Ver. 2.-God the Living One. The precise expression here used is only found besides in Ps. xiii. 2. "In the New Testament the name • living Gfld' is found in St. Matthew's and St. John's Gospels, in the speech of Paul and Barnabas in the Acts (xiv. 14), in several of St. Paul's Epistles, four times in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and once in the Revelation." It is difficult to treat this subject as a universal experience, because our hearts are so full of the risen and Ii ving Christ, God manifest in the flesh, God manifest in the spirit. He is God, the living God, ever with us, as Helper, Iospirer, Comforter, and Sanctifier; but we may helpfully try to take the position of a "son of Korab," and begin by considering what the "living God" was to him. I. Goo THOUGHT OF IN MAN'S MEDITATIONS. Why did it not suffice this writer to read his Bible, study and think about God, in the land beyond the Jordan? A man can have feast-times, times or spiritual refreshing, in the privacy of his home, and in the midst of God's handiwork in nature. And every man ought to have such thoughts of God; nourish and cherish them. But here is the fact of human expe1 ience-God thought has never wholly sufficed and satisfied any human being yet, because rsan is a colllposite being. He is not all thought. He has a body. And this very thinking is dependent on the help that symbols-relative to the body-can bring. Devotees may strive to become all thought. 'l'hey do not thus transcend human nature, they degrade i,t. We must have more concerning our God than mere thinking about him; and therefore this Korahite longs for his revealed Presence in the temple. II. GOD REALIZED THROUGH APPOINTED SYMBOLS. Pious souls have always rei:og- nized a sense in which God is specially present in bis sanctuaries, and in his sacra- ments. God taught this to all the ages by the manifestation of his Presence in Jewi~h 198 THE BOOK 01<' PSALMS. [PS. LXlrXIV, 1-12,
tsbrrnacle and temple, by the brooding cloud and the Shechinah light. Who.t the p.•:d·1•i~t dwells on is, that he used to realize God's nearness when he looked on hie dwelling-plRCC, shared in his worship, and heard his priests. Urge that only a.t spiritual peril can men neglect the symbols of the presence aud working of the livina God. 0
III. Goo FELT IN MAN'S BEART AND LIFE. This is the full realization of God as the Living 01/e, living and working in us. Show this is an advance on sentiment, or mere thought of God, and on formalum, or mere outward worship of God. It is God in us, the inspiration of all good. It is" Christ our Life."-R. T.
Ver. 8.-Envy_ at tlie b~rds. 'l'he man prevented from she.ring in the pu'blic worship of the temple thmks en,1ously of the very sparrows and swallows that flit through its courts and build their nest.s under its eaves. Sparrows are very abundant in the East. Swallows make their nests, not only in the verandahs, but even in the rooms within the mosques, and in the sacred tomb~. Josephus tells us that the outer court; of the temple were planted with trees. "It is a singularly natural and beautiful conception which makes the psalmist think of the birds haunting there, as seeking the protection of God's altar for their young, and so enjoying a privilege which as yet he bas not." Evidently what is chiefly in his mind is the sense of peace and security which the birds have who make their homes within the precincts of God's temple. No one dis- turbs them. There a.re too many people a.bout for birds of prey to venture near. In the temple courts the poet thinks of them as away from all the "stress and strain" of life. Compare "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall a.bide under the shadow of the Almighty." I. THE PSALMIST ENVIES THE nmns TIIEill SECURITY. Probably he wrote when the land was in a disturbed state, and there was no restfulness or safety for any one any- where. And he must have felt this even more in the open and exposed districts beyond the Jordan. Illustrate from the idea. of "sanctuary," which was, in old times, attached to the temples. Once within them, no foe could assail. Dr. Turner tells us that in Samoa, the manslayer files to the house of the chief of the village; and in nine cases out of ten he is perfectly safe, if only he remains there. See how jealously Jews guarded their temple from the intrusion of strangers. In London of the olden time, Whitefriars, Westminster, and the Savoy were sanctuaries for all criminals except traitors. This feeling of security the Christian gains out of his daily apprehension of the Divine presence and defence. Round about him a.re the everlasting arms. He lives within the overshadowing spiritual temple. "What can harm u.q, if we be followers of that which is good," and have God upon our side? IL THE PSALlllBT ENVIES THE Bmos THEIR PEACE. Illustrate by dwelling fully on that strange, yet delightful quietness, restfulness, solemnity, which come upon us when we enter a cathedraL We feel as we feel nowhere else in the world. Our feeling answers to that of the Jew when entering his temple. Show how nourishing to all the finest elements of soul-life that atmosphere of peace is.-R. T.
Vers. 5, 6.-The joy of the pi1grims. In these verses there is a. blending of the real and the figurative; the actual journey towards Zion is represented as accompanied with ideal blessings of peace and refreshment. The poet has thought of the blessedness of those who dwell constantly in God's house. Now he thinks of the blessedness of those who are permitted to go there, and to tarry there for a while. And this leads him to recall what happy times he had known, even in the journeys to Jerusalem. Perowne says of the pilgrims to Zion, " Every spot of the familiar road, every station ae which they have reBted, lives in their heart. The path may be dry and dusty, through a lonely and sorrowful valley, but nevertheless they love it. The pilgrim-band, rich in hope, forget the trio.ls and difficulties of the way; hope changes the rugged and stony waste into living fountains.'' The valley of Ba.ea was the valley which led up from Jordan toward Jerusalem, and whose famous balsam trees wept balms. The thought for our consideratbn is this-the hearts that are truly set on God, and filled with desire to join in God's w:,rship, will cheerfully bear, and successfully master, all the difficul~ies that may be in their way. They make the very" valley of Baca" refreshing as e. spring, L TllE CB11.l8TlAll PILGRUl FINDS HIS WAY LIES THROUGH VALLEYS OF BAO.A., PB, LXXXIV, 1-12.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 199