Ver. 36.-The worship that God hates . . L IT IB ALL TOO COMMON. This psalm 18 all taken up 'll"ith the record of such worship. And it did not begin with the people told of here. What was Cain's worship but so much flattery and lying unto God? And all through the prophetic history, the like worship is perpetually denounced. Tho one class of people whose presence and contact even the wonted gentleness of our Lord could not al,ide were such as these-hypocrites. We know with what scathing words he was wont to address them. And the apostles of our Lord, after his ascension, were co11tinually meeting with it and condemning it. And it is rife and rampant still. How terrible the contrast, so widely seen, between what men profess and what they really are and do! But- Jl. How IS IT TO BE ACCOtmT.!D FOR? 1. Sometimea the visible anger of God will lead to it. It is the too common product of a religion begotten of terror and abject fear (see ver. 34.; and cf. Isa. xxv. 9). Such times will make men profess anything that they think will get them telief. 2. &metimes le is from the contagion of common custom. Every body makes a profession of religion; in mauy circles it is held to be bad form not to do something of the kind, But it makes no sort of difference to the real character or the ordinary conduct. It leaves the heart untouched, and too often worse than that. 3. There is a secret, undefined trust that there is some good in it, PS, LXXVIII. 1-72,] THE DOOK OF PSALMS. 137
after all. People do not flatter their fellow-men, nor tell lies to them when they are perfectly sure that no nd v1mtage will result; still less if they are sure that harm will follow. But they think they will be advantaged by it, perhaps greatly. And so in regard to God, Men think that their attention to religious observances, and the loud profession they make, must count for something to their advantage when the great reckoning-day comes. And hence the flattering and lying told of here go on. 4. And such people encourage one another. Religious teachers, judging only by what they see-and they cannot do much more-assume that all is right, and hope for the best, and so insensibly soothe those who really need to be aroused from their condition ai with the trump of doom. Even under a generally faithful ministry a man who will not give up his sin can manage to suck a poisonous satisfaction from these flatteries and lies, whereby he has probably first of all deceived himself, and hopes to deceive God, as he has his ministers and his Church generally. But- 111. WHAT COMES OF IT? 1. If there be amendment of conduct, it is very short- lived (vers. 34-40). 2. A heart made harder than before. 3. Repeated Divine chastisements, so that their life is a wretched one. 4. Final an.l utter rejection (vers. 59, 60). IV. ,VHAT DOES ALL THIS BAY TO us? 1. Examine yourselves. Do you give time to regular secret prayer? Are you really consecrated to God? If so, then: 2. '!'rust Christ to keep you hour by hour and day by day.-S. C. Ver. 40.-Provoking God. Israel did this, and notwithstanding every inducement to do otherwise. We note- I. MANY PEOPLE DO THE LIKE STILL. God speaks plainly, loudly, persistently, by his Spirit, his providence, his Word, his judgments, and yet, etc. II. AND TliEY WILL CONTmUE TO DO so UNLESS (1) they be willing to give up their sin; and (2) set themselves to seek the Lord. III. HAVE WE DONE so? Then: 1. Truly repent. 2. Trust Christ. 3. Be filled with the Spirit.-S. C. Ver. 40.-How oft did they provoke 1 I. ANSWER THE QUESTION. This long psalm supplies a sample of Israel's sin. Their provok.ings were so frequent that the whole history of the people, stretching over many generations and long centuries, seemed to be all of a piece, and is called " the day of provocation." II. INQUIRE now THEY PROVOKED GoD 'i By the perpetual repetition of ihe wretched round of sin, and then repentance. If ihey had done nothing else but sin, they would quickly have perished; if they had sinned once, and done with it, their history would have been a far happier one; but it was this perpetual backsliding which provoked God. Iii. WHY WAS IT? Them was: 1. The force of example; all the nations round, the greatest and most glorious of them included, worshipped idols. 2. Then the indulgence which idolatry gave to sin; it was such an easy religion. 3. The difficulty of realizing the unseen, of living by faith. 4. The cravings of a corrupt nature. IV. WHAT MADE THEIR CONDUCT 110 WICKED? 1. It was such madness. Nothing but evil had ever come of their sin, and yet they went arte1· it again. 2. Such ingrati- tude to God. What had he not done for them? 3. The terrible harm they did to their children aocl to the whole world. V. WHAT CAME OF IT? What always must come-repeated and terrible chastise- ment, and rejection at the last.-S. C.
Ver. 41.-Limiting God. This psalm contains many instances of this. It is a painful thing to see even a bird or beast, m11de for freedom and longiug 11fter it, caged or chained or otherwise kept in captivity. Yet more is it distressing to see a m11n of noble aspiration, of lofty capacity, of patriotic spirit, and inteut on doing good, get "cribbed, cabined, and confined" by petty prejudices, mean jealousies, base motives, and vile conduct, on the part of those around him; and often such a sight has been seen. And the cry of a soul awfully limited and bound down is heard in Rom. vii. 24, "O wretched mo.n that I am I who shall deliver me,'~ etc. ? What barrier in the way of blessing do such limitings set up? Ilut whl\t must it be to limit God? How much more sad and deplorable that must be! Now- THE BOOK OF PSALMS, [PS, LXXVIII, 1-72,