merely as reconciled to him, but as affording him (what a dwelling-house affords to its possessor),
1. Free access —
[A person goes familiarly to his house at all times, not doubting but that he shall gain a ready admission into it. He considers it as his own, and feels that it exists only for his accommodation. It is thus that the believer goes to God as his God : he has " access to him with boldness and confidence :" he is certain that, when he calls, he shall receive an answer ; and " when he knocks, the door will be opened to him." In this precise view the Psalmist speaks of God ; " Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort V]
2. Necessary provision —
[Every man, whatever be his situation in life, expects to find in his own house the things suited to his necessities. He does not seek his meals at the houses of his neighbours, but in his own ; and he returns home at stated seasons to partake of them. And whither does the believer go for daily supplies of bread for his soul? It is in Christ Jesus that his fulness is treasured up; and in him the believer expects to find the " grace that is sufficient for him." God invites him to come to him for the express purpose, that he may be filled and satis- fied with good things : " Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which is not bread? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and letyour soul delight itself in fatness0."]
3. Sure protection —
[If storms descend, or dangers menace, we take refuge in our house, and find it a place of safety. Thus " The name of God also is a strong tower, into which the righteous runneth and is safed." It is to himself that God invites us, when he says, " Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, shut the door about thee, and hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast e." And that this was a primary idea in the mind of the Psalmist, appears from the very words of the text, wherein he calls God "his Refuge," and from the whole scope of the psalm, from the beginning to the end. With this also agrees the beautiful description given of Jesus by the Prophet, as " an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest f."]
4. Sweet repose —
[To his house a man retires from the noise and bustle of the world ; and there he lays himself down to rest after the fatigues of the day. Home, though inferior in many respects to places of temporary residence, is to almost all persons the
b Ps. lxxi. 3. c Isai. lv. 2. d Prov. xviii. 10.
e Isai. xxvi. 20. f Isai. xxxii. 2.