verse. at the remembrance-or to the memorial'-of His holiness. At the memorial of His holiness. It is His holiness. Whatever God does is for His own praise and for His own holiness. He will not take us His children home to Him in glory until He has made us holy. To this end are all His dealings with us at the present time designed what are they but His way of preparing us for the home above? How sweetly comes in the following Let us read it without the italics: For His anger a moment in His favour-life.' 'Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen.' 'Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' The night, very dark it may be; the trial, very sharp and bitter; yet it is short, it is for the night only, and then 'joy in the morning;' the 'morning without clouds,' 'spread upon the mountains,' when the day shall break and the 'shadows flee away for ever.' Verse II. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing.' The sluggishness and stillness of suffering have passed away, and Thou hast given me activity again, so to run that I may obtain. Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.' Sackcloth is very painful to flesh and blood, and it may be with some of us that we have thought He had girded its hard rough edges too closely around us. But this girdle of praise and gladness, can it ever be too firmly clasped around us? Ah, no! And it is put upon me for this purpose, to the end that my glory, i. e. my tongue or my soul, may sing praise to Thee and not be silent: that I myself and all I have may sing praise unto Thee; that my voice may be to Thee as a well-stringed instrument with its fresh sound of praise and thanksgiving for each loving gift of mercy. 'O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee for ever.' And so thus may I, before beginning to sing the new song above, catch its melody here on earth, and sing to Thee even now my grateful song of praise. Oh! for the peace which floweth as a river, A little while,' for patient vigil keeping, To face the stern, to wrestle with the strong; A little while,' 'mid shadow and illusion, To strive, by faith, love's mysteries to spell; A little while,' the earthen pitcher taking To wayside brooks, from far-off fountains fed; A 'little while,' to keep the oil from failing; A little while,' faith's flickering lamp to trim; Thus He who is Himself the gift and giver, PSALM XXXI. 1–5. THE LIFE OF FAITH. 'In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in Thy righteousness. 'Bow down Thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be Thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. 'For Thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for Thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. 'Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for Thou art my strength. 'Into Thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.' THE leading characteristic of this Psalm is, without doubt, faith in Jehovah, confidence in God, trust in the Lord. David strikes the keynote of the whole with no undecided hand, when he exclaims in the 14th verse, 'I trusted in Thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God;' teaching us at the same time the deeply important truth, that his trust and confidence in Jehovah depended on his being able to say 'my God;' to realise his covenant relationship with God, as his reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, and to be able to say of Him, 'He is mine, and I am His.' This is the token of the covenant' to each one of us, my dear friends, if we are His believing people: and even as, in the days of old, when Noah came out of the ark, God did set His bow in the cloud, as a token of the covenant that the waters should no more cover the earth, so the token for us in the covenant of grace is this, 'My God; I trusted in Thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God.' This Psalm is divided into three parts. First, vv. 1-8, is the Life of Faith. Third, vv. 19–24, the Triumph of Faith. In Thee, First the life of faith.' See what is the life which is brought to a sinner when he is turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Thy righteousness.' That is the life of faith in its first foundation. The soul prays for deliverance, lest it go down to the pit. It cries, Deliver me;' for if not, woe is me, for heaven is closed against me, and 6 God a stranger to me, for ever.' Yes, beloved friends, real faith starts ever from this point, 'deliver me,' but always also 'in Thy righteousness.' 'Let me never be ashamed! my trust is only in Thee.' It must be in nothing else, lest haply my false trust might take me up out of the dust, and raise me high as the archangels, only at last to cast me down again into the depths of everlasting woe. It is Thy righteousness;' the very character of God Himself. 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork;' yet all is as nothing when compared with the righteousness of God manifested in the redemption of His people. His works of creation tell of His goodness, it is true, but this alone speaks of His righteousness, and it is the prayer of the Psalmist that in that righteousness alone he may find deliverance. 'Bow down Thine ear to me; deliver me speedily.' The soul, when truly living by faith, is not and cannot be satisfied with a far-off connection with Christ; it longs to be very near to Him, to be drawn ever closer to that loving side; and therefore David says, 'Bow down Thine ear to me; deliver me speedily.' Sometimes, beloved, God is pleased to try our faith by withholding for a time the answer to our prayer. He keeps us waiting, trusting Him in the dark, unable to see even a step before us, little thinking that the answer is even then on its way to us, though in a way perhaps different from that which we expected. Thus it is beautifully recorded concerning Daniel, that when he had been so earnestly pleading, O Lord hear, O Lord forgive, O Lord hearken and do; defer not for Thine own sake, O my God,' even then, 'whiles' he was 'speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, being caused to fly swiftly,' touched him about the time of the evening oblation,' and thus he spake to him, 'At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved.' Is it not written, 'It shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear'? And, my dear friends, it is while thus waiting on Him, knowing only our great need of Him, that He becomes to us, as David here says, 'a strong rock' and 'an house of defence to save us.' The true believer who feels that he is delivered in God's righteousness desires to be ever on the Rock; he wants to have his home there, to be hidden in the clefts of that blest hiding-place, that so he may say, in full assurance of faith, 'My trust is in Jehovah; I will trust, and not be afraid.' 'For Thou art my rock and my fortress.' The 'rock' here is even a stronger expression than that in the previous verse. It is the foundation, in short, of the life of faith. It shows to us the Christian always living on his Saviour, walking with Him, dwelling in Him, and following where He leads. 'Therefore for Thy name's sake lead me and guide me.' As a living, loving Shepherd, choose out the path for me; show me what Thou wilt have me to do; lead me in Thy truth and teach me. Not only do Thou, as my Shepherd, supply my wants and provide all I need, but oh, do Thou lead me; sorely do I need Thy guidance, who am at best but a poor wandering sheep. "For Thine own name's sake, O Lord, lead me and guide me," that ever, as Thou leadest me, I may be learning the blessed lesson that Thou knowest best; that I may be ever learning to say, "Father, not my will, but Thine be done;" that even as the Master pleased not Himself, but came to do His Father's will, so it may be with me.' Ah, beloved, many a poor soul, when harassed and pursued by Satan, would get up quicker out of its sore trouble if it would only say, 'Lord, I know nothing; I cannot see, I cannot choose for myself; for Thy Name's sake lead me and guide me; lead me aright, and do with me as seemeth good in Thy sight.' Then, by God's grace, we shall learn something of what true peace is, |