February 23

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with strunged instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the lead cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

"Each of the last five psalms begins and ends with Hallelujah!—'Praise ye the Lord.' And each Psalm increases in praise, love, and joy, unto the last, which is praise celebrating its ecstasy. The elect soul, the heir of God, becomes 'eaten up' with the love of God. He begins every sentence with Hallelujah; and his sentences are very short, for he is in haste to utter his next Hallelujah, and his next, and his next. He is as one out of breath with enthusiasm, or as one on tiptoe, in the act of rising from earth to heaven. The greatest number of words between any two Hallelujahs is four, and that only once; in every other instance, between one Hallelujah and another there are but two words. It is as though the soul gave utterance to its whole life and feeling in the one word, Hallelujah! The words, 'Praise ye the Lord!' or 'Praise him!' 'Praise him!' 'Praise him!' are reiterated no fewer than twelve times in a short psalm of six short verses."—John Palsford.

"And now, in the last psalm of all, we see an echo to the first psalm. The first psalm began with 'Blessed,' and it ended with 'Blessed'—'Blessed are all they that meditate on God's law and do it.' Such was the theme of the first psalm; and now the fruit of that blessedness is shown in this psalm, which begins and ends with Hallelujah."—Christopher Wordsworth.

Closet Promise.—I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.—Psalm lxix. 30, 31.

Not only for the light of loving hearts That cheered my lonely life, I thank Thee, God; Not for my childhood's home, nor fearless eyes, Nor pleasant paths of peace my feet have tried; But that the idols, tenderly embraced, By this weak heart, and falsely called mine own,

Thou didst withdraw, that I in time might learn To fear upon Thy holy arm alone. For the sharp reed that pierced this feeble hand, For thorn torn feet that Thou alone couldst see. For the deep fount of tears by Thee told o'er, I thank Thee, Lord. They brought me nearer Thee. —Anna Shippen.