Ps. cxvi. 12 — 14. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me ! I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will fay my votes unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.
THE influence of faith on our eternal salvation is obvious to all who have any just views of the Gospel : but its operation on the mind in this present life, and its efficacy to produce peace and holiness, are by no means generally understood. In this view however the psalm before us is peculiarly instructive. David, when his faith failed him, overlooked all the mercies that he had received at the Lord's hands, and rashly concluded, that all which had been declared to him respecting the purpose of God to establish him on the
throne of Israel, was false : " I said in my haste, all men are liars." But, when his faith was strengthened, he no longer gave way to such querulous expressions and desponding fears : on the contrary, he then was full of peace and joy ; and with the liveliest emo- tions of love and gratitude, exclaimed, " What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me ?" That we may be brought to this happy state of mind, and may be led to abound in praise and thanksgiving, let us contemplate, I. The benefits which our God has conferred upon us — On such an inexhaustible subject as this, we can do no more than suggest a few leading thoughts, which may be more largely prosecuted in our secret retirement. To contemplate them in all their fulness will be the blissful employment of eternity. Let us notice those,
1 . Of creation —
[How distinguished is our condition above all other crea- tures upon the face of the earth ! In bodily powers, it is true, we are exceeded by many ; who have not only far greater strength and agility than we, but their senses also, of sight, and hearing, and taste, and smelling, and of feeling also, far more exquisite than ours. But the endowment of reason elevates us far above them all, and puts them all, in some degree at least, in subjection under our feet. In them indeed is instinct, and that too in such perfection as almost to border on the pro- vince of reason ; but in us is a capacity to comprehend things of spiritual and eternal import, and an ability to know, to love, to enjoy, to glorify our God. Say whether these be not mer- cies which call for the devoutest gratitude at our hands ?
Nor is it a small matter that we have been brought into the world at such a time, when the light of God's truth is so clearly seen, and in such a jolace as Britain, where it shines forth, as it were, in meridian splendour. We might have been born of Mahometan or Heathen parents ; or even in our own country have been so situated, as to hear but little of Christ and his salvation. Surely we should not overlook these great benefits, nor forget what a mercy it is to live in this present day, when there exists such an ardent zeal for the propagation of the Gospel, and such unprecedented efforts are made for its diffusion throughout the world.]
2. Of Providence —
[Innumerable are the deliverances which we have all re- ceived from dangers seen and unseen. Millions have been