which is by nature but a bleak and barren wilderness, bearing only thorns and thistles, shall yet become as 'a fruitful field, which the Lord our God shall bless.' Truth shall yet spring out of the sterile wilderness, for 'righteousness shall look down from heaven.' As the natural sun shining upon the earth causes the buds and blossoms to expand and send forth fragrance, so when the heavenly beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine in upon the heart, truth springs up and blossoms abundantly.

'Yea the Lord shall give that which is good.' Having given us the greatest gift of all, His own dear Son, shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' Verily, He will give all that is good and needful for us; no good thing will He withhold,' and 'our land shall yield her increase.' Travellers tell us of waste and desolate places around Jerusalem, where the foot of strangers tread and the Gentile holds dominion, where her gardens are become a wilderness and her fruitful fields have been given to barrenness. Thank God, it shall not always be so. The day is coming when the time to favour her, yea, the set time, will come,' and with the fragrance of repentance and divine forgiveness, that once favoured land shall yet'yield her increase.' 'Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.' Is it so in our hearts, beloved friends? Has this righteousness indeed 'set us in the way of His steps?' Then all will be peace and joy, without a shadow of fear, for 'perfect love casteth out fear;' then we must be holy even as He is holy, and pure as He is pure. If Christ be for us, who can be against us? If Christ be in us what

us so to go in the way

can harm us? May God help of righteousness, that we may follow in His steps, and then indeed shall 'glory dwell in our land,' the land of righteousness and peace, God Himself shall be with us, and be our God. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.'

PSALM LXXXVI. 1-5.

PRAYING ALWAYS.

'Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

'Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O Thou my God, save Thy servant that trusteth in Thee.

'Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily.

'Rejoice the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

'For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.'

THE Book of Psalms is made up for the most part of praise and prayer. Praise predominates perhaps, as it should, in every truly godly soul. Prayer, however, occupies a large place. Indeed the Book of Psalms may be said to breathe throughout the spirit of earnest prayer. There are many very beautiful prayers to be found there which are among the most precious possessions of the Church of God. There is hardly a condition or circumstance of human life; be it youth, or manhood, or old age; be it sickness or health, prosperity or adversity ; be the person learned or unlearned; for every one and all there will be found something wherewith to approach the throne of grace among the precious collection of prayers put into our hands in this old yet ever new Book of Psalms. Not only so, but in all the varieties of spiritual experience, the prayers in this book are suitable to our wants. Are we strong in faith, or weak in faith? Are we in joy, or in sorrow? Are we progressing in the spiritual life, or are we declining? Are we living in the light of His countenance, or has a cloud come over us for a while and concealed Him from our gaze? For For every one of such cases there is to be found in the Book of Psalms prayer suited to the need.

That which gives a peculiar value to the prayers of the

Book of Psalms is this: they are not, as human compositions are, the expression of deep feeling merely; they are this to an extent beyond all others, but the cry which they utter is accompanied with a statement of the true scriptural ground, upon which we may hope that any prayers of ours may find acceptance with God. In this way, among others, may it be said that The Spirit helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.' The Holy Spirit, who is the author of the prayers in the Psalms, 'helps' us therewith by giving us words to express our feelings, and by showing us the right way of approach unto God, viz. through the One Mediator, Jesus Christ.

I think that the Psalm before us is a striking illustration of this point. How beautiful is the expression in the Ist verse! He whose name is Holy, who is the highest of all and the infinitely glorious One, even He is implored, Bow down Thine ear!' For God to bow down from the height of His glory to us poor, sinful, guilty ones! Even so, beloved, for has He not said, 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the spirit of the contrite one.' The sinner has to say, 'I am a worm, and no man;' I am of those whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth.' Yet still he may add, 'Nevertheless, O Lord, bow down Thine ear, and hear me; for I am poor and needy!' How touching is this plea, For I am poor and needy!' What could better illustrate the great foundation truth of the Bible as regards human merit? What other plea have we in approaching unto God and asking Him for any mercy or any blessing? Our poverty is our only plea,-'for I am poor and needy.'

6

My brethren, without saying that any of us are building our hopes of salvation upon our good works, is there not within us all more or less of the spirit of self-righteousness?

It is common to hear among true believers in Christ expressions of this kind, I fear that my soul cannot be safe with Christ, because I do not feel the sorrow for my sins which I ought to feel. Is not this losing sight of what Christ is in Himself, -a full, almighty, all-sufficient Saviour? Looking into our own feelings and emotions at the time, because we do not find ourselves altogether in the state of mind in which we think we ought to be, we limit the grace and power of Christ, and say, 'Salvation cannot be ours.' Beloved, is it necessary for me to remind you that Christ offers to us eternal life as a free, absolutely free, and unmerited gift? He offers it to us on these terms simply because we are nothing, and have nothing wherewith to merit it. We are not to pause in accepting this free gift till we have brought ourselves to feel fit to accept it. No, beloved, our language must be that which we have before us in this short prayer, 'Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.' The conviction that we are sinners, vile, wretched, lost sinners, is here in all its strength; but this is the plea which we are to urge when we pray, Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me.' Still I hear some one saying, But I do not feel my sins even as some do. To which I answer, It is true we ought all to weep for our sins, the evil and accursed thing which nailed Jesus to the cross; but is not the fact that we grieve over the want of a sufficient sense of sin, a sign that we do mourn because of sin itself, do feel our need of a Saviour, and are therefore ready to cry, Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me : for I am poor and needy?' Having no works to offer, and no worthiness, no, nor yet (as we judge) proper

emotions: the whole heart wrong, and yet, the Lord thinketh upon me!'

Preserve my soul; for I am holy.'

more simply rendered in the margin,

This expression is

'I am one whom

Thou favourest,' whom Thou hast set apart and conse

crated unto Thyself. This becomes the plea of the present petition, Preserve my soul; for I am one whom Thou favourest.' It is because Thou hast favoured me thus far that I plead that Thou wilt continue to preserve me. The latter clause of the verse is an enlargement of the first. 'O Thou my God, save Thy servant that trusteth in Thee.' How important to remember always, beloved, that this is our position and our starting-point; God does not say to a sinner, I will save thee when thou art fit or meet to be saved; but He says, I will save thee when thou canst trust in Me. The message of the Gospel is, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'

'Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily.' 'Daily,' that is, all the day long: at home or abroad, in joy or in sorrow, in prosperity or adversity, crying always unto God. Not only at stated times of prayer throughout the day, when we are formally addressing God, but at all times; it may be quietly and unseen, lifting up the heart to Him, who ever hears and answers the feeblest prayer of His children. Any one who knows what the human heart is, what a mixture of good and evil, of light and darkness, must know how to estimate the untold blessing and privilege of being able to cry unto God, not only day by day, but all the day long; to be permitted to pray without ceasing' for mercy, for grace to help in every time of need:' grace so full, so free, a fountain ever open, ever flowing, cheering and refreshing our wilderness way until we walk at last beside that river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God.

'Rejoice the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.' Oh, how great the privilege in hours of darkness, when the heart is cold and lifeless, to be permitted to pray this prayer, Rejoice the soul of Thy servant!' Too often, beloved, at such times, instead of looking unto God, we become simply engrossed with