April 17

1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withbolden the request of his lips Selah.

3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness, thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger; the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

13 Be thou exaked, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

Psalm Twenty anticipates what this regards as realized.

"The last Psalm was a litany before the king went forth to battle. This is apparently a Te Deum on his return."—J. J. Stewart Pervone.

"If we pray to-day for a benefit and receive it, we must, ere the sun goes down, praise God for that mercy, or we deserve to be denied the next time." —C. H. Spurgeon.

"The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!" "Herein let every subject of King Jesus imitate the King; let us lean upon Jehovah's strength, let us joy in it by unstaggering faith, let us exult in it in our thankful songs. Jesus not only has thus rejoiced, but He shall do so as He sees the power of divine grace bringing out from their sinful hiding-places the purchase of His soul's travail; we also shall rejoice more and more as we learn by experience more and more fully the strength of the arm of our covenant God. Our weakness unstrings our harps, but His strength tunes them anew. If we cannot sing a note in honor of our own strength, we can at any rate rejoice in our omnipotent God."—C. H. Spurgeon.

Closet Promise.—If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.—2 Tim. ii. 12.

'Tis done, the world's long night is o'er, At last is reached the long'd-for shore; Life's transient tale is told; The Crystal City bursts on sight, With gates of pearl and sapphire bright, And streets of purest gold!

One theme each sainted bosom fires, The thunder of the myriad chores The anthem peals prolong; No wearied frame, no languid eye, Suspend the swelling minstrelsy Of the exultant throng.

See! more than conquerors they stand, Clothed in white robes; in every hand Waves the the triumphal palm; Down at His feet each crown is flung, And onward rolls from tongue so tongue, "Salvation to the Lamb!"

"Blessing and glory, might and power, Aserite to Him for evermore, Ye countless hosts of heaven; Unto the Lamb who once was slain, Who through eternal years shall reign, Immortal praise be given!" —Dr. J. R. Maiduff.