_David spake unto the Lord the word of this song._ THE SONG OF THANKSGIVING Some of David’s actions are very characteristic of himself; there are other actions quite out of harmony with his character. This psalm of thanksgiving belongs to the former order. It is quite like David, at the conclusion... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress._ GOD OUR ROCK A great mountain lifts itself up, with perpendicular face, over against some quiet valley; and when summer thunders with great storms, the cliff echoes the thunder, and rolls it forth a second time, with majesty increased; and we think that, to be... [ Continue Reading ]
_He bowed the heavens also and came down._ JESUS ANNOUNCED In 1808 there was a meeting of the Emperors of France and Russia at Erfurt. There were distinguished men there from other lands. It was so arranged that when any of the Emperors arrived at the door of the reception-room the drum should bea... [ Continue Reading ]
_He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters._ PROGRESS FROM ABOVE All real progress is from God. There is no little truth in the observation of Mephistopheles “that the human mind merely advances spirally, and reverts to a spot close to its origin.” Dr. R. D. Hitch-cock says: “I... [ Continue Reading ]
_With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful._ GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE THE UNFORGIVING You say that the desert is a desert, because no rain falls upon it; but this is only half the truth. No rain falls upon it because it is a desert. The heated air rushing up from its arid surface disperses the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Thou art my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord will lighten my darkness._ REJOICING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD The Rev. Dr. Horton, who, after a period of seclusion through trouble with his eyesight, recently returned to his church at Hampstead, related in one of his Sabbath sermons how one day he was in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is tried; He is a Buckler to all them that trust in Him._ GOD’S WAY PERFECT, HIS WORD TRIED, HIMSELF THE BELIEVER’S BUCKLER We have, in the words of our text--first, the perfection of God’s way--next, the purity of God’s Word--and, lastly, the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For who is God, save the Lord?_ and who is a Rock, save our God? JEHOVAH OWNED AND HONOURED If these questions were proposed from the throne of God amidst the surrounding glorified spirits, there would be but a single word of answer echoed through the glorious realm, “None! none is is God, save J... [ Continue Reading ]
_He maketh my way perfect._ THE PERFECT WAY INDICATED A gentleman crossing the English Channel stood near the helmsman. It was a calm and pleasant evening, and no one dreamed of a possible danger to their good ship. But a sudden flapping of a sail, as if the wind had shifted, caught the ear of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_He maketh my hands to war._ FAITH WINNING VICTORIES Dr. Campbell Morgan told me at Northfield of an instance of the kind. A poor man came to him after a service on Round Top, where the body of Mr. Moody lies, and said, “Do you believe that when you are tempted, and say, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy gentleness has made me great._ THE REAL GREATNESS OF MAN David spake unto the Lord the words of this song on the day when he had emerged victorious from all his struggles. It is the story of a life written and set to music by the man who lived it. It is not a piping song of peace, green pastur... [ Continue Reading ]
_As soon as they hear they shall be obedient unto me._ THE MAGNETISM OF A GREAT PERSONALITY William Wetmore Story tells an interesting tale of James Russell Lowell and himself. It was when they were young men, and they were very angry with Daniel Webster for staying in Tyler’s cabinet, and, as he w... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord liveth._ A LIVE CHRIST One day the late Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, was writing a sermon, and when half-way through, the thought of the living and risen Lord broke in upon him as it had never done before. “Christ is alive!” I said to myself. “Alive!” and then I paused. “Alive!” And then I p... [ Continue Reading ]
_The people under me._ MAJESTY OF THE PEOPLE The word people has, by the French, been long applied to the lowest order only; it was considered by many members of the first National Assembly as lowering the Deputies to denominate them “Representans du Peuple Francais.” Mirabeau, in one of his discou... [ Continue Reading ]
_And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies._ PASSING THROUGH AN OPPOSING MEDIUM Those meteoric stones, which sometimes fall to the earth, but which much more frequently, at certain seasons of the year, are seen shooting across the midnight sky, may also be fragments of the aforesaid world which... [ Continue Reading ]