September 11

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

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thim enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou vestest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than

the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

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

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whats ever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Christ is the principal subject of this Psalm, and it is interpreted of Him, both by our Lord himself (Matt. xxi. 16), and by His holy apostle (1 Cor. xv. 27; Heb. ii. 6, 7).

"The special excellence of the Divine nature celebrated in this Psalm is the implanting of strength in that which is apparently weak. The grand instance of this, and the only one here noticed, is man, both in his infancy and his maturity."—J. G. Murphy.

This excellence of God's name particularly appears in three things: 1. In infants. "He who delights in the songs of angels is pleased to honor Himself in the eyes of His enemies by the praises of little children." 2. In the heavens, with the moon and stars. All these have been ordained by the all-wise God; and the earth and its inhabitants are receiving continual benefits from them. 3. In man himself. "The dominion that God has bestowed on man is a great glory and honor to him; for all dominion is honor, and the highest is that which wears the crown."

Closet Promise.—Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.—Luke xii. 7.

We all need in this scene of conflict to give heed to the following words from the pen of Walter J. Mathams:

"Cast all thy care on God, Nor deem thou direst wrong; With ease He'd bear the largest load, For He is very strong.

"What makes thy spirit bend, He will not feel at all; The mighty universe itself To Him is very small

"Then be thou wise at once, Come in thy need to Him; Why shouldn't thou bear the cross alone, Which wearies every limb?

"If thou shouldst longer stay, 'Twill grow in size and weight Until it crush thee in the dust And make thee wise too late.

"Be this thy heart's true creed: God knows thy every care,

And only waits thy willingness 'Thee and thy cross to bear.'"