and acquire strength for further exertions. Such was David's thirst after God, the Hving God.
His circumstances, it is true, were pecuUar —
[Jerusalem was the place where God had appointed the ordinances of his worship : and David, being driven from thence, was precluded from a possibility of presenting to the Lord his accustomed offerings. This was a great distress to his soul : for though God was accessible to him in prayer, he could not Hope for that measure of acceptance which he had reason to ex- pect in an exact observance of the Mosaic ritual ; nor could he hope that such manifestations would be vouchsafed to>his soul, as he might have enjoyed, if he had approached God in the way prescribed by the law. Hence all his ardour might well be ac- counted for, since by the dispensation under which he lived his way to the Deity was obstructed, and the communications of the Deity to him were intercepted.
We acknowledge that these peculiar circumstances account for the frame of David's mind at that time.]
Nevertheless, his frame is as proper for us as it was for him —
[Though the observance of certain rites and ceremonies is no longer necessary, and God may be approached with equal ease from any spot upon the globe, yet it is no easy matter to come into his presence, and to behold the light of his coun- tenance lifted up upon us. To bow the knees before him, and to address him in a form of words, is a service which we may render without any difficulty; but to draw nigh to the very throne of God, to open our mouths wide, and to have our hearts enlarged in prayer, to plead with God, to wrestle with him, to obtain answers of prayer from him, and to maintain sweet rellowship with him from day to day, this, I say, is of very difficult attainment: to do it indeed is our duty, and to enjoy it is our privilege; but there are few who can reach these heights, or, having reached them, prolong to any great extent the heavenly vision. Hence we all have occasion to lament seasons of comparative darkness and declension ; and to pant with insatiable avidity after the renewed enjoyment of an absent God.]
Let US then contemplate,
II. The evidences of this frame, wherever it exists — ■
Such a frame of mind must of necessity be attended with correspondent efforts to attain its object. There will be in us,