joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge." God dwells there, making Himself the refuge and defence of His people.

Then the invaders are described as gathered under its walls; but they are awe-struck as they gaze upon the city; "For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind."

The kings of Assyria and others had gone against Jerusalem; but scarcely had they looked upon the city, when they hastened away from it in anxious flight. They were soon scattered, like the ships of Tarshish in a storm. A panic seized them: they approached the city, they looked, they fled.

The people of God are described as being filled with joy and thankfulness, as they gaze upon their heaven-defended city. They exclaim, "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of Hosts;" our hearsay is now exchanged for actual experience; for we now see that God is as good as His word: "God will establish it (the city) for ever. We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. According to

thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth;" according as men know God, they will praise and magnify Him for His unceasing goodness. And they will see that that goodness is unbounded; it extends to the very ends of the earth.

There seemed at one time to be a cloud hanging over the city of Jerusalem, as the enemy approached it with his threatenings. It seemed to be a night of terror. But suddenly the sun rose, and the clouds dispersed, and she stood out safe and unscathed, so that they could but exclaim, "Walk about Zion, and go round about her. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generations following." And then it is added; "This God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."

Such are the cheering words of this glorious Psalm. And surely, if God thus stood forth as the Defender of His holy city Jerusalem, will He not defend His Church for ever? Her enemies are many and great; but she is under His protection; and no weapon formed against her shall prosper.

And as it is with God's Church collectively, so will it be with each one of His children individually. You and I may take up this language, and say, “This God is my God for ever and ever: he will be my guide even unto death."

PSALM XLIX. 1-14.

Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever); that he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly; yet their posterity approve their sayings. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

THE writer of this Psalm calls upon all persons, of every class, "both low and high, rich and poor, together," to hear what he has to say; for he

has much wisdom to utter, and an important "parable" or lesson to unfold.

He then speaks of the impotence of the wicked, and of the temptation which the righteous often feel regarding their apparent prosperity; "Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil?" that is, why should I be distressed or disturbed when ungodliness seems to have the upper hand? Though God may appear as though He overlooked it, surely He does not slumber or sleep.

What are we to understand by the expression in the fifth verse, "When the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?" It probably means, when the iniquity of my pursuers or enemies

presses upon me.

The Psalmist shows that those who "trust in their wealth" cannot buy off death, either in their own case, or in that of others. Money may purchase much, but it cannot redeem a soul; eternal life it cannot buy. There have been those who would have offered all their wealth to the physician who could have said, "Behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years." There have been those who have hung over the dying bed of a beloved child, or wife, or brother, and were ready to say, 'O Lord, stay now Thine hand; and give me any cross but this. Take what thou wilt, but spare, O spare this loved one.' And yet how utterly powerless man is to ward off the hand of death either from himself,

or others, unless such be the will of God. None can by any means redeem another, that he should live for ever, or even that his life should be prolonged for a single day.

The Psalmist goes on, in the eleventh verse, to show the folly of these persons in regarding their possessions as something substantial and lasting; "Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue for ever;" and yet, in fact, they are but tents, pitched for a few short days, and then removed again. A man may be honoured for his learning, or his wealth; but if he is without God he will soon pass away, and his stay in the world will be like that of a traveller at an inn, who tarrieth for a night, and then is unheard of; or, as the Psalmist here speaks, "he is like the beasts that perish."

Then what folly to trust in our strength or our wealth, to build houses, and add field to field, so as to gain a name for earthly greatness. Soon, very soon, all will be gone from us-money, lands, and name; and if these are our only possessions, we shall be left alone on the earth, without God, and without hope.