in the firmament above. And we gather from the forms of expression that the writer was accustomed to speak of natural phenomena in the langnage of bis day. In bis view the firmament of heaven spread out as a hemisphere above the earth, like a splendid and pellucid sapphire, in which the stars were supposed to be fixed, anct ove, which the Hebrews believed there was a heavenly ocean. 'l'he Bible was not meant to teach science, but to teach God. Science has to do with the matter, order, and laws 01 the creation. In religion we have to do with the great Author of all. And while we find the writer far enough away from our present conceptions of what the heavens are, we find he is one to whom God had spoken as Jehovah, the great I AM-and who had been taught God's Law to man as well as God's utterances in nature. And as God's voices to us have become clearer than they were in the psalmist's time, by his revelation in Christ Jesus, so the glory of his works has become amazingly clearer through the discoveries man has made therein; and he will fall very far short of a suitable setting forth of the truths of this first half of the psalm, who does not utilize the recent discoveries of science as a pedestal on which to set, in clearer and fuller ways, Jehovah's glory l The expositor is bound to show how gloriously science helps religion, in furnishing him with new material for setting forth the greatness of God l An unfolding of the verses before us will lead us along several lines of thought, with which we propose to deal cumulatively. I. THERE ABE NATURAL OBJECTS AND FACTS HERE SPECIFIED. 'l'he heavens. The firmament. The sun. The orderly succession of day and night. In regard to each o! the~e, science helps religion. And grand as was the scene in olden time to the natural eye, and with all the imperfections of ancient knowledge, the grandeur is unspenk- ably vaster now, owing to discoveries which have since been and are still being made (The expositor of this psalm needs to read up to date in astronomical researches,) II. AMONG THEM THERE IS INCESSANT ACTIVITY. "The heavens declare," etc. Their activity is not conscious on their part, but it is nevertheless real. Light is ever acting 011 the vegetable world, and helps to open the petals of the flower, to give blossom its colour, and fruit its sweetness. Thus there is a reciprocal relation established between the sunbeam and the plant. So also id there between the stars above us and the mind of man. And though they utter not a word (ver. 3, Hebrew), they are sounding forth a message to the soul of man. "Their line is gone out," .etc. (ver. 4). The word "line" is one of much interest. It meant, first, any cord or striog; then a string stretched out so as to emit a musical sound; then the sound emitted by the string; then a full musical chord. "For ever singing, ne they shine, ' The hand that mndo ue is Di vine I ' " III. THESE ACTIVITIES ARE WONDROUSLY VAnlED. The four verbs used here are all or them exceedingly expressive. 'l'he heavens are telling the glory of God, recounting it to us as in the pages or a book; the fii-mament is showing his handiwork, setting it before our eyes as in a picture; day unto day welleth forth speech, pouring it out as from a fountain; night unto night breatheth out knowledge, breathing it out gently so that the attentive listener may hear. "During the French Revolution, it was said to a peasant, 'I will have all your steeples pulled down, that you may no longer have any object by which you may be reminded of your old superstitions.' 'Ilut,' replied the peasant, 'you cannot help leaving us the stars.'" 1 JV. WITII ALL THIS VARIETY OF EXPllESSION', THEY TELL OF A CREATING POWER. .. The glory of Goel;" "The firmament showeth bis handiwork." ·when this is said, there 111e two points involved-one implied, the other expressed. It is implied that man has the faculty of understanding these varied forms of expression. Surely a. perceived object implies a perceiving subject, and a message addressed implies the existence of those by whom it can be uuder~tood. The question of the origin of things will, must, .come up; quite irrespccLively of method, there will be the question of cause. The old design argument is valid as ever, though it may need to be thrown into a different form. 'l'hat which it requires miucl to nndnstand, must a fortiori require the equivalent of mind to bring into beiug. From nature's framework, power, wisdom, benevolent adaptation, order, etc., are manifest. Evon the objection raised from the 1 Bates, • Oyoloprodia,' quoted by 0. H. S. lM THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB. XIX. 1-14.
existence of wasted seeds? a?Ortivo organs, rudimentary and undeveloped possibilities, comes to nought when it lS remembered that no atom of matter is wasted but, if unused at one moment, is worked up again in other collocations. The advanc'e of the most cultured thought at the present time is remarkable. The old atheism is now out of date; and so, intellectually, is even the old agnosticism. It is behind the times. The latest developmen~ of Darwinism ~onour ~od.1 But while on the ground of knowledge and culture, mtellect must admit the eustence of" a Power above us" it is only the lowly, devout, and loyal spirit that will see God in all thin us, and enjoy all things in God. " V. Goo's MESSAGE FBOH THE HEAVENS IS RESPONDED TO IN HOLY BONG. Whoso forgets the title of the psalm will miss much of its beauty and glory. It is meant for the choirmaster. It is to be set to music, and uttered in song. Poetry, music, song, are the audible response of man to the inaudible voices of the day and of the night. Through the stars, God speaks to man without words ; with his voice man speaks to God. Thus the universe is one grand antiphony. God's music delightin" man; man's music adoring God. The heavens speak to UB of God; we respond to the God of heaven. Note: .Although we do not wish here to anticipate unduly the teaching of the second half of this psalm, yet we may be permitted to remark that, glorious as the mnsic of the heavens is to those who have ears to hear, yet there is another messaue from the eternal throne, which alone tells us the thoughts God has towards us, ~d which, when understood and received, does touch our hearts and move our tongues to louder, sweeter, tenderer song than ever nature's glory could inspire.-C.