acknowledgment of God as the God of all flesh-not only of David and of Israel, but of all nations. And thero is the grand hope expressed that, as God had brought the nations around within the dominion of Israel, so he would draw all the nations of the earth within the benign and blessed rule of Messiah (Rom. xv. 9). "In Christ, the Son of David, David's fallen throne has lo.sting continuance; and in him everythin~ that was promised to David's seed has eternal truth and reality. According to its final prospect, the praise of Jahve, the God of David, his Anointed, is praise of the Father of Jesus Christ" (Delitzsch).-W. F. Ver. 35.-.A God-made man. We often hear of what are called self-made men; but here is something nobler by far~ God-made mim. "Thy gentleness hath made me great." We learn from this text that-- I. MAN IB CAPADLE OF GREATNESS. At first, man was made great, for he was made in the image of God. But he sinned and fell. Still, the capacity remained. I-Ienco there WM misery. Ambition wrongly directed became a bane. Powers and cravings that rose above earthly things left the heart unsatisfied. To be great, man must be raised from his fallen state, and renewed in the spirit of his mind. Love is the spirit of greatness; service is its test, and power with man is its proof: He is the greatest who serves his brethren best in love. II. THAT Gon IS ABLE TO MAKE MAN GREAT. It has been said that "some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them ; " but this is a low and false view of greatness. It is of the earth, earthy. True great- ness does not come from without, but from within; it is not a thing of circumstances, but of character; it does not depend upon the will of other men, but upon the spirit that dwelleth in us. We must be great in heart before we can be great in life. When God would make a man great, he not only gives him the right spirit, but submits him to a process of education and discipline. God has already made many great. Think of the glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the noble army of martyrs, and the exceeding great multitude of the saints of every kindred and tongue; all these would acknowledge, with glad and grateful hearts, that they owed everything to God. Their confession would be," We are his workmanship" (Eph. ii. 10; Rev. iv. 10). III. Gon UAKES MEN GREAT BY HIS GENTLENESS. Force mny overcome force, but it cannot win the heart. If we are dealt with in the way of terror and wrath, our tendency will be to resistance, ave.rsion, and alienation. Severity may be, nt times, necessary, but it is not severity but love that conquers. Mark God's g~ntleness: 1. In his manifestation of himself in Christ. 2. In the love of tho Spirit in the Word. 3. In the gracious discipline of Providence. We have in the life of David a beautiful example of the way in which God makes a man great. In tho Gospels we have tho truo doctrine as to greatness (Matt. xx. 26), and illustrative fncts of the most convincing kind. See how Matthew was called; how Zacchmus was raised to a nobler !if~ ; how Peter and the rest of the apostles were trained to humble and loving service in behalf of their fellow-men. 'l'hese, and such as these, will be hailed as truly great men when kings and conquerors, and all the "laurelled Barabbases of history," who have liveu only for themselves, are forgotten.-W. F. Vers. 1-50.-Tlie retrospect of a life: a sermon/or the closs of the year. "In this magnificent hymn the royal poet sketches in a few grand outlines the history of bis life. By God's help he had subdued every enemy, and now, iu middle life, looking back with devout thankful.less on the pnst, he sings this great song of praise to tho God of his life." Divisior.d of the psalm: 1. The introduction, setting forth all that Jehovah is to David (vere. 1-3). 2. The record of David's sufferings and peril, all(! tho mighty deliverance by which ho was rescued (vors. 4-19). 3. The reason fur this ielivere.nce, in the character of God and the principles of his government (vers. 20-30). i. The blessings which David had received in his life; his own preservation and that of his race; help and strength in battle, rule over nil enemies (vers. 31-45). 5. Joyful thankso-iving and acknowledgment of all God's mercies (vers. 46-50). Tho general subject" of the psalm is-The refrospect of a life. 'l'ho intereBt of st1ch a retrospect depends on the following conditions :- 128 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [Plr. XIX, 1-14,
I. WIIETHEn A MAN HAS HAD A HISTORY OR NOT, (Ver. 43.) Anything to dis- tinguish his life from the uneventful lives of the myriads ,vho a.re born, pass through life, and die, and leave no trace behind them. Dut Moses and David, Paul and ot.hers, gave birth to history, and have mingled in the greatest affairs of a nation aud of the world, and hnve much t-0 think of and celebrate when they look back. So of modero great men. They animated and created their opportunities. Have we made our lives in any way worth looking back upon? Domestic history. Thinkers as well as actors make history. Whal Christ ha.s done. II. WHETHER A MAN HAS SEEN Goo IN HIS LIFE on NOT. (Vers. 19, 29, 32, 39.) To most men God ba.s beeu only remotely related to their lives-a power at the back of things generally, but not occupying every single event and experience of their existence. To David and all the great saints of the world, God was everything and everywhere in his life. God had anointed him for every work and every office; and every event was a manifestation of his love and righteousness and power, 'l'he con- sciousness of such a past is very grand and elevating. Our life is rich or poor accordingly. Sense of God in common life and duties. III. WHETHER THE LIFE HAS DEEN RIGHTEOUS OR WICKED. (Ver. 20.) We turn our eyes from a life that has been ill spent, and are filled with reproach and sorrow. If we know that we have lived a wicked life, we know that we are unworthy and guilty, and are self-condemned. Whether David wrot-e this psalm before or after his sin with Bathsheba., we cannot say; but he affirms his righteousness in the mm-t emphatic way. "He has kept the ways of the Lord, and bas not wickedly departed. from him." Such a retrospect is full of deep power and sense of triumph. IV. WHETHER A MAN HAS ACHIEVED HIS OBJECTS OR NOT. (Vers. 37, 38, 48.) David was a king, and had been in many wars and troubles; but he had, through Goel, triumphed over all his difficulties and foes. How many of us fail, or only partly sncceed, in the things we aim at, because we have been profane and faithless I V. WHETHER WE HAVE A FUTURE TO .ANTICIPATE, AS WELL AS A PAST TO JtEMEM.DEII. To some the past is all; they have no future, But David had a bright future as well as a glorious past. "In thy presence is fulness of joy," eto.-S.