this earth-for our use (ver. 16). He has blessed us with material bounties with the nappy bonds of kindred and friendship, with the treasures that feed and :atisfy the mind, with all sacred privileges, II. ITS CONTINUANCE IN YEARS TO COME, "He will bless us," will .. increase JJ u~. The guarantees of this continuance are found: (1) In his own unchan"'eableness-he 0 is the same for ever. (2) In the fact that we are his owu people, those whom his Sou has redeemed with his own blood. If Israel, if the house of Aaron, might count on his kindness by reason of their relationship to him, much more may we, who are his children by faith in Jesus Christ I (3) In the loyalty and obedience we intend to main- tain: those who "fear him" (ver. 13), who worship and serve him, will, as his servants, draw down his benediction and his blessing; the humblest as well as the highest of these may claim his mercy and his grace. But is there not- III. A Tn.rn-LrmT TO HIS SERVICE. "The dead praise not the Lord" (ver. 17). W c have it in our heart to seek and serve the Lord; and we believe that, so Iona as we do, we may reckon on his abounding kindness, But how long will that last? At any moment "death may interrupt these songs." A flash of lightnin<>, an eno-ine off the rails, a puff of poisonous afr, a chill, may bring the holiest and the ';.isest t; the grave. And there is perpetual silence-no more song, no more service, no more rejoicing in that" long home." That is so; but then we have- IV. THE TRUER AND THE LARGER OUTLOOK. Coming after Christ, we can give to the "evermore" of ver. 18 a meaning which goes beyond the psalmist's thouaht. We think not or our departed as silent in the grave; we think of them as ble~sing and praising Christ in the heavens, as spending their powers in his higher service there, as taken out of, and not down into, the shadows of time, and introduced into the blessed light and unfading glories of eternity.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-18.-17ie heathen taunt, and what came of it. To Israel, recently returned from exile, that taunt still seemed to sound in their ears. In this psalm, apparently a liturgical one, and lltled at high festivals in the service of the second temple, the mock- ing question of those who had held them in captivity-" Where is now their God?"- was yet audible, through the keenness with which it was remembered. 'l'he sting and anguish of it still rankled in their hearts; and this psalm is the result of it. Consider, then- I. THE MOCKING QUESTION OF THE HEATHEN, "Where is now," etc.? This, no doubt, was often asked. They had heard of the ancient glories of Israel, and the won- derful works Sod had done for them; but what a. contrast was now presented-the abject condition into which Israel had fallen I And the character of the people also, as a whole, won scant respect. It was bui e. remnant, an elect few, that cherished the sacred memories of the past, and who were prepared, when opportunity came, to go back to their own land. But to the faithful few the question was full of pain. And here, in this psalm, we see- IL THE EFFECT OF IT UPOY THE MINDS OF THE FAr.rnFUL, 1. It humbled them before God. Ver. 1 is a confession of their own unworthiness, that no glory was due to them. And to-day, when the world mocks and scorns as it does, the people of God may well make like confession and similar disclaimer of all merit. Had the Church been riifferent, the world would not have mocked as it does. 2. It led them to God to see!, h,ia aid, that this mockery on the part of the heathen should cease (ver. 2), They desired that God would manifest his glory, and so silen~e the he~then scorn. And this is the need of the Church to-day. Let God be seen 1n our midst, and the taunt of the world will sink into silence. 3. Submission to God's will, (Ver. 3.) They knew that God was in the heavens, possessed of all power, wisdom, holiness; and whatever he pleased could only be right, It was not for them to dictate, but only to submit. They could trust him, that in due time he would interpose. 4. Scorn of idolB 11,nd those who worshipped them. (Vere. 4-8.) 'fhe v~ry bright~ess o! their conception of God showed up all the more the darkness of ignorance 1n which the heathen lived, And the ~salm roqrs out jts s11,cr~d s1,orn '?J t4cs~ !Iltro dolls b11foro re. oxv. 1-18.J THE BOOK OF PS.ALMS.