June 24

1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.

2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.

3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; up in the harp with a solemn sound.

4 For thou, O LORD, hast made me glad through thy work I will triumph in the works of thy hands.

5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very dear.

6 A brunch man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever;

8 But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.

9 For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

10 But my horn stahl thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.

12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

This Psalm was intended to be sung upon the day of rest. The subject is the praise of God; "praise is Sabbatic work, the joyful occupation of resting hearts. In the church of Christ, at this hour, no psalm is more frequently sung upon the Lord's day than this. The delightful version of Dr.

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Watts, beginning with the line, "Sweet is the work, my God, my King," is familiar to us all.

"Our personal experience has confirmed us in the belief that it is good to sing unto the Lord; we have often felt like Luther when he said, 'Come, let us sing a psalm, and drive away the devil.'"—C. H. Spurgeon.

"To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning." The day should begin with praise: no hour is too early for holy song. "And thy faithfulness every night." No hour is too late for praise; the end of the day must not be the end of gratitude. "Every night." Clouded or clear, moonlit or dark, calm or tempestuous. As thou wouldst have God prosper thy labor in the day, and sweeten thy rest in the night, clasp them both together with thy morning and evening devotions.

Closet Promise.—Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.—Psalm xxxii. 7.

Then shall thy tossing soul find anchorage And steadfast peace; Thy love shall rest in His; thy weary doubts Forever cease.

Christ and His love shall be thy blessed all Forevermore: Christ and His peace shall keep thy troubled soul Forevermore. —Horatio Benar.