Ver. 6.-The rest of personally appropriating God. "I said unto the Lord, Thou o.rt my God" (comp. Ps. xvi. 2, "I have said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; I have no good beyond thee;" Ps. xxvii. 1, "'!'be Lord is my light and my salvation;" o.nd many other places). Indeed, a characteristic feature of the Psalms is this personal appropriation of God. It is an essential feature of spiritual religion. There must be this sense of kinness with God, and actual relationship to him. So St. Thomas exclaims, "My Lord and my God!" And our Divine Lord, as model and representative Humanity, said, even in a time of overwhelmin11: darkness and distress, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? " From this psalm we learn how such personal appropriation of God really comes to us. I. IT ooMES FROM Goo SEEN IN OUR PAST. "'fhou hast covered my head in the day of battle." Some one thing was in the psalmist's thought, but it would be sure to lead on a great panorama of Divine defences and interventions. '!'he one thing was like the first star seen in the evening sky. It is "the glorious token of millions more." God has always been on our side, He is our God. II. IT COMES FROM Goo BEALIZ}:D IN PRESENT RELATIONS. We express this when we call him the living God. It should al ways be clearly seen that "living" involves present activity. Silent and inactive Buddha does not live, does not sustain personal relations, is only an object of contemplation. God lives; is active; is in relations; as these relations are seen to be directly presrnt and personal ones, we call him our Uod. Our God is here now; he is for us now; he is ours now. III. IT COMES FROM Goo FELT AS THE LOVED AND LOVING ONE. We can appro- priate a thing in a cold mood of acquisition. We can only appropriate a person by the act of affection. And herein is a remarkable thing. We cannot approprinto a person unless he is willing to be appropriated. He must love us, or our love to him only keeps us at a distance from each other. ,ve may appropriate God in our love because he appropriates us in his love.-R. T.
Vers. 8-11.-The intervention of God sought. We need not fix close attention on the intensity of the language which the psalmists use concerning their enemies, or even concerning tho enemies of God. All that unrestrainedness belongs to the times ancl the race. Eastern people use languago which to the Western miud appears extravngant and unworthy. Wo feel, under persecution and calamity, precisely as they felt, but we know how to express our feelings more guardedly. Only in moments of passion do we ever permit ourselves to say or to wish such things as these psalmista utter so freely. 'l'he topic suggested here is this-Whn t is to be <lone by tho godly man when he finds himself in the midst of malicious foes? I. HE IS 1'EMPTED TO INDULGE REVENGEFUL FEELING. Such feelings at once come. 'fhey are the natural, or we may more truly say the unnatural, response of our hearts. Indeed, if we do not watch ourselves well, we at once answer back. It is not our sin that revengeful feeling is aroused. It is sin when revengeful feeling is encouraged; our grievous sin when it is enfoyed. II. HE IS TEMPTED TO VINDIOATE IIIMSELF BY ACTS OF RETALIATION. "Renclcring evil for evil." Taking- the avenging of his injuries into his own hands. Children do that. Uncivilized and unorganized nations do that. Each ono avenges his own wrongs. But from the Divine standpoint that is always and altogether wrong; for one supremely good reason-that a man can never nvenge himself witho~t seriously infuring himself in so doing. '!'he worst thing that can happen to a man 1s to get bi~ rovenge. 'fhat dims the fine gold of character. III. IIE Is PERSUADED TO LEAVE n:NGEANCE TO Goo. And this he may safely do, because whosoever t,rnches God's people touches God-touches the "apple of his . eye." Moreover, God never lets the wicked go unpunished; but ns he loves the wicked and seeks hi.8 good, he alone can adjust the punishment to the individual, ancl to the securing of wise und gracious ends. God can be calm in judgmcnts. IV. HE IB MOVED TO ABK Goo TO UNDERTAKE TllE VENGEANCE ~·on lil.M, And 332 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PS, CXL, 1-13.
then he is altogether relieved from the pressure of responsibility, and is free to bear the burden quietly and calmly.-R. T.