HOMILIES DY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-13.-The psalmist in three aspects. I. As A MAN TO BE PITIED. The sufferings described are many and great. They threatened to be overwhelming. With- out, there was no escape; within, there was no peace. Crying for help brought no rescue, and waiting upon God brought no deliverance. Hope deferred made the heart sick. Disappointment only called forth more bitter scorn from enemies, and made the ills that nrnJtiplicd more and more hard to bear._ Besides, there was the distressful feeling that the evils that ha.d come were in large part unmerited, and that the hate of enemil'S was as unjust as it was unprovoked. When we find a man in such a case, we cannot but sympathize with him. He may be too magnanimous to crave our pity, but all the more our heart goes out to him in compassion, and our prayers are joined with his for deliverance (Job vi 14; xix. 21; 1 Pet. iii. 8). It is one of the advan- tages of suffering that, while it may be a salutary discipline to the sufferer, it becomes a mean& of calling forth brotherly kindness and manly help from beholders. II . .AB A i;n,.,--xa TO BE OO:!-."DDQ."ED. There arc some who rcsen t any condemnation of the psalmist. They say he wa.s inspired, that he was one of the " holy men who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." This is true, but all the same, he speaks of himself as a sinner, and we are more likely to deal truly with him by taking him on his own judgment than by setting him up as if he were perfect, and as if his confessions of sin and folly were made in some non-natural sense. Besides, there are evident proofs here of the working of sin, of the flesh lusting against the spirit, of the struggle which all good men have to make against the rise of unholy passions in time of temptation. If we arc to take the language (in vers. 22-28) jn~t as we fin~ it, and if we are to understand it as used by a man of undoubted but of imperfect piety, we cannot but regard it as highly culpable. There is more here than just i?dignati_on. 'l'be life of the psalmist had been made bitter by the rancour and bate of his enemies, and be seems to give way to wrath, and to hurl back upon his foes the curses whicl1 they bad so cruelly heaped upon himself. But be this as it may, it is plain that we should guard against indulgence in such language. It i,i not for us to judge others; it is not for us to return e1·il for evil Christ bas taught us that they greatly erred who said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, bot hate thine enemy" (Matt. v.. 43-45). Rather we are to love our enemies. And what our Lord taught us by word he illustrated in Lis life. Even of those whose bands were red with bis blood, he said, "Father, foroive them·" and his return for all the hate and malice and cruelty of the wicked Jc,'.;s was to :.Cnd them first of all the gospel of peace (Luke xxiii. 24; xxiv. 4i). If we indulge in resentment, we not only hurt ourselves, but we wrong our brother, for, however badly a n:,an may use us, be is still our brother, and w_e sho_uld not put a greater barrier between Lim and us by wrath, but rather try to brmg him to a better r:niad by love aud mercy (Rom. xii. 19-21). IIL As A SAINT TO BE IMI'l'ATED. The very fact that we cannot and dare not follow the psalmist in all that we find here, is evidence of his imperfection. We are rR. LUX, 1-36.] 'l'HE BOOK OF PSALMS. 67
bound to use our reason-to examine things by the stan<larcl of God'd Law and the Spirit of Christ, We should only imitate what is good, and what commends itself to our consciences and hearts as good (1 Cor. xi. 1; Eph. v. 1, 2). But if we consider, we aha.II find much here to admire, and therefore to imitate. It would be well for us, like the psalmist, to call upon God in the day of trouble. We may be in Rtraits, but he can help. We may be repulsed on all sides, and lonely, but he will not cast us o!L We should also learn from the psalmist not to plead our own merits, but to cast our- selves on God's mercy. God knows what is best. Above all, we should do what the psalmist could only do imperfectly, in the dim light of the days before the gospel- we should look to Christ, and learn of him how to behave ourselves in times of suffcriog.-W. F.
Vers. 30-36.-Praise. I. GRANDEST THEME. "Name of God." Take Exod. iii. 14, where God is called the "I am;" or the next verse, where as "the Lord God of your father~, tl,e God of Abralum, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," he says, "'l'his is my Name for ever." Or take Exod. xxxiv. 6, or some of the great titles given to God: Jehovah-jireh (Gen. xxii. 14); Jehovah-tsiclkenu (J er. uxiii. 16); Jehovah-shalom (Judg. vi. 24); Jehovah-nissi (Exod. xvii. 15). What a gLrious subject, with endless variety of charm 1 II. NOBLEST INSPIRATION. "Thanksgiving." This implies in the sin~er a right relation and a right spirit. We can only praise God aright as we know him as Gud, and as our hearts glow with love to him as our God and our Redeemer. III. TBUEST P0PULABITY. It is not what pleases the people that stands highest, but what pleases God. He looks to the heart. He distinguishes between the form and the spirit. 'fhe sacrifice which is acceptable to him is that which is offered in faith and love. The two mites of the humble widow far transcend the splendid gifts of the proud Pharisees. IV. THE MOST POWERFUL ARGUMEJIT. (Ver. 33.) "For." Reference is made to God's love of the poor; God'~ rescue of the oppreosed, his " prisoners," from Joseph in Egypt, down to John at Patmos; God's promotion of righteousness and mercy and peace. V. THE MOST DELIGHTFUL CONCLUSION. (Vers. 34--36.) True in part of Judah and Zion, but finding its highest fulfilment in him who is the true King of meo, and whose rule alone can unite Jew a:id Gentile, and bring joy to heaven and earth. -W.F. Ver. 32.-Here are three greatest things. I. THE GREATEST TnL,G IN MAN. The "heart." It is the heart that marks charactf:r (Prnv. xxiii. 7); that settles worth (1 Sam. xvi. 7); that det~rmines destiny (Rom. x. 9, 10; Prnv. iv. 23). Even among men, the man who has "no heart," whatever else he may have, is despised ; whereas he who has a kiud heart, though he may have many failings, i~ beloved (cf. Nabal and David). II. 'l'HE GREATEST WORK FOR MAN. "Seek God." This implies that, though rran is separated from God through sin, there is a possibility of return. God bas drawn near to us, and we may draw near to God. Chri~t is the true Mercy-srnt. Jn him GL,d and man meet and are reconciled. The chief object of life is to seek God (Ps. xxvii. 8; Isa. Iv. 6). In his works and in his Word, in the Person of his Son and in d,,iog his will by the Spirit, he is evermore to be fowid of those who truly seek him (Isa. xlv. 19 ; Amos v. 8). Ill. 'l'llE GREATEST BLESSEDNESS FOB MAN. "Live." Life is the greatest boon- but only when it is tho life of the heart.