capable of snhluing nn i taming it, Hence 6; xxxviii. 26-28; Ps, oxlvil, 18; Jor. v. 24; the ndrnir:1tic>n cxcilC'd by our Lord's Mntt. v. 45). Thou greatly enrioheat it with mimclc (J\fatt. Yiii. 26, 27). Th& noise of the river of God. Thero is no "with" in their waves (C'Omps l1.1a. xvii. 12). And the the original; and the two clausrs are better tumult of the people. This clause may taken scpAratoly. Translnte, T/1011 greatly 11eem a little out of plAce in a passage which enrichm it; the rii-er ot, God is f11ll of water. treats of God's power O'l"er nature. But, e.ftcr By "the river of God ' is to be understood ell. bumRnity is n constituent part of nature. God's store of water in the olouds and Yer. 8.-Tbey also tb&t dwell in the atmosphere, which be can at any time retain uttermost pe.rtll a.re &fr&id of thy tokens; or let loose. Thon prepe.reat them com, when i.e. they Sl"e tb.y tokens-indications of thy thou hut so provided for it; rather, u,hen mighty power-nnd nre filled mtb. awe. tho" hast 10 prepared her (the enrlh). By Thou me.kest the outgoings of the morning thus preparing the enrth for the sowing. &nd eveni.ig (or, the porUJls of morn andei,e- God prepares for men the corn whioh they the gatew.. ys through which the sun comes ultimately obtniu at the hnrvest. forth each morning end retires each e'l"en- Ver. 10.-Tbou waterest the ridges thereof ing) to rejoice; i.e. to gladden mankind., to abundantly; rather, the furrows (Hengsten- spread joy and gladness over the c-arth. The berg, !fay, Cheyne, Revised Version). Thou splendour of sunrise and sunset a.re in the settlest tho furrows thereof; rather, thou poet"s mind. smoothut down its ridge,. So covering up the gro.iu, o.nd bringing the rough ploughed Vers. 9-13.-In Mnclusion, the pse.lrnist land to a. comparatively smooth surface. praises God for his bountiful prondence Thou makest it soft with showers : thou with respect to the harvest. According to blessest the springing thereof. The whole some, the whole poem is essentially a harvest ground being softened with warm showers, thanksgi'l"ing, and the poet now "comes at the springing of the blo.de begins under God's blessing. last to the point aimed nt from the first." He Ver. 11.-Thou crownest the year with traces the n·l..10le proc·ess by which the glori- thy goodness. As God had begun, so he ous termination is arrived a.t. First, the goes on to the "crowning" of the whole. "ca1 ly rain," descending from "the river of And thy pe.ths drop fatness. As he moves God," or the reservoir for rain which God o.bont, visiting the earth (ver. !l), there drop from him fertility and abundance. guards in the hea.'l"ens (Job x.urui. 37), \'er. 12.-Thoy drop upon the pamires of moist.en ing the furrows, softeuing the ridges, the wildemess; rather, tlte pastures of the and preparing the land fur the see<l-corn. v,ilderness drip with it; i.e. with the "fat- Then the sowing, which, being man's work, is ness" which is shed from God's presence. but just touched 011 (ver. !l, ad fin.). After And the little hills rejoice on every Bide j literally, are girded 'IIJ'ithjoy. that, the "latter rn.in "-the gentle showers Ver. 13.-The pe.stures are clothed with of March o.nd April-which c:i.uso the .,,ain flocks; or, v,ith their floe.Tc,; i.e. the flooks to burst o.nd the blade to spring, nnd the ear befitting them. The valleys also are to form itself, an<l turn the dull fallow into covered over with oom. The grent open a maBB of greenery (vers. 10, 12), At last, sweeps between the mnges of bills are completely covered over with grain crops, the full result--pastures clothed with flocks; wheat, barley, millet; o.nd the result is that valleys, the " long Lroad sweeps between they seem to shout for joy, they also Bing, parallel ranges of Lill•," covered over with This is better than the rendering of Ewald corn; Rll nature laughing and shouting for and Delitzsch, "Me.n shouts for joy; he joy (ver. 13). sings." All the poets personify Nature, and make her sympe.thiztJ with human kind Ver. !l.-Thou visite&t the earth, &nd (r,omp. Isa. xiv. 8; xuv. 1; Iv. 12; Virg., watere■t it (comp. Job u:xvi. 27, 28; xxxvii. • Ector.,' v. 62; • Georg.,' iv. 401).
HOMILETICS. Ver. 2.-The privilege and duty of prayer. "Thou that heareet prayer." All prac- tical religion rests on this fact-that God hears prayer. A God who could not or ,rnuld not hear prayer an nlmighty Creator with whom we could hold no converse, would not be God to u:. We could not say, "0 God, thou art my God I " There would be no impiety in the question, "What profit shall we have if we pray unto him?" The Epicureans, who taught that there are gods, but tho.t they do not concer~ th~m- selves with human affairs, were praetically atheists. Prnyer is the one conscious lmk PB, LXV, 1-13,] TIIE BOOK OF PSALMS. 31