15 ; ~ii. 3). He bath blessed thy children Though the thermometer rarely shows within thee. Under Nehemiah's govern- more than six or seven degrees of frost in ment, when he had firmly established it, Palestine, yet the Oriental is as much Israel enjoyed a period of repose and of great chilled by such a temperature as the Eng• prosperity, which, at the date of the ps11lm, lishme.n by one twenty degrees lower. He was probably just commencing. shivers in his light attire, aud is very Ver. 14.-He maketh peace in thy borders. reluctant to lee.ve the shelter of his houee The completion of the walls and gates of or tent. Jeruso.lem brought to au encl the troubles Ver. 18.-He sendeth out his word, and caused by Sauballat, Tobiah, and Geshew, melteth them (comp. ver. 15). God has and established general peace and tran- only to " spe11k the word," 11nd all tre.oe of quillity in Israel. And filleth thee with the winter disappears-ho11r-frost, ha.ii, snow, finest of the wheat; literally, with the fat of melt away, and the atmosphere is once more wheat; i.e. wheat in abundance and of good soft and genial. He causeth his wind to quality. The prosperity of Nehemiah's blow. The change usually comes with a time appears in Neh. x. 2S-S9; xii. 44-- change of wind, which, as with ourselves, 47; xiii. 12-15. is commonly cold from the north and east, Ver. 15.-He sendeth forth his command- warm from the 'l\"ijst and south. And the ment upon earth. Heavy crops, good waters fiow. A tuaw Hets in, 11nd soon all harvests, abundant food, result from God's the watercourses are full of rushing streams, providential ordering of his world, to which Ver. 19.-He showeth his word unto he gives commands that are obeyed in- J'acob, his statutes and his jndgments unto stantly, since his word rllillleth very swiftly. IsraeL Beyond and above all the physical Ver. 16.-He giveth SIIOW like wool. The blessings which God bestows on man are loveliness of new-fallen snow has evidently tbe gills of spiritual enlightenment and been felt by the psalmist, to whom it has direction. These also Israel may count on seemed like e. spotless robe of whitest wool receiving from him, who ha.s alree.dy given spread upon the earth. Snow, thongh rare them e. written revelation-" statutes and in Palestine, does occasionally fall, and is judgmenls "-while he also enlightens and aaid to " cover the streets of Jerusalem two directs them from time to time by his winters ont of three. It generally comes prophets. in small quantities; bnt there a.re some- Ver. 20.-B'e he.th not dee.It so with any times very snowy winters." In 1879, for nation. Though the Word or God, to a insta.nce, snow lay in Jernse.lem to e. depth certain extent, "lighteth every man that of seventeen inches (Geikie, • The Holy cometh into the world" (John i. 9), yet Lnnd and the Bible,' voL ii. p. 58). He this light of ne.ture is not to be compared soattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. The to the revele.tion vouchsafed to Israel. mete.phor is less appropriate, and we.a Isrnel was God's "peculie.r people," and selected, probably, on account of the near had peculiar privileges, wh1oh involved resemble.nee of the two words, kephor and specie.I responsibilities. And as for his lcaepheT. judgments, they (i.e. the nations) have not Ver. 17.-He casteth forth his ice like knowu them (comp. Amos iii. 2, "You morsels ; or, " like crumbs ; " i.e. in pro- only have I known out of all the families fusion, as men feed birds. The "ice" of the earth : therefore will I visit upon intended would seem to bo the.t of h11il- you all your iniquities"). l'raise 70 $he atones. Who can stand before his oold 1 Lord (oomp. ver, 1).
HOMILETICS, Vers. 1-11.-Foundatlon-truth,. We are summoned by the psalmist to pr11.ise Gou.; we are told that praise is "pleasant" and" comely" (ver. 1); it is an act which is congenial and fitting, because the God we worship is one who is worthy of all the homage we can pay him; he is "greatly to be praised" (Ps. cxlv. 8). The grounds on which we are invited to bless God are very familiar, but they are very sound and strong; we can never dwell too much upon them. I. HIB INFINITUDE IN UNDERSTANDING. (Ver. 5,) "There is no searching of his understanding " (Isa. :x.l. 28 ; see Rom. xi. 33-36). When we consider whe.t must be the understanding of him who created and who sustains this marvellous framework llf nature, who guides and upholds all. things. throug~out the vast universe, ev?ry smallest thing as well as the greatest bemg subject to him a~~ de~ndent upon him, we get some faint idea of the absolute boundlessness of the Dmne wisdom. PS, 0XLVIT0 1-20.] THE BOOK OF l'SAL~IS. 401