in strong assured confidence, 'I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.' He was so full of trust and confidence in the great King of Sion, that he could say this with a peaceful and undoubting heart. Will you allow me, beloved, to say before I close that there ought to be more care and watchfulness among us to get into that 'perfect peace,' so that if He sends sleep it shall be in peace,' and if He holds our eyes waking, through the silent watches of the night, our meditation of Him shall be sweet. We have lighted upon troublous times; and in days like these, when life is so little regarded by the wicked and ungodly, there may often be a tendency to fear on our part, if not for ourselves, for those who are dearer to us than life itself. Beloved, so let it be no longer. Greater is He that is with you than all that can be against you. Pillow your head on His breast, commit those precious ones into His care and keeping, and then you will fall asleep peacefully and all fear and distress will be taken away. You will be enabled to say truly, 'The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?'

We are too apt, a great deal, to look at the things outward and visible, forgetting Him who is unseen and Eternal. Looking unto Him, to the things unseen,' we shall have peace always by all means.' Whatever the stormy events of life may be, we shall hear His gentle voice high above the storm, It is I, be not afraid. Why are ye so fearful, oh ye of little faith?'

So let us go on our way, looking unto Him, trusting in Him, waiting on Him; and so through the dangers and the troubles of this mortal life, until the end comes; and then, let that last hour come to us as it may, and when it may, it will find us in Him, full of peace, so real, so true, so abiding, the peace which

Jesus gives, and which the world can neither give nor take away.

Yes, the believer carries this blessed experience with him to the very end, and he says, 'I will both lay me down in peace and sleep.' Even in the dark valley He is near, and we shall lay us down in peace and sleep; safely kept by His loving care until the glorious morning of the Resurrection, when the day shall break and the shadows flee away for ever. Oh, to realize this, my beloved, in that last day and hour, when all things appear to us as they really are; and when we have no longer a portion in anything under the sun. Oh! to feel then that He is with us; to lean on Him unshrinkingly, and never for an instant stagger or stumble; saying, 'Where Thou goest I will go.' And so even as we go down into the swelling of Jordan, to say, 'I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.' And then for us that glorious morning shall dawn at last, when earth and its cares are past and gone for ever, and beyond which there can be nothing higher, nothing holier, and we shall awake up after His likeness, and be satisfied. Ah! beloved, there is GOOD indeed. 'Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us,' for Thine own name's sake. Amen.

Joy is a fruit that will not grow

In Nature's barren soil;

All we can boast, till Christ we know,
Is vanity and toil.

But when the Lord has planted grace,
And made His glories known;
Then fruits of heavenly joy and peace
Are found, and there alone.

A bleeding Saviour seen by faith,
A sense of pardoning love,
A hope that triumphs over death,
Give joys like those above.

To take a glimpse within the veil,

To know that God is mine,
Are springs of joy that never fail,
Unspeakable! Divine!

These are the joys which satisfy

And sanctify the mind;

Which make the spirit mount on high,

And leave the world behind.

NEWTON.

PSALM VIII.

CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOUR.

'O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens.

'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the

avenger.

'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained.

'What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?

'For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

'Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet.

'All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field,

"The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

'O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!'

I THINK that in this Psalm we come to the second step in our journey through the Book of Psalms. And it is very interesting to note these different stages, especially in those Psalms where there can be no mistake concerning their direct and special reference to the Messiah, many of which are indeed distinctly quoted as such in the New Testament. I think there can be no mistake as to the 8th Psalm, in its direct and striking reference to 'David's son and David's Lord.'

The Psalmist begins, you observe, by an outburst of heartfelt praise for the great and glorious character of Jehovah. 'O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!' 'Set Thy glory above the heaven!' For so is it more correctly translated. It is an earnest entreaty, a petition, a request. 'O Lord, Thy name is excellent in all the earth.' 'Set Thou Thy glory above the heavens!' Set Thy glory, or plant it, above the heavens, above even those bright and glorious heavens! plant Thou Thy glory above all! above not the earth only, but these wondrous heavens; yea, even above these!

'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength, because of Thine enemies,' etc. See how we have the old link of these former Psalms again, under different circumstances, all pointing on to the New Testament dispensation. For, can we forget that it is written (Matt. xxi. 16), 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise.' It is very interesting to observe the expression here. In the Psalms it is said, 'Thou hast ordained strength;' that is, in the simple, unquestioning faith of a little child is found the real principle of the greatest strength, the mind of a child in accepting at once truths which perhaps older minds are slow to receive. This is that 'strength.' If you take one such little one, and lead him to gaze on the glorious sun, as he shines in his noonday splendour, or, at evening, on the silver moon, with all the countless myriads of shining hosts besides, and then you take him, it may be, to the garden, and show him those lovely flowers, so fresh and bright, with the impress of their Maker's Hand; and you say to him, 'My child, are they not beautiful? do you think you could make one such little flower? why should you not try?' and the little one tries, and vainly tries, to put together again the scattered petals of even one tiny flower; and then you say to him, 'Ah! my child, if you cannot even do that

down here, what could you do up there? Oh, think of the power and love of the great God who made that moon and those beautiful stars, as well as these lovely flowers at your feet! My child, your Father made them all!' And the child looks and listens, and gathers into his young mind the idea, and accepts the truth, with simple, unquestioning faith, that God is the Maker of it all. And God looks upon the child, and hears the voice of loving confidence, and in the strength of that faith He 'perfects praise.' Aye, beloved, that is indeed 'perfect praise' which comes from a child-like spirit, so taught of God that in its unwavering simplicity of trust is found the very Rock of its strength, that strength which He ordained, and in which He perfects praise.

Then it is not simply with regard to youth that these words are true. They apply, with singular force and beauty, to all those true believers who are in very deed 'babes in Christ.' Ah! what power is given to the simplicity of faith. Truly strength is ordained' and 'praise perfected' therein!

'When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man?' We do not know, we cannot tell, whether David, at the time when he wrote these words, was actually gazing up into the starry sky, or whether merely meditating at home on these great and marvellous works of his heavenly Father: he merely says, When I consider these, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?' The thought of the Psalmist here is, not that God should take any account of man at all, but that He should visit him. Thou art visiting him!' And why? In order to crown him with glory and honour.' This was the wonder in the mind of David: What! hast Thou made man a little lower than the angels? Hast Thou crowned him with glory and honour? Hast Thou put all things under his feet, and made him to have

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