garb, flings aside his blunted axe-he is the messenger sent to lead the pardoned offender into the King's presence. "Death I" the Christian may say·1 "grim sentinel nt the gate of immortality; si~e_nt porter at the door of my Father's house; my flesh shudders at thee, but my spmt fears thee not, Jesus has conquered thee for me. Becau~e he lives, I shall live also I " II. PAST DELIVERANCE THUS THANKFULLY AOKNOWI,EDGED FURNISHES AN ARGU• MEKT Fon HOPE, AND A PLEA IN PRAYER. "Wilt thou not," etc.? "I beseech thee to do 80: I am sure thou wilt.'' It is an argument from the greater to the leRs • like :St. Paul's in Rom. viii. 32. A remarkable and powerful argument, becnuse bas~d on the faithfulness of God's character and the continuity of bis dealings. Can he awaken hope only to disappoint? If he has raised a soul from death, reconciled a sinner to himself through the death of Jesus, taught him by his own Spirit to pray, trust, love, ----can he forget to be gracious? Impossible I Is it, then, impossible for a believer to f~l-for a soul once saved to perish? Not only possible, but inevitable, if left to h11nself. But surely that is the wrong question to put. Will the Saviour forsake a soul tbat wholly trusts him? Christ's answer is given (John x. 28-30; 2 Tim. i. 12). This logic of faith the psalmist turns into the rhetoric of prayer. The arrows of prayer, feathered with praise for blessings already received, fly swift and sure: because those blessings are the earnest of others, failing which they would be useless (Phil. iv. 6). l\fay we apply this argument to temporal, earthly blessings as well as spiritual? .Assuredly; provided always we bear in mind the ruling aim of God's Fatherly guid- ance. We are travellers, not tourists; our route must be chosen mainly, not for the pleasure of the scenery, but as the right road to our home. But when God led hie people through the wilderness, he did not forget the daily manna and the water- springs, the cloud by day and the fire by night (Matt. vi. 31-33).
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-13.-Fear and deliverance, Taking this psalm as David's, we may use it to illustrate two great truths. I. "THE FEAR OF MAN BRINGETH A BNARE." (Prov. xxix. 25.) The best of men are but men at the best. David was a man of splendid courage and generosity; but there were times when he grie'l'Ously erred (1 Sam. xxi. 10-15). It was said by Dr. .Arnold, "The fear of God makes no man do anything mean or dishonourable, but the fear of man does lead to all sorts of weakness and baseness." We may see here how the fear or man leads to failure in truth. When the thought of self is uppermost, we are apt to resort to our own devices. God's ways are too slow, so we turn to our own way. Children, through fear, will tell lies. We pity them and forgive. But, alas I we do not ourselves wholly put away childish things. Abraham prevaricated. David practised deceit. Peter denied his Lord. The fear of man also leads to the sacrifice of independenC£. Imagination working through fear exaggerates our danger. We become restless and impatient. Instead of bravely facing our foes, we shrink from the path of duty. .. He is a slave who will not be In the truth, with two or three." But, worse still, the fear of man may lead to failure in justice and gene1·osity, We are apt to put ourselves first. To save our miserable lives is the chief thing. Rather than that we should suffer, we would Jet others suffer. Rather than that we should be put to shame, we would have our opponents "cast down." Thie is the mean, selfish spirit which Satan recognized as so strong in human nature, when he said, ".A.II that a man hath will he give for hie life." II. GoD DELIVERETH BIB SERVANTS THAT TRUST IN HIM, (Dan. iii. 28.) How naturally David turned to God in trouble I Circumstances moved him, but there was more-love conlitrained him. His heart went forth in clinging trust to God. Faith is the true antidote to fear. It lifts us out of the dust. It places us by the side of God. It fills our eoul with peace and hope. Through trust we gain courage to face the foe (ver. 6). Further, we obtain resolution to continue the conflict (vers. 7-9). Jill. LVI. 1-10.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS.