more ready to believe, Do we let men see this? And: 2. It alone is strong enough for tlie worlc. Let me tell you e. pare.hie. 'l'here was a tyrant who sought to oppress the inhabitants of e. certain land. The better to do this he built a strong castle, built it deep and high, and placed it at the entrance of a valley which led to the land he sought to oppress. A little stream ran along that valley near the foundation of his fortress; but he heeded not that, sure it could do no harm. Many who loved that land felt very sad RB they saw the oppressor's power; but yet they hoped that some- how his power would be overthrown. And so it came to pass. The summer went on and the autumn rains came, and the little rivulet became a rapid stream, and began to gnaw away at the foundations of that grim castle; but it could not do much harm. But the winter storms came, e.nd the stream swelled into a strong river, and began to be dangerous to the tyrant's fortress, so that he, at length, did feel fear. But matters grew worse; the winter was over, and the snow high up on the mountains which shut in the valley began to melt, and the river went on increasing in its might till, one wild night, the great reservoirs of waters that had been gathering all the winter through suddenly burst, and with a rush a[Jd a roar raged all down the valley, the waters bear- ing with them a vast mass of timber, stones, trees, earth, and all kinds of material; and they came down upon the tyrant's castle and overwhelmed it, sapping its foundations and tearing down its walls till it had perished out of sight. Such the parable. The interpretation is not far to seek. Heathendom is that fortress, and the prince of dark- ness he who built it. The rill, the stream, the river, the torrent, represent respectively the force of the motives which assail the strength of heathendom. The sense of fear, of duty, of pity, of glad joy in God. It is this last which alone avails; the others do but little, though some much more than the rest. "The joy of the Lord is our strength." III. THE SPIRIT OF SONG SHALL BE GIVEN TO THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN Tms SERVICE. For joy comes in the service of the Lord-true joy. Be not content until you know this joy, for not till then will you effectually serve.-S. C.
Ver. 6.-Strength and beauty. It is supposed that this psalm was composed for the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem; but it existed in the time of David, though it was doubtless used in the service of the second temple. The previous reference of the strength and beauty told of here is to the massive foundations and the solid struct:.Jre of the temple,-such was its strength; and the "beauty" told of the lavish adornments and the varied splendour and richness which characterized all the appointments of the house of the Lord. In very real and literal sense "strength and beauty were in his sanctuary." I. THEY ARE THE DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF ALL GoD's \VOEKS. "Jehovah made the heavens "-so we read in ver. 5; and assuredly they a.re seen there. And look where we will, it is the same. See the account of the Creation. II. THEY SHOULD BE IN OUR SANCTUARIES TO-DAV. It is a public dishonouring of God if men are content that the sanctuaries in which they worship should be mean and ill-appointed, as so many of them are, whilst in their own houses no costly expense is spared and no adornment withheld (see Hag. i. 4). On the other hand, the magnificent churches, minsters, abbeys, which still remain in this and other lands, have throughout all the long centuries since they were built borne silent but eloquent testimony to the reverence, love, and devotion towards God which dwelt in the hearts of their builders, and which it was their profound conviction ought to dwell in the hearts of all. Meanness and miserable selfishness often skulk behind the plea of spirituality of worshir, and that the heart is all that God desires. IH. THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE \VELl"ARE OF ANY CmracH. 1. Strength must be there. Not necessarily the strength of wealth, or intellect, or social rank, but spiritual strength-that strength which springs from a firm and living faith universally and tenaciously held, manifesting itself in conscientious adherence to the truth and unsullied righteousness of life, and nourished by fervent prayer and diligent use of all the means of grace. If such strength be wanting, then the glory of that Church has departed, and her decay and dissolution and degradation are at band. Ecclesiastical oraanization and money and property may keep up the scaffolding and outworks of su~h Church for a while, but ere long they too will fail, and the Church must die. 324 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB, XOVI, 1-18,
But with ~uch spiritual strength, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. 2. Ana there m"st be beauty also. "The beauty of holiness," in which we are bidden "worship the Lord" \ver. 9_). By this we understand that moral and spiritual beauty, such ns were pre-ernment m our Lord; that winsomeness and grace, that attractiveness of lovt and pity and compassionate helpfulness, that beautiful grace of which St. Paul in 1 Cor. xiii. has so much to say, that sweet reasonableness and evident sincerity, and that holy peace and joy which union with Christ imparts,-such is the beauty, the •:mly real beauty, which should be in the Church of the living God. IV. A:t-D 'l'HEY SHOULD CHARACTERIZE THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL, 1. Strength born of faith and love, which holds the soul true to Christ and causes it to be rooted like the oak, and grounded like the deep foundations of a temple, so that it can never be moved. 2. Then beauty. The superstructure, fair in form and symmetrical, that arrests the attention and awakens the delight 0f the beholder-that holy beauty of Christ-like character, which, with strength also, he is waiting and willing to impart to every faithful soul.-S. C.