January 25

Psalm ii. 1. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6. Yet have I set my King upon my holy bill of Zion. 7. I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings! be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

This psalm, in the spirit of prophecy, celebrates the inauguration of the Messiah as king in his Church, with authority and power to subdue the world. David himself never attained to any such universal dominion as is here described, though it be taken with the license of poetry; and the reign of Solomon was not disturbed by any such array of enemies as this vision brings before us. Neither David nor Solomon, therefore, could have been the king whom the psalm celebrates; nor did any subsequent period of the kingdom of Judah answer to these conditions. It was interpreted as a prophecy of Christ by the apostles, when "Hero! and Pontius Piate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against the holy child Jesus;" and again by Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where Christ is set above the angels, as the only-begotten Son of God. He who was born into the world of a lowly virgin, was, before his advent, consecrated in heaven to be King over God's true

12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Revelation 1. 4. Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne; 5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. 6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Israel, with the promise of the universal triumph of his spiritual dominion. This is his coronation hymn. John, in the Revelation, takes up the strain in a doxology to Christ as having divine power and glory.

Providential causes and powers will contribute to this result. In language borrowed from our human emotions, the Lord is said to "laugh" at his enemies, and to be "angry" with them in turn. The "derision" shows how vain and foolish are all the combinations of men against truth and righteousness; the "displeasure" signifies the justice of God aroused against those who attempt to obstruct his truth and hinder his grace. So, in time, all oppressive governments and false religious shall go down.

This should give us hope and confidence in times of darkness and confusion in the world. Christ's kingdom must prevail. May ours be the blessedness of those who trust in him!

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Thine, O Lord! is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine: thine is the kingdom, O Lord! and thou art exalted as Head over all. We bless thee that thou hast given unto thy Son the kingdom in this world, and hast promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his Church; and we beseech thee, upon this thy holy day, so to bless thy truth and all the appointed means of grace that a great multitude of souls shall be born into the kingdom of Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. Make thy Word a comfort and a joy unto all believers, and the power of God unto salvation to the world that lieth in wickedness.

Prayer.

[Nos. 49, 80.

O Lord Jesus! rule thou in our hearts; by thy redeeming grace take away our sins; by thy sanctifying presence fill our souls with thy peace. May we do all things to thy glory, and show forth thy praise in our lives! We humbly thank thee, O Lord! for the blessings of the past week, for thy daily benefits to us, and to all dear to us. Bless this household, this day and always, with thy grace. May every one of us before thee, and all who are united with us in family ties, be found within the kingdom of thy dear Son! May we know the joy of a full consecration unto Him who hath redeemed us to God with his precious blood! and, having served him in his kingdom here, may we come to be partakers of his glory in the kingdom of his Father, for Christ's sake! Amen.