words were, 'I charge you, keep and seek;' and some commentators suppose that they did so run originally." In view of the connections of this verse, the following per- suasions may be illustrated and enforced. Obedience to God's commands is man's natural duty; the duty that necessarily attends upon the dependent relation in which be stands towards God. But such is man's deterioration, through sin, that now he needs to be urged to his duty by a.11 kinds of inspiring persuasions. I. GoD'B GRACIOUS PROMISES ARE A PERSUASION. (Vers. 6, 7.) David urges that those promises rest upon Solomon, and the grace of them should ever lead him to say, "What manner of person ought I to be?" But David realizes that even the promises are conditional upon man's constancy, so they always urge to faithfulness. II. GoD'B PRESENCE 1B A PERSUASION. Illustrate the moral influence exerted by the actual presence of the schoolmaster, the farmer, the business man, or the king. "Thou God seest me" ought to be to us, not a terror, but the inspiration to all goodness. Fo: our moral culture no assurance is more important than this: "Certainly I will be with thee." IIL SURROUNDING PEOPLE BECOllE A PERSUASION TO EACH ONE. David has this scene enacted publicly that Solomon may feel how every man's expectations and hopes rest on him, at:d every eye will anxiously watch his career. For others' sakes we must be true, obedient, and faithful, for we "are made a spectacle unto men and unto an~els.'' IV. THE CONDITIONS OP OUR RELATIONS WITH GOD ARE A PERSUASION. Their maintenance depends entirely on our obedience (ver. 9). They are not sovereign relations, but diRtinctly conditional. H we forsake God, he will cast us off for ever. So the burden of responsibility is made to lie heavily on our own shoulders. We must "take heed ; " we must" seek for" and " keep " the commandments of our God, tho all-comprehensive commands of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.-R. T. Ver. 9.-The faithfulness of the great Heart-searcher. "For the Lord sea.rcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts." For this conception of God, compare 1 Sam. xvi. 7; Ps. vii. 9; cxxxix. 2; Jer. xi. 20; xvii. 10; xx. 12. The _expressions of the text suggest the accuracy and intimacy of the Divine knowledge of men's affairs. Apprehend God rightly, and his interest in us fills us with grateful surprise. Illustrate David's feeling, "When I consider thy heavens . . . what is mau that thou art mindful of him?" Solomon's, "Will God in very deed dwell with man on the earth?" Isaiah's, "To whom then will ye liken God? . . . He giveth power to the faiut," etc. See the Divine interest: 1. In the spheres of natural life; i.e. in us as beings. He is near as Crea.tor, Sustainer, Provider. Birth, preservation, and death are all his. 2. In the spheres of associated life; i.e. as beings in relations. Govern- ment, family, and Church are all under his Divine inspections. 3. In the splieres of mental life; i.e. as intellectual beings. All movements of mind he presides over. 4. In the sphel'e• •/ spiritual life; i.e. as moral beings. God knows and watches all unfoldings of chnracter and religion. All spheres a.re accessible to him. "All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Dwell on the subtlety of the human heart; it.s labyrinths and hiding-places and self-deceivings. How imperfect, at its best, is a man's own knowledge of his heart I How impossible it is for one man to know the intricate workings of the heart of another man! Searching the heart is required, tba.t its subtle evils may be discovered. Ilut a.11 depends on who it is that does the searching work, and with what aim and purpose the searching is done. I. GoD CAN SEARCH TUE HUMAN HEART. He can, for ho <lesigned it, and knows all its possibilities. Ho can, for he has never let it slip away from his observation and control, and so all its" la.tent mazes" he knows, and all its wilfulnesses ho controls. II. GOD SEARCHES THE HUMAN HEART WITH A DEFINITE AND GRACIOUS PURPOSE. Even its deliverance from evil and p~rfecting in holiness. This purpose makes good men regard the Divine searching as a most precious thing. In view of it David can pray," Search me, 0 God." He feels," God does not know me 11s a mere ordinary matter of knowledge. He 1s graciously end lovingly interested in me, and so he knows me helpfully, that he may adapt his grace to my various all(\ subtle needs." This personal interest in Olll highest good, which gives tone to his searching, is brought J. CHRONICl,l!;tl. 2f 43! TIIE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES, [cH. xx1x. 1-30.
home to our hearts by the tender interest shown in humanit:y, and in individuals of humanity, by the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We feel th:\t we never can resist his searching us through and through, and knowing us altogether. The close inspections of God may be: 1. .d terror to us. Illustrate the influence of the words, "Thou God seest me," sometimes on little children. They are even used to frighten them into crood- ness. Compare Jacob's, "How dreadful is this place I" From Job, Isaiah, and John we learn that solemnity and awe should always attend the consciousness of God's near presence. 2. It may be a real practical help to us, as David expected it to be to Solomon He who knows us 80 well, does not only know; he also gives strength. David, wh~ trembles at God's searchings, can only say, "ltis God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." 3. It may be cherished as our holiest joy. No harm can come to us, for God's eye and hand are always on us. No good thing can fail us, for God knows all our real wants. Our Lord taught so often about the intimate know-· ledge and care of the heavenly Father, who keeps the sparrows, clothes the grass, watches over the seeds, paints the lilies, waves the harve,ts, and knows that we are of more value than flowers or sparrows. Show that this truth, of God's knowledge and heart-searchings, bears upon men's tendency to srlf-deception. It is only possible to sin on when we have deluded ourselves into the idea that "God doth not see."-R. T.