Psalms 34

15. The (God) forming all their hearts, the (God) attending to all their deeds. Forming implies knowing, which is more distinctly expressed, in reference to their outward conduct, in the other clause. God is also described as the Creator of the human soul in Zech. 12 : 1. His control of it is expressly affirmed in reference to kings (Prov. 21 : 1). A.—He is equally the Maker of all hearts—the sense being that He made them all by one creative act, rather than after the same fashion. “He understandeth” (much stronger than merely “considereth”) “all their works.” C.**

16,17. The weakness and insufficiency of all human power, however great, as before of all human intellect. “King and mighty man and horse” (i.e., “war-horse,” as elsewhere “chariot and horse”) are selected as types of earthly power in all its greatness. P.—The victory gained by the king, the rescue effected by the hero, are not the work of their own hands. Their great military power and bodily strength accomplish nothing without God, who can be mighty even in the weak. D.—The great number of the army, the great might of the warriors, the great strength or fleetness of the war-horse, are of no account as compared with God, much less as matched against Him. These ideas were exceedingly practical to David and his people in that militant age. They have a place therefore in such a religious song as this which we can but feebly appreciate. C.

18. Fear—hope.** These are mutually helpful; and they are not only never so beautiful, but never so influential as when they are blended. The fear promotes hope by the evidence it affords; and by keeping us from careless walking, which must always affect our peace and pleasure. And hope no less befriends this fear. For never is God seen so glorious, so worthy of all our devotedness to Him, as when we hope in His mercy. W. Jay.

21. For in Him shall our hearts rejoice, for in His holy name have we trusted.** The Psalmist’s assurance of the future is derived from the possession of a faith already tried and proved to be truly in existence. It is because he has trusted, that he knows he shall rejoice. His holy name, in the wide sense which the epithet so often has in this book, nearly corresponding to His glorious, His Divine name. To trust in this name is to build one’s hopes on the manifestation of God’s attributes in previous acts; to believe that what He has heretofore shown Himself to be, He will be still in the experience of His people. A.—His holy name is the ground of His Church’s faith, love, and hope; for from thence cometh its salvation. It can confidently pray that the grace of the Lord may be bestowed upon it, for it waits upon Him; and human waiting and Divine granting mutually condition each other. D.

22. Be Thy mercy, Jehovah, upon us, as we have waited for Thee.** The faith implied in this hope being the sole condition of God’s mercy, its possession constitutes a claim upon that mercy, which is here urged as the sum of all the previous petitions. What is thus waited for cannot but be realized. A merciful and righteous God cannot, without denial of Himself, withhold that which His people thus expect. A.

A PSALM OF DAVID; WHEN HE CHANGED HIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE ABIMELECH, WHO DROVE HIM AWAY, AND HE DEPARTED.

1. I WILL bless the LORD at all times:

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD:

3. O magnify the LORD with me,

And let us exalt his name together.

4. I sought the LORD, and he answered me,

And delivered me from all my fears.

5. They looked unto him, and were lightened:

And their faces shall never be confounded.

6. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

7. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him,

And delivereth them.

8. O taste and see that the LORD is good:

Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

9. O fear the LORD, ye his saints:

For there is no want to them that fear him.

10. The young lions do Jack, and suffer hunger : But they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me : I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12. What man is he that desireth life, And loveth many days, that he may see good ?

13. Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking guile.

14. Depart from evil, and do good ; Seek peace, and pursue it.

15. The eyes of the LORD are toward the right- eous, And his ears are open unto their cry.

16. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil,

This is, like the last, a Psalm in which God’s providence and moral government of the world are the subject of grateful acknowledgment. His guardian care of the righteous is more espe- cially celebrated and applied to the individual circumstances of the Psalmist. This is one of the alphabetical Psalms. The order of the Hebrew alphabet is preserved, except that there is no verse beginning with the letter Vau. P. —This Psalm is eucharistic and didactic. It is full of thankfulness to the Almighty Deliv- erer, who defends the penitent against the un- godly. It is a lesson from experience for those who are tempted and afflicted. M.

Title. By David, in (the time of) his chang- ing (disguising) his reason before Abimelech, and he drove him away, and he went. The incident referred to is recorded in 1 Sam. 21. David, having fled from Saul into the land of the Phil- istines, was brought into the presence of Achish, king of Gath, from whom he had reason to ex- pect retaliation for injuries formerly received, and therefore pretended to be mad, an expedi- ent which, in spite of its dubious morality, it pleased God to allow to be successful. In grateful recollection of this undeserved deliver- ance, not without some compunction with re- spect to the means by which he had secured it, David seems, at a later period of his life, to have composed this Psalm for popular instruc- tion, to which it is peculiarly adapted by its clearness and simplicity, as well as by its alpha- betic form, which is a valuable aid to the mem- ory. In his changing does not necessarily desig- nate the date of composition, but only that of the event which gave occasion to it. The com- mon version, behavior, is inconsistent with the usage of the Hebrew word, which means taste,

To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cried, and the LORD heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles.

18. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous : But the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

20. He keepeth all his bones : Not one of them is broken.

21. Evil shall slay the wicked : And they that hate the righteous shall be condemned.

22. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his ser- vants : And none of them that trust in him shall be condemned.

judgment, understanding, reason. Abimelech, king’s father, hereditary sovereign, was the traditional title of the king. His personal name was Achish. A.

2. My soul shall boast in the Lord.** Can any boasting be greater than to say, “I can do all things?” Yet in this boasting there is humility when I add, “Through Christ that strengtheneth me.” For though God likes not boasting, yet He likes this boasting which arro- gates nothing to ourselves, but ascribes all to Him. R. Baker.

2-6. There is somewhat very striking in the sudden transitions and the change of persons, observable in these few verses. “My soul shall boast” “The humble shall hear” “I sought the Lord” “They looked to Him” “This poor man cried.” There is a force and elegance in the very unconnection of the expressions, which, had they been more closely tied by the proper particles, would have been in a great measure lost. Things thus separated from each other and yet accelerated, discover, as Longinus observes, the earnestness and the vehemency of the inward working of the mind ; and though it may seem to interrupt or disturb the sentence, yet quickens and enforces it. Chandler.

4-9. He hesitates not to pour out his com- plaints to his heavenly Friend, detailing them one by one, just as a child might do in its mother’s ear, and as he goes on it is pleasant to see how his heart is lightened and his voice takes on the ring of gladness and deliverance. He never forgets, however, what sort of a being Jehovah is, so as to presume upon His conde- sension. But confidence and love are to Him no presumption. He cannot keep within his own bosom the exuberance of his joy. If his case be exceptional, he certainly sees no reason why it should not be the rule. Out of an evident experience he exclaims: “O taste and see that Jehovah is good, how blest the man who taketh refuge in Him!” E. C. B.

4. I sought the Lord, and He heard me.** God expects to hear from you before you can expect to hear from Him. If you restrain prayer, it is no wonder the mercy promised is retained. Meditation is like the lawyer’s studying the case in order to his pleading at the bar; when, therefore, thou hast viewed the promise and affected thy heart with the riches of it, then fly thee to the throne of grace and spread it before the Lord. Gurnall.

5. Looked unto Him, and were lightened.** God lades the wings of private prayer with the sweetest, choicest, and chiefest blessings. Ah! how often hath God kissed the poor Christian at the beginning of private prayer, spoken peace to him in the midst of prayer, and filled him with light, joy, and assurance upon its close! Stanley.—This simple looking toward Jesus has been the strength and unction of believers in all ages. All the trials, perplexities, and difficulties of the Christian life of their own accord vanish away in this blessed unity of the Christian look. This look, so simple that the humblest child is capable of it, suffices for all. It is the cause of the most different effects, the cure of the most opposite evils; it is equally victorious over the difficulties of systems, and the perplexities of doubt, the assaults of pride, and the assaults of despair; the temptations of covetousness, and those of sorrow; the bitterness of hatred, and the weakness of natural affection. When we behold the cross, there proceeds from it a light which disperses all darkness, and a flame of love which consumes all hatred. What anguish, what pain, what bitterness can there be when Jesus Christ appears; when love Divine, love without measure, unconditional, unlimited, breaks forth upon us in the mystery of the cross! All reasonings, all combinations, all counsels, all methods, are not as regards the heart or even the understanding, worth a look directed to Jesus; and though all these means are useful, there is still need of the look, still need of the light to quicken all, and give strength to all. “They looked to Him,” says the Psalmist, “and were lightened,” at once illumined, warmed, quickened, consoled. Vinet.

The instinct of the devout heart is to tell Christ all its troubles, great or small, and He does not need beseeching before He answers.

He did not need to be told, either, but He would not rob us of the solace of confiding all our griefs to Him. Then let Jesus know all that troubles, welcome Him as a guest, tell Him everything, and He will cure all diseases and sorrows, or give the light of His presence to make them endurable. Consecrate to Him the strength which He gives, and let deliverances teach trust and inflame grateful love, which delights in serving Him who needs no service but delights in all. A. M.

We cannot pray too importunately for anything which it is certain that it would be good for us to have—more faith, more hope, more love, more strength to resist temptation, more light to show us the evil of sin and the preciousness of Christ. If our heart’s longing be for spiritual blessings to ourselves or others, it cannot be too fervent, though even here we must be content to leave entirely to our heavenly Father the time at which and the manner in which He will grant what we ask. But no desire for an earthly gratification may be brought before God, no prayer for another position in life, or for success in anything we are trying for, or for deliverance from some trouble which comes to us as part of our daily lot, may be offered, without adding to the petition for it these or the like words: “Nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done.” We should go to God about it with the assurance that He who so loved us as to give His Son for us, will not, cannot, deny us anything which would really be for our advantage. With this condition, we are at liberty to ask exactly what we like. We cannot ask too much, too often, too earnestly. E. M. G.

7. Encamping (is) the angel of Jehovah round about His fearers—and (now) He has rescued them.** The angel, not only in the collective sense of angels, but in its specific sense, as denoting the angel of the Lord by way of eminence, the angel of the covenant and of the Divine presence (Isa. 63: 9), in whom the manifestation of the Godhead took place under the Old Testament. As this angel was the captain of the Lord’s host (Jos. 5: 14; 1 Kings 22: 19), his presence implies that of many others, and the word encamp is therefore perfectly appropriate. A.

For us the true Messenger of the Lord is His Son, whom He has sent, in whom He has put His name, and whose own parting promise, “Lo, I am with you always,” is the highest fulfilment to us Christians of that ancient confidence, “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him.” The vision of the Divine ever takes the form which our circumstances most require. David’s then need was safety and protection. Therefore he saw the encamping angel, even as to Joshua he appeared as the captain of the Lord’s host, and as to Isaiah in the year that the throne of Judah was emptied by the death of the earthly king was given the vision of the Lord sitting on a throne, the King eternal and immortal. Note that final word of deliverance. This Psalm is continually recurring to that idea. All the writer’s thoughts were engrossed and his prayers summed up in the one thing—deliverance. He is quite sure that such deliverance must follow if the angel presence be there. But he knows, too, that the encampment of the angel of the Lord will not keep away sorrows, and trial, and sharp need. So his highest hope is, not of immunity from these, but of rescue out of them. And his ground of hope is that his heavenly Ally cannot let him be overcome. A. M.

8. Taste and see.** There are some things, especially in the depths of the religious life, which can only be understood by being experienced, and which even then are incapable of being adequately embodied in words. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.” The enjoyment must come before the illumination; or rather the enjoyment is the illumination. There are things that must be loved before we can know them to be worthy of our love; things to be believed before we can understand them to be worthy of belief. And even after this—after we are conscious of a distinct apprehension of some spiritual truth, we can only, perhaps, answer, if required to explain it, in the words of the philosopher to whom the question was put, “What is God?” “I know, if I am not asked.” Binney.

The religion of the Bible itself makes a personal spiritual experience of its power the only final evidence for it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good;” “if any man be minded to do the will of My Father in heaven, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself;” these are consenting representative declarations from the older writings and the later, which harmonize with many others in setting forth the fact that only by spiritual experiment of the Gospel can man be assured of its Divine origin, as ultimately proved by its Divine energy. All other impressions of this must be, in the nature of the case, preparatory, rudimental. Only by joyful experience of it is such a certainty produced in the mind of the inestimable beauty of sunshine, as could have been formed, as can be shaken, by no argument conceivable. Imagine the attempt to make that beauty as certain as it is to us, to one who had passed his entire life in the unlighted cavern! So it is only by trying Christianity in its fitness to our deepest personal needs, of alliance with God, of moral renovation, of tranquillity, and of hope, that men can become utterly certain that it is from above; not a fabric, any more than the earth is, of human fancy, or a construction of human logic, or even a brilliant and lofty surmise of human aspiration; but a Divine system, as is the atmosphere, as is radiant light, presented by God to the world of mankind for their permanent sovereign life and peace. R. S. S.

The excellence and desirableness of God’s gifts is a subject again and again set before us in Holy Scripture. All images of what is pleasant and sweet in nature are brought together to describe the pleasantness and sweetness of the gifts which God gives us in grace. And as it is natural to feel satisfaction and comfort in these gifts of the visible world, so it is but natural and necessary to be delighted and transported with the gifts of the world invisible; and as the visible gifts are objects of desire and search, so much more is it, I do not merely say a duty, but a privilege and blessedness, to “taste and see how gracious the Lord is.” Newman.—The sweetness of honey, or wine, or meat is not known by looking on it, but by tasting it. Come near and try what it is to live in the love of God, and in the belief and hope of life eternal, and in universal obedience to the laws of Christ, and then tell us how these things do relish with you. You will never know the sweetness of them effectually as long as you are but lookers-on. Baxter.

Why should they be silent who have tasted that the Lord is gracious? Let them tell to all who are willing to listen what the Lord hath done for their souls. Let the compressed love which glows in renewed hearts find utterance in spoken praise. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits! Arnot.

Blessed the man that trusteth. The basis of the blessed life is laid in the Psalter, as in the New Testament, in simple trust in God. It is clear enough that it is the condition of true blessedness. For if we think of our needs, our exposure to danger, the storms that hurtle around us in our unsheltered nakedness, the evils that beset us on every side; if we think, on the other hand, of the absolute sufficiency and all-satisfying fulness and sweetness of that Divine heart, and the strength of that Almighty hand, surely it needs no words to make it clear that the one safe place for us is beneath the shadow of that mighty wing and close to the throbbings of that strong and tender heart, and that the one thing which it is wise for us to do is to “trust in the Lord at all times, and to cast ourselves absolutely, utterly, thankfully, confidently upon His Almighty defence.” The felicity of this confidence in the Lord is here based upon what that Lord is. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” and therefore, because He is, “blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” A. M.

9. Fear Jehovah, ye His saints, for there is no want to His fearers.** The fear of God is here put, as in several other places, for the whole of piety or genuine religion, which must ever rest upon the basis of profound veneration. His saints, those set apart and consecrated to His service, and as such bound to be holy in the strict sense. The last clause represents this as no less the interest than the duty of God’s people. They are called upon to fear Him, not only because fear is due to Him, but because it is the surest method of securing their own safety and supplying their own wants. A.

“Fear,” as usual in the sense of filial reverence, not excluding the trust and love of simple piety. Whoever fears and trusts thus shall lack nothing good. The young lion, despite the care of his vigilant and powerful mother, may suffer hunger, but God’s sons and daughters, never. C.—Not anything that God sees good for them shall those men want that fear the Lord. If health will do them good, if sickness will do them good, if riches will do them good, if poverty will do them good, if life will do them good, if death will do them good, then they shall not want them; neither shall any of these come nigh them if they will not do them good. Bunyan.—If anything be wanting to a good man, he may be sure it is not good for him, and then better that he doth want it, than that he did enjoy it; and what wise man will complain of the want of that, which if he had, would prove more gainful than hurtful to him? “No good thing will God withhold,” and therefore not wants themselves, which to many are also good things. Want sanctified is a means to bring to repentance, to work in us amendment of life, it stirs up prayer, it weans from the love of the world, it keeps us always prepared for the spiritual combat, discovers whether we be true believers or hypocrites, prevents greater evils of sin and punishment to come; it makes us humble, conformable to Christ our Head, increaseth our faith, our joy, and thankfulness, our spiritual wisdom, and likewise our patience. Richard Young.

10. All these verses are beautiful representations of the fulness, suitableness, completeness, and all-sufficiency of God in Christ to answer all the wants of His people. And is there not a vast elegance in the comparison taken from the hunger and rapacity of the lion, even the impetuousness of the young lion, to that of the patience and silent waiting of the faithful believer? A life of faith will find food in everything, because it is all founded in Christ. R. Hawker.—They that seek the Lord shall not want any good. As to this life, they shall have what is necessary to the support of it from the hand of God; as a Father, He will feed them with food convenient; what further comforts they desire they shall have as far as infinite wisdom sees good, and what they want in one thing shall be made up in another. What God denies them He will give them grace to be content without, and then they do not want it. Paul had all and abounded because he was content. Those that live by faith in God’s all-sufficiency want nothing; for in Him they have enough. H.

11-14. This recipe for a happy life is the only one that fits all ages and countries and circumstances, and has never in a single instance failed. It rests on two immutable things, character and Providence. Whoso wishes to secure his real welfare must keep a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man. All the rest is in the hands of Him who sees the end from the beginning, and never makes a mistake. His Providence sometimes seems to run counter to His promise, but it is only “seems.” Afflictions come, but only when there is a needs be; they cease when the end is gained; and while they last the back is fitted to the burden. A Scottish martyr, on the eve of execution, said, “God hath not promised to keep us from trouble, but to be with us in it, and what needs more?” Happy the man who has learned this secret of happiness and governs his life accordingly. T. W. C.

11. Fear of the Lord.** This fear is a sweet composed reverence of God as our King, yea, as our Father; as very great, but no less good than great; so highly esteeming His favor as fearing most of all things to offend Him in any kind; especially if the soul have been formerly either under His apprehended displeasure, or, on the other side, have had some sensible tastes of His love. His children fear Him for His goodness; are afraid to lose sight of that or deprive themselves of any of its influences. They desire to live in His favor, and then for other things they are not very thoughtful. Leighton.—This fear of the Lord is the pulse of the soul; and as some pulses beat stronger, some weaker, so is this grace of fear in the soul. As long as the pulse beats we count not that the man is dead, though weak; and this fear, where it is, preserves to everlasting life. This fear of God also is sometimes like an intermitting pulse; there are times when it forbears to work, and then it works again. David had an intermitting pulse; Peter had an intermitting pulse, as also many other of the saints of God. Bunyan.

12. He supposes that we all aim to be happy. What man is he that desireth life?—that is (as it follows), not only to see many days, but to see good comfortable days. It is not our being, but our well-being that is entitled to the name of life. It is asked, “Who wishes to live a long and pleasant life?” And it is easily answered, Who does not? H.—Life with all its burdens and anxieties is yet such a blessed thing, this earth, with its ties and pursuits and objects and possessions, has so much in it to occupy and fascinate and gladden; friends are so kind, home is so happy, knowledge is so noble, nature is so fair, that, say as we will, think as we may that heaven is our home and this world a wilderness, were our health unbroken, and our tasks unfinished, and our energies fresh, and our homes full, we should follow with somewhat reluctant steps and moistened eyes, and a heart looking behind us, the messenger that takes us away. We are meant to love life; nay, we are made to love it. Loye of life is no sin, it is merely a lower kind of love than a desire for the fruition of life eternal in the presence of the Lamb; and the Divine way of lifting us up from the lower level to the higher, without contradicting on the one hand God’s purposes for our earthly service, or, on the other hand, crushing the beautiful human affections, which are the features of God’s own image in ruined yet not quite defaced souls, is by gradually weaning us from earthly things, rather than by violently alienating us from them, by correcting and elevating, rather than by destroying our natural instincts and capacities, through the blessed prospect of the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. If we wish for heaven only because we are tired of earth, we shall soon want to leave it, and be back here. Heavenly-mindedness, such as God would work in us, is a weariness of sin, not of duty; a desire to see God, not merely to leave men. Bishop Thorold.

The structure of a Christ-like character is the life-long work of a true disciple. Slowly, course by course, the stones have to be laid, each by a distinct effort, and all according to the plan of the great Architect, and on the foundation other than which no man can lay. That great ideal must be clear before the true disciple. Life is not for enjoyment nor for worldly ends, but for building up Christ-like character, and all outward things are but scaffolding to further the building. A. M.

13. Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile. The man who was inquired for in v. 12 is here directly addressed. Whoever thou art, if thou desire thus to live, keep, watch, guard, thy tongue from speaking evil, a comprehensive phrase, for which the last clause substitutes one more specific—namely, speaking guile, uttering deceit, or lying. A.—The tongue is an instrument of much good or much evil. Life and death are in its power; he that keepeth it keepeth his soul; and he who offendeth not therewith is a perfect man; it is an unruly member, and the first work of the fear of God must be to bridle it, that no profane, unclean, slanderous, deceitful, or idle word proceed out of the mouth. And as the heart is to the tongue what the fountain is to the stream, that must first be purified. Bishop Horne.—The tongue is a great mischief-maker, and not easily ruled. The root of this ill-governed member is in the unseen world of the soul; the force which animates and moves the tongue is generated in our spiritual nature. When the spirit which excites and controls the tongue is not love to God and love to man, the speaker by his words sows a curse in his own constitution. It is one of the laws of thy health that thou “keep thy tongue from speaking evil.” And thy lips from speaking guile. The absence of guile exceedingly endears a man or a woman to heaven. No sin is imputed where there is no guile. Except ye become as guileless as babes, your friends in the kingdom of God will behold you afar off, as persons who are unable to come nigh. J. Pulford.

Where there is no guile in the heart, there will be none in the lips. The two great means which insincerity uses in order to deceive are simulation and dissimulation; simulation is the seeming to be what we are not; dissimulation, the seeming not to be what we are. But the man of sincerity shuns them both. To say nothing at all is in many cases consistent with the highest sincerity, and so it is to speak with reserve to say only a part, perhaps a small part, of what we know; but were we to pretend it to be the whole, this would be contrary to sincerity. Sincerity in speech includes fairness and honesty in controversy; shunning a sophism, however tempting, if we know it to be such; scorning to take an unfair advantage in argument, or trying to make “the worse appear the better reason.” It is opposed to another dangerous practice, against which it is scarcely possible to inveigh too strongly—avowing and defending, for the sake of argument, opinions which we do not believe. S. D. Waddy.—It is the doctrine of the Scriptures and of the unsophisticated language of man’s moral constitution, that truth is obligatory on its own account, and that he who undertakes to signify to another, no matter in what form, and no matter what may be the right in the case to know the truth, is bound to signify according to the convictions of his own mind! He is not always bound to speak, but whenever he does speak he is solemnly bound to speak nothing but the truth. The universal application of this principle would be the diffusion of universal confidence. It would banish deceit and suspicion from the world, and restrict the use of signs to their legitimate offices. Thornwell.

In that one creature who was made in the image of God—into whom God breathed a living soul—there is speech, the open channel for its forthcoming. Reverence human speech. It is the mark of a being who has been made, and may be remade, a child of God. Reverence human speech, for it is a divinely formed capacity for a divinely prescribed use. Dread false speech, proud speech, impure speech, profane speech—for these are the bright weapons with which the King has accoutred us wielded against the King. High treason! Arnot.

Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. If thou desire to enjoy life, depart from evil, break off the practice and abjure the love of it; and since this is neither practicable nor sufficient as a mere negation, effect it by a positive performance of its opposite, do good. Compare the exhortation in Isa. 1: 16, 17, Cease to do evil, learn to do good. A.

Depart from evil. This denotes that evil is near to men; it keeps close to them, and should be declined and shunned; and it regards all sorts of evil: evil men and their company; evil things, evil words and works, and all appearance of evil; and the fear of the Lord shows itself in a hatred of it and a departure from it. John Gill.—These precepts are the duty of works, and they are four where the precepts of words were but two; because we must be more in works than in words; and they are all affirmative, for it is against the nature of a work to be in the negative; for so working should be no better than idleness: the two former are general, as general as good and evil; that if we meet with evil our part is to depart. R. Baker.

Do good. Good works are the mark, the proof, the evidence of Christian life; they are the badge of a Christian community; and they are the means through which the members of that community are bound together, and the Christian life is brought to pervade them all. When they are scanty, the Christian life must be feeble; when they are totally wanting, whether in an individual or a community, the Christian life must be all but extinct. They are also the means of growing in the Christian life; for it is by exercise, by action, that every living principle is strengthened. The Christian life is not created by our good works, but it is to be fostered and nourished by them, and may be so to a wonderful extent, if we always bear in mind how it originated, and are careful to have it replenish from its only source; while, on the other hand, without them it will pine and die. Indeed in this instance we have the special assurance: “And to him who hath shall be given; and from him who hath not shall be taken away even what he hath.” Hare.

Our religion is neither a dogma nor a theory, a thesis nor a hypothesis, a category nor a dream. It is a spiritual power; it is a personal presence; it is a governing genius of life; it is a comforter of actual sorrows; it is a quickener to every noble work. It is the world’s best builder, planter, legislator, and reformer. It is not a stranger to be scrutinized, but a friend to be loved, because it has first loved us. It is not a guest to be entertained, but a leader to be followed; not a secret to be found out, for its very face is a revelation; not a clever and promising applicant for a place, which thrift may turn to account and vanity display, for it speaks in the name of the Lord; not an institution that can expire by limitation, nor a form that grows old, nor a ceremony that can give up the ghost and still keep on its feet, but an everlasting, living law, vital in every part; not a policy that can be shaped, but a principle that by its own formation and irresistible spirit shapeth all things. It is a reality. F. D. H.

To “depart from evil” is but a part of our duty; we are also to “do good.” “Pure religion and undefiled” walks not in solitude; her hands are employed providing the orphans bread; her feet are found at the widow’s door; her steps are even sometimes turned to haunts of vice; her visits are paid, not so much to the great and noble as to the fatherless and widows in their affliction; and, following our Lord, nor shrinking from the touch of guilt, she goes forth to seek and save the lost. Guthrie.—All the good that is done among men is proportioned only and exactly to the amount of sacrifice which is employed to produce it. To witness sacrifice is of itself to breathe a bracing atmosphere. All labor is sacrifice. All that is most noble and most lasting, and that truly enriches and elevates the life of man, is only achieved by sacrifice—the sacrifice of inclinations, the sacrifice of time, of goods, of health, and, if need be, of life. H. P. L.

God blesses you that you may be a blessing to others. Then He blesses you also a second time in being a blessing to others. It is the talent that is used that multiplies. Receiving, unless one gives in turn, makes one full and proud and selfish. Give out the best of your life in the Master’s name for the good of others. Lend a hand to every one who needs. Seek to be a blessing to every one who comes for but a moment under your influence. This is to be Christ-like. We are in this world to be useful. God wants to pass His gifts and blessings through us to others. Be content to pour your life into other lives, and see them blessed and made more beautiful, and then hide away and let Christ have the honor. Work for God’s eye, and do not think much about reward. Seek to be a blessing, and never think of self advancement. We need to take care that no shadows of ourselves, of our pride, our ambition, our self-seeking, fall upon our work for Christ. J. R. M.

If ever we are to labor truly for the highest good of our fellow-creatures, we must learn to take reverent and loving views of them. The deeper and higher our estimate of the soul of man, the more shall we be filled with the pity and awe that are the strength of persevering labor in its behalf; and the more shall we share the mind and help the work of Him who, knowing the soul’s value, died for its eternal good. Ker.—Ever regard the great rule to distinguish between the error itself and the living man that holds the error; or the vice, which by its nature is altogether evil, and the human heart of the human brother or sister which with its mixed ingredients is stained with the vice; hating and condemning the vice, but loving its victim: nay, hating the vice the more because it has made him its victim. You will say that, in practice, such discriminations are extremely difficult. That is true; but they are none the less, for that, our Christian business; and no great services to Christ are very easy. Charity requires us further to remember that whatever evil our neighbors suffer themselves to do, we can never know how much they are tempted to do which they effectually restrain. There are terrible battles fought in all human breasts, out of human sight. Could we know all that is resisted and all that is overcome behind these erring lips and lives, we should often have to admire the virtue rather than to condemn the fault. F. D. H.

Seek peace. Peace is specially singled out from among the good; we are not only not to disturb it, but to seek it; yea, we are to pursue it as a hunter pursues the noblest beast of prey. Let us follow, says the apostle also (Rom. 14: 19; Heb. 12: 14), after that which makes for peace. D.—Because nothing is more contrary to that love which never fails, which is the summary both of law and Gospel, both of grace and glory, than strife and contention, which bring confusion and every evil work; we must seek peace and pursue it; we must show a peaceable disposition, study the things that make for peace, do nothing to break the peace, and to make mischief. If peace seem to flee from us, we must pursue it; follow peace with all men, spare no pains, no expense, to preserve and recover peace, be willing to deny ourselves a great deal, both in honor and interest, for peace sake. These excellent directions in the way to life and good are transcribed into the New Testament, and made part of our Gospel duty (1 Pet. 3: 10, 11). H.—Augustine says, Live righteously and live peaceably. Quietness shall find out righteousness wheresoever he lodgeth. But she abhorreth the house of evil. Peace will not dine where grace hath not first broken her fast. Let us embrace godliness, and “the peace of God, that passeth all understanding, shall preserve our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ.” T. Adams.

15,16. The same eye which beams in lambent love on “the righteous” burns terribly to the evil-doer. “The face of the Lord” means the side of the Divine nature which is turned to us, and is manifest by His self-revealing activity, so that the expression comes near in meaning to “the way of the Lord,” and the thought in both cases is the same, that by the eternal law of His Being, God’s actions must all be for the good and against the evil. A. M.—If life and peace and all good be in God’s hand to bestow when it pleaseth Him, then, sure, the way to it is an obedient and regular walking in observance of His will; and the way of sin is the way to ruin. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His face is against them that do evil. L.

15. His ears are open unto their cry.** The word “open” is not in the original, but the meaning is that the ear of God is in a leaning kind of posture toward the cries of the righteous. Those who are worthy and righteous indeed, the ear of God leans and hangs toward them and their prayers, according to Cant. 2 : 14, “Let me hear Thy voice, for sweet is Thy voice.” There is a kind of naturalness and pleasantness between the ear of God and the prayers, and petitions, and cries of such a righteous man. John Goodwin.

18. The fact that even good men fall into sin and that the best of them have the sins of their impenitent life to repent of, make a broken heart and a contrite spirit constituent elements of a pious man’s character and standing conditions of God’s favor. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at My word” (Isa. 66 : 2). No state of mind other than this or unlike this can be right in one who has ever sinned.

19. No human life escapes all suffering and trial; let it suffice that the Lord knows how to deliver every righteous one from anything whatever—that is, on the whole, a real evil, for He can make every permitted trial or pain work out the richer results of moral discipline—submission, obedience, trust. C.

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” and wherefore, but to bring his religious belief and emotions in close contact with the humiliations of animal life, and to necessitate the use of prayer as a real and efficient means of obtaining needful assistance in distress? I. T.—Be our troubles many in number, strange in nature, heavy in measure; yet God’s mercies are more numerous, His wisdom more wondrous, His power more miraculous; He will deliver us out of all. T. Adams.—The trial is father to the triumph, and the song owes its paternity to the sigh. He who loves and trusts God can count his distresses and his deliverances at the same time, for the number of the one is the number of the other. Anon.

20. He stands under the most special providence: “He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken;” a pictorial specialization of the thought that God does not suffer matters to come to extremities with the righteous, that He does not suffer him to be torn from His almighty protecting love. Still we cannot but think of the literal fulfilment which these words found in the crucified One; for the Old Testament prophecy, which is quoted in John 19 : 33-37, may equally well be traced back to our Psalm as to Ex. 12 : 46. Not only the paschal lamb, but to a certain extent even every affliction of the righteous, is a type. In His case human suffering sounds the very lowest depths; all the promises given to the righteous are also fulfilled in Him; for He is the righteous One in the most absolute, the Holy One of God in the most unique sense (Isa. 53 : 11; Jer. 23 : 5; Zech. 9 : 9; Acts 3 : 14; 22 : 14). D.

21,22. In each of these verses the verb rendered condemned means, primarily, to be guilty; and secondarily, to be punished for this guilt. All they that hate the righteous are thus held guilty and punished; but never those who reverently and humbly trust in Him. The ministrations of good or ill through God’s providence will sever broadly between the righteous and the wicked. He will surely let the world know whom He approves and loves, on the one hand, and whom He cannot but abhor for their wickedness, on the other. C.

22. Those who put their trust in God are never put to shame. No doubt it often seems as if their hopes were all baffled. Certainly many things befall them which were not expected and not desired. But the Lord always helps in due time; He always blesses, though it be in adversity and through adversity; He always brings good out of the apparent evil. Therefore the Christian can confidently cast all his cares upon the Lord and commit himself to the Lord’s loving providence. “The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants.” Anon.