Ver. 63.-.The good man's friends. "I am a companion of all them that fear thee." The man who most entirely turns to God as his Helper is the man who most anxiously seeks, and most wisely uses, the help of godly associations and friendships. Men's help to one another in the godly life is brought before us in this verse. "How weak ;s human nature I Verily there are times when the presence of one so great as the .Almighty becomes oppressive, and we feel our need of one like ourselves to sympathize with us. .And there have been provided for us, by the way, many kind, sympathizing friends, like Jesus. .As we pass on, we get the human supports which the Lord bath provided. We get them for fellowship too" (Jno. Stephen). I. THE GOOD ldA.N FINDS FRIENDS. Every living thing looks for something akin to it, and finds that God has always provided the answering thing. This is typified in the fact that God provided for Adam a "help meet for him." If a man is a good man, he will discover that he need not, and must not, live a lonely life. He is not the only good man, and his good life will only grow aright, grow healthily, when it grows in company. The individual and personal relations of converted men to God are often presented in an exaggerated form. The true ideal is presented by Malachi, "'l'hen they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." '.l'he ordinary laws of human friendship apply to religious friendship. For close relationship there must be felt kinship; but for ordinary relations the common object and common interest will suffice. .All who fear God, and obey him, can be true helpers one of another. II. THE USE THE GOOD MAN MAKES OF FRIENDS DEPENDS UPON HIMSELF. It depends upon the maintenance and culture of his own godly life. So one of the first signs of flagging Christian life is flagging Christian friend~hip. Loosen your relations with God, and you will soon hold loose relations with'. his people. The law of friendship is this, "He that would have friends must show himself friendly;" and the friendliness of the godly man is bound up with the maintenance of his godliness. Ill. THE USE A GOOD MAN CAN MAKE OF HIS GODLY FRIENDS DEPENDS UPON THEM; They must maintain their godliness. 'l'hey can be nothing to him as helpers unless they k~ep fearing God, and observing his precepts. The good man soon finds hia friends cease to help him when they fail from the godly life. Let each be at his best, and then godly friendship becomes one of the truest and best helps in the godly life.-R. T. Ver. 67.-.The moral service of affiiction. We are constantly dealing with the mission of affliction to the spiritual !ile. It may come with some freshness to follow the thought of the psalmist here, and see that the experience of affliction tells directly on the practical life of duty and relationshir. _It ma~ters that growing sel_f-willedn~ss which leads the good man to try and take hfe mto h1~ own hands; and bnngs to him the humility and self-distrust which incline to keep well within the limits of God's Word. "If any of us ren:ember a time in whi~h we had no t:;ouble, we_ also pr~bab!y recollect that then grace was low, and temptation was strong. .As an 1llustrat1on 1n a larger sphere, Bishop Wordsworth's suggestion may be taken," This was eminently true of the Hebrew nation. Before the Captivity, they had been torn by schisms- Israel against Judah, and Judah against hrael, and corrupted by idolatry ; but they were purified from th ~e evils by their alllictions." I. AFl'LlCTIONS PROVIDE TIMES OF MEDITATION. They are to the moral life what saLbaths are to tb.e bodily life. 'l'hcy titop the rush ; they affirm tha~ there is sowu- re. CXIL 1-176.] 'l'HE BOOK OF PSALMS. 155
thing 1;1or? important than solf-interest_; they compel quietness; they give opportunity for re_v1ewmg. When w~ can do nothmg, we have a. chance of thinking. Let life go on without changes or tr1als, and the self must Hssume exaggerated importance. How can a man keep nobly dependent on God, who finds everything prosper under the hand of his energy? Affliction comes, makes him stop and think, and look back and up. II. AFFLIOTIONS TONE TIMES OF MEDITATION. Distinguish between the tone of meditations in our holiday-times, and in our times of affiiction. In the one case we have bodily health; in the other, bodily weakness. It is an element of importance that suffering and pain should give tone to meditation; but it is needful to bear in mind that affiiction may make meditation exaggerated, one-sided, or unworthy. The meditation of such times needs Divine guiding and sanctifying. III. AFFLICTIONS PASS INTO NEW OPPORTUNITY. When a man comes back to life from a sick-bed, it is as if he began life afresh ; with this difference-he ha.d to grow into experience, now he has the opportunity to use experience. Habits are broken. He can make a new way, ordered and _shaped by the new resolves based on the meditations of his affl.iction.-R. T.