_I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth._ A DEVOUT HYMN I. an exemplification of true praise. 1. It is thorough. (1) There is no praise without concentration of soul. (2) Distracting forces are rife. 2. It is constant. (1) In every department of action... [ Continue Reading ]
_My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad._ RIGHTFUL BOASTING We all are prone to boast, and often on very slender grounds. The worst are they who boast of their own goodness. We are to glory only in the Lord. Now such rightful boasting includes the eleva... [ Continue Reading ]
_O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together._ A TESTIMONY MEETING “God’s praises sound best in concert.” The praise that lifts its voice in solitude is beautiful, but it is far more beautiful when heard in communion with the praise of one’s fellows. Each instrument in the orches... [ Continue Reading ]
_I sought the Lord, and He heard me._ THE REASONABLENESS OF PRAYER I. what the head, left to itself, thinks about prayer. The head, discerning only the externality of it, sees man, the creature, venturing to go into the presence of Jehovah the Creator, and ask to have just what he may wish for. Tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_They looked unto Him and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed._ GOOD AUTHORITY FOR A GOOD HOPE How low, oftentimes, has been the condition of the people of God! See the lamentations of Jeremiah. But he and all God’s saints have looked unto God and were lightened. Consider-- I. their... [ Continue Reading ]
_This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him._ SUPERNATURAL FACTOR IN PRAYER The most dangerous doctrine concerning prayer is that current philosophy of the matter which presents a half-truth only; allowing the subjective value, but denying all objective efficacy to prayer--_i.e._ admitting a benef... [ Continue Reading ]
_O taste and see that the Lord is good._ IMPORTANT EXHORTATION I. A call to the enjoyment of divine goodness (Psalms 34:8). Two things are necessary to the enjoyment of this goodness: 1. Freedom from a sense of guilt. 2. A sense of true gratitude. (1) Enjoying God’s goodness involves trust in H... [ Continue Reading ]
_O fear the Lord, ye His saints._ A NOBLE COWARDICE This means that the fear of God does not indicate a defect of the nature. Blindness is a defect; deafness, lameness--these involve privation. But the fear of God does not involve privation; it implies possession. When I go into a picture gallery,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing._ LIONS LACKING, BUT THE CHILDREN SATISFIED I. A short but beautiful description of a true Christian. He is one that seeks the Lord. This description of a Christian is invariably correct. It the p... [ Continue Reading ]
_Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord._ THE ROOTS OF THE BLESSED LIFE What man is he that desireth a life that will extract the real “good” out of things, that will gather the honey in the hidden places, that will discover the essences in experiences, and get t... [ Continue Reading ]
_What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?_ THE HAPPINESS OF LIFE Why is it we see man on all sides wearying himself in the effort to obtain this and that? It can only be because they imagine that these things will make them happy. But will they? Not so. Most me... [ Continue Reading ]
_The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers._ The countenance of the Lord is against them that do evil. THE EYE OF GOD We all know well how much and often the Holy Scriptures speak of the blessed God, attributing to Him, under a figure, various human thin... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken ,heart: and sayeth such as be of a contrite spirit._ THE BROKEN HEART AND ITS DIVINE RESTORER The Lord is nigh. Now to be nigh to one object is to be more or less distant from others. So is it with men, and human language is employed to represent wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth them out of them all._ THE TRIAL OF THE RIGHTEOUS The sum of this verse is as if he should say, Let the righteous look for more troubles than others, and likewise let them hope for greater comforts than others; for when they are w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Evil shall slay the wicked._ SIN THE SLAYER “Evil shall slay the wicked.” When? Now. The judgment is in process of execution to-day. Evil slays men to-day. Righteousness delivers men to-day. I. evil shall slay the wicked. Have you ever known that to happen? Have you ever known evil to slay a man-... [ Continue Reading ]
_None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate._ NO CONDEMNATION The R.V. accurately renders the words: “None of them that trust in Him shall be condemned.” When we read in the New Testament that “we are justified by faith,” the meaning is precisely the same as that of our text. Thus, however i... [ Continue Reading ]