our pleasure iu what we do. The soul moves freely in its delights. Make a joy of your obedience, and the result is that obedience becomes your joy.-R. T. Ver. 49.-Man's trust a plea for securing God's faithfulness. "Because 'thou hast made me t-0 hope.'' "Those that make God's promises their portion may with bumble boldness make them their plea." In ordinary life nothing so surely calls forth the best in a man as to be trusted. No persuasion acts on us more forcibly than this, "I must do it for him because he trusts me." We may in everything that is good, or that works out good, rise from man to God, seeing that in God's image man is made. In another psalm the feeling of God towards the man who trusts him is precisely expre.,sed (Pa. xci. 14), "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him." I. THE GROUND OF MAN'S TRUST JS Gon's ,OWN PROMISES. This needs to be opened up both in a lighter aud in a deeper sense. 1. Man's trust rests upon God's spoken promises. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." How God makes spoken words the basis of trust may be illustrated in a. very precise way from the promises to Adam (Gen. iii. 15) ; Abraham (Gen. xii. 2, 3); Moses (Exod. iii. 7 -10); Joshua. (i. 5, etc.). Later on, such books as Isaiah contain most gracious Divine promises. Aud the wonderful discovery of advancing religious experience, and of increasing knowledge of God's Word, is that promises in exact adaptation to the ever- varying disposition and circumstance of godly men have been given; so that a man can never be so circumstanced that he need fail to find a. written promise on which to ground his trust in God. 2. Man's tmst rests on him who gives the promises. And the promises never fulfil their true purpose unless they lead a. man to this higher trust. If we seem to hope in God's JVord, we really hope in him who spoke the Word. When this is seen, it is further seen that if God found it best to change his word to us, that would not affect our trust in him. II. MAN'S TRUST BECOMES AN EFFECTIVE PLEA WITH GoD. Because the honour of God's Name is bound up in response to trust. Illustrate by Joshua's plea (vii. 9). Reminding a man of his promise is the highest plea man can use with man. "You told me to trust you." That is just what God has done-told us to trust him for lif11, for redemption. He will remember his Word unto his servants.-R. T. Ver. 51.-Steadfast goodness may be exposed to misunderstanding, "The proud have had me greatly iu derision." Throughout this psalm there is evidence that the writer was in circumstances of limitation and difficulty. He was evidently trying to live a godly life in depressing surroundings; no one about him seemed to be in sympathy with him; and some even scorned the persistency with which he ordered his Iife in accordance with God's commandments. The condition may be represented by that of a godly prince in a godless court; but the thing is brought closer home to us if we take the position of a godly young man in a godless house of busiuess. His com- panions will, as we say, "lead him a life;" will misrepresent his doings and sayings; call him names ; point at him the finger of scorn. I. DEll.ISION IS ONE OF THE MOST POTENT FOROES OF THE TEMPTER. We all want to stand well with others. We all love praise. It is right that we should. Many a man can bear blame, reproach, and denunciation, who is quite mastered by scorn and derision. Let a man '' make fun" of him, and his amour propre is wounded. In this light, what a sublime triumph our Lord won by his patien~e on the cross when the scorners were all about it! But the godly man more especially wants to stand well with others, because in that way he testifies to them of the grace of God that is upon him. To be derided then seems to spoil his witness. So derision does two things, and serves the temptt1's purpose well. 1. It wounds the good man's sensibilities. 2. It damages, and may even destroy, the good man's witness. Young men have stood strong before open tem1 .tation who hav.e bent lik~ reeds before subtle, yet strangely powerful, derision. And they who dende and misunderstand are the proud-a. term which does not here suggest the "boaster," but rather the "self-confident." The man who relies on himself is ever ready to deride him who relies on God. Such reliance he cannot appreciate, IL STEADFAST GOODNESS HOPEFULLY RESISTS THIS TEMPTATION, Steadfast gootlnese ii, steadied goodness; and the steadying that is specially in mind iu this psalm is thBt I'S. CXIX, 1-170,] THE DOOK OF PB.ALMS, 153
which comes from familiarity with God's Word, lova for it, and practised skill in the use of it. And the supreme instance of this steadying power is found in the tempta- tion-scene of the Lord Jesus.-R. T.