11lace of honour by his side. 5. Her attendants should come from the nations, with their offerings of devotion (ver. 12), III. HERE IS THE Kmo's OFFSPRING. (Ver. 16.) The sacrifice which the bride liad made for the sake of the King shall be more than recompensed by her having ch1ldre11:,. who shou:d gather round her, and who should become" princes in the earth" (1 Pet. 11. 9; Rev. 1. 6; v. 10; xx. 6). IV. HERE IS FORETOLD THE KING1S UNIVERSAL AND ENDLESS PRAISE. (Ver. 17.) '.fhough the verse seems to be addressed immediately to the bride, evidently the carry- mg forward of the name to generation after generation is an honour chiefly of the King, and results from the bridal union. .And the praise which shall accrue will be from the peoples (Revised Version), from all the nations; and this praise will be for ever and ever (Ps. lxxii. 17). "Christ's espousing unto himself a Church, and gathering more and more from age to age by his ,vord and Spirit unto it, his converting of souls, and bringing them into the fellowship of his family, and giving unto them princely minds an~ affections wherever they live, are large matters of growing and everlasting glory " (Dickson). "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever."-C. Vers. 1-6.-The Kingship of Ohrist. The unerring instinct of the Church has interpreted this psalm of the Messiah. Each Jewish king, in a sense, foreshadowed the true King. Of Solomon it might be said, in a special manner, that he was a type of the true King; but take him "in all his glory," and he was only a type dim and imperfect. ".A greater than Solomon is here." Mark- I. THE PERFECTNESS OF ms CHARACTER. Christ's excellence is moral. All that was "fair" in others was but the broken fragments of the mirror. In him we see the J)erfection of beauty. Others might be "fair" in some things, and not in others, but in him all that is true and beautiful and good shines forth in harmony and fulness. •• He is alto,;ether lovely." .And the excellence of Christ is not only human, but Divine, 'Jhe glory of God shines in him. He is the perfect King, because be is the perfect Man; and he is the perfect Man, because "in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." His perfections, therefore, not only command the homage of all hearts, but they are unchanging and unchangeable as the glory of God. Il. THE SPLENDOUR OF ms ACHIEVEMENTS. In the ancient monuments of Egypt and .Assyria we see kings represented as going forth to conquer, and their enemies falling before their arrows. Such is the picture here. But the picture is relieved from ail terrors and gloom. The King who conquers here conquers because he is also a Prophet, and because his cause is the cause of right and truth. His sword is "the Word of God." His arrows are the arrows of righteousness. His victory is the victory of love. "Grace" is in his lips. "Truth and meekness" mark his progress, "The people fall under" him-fall to rise again in dignity and strength. III. THE BLESSEDNESS oF RIB REIGN. (Vers. 6-9.) 1. The righteousness of his administration. 2. The happiness of his subjects. 3. The perpetuity of his kingdom, The kingdoms of this world have no permanence. They contain within themselves the elements of decay. Kings and kingdoms pass away. "Sceptre and crown must tumble down, And in the grave be equal me.de With the poor crooked scythe and spade." But it is otherwise with the kingdom of Christ. It is" for ever and evor."-W. F. Ver. 16.-Fathers and children. We may consider three things. J. THE CHANGES OF LIFE. The fathers come first, then the children. There is a constant succession. We see the same on the earth. 'fho sun and moon and stars are the same that have boen from the beginning, but the scarred face of the earth indicates change. Tho year has its seasons. Fields white unto harvest to-day will be bare to-morrow. The leaves fade and others come in their places. So it is in life. Go where you will, the cry is, "Your fathers, where are they?" (Zech. i. 5). This throws great responsibility upon the Jiving. '!'hey stand between the past and t~e future. From the fathers the1 have received much, and of them the children require much, PS, %LVI, 1-11.] THE BOOI{ OF PSALMS. 357
They are the "heirs of all the ages," and they are bound to hand down, pure and entire, to those who come after, the glorious inheritance they have possessed. II. THE COMPENSATION!! OIi' LIFE. When the fathers are taken, we are ready to regard it as a calamity. If one falls who stood high in Church or state, we cry in our grief like David when Abner was slain, "Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?" (2 Sam. iii. 38). But God's hand is in these things. '£here is compensation. If the fathers go, it is that the children may take their places. 'l'he line is never broken. The order which God has fixed continues. If Moses dies, Joshua takes his place. If Elijah is carried into heaven, his mantle falls upon Elisha. If Stephen is martyred in the midst of his labours, God has a chosen vessel in pre- paration, to take up his work,and carry it out in nobler ways than he could have done. So it is still. Though there be breaks and interruptions and intervals when things were dark, yet the law holds good. Let us take heed. 'l'he future is the outcome of the present. We are sowing in the hearts of our children the harvests that are to be. Let us do our duty towards those who are to come in our place, and leave results to God. "0 Church of God," said Augustine, "think not thyself abandoned, because thou seest not Peter, nor seest Paul. Seest not thou through whom thou wast born ; out of thine own offspring hil.S a body of' fathers' been raised up to thee." III. THE DISTINOTIONB OF LIFE. 1. Their source is Divine. \Ve say the sovereign is the source of honour. So it is in the higher things. True honour is from God only, and he gives it to those alone whom he has" made" to be worthy (John i. 12). 2. Thei-r character is princely. When God makes princes, he makes princes in reality. He gives not only place, but power; and not only power, but the highest honours (Gen. xxxii. 28; 2 Tim. i. 7; Rev. i. 5). What Gideon's brethren were in appearance they are in reality (Judg. viii. 18). 3. Their influence is world-wide. Wherever they are known, they are honoured. What was true of the twelve is true in a measure of all Christ's servants (Matt. xix. 28). .As Samuel Rutherford said with his last breath," Glory dwelleth in Immanuel's land.»-w. F.