I. Wm> AnETIIEYWB:OBE EXPEnIENCE 1B APPEALED To? Those who !mow Gocfs Name. Names are more than bare signs of thought; they are instruments of thought; store- houses and treasuries of knowledge; vessels from which it can be poured; current coin, in which it passes from mind to mind. More than this. They arc treasuries of feeling; talismans to call it forth; ripe seeds from which its bloom and fragrance spring to new life. Our power of naming is the measure of our knowledge. Therefore in Scripture, the Name of God stands for all that we can know of him. It includes, not only know- ledge of the intellect, but of the heart (comp. John xvii. 3, 6 with 1 John iv. 8). "Canst thou by searching," etc.? (Job xi. 7, 8). Surely not. This is a depth we can- not fathom ; a breadth and height we cannot measure. But to say this is no conces- sion to the mental indolence of agnosticism. Do not let us underrate what we can and do know of God. 1. We know him as the Source and Foundation of all being but his oum. 'l'herefore eternal and infinite. It is mere idle ring of verbal logic to say that "from a finite universe you cannot prove an infinite Creator." l<'or, though the universe is (we are compelled to think) in some sense finite, yet it is infinite in possibility, and in demand on knowledge, wisdom, power, love. 2. We know him as the Father of our spirits, in whom we live and have our being. As a Personal Being; i.e. one to whom we can speak, and who speaks to us. We can say "Thou" to him, and he says "Thou" to each of us. 3. We know his character. Perfect righteousness, truth, holiness, love ; and his will, as revealed in his Word. 4. We know him as " the God antl Fathff of our Lord Jesus Christ" (John i. 18). Who, then, are" they that know God's Name"? Those to whom all these truths are not words, but realities; who study his will, and obey it; study his Word, and believe it; live in fellowship with God by prayer and praise; know the power of his love (1 John iv. 16, 19); and see his glory in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. iv. 6). In one word," the Name" of God is matter of revelation ; but the lcnowledge of his Name is matter of experience. II. WHAT 1s TIIE TESTIMONY OF THEm EXPERIENCE? This-that God may safely be trusted-is infinitely worthy of unswerving absolute trust. Those who know him best trust him most; and those who have trusted him most bear witness to his faith- fulness. We may say that the truth of the whole Bible is involved in the truth of this verse. For what is the Bible from end to end, but an invitation to trust God-with the re:isons for so doing? A revelation, not so much to intellect as to heart and con- science. Wit-h this it is very largely a record of the personal experience of those who have trusted (and als0 of those who have distrusted) God (Ps. xxxiv. 6). And, withal, it is a challenge to future experience. It invites practical personal test. " Taste and see" (Ps. xxxiv. 8). If the answer were that, practice.Uy, faith in God is found to be a failure, then the Dible would have missed its mark. Then Christianity must bo confessed l\ beautiful illusion. But the facts are the other way. Go to the Christian -learned or simple, poor or prosperous-who, through a busy life, bas made the experi- ment of trusting God, and bringing everything to the Lord Jesus in prnyer. Ask him, "Has it answered?" There is no doubt what his reply will be. If the evidence for the truth of Christianity were to be compressed into one word, that word is "experi- ence." 'l'he contemptuous disregard of this immense mass of human experience am! testi- mony by unbelievers is neither rational nor just (see 'Basis of Faith,' p. 359, 3rd edit.)
Vers. 19, 20.-.An appeal to God. "Arise, 0 Lord," etc. The mysteries of life arc no modern discovery. They perplexed and oppressed the souls of ancient saints, often well- nigh to the overthrow of faith. 'l'hey arc aggravated and emphasized by tho fact, which we perhaps fail sufliciently to grasp, that Israel stood alone among nations as tho witness to the unity, holiness, and truth of God. 'l'ho host of surrounding peoples, somo of them at the very summit of worldly greatness, worshipped "gods many and lords many." Hence Israel's enemies could not but be regarded as God's enemies; Israel's cause as God's cause. I. AN .\PPEAL TO Goo AS THE LORD OF THB WHOLE wonLD, to mo.nifest his sove- reignty. The word for "man" expre~scs mortal weakness. Q.d.: "Let not weak mortnls fancy themselves strong enough, or seem to others strong enough, to defy thy rul~, break thy Law, disregard thy displeasure." Ver. 8 shows that the world of nmn- kind is in view, not merely Israel. 'l'ho broad universal spirit of the Old Testament Scriptures is among the notes of inspiration. In the ijacred enclosure of Israel the 60 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [t>s, IX, 1-20.