was God's Word which changed the current of David's spiritual being, and teaching him to put no trust in man, led him to the Rock of Ages, and bid him trust and not be afraid. That Word had shown him all God's character and dealings, in the mighty movement of His providence, and had taught him that God was to him a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,' until he felt that whatever dangers might encompass him, whatever enemies might threaten, it mattered not, they would be ' turned back.' 'This I know, for God is for me.'

'In God have I put my trust.' He has tried, then, the help of man, and found it wanting. He now proves that he may safely trust in God, in His glorious, His blessed Word, and not be afraid. The fear of man was cast out wholly, and for ever; and in its stead, the fear of God was implanted in his heart. This is the godly fear which 'worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of.' It is no slavish and cruel bondage; it is not the fear that hath torment. It is simply the earnest fear of a loving child to a reconciled Father in Christ Jesus; the fear which enables us to do and suffer all things rather than grieve Him. The true child of God, beloved, should know no fear but this.

For Thy vows are upon me, O God.' The believer feels that he is no longer his own, but is bought with a price, he is now God's servant; and as such God has a right to demand, at all times, his faithful loving obedience. His Master has said, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.' Therefore, when in the way of his Father's appointing, he comes to a cross, it is not for him to go round it or to pass it by; or, on the other hand, to go back from it: he must take it up and follow Jesus. He must not be idle in his work, or in running his Christian race; he must be active and earnest, saying always, 'Thy Vows are upon me, O God.' It will matter It will matter very little

what may befall us by the way, however hard or difficult the path may appear, however heavy the burden may feel, if we are in the way of God's appointing it is to be borne for Him; and in the midst of it all, we 'will render praises unto Thee.' How wonderful is this, beloved friends. Here we have God's statutes and commandments turned into a song:-Thy vows are upon me, O God, I will render praises unto Thee.'

6

His commandments are not grievous. When He so graciously invites poor sinners to Him, saying, Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,' He also adds, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.' He has taken away the dark, heavy burden of our sins, and has given us in its stead another, but it is light and easy. It is His love that sends it, and in love we must bear it joyfully and render praises unto Him.

'For Thou hast delivered my soul from death.' Ah, that is the secret of the praise! How little the world knows of the source of the believer's joy! It cannot see the hidden things which have been laid bare before him: the 'secret of the Lord' which is 'with them that fear Him.' They live in the world where He suffered and died, and where His followers are telling of His love and mercy, and yet they see no 'beauty in Him that they should desire Him.' Their eyes are yet darkened, and their hearts hardened. They will not come unto Him, that they may have life. But when the great change has really taken place, and the soul has come into close and intimate relationship with God, as its reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, then indeed old things are passed away, behold all things are become new;' and the language of the heart is, 'Thou hast delivered my soul from death.' What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? Has He left anything undone that He

might have done? He has given us full and free salvation in Christ Jesus: He has given us His Spirit to dwell in our hearts, and He will at last take us home to dwell with Him for ever in light and glory. Well indeed may we ' render praises' unto Him!

Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.' The believer has confidence in God that He will not forsake him; he knows that his Father will hold him in the hollow of His hand, and day by day, in the midst of all his trials, in the narrow way, amid the clouds and darkness, he feels that loving Hand guiding and blessing him, delivering his feet from falling, and leading him by the right way to the 'city of habitation.' His way may be thickly strewn with crosses, but One is with him who bore a heavier cross for him, and His grace and strength are made perfect in weakness.' He ever hears His voice, saying to him, 'Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God.' Oh, beloved friends, let us walk and work so as to please and glorify Him. We all know how sweet it is to perform a task, even if it be a hard one, for those we love; and oh! how much more sweet is it to be allowed to work for Jesus! To walk before God in the light of the living,'-literally, of 'living men.' We must walk before our Father in the light of the living; not of the saints themselves, but of the Heavenly Light in which they shine. Then shall our path indeed be as 'the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ the true, the only light,

Sun of righteousness, arise,

Triumph o'er the shades of night:

Day-spring from on high, be near;

Day-star, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day's return,

Till Thy mercy's beams I see;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and cheer my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine,

Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy Divine,

Scatter all my unbelief;

More and more Thyself display,

Shining to the perfect day.

HYMNAL COMPANION.

PSALM LVII. 1-2.

THE SOUL'S REFUGE.

'Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

'I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.'

THIS Psalm, dear friends, was composed by David at the time when he took refuge from the persecuting hand of Saul in the cave of Adullam, and when, from various causes, his position was one of extreme peril. It will be interesting to mark what he here expresses as the inner experience of his heart in the midst of these calamities, and to draw from thence a lesson for our own comfort and consolation at times when either in the Church, in the world, or in our own inner experience, we are tempted to exclaim, All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone

over me.'

1. We notice the soul's plea.

2. The soul's confidence.

3. The soul's refuge.

4. The soul's voice.

merciful unto me.'

'

1. The soul's plea. The expression 'Be merciful unto me' is twice repeated. It seems as though the Psalmist loved to linger on such words as these, and would not pass them hastily by. He felt that he had to do with the merciful and gracious God, whose mercy is over all His works.' In the tabernacle of old we find the same idea uppermost,—that of the mercy of God. Passing the victim lying slain upon the altar, through the Holy Place, we enter the Holy of Holies, where the cherubim bow with folded wings over and above the mercy seat. The Jews of old had no further revelation than this; but to us, dear friends, God's mercy is manifested in its brightest aspect by the cross of Jesus; a mercy so perfect that He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, in order that being thus just, He might be the Justifier of the sinner, and might bid us live, who had been 'dead in trespasses and sins.' David says, you will observe, Be We may speak of the We may speak of the mercy of God generally, as being over all His works; but this will avail us little unless we can say, each one for ourselves, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner!' When we look back upon our past lives, and see our sins like a vast mountain reaching almost to the skies, we may feel tempted to say, 'Woe unto us, for we are undone!' Ah, but there is mercy still, even for us, for 'with Him is plenteous redemption.' We may say what we will about our sins and transgressions, for no words of ours can describe their depth, or fathom their enormity. Yet let us never forget that as mortal man may not gauge the height of heaven, so neither may we gauge the depth of His mercy for us, the unthankful and the evil. It was mercy for that day, when He was near to us, and when in our ignorance and carelessness we let Him go by; mercy for that other day when some whom we knew went with Him, and we remained behind; mercy for that day when after having tasted that He was gracious, we fell away again, and said