Taking hold of God'e strength, we wax etrong. All that is deepest and truest in 011, hearts co.lie upon us to be bro.ve, and to quit ourselves like men. We are in the way of duty, and are able to say, like the king in the story," Come on, come all; this rock shall fly from its firm base as soon as I." The experience of the past and the sure word of promise raise our hopes. We look to the future with confidence. In all onr wanderings God watchee over us. In all our weaknesses and sorrows God stands by us with tender compassion for our weaknesses, and with loving consolations for our sorrows. The victory will be with the right (vers. 10-13). If God has begun a good work in us, be will carry it on to tho end. He who has been our Refuge in the 1>ast will not fail us in the future. Therefore let us go forward bravely in the path of duty, not counting our lives dear unto ourselves, so that we may be found faithful to him who bath called us, and finish our course with joy.-W. F. Ver. 12.-Vows. The first time we read of vows in the Bible is in Gen. xxviii. 20, where it is said, "And Jacob vowed a vow." Sometimes vows were made at special times and for special purposes; but, in the deepest sense, God's people felt that to t.hem life was a vow; at every moment and through all changes they were under the law of consecration to God. The words of the psalmist may be held as appropriate to the period of entering upon a new year. This is a fitting time- I. FoB THANKFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF Goo's MERCIES. The eye is upon the past, and as the memory calls up God'8 deeds of love, the heart glows with gratitude. "I will render praises unto thee." How just and reasonable!-" For thou hast delivered my soul from death." II. EARNEST PRAYER TO Goo FOR SPIRITUAL HELP. The future has its dangers. The biographies of good men, our own experiences, and the circumstances of our lot, warn us that we are liable to fall. In our weakness and fear we cry to God, " Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling?" Falls are hurtful to ourselves and to others. Therefore our cry should be the more urgent to him who is "able to keep us from falling" (Jude 24). The deliverances of the past are a strong pica for deliverance in the future. As Cowper has said of gifts, we may say of deliverances-- "The best return for one like me, So wretched e.nd so poor, Is from his gifts to draw ~ plea, And ask him still for more." III. RENEWAL OF OUR COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS. '"fhy vows." It is well for OS to consecrate ourselves afresh to God. 1. 'lo walk before God. 2. In the light of the living. Christ is the Living One (Rev. i. 18). The saints are the living (1 Thess. v. 4-10). It is in the light of Christ, and in fellowship with his people, that we can best fulfil our course here, and best prepare for the services of eternity. How sweet the light instead of the darkness I and how blessed life instead of death !-W. F. Vers, 1-13.-The struggle and victory of faith. The contents of this psalm may be summed up as the struggle and the victory of faith. I. THE STRUGGLE OF FAITH. He is in great fear and danger on account of the plots and wickedness of his enemies. They fight against him with the most dangerous weapons they ce.n command. He does not seek to defend himself with counter-plots such as they employed. What are his weapons? The one mighty weapcn of trust in God. 1. lll the merciful protection of the .Almighty One. (Ver. 1.) lu the power of God as contrasted with the weakness of man. 2. In the word of God's eternal promise. "When I am encompassed with fear, then do I trust and praise his faithful word" (vers. 3 and 4). 3, In God's reti-ibutive justice. (Ver. 7.) That be will overturn and punish all evil-doers. 4. In the tenderness and strength of t.~e Divine sympathy. Gol counts his sighs, put his tears io. his bottle, e.nd records them in his book ofromembrance. II. THE VIOTORY OF FAITH. (Vera. 9-13.) 1. .And will put his enemies to jligl1t when he calls upon him. (Ver. 9.) Of this he is triumphantly assured, even against all present appearances. 2. He knows that God is on his side. (Ver. 9.) God always on the side of the righteous, to protect them from all real harm. " If God be for us. 6 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PS. I.Vil. 1-lL
\\ :10can be against us?" 3. He sees his aaluation as an already accomplished fact. (\'er. 13.) Fait.h sees the future in the present, and the distant in the near (Heh. xi. 1). 4. He is thus filled with the spirit of praise and .fidelity. (Ve1·. 12.) Will perform bis vows and render thanks. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith."--S.