bend their bow, they make ready their arrows upon the string (they are prepared, that is, for their attack), that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart." And they add, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" They seem to hint that the strong "foundations," on which David's confidence was built, might be "destroyed," and then he would be utterly undone.

But now hear David's noble reply. He felt that his foundation was sure as a rock. His heavenly Father and Protector was near, though his eye could not see Him; "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth."

The expression, "The Lord trieth the righteous," means that God looks closely into their case and character. He knows all; and whatever may be said against them, it matters not so long as He approves. As the goldsmith tests and tries the goodness of the metal, by putting it into the fire, and burning away all the dross, so does God sometimes put the righteous into the furnace of affliction, that He may try their faith and purify their hearts.

Observe, it is not merely said of the wicked that God abhors them; but the words are, "His soul hateth them;" that is, He hates them beyond measure, with His whole heart. Yes, the wicked

are God's abhorrence. And yet in one sense He loves them: He hates their sins, but loves their souls.

The Psalmist further declares that the wicked will be punished. God's vengeance will surely fall upon them, though it may be withheld for a time. Like a storm, it may be long brewing; but it will come with all the more awful violence when it bursts; "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup."

Here is clearly an allusion to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. xix. 24.). As they were destroyed on account of their exceeding wickedness, so will God assuredly destroy all who in like manner sin against Him.

The Psalmist gives his reason for believing that this will be the case. He knows that God will punish the wicked, and look favourably on the upright, because He is a just and righteous God. How can it be otherwise? "For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright."

Let His servants then lift up their heads in confidence. They have no need to tremble, for they will be hid in the day of God's wrath. All will be well with them. His heart is towards them, and His hand is over them. He "loveth righteousness," and therefore He loves His people. He

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sees His own image in them. He marks their purity, their holiness, their likeness to His own beloved Son, and He rejoices in them. His countenance smiles upon them. He presses them to His heart, as a loving Father does his children.

Truly the wicked have everything to fear: the righteous nothing. The one is never safe: the other always. The one may well dread His frown: the other may rejoice evermore, saying, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in him will I trust."

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PSALM XII.

Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

WHEN the Prophet Elijah looked around him,

and saw how God was dishonoured in the Land of Israel, and how grievously sin prevailed, he exclaimed, as we are told, "Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars, and I am left alone." Something of the same feeling passed through David's mind, when he cried out in the words before us, "Help, Lord; for there is not a godly man left; for the faithful fail from among the children of men."

He further proceeds to describe the conduct and character of the great mass of men; "They

speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." St. Paul bids us, in Eph. iv. 25, to "speak every man truth with his neighbour;" but these men speak "vanity," or lying, with their neighbours; and that with "a double heart," thinking one thing and speaking another.

He expresses his confidence, in the third verse, that the Lord can, and will, check this ungodliness; "The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things; who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own who is lord over us?" And are there not many even now who, though they may not actually speak thus, use this language in their hearts. They feel that they may say and do much as they please. They are under no control, and desire to be their. own masters.

But what saith the Lord to this? Is He indifferent to the groans of His oppressed people, and to the boasting of their foes? "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord." He, the true Sun, shall arise, and then all the false mists and vapours shall be dispersed. "I will set him (that is, the poor man) in safety from him that puffeth at him.”

David had the happiness of feeling that he could implicitly trust God; for how differently does He speak from these false flatterers, these men of "a