is the people who worship, so are the gods whom they create for worship. It is, indeed, the -rery essence of the idea of a God worthy to be worshipped, that he shall be revealed t.o man, n_ot created by him; that he shall b,e in the sphere of man's thoughts, and so apprehensible; but beyond the reach of man s thoughts, and so a perpetual inspiration to him. The reproach which Jehovah makes to his people is that they have not kept him beyond them, but have reduced him to their level. "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." We have seen that what men attempt to embody when they make their own gods is themselves; the gods are like the people. The characteristics of any nation can be known by a study of its gods ; and the characteristics of any particular age of a nation can be known by its relation to, and treatment of, the national gods. Therefore the history of the nations is so largely the history of the national religions. I. Let men make their own gods like themselves, and THEY WILL NEVER MAKE THE GODS LIKE THEMSELVES AT THEIR DEST. \Vhatever may be thought about the formu- lated doctrine of original sin, the fact of universal moral deteriomtion is bound to be generally accepted. And the sign of it is that man is not interested in his· best; perhaps not eYen able to set before himself the image of himself at his best possible. So tbere never yet was an idol-god made that even represented its maker at his noblest, II. Let men make their own gods like themselves, and THEY WILL DE BURE TO MAKE TIIE GODS LIKE THEMSELVES AT THEm WORST. This can be effectually illus- trated by the Kali, Sarasvati, J uggemaut, of India; the Baal and Ashtaroth of Phc:enicians; the Moloch of Amorites; and even the refined and artistic creations of Grecian genius; for these represent man sensual, which really is man at his lowest. And this fact, that if man makes his own gods be makes them like himself at his worst, may be shown to be equally trne of those immaterial, mental, :figures of God which men now make as the idols ofan intellectual age. They are no more worthy of God than the hideous figures of Indfa, and this is the serious feature of the case. Let man make his god after the pattern of himself at his worst, and the god he makes and worships will inevitably debase him lower and lower.-R. T. Ver. 9.-The call to truae implies imperilled trust. This and the following verses were, apparently, sung as responses. This explains the repetition of the same idea. The scornful taunts of the surrounding peoples might have had a serious influence on Jehovah's servants. It might have taken all heart out of them. Probably many of the weaker ones did flag under the discouragements, and so there was a real need of this pleading of the psalmist for full and even rejoicing trust in God, 'l'he confidence felt by one man will often inspire the confidence of others. When one man can see God plainly working as Helper and Defender, he, in a very wonderful way, opens the eyes of others to see the same signs of Divine presence and power. Our trust in God passes from one to another, even as does an epidemic disease. And it may also be shown how often psalm and song help UB to fetch back imperilled trust. TreaLing the case of the restored exiles as illustrative, we may see how our trust in God may now be imperilled- L BY Goo's UNFULFILLED PBOMIBEB. Some of God's promises really belong to our future, and we have no right to look for their present fulfilment; but such is the restlessness of man, that he persists in thinking he ought to have everything now, And as he carmot, he reauily regards some of God's promises as unfulfilled. So through long ages men expected the promised Messiah, and often lost their faith and dimmed their hope because he did not come, But God's promises never are unfulfilled. It is only this-he has our whole lives to work in, he has all the ages to work in. Compare our Lord's saying, "My time is not yet come, but your time is al way ready." Trust 1hould make a treasure of the promises. II. BY Goo's INCOMPLETELY FULFILLED PROMIBEIS. 1t is harder to keep trust when a promise has begun to be fulfilled, and has been c~eclced in the fulfilment, than w_hen it is altogether delayed. It was harder for t~e exiles to look ~n. the ~e~ ~oundat1ons of the temple than on the old ruins. Th~re 1s no ~eature o~ D1vme d1~c1phne that so severely tries our power to keep on trustmg, as this checkmg of bles~rngs that have begun to be bestowed ; this asking us to accept of incomplete fulfilments, III. BY Goo's MISUNDERSTOOD PROMISES, So often we take God to promise wha& PS, OXV, 1-18,] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 89
we wish him to promise, rather than what he does promise. Then we raise unreason- able expectations, e.nd get unreasonably depressed when they are not fulfilled. God me.y test e.nd try our trust, but he never puts it i,n peril; we do that when we cannot we.it, e.nd persist in misunderstanding.-R. T.