supreme; our interest in his !!lercifol regard is surpa.ssinoly g1eat; and there cannot possibly be any engagement of the soul that demands such strenuousness, such concen- tration of powers, such fixedness and fulness of soul, as prayer, as devotion, as the seeking after God. II. Oua LIFE-SERVICE. (Vers. 4, 34.) The languid and listleBS efforts which some "religious" men make in the service of God mnst be wholly unacceptable, as they are altogether unbecoming. "Worthy is the Lamb to receive riches "-the riches of our remembrance, our obedience, our submission, our sen-ice. To make a few feeble efforts to subdue our temper, to quell our repining, to preserve a sustained tranquillity or cheerfulness of spirit, to show friendliness to Christian brethren, or to speak words of guidance or warning, but to give up the attempt because we do not immediately succeed,-this is not to keep God's precepts "diligently," to observe his will "with our whole heart." It is to relegate religion to the second or third place in our esteem. Christ claims the first. He tells us that if we love any one or anything more than him, we are not worthy of him. He promises us that if we subordinate all other things to him and to his service, we shall receive a large reward at his hands (see Matt. x. 37; Mark x. 28-30). Vers. 6, 22, 31, 42, 80, 110.-God's Word and shame. There are- I. THE THREE KINDS OF SHAME. 1. 'fhe shame of which we need not be ashamed; of which we may be proud-" the "reproaches of Christ;" being disregarded and even despised because we are loyal to our Lord, and true to the convictions we have learnt of him; the reproach which purity sometimes suffers at the hands of laxity, and integrity from the lips of dishonesty, and devotion from the ribaldry of ungodliness. This is all to our credit, and does us honour. But then there is: 2. Self-reproach, the accusation of our own conscience. There is also: 3. The condemnation of the good ; that strong and sometimes stern reprobation with which an instructed society visits the crime, the vice, the cruelty, the selfishness, the wrong-doing which comes before its tribunal, and calls for its verdict. II. Oun TRUE SUPPORT IN HONOURADLE snAME. This is found in what God's Word tells us of: 1. Our Lord's esteem and strong approval (Matt. v. 10-12). 2. His own example. He II suffered the contradiction of sinners against himself," and stooped to the lowliest shame, "even to the death of the cross." 3. Our hope. "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." III. THE TRUE PRESERVATIVE FROM THE SHAME WE SHOULD FEAR. This also God's Word affords us, for it supplies: I. The constant, the eternal principles which save from sin and wrong-truth, probity, purity, temperance, faithfulness, etc. 2. 'l'he strongest inducements to integrity-that fear of God and love of Jesus Christ which will make us shrink sensitively from all that grieves his Spirit, and which will lead us to pursue that path which ends in his large reward.
Vers. 9, 63, 74,113, 115.-The way of life: the young. Our attention is called to- I. 'l'HE WAY OF LIFE; especially as it presents itself to the young. It is interesting to look forward to a long journey ; to anticipate the scenes that will be witnessed, the companionships that will be formed, the memories that will be gathered for years to come, etc. But how much more interesting to look forward to the journey of life still in prospect; to anticipate its joys, it successes, its triumphs; to hope for its friendships and achievements; to guard against its dangers and its mistakes! 'l'hc uncertainties of the future in the case of the young, the possibilities of failure or of victory, m11ke the earlier years of life to be frauj!:ht with the deepest interest. II. THE SECRET OF SUCCESS. This is twofold. 1. It is found in manly thought- fulness. How shall a young man make his course sweet and clean and pure? " lly taking heed thereto;" by refusing to treat his life with levity, to Jct things take their own course, to make his "way" nothing but a "chapter of accidents;" by determining that it shall be a matter of intelligent, deliberate choice; by devoting to that most Ferious subject his most earnest consideration, end bringing to bear upon it the full faculties of his nature. 2. It is found in Divine guidance-" according to thy \Vord." And this "Word" (1) counsels the application of holy principlea-those of truthfulness, purity, temperance, honesty, genrro~ity, etc.; (2) Jaye great ,.tress on right companion• 122 THE BOOlt OF 1'S.A.LMS. (PS. OXIX. 1-116,
ships. Here is: (a) Rejection of some-the resolute refusal to admit to our confidence those who are unworthy of it. I hate "vain thoughts," or "doubters, sceptics, double- mind_ed _men" (ver. 113); the peremptory dismissal from friendRhip of those who nre unprmc1pled (ver. 115). (b).Admission of others. (Vcrs. 63, 74.) Very few things go so far to decide the way of life as the choice of companions. Associate with the frivolous or the sceptical, and the path of life leads downward to folly, unbelief ruin; walk with the wise, the earnest, the godly, and that path leads upward to wisdom, virtue, usefulness, heaven.