might David add in the sweet confidence of this 'full
assurance of faith,' 'Now shall mine head be lifted up
above mine enemies round about.' He does not say that
at some future time it shall be so, he says 'Now shall
mine head be lifted up, because I am His and He is
mine; because He is my light, my salvation and strength,
'therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.'
Here again is the willing sacrifice, the sacrifice of joy.
The believer feels: Lord, I am Thine. Thou hast
bought me; Thou hast redeemed me; Thou hast died
for me.
All this hast Thou done for me, and now
what is there that Thou wilt permit me to do or to
suffer for Thee? I will offer to Thee sacrifices of joy;
willing sacrifices, 'holy, acceptable unto God, which is our
reasonable service.' Oh, beloved friends, let the light of
that glorious Being shine upon us evermore; and let
us never, never be satisfied until out of the midst of
much sore trouble, which may be around us, with many
ominous clouds hanging over the future, we can yet take
our stand firm and unshaken upon this most blessed Rock,
looking forward with fearless confidence to all that may
be His holy will for us in all things; and so shall we
sing our blessed songs 'of deliverance' with overflowing
hearts; His 'statutes shall be our songs in the house of
our pilgrimage;' Heaven shall be brought down to
earth, and there shall be but a step between grace and
glory.

There is a safe and secret place
Beneath the wings Divine
Reserved for all the heirs of grace:

Oh! be that refuge mine!

The least, the feeblest there may hide,

Uninjured and unawed;

While thousands fall on every side,

He rests secure in God.

The angels watch him on his way,
And aid with friendly arm;
And Satan, roaring for his prey,
May hate, but cannot harm.

He feeds in pastures large and fair
Of love and truth Divine;
O child of God, O glory's heir,
How rich a lot is thine!

A hand Almighty to defend,
An ear for every call,

An honoured life, a peaceful end,

And Heaven to crown it all!

H. F. LYTE.

PSALM XXVII. 7–10.

THE RESOLUTION.

'Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

'When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

'Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger: Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

'When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.'

THE Psalmist knew in whom he had believed, and therefore his one desire was, that as one of the household of God, he might have and enjoy always the full blessedness of abiding in that safe stronghold, His pavilion, His 'tabernacle.' And thus abiding, he cries, 'Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.' Yes, beloved friends, the birthplace of all true prayer is when we are led to discover Jehovah as our light and salvation, and Christ as the one only meeting-place between Him and our soul. Then, and not till then, does the voice of true supplication ascend from

the

poor heart; heart; then, and not till then, can it be said of him, 'behold, he prayeth.'

6

When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face,' my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' The Psalmist had been waiting on the Lord in earnest supplication, he had been praying for an answer; and suddenly it comes, God says to him, 'Seek ye My face.' Immediately his attention is aroused; he says, 'My heart, my heart! Jehovah speaks. Does He bid thee, my heart, to seek His face? Then, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' Oh, my friends, if there were more of this spirit among us, there would be less miserable fear and uncertainty; if, when we are crying out in deep anxiety, as David did here, 'Have mercy also upon me, and answer me,' we could realise the simple answer, direct from our Father's heart, 'Seek ye My face.' There are many forms of spiritual disease among us, dear friends, and their outward aspect is very varied; but in the course of a long ministry, with an experience which has not been small, of many of the darkest and most painful phases of sin, I can only say that I increasingly feel that under whatever outward form the disease may be manifested, there is one only remedy in dealing with souls suffering from the terrible disease of sin; and that one remedy is this, 'Seek ye My face. It must be the same old story, nothing else, and nothing less, 'Seek ye My face.' Whatever the believer's state is, and how low soever he may be in sorrow, whatever form outwardly the disease may take, still the answer must be ever the same, 'Seek ye My face.' He must be led, as we said before, to look first at Christ, and then at his trouble; for if he look at Christ through his trouble, that trouble will be sorely magnified, and the light and life and peace which ought to be found in a sight of Him will be greatly diminished. 'Seek ye My face;' do not think of anything else whatever; of your peace, or your assurance, or your experience, or anything

but this; let Jehovah's words sink into the very depths of your heart, 'Seek ye My face;' 'Look unto Me and be ye saved.' Look at the King in His beauty.' Fix the eye of your faith, weak and trembling though it be, upon Him, and then leave all the rest in His hands-cares, sorrows, and burdens. He will choose them all for you; He will appoint only those which you really need, and He will enable your heart to spring up with the blessed response, Thy face, Lord, will I seek;' I will hear what God the Lord shall speak,' for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints.

Hide not Thy face far from me.' Is it not true, beloved, that often, through the faithless fear of losing the sunshine of His presence, we say, as one of old did, 'Lord, it is good to be here, and let us make three tabernacles,' and so in loving mercy, lest we should cling to anything but Himself, He permits for a while that which we feared to come upon us? Ah, how many among us are like Mr. Fearing in the Pilgrim's Progress; unworthy to call ourselves His children, since we cannot fully trust Him. When we know all that He has done for us from first to last, that He alone has called forth even the faintest spark of life and love, then how dare we for a moment fear lest He should break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax'? How break forth into the wailing cry, 'Put not Thy servant away in anger'?

'Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me.' David here has recovered his confidence in God; this is what the soul, under spiritual temptation and trouble, ought to feel. Instead of trembling and doubting, it ought to gather unshaken confidence for the future from the recollection of the past. Thou hast been my help.' Let us cast away from us for ever every other confidence, and call to remembrance how often He has given us 'songs in the night.' 'Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.' Do not leave me, even for a

moment; for then I will most surely fall. Withdraw not Thou Thine Hand from me, lest I 'perish from Thy presence.' 'Leave me not, but be Thou my guide even unto death.'

'When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.' Oh, the blessedness of such unshrinking confidence as this, beloved friends. The nearest and the dearest may forsake us, and sooner or later they must leave us, and these blessed ties must be broken for ever; for they must pass within the veil. And must we then be left solitary and alone? Nay, The Lord will take me up;' or as it is more correctly rendered, 'Jehovah will take me in,' the homeless wanderer shall find a better than any earthly home. That must be broken up, and the doors of that once sacred spot be left open, it may be, to the winds of heaven. But the Lord will take us in. Oh, how it comes home to our hearts, beloved friends, we that are poor wanderers through this restless world. What a sweet reality it gives to all that Christ is to His children. Their one blessed resting-place, their home is in Him; there is never any change in Him, beloved; He will never leave nor forsake us. When we look back into the past, and think of the father and mother, both long since perhaps gone within the veil, does it not seem to fill the heart with the melody of the olden time? And we know that even as they entered into the golden gates, we too shall one day pass in to the Golden City; and while we shall rejoice in their presence there, who have waited for us so long, we shall first of all, and above all, realise and rejoice in the presence of Him of whom we can even now say, 'When they left me, the Lord took me up.'

There is a blessed home
Beyond this land of woe,
Where trials never come,
Nor tears of sorrow flow;