  fair 
and  beautiful,  but  with  more  of  matu- 
rity and  less  of  ingenuousness ;  there 
was  that  of  the  man  still  young  in 
years,  but  old  in  passion,  old  in  sin  ; 
and  now  the  features  are  hard,  cynical, 
bitter,  repulsive,  reminding  one  of  his 
own  words — 

"  To  be  thus— 
Grey-hair'd  with  anguish,  like  these  blasted 

pines, 
Wrecks  of  a  single  winter,  barkless,  branch- 

less, 
A  blighted  trunk  upon  a  cursed  root. 
Which  but  supplies  a  feeling  to  decay— 
And  to  be  thus,  eternally  but  thus, 
Having  been  otherwise  1 " 

But  while  evil  passions  darken  and 
scar  the  features,  salvation,  which 
curbs  and  conquers  evil  passion,  and 
imparts  cabuness  and  peace  and  love, 
gives  repose  and  sweetness  and  beauty 
of  countenance.  If  truth  and  purity, 
spirituality  and  meekness,  peace  and 
love  are  ours,  they  will  inform  the 
features  with  a  spiritual  and  divine 
beauty. 

II.  Salvation  is  spiritual  beauty. 

**  Beauty  is  the  robe  of  holiness  :  the 
more  holiness,  the  more  beauty." 

1.  The  heauty  of  salvation  resembles 
the  beauty  of  God  Himself.  Moses 
prayed,  '*  Let  the  beauty  of  the  Lord 
our  God  be  upon  us."  Meekness 
and  patience,  truth  and  righteousness, 
purity  and  love, — these  constitute  the 
infinite  loveliness  of  the  ever-blessed 
God  ;  and  these  are  the  beauties  with 
which  He  adorns  the  meek.  All 
human  beauty  is  but  a  reflection  of 
*'  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God." 
Every  grace  that  adorns  human  char- 
acter is  a  ray  from  the  splendours  of 
the  loveliness  of  the  Infinite. 

2.  This  beauty  is  varied.  The  beauty 
of  creation  is  varied.  Each  of  the  seasons 
has  its  own  peculiar  charm.  There  are 
the  beauties  of  the  sea  and  shore,  the 
beauties  of  wild  mountain  districts, 
and    the     beauties   of    quiet,    fertile. 


pastoral  scenes.  So  spiritual  beauty  is 
varied.  In  Mary  we  have  the  beauty  of 
a  receptive,  meditative,  deep,  deathless 
love ;  in  Martha  that  of  an  active,  care- 
ful, ministering,  and  equally  deathless 
love ;  in  Job  we  have  the  beauty  of 
trust  in  God  sorely  tested  and  sub- 
limely triumphant ;  in  Paul  the  beauty 
of  a  self  -  surrender  and  earnestness 
which  has  never  been  surpassed  by 
man,  <fec. 

The  totality  of  beauty  is  found  only 
in  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  "  Altogether 
Lovely." 

3.  This  beauty  is  immortal.  The 
beauty  of  flowers  soon  perishes.  The 
beauty  of  "  the  human  face  divine  **  is 
short-lived  even  at  the  longest.  As  our 
great  dramatist  says — 

**  Beauty  is  but  a  vain  and  doubtful  good, 
A  shining  gloss  that  fadeth  suddenly  ; 
A  flower  that  dieth  when  first  it  'gins  to  bud ; 
A  brittle  glass  that's  broken  presently  ; 
A  doubtful  good,  a  gloss,  a  glass,  a  flower, 
Lost,  faded,  broken,  dead  within  an  hour." 

But  spiritual  beauty  is  a  pure  good, 
and  it  never  perishes.  "Truth,  love, 
and  holiness  are  Divine,  and  always 
young  and  beautiful.  The  beauties  with 
which  they  invest  the  soul  have  nothing 
temporal  about  them ;  they  are  the 
beauties  of  eternity."  The  beauties  of 
salvation  are  unfading. 

4.  This  beauty  is  ever-increasing.  The 
meek,  rejoicing  in  perpetual  youth,  will 
increase  in  loveliness  through  all  eternity. 
The  redeemed  soul  will  become  invested 
with  more  and  more  of  the  Divine 
beauty  for  evermore. 

Let  us  seek  to  be  beautified  with 
salvation.  We  have  not  sufficiently 
thought  of  salvation  as  an  adornment,  a 
thing  of  light  and  loveliness.  We  have 
not  sufficiently  sought  to  add  sweetness 
to  strength,  and  tenderness  to  integrity 
of  character.  Too  often  the  thought  of 
our  safety  has  filled  our  mind  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  nobler  solicitude  to  be 
beautiful  with  Divine  grace  and  radiance. 
Yet  we  are  being  saved  only  "  so  as  by 
fire  "  if  we  are  not  growing  in  amiabi- 
lity and  loveliness.  Oh,  seek  to  be 
**  beautified  with  salvation  *' ! 


469 


PSALM  OZIJZ. 


HOMILETW  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS, 


Tbx  Militant  People  of  God. 
(Verses  e-9.) 


In  interpreting  this   portion  of  the 

Psalm  we  shall  do  well  to  heed  the 
words  of  Delitzsch  :  *'  The  dream  that 
it  was  possible  to  use  such  a  prayer  as 
this,  without  a  spiritual  transubstantia- 
tion  of  the  words,  has  made  them  the 
signal  for  some  of  the  greatest  crimes 
with  which  the  Church  has  ever  been 
stained.  It  was  by  means  of  this  Psalm 
that  Casper  Sciopius  in  his  *  Clarion  of 
tlie  Sacred  War '  {Glassicum  Belli  Sacri), 
a  work  written,  it  has  been  said,  not 
with  ink,  but  with  blood,  roused  and 
inflamed  the  Roman  Catholic  Princes 
to  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  It  was  by 
means  of  this  Psalm  that,  in  the  Pro- 
testant community,  Thomas  Miinzer 
fanned  the  flames  of  the  War  of  the 
Peasants.  We  see  from  these  and  other 
instances  that  when  in  her  interpretation 
of  such  a  Psalm  the  Church  forgets  the 
words  of  the  Apostle,  '  the  weapons  of 
our  warfare  are  not  carnal  *  (2  Cor,  x.  4), 
she  falls  back  upon  the  ground  of  the 
Old  Testament,  beyond  which  she  has 
long  since  advanced,  —  ground  which 
even  the  Jews  themselves  do  not  venture 
to  maintain,  because  they  cannot  alto- 
gether withdraw  themselves  from  the 
influence  of  the  light  which  has  dawned 
in  Christianity,  and  which  condemns  the 
vindictive  spirit.  The  Church  of  the 
Old  Testament,  which,  as  the  people  of 
Jehovah,  was  at  the  same  time  called  to 
wage  a  holy  war,  had  a  right  to  express 
its  hope  of  the  universal  conquest  and 
dominion  promised  to  it,  in  such  terms 
as  those  of  this  Psalm  ;  but,  since  Jeru- 
salem and  the  seat  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment worship  have  perished,  the  national 
form  of  the  Church  has  also  for  ever 
been  broken  in  pieces.  The  Church 
of  Christ  is  built  up  among  and  out  of 
the  nations ;  but  neither  is  the  Church 
a  nation,  nor  will  ever  again  one  nation 
be  the  Church,  xar'  i^oyj^v.  Therefore 
the  Christian  must  transpose  the  letter 
of  this  Psalm  into  the  spirit  of  the  New 
Testament" 

We  may  use  these  verses  as  suggest- 
ing certain  features  of  the  spiritual  war- 
fare of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
460 


L  The  true  spirit  of  the  Ohurch  mili- 
tant. 

The  people  of  God  in  this  world  are 
a  combatant  people.  They  have  enemies 
which  they  must  war  against.  They 
have  to  contend  against  evil  (1)  in 
themselves.  *'  The  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  spirit,"  <fec.  "I  keep  under  my 
body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection,"  &c. 
Starke  :  *'  Wage  a  good  warfare  against 
thyself  above  all ;  take  vengeance  and 
inflict  punishment  upon  the  heathenish 
desires  of  thy  heart ;  strike  down  with 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit  what  contends 
against  God  and  His  honour."  They 
have  to  contend  against  evil  (2)  in  the 
world.  Satan  is  active  in  human  society. 
Wicked  men  are  arrayed  against  the 
cause  of  God.  Sinful  principles  and  prac- 
tices are  mighty  upon  earth.  Against 
these  Christians  have  to  do  battle.  They 
have  to  conquer  the  world  to  Christ  by 
the  power  of  His  grace  and  truth.  The 
spirit  in  which  they  should  wage  this 
warfare  is  indicated  in  the  text :  With 
'*  the  high  praises  of  God  in  their  mouth, 
and  a  two-edged  sword  in  their  hand.*' 
Let  them  go  into  the  conflict  with  songs; 
let  their  spirit  be  that  of  triumphant 
trust  in  God.  The  victories  of  truth 
and  grace  are  never  won  either  by 
cowards  or  by  the  self-confident,  but  by 
those  whose  strength  is  in  God,  and 
whose  courage  is  inspired  by  Him.  Not 
with  craven  fears,  but  with  confident 
hopes,  let  the  soldiers  of  Christ  war  their 
warfare. 

11.  The  trusty  weapon  of  the 
Church  militant. 

**A  two-edged  sword  in  their  hand." 
The  grand  weapon  in  Christian  warfare 
is  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is 
the  Word  of  God."  "  The  Word  of  God 
is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword."  The  only  wea-  | 
pon  which  can  slay  error  is  truth.  The 
only  power  which  can  convert  men  to 
God  is  His  own  power  in  the  Gospel 
"  The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty  through  God,"  Ac. 
Many  and  glorious  victories  have  al- 
ready  been   won   by  this  weapon,    and 


EOMILETIC  COMMENTARY:  PSALMS. 


MALVOL. 


yet  wider  and  more  brilliant  triumphs 
will  be  achieved  by  it  in  the  future. 

III.  The  Divine  warrant  of  the 
Church  militant. 

"To  execute  upon  them  the  judg- 
ment written."  Various  interpreta- 
tions bave  been  given  to  these  words; 
some  of  which  we  need  not  mention 
here.  The  correct  view,  we  think,  will 
be  found  in  this  brief  quotation  from 
Perowne :  **  Others  understand  by  '  a 
judgment  written '  one  in  accordance 
with  the  Divine  will  as  written  in 
Scripture,  as  opposed  to  selfish  aims  and 
passions  (so  Calvin).  But  perhaps  it  is 
better  to  take  it  as  denoting  a  judgment 
fixed,  settled — as  committed  to  writing, 
80  as  to  denote  its  permanent,  unalter- 
able character — written  thus  by  God 
Himself.  As  in  Isa.  Ixv.  6,  God  says, 
*  Behold,  it  is  written  before  Me,'  <kc." 
Christians  have  a  Divine  commission 
for  their  holy  warfare.  That  warfare 
accords  with  the  purposes  and  plans  of 
God.  *'  As  Thou  hast  sent  Me  into  the 
world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent  them 
into  the  world."  "  Go  ye,  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  the  nations,"  <fec.  "Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach,"  &c. 
And  He  who  thus  sends  them  forth, 


promises  to  be  with  them,  and  to  con- 
duct them  to  complete  victory. 

IV.  The  grand  design  of  the  Church 
militant. 

"This  honour  have  all  His  saints." 
More  correctly,  "  It  is  an  honour  for  all 
His  saints."  "  That  is,"  says  Perowne, 
"  the  subjection  of  the  world  described 
in  the  previous  verses.  But  perhaps  it 
is  better  to  take  the  pronoun  as  referring 
to  God  :  '  He  is  a  glory  to  all,'  <kc.  :  *.«., 
either  (1)  His  glory  and  majesty  are  re- 
flected in  His  people ;  or  (2)  He  is  the 
author  and  fountain  of  their  glory ;  or 
(3)  He  is  the  glorious  object  of  their 
praise."  The  latter  seems  to  us  the  true 
interpretation.  The  glory  of  the  victory 
of  the  Church  in  the  subjection  of  all 
the  world  to  God  will  be  entirely  His  in 
the  eyes  of  all  His  people.  All  the  praise 
and  honour  they  will  ascribe  to  Him. 
The  glory  of  God  is  the  grand  end  of 
the  work  and  warfare  of  the  Church. 
God  shall  "be  all  in  all."  "  It  should 
lead  us  to  shout  ^  HalldvQah^  that  we 
are  permitted  to  be  employed  in  any  way, 
however  humble,  in  carrying  out  the 
Divine  plans,  or  in  accomplishing  those 
great  designs  which  He  contemplates  to- 
ward our  race,"    "  Praise  ye  Jehovah." 


PSALM     OL, 
Introduction. 

Dean  Perowne  speaks  of  thii  Psalm  as  *'  the  great  closing  Hallelujah,  or  Dozology,  of  the 

Psalter,  in  which  every  kind  of  musical  instrument  is  to  bear  its  part  as  well  as  the  voice  of 
man,  in  which  not  one  nation  only,  but  'everything  that  hath  breath,*  is  invited  to  join.  It 
is  one  of  those  Psalms  which  *  declare  their  own  intention  as  anthems,  adapted  for  that  pubhc 
worship  which  was  the  glory  and  delight  of  the  Hebrew  people  ;  a  worship  carrying  with  it  the 
soul  of  the  multitude  by  its  simple  majesty  and  by  the  powers  of  music,  brought  in  their  utmost 
force  to  recommend  the  devotions  of  earth  in  the  ears  of  heaven.'  'Take  it,'8ay8  Isaac  Taylor, 
'as  a  sample  of  this  class,  and  bring  the  spectacle  and  the  sounds  into  one,  for  the  imagination 
to  rest  in.  It  was  evidently  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  music  that  these  thirteen  verses  are  put 
together ;  it  was  no  doubt  to  give  effect  first  to  the  human  voice,  and  then  to  the  alternations  of 
instruments, — loud  and  tender  and  gay, — with  the  graceful  movements  of  the  dance,  that  the 
anthem  was  composed  and  its  chorus  brought  out, 

" '  Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord  I 
Praise  ye  the  Lord  I 

*'  'And  so  did  the  congregated  thousands  take  up  their  part  with  a  Bhont,  even  u  the  roiot 
of  many  waters.'  ** 

The  Doxologt. 


L  The  sphere  of  the  Divine  praise. 

"  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  God  in 
His  sanctuary,  praise  Him  in  the  firma- 
ment of  His  power." 


1.  In  His  temple  upon  earth,  "Praise 
God  in  His  sanctuary."  We  understand 
this  of  the  earthly  temple,  the  place 
which   He  had  chosen    for  the  special 

461 


nuucoBk 


mOMILETW  OOMMBNTAMT:  P8ALM8. 


manifestation  of  His  presence  and  be- 
•towment  of  His  grace. 

2.  In  the  heavens.  "  Praise  Him  in 
the  firmament  of  His  power;"  or  "in 
the  expanse  of  His  power."  "  The  call 
here  is  on  all  that  dwell  above  that  ex- 
pause,  in  heaven,  to  unite  with  those  on 
earth  in  His  praise.  It  is  called  *  the 
expanse  of  His  power  *  because  it  is  in 
the  heavens — in  the  sun,  the  moon,  the 
stars — that  the  power  of  God  seems  to 
be  principally  displayed."  The  earthly 
temple  and  heaven  are  mentioned  to- 
gether probably  to  indicate  the  uni- 
versality of  His  praise.  (Comp.  1  Kings 
viii.  39,  43,  49  ;  Ps.  xi  4.) 

n.  The  reason  of  the  Divine  praise. 

**  Praise  Him  for  His  mighty  acts." 

1.  In  creation.  "  By  the  word  of 
Jehovah  were  the  heavens  made,"  ^o, 
(Ps.  xxxiil  6-9). 

2.  In  providence.  What  marvellous 
and  mighty  acts  He  had  wrought  on 
behalf  of  the  Israelites  ! 

3.  In  redemption.  In  this  the  power 
of  His  wisdom  and  grace  is  most  clearly 
and  impressively  displayed. 

III.  The  measure  of  the  Divine  praise. 
"  Praise  Him  according  to  His  excel- 
lent greatness."  Hebrew  :  "  The  multi- 
tude of  His  greatness."  Conant :  **  His 
abundant  greatness."  We  are  to  en- 
deavour to  praise  Him  in  a  manner 
which  shall  be  in  proportion  to  His 
greatness  and  glory.  Man's  praise 
should  correspond  with  God's  perfec- 
tions, as  far  as  this  is  possible.  But 
when  the  most  perfect  praise  is  offered 
by  the  whole  universe  to  God,  it  will 
still  fall  below  His  infinite  greatness  and 
glory.  "  He  who  will  review  only  his 
own  life  will  discover  so  many  of  God's 
deeds  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  thank 
Him  suflficiently  through  eternity." 

IV.  The  manner  of  the  Divine  praise. 
"  Praise  Him  with   the  sound  of  the 

trumpet,"  <kc.  (vers.  3-5).  These  verses 
suggest  the  following  observations  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  God  should  be 
praised  :— 

1.  The  praise  of  God  should  be 
joyous.  "Beyond  doubt,"  says  Heng- 
stenberg,  "the  pipe"  (A.  V.,  "organ"), 
"  which  otherwise  did  not  belong  to  the 
Temple  service,  was  brought  into  requisi- 
462 


tion  here  only  because  the  feast  had  at 
the  same  time  the  character  of  a  popular 
rejoicing.  In  like  manner  also  timbrels 
and  dances.  .  .  ,  The  cymbals  were 
used  only  at  festivals  of  a  joyful  kind. 
(Comp.  2  Sam.  vi.  5 ;  Ezra  iii.  10 ; 
Neh.  xii  27. ) "  Joyful  worship  is  accept- 
able to  God  and  honours  Him. 

2.  The  praise  of  God  should  be  as  per- 
fect as  possible.  "Everything  pertain- 
ing to  worship  should  surely  indicate  a 
reverent  solicitude  to  bring  to  God  the 
best  that  we  can  proffer — an  offering 
perfect  in  every  appliance  that  can  give 
emphasis  to  its  adoration,  intensify  its 
rapture,  or  beautify  its  love.  Hence,  the 
devoutest  worshippers  will  provide  for 
their  praise  hymns  of  the  highest  poetry, 
and  music  of  the  richest  harmony." — Dr, 
H.  Alton. 

3.  The  praise  of  Gk)d  should  thoroughly 
engage  the  powers  of  our  spirits.  It  be- 
hoves us  to  stir  up  our  warmest  and 
holiest  affections  to  praise  God.  Where 
these  are  not  engaged,  the  most  perfect 
poetry  and  music  will  not  find  accept- 
ance with  God.  "The  finest  music 
before  God  is  the  harmonious  praise  and 
glorifying  of  God  by  the  soul  united  in 
all  its  powers,  with  all  the  senses  and  all 
the  members." 

V.  The  offerers  of  the  Divine  praise. 

"  Let  everything  that  hath  breath 
praise  the  Lord."  "  The  very  ambiguity 
of  ^all  breath^  gives,"  says  Alexander, 
"  an  extraordinary  richness  of  meaning 
to  the  closing  sentence.  From  the 
simple  idea  of  wind-instruments  men- 
tioned in  the  context,  it  leads  us  by 
a  beautiful  transition  to  that  of  vocal, 
articulate,  intelligent  praise,  uttered  by 
the  breath  of  living  men,  as  distinguished 
from  mere  lifeless  instruments.  Then, 
lastly,  by  a  natural  association,  we 
ascend  to  the  idea  expressed  in  the 
common  version,  ^everything  that  hath 
breath^  not  merely  all  that  lives,  but  all 
that  has  a  voice  to  praise  God.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  Psalter  more  majestic 
or  more  beautiful  than  this  brief,  but 
most  significant,  finale,  in  which  solem- 
nity of  tone  predominates,  without,  how- 
ever, in  the  least  disturbing  the  exhilara- 
tion which  the  close  of  the  Psalter  seems 
intended  to  produce,  as  if  in  emblemati- 


EOMILSTia  aOMMBNTARr:  PSALMS, 


MALM  Ob. 


cal  allusion  to  the  triumph  which  awaits 
the  Church  and  all  its  members,  when, 
through  much  tribulation,  they  shall 
enter  into  rest."  All  living  creatures 
are  summoned  to  unite  in  celebrating 
the  praises  of  God, — all  in  the  air  and 
in  the  waters,  all  on  earth  and  all  in 


heaven, — ^let  everything  according  to  its 
capacity  and  power  join  in  the  universal 
anthem.  "All  creatures,"  says  Moll, 
"  should  join  their  voices  to  the  praise 
of  God ;  but  the  members  of  His  Church 
should  lead  the  choir,*' 


The  Subjects  and  Expressions  of  Praise. 


► 


CK>spel  worship  should  be  joyful  wor- 
ship. "  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  Psalms 
and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs."  The 
Gospel  was  sung  at  Bethlehem  before  it 
was  preached.  We  may  well  say  with 
Greg.  Nazianzen :  "  Lord,  I  would  be  a 
musical  instrument  for  Thee  to  touch, 
that  I  may  show  forth  Thy  praise." 

I.  Some  subjects  of  praise  in  which 
we  should  unite,  derived  from  these 
closing  Psalms.  Praise  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church — 

1.  For  what  He  is  in  Himself,  **  Praise 
Him  according  to  His  excellent  great- 
ness ; "  and  according  to  the  display  of 
that  greatness  in  each  succeeding  dispen- 
sation. (1.)  Rejoice  in  the  plenitude  of 
His  Divine  perfections.  The  inspired 
writers  always  speak  of  Christ  as  of  One 
who  was  far  greater  than  any  description 
that  could  be  given  of  Him.  God  has 
given  Him  as  Mediator,  "a  Name  which 
is  above  every  name" — above  every  name 
on  earth  or  in  heaven.  For  power  :  He 
has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 
For  wisdom :  in  Him  are  hid  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge. 
For  love :  His  love  passeth  knowledge. 
For  unchanging  truth  and  faithfulness  : 
His  righteousness  is  like  the  great 
mountains.  **  Thy  faithfulness  hast  thou 
established  in  the  very  heavens."  (2.) 
Rejoice  in  tJie  tenderness  of  His  human 
sympathies.  It  is  remarkable  that  those 
who  have  suffered  the  most  for  the  cause 
of  Christ,  replete  with  His  consolations, 
have  spoken  the  most  loudly  of  His 
name.  As  David's  Psalms  in  the  wilder- 
ness are  the  sweetest  of  his  psalms,  so 
PauPs  letters  in  prison  are  the  most  de- 
lightful of  his  epistles. 

2.  For  the  wonders  of  His  Providence 
in  the  defence  and  preservation  of  His 
Church,  "Praise  Him  for  His  mighty 
acts,"    Some  of  these  are  enumerated  in 


these  last  five  Psalms ;  e.g.^  the  bringing 
back  of  Israel  from  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity ;  the  rebuilding  and  the  fortifica- 
tion of  Jerusalem ;  the  erection  of  the 
second  Temple,  which  was  a  wonderful 
thing  for  a  colony  of  returned  exiles  to 
attempt.  All  Providence  is  subordinated 
to  the  interests,  and  to  the  Church,  of 
the  Messiah.  The  government  of  earth 
and  heaven  is  upon  His  shoulder.  (Comp. 
Isa.  ix.  6.)  The  world  was  built  by 
Him  and  for  Him,  for  this  very  purpose, 
that  it  might  be  the  scene  and  theatre 
of  His  Divine  and  gracious  government 
in  the  great  economy  of  human  salvation. 
(Comp.  John  i.  1-3,  16.)  With  the 
work  of  Redemption  in  promise,  the 
Psalmist  might  well  say,  and  with  the 
work  of  Redemption  in  fulfilment,  we 
may  well  add  with  him,  "Praise  Him 
for  His  mighty  acts ;  praise  Him  accord- 
ing to  His  excellent  greatness." 

3.  For  the  special  relation  in  which 
He  stands  to  us;  that  is,  to  all  who  bow 
to  His  sceptre,  and  experience  the  eflScacy 
of  His  redeeming  grace.  He  is  their 
King;  and  they  have  the  greatest  reason 
to  rejoice  in  Him. 

II.  In  what  way  our  love  and 
loyalty  to  Christ  should  he  made 
manifest. 

1.  In  a  more  full  and  frequent  con- 
templation of  His  infinite  excellence^  His 
ineffable  love.  In  Ps.  cxlviii.  14  He 
is  said  to  be  "  The  praise  of  all  His 
saints, — a  people  near  unto  Him." 
Especially  should  this  be  the  case 
with  us  when  we  are  called  to  contem- 
plate the  great  mystery  of  redemption, 
'•*  wherein  He  hath  abounded  toward  us 
in  all  wisdom  and  prudence."  In  other 
events  and  providential  deliverances 
we  see  the  putting  forth  of  the  power 
of  His  arm  ;  but  here  we  see  unveiled 
the  movements  of    His   heart.     Think 

463 


ItALMOL. 


HOMILETIO  COMMENTARY:  PaAUOk 


then  of  the  mighty  acts  of  our  all- 
glorious  Redeemer,  &c.  .  .  .  These  are 
the  trophies  of  Chjist's  power ;  these  the 
putting  forth  of  the  resources  of  His 
boundless  and  ineffable  love. 

2.  -By  a  careful  study  of  His  Provi- 
dences— towards  the  Church  in  general, 
or  towards  ourselves  in  particular.  A 
great  c'uster  of  Providences  is  referred 
to  in  these  Psalms.  Great  and  signal 
revolations  of  empire  among  the  Persians, 
the  Babylonians,  and  the  Medes,  brought 
about  their  return  from  captivity;  — 
their  conquerors  being  moved  only  by 
political  considerations,  as  our  public 
men  are  this  day,  and  not  at  all  about 
God's  designs.  He  girded  Cyrus  with 
his  might,  though  Cyrus  knew  Him  not 
(Isa,  xlv.  5).  So  the  great  Reformation 
ill  Germany  was  backed  by  reasons  of 
state,  as  they  are  called;  it  being  the 


interest  of  many  princes  there  to  counte- 
nance Luther's  doctrines  to  stop  the 
growing  greatness  of  Charles  V.,  who 
designed  to  enslave  them.  How  wonder- 
ful that  the  building  and  the  fortifica- 
tion of  Jerusalem  should  have  been 
consented  to  and  brought  about  by 
their  original  enemies  and  enslavers, 
and  even  at  the  cost  of  their  conquerors  ! 
.  .  .  How  much  we  may  see  the  hand 
of  God  in  our  national  history  !  in  the 
Norman  Conquest — the  encouragement 
of  the  Reformation  by  Henry  VIII. — 
the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada — and 
the  glorious  Revolution  by  William  III. 

3.  In  zealous  efforts  for  the  extension 
of  His  kingdom.  "  Let  everything  that 
hath  breath  praise  the  Lord." 

III.  What  great  losers    they  are 
who  have  no  part  in  these  benefits ! 
— Samuel  Thodey, 


Universal  Praise. 
{Verse  6.) 


This  summons  to  praise  Jehovah  with 
which  the  Book  of  Psalms  closes,  is  not 
Jewish,  but  human ;  not  narrow  or 
exclusive,  but  broad  and  catholic.  Let 
us  look  at  universal  praise — 

L  As  the  grand  prerogative  of  God. 

Praise  is  due  to  Him  from  all  His 
creatures  because — 

1.  Of  the  perfections  of  His  Being. 
We  should  praise  Him  for  what  He  is 
in  Himself — the  Supremely  Great  and 
Good.  His  character  is  fitted  to  awaken 
the  devout  admiration,  and  inspire  the 
reverent  affection,  and  enkindle  the 
hearty  praise  of  all  His  intelligent 
creatures. 

2.  Of  his  relations  to  the  universe,  (1.) 
Creator,  *'  Of  old  hast  Thou  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth,  and  the 
heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands.*' 
*'  All  things  were  made  by  Him,  and 
without  Him  was  not  anything  made 
that  was  made."  "  We  are  also  His 
offspring."  (2.)  Sustainer.  Constantly 
and  completely  all  things  depend  upon 
Him.  "  By  Him  all  things  consist." 
*'  Everything  that  hath  breath"  draws 
that  breath  from  Him.  "  He  giveth  to 
all  life,  and  breathy  and  ail  things.  .  .  . 

464 


For  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being."     (3.)  Sovereign.     All  things 
are  ordered  by  Him.    "  He  doeth  accord- 
ing to  His  will  in  the  army  of  heaven, 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ; 
and  none  can  stay  His  hand,  or  say  unto 
Him,   What  doest  ThouT'     Therefore,      ., 
"  everything  that  hath  breath  "  should    ^ 
praise  Him.     The  lower  orders  of  crea- 
tion praise  Him  as  embodiments  of  His 
ideas,  and  by  fulfilling  in  their  existence 
His  purpose  concerning  them.     And  the     i 
intelligent    orders  of    creation    should 
praise   Him    by   their   loyal    obedience, 
reverent  worship,  and  supreme  affection. 
This  is  due  to  Him.     He  has  a  most 
righteous  and  powerful  claim  upon  this. 
3.  Praise  is  due  to  Him  especially  from 
man.     Man's  creation  is  a  higher  thing 
than  that  of  other  creatures,  and  brings 
him    into    closer    relations    with    God. 
"  Man's  origin  as  to  his  essential  inward 
being,  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  spi- 
ritual, is  not  so  much  a  creaiion  as  an 
outbirth."     *' The    Lord    God    breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and 
man  became  a    living    soul."     "  There 
is  a  spirit  in  man  ;  and  the  inspiration 
of    the  Almighty   giveth    them    under- 


HOMILETIC  COMMENT  A  JIT:  PSALMB. 


PBALM  OL 


standing."  '*  The  God  of  the  spirits  ot 
all  flesh."  Hence  man's  increased  obli- 
gation to  praise  God.  The  position  as- 
signed to  man  still  further  increases  his 
obligation  to  honour  God.  The  Creator 
made  man  sovereign  over  the  lower 
ranks  of  creatures ;  and  gave  the  earth 
to  him  for  his  sustentation  and  ser- 
vice (Gen.  i  2%,  29;  Ps.  cxv.  16). 
And  man,  as  a  sinner,  was  redeemed 
by  God  at  an  immense  cost.  "  Ye 
were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things,"  &c  (1  Pet.  L  18,  19).  The 
obligations  of  man  to  praise  God  are  of 
the  most  sacred  and  binding  character. 
Universal  worship  belongs  by  right  to 
God  :  it  is  His  prerogative.  "  Give 
unto  the  Lord  the  glory  due  unto  His 
Name,"  <kc. 

IL  As  the  precious  privilege  of 
man. 

To  contribute  to  the  universal  wor- 
ship of  God  is  not  only  the  binding 
duty,  but  the  exalted  privilege  of  man. 

1.  Because  of  the  acceptarice  of  our 
praise  hy  Uim.  That  we  are  permitted 
to  approach  God  with  our  praises,  and 
assured  of  a  gracious  welcome,  is  surely 
great  condescension  on  His  part,  and  a 
great  privilege  on  ours.  Holy  angels 
worship  Him  with  intensest  ardour  and 
humblest  reverence  (Isa.  vi.  3) ;  yet  He 
deigns  to  hear  and  receive  the  praises  of 
such  ignorant  and  sinful  beings  as  we  are. 

2.  Because  of  the  influence  of  our 
praise  upon  us.  The  worship  of  God 
has  the  most  blessed  effect  upon  the 
true  worshipper.  (1.)  Worship  is  jby- 
giving.  It  affords  richest  and  purest 
delight  to  the  devout  spirit.  One  of 
the  highest  joys  of  heaven  is  the  joy  of 
worship.  (Comp.  Rev.  iv.  10,  11 ;  v.  9- 
U  ;  yii.  9-12.)  (2.)  Worship  is  trans- 
forming, Man  becomes  like  unto  the 
thing  or  the  being  whom  he  really 
worships.  The  worship  of  God  pro- 
motes in  the  worshipper  the  attributes 
of  huinility,  reverence  for  all  that  is 
true  and  holy,  self-forgetfulness,  sanctity, 


and  the  highest  spiritual  beauty.  They 
who  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  trutn 
are  changed  into  likeness  to  Him  "  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord." 

Brothers,  behold  your  privilege  I  To 
worship  God  doubtless  is  your  duty ; 
but  it  is  much  more  than  that :  more 
beautiful  and  blessed  than  a  mere  duty ; 
it  is  a  sacred,  precious,  exalted  privilege. 
Regard  it  as  such ;  practise  it  as  such. 

ni.  As  the  fervent  desire  of  the 
good. 

It  is  the  wish  of  all  godly  souls  that 
"everything  that  hath  breath  would 
praise  the  Lord.**  They  manifest  their 
desire  by — 

1.  Praising  Him  themselves.  To 
praise  Him  is  to  them  a  rich  delight 
By  their  songs  and  by  their  services,  by 
their  profession  and  by  their  practice, 
they  honour  Him, 

2.  Galling  upon  others  to  praise  Him, 
"  Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise 
Jah.  Praise  ye  Jah."  The  godly  soul 
would  incite  others  to  join  in  this  blessed 
service,  and  would  have  all  creatures 
to  unite  in  the  melodious  and  mighty 
chorus  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God. 

This  is  the  best  mode  of  attaining  to 
this  universal  praise  to  God.  The  time 
advances  when  "  everything  that  hath 
breath  will  praise  the  Lord."  We  may 
contribute  to  its  advent  by  sincerely 
praising  Him  ourselves,  and  by  induc- 
ing others  to  join  us  in  praising  Him. 

"  Dear  Lord,  our  God  and  Saviour  I  for  Thy 

gifts 
The  world  were  poor  in  thanks,  though  every 

Boul 
Should  nought  but  breathe  them|  eveiy 

blade  of  grass, 
Tea,  every  atomie  of  earth  and  air 
Should  utter  thanks  like  dew. 

Wherefore  let  us  Him  ceaselessly  adore ; 
Praise  Him,  ye  chosen  of  the  earth  and  skies , 
Ye  visible  raylets  of  invisible  Light, 
Blend  with  the  universal  Heavens  your  lays  I 
Immortal  leaflets  of  Love's  holy  flower, 
Breathe  forth  the  perfume  of  eternal  praise.** 

— BaUejf» 


*  LBT  EVKBTTHINQ  THAT  HATH   BREATH  PRAI8B  JAH  1 

HALLELUJAH  I » 


VOL.  tL 


2a 


4es 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


PAOB 

Absoluts,  the,    •      •      •      •       .  208 

the  incomprehensibleness  of  God  is 
generally  acknowledged,        .        .  208 

men  have  universally  striven  to  solve 
the  mystery,   .        .        .        .        .  209 

the  Bible  gives  us  a  revelation  of  all 
that  may  be  known  of  God  in  a 
manner  suited  to  our  faculties  and 
saving  to  our  soul, ....  209 
Acceptable  prayer,  attributes  and  ad- 
vantages of,  .  .  .  .  .  434 
Advent,  the  features  and  effects  of  the 
King's, 90 

the  features  of  His  advent — awful 
majesty,  widest  conspicuousness, 
perfect  righteousness,     .        .        .90 

the  effects  of  His  advent,  .        .        .90 

it  should  occasion  joy  to  all ;  it  does 
occasion  destruction  to  His  foes, 
confusion  to  idolaters,  and  gladness 
to  His  people,         .        .        .        .91 
Adversity  and  God's  salvation,  man's, .  289 

man's  adversity  is  often  extreme  in 
its  intensity,  duration,  and  danger,  289 

God's  salvation  is  the  remedy  for 
man's  adversity,     ....  289 

Man's  adversity  should  lead  him  to 
cry  for  God's  salvation,  .        .        .  290 

This  remedy  should  be  sought  for 

holy  ends, 290 

Affliction,      ......  297 

The  characteristics  and  consolations 
of, 297 

The  remedy  for  and  the  results  of,   .  298 
Affliction  and  its  remedy,      .        .        .  268 

God's  children  are  afflicted,       .        .  268 

Affliction  should  drive  us  to  God  for 
help, 268 

God  undertakes  to  apply  the  remedy 

for  affliction, 268 

Affliction  :   its  comforts,   duties,   and 
dangers, 277 

God's  servants  are  permitted  to 
suffer  affliction,       ....  277 

God  has  special  comforts  for  His 
afflicted  servants,   ....  277 

Affliction  should  lead  us  to  call  upon 
God  to  fulfil  His  promises,     .        .277 

Affliction  should  not  lead  us  to  de- 
cline from  God*8  law,      ,        .        .  278 
Afflictions  of  life,  the,  and  the  resource 

of  the  godly, no 

YOL.  IL 


PAOB 

Human  life  is  characterised  by  great 

afflictions, no 

Great  afflictions  are  characterised  by 

great  needs, no 

In  great  afflictions  the  godly  man 
has  a  great  resource,       •        •        .  1 10 
Afflictions  of  man,  the  mercy  of  God 

in  the, 125 

Afflictions  of  the  good,  the, .        .        .  340 
The    good    in   all   ages   have  been     • 

greatly  afflicted,      ....  340 
The  good  have  always  survived  the 

crueltv  of  their  tormentors,    .        .341 

The     afflictions    of     the   good    are 

Divinely  limited,    ....  341 

Affliction,  the  purpose  and  benefit  of,  .  283 

Age  of  piety,  tne  old,   .        .        .        .70 

is  the  old  age  of  a  life  of  faith  and 

communion  with  God,  .  .  .70 
is  characterised  by  hope,  .  .  •JO 
is  one  of  cheerfulness,  .  •  .70 
is  characterised  by  affection,  .  .71 
and  to  the  last  by  usefulness,  .  .71 
All-important    enumeration,    an    (See 

Numeration),      .       .       .       .46 
Analogies,  grass  and  its   moral  (See 

Grass), •  445 

Answer,  an  earnest  prayer  and  an  im- 
mediate (See  Prayer),  .        .        .  376 
Apostate  contrasted,  the  obedient  and 
the,         ......  334 

Argument  with  God,     ....  258 

the  fact ;  the  argumentative  value 
of  the  fact,  and  the  prayer  founded 
on  the  argument  and  fact,      .        .  258 

Army,  the  royal, 177 

Church  weapons  and  character,         .  177 
spirit,  opportunity,  and  influence,     .  178 
Aspects  and  expressions  of   humility 

(See  Humility),    .        .       ,       .  344 
Aspects  of  the  Divine  Being,  inspiring 

(See  Divine),        .        ,       .        .412 
Aspirations,  lofty,  .        .        .        .  304 

Atheism,  the  folly  of  practical,    .        .     75 
in  supposing  that  God  does  not  ob- 
serve human  conduct,  and  will  not 

recompense  it 75 

Attitude  of  the  righteous  towards  the 

ungodly,  the  proper,       .        ,        .  306 
the  ungodly  are  the  subjects  of  the 
tenderest      compassion    and    the 
bitterest  grief ,        ....  307 


INDEX. 


PAGE 
the  subjects  of  zealous   evangelisa- 
tion,         307 

are  pitied  and  evangelised  not  for  sen- 
timental  but  for  practical  reasons,  307 
Attitude    of  the  wicked  towards  the 
righteous,  the,  and  the  condition 
of  the  righteous  under  oppression,    292 
the  wicked  described,        .        .        .  292 
the  righteous  counselled,  .        .        .  293 
Attitude  towards  the  righteous  and  the 

wicked,  God's,        ....  303 
Attributes  and  advantages  of  accept- 
able prayer, 434 

Attributes  of   the  upright  (See  Up- 
right),   198 

Battle,  the  day  of,  and  the  protection 
of  God,  .        .  ...  394 

the  period  spoken  of,         ...  394 
the  protection  acknowledged,   .        .  394 
the  encouragement  to  be  deduced,    .  395 
Beauties  of  holiness,  the,      .        .        .  458 
salvation  promotes  physical  beauty,  458 
salvation  is  spiritual  beauty,     .        .  459 
this  beauty  resembles  the  beauty  of 
God  Himself,  is  varied,  immortal, 
and  ever-increasing,       .        .        .  459 

Benedictions, 252 

the  blessing  supplicated,  .  .  .  252 
the  conditions  of  blessing  fulfilled,  .  252 
the  blessing  vouchsafed,  .  ,  .252 
the  place  of  blessing,  ,  .  .  252 
Benedictions,  Divine,  .  .  .  .  224 
the  subjects  of  the  blessing,  .  .  224 
the  characteristics  of  the  Uessing,  .  224 
the  conditions  of  the  blessing,  .  .  225 
Benefit  and  obligation  of  the  Word  of 

God,  the, 291 

Benefits,    man's  remembrance   of  the 

Lord's 122 

the  benefits  of  Grod,  .  .  •  .122 
may  be  forgotten,  .  .  .  .122 
should  not  be  forgotten,  .  •  .122 
Bible  better  than  riches,  the,  .  .  284 
what  wealth  can  do  the  Bible  can  do 

better, 284 

what  wealth  cannot  do    the   Bible 

can, 285 

what  wealth  will  do  the  Bible  won't,  285 

Bible  duties,  .        .        .        •        .        .  276 

to  meditate  upon  it,  .        .        •        .  276 

to  love  it,   .        .        .        •        .        .  276 

to  delight  in  it, .        .        .        •        .276 

not  to  be  ashamed  of  it,    •        t        .  276 

to  earnestly  practise  it,      ,         •        .277 

Blessed  life,  the  (See  Life),.        .        .  253 

Blessed,  the  God  in  whom  man  is  (See 

God),      .        .        .       .        .        .421 

Blessedness    of    knowing    the   joyful 

sound  (See  Sound),       .       .       .16 
Blessedness  of  the  Divinely-instructed 

man, 76 

because  of  the  instruction  which  he 

receives, 76 

the  faithfulness  of  God,    .        .        .     77 
and  the  righteousness  of  Hit  judgr- 
ments,     .  •- 


Blessedness  of  the  good,  the, 
is  the  result  of  a  holy  life,         , 
consists  in  a  happy  livelihood,  . 
is  found  in  the  joys  of  domestic  life, 
is  augmented  by  witnessing  the  pros 
perity  of  Zion, 
Blessedness  of  the  people  of  God,  the, 
as  worshippers  of  God, 
as  conscious  of  His  favour, 
as  rejoicing  in  Him,  .        • 
as  exalted  by  Him,    . 
as  strengthened  by  Him,  , 
as  governed  and  protected  by  Him, 
Blessedness,  the  source  and  means  of, 
God  is  the  fountain  of  all  blessedness 
man's  blessedness  consists  in  the  en 

joyment  of  God, 

and  is  secured  through  instruction  in 

His  statutes,   . 

Blessing  man,  God,  and  man  blessing 

God 

God  blessing  man,  with  forgiveness, 

healing, 

redemption,  coronation,  satisfaction, 
and  invigoration, 
man  blessing  God  with  His  soul, 
with  His  entire  spiritual  being, 
with  recollection  of  His  benefits, 
with  reverent  admiration  of  His  cha- 
racter,     .        .        .        .     ^ 
Blessing,  the  happiness  of  society  de 
pendent  on  the  Divine  (see  Happi 

NESS),       .  .  . 

Blessings  in  human  pilgrimage.  Divine 

adapted    to     human     needs,     e.g. 

direction,    protection,     provision, 

possession,       .... 

adequate  to  human  needs, 

guaranteed  by  Divine  faithfulness, 

bestowed  for  the  most  worthy  purpose 

call  for  devout  praise. 

Blessings  of  obedience,  the, 

protection,  success,    . 

manifestations  of  Grod's  presence  and 

favour,    .... 
growth  in  grace, 
peace,  joy,  heaven,    . 
Blessings  on  the  sanctuary  (See  Sanc- 
tuary),   

Bondage  and  deliverance, 
the  bondage  was  degrading, 
unnatural,  exasperating,  . 
followed  by  a  Divine  redemption, 
Bounty  and  faithfulness  of  God,  the, 
God's  bounty,  His  gifts  are  as  varied 

as  man's  need,        . 
as  plentiful  as  man's  need, 
equal  to  all  the  emergencies  of  man's 

need, 

God's  bounty  is  based  upon  His  faith 

fulness,  .        .        .        . 

and  is  conditional  on  man's  piety. 
Builders,  the  song  of  the, 
lessons  touching  preparatory  work, 
prayer  for    God's    blessing    on   the 

builders' work, 
the  Divine  answer  to  the  prayer, 


PAGE 

339 
339 
339 
339 


INDEX. 


fll 


PAGE 

Calumnt,  the  nature  and  doom  of,  .  318 
calumn^r  is  a  terrible  instrument  of 

mischief, 319 

productive  of  acute  suffering,  .  .3^9 
drives  the  soul  to  seek  redress  in 

prayer,    .         .        .         .        .        .319 

involves  its  perpetrators  in  severest 

vengeance, 320 

Captives,  the  afflicted,  and  their  glorious 

Emancipator,  ....   i6i 

a  picture  of  a  painful  captivity,  .  161 
the  reason  of  tnis  painful  captivity,  .  161 
the  design  of  this  painful  captivity,  .  161 
the   deliverance   from    this    painful 

captivity, 161 

Caring  for  souls,  the  duty  of,        .        .  402 

what  it  is, 402 

on  whom  it  devolves,  .  .  .  403 
the  great  evil  of  neglecting  it,  .  .  403 
Cedar,  the,  an  analogue  of  soul  growth,  69 
it  grows  not  by  repression,  but  by 

development, 69 

by  the  appropriation  and  suIj ordina- 
tion of  the  outward  elements,        .     69 

slowly, 69 

by  ceaseless  activities,  .  .  .70 
to  immense  size  and  magnificence,  .  70 
during  long  ages,  ....  70 
Celebration,  a  noble,  of  the  faithfulness 

and  mercy  of  the  Lord,  ...  6 
in  the  view  of  these  attributes  which 

is  presented, 6 

in  tne  way  in  which  they  are  cele- 
brated,     7 

in  the  basis  on  which  the  celebration 

rests, .7 

in  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is 

made, 8 

Celebration  of  the  praise  of  God,  the 

good  man's  (See  Praise),  .  .  61 
Character,  the,  and   portion  of   God's 

people, 95 

the  character  of  God's  people,  .  ,  95 
the  portion  of  God's  people,  .  .  96 
Character,  the,  privileges,  and  duty  of 

the  King's  subjects,  ,  .  .94 
their  character,  .....  94 
they  are  sincere  and  upright,  devout,  94 
they  love  the  Lord,  .  .  .  .94 
their  privileges,  .         ,        ,        .95 

Preservation  from  evil,       ,        •        '95 
eliverance  from  enemies, .        •        .95 
bestowal  of  gladness,         ,        ,        .95 
their  duty, 
to  hate  evil,  and  thankfully  rejoice 
in  the  Lord,         .         .        .         -95 
Characteristics  of  the  blessed  people,   .  148 
they  are  a  worshipping  people, .        .   148 
they  are  a  righteous  people,       .        .148 
they  are  the  Lord's  people,        .        .   148 
Characteristics,  the,  and  blessednesa  of 

true  religion, 194 

the  characteristics— fear  of  the  Lord,  194 
delight  in  His  commandments,  •        .194 

Divine  praise, 194 

the  blessedness,         •        •        •        .194 
Chastisement,        .        •       •        •        .  249 


PAGE 

its  nature,  limits,  consolations,  and 

effects, 249 

Children  the  gift  of  God,       .        .        ,  338 
are  to  be  judiciously  trained,    .        .  338 
are  a  source  of  domestic  joy,     ,        .  338 
are  the  strength  and  defence  of  home,  339 
Christ   refreshing   Himself   (See   Re- 
freshing),      182 

Christ  the  corner-stone,  .  .  .  250 
the  only  corner-stone,  .  .  .  250 
the  Divinely  established  comer-stone,  25 1 
the  rejected  corner-stone,  .  .  .251 
the  marvellous  comer-stone,  .  .251 
Christ,  the  kingdom  of,  ...     93 

Christ,  the  sovereigntj^  of,  .  .  .174 
Christ  reigns  by  Divine  appointment,  175 
by  Divine  right,  .  .  .  .175 
by  a  devout  acknowledgment,  ,  .  175 
over  a  disputed  empire,  .  .  .175 
by  the  enforced  service  of  His  foes,  .  175 
and  will  reign  over  an  undisputed 

universe, 176 

Christ's  triumph  over  tyranny,  .  .180 
all  tyranny  is  the  foe  of  Christ,  .  180 
is  subject  to  the  wrath  of  Christ,  .  181 
will  be  destroyed  by  Christ,  ,  .181 
will  be  supplanted  by  Christ,  .  .  181 
Christian  progress,  .  .  ,  .271 
the  way  of,  is  Divinely  revealed,  .  271 
is  possible  only  under  certain  definite 

conditions, 271 

is  impossible  without  Divine  assist- 
ance,         272 

Christian  union  (See  UNION),       .        .  356 
Church  and  congregational  worship  (See 

WOHKIIP) 184 

Church,  a  revival  of  the,  and  symptoms 

which  precede  it,    .        .        .        .115 

Church -builders,  encouragements  for,  .  350 

the  presence  of  God  in  His  Church,  .  350 

the  blessing  of  God  in  His  Church,    .  351 

the  triumph  and  glory  of  the  Head  of 

the  Church 351 

Church-builders,  lessons  for,         .        .  347 
when  churches  are  needed  their  erec- 
tion is  of  great  importance,    .         .  347 
churches  should   be  erected  for  the 

worship  of  God,       ....  348 
in  tlie  worship  of  God  in  the  church 
the  manifestation  of  His  presence 
should  be  eamestly^  sought,    .        .  348 
in  seeking  this  manifestation  of  His 
presence  we  have  powerful  pleas 
which  we  may  urge,        .        .        .  348 
Church  of  God,  Jerusalem  a  type  of  the 

(See  Jerusalem),  ....  326 
Church,  Zion  a  type  of  the,   .         .        .  353 
Comforts  of  Christians,  the,  under  trials,    81 
the  distressing  thoughts  which  are 
apt  to  oppress  the  mind  of  a  good 

man, 81 

the  consolations  of  God  opposed  to 
these  uneasy  thoughts,  .        .        .82 
Communion  of  saints,  tne,     .        .        .  281 
must  have  a  religious  basis,       .        .  281 
is  the  spiritual  intercourse  between 
spiritual  men,  and  between  spiritual 


▼!U 


WDEX, 


PAOB 
men  and  God,  throngh  the  Divinely- 
appointed  means,   ....  281 
in  reasonable  and  natural  when  on 

this  basis, 282 

Compassion,  human  wretchedness  and 

Divine, 365 

the  wretched  condition  of  mankind 
in  consequence  of  their  apostasy 

from  God, 365 

the  method  of  Divine  compassion  to 
man  in  his  rescue  from  this  state 

of  guilt,  &c., 366 

Compensations,  contrasts  and,      .        .  283 
Complaint,  prayer,  and  confidence,      .  172 
A    mournful    complaint    of    mental 

distress,  physical  exhaustion,         .  172 
approach  to  death  and  reproach  of 

foes, 173 

an  earnest  prayer,      ,        ,        .        .173 
the   objects  sought  and   the   pleas 

urged, 173 

an  encouraging  confidence,        .        .173 

assurance  of  salvation  from  God,       .  173 

determination  to  ofier  praise  to  Grod,  173 

Condescension  of  God,  the  majesty  and,  379 

Condition  of  the  righteous  under  oppres-  292 

sion,  the, 292 

Conduct  of  a  good  man  in  a  time  of 

trial,  the, 395 

earnest  prayer,  ,  ,  .  ,  ,  395 
noble  resolutions,  .  .  •  .  396 
confident  expectation,  ,  ,  .  397 
and  earnest  prayer  repeated,  .  .  397 
Confidence,  complaint,  prayer,  and  (See 

Complaint), 172 

Confidence  in  God,  a  declaration  of,  ,  77 
in  the  midst  of  enemies,  .  .  .78 
in  the  midst  of  anxious  thoughts,  .  78 
in  the  Divine  support,  .  .  •78 
in  the  Divine  protection,  .  .  .78 
in  the  Divine  retribution,  .  ,  .79 
a  source  of  joy  even  in  the  midst  of 
dangers  and  anxieties,  .  .  .79 
Consequences  of  idolatry,   the   moral 

(See  Idolatry),     ....  222 
Consideration,  the  Divine,     .        ,        .311 
Consistency,  separation  and  (See  Sepa- 
ration)  302 

Consolation,  a  great  contrast  and  (See 

Contrast) 117 

Constant  praise  (See  Praise),      .        .313 
Contrast,  a,   God's  mercy  and  man's 

frailty, 126 

the  frailty  of  man's  life  upon  earth 

and  the  mercy  of  God,  .        .        ,126 
the  brevity  of  man's  life  upon  earth 
and  the  eternity  of  the  mercy  of 
God,        .  ....  126 

the  final  departure  of  man  from  the 
earth,  and  the  eternal  mercy  of  God 
present  with  him  wherever  he  may 

be 126 

the  final  departure  of  good  men  from 
the  earth,  and  the  eternal  mercy  of 
God  resting  upon  their  descendants,  1 26 
Contrast  and  consolation,  a  great,        .  117 
a  great  contrast,         .        .        .        •  117 


PAOB 

the  changefulness  and  tranflftoiinesB 

of  human  life  and  nature,  •  •117 
the  eternity  and  immutability  of  God,  118 
a  gi'eat  consolation,  .  ..  •  .118 
as  regards   the    Psalmist   and  the 

Church, 118 

Contrasts  and  compensations,       •        .  283 

Control  over  man's  life,  God's  absolute,     36 

a  reason  for  acknowledging  Him,      ,     36 

a  reason  for  seeking  His  favour,        .    36 

a  consolation  in  bereavement,  •        .     36 

an  encouragement  to  labour,     .        .     36 

an  antidote  against  the  fear  of  death,    37 

Comer-stone,  Cnrist  the  (See  CHRIST),    250 

Courage,        ......  245 

its  source  and  manifestations,  .        .  245 
Covenant  of  God,  the,  and  the  sins  of 

men, 21 

the  sins  of  men  are  opposed  to  the 

covenant  of  God,    .        .        .        .21 
yet  men  who  in  the  covenant  of  God 
are  richly  blessed  may  sin  giie- 
vously  against  Him,       .        ,        .22 
the  sins  of  men  will  be  punished  by 

God 22 

the  sins  of  men  cannot  frustrate  the 
covenant  of  God,    .        .        .        .23 
Covenant  of  God,  the,  lamentation  and 
expostulation  by  reason  of  the  ap- 
parent failure  of,    .        .        .        .24 
the  lamentation,        .        .        .        •    24 
the  king  was  dethroned,    .        ,        .24 
their  defences  were  destroyed,  .        .    24 
they  were  the  prey  of  their  neigh- 
bours,      24 

they  were  defeated  in  battle,  .  .  24 
their  vigour  and  glory  had  ceased,  .  25 
they  attributed  their  sad  condition 

to  their  rejection  by  God,      .        .    25 
the  expostulation  is  based  upon  the 

duration  of  their  distresses,  .  .  26 
the  brevity  of  their  life,  .  .  .26 
the  vanity  of  their  life,  .  .  .26 
the  certainty  of  death,  ,  ,  .26 
the  loving-kindness  promised  by  God,  26 
the  reproaches  which  fell  upon  them,  27 
Covenant  with  David^  God's,  •  .16 
the  election  of  David,  .  .  -  .17 
he  was  elected  from  the  people,  .  17 
to  sovereignty  and  service,  by  God, .  17 
the  promises  made  to  David,  .  .  18 
constant  support,  .  •  .  .18 
victory  over  his  foes,  •  •  .18 
conspicuous  power,  ,  .  .  .18 
enlarged  dominion,  .  .  .  .19 
intimate  and  exalted  relationship,  .  19 
perpetual  establishment  of  the  cove- 
nant,       19 

Creation  a  plea  in  prayer,     .        .        .  285 
man  is  the  creation  of  God,       .        .  285 
was  created  for  Divine  service,         ,  285 
is  not  now  as  he  waa  when  created,  .  286 
the  necessity  of  a  new  creation,         .  286 
desiring  this  new  nature,  uo  plea  is 
more    appropriate    and    powerful 
than  the  fact  that  we  are  God's 
creation,         .....  286 


INDEJL 


PAGB 
Creation  a  rcTelation  of  the  Lord  (See 

.    Revelation),       .       .       .       .130 
Creation,  the,  and  the  creature,  the 

Creator, 225 

Creation  of  God,  man  a  wonderful  (See 
Man),    .       .       .       .       .       .384 

Creation,  the  majesty  of  God  in  (See 

Majesty), 128 

Creation,  voices  of,       .  ^      .        .        •  I35 
the  Divine  existence  is  to  constitute 
the  central  fact  in  our  contempla- 
tion of  the  universe,       .        .        .136 
the  principle  of  dependence  is  every- 
where developed  in  the  universe,  .  136 
a  devout  contemplation  of  the  uni- 
verse  is   calculated    to    increase 
man's  hatred  of  sin,       .        .        .  136 
Creator,  the,  the  creation,  and  the  crea- 
ture,        225 

Cry  for  judgment,  a 73 

the  complaint  of  the  Church,    ,        .     73 
of  its  enemies,  their  character  and 

triumph,         .        .        .        •    ,    •     73 
their  cruel  oppression  and  practical 

atheism,         .        ,        ...    74 
the  appeal  of  the  Church  for  justice, 
judgment  is  the  prerogative  of  God 

alone, 74 

is  sometimes  apparently  long  delayed,    74 
is  earnestlv  invoked,         .        .        .74 
Cry,  the,  of  a  distressed  servant  of 

God,        . 404 

a  picture  of  great  distress,         .        .  404 
an  exercise  indicating  great  wisdom,  405 
an  appeal  of  great  power,  .        .  405 

a  desire  of  great  fervour,  .        .        .  406 
Cynicism,      ......  238 

the  Psalmist's  consisted  in  a  hasty 
conclusion    and    an    uncharitable 
verdict,  .        .        .        .        .        .  238 

was  natural  under  the  circumstances, 

although  not  justifiable,         .        .  238 
was  only  a  passing  mood,  .        .  238 

was  successfully  resisted  and  over- 
come,     ......  238 

Danger  and  its  remedy,  a,  .        .  304 

the  danger  consists  in  the  lust  of 

fain, 304 
delity,  sin, 305 

the  remedy  is    by   "the  expulsive 
force  of  a  new  affection  "  to  make 

danger  flee, 305 

the  danger  is  avoided  and  the  remedy 
applied  by  earnest  prayer,      .        .  305 
Danger,   the  soul's  escape  from  (See 

Escape), 331 

David,     God's    covenant    with     (See 

Covenant), 16 

Day,  the  constituents   of  a  complete 

and  holy,        .        .        .        ,        .311 

it  begins  with  prayer,        .        .        .311 

continues  with  obedience,  .        •  3 1 1 

closes  with  meditation,     .        ,        •  S^'' 

Day,  the  Lord's,  and  its  duties,   .        .251 

Day,  the  world's  most  joyous,      .        .     87 

a  day  when  the  relations  of  the  Lord 


te  the  world  shall  be  rightly  ap- 
prehended,    ..... 
He  alone  is  God  of  the  world,  . 
His  salvation  is  for  all  the  world. 
He  is  King  of  all  the  world. 
He  is  Judge  of  all  the  world,    , 
a  day  when  the  relations  of  the  Lord 
to  the  world  shall  be  duly  celebrated, 
He  will  be  worshipped  universally, 
enthusiastically,  joyously,        , 
and  reverently, 
De  Profundis  (See  Profundis),  . 
Death,   God's  estimate  of  (See  ESTI 

mate) 

Death,  the  philosophy  of,     . 
the  destiny  of  all, 

the  peculiar  privileges  of  the  godly. 
Death,  two  views  of,     . 
Declaration  of  confidence  in  Crod  (See 

Confidence), 
Deliverance,  .        .        .        • 

of  the  soul  from  death,      •       • 
of  the  eyes  from  tears,       .        • 
of  the  feet  from  falling,     ,        , 
Deliverance  a  theme  for  joyous  song, 
because  of  the  misery  it  emancipates 

from, 

its  unexpectedness,  .        .        • 
its  reviving  effects,    ,        ,        . 
the  gladness  it  occasions, .        . 
its  evidence  of  the  Divine  power. 
Deliverance,  bondage  and  (See  BoN 

dage),    .        .        . 
Deliverance  from  their  enemies, aprayer 
of  the  godly  for,     . 
his  description  of  his  enemies, 
his  prayer  for  deliverance  from  them, 
his  resolution  to  praise  God  for  de 
liverance  from  them, 
Dependence,  universal,  and  Divine  sup 

port, 

the  universality  of  dependence, 
the    infinitude    of    the    Divine    re 

sources, 

the  timeliness  of  the  Divine  gifts, 
the  ease  of  the  Divine  gifts, 
the  sufficiency  of  the  Divine  gifts, 
Deprecated,    Divine    judgment    (See 

Judgment),  . 
Desire  of  the  wicked,  the,    . 

Eerishes  because  it  is  selfish, 
as  nothing  to  fall  back  upon  in  case 
of  disappointment, 
has  no  resources  on  which  to  rely, 
is  set  on  unsatisfactory  objects, 
the  frown  of  God  is  upon  it. 
Desires,  the  granting  of  selfish,  an  in 

jury  to  the  soul,     . 
Determination,  a  fourfold,   . 
to  meditate  on  God's  precepts, . 
to  have  respect  to  God's  ways, . 
to  delight  in  God's  statutes, 
to  remember  God's  Word, 
Difficulty  of  singing  songs  in  exile  (Se^ 

Songs),  .       .       . 
Diseases  healed,  spiritual,    .        • 
why  sin  is  called  a  diflease^       • 


PAoa 


87 
87 
88 
88 
88 

88 
88 
88 
89 

342 

240 

437 
437 

438 
241 

77 

234 
234 
235 
235 
335 

335 
335 
335 
335 
335 

214 

416 
416 
417 

417 

433 
433 

433 
433 
433 
434 

407 
203 
203 

203 
203 
203 
204 

153 

262 
263 
263 
263 
263 

372 
122 
12a 


INDEX, 


PAOB 
the  variety  of  these  diseases,     .        .123 
the  remedy  by  which  God  heals  them,  1 23 
Distress,  a  prayer  of  the  godly  man 

from  the  depths  of  (See  Prayer),    399 
Distress  to  the  good,  the  ferocity  of  the 

wicked  a  source  of  (See  Ferocity),  320 
Distressed  seamen  and  the  Sovereign 

of  the  sea  (See  Seamen),       .        .163 
Distressed  servant  of  God,  the  cry  of  a 

(See  Cry), 404 

Distressed  servant  of  God,  the  prayer 

of  a  (See  Prayer)  .        .        .        .  408 
Distressed  travellers  and  the  Divine 

Helper  (See  Travellers),    .        .159 
Divine  Being,  errors  respecting  the,     .  428 
Divine  Being,  inspiring  aspects  of  the,  412 
the  Author  of  human  skill,       .         .412 
the  Protector  of  human  life,      .        t  413 
the  Source  of  human  authority,        .  413 
the  Object  of  human  trust,        .         .413 
the  Supreme  Good  of  human  life,      .  413 
the  Recipient  of  human  praise,         ,  413 
Divine   benedictions   (See    Benedic- 
tions),   224 

Divine  dwelling-place,  the  (See  Dwell- 
ing),  226 

Divine  education,  ....  268 
Divine  guidance  (See  Guidance),  .411 
Dinine  mercy,  the  (See  Mercy),  .  243 
Divine  protection  (See  PROTECTION),  .  323 
Divine  protection,  the  (See  Protec- 
tion),     302 

Divine  provisions  (See  Provisions),   .218 
Divine  relationships  (See  Relation- 
ships),    241 

Doxology, 30 

God  is  blessed  in  Himself,  .  .  30 
God  is  blessed  by  His  creatures,  .  30 
God  is  blessed  for  ever,     .        ,        .31 

Doxology, 158 

Doxology,  the, 461 

the  sphere  of  the  Divine  praise,        .  461 

the  reason  of  the  Divine  praise,        .  462 

the  measure  of  the  Divine  piaise,     .  462 

the  manner  of  the  Divine  praise,      ,  462 

the  offerers  of  the  Divine  praise,       .  462 

Duties,  Bible  (See  Bible),   .        ,        .276 

Duty,  law,  prayer,        ....  254 

Dwelling-place,  the  Divine,  .        .  226 

is  exalted, ......  226 

is  holy, 226 

is  to  be  the  dwelling-place  of  man,  .  226 

Earth,    God's   praise    on    the    (See 
Praise) 453 

Earth,  the,  God's  gift  and  man's  in- 
heritance  226 

the  earth  is  God's  gift  to  man,  .  .226 
it  is  an  equitable,  a  magnificent,  .  226 
a  prepared,  and,         ....  226 

an  universal  gift 227 

it  is  God's  gift  to  man  for  definite  uses,  227 
for  religious  ends,  ....  227 
for  the  education  of  man's  mind,  .  227 
for  man's  use  and  enjoyment,  ,  .  227 
to  be  evangelised  for  Christy     ,        .  227 

Education,  Divine,       ....  268 


PAGE 
Effectual,  fervent,  and  believing  prayer 

(See  Prayer),       ....  309 
Emancipation,  a  glorious,  a  cruel  per- 
secution and  (See  Persecution),    145 
Emancipation,  Divine,  human  impris- 
onment and  (See  Imprisonment),  403 
Emancipator,  the  afflicted  captives  and 

their  glorious  (See  Captives),       .  161 
Enclosure,  the  sacred,  ....  249 
the  enclosure,  its  gates  and  keys,     .  249 
its  privileges  and  duties,  .        ,        .250 
Encouragement  to  His  people  to  trust 
in  Him,  the  strength  of  God  an 
(See  Strength),   .       .       .        .11 
Encouragements    for    church-builders 

(See  Church),       .       .       .       .350 
Encouragements      for     prayer     (See 

Prayer), 231 

Encouragements   to    holy   song  (See 

Song), 64 

Enemies,  the  lamentable  fate  of  the 

Church's  (See  Fate),     .        .        .341 
Enjoyment,  the  saint's,  of  the  law  of 

God 294 

the  law  of  God  is  lovable,         .        .  294 
God's  saints  possess  a  spiritual  taste 
which  enables  them  to  appreciate 

His  law, 294 

they  exercise  that  taste  continually,   295 

Errors  respecting  the  Divine  Being,     .  428 

Escape  from  danger,  the  soul's,    .        .331 

the  soul  is  surrounded  by  dangers,    .  331 

these  dangers  are  not  invincible,       .  332 

a  way  is  divinely  provided  for  the 

escape  of  the  soul  from  all  danger,  332 

Estimate  of  death,  God's,     .        .        .  240 

a   high,   unusual,    unexpected,   and 

specific  estimate,   ....  240 

Estimated  by  the  light  of  heaven,  srn,      40 

Eternal  praise, 193 

the  object  and  subjects  of  praise  are 

eternal 193 

the  worshippers  have  "  life  eternal,"  194 
Exaltation,  human,  .  .  .  .211 
in  the  spheres  of  daily  life,  .  .211 
in  God's  method  of  redemption,  ^  .212 
in     the    history    of     the     Christian 

Church, 212 

in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,        .  212 
Exalted,  God's  Word,   .         .        .        .376 
Examples  of  the  holy  sovereignty  of 
God  and  the  becoming  worship  of 
His  people,     .        .         .         .        .  lOl 
examples  of  the  becoming  worship 

of  man, loi 

in  earnest  prayer,  in  holy  lives,         .   101 
examples  of  the  sovereignty  of  God 
in   His  answers  to   His  sei-vants' 

prayers, loi 

Excellence    and    beauty  of  fraternal 

unity  (See  Unity),       .        .        .354 
Excellence  of  praise  to  God,  the  (See 

Praise), 439 

Exclamation,  life  an  (See  Life),  .    42 

Exemplary  humility  (See  HUMILITY),    345 
Expostulation  from  the  depth  of  misery 
(See  Misery),       ...»     4 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Expostulation,  lamentation  and,  by 
reason  of  the  apparent  failure  of 
the  covenant  of  God  (See  Cove- 
nant),    24 

Extremity,  man*s,  God's  opportunity,  245 
man  in  distress,  .  .  .  .  245 
man's  duty  in  distress,      .  .  245 

man's  consolations  in  distress,  .        ,  245 
man's  deliverance  in  distress,   .        ,  245 
Exultant  hymn,  an  (See  Hymn),  .    97 

Failure  of  the  covenant  of  God,  la- 
mentation and  expostulation  by 
reason  of  the  apparent  (See  COVE- 
NANT),      24 

Faith,  fearlessness,  fixedness,  and  (See 

Fearlessness),     ....  200 
Faith,  the  nature  and  power  of,    .        .  237 
the  nature  of  faith,    ....  237 
the  power  of  faith  is  to  find  expres- 
sion for  itself,         ....  237 
constrains  those  who  believe  to  confess 

their  belief, 237 

inspire  loyalty  to  the  truth  we  believe,  237 
impress  us  with  the  necessity  of  its 

declaration, 237 

is  the  power  of  loyalty  to  the  Lord  of 

faith, 237 

and  the  power  of  successful  enter- 
prise,       237 

Faithful  Promiser,  the  (See  Promiser),  141 
Faithfulness  and  mercy  of  the  Lord,  a 
noble  celebration  of  the  (See  Cele- 
bration)  6 

Fate  of  the  Church's  enemies,  the  la- 
mentable,        341 

they  are  signally  defeated,        .        .341 

their  life-purpose  is  abortive,     •        .341 

they  remain  unblessed,      .        .         .341 

Favour  of  God  desired,  the,  .        .149 

Fear  and  its  remedy,    .        .        .        .273 

the  Christian  has  nothing  to  fear  but 
sin,         .        .        .        .        .         .273 

the  only  safety  from  sin  and  its  re- 
proach is  the  life  of  righteousness,  274 
the  danger  and  the  safety  are  revealed 

by  the  Word  of  God,      .        .        .  274 
the  danger  is  to  be  deprecated,  and 
the  safety  sought  by  prayer,  .         .274 
Fearlessness,  fixedness,  and  faith,        .  200 
Fearlessness,  what  it  consists  in,       .  200 
is  impossible  without  fixedness,         .  200 
no  fixedness  without  faith,        .         .  200 
Features  and  effects  of  the  King's  ad- 
vent, the  (See  Advent),        .        .    90 
Fellowship,  religious,    ....  286 

is  possible  only  to  religious  persons,     286 
is  to  be  desired  by  religious  persons,    286 
is  profitable  to  religious  persons,       .  287 
Ferocity  of  the  wicked,  the,  a  source  of 

distress  to  the  good,       .         .         .  320 
the  good  are  brought  into  unavoid- 
able contact  with  the  wicked,        .  320 
the  attitude  of  the  wicked  is  one  of 

fierce  antagonism  to  the  good,        .  321 
the  ferocity  of  the  wicked  is  a  source 
of  distress  to  the  good,  .        .        .321 


PAGE 

Finite,  the,  and  the  infinite,         .        .  293 
with  regard  to  earthly  life,        .        .  293 
earthly  greatness  and  grandeur,        .  293 
the  development  of  human  character,  293 
the    acquisition    of    human    know- 
ledge,     .         .         .        .         .        .  293 

human  pleasures  and  satisfactions,  .  294 
human  institutions,  ....  294 

Fixedness  and  faith,  fearlessness  (See 
Fearlessness),     .       .       .       .200 

Foes,  the,  and  victory  of  the  good,       ,    57 
the  foes  of  the  good,  .        .        .        .57 

are  numerous,  various,  terrible,        .     57 
the  victory  of  the  good,     ,        ,         .57 
is  complete  and  certain,     .        .        .57 
Folly,  the,  of  practical  atheism  (See 

Atheism) 75 

Forgetfulness  of  the  Divine  works,      .  152 
the  works  of  God  are  worthy  of  an 
attentive  review  and  thankful  re- 
membrance,     152 

there  is  in  human  nature  a  tendency 

to  forget  the  works  of  God,    .        .153 
the  sinfulness  and  danger  of  forget- 
ting them, 153 

the  best  means  of  remembering  them,  153 
Frailty,  human,  and  Divine  greatness,  32 
the  greatness  of  God,  .  ,  .32 
He  existed  before  the  world,  .  .  32 
He  created  the  world,         .        ,        .32 

He  is  eternal, 32 

the  frailty  of  man,  ,  .  .  .33 
the  brevity  of  his  life  upon  eartii,  .  33 
the  mournful  end  of  his  life  upon 

earth, 34 

the  great  Sovereign  of  his  life  upon 

earth, 34 

the  relation  between  the  great  God 

and  frail  man,         .         .         .        .34 
we  are  weak,  and  rest  in  His  omni- 
potence,   35 

we  are  short-lived,  and  rest  in  His 
eternity,         .         •        .         .         .35 
Frailty,  human,  an  incentive  to  seek 
the  Divine  blessing,       .        .        .44 
the  Psalmist  seeks  for  help  in  form- 
ing a  correct  estimate  of  life,         .     44 
the  mercy  of  God  in  life,   .        .        .44 
the  manifestation  of  God's  power  and 

grace  in  life, 45 

the  establishment  of  human  work  in 

life, 46 

Frailty,  human,  the  result  of  human 
sin,         .        .        .        .        ...    37 

death    is    associated  with    physical 
sufferings,  and  these  are  a  result  of 
sin,         .        .        .        .        .        .38 

with  mental  sufferings,  and  these  are 
a  result  of  sin,        .        .        .        .39 

Frailty,  man's,  God's  mercy  and  (See 

Contrast) 126 

Freedom, 276 

man's  natural    condition  is  one  of 

bondage, 276 

man  walks  at  liberty  when  he  seeks 

and  finds  God's  precepts,        .        .  276 
man  walks  permanently  and  securely 


xli 


INDBX. 


PAGB 
st  liberty  only  as  long  as  he  seeks 
and  finds  God's  precepts,        .        .  276 

Gift  of  God,  children  the  (See  Chil- 
dren),     338 

Gladness,  religious,  .  .  .  .65 
gladness  as  the  gift  of  God,  .  .  65 
arising  from    the  contemplation  of 

God's  works,  .        .        .        .65 

finding  expression  in  devout  song,    .     66 
Glance,  the  neavenward,       .        .        .  328 
is  directed  to  One  who  is  enthroned 

in  majesty, 328 

who  has  supreme  government,  .        .328 
who  is  rich  in  mercy,         .        .        .  329 
this  glance  is  persevering  and  tri- 
umphant,      .        .        .        .        .  329 
Glory  of  Christ's  kingdom,   .        .        ,  430 
is  manifested  in  its  origin,         .        •  430 
in  the  manner  and  spirit  of  its  ad- 
ministration,   430 

in  the  character  of  His  subjects,       .  430 
in  the  privileges  attached  to  it,         .  431 
Glory  of  God,  the  sole,  and  the  abne- 
gation of  man,        .        .        .        .219 
God's  glory  consists  in  His  supreme 

perfection,^ 219 

is  expressed  in  the  mercy  and  truth- 
fulness of  His  works  and  ways,     ,  219 
should  be  apprehended  and  acknow- 
ledged by  man,      ....  219 
is  not  the  object  of  God's  solicitude, 

but  man's, 219 

removes  all  groimd  of  boasting  on 
the  part  of  man,      ....  220 
God,  argument  with  (See  Akgument),  258 
God  blessing  man  and  man  blessing 

God  (See  BLESSING),  .  .  .120 
God  desired,  the  favour  of ,  .  .  .149 
God  incomparable,  .  .  .  .10 
God  in  creation,  the  majesty  of  (See 

Majesty) 128 

God  in  nature,      .        .        .        .        .118 
four  aspects  of  the  Divine  Being — as 
intimately  acquainted  with  all  por- 
tions of  the  universe,        .        .      .119 
the  Sovereign  Proprietor  of  the  uni- 
verse,       119 

the   all-transforming  Spirit  of   the 

universe, 119 

the  all-surveying  Spirit  of  the  uni- 
verse,    .        .        .        .        .        .119 

God,  mercy  in,  and  in  creation  (See 

Mercy), 363 

God  mindful  of  man  (See  Mindful),      223 
God,  tlie  bounty   and  faithfulness  of 

(See  Bounty),       .        .        .        .189 
God,  the  eternal  truth  of  (See  Truth),  106 
God,  the  goodness  of  nature's,  the  pur- 
pose of  nature  and  (See  Nature),    188 
God,  the  greatness  and  gentleness  of,  .  442 
the  text  reveals  the  constructive  side 
of  the  Divine  government,  as  seen 
in  the  building  of  the  Church,       .  442 
the  gentle  care  of  human  hearts,       .  442 
the  order,  regularity,  and  stability  of 
creation,        ,        *        ,        ,        .  443 


PAGB 
(Jod,  the  incomparableness  of  (See  IN- 

comparableness),        ...     8 

God,  the,  in  whom  man  is  blessed,       .  421 

all  peoples  have  a  God,      .        .        .421 

man  must  trust,  love,  and  worship,  .  421 

that  people  only  is  blessed  whose 

God  is  Jehovah,     ....  431 
He  is  the  only  worthy  object  of  man's 

trust, 421 

supreme  love  and  worship,        .        .421 
God,  the  living  and  true,  idols  and  (See 

Idols), 221 

God,  the  majesty  and  condescension  of,  210 
the  majesty  of  God,  .  .  .  .210 
He  is  throned  above  the  realm  of 

space, 210 

above  all  duration,     .        .        .        .211 
the  condescension  of  Grod, .        .        .211 
He  looks  on  physical  laws,  and  em- 
ploys them, 311 

upon  man,  and  visits  him,         .        .311 
upon  human  governments,  and  em- 
ploys them, 3X1 

God,  the  mercy  of,  solicited,         .        .    47 
God,  the  omnipresence  of,  and  its  im- 
pressions upon  man  (See  Omni- 
presence,   383 

God,  the  reign  of  (See  Reign),     .        .91 
God,  the  rejoicing  of  the  good  man  in 
the  government  of  (See  Govern- 
ment),     66 

God,    the   righteousness    of    nature's, 

nature's  beauty  and  (See  Nature),  187 
God,  the  servant  of  (See  Servant),     .  272 
God,  the  sole  glory  of,  and  the  abnega- 
tion of  man  (See  Glory),       .        .219 
God,  the  Word  of,  its  sphere  and  its 

service  (See  Word),  .  .  .  259 
God,  the  works  of,  the  subject  of  soul- 
satisfying  search  (See  Works),  .  185 
God,  trust  m  (See  Trust),  .  .  .  222 
God,  walking  before  (See  Walking),  .  235 
God's  absolute  control  over  man's  life 

(See  Control),  .  .  .  .36 
God's  attitude  towards  the  righteous 

and  the  wicked,  ....  303 
God's  estimate  of  death  (See  Estimate),  240 
God's  gift  and  man's  inheritance,  the 

earth  (See  Earth),        .        .        .226 
God's  goodness,  its  nature,  and  its  re- 
lation to  prayer  and  life  (See  GOOD- 
NESS),      283 

God's  mercy,   the    greatness  of    (See 

Mercy), 168 

God's   omnipresence    (See    Omnipre- 
sence),   381 

God's  people,  the  character  and  portion 

of), 95 

God's  perfect  knowledge  of  man  (See 

Knowledge) 379 

God's  salvation  (See  Salvation),        .  314 
God's  testimonies  a  ground  of  joy  (See 

Testimonies),  .  .  .  .261 
God's  treatment  of  different  classes  of 

character  {See  TREATMENT),  .  377 

God's  ways,  though  often  inscrutable, 
are  righteous  and  just^  .        ,        *    9* 


INDEX, 


zm 


PAGE 

God's  Word  a  tried  word  and  a  loved 

word, 308 

God's  Word  desired 305 

instructive,  wonderful,  kept,     .        .  306 
God's  works    and    God's  words    (See 

Works) 290 

Godly,  the  angelic  ministerB  of  the  (See 

Ministers), 54 

Godly,  the  glorious  privileges  of  the 

(See  Privileges),  ...  57 
Godly,  the  inviolable  security  of  the 

(See  Security),  .  .  .  .51 
Grodly,  the  safe  hiding-place  of  the  (See 

Hiding-place),  .  .  .  .49 
Godly,  the  trials  of  the  (See  TRLA.LS),  .  318 
Godly    under   misrepresentation,    the 

(See  Misrepresentation),  .       .317 
Golden  mean,  the  (See  Mean),    .        .198 
Good  resolutions  (See  Resolutions),  .  255 
Good,  the  afflictions  of  the  (See  Afflic- 
tions),   340 

Good,  the  blessedness  of  the(SeeBLESS* 

edness) •  339 

Good,  the  foes  and  victory  of  the  (See 

Foes),    .....    57 
Goodness,  God's,  its  nature  and  its  re- 
lation to  prayer  and  life,        .        .  282 
its  nature,  it  is  Divine,  and  opera- 
tive,         282 

it  is  an  encouragement  to  prayer,      .  282 
our  prayer  having  such  encourage- 
ment should  be  of  the  largest  kind 
and  for  the  best  things,  .        .  282 

Goodness  in  nature,  providence,  and 

grace,  the  Divine,  .        .        .  450 

Goodness,  man's  recognition  of  God's 

(See  Recognition),      .       .        .  242 
Goodness,  the  Lord's,  and  man's  sin,  149 
man's  sin  notwithstanding  the  Lord's 

goodness, 149 

the  Lord's  goodness  notwithstanding 

man's  sin, 150 

Groodness,  the  praise  of  the  Divine,      .  425 

the  manifestations  of  God's  goodness,  425 

the  universality  of  God's  goodness,  .  426 

the  praise  of  God's  goodness,     .         .  427 

Government  of  God,  the  rejoicing  of  the 

good  man  in  the,  .  .  .  .66 
God  is  the  Supreme  Ruler,  .  .  66 
His  rule  is  unchangeably  righteous,  .  66 
this  is  manifest  in  the  destruction  of 

the  wicked, 66 

the  salvation  of  the  righteous,  .         .     67 
Government  of  heaven,  the  Divine,       .  207 
is  acknowledged  and  obeyed  univer- 
sally, reverentially,  swiftly,  ,        .  208 
comprehensively,  continually,  .         .  208 
willingly,  perfectly,  ....  208 
Government  of  nations,  the  Divine,      .  207 
is  personal,  exalted,  benevolent,        .  207 
suitable  to  the  circumstances  of  all 

nations, 207 

administered  by  Christ,     .        .        .  207 
Grace    and    guidance,    a  good  man's 

prayer  for  (See  Prayer),       ,        .  410 
Granting,  the,  of  selfish  desires  an  in- 
jury to  the  soul,     .        •        .        .  153 


PAOB 

Grass  and  its  moral  analogies,      .        .  445 
in  grass  we  have  an  iUustration  of 
Chiistian  humility  and  cheerful- 
ness,      ......  446 

Gratitude, 205 

there  are  grounds  for,        ,        .        .  205 
these  grounds  are  often  ignored,        .  205 
these   grounds   should  be   acknow- 
ledged by  present  thankfulnesi,     .  205 
and  bv  perpetual  thankfulness,         ,  206 
Great,  the  supremely,  .        .        ,        •  443 
God  is  great  in  His  essence,      ,        ,  443 
in  His  power,     .....  443 
in  His  knowledge,     ....  444 
Greatness  and  gentleness  of  God,  the 

(See  God), 442 

Greatness,    human  frailty  and  Divine 

(See  Frailty),      .        ,       .        .32 
Greatness    of    God's  mercy,  the  (See 

Mercy), 168 

Greatness  of  God,  the,  an  incentive  to 

praise  Him, 359 

the  poet  illustrates  God's  greatness 

by  His  j  udgments  upon  the  heathen,  359 

His  regard  for  His  people,  .'        .  359 

His  eternity  and  unchangeableness, .  360 

Greatness,  the  praise  of   the  Divine 

(See  Pkaise),         ....  423 

Greatness,  true 309 

may  be  consistent    with     external 

humiliation, 309 

external  humiliation  should  not  be- 
little a  man,  .....  309 
Growth,  the  cedar  an  analogue  of  soul 

(See  Cedar) 69 

Guidance,  Divine,         .        .        .        .411 
the  prayer  of  one  who  felt  his  need 

of  Divine  guidance,        .        .        .411 
believed  that  God  had  a  way  marked 

out  for  him, 41 1 

believed  that  God  could  reveal  His 

way  to  Him, 41 1 

had  placed  himself  in  the  right  atti- 
tude to  receive  Divine  guidance,    .  412 

Happiness  of  society,  the,  dependent 
on  the  Divine  blessing,  .        .        .  337 
family  greatness  should  be  founded 

on  the  Divine  blessing, ,        .        ,  337 
the  safety  of  civil  society  ii  secured 

by  the  Divine  blessing,  .        .         .  337 
the  prosperity  of  society  is  dependent 
on  the  Divine  blessing,  .        .        .  337 
Happy  people,  a  picture  of  a  (See  Pic- 
ture),     418 

Happy  people,  the         ....  422 
Harmony  of  creation  restored,  the,       .   138 
the  ^lory  of  the  Lord  in  His  works,  .   138 
the  joy  of  the  righteous  in  the  Lord,    138 
the  desire  of  the  righteous  concern- 
ing the  wicked,       .        .        .        .138 
Harps  on  the  willows,  ....  369 
every  man  has  a  harp,       ,        .        .  369 
sometimes  the  harp  has  to  be  hung 

on  the  willows,        ....  370 

yet  it  needs  not  to  be  cast  away,       .  371 

Hate,  love  and,     .....  300 


lOff 


INDEX, 


PAGE 

Hatred,  holy, 301 

in   its   nature,  causes,  and  specific 

objects, 301 

Healed,  spiritual   diseases   (See  Dis- 
eases),   122 

Healing,  human  sickness  and  Divine 

(See  Sickness),  .  .  .  .162 
Hear  God's  voice,  sinners  entreated  to,  86 
Heaven,    the    Divine    government    of 

(See  Government),  .  .  .207 
Heavens,    God's    praise    in    the    (See 

Praise), 452 

Heavenward  glance,  the  (See  Glance),  328 

Help  of  helplessness,  the  timely, ,        .  232 

who  are  the  helpless  ?        .        .        .  232 

when  are  they  helped  ?      ,        .        .  232 

how  are  they  helped  ?        .        ,        •233 

Helper  of  man,  the  mighty, .        .         .20 

man's  great  need  as  a  sinner,    ,        ,     20 

Christ's  great  power  as  a  Saviour,     .     21 

Helplessness,  the  timely  help  of  (See 

Help), 232 

Heritage  of  His  people,  God's  Word  the,  299 

a  heritage  valuable  and  responsible, .  299 

Hiding-place  of  the  godly,  the  safe,      .     49 

an  implication  of  danger,  .        ,        .49 

an  assurance  of  safety,      ,        ,        .49 

an  expression  of  confidence,      •        .     50 

Historical  surprises  (See  Surprises),  .  143 

History  of  a  rebellious  people,  passages 

from  the, 155 

an  incorrigibly  rebellious  people,      .  155 
a  brave  man  acting  as  minister  of 

justice  in  a  critical  time,        .        '155 
a  noly  man  sinning  and  suffering  by 

reason  of  the  sin  of  others,     .        •   155 
the  great    God    contending  against 

human  sin, 156 

Holiness,      the     beauties     of     (See 

Beauties), 458 

Holy  hatred  (See  Hatred),  .        .        .301 
Home  of  the  soul,  the,  .        ,        .        .35 
the  soul  of  man  needs  a  home, .        ,     35 
the  soul  of  man  may  find  a  home  in 

God, 36 

Home,  the  picture  of  a  pious,       .        ,  107 

its  worship, 107 

its  head, 108 

its  servants, 108 

the  head  of  a  pious  house  will  do  his 
utmost  to  banish  wickedness  from 

the  world, 109 

Hope  of  a  distressed  patriot,  the,.        .   113 
the  object  and  ground  of  his  hope,    .  113 
the  strength  of  his  hope,    .        .        .114 
the  results  anticipated  from  its  fulfil- 
ment,  114 

Hope  of  redemption,  the,      .        .        •  343 
is    based  on  the  revelation  of   the 

Divine  Word,         ....  343 
rouses  the  most  passionate  longings 

of  the  human  soul,         .        .        .  343 
is  encouraged  by  reflecting  on  the 

amplitude  of  the  Divine  mercy,     .  343 
is  strengthened  by  the  assurance  of 
the    completeness   of    redemptive 
blessings, 343 


PAGE 

Human  exaltation  (See  Exaltation),   211 
Human  frailty   and  Divine  greatness 

(See  Frailty),      .        .        .        .32 
Human  frailty  an  incentive  to  seek  the 

Divine  blessing  (See  Frailty),     .    44 
Human  frailty  the  result  of  human  sin 

(See  Frailty),       .        .        .        .37 
Humility,  aspects  and  expressions  of, .  344 
humility  in  certain  of  its  features,     .  344 
as  connected  with  contentment  and 

rest, 344 

growing  into  hope,     ....  345 

Humility,  exemplary,  .        ♦        .        .  345 
the    humility  which  the  poet   dis- 
played,  .        .        .        .        .        .345 

the  methods  in  which  the  possession 
of  this  grace  will  be  shown  and 

attested, 346 

the  means  of  producing  it,         .        .  346 
Hymn,  an  exultant,       .        ,        .        .97 
we  have  here  exultation  for  the  most 

excellent  reasons,  .  ,  ,  .97 
with  the  fullest  expression,  ,  ,  98 
in  the  widest  extent 98 

Idolatry,  the  moral  consequences  of,  222 
the  idolater  becomes  like  his  idols  in 

mental  incapacity, .  ,  •  .  222 
in  moral  insensibility,       ,        •        ,  222 

in  deep  degradation 222 

in  malign  harm  fulness,      ,        •        .222 
in  spiritual  death,      ....  222 

Idols  and  the  living  and  true  God,        .221 
idols  vary,  God  remains  the  same,    .  221 
idols  are  many  and  conflicting,  God  is 

one  and  in  harmony  with  Himself,  221 
idols  are  the  work  of  men's  hands, 

God  is  eternal  and  uncreated,        .  221 
idols  can  only  occupy  temples  made 

with  hands,  God  is  in  the  heavens,  221 
idols  are  senseless,  God  is  keenly  sen- 
sitive of  the  wants  of  His  creatures,  221 
Idols,  the  vanity  of,  an  incentive  to 

praise  the  Lord  God,      .        .        .  360 
the  innate  religiousness  of  human 
nature,    ......  360 

the  sad  perversion  of  the  religious 

element  in  human  nature,  .  •  360 
the    grand    Object    of   worship  for 

man, 361 

the  chief  place  of  worship  for  man,    .  361 
Illustration  of  the  renewal  of  the  soul, 
the    renewal  of   the  face  of   the 
earth,  an  (See  Renewal),    .        .  137 
Immortality,  the  vanity  of  man  apart 

from  his  (See  Vanity),  .        .        .    27 

Imprisonment,    human,    and    Divine 

emancipation,         ....  403 

man's  imi)risonment  as  a  sinner,       .  403 

man's  emancipation  by  the  Saviour,  .  404 

man's  praise  to  the  Emancipator,      .  404 

Incentive  to  praise  Him,  the  greatness 

of  God,  an  (See  Greatness),        .  359 
Incentive  to  praise  the  Lord  God,  the 

vanity  of  idols,  an  (See  Idols),^     .  360 
Incentive  to  seek  the  Divine  blessing, 
human  frailty  an  (See  Frailty),  .    44 


INDEX, 


XT 


-      .,      ^     ,    -      .  PAGE 

Incident  of  the  journey,  a  common,      .  8i 

Incitements  to  praise  the  Lord,     .         .  358 
the  persons  to  whom  the  exhortation 

is  addressed 3^8 

they  have  access  to  and  serve  God,    .  358 
the  reasons  by  which  the  exhortation 

is  enforced 3^8 

because  of  the  holiness  of  God,  .        .  358 


the  delight  which  the  exercise  yields,  358 

His  special  relation  to  Israel,     .         .  358 

His  sovereignty  in  nature,  .         .  358 

Incomparable,  God,       .        .         .        ,10 

Incomparableness  of  God,  the,       ,        \       8 

heavenly  beings  are  mighty,      .        .      8 

heavenly  beings  are  holy,  ,         .       9 

heavenly  beings  worship  God,  .         .       9 

Inequalities  readjusted,  providential,    .  266 

the  problem  stated,    ....  266 

the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,     .         .  266 

the  adversity  of  the  righteous,  .         .  266 

the  problem  solved,    ....  266 

the  adversity  of  the  wicked,      .        .  266 

the  prosperity  of  the  righteous,  .  266 

Infinite,  the  finite  and  the  (See  Finite),  293 

Infinity,  the,  expressions  and  objects  of 

the  Divine  mercy  (See  Mercy),     .   123 

Ingratitude, jyi 

Inquiry,  a  godless,  and  a  godly  response,  220 

tne  question, 

why  and  by  whom  is  it  asked  ? . 
an  all-sufficient  answer,     . 
God  exists;    He  exists  in  the  hea- 
vens,         

He  does  according  to  His  pleasure,  . 
Insignificance,  the,  and  greatness  of  man 

(See  Man), 

Invitation  to  worship,  an  (See  Wor- 
ship),       

Jehovah  the  King  (See  King),    . 
Jehovah  the  refuge  of  the  distressed  (See 

Refuge), 

Jerusalem  a  type  of  the  Church,  .        \ 

because  it  is  securely  founded,  . 

the  place  of  general  assembly,   . 

the  seat  of  universal  government. 
Journey,  a  common  incident  of  the, 
Joy  of  Divine  worship,  the,  . 

is  realised  in  anticipation, 

is  enhanced  when  shared  with  others, 

is  most  fully  realised  in  the  sanctuary, 

is  abiding, 

Jo^s,  spiritual,       .        .         .        .         . 

It  is  God's  will  that  His  people  should 
be  happy, 

His  people  have  been  for  the  most 
part  a  sad  and  sorrowing  people,    . 

how  is  this  to  be  accounted  for  ? 
Jubilant  people  of  God,  the, . 

the  reasons  of  their  rejoicing, 

the  character  of  their  rejoicing, . 

the  expression  of  their  rejoicing, 
Judgment,  a  cry  for  (See  Cry), 
Judgment  deprecated,  Divine, 

the  truths  implied,     , 

the  petition  offered,  . 

the  reasons  urged, 


220 
220 
220 

220 
221 

414 

82 

71 

321 

326 
326 
326 
326 
81 
325 
325 
325 
325 
326 
140 

140 

140 
14 1 

456 
456 
457 
457 

73 
407 
407 
407 
407 


PAGE 

.  71 
,  71 
.  72 
.  72 
72 


King,  Jehovah  the,       .... 
the  majesty  of  the  King,   .        .        \ 
the  might  of  the  King, 
seen  in  the  stability  of  the  world, 
in  the  subjugation  of  His  enemies,    . 
the  eternity  of  the  King  and  of  His 

kingdom, 

the  truth  of  His  testimonies,      .         \ 
Kingdom  of  Christ,  the, 
Kingdom,  the    glory   of    Christ's  (See 

Glory), 

Kingdom,  the  temple  and  the, 

King's  advent,  the  features  and  effects 

of  the  (See  Advent),     . 
King's  subjects,  the   character,    privi- 
leges, and  duty  of  the  (See  Sub- 
jects),     

Knowledge  of  God,  the  sorrows  of  the 

soul  and  the  (See  Sorrows),  . 
Knowledge  of  man,  God's  perfect, 
God  knows  all  men,  .... 
God  knows  all  men  thoroughly, 
God  knows  all  men  constantly, 
the  practical  influence  of  this  know- 
ledge on  us  and  on  our  life,    . 

Lament  of  a  distressed  patriot,  the,    . 
his  distress  was  very  great, 
absorbing,  consuming,  isolating, 
occasioned      reproacnes      from      his 

enemies, 

was  regarded  as  an  expression  of  the 

Divine  anger,  .... 

was  not  hopeless,        .... 

was  patriotic, 

Lamentation  and  expostulation  by 
reason  of  the  apparent  failure  of 
the  covenant  of  God  (See  Cove- 
nant),     

Law  of  God,  the  saint's  enjoyment  of  the 

(See  Enjoyment), 
Law,  prayer,  duty,         .... 
Lessons      for     church-builders       (See 

Church), 

Liberator,  the  Lord  the. 

Liberality, 

true  liberality  must  have  righteous- 
ness for  its  basis,     .... 
need  for  its  object,     .... 
usefulness  for  its  end, 
will  have  success  and  honour  as  its 

reward, 

Life  a  shadow,  human, .... 
Life  an  exclamation,     .... 
life  has  the  brevity  of  a  cry, 
life  is  a  cry  full  of  meaning, 
Life  as  the  sphere  of  Divine  service 

(See  Service) 

Life,  its  sustenance  and  aim, 

Life,  long 

is  desirable, 

is  promoted  by  true  religion,     . 

is  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  number 

of  its  months  and  years, 
a  godly  man  will  be  satisfied  with 
the  length  of  his  life  as  determined 
by  God, 60 


72 
72 
93 

430 
215 

90 


94 

401 

379 
379 
380 

380 

380 

III 
III 
III 

112 

112 
112 
112 


24 

294 
254 

347 
439 
201 

201 
201 
202 

202 

416 

42 

42 

43 

227 

263 

60 

60 

60 

60 


ni 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Life  of  a  godly  man,  the  pitiable,  the 
commendable,   and  the  reprehen- 
sible in  the  troubled, 
the  pitiable ;  he  complains  of  slander, 

malignity,  and  ingratitude,    . 
the  commendable  ;  he  committed  his 

cause  to  the  Lord  in  prayer,  . 
the   reprehensible;    he   manifests  a 

revengeful  spirit 

Life,  the  afflictions  of,  and  the  resource 

of  the  godly  (See  Afflictions),  . 

Life,  the  blessed,  ..... 

all  men  are  not  happy, 

men  can  secure  happiness  only  by  a 

right  state  of  the  heart, 
and  maintain  it  only  by  a  right  state 

of  the  life 

provision  is  made  for  man's  happiness 
in  the  Word  of  God, 
Life,    the    complete    triumph    of    the 

Christian  (See  Triumph), 
Light,  God's  Word  a  lamp  and  a, 
the  Word  of  God  is  a  light, 
a  clear,  full,  and  perennial  light. 
Light,  to  whom  and  when  ?  . 
to  the  upright, 


170 
170 
171 
171 

no 

253 
253 

253 

254 

254 

167 

295 
296 
296 
197 
197 


who  have  their  seasons  of  darkness,     197 
in  which  light  ariseth,       .        .         .198 

Long  life  (See  Life) 60 

Lord  and  His  universe,  the,  .  .134 
the  Lord  is  the  Creator  of  all  things,  134 
the  Lord  is  the  Proprietor  of  all  things,  135 
the  Lord  is  the  Sustainer  of  all  things,  135 
the  Lord  is  the  Sovereign  of  ail  things,  135 
Lord,  creation  a  revelation  of  the,  .  1 30 
displays  His  absolute  power,  .  .130 
displays  His  delight  in  beauty,  .  131 
displays  His  great  law  of  service,  .  132 
displays  His  regard  for  all  His  crea- 
tures,       132 

displays  His  supreme  regard  for  man,  132 
Lord  in  the  Church  and  the  state,  the 
supremacy    of   the    (See    Supre- 
macy), .        .        .        .        .        .99 

Lord,  the  glorious  reign  and  praise  of 
the  (See  Reign),    .       .       .       .127 

Lord,  the  liberator,  the,        «        .        .  439 
Lord,  the  praise  of  the,         .        ,        .130 
Lord,  the  works  and  worship  of  the 
(See  Works),        .        .       .        .139 

Lord's  day,  the, 251 

Lord's  goodness  and    man's    sin,  the 

(See  Goodness),  .  .  .  .149 
Lords  time  and  ours,  the  (See  Time),  304 
Lord's  triumph,  the  (See  Triumph),  .  248 
Lost  sheep,  tlie  (See  Sheep),       .        .315 

Love  and  nate, 300 

Love  for  God's  Word,  ....  300 

what  is  it  ? 300 

what  degree  of  it  should  we  have  ?    .  300 
why  should  we  love  it  ?     .        .        ,  300 
how  should  we  show  our  love  to  it  ?    301 
what  results  will  foUow  our  love  of 
it  ? 301 

Majesty  and  condescengion  of  God, 
the  (See  God),        .        .        .        .210 


paor 


Majesty  and  condescension  of  God,  the,  379 
Majesty  of  God  in  creation,  the,  . 
the  glorious  vesture  of  the  Lord, 
the  splendid  palace  of  the  Lord, 
the  sublime  cnariot  of  the  Lord, 
the    wonderful    messengers   of    the 

Lord, 

the  firm  footstool  of  the  Lord,   . 

Man, 

Man  a  wonderful  creation  of  God, 
man  is  a  creation  of  God,  . 
man  is  a  wonderful  creation  uf  God, 
therefore,  man  should  celebrate  the 
praise  of  his  Creator, 
Man  blessing  L!od,  God  blessing  man 

and  (See  Blessing), 
Man,  the  blessedness  of  the  Divinely 

instructed  (See  Blessedness), 
Man,  the  insignificance  and  greatness  o 
the  insignificance  of  human  life, 
human  life  is  unsubstantial, 
human  life  is  transitory,    . 
the  greatness  of  human  life, 
revealed  by  the  regard  of  God  for 

man, 

Man,     the     mighty     helper   of     (See 
Helper),       .... 

Man,  the  vanity  of,  apart  from  his  im 

mortality  (See  Vanity), 
Man's  remembrance  of  the  Lord's  bene 

fits  (See  Benefits),  . 
Mean,  the  golden, 

such  circumstances  will  arise  as  to 

need  and  justify  favour  and  loans, . 

that  man  is  nappy  who  is  able  wisely 

to  afford  those  favours  and  loans, 
that  man  is  happy  who  can  do  good 
and  no  evil  by  his  favours  and 
loans,     ...... 

Melchizedek,  the  order  of,    . 
Christ  is  a  priest  after, 
that  order  was  unique,  righteous, 
peaceful,  royal,  superior,  . 
Christ's  appointment  to  this  priest- 
hood is  Divine,       .         •        .         . 
Memory  of  the  righteous,  the  stability 

and 

Men,  a  serious  word  for  young  (See 

Word), 

Mercy  and  man's  frailty,  God's  (See 

Contrast), 

Mercy  in  God  and  in  creation, 

in  the  Divine  being  and  character,  . 
in  the  Divine  work  in  creation, 
Mercy  in  human  redemption  and  pro- 
vision,   .        ,        . 
the  mercy  of  God  in  redemption, 
the  mercy  of  God  in  provision, 
Mercy  in  the  revolutions  of  providence,  363 
in  the  judgments  upon  Egjrpt,  .  363 

in  the  destruction  of  tyrannical  kings,  363 
in  the  history  of  Lsrael,     .        .        .  364 
Mercy  of  God  in  the  afflictions  of  man, 

the 125 

Mercy  of  God  solicited,  the,  ,        .     47 

Mercy,  the  Divine 243 

the  nature  of 244 


128 
128 
129 
129 

129 

129 

415 

384 
3S4 
384 

3S6 

120 

76 
414 
414 
4'4 
415 
415 

415 

20 

27 

122 
198 

198 

199 


199 
179 
179 
179 
179 

180 

199 

256 

126 

362 
362 
362 

364 

364 
365 


INDEX. 


ztU 


PAGE 

.   244 

•   244 

168 


the  objects  and  manifestation  of, 
the  recognition  of,     . 
Mercy,  the  greatness  of  God's,      *. 
this  is  seen  in  the  blessings  of  daily- 
life,  

in    the  grand   end    for  which  it  is 

manifested, 

in  the  means  by  which  it  seeks  to 

accomplish  this  end, 
in  the  multitudes  to  whom  it  ex- 
tends,      

Mercy,  the  infinity,   expressions',  and 
objects  of  the  Divine,     . 
the  infinity  of  the  Divine  mercy,       .*   ,^. 
the  expressions  of  the  Divine  mercy,  123 
in  His  vindication  of  the  oppressed, !  123 
m   His  general    dealings   with  His 

people, 

in  the  long  delay  of  His  anger, ' 

in  the    transient    duration    of  His 

.   a"gej,     _ 

m  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 

in  His  fatherly  compassion, 

in  His  fatherly  consideration,    . 

in  the  revelation  which  He  made  to 

His  people, 

the  objects  of  the  Divine  mercy, 
Militant  people  of  God,  the, 
the  true  spirit  of,        .         .        , 
the  trusty  weapon  of,         ... 
the  Divine  warrant  of,        .        ,        | 
the  grand  design  of,    . 
Mindful  of  man,  God,    .        .        .         ' 
why  is  God  mindful  of  man  ?     . 
when  and   how  is  God   mindful  of 

man? 

for  what  purpose  is  God  mindful  of 

man? 

Ministers  of  the  godly,  the  angelic, 
are  commissioned  by  God, 
exercise  their  ministiy  for  the  godly 
as  individuals,         .... 
only  when  the  godly  are  in  their  true 

path, 

always  when  the  godly  are  in  their 

true  path, 

by  means  of  the  exercise  of  their 
ministry  the  godly  are  enabled  to 
surmount  all  the  hindrances  and 
conquer  all    the  foes    that  beset 
their  way,      .        . 
Misery,  expostulation  from  the  depth  of, 
the  Psalmist's  extreme  distress, 
his  misconception  of  God,  . 
his  nearness  to  death, 
his  belief  that  there  are  dutiei  and* 
privileges  the  discharge  and  enjoy- 
ment of  which  are  limited  to  the 

present  life, 

his  faith  in  God,         .        .        .        .* 
Misery,  prayer  from  the  depth  of,* 
a  gre^t  depth  of  affliction, 
tjie  Psalmist's  troubles  were  spiritual, 
hu  trouble^  were  many,     . 
were  bringing  him  speedily  to  death,' 
iBolated  him  from  human  society, 
were  from  the  hand  of  God, 


169 

169 

169 

169 

123 
123 


123 
123 

123 
124 
124 
124 

124 

124 
460 
460 
460 
461 
461 
223 
223 

224 

224 
54 
55 

55 

55 

56 


56 
4 
4 
5 


PAGE 
were  an  expression  of  the  wrath  of 
God, - 

a  great  urgency  of  prayer,'        .'        \      3 

his  prayer  was  directed  to  God,         .      3 

earnest  and  unceasing,       ...      4 

Misery  to  exultation,  stages  from' (See* 

Stages), ,^7 

Misrepresentation,  the  godly  under,     !  317 
the  godly  are  not  exempt  from  mis- 
representation,       .         .         .         .317 
are  distressed  by  misrepresentation,     317 
should  cry  to  God  in  misrepresenta- 
tion,          317 

God  clears  the  godly  from  misrepre- 
sentation,         3iy 

Morning  prayer  (See  Prayer).     ',       [310 
Motherhood,  its  blessings  and  respon- 
sibilities,   212 

children  are  the  subject  of  fond  and 

prayerful  desire,  .  .  .  .212 
children  are  a  motJier's  joy,  .  .213 
children  are  a  mother's  care,  .  .  213 
children  are  Divine  gifts,  .  .  .213 
Motive  for  persevering  prayer,  the,  *.  230 
this  motive  reveals  God's  condescen- 
sion and  anxiety  to  hear,  .  .  230 
the  determination   based  upon    this 

motive, 230 

the  Divine  intention  that  is  suggested 
by  the  ground  of  this  motive  and 
the  warrant  of  this  determination,    230 

Nations,  the   Divine  government  of 

(See  Government),       .        .        .207 
Nature  and  advantages  of  true  piety, 

the  (See  Piety),     .        .        .        .'1^2 
Nature  and   power  of  faith,   the  (See 

Faith), 237 

Nature,  God  in  (See  God),  .        .        .1,8 
Nature,  the  purpose  of,  and  the  good- 
ness of  nature's  God,      .         .        .188 
the  purpose  of  nature  is  to  be  remem- 

bered, ,88 

why?    That  we  may  have  perpetual 
evidence  of  the  goodness  of  God,   .   18S 
Nature's  beauty  and  the  righteousness 
of  nature's  God,      .        ,         ,        .187 

nature  is  beautiful 187 

nature's  God  is  righteous,  .         .  1 87 

nature  is  beautiful  as  the  expression 

of  the  righteousness  of  God,  .         .187 

Near  unto  the  Lord,  a  people,       .         .455 

Nearness  and  man's,  God's,  .         .311 

Need,  the,  succour,  and  triumph  of  the 

soul  (See  Soul),     .        .        .        .201 
Needful  prayer,  a  (See  Prayer);  .  389 

Nightly  occupations  of  the  godly,  the 

(See  Occupations),      .        .        .279 
Noble  people  and  a  noble  service,  a,     .  204 
the    servants   of    God    are  a  noble 

people, 204 

they  realise  tlie  noblest  ideal  of  life,    204 
have  the  noblest  Master,  .         .         .  204 
yield  to  the  noblest  claims,        ,         .  204 
have  the  noblest  wai  rant  for  their  ser- 
vice  204      , 

enjoy  the  noblest  rewards,        .        ,  204 


XVlll 


INDEX, 


God's  service  is  a  noble  service, 
in  the  dignity  of  its  sphere, 
in  the  motive  from  which  it  springs, 
in  the   instruments  by  which   it  is 

accomplished, 
in  the  freedom  of  its  consecration, 
in  the  uses  which  it  serves. 
Numeration,  an  all-important, 
the  teacher,         .... 
the  pupils,          .... 
the  lesson,          .... 
the  end, 

Obedience,  the  blessings  of  (See  Bless 

INGS), 

Obedient  and  the  apostate  contrasted 
the,  .        .         .        . 

the  obedient  are  sustained  by  a  con 

sciousness  of  personal  rectitude, 

enjoy  the  Divine  aid  and  blessings, 

the  apostates  will  be  certainly  pun 

ished,      ..... 

Object,  obligation,  and  expression  of 

worship,  the, 
Obstacles  are  removed,  why  ? 

because  of  the  omnipotent  presence 

of  the  Lord,    .... 
covenant  presence  of  the  Lord, 
merciful  presence  of  the  Lord,  . 
righteous  presence  of  the  Lord, 
Obstacles,  the  removal  of,     . 
antagonisms  are  quelled,  . 
boundaries  are  removed,    . 
difficulties  are  overcome,  .      ^  . 
Occupations  of  the  godly,  the  nightly, 
the  duties  of  the  night, 
how  they  are  to  be  performed,  . 
why  they  are  to  be  performed, . 
prepare  us  for  the  exercise  of  daily 

duties, 

Omnipresence,  God's,    . 

He  is  personally  present  everywhere 

influentially  present  everywhere, 

intelligently  present  everywhere, 

His  presence  is  everywhere  realised 

by  the  godly  soul,   . 

Omnipresence  of  God,  the,  and  its  im 

pressions  upon  man, 

endeavour    to    realise    God's   omni 

presence,  .... 

trace  the  impressions  which  it  ought 

to  produce  on  us,     . 

Opportunity,  man's  extremity,  God's, 

Order  of  ^ielchizedek,  the  (See  Mel 

CHIZEDEK),       .... 

Orthodoxy, 

what  it  implies,  .        . 

what  it  consists  in,     .        •        . 
the  result  of,       ...        . 

Palm-tree  an  analogue  of  the  right 
ecus,  the,        .... 

in  its  resolute  upward  growth, 

in  its  growth  despite  of  hindrances, 

in  its  perennial  verdure,     . 

in  its  iruitfulness. 
Pardon  with  punishment,     .        • 


PAGE 

.  204 

.  205 

205 


205 
205 
205 
46 
46 
47 
47 
47 


279 
334 

334 
334 

334 

89 
217 

217 
217 
217 
217 
216 
216 
216 
217 
279 
279 
279 
279 

279 
381 
381 
382 
382 

382 
383 

383 

384 
245 

179 

288 
288 
288 
289 


68 
68 
68 
68 
69 
102 


PAGE 
forgiveness  is  the  undisturbed  com- 
munication of  the  love  of  God  to 
sinful  man,      .         .        .         .         .102 
such  pardon  does  necessarily  sweep 

away  the  one  true  penalty  of  sin,  .   102 
yet    leaves    many    penalties    unre- 

moved, 103 

pardoning  love  so  modifies  the  punish- 
ment that  it  becomes  an  occasion 
for  thankfulness,     ....   103 
Passages  from  the  history  of  a  rebel- 
lious people  (See  History),  .        .155 
Pattern  prayer,  a  (See  Prayer),  .        .174 
Patriot,  the  hope  of  a  distressed  (See 

Hope), 113 

Patriot,  the  lament  of  a  distressed  (See 

Lament) in 

Peace,    . 313 

a  qualification,  ,        .        •        .        .313 

a  process, 313 

the  result,  .        .         .         .         ,        .  314 

Peace  and  prosperity,    .        .         .         .327 

should  be  subjects  of  earnest  prayer,  327 
are  correlative  blessings,    .        .        .  327 
are  necessary  for  the  cultivation  of 

fraternal  intercourse  and  affection,  327 
should  be  sought  for  the  sake  of  the 
Church  of  God,        ....  328 

People  and  a  noble  service,  a  noble  (See 
Noble),  .        .       .        .        .        .  204 

People  and  pleasure  of  the  Lord,  the,  .  458 
People,  a  picture  of  a  happy  (See  Pic- 
ture),      418 

People,   characteristics  of  the  blessed 

(See  Characteristics),  .  .  148 
People  near  unto  the  Lord,  a,  .  .  455 
People  of  God,  the  blessedness  of  the 

(See  Blessedness),       .        .       .     13 
People  of  God,  the  jubilant  (See  Jubi- 
lant),     456 

People  of  God,  the  militant  (See  Mili- 
tant)  460 

People,   the  character  and  portion  of 

God's, 95 

People,  the  happy^         .^        .         .         .  422 
Persecution  and  a  glorious  emancipa- 
tion, a  cruel, 145 

Israel  persecuted  in  Egj'pt,        .        .  145 
the  root  and  manner  of  the  persecu- 
tion,          145 

Israel  emancipated  from  Egypt,  .  145 
by  human  instruments,  .  .  .  145 
by  overcoming  persistent  resistance,  145 
in  favouiable  circumstances,  .  .  146 
Perseverance,         .....  270 

steady, 270 

rapid^  ......  270 

shameless, 270 

Divinely  assisted,      ....  270 

Personal  and  family  piety  (See  Piety),  247 

Personal  religion  (See  Religion),        .  2^2 

Perversity,  a  sad  picture  of  human,      .   154 

despising  the  choicest  inheritance,    .  154 

disLelievmg  the  best  authenticated 

word,        .        .        .        .        .        .  154 

murmuring  against  the  Divine  ar- 
rangements  154 


INDMX, 


xix 


PAGE 

the 

•   154 

154 
154 

47 
47 
48 

48 

437 
418 
418 
418 
419 
419 


disobeying   the    commands    of 

Lord, 

receiving  deserved  punishment, 
entailing  misery  upon  tlieir  posterity, 
Petitions,  tlie  three,        .... 
for  visible  results  from  the  work, 
for  the  stability  of  the  work, 
for  the  succession  of  the  work, . 
Philosophy  of  death,  the  (See  Death), 
Picture  of  a  happy  people,  a  . 
a  noble  offspring,         .... 
secular  prosperity,      .... 

settled  peace, 

flowing  from  the  favour  of  God, 
Picture    of    a    pious    home,    a    (See 

Home), 

Picture  of  human  perversity,  a  sad  (See 
Perversity),         .... 
Piety,  personal  and  family,  . 
piety  is  sadly  wanting, 
the  want  of  piety  is  supplied,    . 
piety    must     be    personally    appro- 
priated,     

piety  is  appropriated  to  be  diffused, .  248 
piety  alone  will  make  home  happy,  .  248 
a  happy  home  is  a  miniature  of  and 
a  nursery  for  heaven, 
Piety,   the  nature  and  advantages  of 

true, 

Piety,  the  old  age  of  (See  Age),    . 
Pilgrimage    and   the    heavenly  songs, 

the  earthly, 

God's  people  are  on  a  pilgrimage, 
delightful    provisions   are   made  for 
them  on  their  pilgrimage, 
Pilgrimage,  Divine  blessings  in  human 
(See  Blessings),    .... 
Pilgiims,    strangers  and  (See  Stran- 
gers),       

Pitiable,  the  commendable,  and  the  re- 
prehensible,   the,  in  the  troubled 
life  of  a  godly  man  (See  Life), 
Plea,  an  all-prevailing, 

the  plea, 

the  prayer  based  upon  this  plea, 
the  sources  of  the  Psalmist's  informa- 
tion as  to  both  plea  and  prayer, 
Pleasure  of  the  Lord,  the  people  and,  . 

Portion,  the  soul's 

what  it  is, 

how  it  is  attained,       .... 
on  what  grounds  it  is  given, 
for  what  purpose  it  is  given, 
Power,  the  purpose  of  the  revelation  of 

God's  (See  Revelation), 
Practice,  preaching  and  (See  Preach- 

„     .I^G), 

Praise, 

the  true  object  of  worship, 

the  true  character  of  worship,    . 

tlie  true  spirit  of  worship, 

Praise,  a  psalm  of  universal, 
the  reasons  of  praise  to  the  Lord, 
the  extent  of  praise  to  the  Lord, 
the  character  of  praise  to  tht-  I>ord,   . 

Praise,  a  summons  to  universal,    . 
aspects  of  God's  revelation  oi  Himself; 


107 

154 
247 
247 
247 

247 


248 

192 

70 

278 
278 

278 

146 

265 


170 
292 
292 
292 

292 

458 
280 
280 
280 
280 
280 

190 

275 

183 

183 
184 
184 
104 
104 

105 
105 

455 


PACES 

adapted  to  persons  of  all  ranks  and 
of  the  most  varied  duties,       .         .  455 
adapted  to  persons  of  all  ages,   .        .  455 
fitted  to  inspire  the  praises  of  persons 
of  all  ranks  and  ages,      .        .         .  4c e 
Praise,  constant,    .         .         .         .         ^  3n 
is  due  to  God  for  the   constancy  of 

His  judgments,  ....  313 
the  beneticence  of  His  judgments,  .*  313 
the  clearness  of  His  judgments,  .  313 
the  helj)  He  vouchsafes  to  keep  His 

jud;j;n)ents,       .         .         .         .         .313 

the  forgiveness  He  offers  where  we 

have  broken  His  judgments,  .         .  313 

Praise,  eternal  ^See  Eteris^al),     .        .193 

Praise  from   excellent  society  and  for 

excellent  reasons,   .         .         •        .  447 

praise  from  excellent  society,     .        *  447 

they  have  a  clearer  knowledge  of  God*  447 

they  have  a  closer  relation  to  God,    .  447 

they  have  richer  blessings  from  God,  447 

praise  for  excellent  reasons,       .        .  447 

for  the  blessings  of  His  provitlence,  .  447 

for  His  agency  in  nature,  .         .         .  448 

for  the  blessings  of  His  revelation,    .  448 

Praise  in  the  heavens,  God's,         .        .  452 

by  heavenly  beings,  .         .         .         .'  452 

the  praise  which  they  offer  to  God  is 

voluntary,  constant,  and  thorough,  452 
by  heavenly  bodies,    ....  452 
they  are  summoned  to  praise  God  be- 
cause they  Mere  created  by  Him,  .  452 
they  are  sustained  by  Him,        .         .  452 
they  are  governed  by  Him,         .         .  452 
the  interest  of  godly  men  in  God's 
praise  in  the  heavens,     .         .        .  453 
Praise  of  God,  the  good  man's  celebra- 
tion of  the, 61 

the  ground  of  this  exercise,  .  .61 
the  manner  of  this  exercise,  .  .  62 
the  seasons  of  this  exercise,  .  .  63 
the  excellence  of  this  exercise,  .  .  63 
Praise  of  the  Divine  goodness,  the  (See 

Goodness), 425 

Praise  of  the  Divine  greatness,  the,  .  423 
the  reasons  of  the  Divine  praise,  .  423 
God  is  great  in  His  deeds,  .        .  423 

God  is  great  in  His  majesty,  .  .  423 
God  is  great  in  His  goodness,  .  .  423 
God  is  great  in  His  righteousness,  .  423 
the    characteristics    of    the    Divine 

praise, 423 

it  is  constant,  perpetual,    .        .        .  423 
fervent  and  songful,   ....  424 
Praise  of  the  Divine  reign,    the  (See 

Reign), 429 

Praise  of  the  Divine  relation  to  difTerent 

characters,  the  (See  Relation),    .  431 
Praise  of  the  Lord,  the,         .         .         .130 
the  Lord  should  be  praised  with  the 

soul 130 

because  of  His  attributes,  .  .  .130 
because  of  His  work  in  creation,  .  130 
both  for  what  He  reveals  and  what 

He  conceals  of  Himself,  .         .  130 

he  is  best  qualified   for  this  service 
"  whose  God  is  the  Lord,"      .        .130 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Praise  of  the  Lord,  the  glorious  reign 

and  (See  Reign),   . 
Praise  of  time,  the, 

as  the  decree  of  God, 

as  expressing  the  resolution  and  work 
of  Christ's  Church, 
Praise  on  the  earth,  God's,    . 

the  variety  of ,    . 

the    Psalmist    summons    the    inor 
ganic  creation  to  praise  Him, 

the  Psalmist  summons  the  vegetable 
creation  to  praise  Him,  . 

the    Psalmist  summons  the  animal 
creation  to  praise  Him,  . 

the  Psalmist  summons  the  rational 
creation  to  praise  Him,  . 

the  universality  of,    . 

universal  praise  is  God's  right, . 

the  good  man's  desire, 

a  fact  which  will  be  realised  in  the 
future, 

the  rationality  of,      . 

it  is  manifestly  and  sublimely  reason 
able,        ..... 
Praise   the   Lord,   incitements  to  (See 

Incitements), 
Praise,   the  subjects  and    expressions 

of,  ..... 

Praise,  the  subjects  and  seasons  of, 

the  subjects  of  praise, 

the  loving-kindness  of  God, 

the  faithfulness  of  God,     . 

the  seasons  of  praise, 

in  the  morning,  .... 

in  the  evening,  .... 
Praise  to  God,  the  excellence  of,  . 

it  is  excellent  in  itself, 

it  is  good, 

pleasant  and  comely, 

it  is  excellent  in  its  reasons. 

His  relation  to  His  Church, 

His  relation  to  troubled  souls,  . 

His  relation  to  heavenly  hosts,  . 

His  retributive  relation  to  men, 
Praise,  trust  and  (See  Trust), 
Praise,  universal,  .... 

the  grand  prerogative  of  God,    . 

the  precious  privileg^e  of  man,    . 

the  fervent  desire  of  the  good,   . 

Praising    Him,    the    providence    and 

pleasure  of  God  a  reason  for  (See 

Providence),        .... 

Prayer, 

the  character  of,         .... 

the  matter  of, 

the  manner  of, 

the  plea  to  be  used  in,       .        . 

the  purpose  which  should  sustain,     . 
Prayer,  a  needful,  .... 

the  need  for  such  a  prayer  as  this,     . 

the  manner  in  which  such  a  prayer 

as  this  receives  its  answer,     .         .  390 

Prayer,  a  pattern,  .        .         .         .174 

true  in  its  direction,  .         •        .         ,  174 

personal  in  its  aim,    ....  174 

submissive  in  its  spirit,     .        .         •   174 

powerful  in  its  plea,  .        .        .         .174 


127 

424 

424 

424 
453 
453 

453 

453 

453 

454 
454 
454 
454 

454 
454 

454 

358 

463 
64 
64 

64 

65 

65 

65 

65 

439 

459 

439 

440 

440 

440 

440 

440 

441 

435 
464 
464 
465 
465 


444 
306 
306 
306 
306 
306 
306 

389 
389 


PAGE 

Prayer  and  confidence,  complaint  (See 

Complaint), 172 

Prayer,  an  earnest,  and  an  immediate 

answer 376 

the  earnestness  of  his  prayer,  .  .376 
the  effectual  relief  he  gained,  .  .  376 
the  force  of  his  example  upon  other 

minds, 377 

Prayer,    attributes  and  advantages  of 
acceptable,      .....  434 
some  attributes  of  acceptable  prayer,  434 
sincerity,  reverence,  faith,         .         .  434 
some  advantages  of  acceptable  prayer,  434 
the  realisation  of  God's  presence,      .  434 
the  fulfilment  of  their  desires,    .         .  434 
the  attainment  of  His  salvation,        .  434 
Prayer,  creation  a  plea  in  (See  Crea- 
tion),      285 

Prayer,  duty,  law,         ....  254 
Prayer,  effectual,  fervent,  and  believ- 

ing,_ 309 

its  object,  ...,•.  309 
its  reasons,         .        •        •        •        .  309 

its  petitions, 310 

its  characteristics,  •  •  .  .310 
its  warrants,       .        .         ,         .         .310 

its  resolutions, 310 

its  basis,     .        .         .        .        ,         .310 
Prayer,  encouragements  for  .        .231 

pray  because  God  is  the  Lord,  .  .231 
the  Lord  is  our  God,  .  .  .  .231 
The  Lord  is  gracious,  .        .         .231 

the  Lord  is  righteous,         .         .         .  232 
our  God  is  merciful,  ....  232 
Prayer  for  grace  and  guidance,  a  good 

man's, 410 

the  Psalmist    prays  for   God's  dis- 
tinguishing   favour    as  a  God    of 

grace, 410 

God's  daily  guidance   as  a  God  of 

Providence,    .         .         .         .         .410 
the  constant  acceptance  of  his  devo- 
tions as  a  prayer-hearing  God,        .  411 
Prayer  from  the  depth  of  misery  (See 

Misery), i 

Prayer  in  trouble,    and   confidence  iu 
prayer,      trouble      in      life      (See 

Trouble) 392 

Prayer,  its  object  and  its  value,    .         ,229 
characteristics  of,       ...         .   229 

the  object  of, 229 

the  value  of 229 

Prayer,  morning,  .        .         .         .         .310 
the  Bible  speaks  much  of,  .         .310 

morning  is  the  most  favourable  time 

for, 310 

morning  is  the  time  God  demands  for,  311 
morning  is  the  most  a})proi)riate  time 

for, 311 

Prayer  of  a  distressed  servant  of  God. 

the, 408 

the  blessings  which  are  sought,  .  498 

the  loving-kindness  of  God,       .         .  408 
deliverance  from  distresses,        .         .  408 
inward  and  si)iritual  blessings,  .         .  408 
the   grounds   upon    which   tliey    are 
souuht,     ...,,.  409 


INDEX. 


\xf 


PAGE 

•    409 
.   409 


are 


way  of 


the  sore  needs  of  the  Psalmist,  . 
his  personal  relations  to  God,  . 
the    urgency   with   which    they 

sought, 

Prayer  of  the  godly  for  deliverance  from 

enemies,  a  (See  Deliverance),    . 

Prayer  of  the  godly  man  from  tlie  depths 

of  distress, 

a  picture  of  deep  distress,  . 
the  pei  secution  of  his  enemies,  . 
the  failure  of  human  helj), 
the  depression  of  his  circumstances 
and  condition,  .... 

a  prayer  of  strong  confidence,    . 
God's  accessibleness  to  him, 
God's  interest  in  liim, 
God's  knowledge  of  him,   . 
God's  protection  of  him,     . 
from  this  basis  of  faith  the  prayer 

rises, 

Prayer  of  the  uprit^dit,  a,        .         .        . 
for  Divine  examination,     . 
for  entire  freedom  from  evil, 
for  Divine  guidance  in  the 
righteousness,  .         . 

Prayer  preferred,  the  wicked  way  with- 
in  us,  and  the,        .... 

Prayer,  special, 

the  time  for, 

the  subjects  of, 

the  manner  of, 

Prayer,  the  motive  for  peraevering  (See 

Motive), 

Preaching  and  practice, 
the  Psalmist's  prayer, 
the  Psalmist's  purpose, 
the  Psalmist's  consolation, 
Preciousness    and    number    of    God's 

thoughts,  the  (See  Thoughts),     .  ^_ 
Privilege  and  security  of  the  good,  the,  332 
it  is  the  privilege  of  the  good  to  trust 

in  the  Lord, 

it  is  the  securitjr  of  the  good  to  be 

guarded  by  His  presence, 
their  security  is  perpetual, 
Privileges  of  the  godly,  the  glorious, 
some  features  in  the  character  of  the 

godly 

love  to  God,        .... 

knowledge  of  God,     . 

prayer  to  God,    .... 

some  of  the  privileges  of  the  godly, 

deliverance  from  danger,    . 

exaltation  and  consequent  safety, 

answers  to  prayer, 

the  presence  of  God  in  trouble, . 

the      conference     of     distinguished 

honours, 

satisfaction  with  the  duration  of  life, 
full  salvation,     . 
Profession,  religious,     ... 
should  be  of  the  most  binding  char 

acter,      ..... 
the  result  of  serious  thought,     . 
made  with  a  free  but  resolute  will, 
faithfully  and  consistently  kept, 

Profundis,  de 

VOL.  II. 


410 
416 

399 

399 
399 
399 

400 
400 
400 
400 
400 
400 

400 
389 
389 
389 

389 

391 
230 
230 
231 
231 

230 

275 
275 
275 
275 

386 


332 

332 

333 

57 

57 
57 
58 
58 
58 
58 
58 
58 
59 

59 

59 

59 

296 

296 

297 
297 
297 
342 


PAGE 

a  consciousness  of  sin  sinks  the  soul 

into  depths  of  penitential  sorrow,  .  342 
from  the  depths  of  penitential  sorrow 

the  soul  cries  earnestlv  for  pardon,  342 

the  penitential  soul  seeks  pardon  in 

order  to  serve  God  acceptably,       .  342 

Progress,  Christian,       .         .         .         .271 

the  way  of,  is  Divinely  revealed,       .  271 

is  possible  only  under  certain  definite 

conditions, 271 

is  impossible  without  Divine  assist- 
ance,        272 

Promisor,  the  faithful,  .        .         .         .141 

the  Lord's  remembrance  of  His  pro- 
mises,     ......   142 

the  perpetuity  of  His  promises,  .  142 

the  confirmation  of  His  promises,      .   142 
the  recipients  of  His  promises,  .        .142 
the  fulfilment  of  His  promises,  .         .  143 
Proper  attitude   of    the  righteous  to- 
wards the  ungodlv,  the  (See  Atti- 
tude),   .        .      *.        .        .        .306 

Prosperity  and  its  qualifications,  .        .  196 
what  is  prosperity  ?    .        .        .        .   196 

what  is  calculated  to  produce  it  ?       .  196 
what  objections  can  be  urged  against 

all  this? 197 

Prosperity  of  the  wicked,  the  temporal,    66 

Prosperity,  peace  and  (See  Peace),       .  327 

Protection,  Divine,         ....  323 

is  ample  and  efficient,        ,        .        .  323 

shields  from  the  most  open  assaults,    323 

guards    from    the    effects    of   secret 

treachery, 324 

is  a  defence  a^jainst  every  evil,  .  324 

is  realised  amid  the  active  duties  of 

life, 324 

overshadows  the  rest  of  home,  .        .  324 

is  unremitting, 324 

Protection  of  God,  the  day  of  battle 

and  the  (See  Battle),  .        .        .  394 

Protection,  the  Divine,  .        .        .  302 

where  it  is  revealed,  ....  302 

the  comfort  this  revelation  brings,     .  302 

Providence    and    pleasure    of    God    a 

reason  for  praising  Him,  the,         .  444 

the  providence  of  God,       .        .         .  444 

presiding  over  the  elements,      .         .  444 

creating  vegetation,  ....  444 

providing  for  His  creatures,       .        .  444 

the  pleasure  of  God,  ....  444 

is  not  in  those  who  trust  in  their  own 

resources, 444 

is  in  those  who  trust  in  Him,    .        .  445 
the  praise  of  God,       ....  445 

a  response  for  Divine  favours,   .        ,  445 
an  expression  of  gratitude  for  Divine 
favours,  .        .        .        .        .        .  445 

Providence,  mercy  in  the  revolutions  of 

(See  Meecy), 363 

Providential     inequalities     readjusted 

(See  Inequalities),      .       .        .266 
Provisions,  Divine          .         .        .         .218 
are    the   result   of    the    Divine    pre- 
sence,        218 

conteni})late  real  need,       .         .         .218 
come  in  unexpcctc>i  forms,         .         .   218 


XXll 


INDEX 


PAGE 
flow  with  abouiidiiiL,^  fulness,  .  .218 
are  constantly  permanent,  .         .218 

Psalm     of     universal    praise,    a    (See 

Praise),          .       .       .       .       .104 
Punishment,    pardon   with  (See  PAR- 
DON),         102 

Purpose  of  the  revelation  of  God's  power, 
the  (See  Revelation),  .       .        ,190 

Qualifications,    prosperity  and   its 
(See  Prosperity),        .        .       .196 

Reaping,    sowing    and    (See    Sow- 
ing),         336 

Recognition  of  God's  goodness,  man's,    242 
God's  goodness  is  manifested  to  meet 

man's  need, 242 

shall  be  universally  recognised,        .  243 
such  recognition  will  characterise  the 
redeemed  and  glorified  Church  for 

ever, 243 

Recollection  and  an  encouraging  anti- 
cipation, a  devout  resolution,  grate- 
ful (See  Resolution),  .       .        .374 
Recollections,  precious  yet  sorrowful,  .  367 
of  lost  privileges,        ....  367 

their  country, 367 

their  freedom, 368 

their  religious  privileges,   .        .        .  368 
of  privileges  wnich  they  had  lost  by 
reason  of  their  non-appreciation  of 

them, 368 

Redeemed,  the  way  of  the,    .        .        .160 
Redemption  and  provision,  mercy  in 
human  (See  Mercy),     .        .        .  364 

Redemption, 191 

its  sure  foundations,  .  ,  •  .192 
and  its  awful  sanctions,  .  .  .192 
the  hope  of  (See  Hope),  ,  ,  .  343 
Refreshing  Himself,  Christ,  •  .182 
the  Divine  refreshment,  .  .  .182 
the  consequence  of  that  refresh- 
ment,       182 

Refuge    of    the    distressed,    Jehovah 
the,         .        .        .,        .        .        .321 
the  soul  is  often  in  circumstances  of 

distress, 322 

in  every  time  of  distress  Jehovah  is 

an  available  refuge,        .        .        .  322 
the  most  signal  manifestations  of  Di- 
vine help  are  realised  in  the  sanc- 
tuary,       322 

the  soul  is  delivered  from  distress  only 
as  it  turns  to  Jehovah,   .        .         .  323 
ieign  and  praise  of  the  Lord,  the  glo- 
rious,        127 

the  reign  of  the  Lord,        ,        .        .127 
its  stability,        .        •        •        •        .127 

its  majesty, 127 

its  universality,  .        •        •        .127 

the  praise  of  the  Lord,       ,       .        .127 

by  holy  angels, 127 

by  the  unintelligent  creation,    •        .127 
by  redeemed  men,      .        .        .        .128 
Reign  of  God,  the,         .        .        .         •91 
tiie  subjects  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment,     .        •        •        •        .       •    91 


PAGB 

certain  characters  which  mark  his  ad- 
ministration, .... 
the  demand  upon  our  grateful  joy,    . 
Reign,  the  praise  of  the  Divine,    . 
the  characteristics  of  the  Lord's, 

glorious, 

mighty 

perpetual, 

the  conversation  on  His  reign,  . 
delight  in  His  reign,  .         .        ,        . 
praise  of  His  reign,     .... 
desire  for  the  extension  of  His  reign, 
Rejoicing    of  the    good   man    in    the 
government     of    God,    the    (See 
Government), 
Relation   to    different  characters,   the 
praise  of  the  Divine, 
His  relation  to  the  weak  and  the 

burdened,  .... 
the  dependent,  .  •  •  • 
the  prayerful,  •  •  •  • 
His  saints,  •        •        •        • 

the  wicked,         ,        .        .        , 
11  is  righteousness  and  kindness  in  all 

His  relations, 
His  praise  because  of  all  His  relations 
Relationships,  Divine, 
a     relationship    of     obedience     yet 

friendship,      .... 
of  friendship  yet  obedience, 
must  receive  a  formal  and  public  ac 
knowledgment, 
Relief  which  the  Gospel  affords,  the  suf 
ferings  of  God's  servants,  and  the 
(See  Suffering),  . 
Religion,  personal, 
consists  in  the  acknowledgment  of  a 

personal  God, 
acknowledgment  of  a  personal  God 

accessible  to  man, 
apprehension  of  a  personal  God, 
enjoyment  of  a  Divine  revelation, 
personal  sacrifices,     . 
devout  worship, .... 
Religion,  the  characteristics  and  bless 
edness  of  true, 
the  characteristics  of  true  religion, 
fear  of  the  Lord, 
delight  in  God's  commandments, 
Divine  praise,    .... 
the  blessedness  of  true  religion, 
Religion,  the  posthumous  results  of, 
what  the  text  presupposes, 
what  the  text  declares, 
what  the  text  implies. 
Religious   fellowship    (See    Fellow 

ship) 

Religious  gladness. 

Religious  profession  (See  Profession) 

Remedy,  a  danger  and  its  (See  DAN 

GER), 

Remembrance  of  the   Lord's  benefits, 

man's  (See  Benefits),   . 
Removal  of  obstacles,  the  (See  ObstA 
CLES) 

Removed,  why  obstacles  are  (See  Ob 

STACLES),     ,    .        .    .217 


92 

92 
429 
429 
429 
429 
429 
429 
429 
429 
429 


66 

431 

431 
431 
432 
432 
432 

433 
433 
241 

241 
242 

242 


398 
252 

252 

252 
252 
253 
253 
253 

194 
194 
194 
194 
194 
194 
195 
195 
195 
196 

286 

65 

296 

304 
122 
216 


INDEX. 


xxiii 


PAGE 

Renewal  of  the  face  of  the  earth  an 
illustration  of  the  renewal  of  the 

soul,  the 137 

the  renewal  of  the  face  of  the  earth, 
succeeds  to  the  dreary  and  seem- 
ingly   dead    state    of    nature    in 

winter, 137 

is  marked  by  life  and  freshness,  .  137 
is  very  gradual,  ....   137 

is  irresistible, 137 

is  initiatory  to  a  glorious  season  of 

maturity, 137 

Requital,  spiritual,        ....  238 
God  requites  His  saints  for  their 

prayers, 239 

His  requital  is  ample,  .  .  .  239 
should  be  reciprocated  by  man's  re- 
quital of  God's  love,  .  .  .  239 
Resignation,  its  duties  and  usefulness,  287 
resignation  to  the  Divine  will,  .  .  287 
presupposes  and  includes  prayer  for 

conafort  and  support,       .        .        .  288 
prayer  for  life  is  consistent  with,       .  288 
prolonged  life  is  desired  for  the  two- 
fold influence  that  it  may  wield,    .  288 
Resolution,  a  devout,  grateful  recollec- 
tion, and  an  encouraging  anticipa- 

*^«°'  ,      •  w 374 

a  devout  resolution,    ....  374 

to  praise  God  in  the  most  excellent 

manner, 374 

for  the  most  excellent  reasons, .  .  375 
a  grate/ul  recollection,  .  .  .  375 
of  speedy  and  gracious  answers  to 

prayer, 375 

an  encouragmg  anticipation,     .        .375 
Resolutions,  good,         ....  255 
depend  on  the  presence  of  God  for 

their  fulfilment,  ....  255 
have  respect  to  Divine  law,  .  .256 
their  fulfilment  depends  on  the  right 

state  of  the  heart  and  life,      .        .  256 
and  should  be  followed  by  gratitude,  256 
Response,   a   godless    inquiry  and  a 

godly  (See  Inquiry),     .       .        .220 
Responsibility  towards  the  young,  our, 

a  Sunday-school  sermon,       .        .116 

Rest,  the  soul's  return  to  its,        .        .  233 

this  rest  is  its  rightful  heritage,         .  233 

man's  lost  rest  may  be  regained,       .  234 

Restored,  the  harmony  of  creation  (See 

Harmony) 138 

Results  of   religion,   the  posthumous 

(See  Religion),     .       .       .       .195 
Revelation  of  God's  power,  the  purpose 

of  the, 190 

God's  people  have  acquired  the  heri- 
tage of  the  heathen,        .        .        .190 
this    acquisition    is    the    result    of 

Divine  power,  ....  190 
and  is  for  the  benefit  of  humanity  at 

large, 190 

Revelation  of  the  Lord,  creation  a,  .130 
displays  His  absolute  power,  ,  .  1 30 
over  the  waters,  .        .        .        .  1 30 

over  the  earth, 131 

displays  His  delight  in  beauty,         .131 


PAGE 

His  great  laAv  of  service,    .        .        .132 
His  regard  for  all  His  creatures,        .  132 
His  supreme  regard  for  man,     .         .132 
Revival  of  the  Church,  a,  and  symptoms 

which  precede  it,    .        .        .         .115 

Revolutions,  terrestrial,        .        .        .165 

revolutions  in  countries,    .         .        .165 

revolutions  in  human  life,  .         .166 

the  salutary  impression  of  such,         .  166 

Retribution 373 

an  important  feature  of  the  Divine 

government  of  the  world,  .  .  373 
a  cry  for  retribution,  .  .  .  .373 
an  illustration  of  the  nature  of,  .  373 

the  desire  for  retribution  is  prone  to 
develop  into  vindictiveness  towards 
those  who  have  injured  us,     .        .  374 
Reward  of  the  wicked,  the,  .        .        .53 
Riches,    the    Bible    better    than  (See 

Bible), 284 

Righteous,  the  palm-tree  an  analogue  of 

the  (See  PALM),      .        .        .        .68 
Righteous,  the  stability  and  memory  of 

the, 199 

Road,  the  heavenly,  ....  280 
man  is  naturally  in  the  wrong  way,  .  280 
reflection  will  lead  men  into  the  right 

way, 280 

the  choice  of  the  right  way  must  be 
followed  by  a  deliberate  change  of 

habit, 281 

the  right  way  is  to  be  pursued  with 

alacrity, 281 

this  alacrity  is  not  to  be  lessened  by 
the  dangers  and  privations  of  the 

road, 281 

Royal  army,  the, 177 

Sacred  enclosure,  the  (See   Enclo- 
sure),     249 

Sacrifices,  sj)iritual,       ...  298 
a  recognition  of  the  spiritual  priest- 
hood of  believers,    ....  298 
spiritual  priests  must  have  spiritual 

preparation, 298 

must  offer,  and  can  only  otter,  spiri- 
tual sacrifices,         ....  298 
spiritual  offerings  must  be  free-will 

offerings, 299 

free-will  offerings  are  most  acceptable 

to  God, 299 

Saints,  the  communion  of  (See  Com- 
munion),         281 

Salvation, 274 

the  outcome  of  the  Divine  mercies,   .  274 
not  a   human   effort,    but  a   Divine 

visitation, 274 

the  subject  of  Divine  promise.  ,  274 

a  witness  to  the  steadfas'trftess  of  the 
Divine  word,  ....  275 
Salvation,  God's,  .        .  .        .  3'4 

its  nature,  .....  314 

its  conditions,    .        .  .        .314 

characteristics  of  the  prayer  for  it,    .315 

its  obligations, 315 

Salvation,  man's  adversity  and  God's 
(See  Adversity),  .       .       .       .  289 


x\\v 


mDBx. 


PAGE 

Sanctuary,  blessings  on  the,  .         .   349 

tiie  Temple  is  called  the  rest  of  God,  349 

liie  Temple  was  incomplete  without 

the  ark,  .         .         .         .         .         .  349 

the  other  blessings  which  are  asked 

for, 350 

School  sermon,  a  Sunday,      .         .         .116 
Sarcasm  the  cause  ot  pungent  suffering,  329 
a  common  weapon  of  the  enemies  of 
God,        .         .         .         ...  329 

the  cause  of  pungent  suffering  to  His 

people, 330 

this  suffering  is  counterbalanced  by 
the    consolations    of    the    Divine 

mercy, 330 

Seamen  and  the  Sovereign  of  the  sea, 

distressed, 163 

God's  sovereignty  over  the  sea,  .  163 

man's  impotency  when  the  sea  rebels 

against  him, 1 63 

man's  resource  when  the  sea  rebels 

against  him, 164 

God's  answer  to  man's  cry,        .        .164 
man's  obligation  for  God's  interposi- 
tion,          164 

Seasons  of  praise,  the  subjects  and,      .     64 

Seasons,  the  uses  of  the  (See  Uses),     .  132 

Securitjr  of  the  godly,  the  inviolable,    .     51 

as  efltected  by  God,     .        .        .        .51 

its  tenderness  and  effectiveness,        ,     51 

as  gloriously  complete,      ,        .         'Si 

safe  from  all  perils,    .        .        .        .51 

safe  at  all  times,        .        .        .        •     52 

raised  above  the  fear  of  danger,        .     52 

as  conditionated  by  trust  in  God,      .     53 

Security  of  the  good,  the  privilege  and 

(See  Privilege),   ....  332 
Self- retributive    character  of    slander, 

the  (See  Slander),       .        .        .317 
Separation  and  consistency, .        .        .  302 
the  necessity  of  separation  from  evil- 
doers,       302 

the  duty  of  keeping  God's  command- 
ments,      303 

the  importance  of  pronjpt  resolution,   303 
Serious  word  for  young  men,  a  (See 

Word), 256 

Sermon,  a  Sunday-school,     .        .        .116 

Servant  of  God,  the 272 

God  qualifies  His  servants,        .         .272 
those  whom   God  qualifies  for.   He 

consecrates  to  His  service,     .        .  272 
those  whom  He  consecrates  He  sup- 
ports by  special  encouragements,  .  273 
those    whom    He    qualifies,     conse- 
crates, and  encourages  are  expected 
to  exhibit  certain  traits,         .        .  273 
Service,  a  noble  people  and  a  noble  (See 

Noble), 204 

Service,  life  as  the  sphere  of  Divine,    .  227 

the  features  of  Divine  service,  .        .  228 

the  sphere  of  Divine  service,     .        .228 

exceptions  to  Divine  service,     .        •  228 

Shadour,  human  life  a, .        •        .        .  416 

8heep,  the  lost, 315 

the  wandering, 315 

theseariDh, 316 


PAGE 

the  recollection,  ,        ,        ,        .316 

Sickness  and  Divine  healing,  human,  .  162 

human  sickness,  .        .        .        .162 

in  its  cause  and  effect,        .        •        .162 

Divine  healing,  ....  162 

effected  in  answer  to  prayer,      .        .162 

effected  with  supreme  ease,        .        .162 

demanding  grateful  acknowledgment,  163 
Sin  and  folly  of  being  unhappy,  the  (See 

Unhappy), 

Sin  estimated  by  the  li^ht  of  heaven,  . 

Sin,  human  frailty  the  result  of  human 

(See  Frailty),       .... 

Sin    in    its    progress,    pollution,    and 

punishment,   .         •        ,        .         . 

sin  in  its  progress,      .... 

disobedience,     .        •        .        .        . 

evil  associations,        .... 

idolatry,     ...... 

offering  human  sacrifices,  •        . 

sin  in  its  pollution,     .... 

sin  in  its  punishment,        .        . 

punishment  was  long  delayed, 

an  expression  of  Divine  anger, 

corresponded  with  the  sin, 
Sin  in  its  root,  expressions,  and  punish- 
ments,    .        .        .        . 

in  its  root — forgetfulness  of  God, 

in  its  expressions,        .... 

as  regards  the  Divine  provision, 

as   regards    the    Divinely-appointed 
leaders, 

as  regards  the  Divine  Person,    . 

in  its  punishments,     .... 

punishment  corresponding  with  sin, 

punishment  averted  by  intercession, 

Sin,   the   Lord's  goodness  and    man's 

(See  Goodness),    .... 

Sinners  entreated  to  hear  God's  voice. 

Sins  of  men,  the  covenant  of  God  and 

the  (See  Covenant),     . 

Slander, 108,  170 

Slander,  the  self-retributive  character 

of, 

the  work  of  slander,  .... 
the  retribution  of  slander. 
Solicitude    on    behalf    of    sons    and 

daughters, 

the  objects  of  this  solicitude,    . 
our  sons,    ...••. 
our  daughters,  .         •        . 
the  subjects  of  this  solicitude,  . 
Song,  encouragements  to  holy, 
Song    of    the     Builders,     the     (See 

Builders), 

Songs  in  a  strange  land,        •        .  ^     . 
Son^s  in  exile,  the  difficulty  of  singing,  371 
what  the  world  is  to  the  Christian,   .  371 
whence  arises  the  difficulty  of  sing- 
ing the  Lord's  song  in  a  world  like 

this, 

what  answer  shall  be  returned  to  the 

inquiry — "How  shall  we  sing?" 

&c.,         •        .        .  •        . 

Songs  of  degrees,  ..... 

Song,  the  earthly  pilgrimage  and  the 

heavealy  (See  FtW^RlMAGE),         .  278 


»o5 
40 

37 

156 
156 
156 
156 
156 
156 
157 
157 
157 
157 
157 

151 
151 
151 
15' 

151 

151 
152 
152 
152 

149 

86 

21 


317 
317 
318 

419 
419 
419 
420 
421 
64 

3S2 

372 


372 


372 
316 


INDEX. 


ZXT 


PAGE 

Sons  and  daughters,  solicitude  on  be- 
half of  (See  Solicitude).      .       .419 
Sorrowful  recollections,    p^jcious    yet 

(See  Recollections),  .        .        .367 

Sorrows  of  the  soul  and  the  knowledge 

of  God,  the,   .        .        .        .        .401 

a  figure  indicati  ig  great  sorrow,        .  401 

a  fact  affording  great  consolation,      .  402 

Soul,  the  home  of  the  (See  Home),      .     35 

Soul,  the  need,  succour,  and  triumph 

of  the, 201 

Soul's    return    to   its    rest,    the    (See 

Rest), 233 

Souls,  the  duty  of  caring  for,  .  .  402 
Sound,  the  blessedness  of  knowing  the 

joyful, 16 

what  the  Gospel  is,  .  .  .  ,16 
what  it  demands,  .  ,  ,  .16 
what  it  ensures,  .        ,        ,        .16 

Sovereign  of  the  sea,  distressed  seamen 

and  the  (See  Seamen),  .  .  .163 
Sovereignty  of  Christ,  the  .  .  .  1 74 
Christ  reigns  by  Divine  appointment,  175 
by  Divine  right,  .  .  .  .175 
by  a  devout  acknowledgment,  .  .175 
over  a  disputed  empire,  .  .  .175 
by  the  enforced  service  of  His  foes,  .  1 75 
will  reign  over  an  undisputed  uni- 
verse,         176 

Sovereignty  of  God,  examples  of  the 
holy,  and  the  becoming  worship  of 
His  people  (See  Examples),         .  101 
Sowing  and  reaping,       .        .        .        .336 
the  time  of  sowing  is  often  attended 

with  anxiety  and  sorrow,       .        .  336 
the  time  of  reaping  is  one  of  inexpres- 

sible  joy 336 

Special  prayer  (See  Prayer),  .  .  230 
Spirit,  the  wicked  (See  Wicked),  .  202 
Spiritual  joys  (See  JoYS),  .  .  .140 
Spiritual  requital  (See  Requital),  .  238 
Spiritual  sacrifices  (See  Sacrifices),  .  298 
Spiritual  warfare  (See  Warfare),  .  246 
Stability  and  memory  of  the  righteous, 

the, 199 

Stages  from  misery  to  exultation,  .  157 
misery  leading  to  a  cry  for  mercy,  .  158 
a  cry  for  mercy  securing  the  Divine 

regard 158 

the    Divine    regard    securing    relief 

from  trouble,  .        .        .        .        .158 
relief  from  trouble  awakening  prayer 
for  complete  salvation,  .        .        '158 
Strangers  and  pilgrims,         .        .         .  265 

the  stranger, 265 

the  stranger's  prayer,  ,  •  .  266 
the  stranger's  longing,  ,  •  .  266 
Strength  in  weakness,  .  .  ,  •  269 
the  JPsalmist's  case,  ,  •  ,  ,  269 
the  Psalmist's  prayer,        ,        .        .  269 

the  Psalmist's  plea 269 

Strength  of  God  an  encouragement  to 
His  people  to  trust  in  Him,  the      .     ii 
the  strength  of  God  is  manifested  in 

His  complete  control  over  nature,      1 1 
manifested    in    His  subjugation    of 
Hiafoes,         •        •        ,        .        .     13 


.     , .  PAGE 

ever  exercised  m  harmony  with  right- 
eousness, mercy,  and  truth,    .         .12 
an  encouragement  to  trust  Him,       .     13 
Subjects  and  expressions  of  praise,  the 

(See  Praise),         ....  463 
Subjects  and  seasons  of  praise,  the       .     64 
Subjects,  the  character,  privileges,  and 
duty    of    the    King's    (See    Cha- 

RACTER), 94 

Succour  and  triumph  of  the  soul,  the 

need, 201 

Suffering,   sarcasm   the  cause  of  pun- 
gent (See  Sarcasm),      .        .        .  329 
Sufferings  of  God's  servants,  the,  and 
the  relief  wliich  the  Gospel  affords,  398 
God's  most  favoured   servants  have 
often  been  exposed  to  the  utmost 
extremity  and  danger,    .        .         .  398 
in  the  most  hopeless  circumstances 

the  Gospel  affords  relief,        .         .  399 
in  moportion  to  the  safety  of  God's 
cnildren  must  be  the  misery  of  His 

enemies, 390 

Summons  to  holy  Avork,  the,         .        ,     79 
review  a  few   characteristics  of  the 

evil-doers, 79 

consider  the  course  which  God  has 
taken  with  these  evil-doers,  and 
what  is  involved  in  the  appeal  here 

uttered, go 

the  response  which  is  made  to  this 

appeal, 80 

Summons  to  universal  praise,  a  (See 

Praise), 455 

Superior  understanding  (See  Under- 
standing),     295 

Support,    universal    dependence     and 

Divine  (See  Dependence),   .        .  433 
Supremacy  of  the  Lord  in  the  Church 
and  the  state. 
His  supremacy  in  the  Church,  , 
He  dwells  there, 
He  is  supreme  there,  .        , 

His  supremacy  in  the  state,      . 
characterised  by  power,     . 
and  righteousness. 
His  supremacy  is  a  reason  for  worship,  100 
Supremely  great,  the  (See  GREAT),       .  443 
Surprises,  historical,      .        .         .        .143 
a  famine  driving  the  people  from  the 
land  promised  to  them,   yet  con- 
tributing to  their  possession  of  it, . 
slave    becomes    the  saviour  of  a 


99 
99 
99 
99 

99 
100 
100 


country  and  of  the  chosen  peojile, 
a  prisoner  made  the  ruler  over  the 

land, 

a    subject  people   growing   stronger 

than  a  sovereign  people. 
Symptoms  which  precede  it,  a  revival 

of  the  Church,  and,        ,        ,        , 


143 
143 
144 
144 

"5 


Temple  and  the  kingdom,  the,    .        .215 

Teneo  et  teneor, 267 

how  do  we  keep  God's  testimonies  ? .  267 
how  do  God's  testimonies  keep  us  ?  .  267 
Terrestrial   revolutions  (See  Revolu- 
tions)  165 


XXYl 


INDEX. 


Testimonies  a  ground  of  joy,  God's, 

what  the  Psalmist  did  ?     . 

rejoiced  in  God's  testimonies,    . 

why  he  did  it  ?   . 

because    of    their  suitability  to  his 
need, 

because  the  greater  covered  the  less 
Testimonies,  the  benefit  of  God's, 

they  are  delights, 

they  are  counsellors, 
Testimony,     . 

its  subject, 

its  manner, 

its  reason,  . 
Theme  for  joyous  son  17,  deliverance  a 

(See  Deliverance), 
Things  and  how  to  see  them,  wondrous 

(See  Wondrous^  . 
Thoughts,  the  preciousness  and  num 
ber  of  God's,   .... 

the  preciousness  of  them,  , 

because  of  their  originality, 

their  moral  excellence, 

their  practicableness  and  utility, 

their  influence  upon  our  thoughts, 

their  generosity, 

the  number  of  them,  . 

the  realisation  of  God's  presence, 
Tliree  petitions,  the  (See  Petitions), 
Time  and  ours,  the  Lord's,    . 

a  time  common  to  both  to  work, 

a  work  common  for  both  to  do, 

a  time  for  God  alone  to  work,  . 

a  work  for  God  alone  to  do, 
Time,  the  praise  of  (See  Praised, 
Travellers  and   their   Divine    Helper 
distressed,       .        .         ,        , 

the  distressed  travellers,    . 

through  a  pathless  desert, 

through  a  homeless  deseii;, 

through  an  inhospitable  desert, 

the  all-sufficient  Helper,    . 

His  help  was  granted  in  answer  to 
prayer,     .        .        .        . 

and  was  adequate  to  their  need, 

the  manifest  obligation,     . 

to  praise  the  Divine  Helper, 
Treatment  of  different  classes  of  cha 
racter,  God's, 

His  treatment  of  the  humble, 

the  proud,  .        .         . 

His  afflicted  people,  . 

His  trustful  people,   .... 
Trial,  the  conduct  of  a  good  man  in  a 

time  of  (See  Conduct), 
Trials  of  the  godly,  the, 

uncongenial  neighbours,    . 

unrighteous  contradictions, 

Trials,  the  comforts  of  Christians  underj 

Triumph  of  the  Christian  life,  the  com 

plete,      .... 

promoted  by  praise  to  God, 

inasmuch  as  it  honours  God, 

and  strengthens  faith, 

promoted    by  consideration   of    the 
triumphs  already  achieved, 

assured  by  God, 


PAGE 

261 
261 

261 
262 


262 
262 
267 
267 
268 
260 
260 
261 
261 

335 
264 

386 
386 
386 
386 
387 
387 
387 
387 
387 
47 
304 
304 
304 
304 
304 
424 

159 

159 
159 
159 
159 
160 

160 
160 
160 
160 

377 
377 
377 
378 
378 

395 
318 
318 
318 
81 

167 
167 
167 
167 

167 
168 


PAGB 

Triumph  of  the  soul,  the  need,  suc- 
cour, and, 201 

Triumph  over  tyranny,   Christ's   (See 
Tyranny), 180 

Triumph,  the  Lord's,  ....  248 
the  personal  triumph  of  Christ,  .  248 

the  triumphs  of  His  Gospel  in  the 

human  heart, 248 

the  triumphs  of  His  Church  iu  the 
world, 248 

Trouble  in  life,  prayer  in  trouble,  and 

confidence  iu  prayer,       .         .        .  392 

trouble  in  life, 392 

arising  from  enemies  who  were  ma- 
lignant,   392 

confederate, 392 

slanderous, 392 

violent, 392 

determined,        .....  392 

proud, 392 

cunning, 392 

prayer  in  trouble,  ....  393 
for  preservation  from  enemies, .  .  393 
the  overthrow  of  encHiies,  .         .  393 

confidence  in  prayer,  .         .         .  393 

based  upon  his  relation  to  God,  .  393 
his  ideas  of  God,  ....  393 
his  experience  of  the  protection  of  God,  393 
his  faith  in  the  righteous  rule  of  God,  393 

True  greatness  (See  Greatness),        .  309 

Trust  and  praise, 435 

the  trust  prohibited,  ....  435 
the  trust  encouraged,  .        .         .  436 

the  praise  celebrated,         .        .        .  437 

Trust,  human  and  Divine,  .  ,  .  246 
man  must  trust,  ....  246 

whom  should  man  trust  ?  .        .        .  246 
who  warrants  that  trust  ?  .         .        .  246 
God  offers  Himself  as  the  object  of 
human  trust,  .....  246 

Tnist  in  God, 222 

the  nature  of,     .        •        ,        .        .222 

the  grounds  of, 223 

those  who,  .        ,        •        •        .  223 

the  consequences  of,  .        ,        ,        .223 

Truth  of  God,  the  eternal,  ,  .  ,  106 
God  is  true,  .....  106 
in  all  generations,      ....   107 

Tyranny,  Christ's  triumph  over,  ,  .180 
all  tyranny  is  the  foe  of  Christ,  .  180 
is  subject  to  the  wrath  of  Christ,  .  181 
will  be  destroyed  by  Christ,  .  .181 
will  be  supplanted  by  Christ,    .         .181 

Tyranny  of  the  wicked  transient,  the,    333 

the  rule  of  the  wicked  is  tyrannical,  333 

the  tyranny  of  the  wicked  is  transient,  333 

the  unchecked  tyranny  of  the  wicked 

would  be  a  serious  discouiagement 

to  the  righteous,      ....  333 

Unbelief,    a    warning   against    (See 
Warning), 84 

Understanding,  superior,       .        .        .  295 

what  in  ? 295 

over  whom  ? 295 

through  what  power  ?  .  .  .  295 
by  what  instrumentality?  .        .295 


INDEX, 


zxtU 


with  what  results  ?     .        .        .        . 
Unhappy,  the  sin  and  folly  of  being,    . 

God  IS  happy, 

angels  are  happy,        .                , 
forgiven  men  are  happy,     . 
we  can  only  be  unhappy  by  refusing 
pardon, io6 


PAGE 
.  295 
.  105 
.  105 
.  105 


by  refusing  Christ, 

by  determining  not  to  turn,       • 
Union,  Christian, 

its  nature, 

its  importance,    .        .        . 
Unity,  the  excellence  and  beauty  of 
fraternal, 

its  propriety, 

its  comprehensivenega,       •        , 

its  joyousness,    .        ,        .        •        . 

its  influence, 

Universal  praise  (See  Praise), 
Universal  worship  (See  WORSHIP), 
Universe,  the  Lord  and  His  (See  Lord), 
Upright,  a  prayer  of  the  (See  Prayer), 
Upright,  the  attributes  of  the, 

the  upright  bend,       . 

yet  they  maintain  their  integrity. 
Uses  of  the  seasons,  the, 

the  uses  of  day,  . 

it  is  the  season  of  work  for  man 

of  retirement  for  wild  beasts, 

the  uses  of  night, 

it  is  the  season  of  rest  for  man, 

of  activity  for  wild  beasts, 

the  moral  uses  of  the  seasons, 

by  them  God  teaches  us,   , 

the  measurement  of  time,  , 

the  preciousness  of  time,    . 

the  fitness  of  certain  times  for  certain 
duties, 


106 
106 
356 
356 
356 

354 
354 
354 
355 
355 
464 

206 
134 
389 
198 
198 
198 
132 

133 
133 
133 
133 
133 
133 
134 
134 
134 
134 

134 


Vanity  of  idols  an  incentive  to  praise 

the  Lord  God,  the  (See  Idols),      .  360 
Vanity  of  man  apart  from  his  immor- 
tality, the, 27 

the  shortness  of  his  life,  .  .  .27 
the  disorders  and  miseries  of  this  world,  28 
the  diseases  of  the  body,  .  .  .28 
the  manual  and  mechanical  labours,  28 
the  unsatisfactoriness  of  wealth,  .  28 
the  unsatisfactoriness  of  knowledge,  29 
the  unsatisfactoriness  of  religion  also,  29 
but  this  hypothesis  is  utterly  false,  .  30 
Victory  of  the  good,  the  foes  and  (See 

Foes) 57 

View  of  the  wicked,  the  poet's  (See 

Wicked) 388 

Views  of  death,  two,  .  .  .  .241 
Voice,  sinners  entreated  to  hear  God's,  86 
Voices  of  creation  (See  Creation),  .  135 
Voracity  of  the  wicked,  the  insatiable,  331 
the  wicked  are  ever  ready  to  devour 

the  righteous,          .         .         .         -331 
the  Lord  is  the  deliverer  of  the  right- 
eous,         331 

thanksgiving  should  be  offered  to  the 
Lord  for  His  deliverance,        .        .331 


Walking  before  God, 


23s 


page 

what  it  implies, 235 

what  it  means, 236 

where  it  takes  place,  ....  236 
Warfare,  spiritual,         .        •        .        ,  246 

danger 246 

help, 247 

victory, 247 

Warning  against  unbelief,  a,  ,  .  84 
the  ensample  of  human  sin,  .  .  84 
the  ensample  of  Divine  judgment,  .  85 
the  improvement  to  be  made  of  these 

ensamples, 85 

Way  of  the  redeemed,  the,    .        .        .160 
Way  within  us,  the  wicked,  and  the 

prayer  preferred,      .        .        .        .391 
Ways,  God's,  though  often  inscrutable, 

are  righteous, 92 

Ways,  the  two 269 

there  are  two  ways,     ....  269 
these  are  open  to  man's  deliberate 

choice, 269 

the    false    way  is  most  natural  to 

man, 269 

to  walk  firmly  in  the  true  way  Divine 

assistance  is  indispensable,     .        .  269 
continuance  in  the  true  way  is  con- 
ditional  on  the  use  of  Divinely- 
appointed  means,     .        .        .        .270 
Weakness,  strength  in  (See  Strength),  269 
Wicked  spirit,  the,  ....  202 

the  character  of  the  wicked,  .  .  202 
the  inspection  of  the  wicked,  .  .  203 
the  disappointment  of  the  wicked,  .  203 
the  fate  of  the  wicked,  .  .  .  203 
Wicked,  the  desire  of  the  (See  Desire),  203 
Wicked,  the  insatiable  voracity  of  the 

(See  Voracity),     .       .       .       .331 

Wicked,  the  poet's  view  of  the,     .        .  388 

the  character  of  the  wicked  described,  388 

the  end  of  the  wicked  predicted,        .  388 

the    companionship    of    the   wicked 

avoided, 388 

Wicked,  the  reward  of  the,    .        •        •    53 
Wicked,   the  temporal    prosperity    of 

the, 66 

Willows,  harps  on  the  (See  Harps),     .  369 
Winter  and  its  moral  suggestions,        .  449 
winter  indicates  the  severity  of  God,   449 
suggests  the   retributiveness  of  the 

Divine  arrangements,      .        .        .  449 
some  things  which  are  peculiar  to 
this  season  have  special  instruction 

for  us, 449 

is  an  emblem  of  old  age,     .        .        ,  450 
of  the  present  state  of  the  bodies  of 

the  departed, 450 

and  of  the  present  moral  state  of  the 

world, 450 

Wondious  things,  and  how  to  see  them,  264 
man  by  himself  cannot  see  wondrous 
things,      ......  264 

there  is  a  process  by  means  of  which 

man  may  see  wondrous  things,       .  264 
when  this  process  is  complete  won- 
drous things  are  seen  in  God's  law,  264 
Word  a  lamp  and  a  light,  God's  (See 
Light),    .  ...         295 


ZXTiii 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Word  a  tried  word  and  a  loved  word, 

God's 308 

Word  exalted,  God's 376 

Word  for  young  men,  a  serious,  .  .  256 
a  serious  question  asked,  .  .  .257 
a  satisfactory  answer  given,  .  .  257 
sufficient  reasons  suggested^      .        .  257 

Word,  God's, 305 

desired, .305 

instructive,        •        •        •        t        •  306 

wonderful, 306 

kept, 306 

Word,  love  for  God's  (See  LoVE),         .  300 
Word  of  God,  the  benefit  and  obliga- 
tion of  the 291 

Word  of  God,  the,  its  sphere  and  its 

service 259 

Word  the  heritage  of  His  people,  God's 

(See  Heritage),    ....  299 
Word  the  object  of  reverence  and  joy, 

God's, 312 

Word,  the  stability  of  God's,  the  recti- 
tude of  God's  works,  and        .         .   191 
Word,  the  truth  and  endurance  of  God's,  312 
God's  word  is  based  upon  truth,        .  312 
had  its  beginning  ia  truth,         .         .3^2 
is  true  all  through,     .         .         .         .312 
Work,  the  summons  to  holy  (See  SUM- 
MONS),     79 

Works  and  God's  words,  God's,  .  .  290 
have  immovable  foundations,    .         .  290 

continue, 291 

are  servants  of  the  Divine  faithful- 
ness,         291 

the  heavens  and  the  earth  will  some 
day  cease  to  be  ;  not  so  the  pro- 
mises,       291 

Works  and  worship  of  the  Lord,  the,  .  139 
the  worship  of  the  Divine  Being,  .  139 
the  character  of  the  Divine  works,  .  139 
the  treatment  of  the  Divine  works,  .  140 
the  people  of  the  Divine  choice,  .  140 
Works,  forgetfulness  of  the  Divine  (See 

Forget  FULNESS),  .       .       .        .152 
Works  of  God,  the,  the  subject  of  soul- 
gatisfying  search,    «...  185 


PAGE 

God's  works  are  great,  ,  .  .185 
should  be  the  subject  of  study,  .  186 
are  promotive  of  soul-satisfaction,    .   186 

Works,  the  rectitude  of  God's,  and  the 
stability  of  God's  word,     .        .        .191 

World's  most   joj^ous    day,   the    (See 
Day), 87 

Worship,  an  invitation  to,    ,        •        .    82 
the  method  of  worship,     .        ,        ,82 

joyfully, 82 

readily,  ..,,,,  83 
gratefully, 83 


reverently, 

the  motives  of  worship, 

because  Jehovah  is  supreme,     . 

He  is  the  creator  and  proprietor  of 
all  things,       .         •        .        .         . 

because  of  His  relations  to  His  people, 
Worship,  church  and  congregational,  . 

distinctions  in  worship,     . 

places  of  worship,      .... 

manner  of  worship,    .... 

Worship  of  His  people,  examples  of  the 

holy  sovereignty  of  God  and  the 

becoming  (See  Examples),    . 

Worship  of  the  Lord,   the  works  and 

(See  Works),  . 
Worship,  the  highest, 

is  oflered  to  God, 

is  offered  by  saints, 

is  reverent  in  spirit, 

in  it  the  presence  of  God  is  realised, 
Worship,  the  joy  of  Divine  (See  Joy), 
Worship,   the  object,   obligation,   and 
expression  of,         .... 
Worship,  universal,       •        .        .         . 

God's    name    ought    to    be  praised 
everywhere,    .         .        .        •        . 

under  all  circumstances,    . 

at  all  times, 

Wretchedness  and  Divine  compassion, 

human  (See  COMPASSION), 


83 
83 
83 

83 

84 
184 
184 
184 
18s 


lOI 


139 


325 

89 
206 

206 
206 
206 

365 


\ 


Young,  our  responsibility  towards  the,  116 
ZiON  a  type  of  the  Church,  .        .        .  353 


INDEX  TO  AUTHORS  QUOTED, 


Very  brief  quotations  are  not  indicated  in  this  Indesk 


A.DDISON,  Joseph,  324,  424. 
Alexander,  J.  A.,  31. 
Alford,  Henry,  84,  129. 
Allon,  Henry,  462. 
Amyraldus,  31. 
Arvine,  R.,  85. 
Augustine,  224. 

Bacon,  L.,  70. 
Bailey,  P.  J.,  60,  328,  46$. 
Bally,  a,  75- 
Barbauld,  A.  L.,  39. 

Barnes,   Albert,  98,  114,  118,  238,  253,  256, 
270,    281,   284,  312,  316,  318,  360,  374, 

399,  419  423,  432,  449- 
H;iyley,  l^.miliiis,  389. 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  95,  197,  213,  380. 
Bevan,  Ll.D.,  369. 
Bonar,  Horatius,  44,  60,  105. 
Bouchier,  B.,  74. 
Boyle,  Robert,  308. 
Brooks,    George,   353,   372,  379,  4I5»   455» 

458. 
Brown,  J.  Baldwin,  208. 
Bruce,  W.  S.,  424. 
Buck,  C,  385. 
Burleigh,  W.  H.,  389. 
Burns,  Jabez,  428,  437. 
Bushnell,  H.,  134,  278. 
Byron,  Lord,  459. 

Calvin,  John,  128,  380. 

"Caravan  and  the  Temple,"  the,  321,  328, 

330»  333.  7     -  342. 
Carlyle,  Thorn  a.-,  133,  319. 
Chalmers,  Thomas,  441. 
Chamocke,  Stephen,  32,  33,  icx),  118,  380, 

381. 
**  Christian  Guardian,"  the,  416. 
Clarke,  Adam,  in,  257,  306,  312,  315,  340. 
Clayton,  George,  152. 
Coleridge,  S.  T.,  173. 
Coley,  Samuel,  210. 

Dale,  R.  W.,  227. 
I)iwl3*y,  3- 

pawBou,  W.,  59. 

Delitzsch,  F.,  460. 

**  Dictionary  of  Illustrations,**  85. 

Disraeli,  B.,  177. 


F R,  122. 

Finlayson,  238. 
Fletcher,  Josej)h,  125. 

Goad  BY,  J.  J.,  47. 
Gray,  Thomas,  ill. 
Griffin,  R.  A.,  81. 
Grindon,  L.  H.,  38. 
Gurnall,  W.,  109. 
Guthrie,  Thomas,  355. 

Hall,  John,  116. 

Hall,  Robert,  27,  81,  92^  43a 

Hamilton,  James,  31,  46. 

Harmer,  T.,  329. 

Havard,  W.,  319. 

Hayman,  Henry,  457. 

Heber,  Reginald,  90. 

Hengsteuberg,  E.  W.,  48,  97,  151,  357  409- 

Henry,  M.,59,  124, 156,  238,  270, 277,  306,  393. 

Herbert,  George,  359. 

Hervey,  A.  C,  i. 

Hibbard,  F.  G.,  i. 

"  Homiletical  Quarterly,"  the,  152,  411,  424 

Hood,  E.  P.,  439. 

Horsley,  S.,  114. 

Horton,  T.,  79. 

Howe,  John,  7. 

Jenkins,  E.  E.,  236. 

Keble,  John,  332. 

L»  93. 

Lecky,  W.  E.  H.,  176,  178, 

Liddon,  H.  P.,  229,  24JS. 

Lilley,  W.  O.,  411- 
Longfellow,  H.  W.,  7a 
Lovelace,  404. 

L s,  422. 

Luther,  M.,  33,  34,  73.  355- 

Maclaren,  a.,  102,  180,  200,  240,  265, 352 
Mansel,  H.  L.,  209. 
MelvUle,  H.,  84. 
MiU,  J.  S.,  176. 
Milton,  John,  128,  131. 
Moll,  C.  B.,  204,  242,  284,  406, 
Montgomeiy,  J.,  133,  345* 
Moore,  T.,  112,  345,  35 U 


zzz 


INDEX  TO  AITHORS  QUOTED. 


Morris,  A.  J.,  42,  235,  23d, 

M.,  W.,  160. 

N.,  402. 

Napoleon,  176,  182. 
Newman,  J.  H.,  385. 

Parker,  Joseph,   73,  118,   135,  202,  221, 

310,  442. 
Pascal,  B.,  224. 
Pay  son,  E.,  40,  ^, 
Peabody,  257. 
Pearson,  225. 
Perowne,  J.  J.  S.,  6,  71,  77,  82,  97,  99,  128, 

138,  139.  142,  147,  148,  152,  158,  159,  165, 
166,  170,  172,  194,  229,  344,  347,  354,  361, 

367,  375»  379,  388,  392,  395,  396,  412,413, 

422,  451,  456,  461. 
Plumptre,  E.  H.,  210. 
PoUok,  R.,  163. 

"  Preacher's  Treasury,"  the,  356. 
*' Pulpit  Analyst,"  the,  160. 
Pulsford,  J.,  104,  121. 
Punshon,  W.  M.,  132,  349. 

quarles,  f.,  160. 

Raffles,  T.,  414. 
Raleigh,  A.,  265. 
Renan,  E.,  176. 
Reynolds,  H.  R.,  73,  79. 
Robertson,  F.  W.,  32,  108, 
Ruskin,  J.,  131,  133,  445. 
Rutherford,  192. 

Saurin,  J.,  382. 
Sayer,  J.,  419. 
Scott,  W.,  9. 

Shakspeare,  W.,    no,  in,   117,  154,   170, 
171,  172,  239,  317,  327,  330,  374,  415,  459. 
"Skeletons  of  Sermons,"  122. 


"Sketches  of  Sermons,"  93,  402. 

Sleigh,  W.,  16,  149. 

"Speaker's Commentary,"  the,  253,  284,  316. 

Spenser,  E.,  55. 

Spurgeon,  C.  H.,  106,  108,  123,  439. 

Stanley,  A.  P.,  109,  237,  373. 

Stewart,  A.,  227. 

Stier,  R.,  250. 

Strauss,  176. 

Stuart,  M.,  118. 

''Study,"  the,  115. 

Tennyson,  A.,  39,  228,  355. 

Thodey,  S.,  345,  365.  37 1»  376,   383,  398, 

410,  450,  463. 
Thomson,  J.,  450. 
Tillotson,  J.,  75. 
Trapp,  J.,  341. 
"Treasury  of  David,"  the,  64, 

Vaughan,  183. 
Vince,  C,  194. 

Wallace,  T.,  391. 
Waring,  A.  L.,  344. 
Watson,  R.,  75,  91. 
Watts,  I.,  60,  138,  375,  437, 
Wells,  John,  64. 
Weslev,  C,  338. 
Whitcomb,  W.  C,  356. 
Wilberforce,  S.,  211. 
Wileman,  J.,  115. 
Wilkins,  443. 
Wilson,  G.,  385. 
Wythe,  W.  W.,  376. 

Xavier,  F.,  58. 

Young,  E.,  369,  415,  418. 
Young,  J.,  208,  219 


ERRATA. 

Page  59a,  line  51,  supply  "  is"  b'fnre  "  in. 


61, 
6lh, 

72a, 
115a, 
359a, 
376/), 
3865, 
3896, 
409a, 
422a, 
4375, 


9, /or  "  But"  read  "Both." 

23,  ,,    "  adduces  '  read  "  educes." 
10,   ,,    "nutnber"    ,,     "member" 

2,   ,,    "our"  ,,     "one." 

19,   ,,    "invite"        ,,     "incite,' 

1,   ,,     "transferred,,     "transformed." 
13,  delete  "  is"  he/ore.  "  drawn." 
12,  for  "  entianced"  read  "  entrance." 
54,   ,,    "  Here"  ,,    "  Hear  " 

24,  ,,    "  omuipotencu"  reacZ  "  omnipresence.' 
4,   ,,     '  enemy  is"  ,      "  tnemies  are." 


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