Ver. 171.--Joy in God's response. The metaphor in the Hebrew is "pour forth a stream of praise." "You have stood at the fountain-bead of a stream of water, and admired while it bubbled up and ran down in a clear little rivulet, till at length it swelled into the mighty river. Such is the allusion here. The heart taught of God cannot contain itself, but breaks out in praise and singing. '!'his would be the effect of Divine illumination, and this would be felt to be a privilege, yea, a high duty" (John Stephen). I. Joy FINDS EXPRESSION IN PRAISE, "Is any merry, let him sing psalms." There are natural expressions, by the body and the bodily faculties, of all the various emotions. Let a man be unsophisticated, and free from external restraints, aud bis body will respond to his moods. He will tear things if he is vexed. He will drop his head if he is convicted of doing wrong. He will flush if he is taken by surprise; and so on. If a man is glad, he wants to sing. Send a party of young people out for a day of pleasure, and they must sing. The genuine religious man, who finds joy in God and in God's \Vord, must praise; he cannot hdp it. He must becPmCJ ungenuine in orde, to keep prnise jn. Our public services have so much of the element of praise, because it is expected that God's people will ever be full of the "joy of the Lord." II. PRAISE FINDS RENEWAL FOB THE JOY. Many things live and grow through expression, and soul-joy in God is one of them. SilcncCJ joy, and it will fade and die down. Let it speak, let it sing, and it will ever grow louder, stronger, worthier. Wo shall love to sing, delight in singing, and so the joy ol' our hearts will grow stronger and 1!tronger. l'raise has its aspect as a duty we owe to God. "Whoso offereth praise PB. oxrx. 1-176.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 175
glorifieth me." But we need not miss seeing how much it does for ur, in the renewin"0 of our soul's joy in God.-R. 'l'.
Ver. 176.-The frauties of the sincere. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep.'' Perowne says, "According to the accents, the rendering would rather be, 'I have gone astray ; seek thy servant as a lost sheep.' In what sense can one who has so repeatedly declared his love of God's Word, who has asserted that he has kept God's precepts, make this confession? The figure cannot be employed here in the same sense, for h,stance, in which it is employed in our Lord's parable. He who is the lost sheep here is one who does not forget God's commandments. The figure, therefore, seems in this place to denote the helpless condition of the psalmist, without protectors, exposed to enemies, in the midst of whom he wanders, not knowing where to find rest and shelter. But in the 'I have gone 11stray,' there is doubtless the sense of sin as well as of weakness." The exclamation of the psalmist is at once made clear when we realize the distinction which the goo,! man makes between "frailties" and "sins." l. SINS, AS ABERRATIONS OF SELF-Wil,L, DO NOT DISTilESS TUE SINCERE MAN. "He cannot sin, because he is born of God.'' 'l'he sincere man of the Old Testament is represented by the new man, the man born of God, the man in whom is the Divine life, of the New Testament. Let that man genuinely express his life, and he will not commit sin. Sin is the act and purpose of a man's will ; but his will is regenerate, and set on conformity to the will of God. The good man is "clean every whit;" he J.oes not sin with his will. JI. FRAILTIES, AB ABERB.A.TIONS DUE TO IllFIBMITY, DO DISTRESS THE SINCERE MAN. He knows how he needs to " wash his feet.'' He cannot help getting them soiled. The man with the renewed will has to make that will work through a biassed, enfeebled, physicri.lly weak body; and by that body he finds himself led into mistakes, infirmities, negligences, and even into things that look like wilfulnesses. This is the sense in which a sincere m11,n may mourn over himself as" prQlle to go astray."-R. T. Ver. 11.-The praise of Gocfs Law. "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, th11,t I might not sin against thee.'' I. TnE GRANDEST AIM. "That I might not sin against thee.'' 1. This is the highest object of man's pursuit. Intri11.sically the greatest object of life, as calling forth the gl'eatestfacvltiu, in the direction of the greatest object, for the grandest achievement. 'l'he assimilation of the human to the Divine mind. And we are bound to it by the greatest obligation. 2. Yet it is a practicable object. This proved from three considern- tions. (1) That we are responsible for it. That is, we can attain the fundamentaJ. principles of all obedience. Faith and love. And we 11,re capable of continued effort and attainment in counection with it. (2) .And that God's loue furnishes sufficient and adequate motives to it. These motives are the strongest spiritu11,l forces which can act 011 man's soul. (3) .And that God helps man in Ms efforts by his Spirit. 3. lt is the most profitable object of human pursuit. In two ways. ln the pure 11,nu ever-growing delight which the pursuit of it affords. And in tho present aud future rewards of every kind which are graciously connected with it. II. THE MEANS OF ITS ATTAINMENT. The hiding of God's Word in the heart. 1. God's Word is to be the liglit and guide of our lives. In opposition to all conventional standards of conduct, and to the casuistic reaeonings of our own minds. 2. That a sacred passion is to be cherished toward, the Divine Law. Gorl's Word is to be enthroned on the seat of the affections. "Oh, how I love thy Law I" Ile would hide it in his heart as the most valued treasure. a. God'• Word is the nourishment of our spiritual nature. He would hide it in hie heart as the tJivifying principle of his nature, on account of its enliglitening, strengthening, hope-giving properties. "I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the e11d."-S.
Ver. 18.-" Wondrous things.'' " Open thou mine eyes, that I m11,y behold wondrous &hings out of thy Law." "Law" is the will of God expressed in wan, in nature, and in history. I. TBE WILL OF GoD 18 TBE LAW OF MAN'S LIFE. 1. A. law that reaches to every part of man's nature. 'l'o the inward and outward life. A law that clailll.S to rule 176 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB, CXIX, 1-176,