Vera. 8, 9.-The really better may not be the apparently better. It may tru~y be said that the object of the discipline aud experience of life is to deliver us from the fascination of what seems, and to get our conduct and relationships swayed and charactered 11nd toned by what is. This, iudeed, is presented in Eastern religions in extravagant forms (see the notion of Maya, illusion, from which men have to deliver themselves). But we never need refuse to accept a truth, because somebody, some- where, has exaggerated it into a mischievous untruth. Creatures conditioned by senses, and placed in sense-relations, as we are, must live in a world of appearances; we can only kuow what our senses present to us, and they can only present the accidents of things. Reflection, working on the things which the senses offer to us. gradually helps us to the apprehension of that which is-the substance and reality of things. The psalmist here is expressing this fact of life in one of its forms and relations. Man is always disposed to trust in his fellow-man, and especially in those of his fellow-men who may occupy positions of authority and power. We all incline to trust in man, especially in princes. We can see them. We have sense-estimates of them. We can sensibly apprehend what they can do for us. We fly to, and lean upon, human helpers io every emergency of life. I. LEANING UPON MAN MAY BE Goon. It is not necessary to think or speak as if men were always untrustworthy. True, there is always an element of uncertainty in man, and an absolute reliance is not possible. But it would he wholly untrue to say that men always fail us. We have all proved, over and over again, how loyal, constant, and faithful the friends of our life havo been. Some of the purest and most satisfying joys we have ever had in life have come out of our h?man fellowshi~s. ':l'he psalmi~t- is therefore true to fact when he speaks of somethrng better, and implies that this confidence in man may be good. II. LEANING UPON Goo MUST BE BETTER. Just what advancing life and experience bring home to us is that the unseen is the real and permanent. And the very heart 1-'8ALMS-lll, Ii 98 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [rs. CXVIII, 1-29,
and es..<aence of the unseen is God. All reality is unseen; it takes on oppearance for the i;ake of the senses. We are passin~ on into the unseen; and we reach rest and satisfaction in the measure of our apprehending the unseen as we movo towards the consummation. It is better to keep in the sphere of the "real." It is better to "trust i11 God."-R. T.
Ver. l0.-Acti11g in the Divine Name. "In the Name of the Lord I will cut them off." The idea in the mind of the psalmist may he illustrated by the old custom of going into battle in the inspiration of some motto. Thus Gideon gavo his heroes this batlle-cry," The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon I" Down to quite modern times it was the custom for generals to give their armies a motto, a word, or a name, under ths inspiration of which they were to fight ; and it does not take much observation of human nature to enable us to recognize the value of such mottoes or names in kindling enthusiasm, and inciting to heroic endeavour or endurance. The psalmist is using martial figures ; he is thinking of enemies, and cheering his soul for the conflict with them by looking again and again at his banner, and seeing the Jehovah-name inscribed thereon. I. AcT~G I~ THE DIVINE NAME ISTRE RIGHT OF JEHOVAB's SERVANTS. The good man-from the Christian point of view we say the renewed man-is a self-consecrated man to God's service, and a graciously accepted man as God's servant. 'l'hen he bccumes everywhere an ambassador for God, a messenger from God, and has the absolute right of acting everywhere in his Master's Name. So the apostles persistently call themselves the•• servants," bond-slaves, of Jesus Christ, and claim the right of Fpeaking and acting in his Name. 'fhis opens up the question-What is the nature of the authority which can he claimed for the Christian teacher? He has authority so far only as he speaks and acts, genuinely and wholly, in the Name of his Master. illustration may he taken from the pope's assumed infallibility in his e:z; cathed,·d utterances. lL .A.cTIXG IN THE llIVINE NAME IS THE STRENGTH OF JEHOVAli'S SERVANTS. This may Le opened in two ways. 1. The Name acts upon a true-bclarted man as a reviving, inspiring, strengthening force, much as the queen's name Joee on a field of battle. 2. God actually gives strength for warfare and service to all who loyally act in his :Kame. Illustrate by 1 Sam. xvii. 45. IlL Ac-ram IN THE DIVINE NAME IS TRE VICTORY OF JEROVAR'B SEIIVA?.,.S. Because God is jealous of the honour of his Divine Name, and cannot permit it to be associated with failure. Let our enemies encompass us as bees do their combs (see LXX.), they can do no harm. They flare up, as does the fire of thorns; but they die down at once. The Divine Name has never been dishonoured by any permanent defeat; nor has he ever been who loyally acted in the Divine Name.-R. T.
Ver. 18.- What God seems to be and what God is. We are constantly oppressed \\ith the mystery of God's permissions. He permits afflictions to visit us, and often- timeo to take very trying forms. We can say," He hath chastened me sore." But it is a great relief to find that our experience is but the experience of the saints of all ages. It is the old and age-long trouble of all who will live godly in this sinful world, God mll6t put tliem into discipline, and the forms it takes must, of necessity, sometimes seem strat,ge. Divine dealings would not always do their appointed work if we thoroughly understood them. There is no call to trust when we have perfect sight. •• What I do thou knowest not now." In the olden clays, and still, there appear, to the godly man, most oppressive differences between what God seems, and what God is. We are distressed while we do but look at what God seems, and we gain rest whiiu we look at what God is. I. WHAT Goo SEEMS. lllustrate from the mists of mountain-lands. " Clouds 1rnd darkuess are round about him" (Ps. xcvii. 2). 1. See what God seems in nature. Take sincrle things, and we may easily get wrong impresijions. Look at nature as a whole, a;d it becomes clear that all things are working together towards issues that are right and good. 2. See what God seems in human lives. 'l'ake single incidcntd-an untimely death; a sweeping pestilence; a crushed enterprise; a wasting sickness ; and it seems as if there were nothing but " cloud and darkness," the mystery of a strange PS, CXVIII. 1-29.] TUE BOOK OF PSALMS. 99