HOMILETICS. Vere. 1-6.-Presenl recompense. It is quite certain that the true and loyal servant of God will be abundantly rewarded ; it is not certain when or how he will receive his recompense. There are three spheres in which that reward may lie. It may be largely, almost wholly, in the future. Bitter and protracted persecution may make the present life nearly worthless, so far as happiness is concerned (see 1 Cor. xv. 19). Or it may be largely in the sphere o/ the spiritual-in the cleansed and pure heart; in elevntion of character; in fellowship with God. Or it may be partly in the p1·esenl and the temporal. Commonly, God rewards his children in all these ways. Our text deals with the last and least of these. If a man fears God and keeps his command- ments, he will, under ordinary conditions, have, as the token of Divine fnvour- 1. 'l'HE REAPING OF THE FRUIT OF ms LADOUR. He" eats the labour of his hands." The builder rejoices in the house which he bas erected, the farmer in the fields he bas made productive, the florist in the garden he has planted, the author in the book he ha3 written, the statesman in the measures ho has passed into law, etc. A.part from the physical comfort it may bring us, we have a pure pleasure in tho effect of honest nnd faithful work. And if :i. man cherishes a humble and grateful spirit, it is per- missible that he enjoys the success which he has achieved, and the honour or the plra.sure he has earned by patient industry. II. DoMEBTIO DELIGHTS. 1. Conjugal. (Ver. 3.) The wifo to her husband, the husband to his wife, is a "goodly heritage "-a joy and a treasure which no prince can confer, no money will buy. True conjugnl affection, the outgrowth of mutual esteem, is a source of lasting and elevating gladness of heart, for which all who htwe possessed it should give be.artiest thanks to the Giver of all good. And with n sense of recipiency should be associated a sense of duty; it becomes husband and wifo to maintain through life the sweetness and excellency of this attachment; to do this by mutual courtesy, self-sacrifice, concession, tendor ministry in health anu in sickness, united effort on behalf of others. 2. Parental. (1) Children ohould be welcomed as precious gifts from the kind he.nd of God (see Ps. cxxvii. 3-5; Gen. xxxiii. 5). They "bring Jove with them," we say, but they do morr that that--they open our nnturo 236 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [rs. CXXVIII. 1-6,
and call forth its best affections; they unseal fountains of purest leeling which other• wise would not have flowed forth; they immeasurably enrich our souls and our lives by the love they evoke a.nd by the love they return. '!'hey to whom children are not gi,en wi)l render_ themselves a most valuable service and give themselves the best opportumty of domg good, by adopting the fatherless and the motherless, and making them their own. Children, if ordinarily affectionate, will soon excite tender feeling in the breast; and many are they who have learnt to love the child of their adoption with a warmth and with a depth of love that went far beyond their anticipation, and that greatly enlarged their heart and enhanced the value of their life. (2) Children should be treated as the most sacred charge placed in the hand of man by the hand of God. No one ca.n tell the capacities and possibilities that are folded in the form and hidden in the heart of a little child. (3) Children should realize how much they owe to those 'l\'ho have expended on them the wealth of a parent's love. It becomes them to be a constant source of joy at home, and to be a defence and protection against all that would invade its peace (see Ps. cxxvii. 5).
IIOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS Vers. 1-6.-The secret of the happy home. I. THE FEAR OF THE LORD. 1. This is not a slavish/ear, but that reverent and loving regard to the Lord's will, in all things, which will make a man shrink from transgression. 2. He has this blessed fear who himself has known the loving-kindness of the Lord, and whose love has been wakened up thereby. This fear of the Lord is the essential foundation of the truly happy home. 3. It must be in the head of the household, and should be in the wife and children too. Indeed, if husband and wile are not of one mind in this respect, it is difficult to see how their home can be happy. IL WHEBE THIS IS, THE FATHER WILL HIMSELF BE BLESSED. Every verse in this psalm declares this, and constant experience endorses it. 1. The man shall be blessed in himself, "Happy sbalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." The fear of God preserves him; the Spirit of God rules him; the love of God has redeemed him: he is happy in God. 2. He is blessed in his business. (Ver. 2.) He shall not live by begging, by knavery, by any unworthy means, but by God's blessing upon his honest toil. This is the happiest way of living, and it shall be to the man who feareth the Lord. 3. In his home. Dear wife and children shall make him glad; no solitary, loveless abode shall his be, but a home in all the blessed meaning of that word. And, thank God, there are myriads such-affectionate, well-ordered, healthful, pure, bright. 4. He shall be blessed throu_qh the Church's ministry and fellowship. (Ver. 5.) The blessing of the Lord in his Church was sought on the union of his wife and himself; their children, one by one, were brought and presented to the Lord in baptism, and the Lord's blessing sought upon and won for them ; and in the holy services of the Church his household is trained to take part. And the influence of all this on the home happiness is great indeed. 5. He is blessed in the guarantees that such homes a! his give for tl,e peace and prosperity of his country. (V~rs. 5, 6.) Such homes are a nation's bulwarks, and do more for the good of the nation and hor peace and I reser• vation than all the munitions of war. Where such homes are, the aged are cheered by seeincr their children's children enjoy the blessings they have helped to secure, and by the p;ospect that when they are gone their descendants will enjoy like peace. Such are the blessincrs of him that feareth the Lord. III. .AJ.D TiE WIFE. (Ver. 2,) She shall be as the beautifulfragrant vine, and uot alone in its fruitfulness. There will be that; she will be the joyful mother of many bright, happy, and healthful children, who cling to her as the clustors do to the vine; but also like the vine, she will be for the comfort and adornment of the home, impartin'g gracious shade and shelter from the heat (cf. Micah iv. 4). It is not said, but it is implied all through, that the same blessed fear of the Lord that dwells in her husband dwells also in her. IV. A.ND THE CHILDREN. "Like olive plants." It is a common sight, in the lands where the olive grows, to see the parent tree sur!ounded, and, as it were, sustained, by the young olive shoots that have sprung from its roots. As they have sprung from PA. oxxvm. 1-6.] THE BOOK. OF PSALMS. 237