Vers. 2--4.-The security of God's pled_qed word. "Thy seed will I establish for ever." The key-note of the psalm is the " faithfulness" of God to bis word, "God bad entered into • an everlasting covenant' with David, and had confirmed that covenant with an oath. In the most absolute and unconditional form, God had pledged himself to establish the kingdom of David and his seed for ever, to beat down all their adveraaries under their feet, and to maintain their throne as long as the sun and moon should endure" (see 2 Sam. vii. 8-16; Isa. Iv. 3). The psalmist lived when men were tempted to think God was forgetting his word, or failing to fulfil it. But he persisted in it that, whatever appearances might suggest, God never forgot his word, never failed to fulfil his word, and the covenant with David was being kept, in the fullest and best sense, though it might prove to be a spiritual rather than a material sense. I. Goo's WORD MUST ALWAYS BE TAKEN WITH GoD's MEANING. So often men fix: their own meanings to what God Rays or promises, and then they are surprised aud disheartened because that does not happen which they expect. Take two illustrations. Men said that God's covenant with David meant that there should always be a Davidic kingdom, and always a member of David's house on its throne. That was man's meaning put ou God's words; that was not God's meaning put into his own words. So the Jews read into the prophecies their expectations of a temporal, delivering Messiah, and the Messiah who came was no fulfilment of their dreams. We need to learn that, whatever God 8ays, using material terms and figures, is but illustrative of spiritual fact or truth. David's perpetual kingdom is Messiah's spiritual kingdom. Read with God's meaning, God's word stands eternally true. And if spiritual sensi- bilities are duly awakened and cultured, the spiritual meanings and spiritual ful.filmentd come to be regarded as really the only important ones. II. Gon's WORD TO SOME MUST BE TAKEN TO REPF.F.SENT GoD's PURPOSE FOR ALL. Much mistake has been made by regarding God's covenants with individuals as mere privileges of the individual. God put:! his covenant into a form for some, that e.11 men may be helped to understand what his covenant with all men is. The illustrative 2,jQ THE BOOR OF PSALMS. [PB, LXXXtX. 1-$2,
charact-0r of all local covenants needs to be more fully apprehended, and more clearly pointe,1 out.. "Every Divine promise is but a limited expression of a 11,"eneral principle; cHry Di"rine covenant, even if it be made with a few, is nevertheless made for the benefit of the mimy, and can only be an instance of his ways, an illustration of a mercy ns wide as the heavens, and of a faithfulness which extends to all generations of ruankind."-R. T.
Ver. 5.-The Lor<I's saints. The Bible writers seem to think that the angelR must be referred to by this term. But God's people are certainly called " saints " in the Psalms, as in Ps. c~Yi.15. There may be intended a contrast between heaven and earth in this verse. Heaven above and the earth below unite to praise the faithful- uess of God. The term "saints" is one that we find difficult to apply, in a general way, to God's people, because it seems to assume an actual and perfect holiness, which we can neither find in ourselves nor ascribe to others. And, on the other hanrl, the term " saints" hM been deteriorated by its application to the hermit class, who, by bodily austerities, have endeavoured to cleanse away sin and ma.~ter passion. We have but little admiration for "saints" aft.er that pattern. The Old Testament term has a clear, well-defined meaning. Its idea is "separated ones." It stands for all the people of Israel rega.rde.J. as separate.J. unto God-bis peculiar people. Then as "holiness" is specially associated with God, a.nd is his supreme requirement of those who belong to him, God's saints, or sepa.rated ones, come to be thought of a.s " holy ones," and so we get our modem idea of the saint. GiviD.g the widest, and yet most searching, application of the term, we may say- I. THE LORD'S SAINTS ARE TIIOSE WHO ARE SEPARATED FROM SELF. Illustra.te this by the contrast of the Israelite nation with the Gentile nations. God left the Gentiles to a free experiment. By self-effort and self-service they were to win the highest possibilities of humanity, iC they could. Israel was taken out of this self-experiment, separated from the nations and from the self-service. So now the Christian is the man who, in the world of self-interests, is separated from the self-seeking principle. The Christian's Lord "pleased not himself." Christians do not "seek their own." Their saintliness lies in this: "By love they serve one another.'' IL THE Lonn's SAINTS ARE THOSE wao ABE SEPARATED UNTO GoD. (1) That they may praise his Na.me; (2) carry out his mission; (3) witness for his truth; (4) obey his will; (5) ca.tch and reflect his Spirit. So their sa.intliness comes to be godli- ness, God-likeness, and this really is Christliness, Christ-likeness. 'l'he Christian sa.int is the man in Christ.-R. T. Ver. 6.-Comparisons with Jehovah. "Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord ? " It does not come to our minds to a.ttempt any comparisons of God with a.oy one, because, according to our a.ssociations, there is no one on the same plane with him, and so no comparisons are sul!'.gested. But in ancient times every na.tion had its separate deity; these deities were thought, by their worshippers, to be real and supreme, and so comparisons with Jehovah could be made. They were made, by outsiders, to his disa.dvantage; a.ad they might well be made, by psalmist and prophet, to his honour (see the eloquent comparisons in Isa. :d.). Here the psalmist is but assuring himself by thinking high things of God, because the actual present dealings of God suggested doubting thoughts. What God is al ways steadies our thinking when we are perple_xed by what God does. The comparison need not be fully elabora.ted; the following points may be illustrated. I. GoD IS JNCOMP.A.BAJILE IN l'OWEB, If God does a thing, we may first of all sa.y he was under no compulsion to do it. He could have done otherwise. If he has put forth his power in this particular way, we may be sure he willed to act this war, and l1is will is based oo perfect knowledge and absolute wisdom. Of no created bemg, of no so-called deity, can it be declared that he has uncontrolled power, and yet the power is in no way to be feared, becall8e it is in the control of perfect intelligence, absolute wisdom, and infinite love. II. Goo 1s INCOMPARABLE IN PUBITY. Here the Dne idea on which we may dwell is God's truthfulness, faithfulness, to his word. Scripture consta.ntly asserts tha.t God never disappoints m.en. He is true to his word. 'l'his cannot be asserted of any created PA, LXXXIX, 1-62,] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 251