city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Observe, there is something more here than the mere opening of the gates. It is, 'Lift up your heads, O ye gates.' It is like a poor, suffering, weary child of God, who in the midst of deep sorrow and trouble has his head bowed down in grief, and is bidden to lift it up, for deliverance is at hand. So the heavens and the earth here are called upon to look up, to lift up their heads,' and welcome this great and glorious King; to sing a joyful song to His great name, for the glad tidings of great joy that the long-promised and expected Messiah is come down to deliver His people.

Beautiful indeed and comprehensive are these words before us. It seems as if everything, even in inanimate nature must join in the triumphant welcome to the King of kings. It reminds one of that striking passage in the history of Peter where, after the angel of the Lord had led him out of prison, when they came to the iron gate into the city, it opened unto them of its own accord. Aye, obedient to His word, open wide the gates. If sinners will not own Him for their King, if they shut the door of their heart against Him, let heaven and earth give the joyous tribute to our King; let the gates be thrown wide open to receive Him, for He cometh, He cometh to lead captivity captive, to break the bonds of death and Satan, to take away transgression, and triumph gloriously. Yea! open ye the gates; 'Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.' Aye, He is the King of Glory! Whatever in that kingdom there may be of glory comes alone from Him. He is the King over all, blessed for evermore; and every part of that kingdom, in its establishment, its extension and its eternal majesty is of Him and through Him and to Him, for ever. Oh, strange and wondrous contrast to His outward life on earth, despised and rejected of men, a man

L

of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.' Yes, come with me for a moment to the humble inn at Bethlehem and see in that poor, lowly place, the Lord of life and glory, 'wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger.' Strange mysterious contrast! The King of Glory thus ushered in! Yes, and from that lowly manger shone forth upon a world of sin and darkness the bright and glorious beams of the Sun of Righteousness; beams of heavenly light, which Abraham saw and was glad; beams of radiance which have shone till now in many a favoured land, and which shall increase and spread, until from 'pole to pole the glad tidings have been told, and the whole earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of God, even as the waters cover the sea.'

Who is this King of Glory? Look for a moment at that princely palace, a bolted and barred stronghold, every part of it under the sway of a gigantic intellect and power, ruling and reigning there supreme. Yes, the strong man is there, and he surely deems that 'his goods are in peace;' he keeps fast hold of his treasures, and bids defiance to every enemy. Ah! but there is a stronger than he, and that mighty one shall yet be cast out and vanquished, and all his spoils shall be destroyed, and all his goods wherein he trusted, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And who is this glorious Conqueror? Who is this mighty King? Go to the manger at Bethlehem and you will see. Poor, weak, feeble apparently, of the people none with Him, that child Jesus is to go forward, and in His own unaided strength bring life and immortality to light, to hurl the strong man from his throne, and rule over every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle; mighty, mighty to save; mighty to cast down the stronghold of sin and Satan; this is the King of Glory.

Distinct altogether from this there follows the 9th verse,

which many have erroneously supposed to be a simple repetition of the 8th: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.' He, this great One, has gone away from us into heaven. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things.' Then shall that voice be heard again, the voice of welcome and gladness, of triumph, of glory. Ah, if heaven bowed down and sang a song of triumph when He came first into the world, shall not ten thousand times ten thousand be the voices that shall herald His second coming? Shall not heaven ring again with glad hosannahs to the Prince of Peace, when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever? Yea, Lift up your heads, O ye gates! Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.'

'Who is this King of Glory?' Who this mighty conqueror, to whom every knee shall bow? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.' The first answer was given in a whisper, as it were, from amid the shadows and clouds of earth; but this shall ring out through the clear vault of heaven, from one end of the New Jerusalem to the other: The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.' He came once alone, in weakness and suffering, ignominy and shame, and even then He was the King of Glory. But, oh! when the heaven shall give Him back again, when He shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation, then chiefest, best and most glorious in that heavenly kingdom, He shall reign the King of Glory.' We may close our hearts against Him now, as He stands and knocks at each one of them, but remember there is a time coming when it may be too late to open the door and invite Him to enter. He will not always strive. Shall we not open them to Him now? now, while He still stands waiting there, shall we

not open the gates and let Him in? And then, what will it not be when that glorious day comes, and He takes to Him His great power for ever, to hear Him confess our names before His Father and the holy angels. Aye, for He will come, and fill all heaven and earth with His glory, and reign for ever and ever.

This, beloved friends, is my earnest prayer for each one of you, as it is for myself, that all of us may be found watching in that day; looking for Him, our Beloved, our Saviour, our Friend; and then, when the end comes, and the King of Glory shall appear, we shall be 'like Him, for we shall see HIM AS HE IS.'

Golden harps are sounding, angel voices ring,
Pearly gates are opened, opened for the King;
Christ, the King of Glory, Jesus, King of Love,
Is gone up in triumph, to His throne above.
All His work is ended,

Joyfully we sing!

Jesus hath ascended!

Glory to our King!

He who came to save us, He who bled and died,
Now is crowned with glory, at His Father's side.
Never more to suffer, never more to die;
Jesus, King of Glory, is gone up on high.
All His work is ended,

Joyfully we sing!

Jesus hath ascended!

Glory to our King!

Praying for His children in that blessed place,
Calling them to glory, sending them His grace;
His bright home preparing, faithful ones, for you;
Jesus ever liveth, ever loveth too.

All His work is ended,

Joyfully we sing!

Jesus hath ascended!
Glory to our King!

F. R. HAVERGAL.

PSALM XXIV.

MADE WHITE BY. THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

'For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

'Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place?

'He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

'He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

"This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek thy face, O Jacob.'

We have before drawn your attention to the three divisions of this Psalm, so distinct in themselves, and yet so connected together. We considered the third, and last division, viz. that from the 7th verse to the end. Note briefly the first division as contained in the first two verses. It is a declaration of the sovereignty of God over the world and all in it. Rock, sea, river, forest, all are His; The earth and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.' It is not man's, but God's; for He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.' He made by His own Almighty power this fair and beauteous world for man's abode; He made it a habitation for the children of men; and it is all His own. Yet when He comes into this same world, what does He find? A people ready and willing to serve and obey Him? Nay, on the contrary, nothing but sin, rebellion, and misery; man, the noblest of His works, choosing to become the slave of Satan, and setting him upon the throne above all else so that he is called the god of this world. And so when the Lord looked down upon this sad picture and saw His fair and