HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. . Ver. L~P~_ to praise f!od_ in. "This ps~lm is a rapture. The poet-prophet 1s full of msp1:at101; aud entuns1~sm." Larnar~rne says, "In this closing psalm we see the almost rnart1culate enthusiasm of the lync poet; so rapidly do the words press to his lips, floating upwards towarcls God, their Source, like the smoke of a great fire of the soul \Yafted by the tempest." "In former times, when the casting of church- bellll was more of a religions ceremony, this psalm was chanted by the brethren of the guild, as they stood ran~ed e.round the furnace, while the molten metal was prepared to be let off into the moulJ ready to receive it." I. 'l'HE SANCTUARY. Not" his holiness," as in the Prayer-book Version, nor merely "his temple;" but the whole earth, as th€ sphere in which he has displayed his power and his grace. It is quite true that praiso is to be offered in those buildings which are set apart for God's worship; but we must always regard them as representative of God's great temple of nature and of human history. The old tabernacle represented wander- ing Israel as the dwelling-place of Gcd. The temple, later on, represented the organized nation as the dwelling-place of God. But such localization and limitations only represented and taught the truth that the whole earth is the sanctuary of God. In tabernacle, temple, church, whole earth, where God is, God's praise must be sounded forth. He says, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." II. THE FIRMAMl!::--T OF HIS POWER. This is usually taken to mean "heaven," but it is more in accordance with Hebrew repetition to see in it another figure for what is called the "sanctuary." " Firmament" simply means sphere. Every place becomes a holy place if God's power is put forth in it; then the whole earth, and the entire range of history, become a sanctuary in which God's praise is properly called forth. If we are to praise God in the spheres in which he has put forth his power and grace, we i:ball have to be praising him everywhere.-Il. 'l'. Ver. 2.-Things to praise God/or. For" excellent greatness," read" muchness of greatness." Praise is to be offered in recognition both of God's inherent power, and of its manifestation in mighty acts. I. PRAISE 1s CALLED FOB DY DIVINE POWER, He who knows God knows him through a series of mighty, wonderful acts, interventions, provisions, deliverances, punishinO's, all of which produce overwhelming impressions of almighty power. Illus- tration ~ay be taken from (1) the Divine creations; (2) tho Divine maintaining.<;; (3) the Divine redemptions. Divine power is seen in God's ordering and controlling the gigantic forces of nature and the lawless wilfulness of man. Modern artistic an1l poetic feeling, perhaps responding to the revelations of the microscope, can find Divine power in the gentle and the minute ; but Hebrew genius dealt almost exclusively with the august, tremendous, and awful in nature; so power in God was the thing most impressed on the Hebrew mind as the inspiration of praise. And still a necessary ground of entire confidence in God is a conviction of his absolute and unquestionable &!mightiness everywhere, and in relation to everything. We praise him because we feel Hure that our God is mightier than the mightiest. rr. Pa.USE 16 01.LLED l'OB BY DIVINE CITARAOTim BY.IIIND POWEB, "Excellent PB. CL. 1-G.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 419
greatness." An adjective is applied which directs us to moral q nality. God rnnst never be thought of as we think of giants. We are altoaether 0 absorbed by thinkincr of their bodily size and strength; it does not matter to us whether they have eithe~ mental faculty or moral character. Some think of God as a mere lmbodiment of august and awful power. He is not known aright, nor can he be praised aright, until the character inspiring the exerci8e of his power is apprehended. Then we re,1lize t~at he stands in relation to us, and for his gracious relations we praise him in the h1ghest.-R. T.