HOMILIES BY V .ARIOUS .AUTHORS. Vera. 1-11.-The invitatory psalm. It has been thus called in Christian Liturgies throughout Christendom, and chiefly because of its fervent invitation to praise. But it is also an equally earnest invitation to hearken and to believe. Let us take that which stands at the beginning, and consider- !. THE INVITATION TO PRAISE. In this is shown: 1. To whom the praise is to be rendered. It is to Jehovah, the Rock of our salvation. 2. Think of the many minis- tries which the word" rock" reminds us of. Shade: for God was to his people as "the shadow of a great rock in a. weary land; " and be is so still. Defence : "Thou art my Rock and my Fortress." Strength: "Thou hast set my feet upon a rock." Supply: " He smote the rock," etc. (Pss. lxxviii. 20; lxxxi. 16). Dwelling-place: we read both in Isaiah and Jeremiah of "the inhabitants of the rock." Such were the ideas that gathered round this name of the Lord which the psalm summons men to praise. 3. The manner of the praise. It was to be by joyful song and resonant shout, with thanksgiving and with psalms. So hearty, so jubil:lnt, so universal, so emphatic, was to be the praise of the Lord. But in ver. 6 there is the call to yet more profound adoration and worship, since yet higher manifestations of God's grace are to be com- memorated. 'l'herefore note: 4. The reasons/or all this worship. A.nd (1) because of what God is-supreme over a.II the gods of the heathen; (2) because of his rule over the whole earth-its depths, its heights, the sea, and the land; (3) because-and here comes the summons to the higher praise spoken of-of what God is to his people- their Maker, their God, the Giver of their peace and rest (cf. Ps. xxiii., "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures"); so his people are " the people of his pasture." He is also their Guide, Defender, Ruler-" the sheep of his hand." Such are the ground11 -and surely they are adequate-for this reverent and yet exultant worship. A.nd they all remain still. II. 'l'HE 0ALL TO ·HEAR Goo's VOICE. (Ver. B.) For as the former verses had told of the rich and lofty privileges of the people of God, so these tell of their great peril-the peril of unbelief. This had beeu their ruin in days gone by, in all that weary forty years. Nothing else could harm them; but this wrought all their woe (cf. Heb. iv. 6-9). And what was true of old and of farael, is true to-day a.nd of our- selves. The righteous live by faith; no unbeliever can enter into God's rest. III. THE CALL TO FAITH. For this is the condition of our obtaining the prize of our hicrb calling. The rest of God is God's reward to his faithful people-a rest not alone in heaven hereafter, but here and now, whilst in this world, which Christ pro- mises to give, o.nd does give. Saints of old knew it; saints to-day enter into it. Christ dwelt in it, and so may we-if we believe.-S. !J, 314 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [l's. xov. 1-11.
Ver. 1.-Everybody oolled to praise God. The oa.11 to otTer God joyful thanksgiving is made to. e;erybody,. without quali6cation or limitation. It ma.y be tha.t certain fo~rns of D1vme worship a.re properly reserved for those who :are in certain states of mmd, or have voluntarily entered into certain relations; but the common duties of thanksgiving rest on all humanity-the claims of the God of providence and mercy should be felt, a.nd should be responded to, by every ma.n made in the Divine image. ~ ~trange notion has been allowed to gain some acceptance, that praise and thanks- givmg from the nnconverted can never be acceptable to God. The Scriptures give no countenance whatever to such a notion. Every ma.n is invited to praise God as well as he can. What God resists is insincerity. It does not matter how imperfect the praise may be, if it is but sincere. 'fhe terms of the text imply the union of music and song in God's worship. The psalmist invites to a full burst of instrumental a.ad vocal music, which will use up all kinds of human talents. Being a general call, it is a call to worship God with thanksgiving, which every man may be expected to feel; not with penitence, which only a few may feel. I. ALL MEN MAY JOIN IN RECOGNIZING WHAT Goo IS TO ALL MEN. 1. God the Creator. Open out the idea that wha.t God could say of his daily handiwork," Behold, it is very good," man, observing the further workings, the operations, of what God has made, ca.n repeat after him. Explain that, in a. large way, man could always, by observation, see the goodness of God in creation; in minute detail man's science sees it still. 2. God the Provider. " Giving to all their meat in due season." Here show that the extra.ordinary, such as provision of manna, only illustrates the ordinary, God giving all their daily bread. 3. God the Saviour. In the lower sense of Preserver, Defender, Deliverer, from the common ills and perils of life. Apa.rt, then, from all theological distinctions, a.II men should praise God. II. SOME MEN MAY JOIN IN RECOGNIZING WHAT GOD IS TO SOME MEN. 1. Some men have special persona.I experiences of God's dealings. 2. Some men know God a.s their Saviour from sin.-R. T.