_Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them alone that hate Him flee before Him._ A GOOD PRAYER This was what was always said by Moses, when the ark set forward afresh in the wilderness. Enemies were in the path of its progress, and if the ark was to advance, God must scatter them Advan... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sing unto God._ THE SERVICE OF SONG The spirit of holy song is not confined to any denomination. It is given as a precious boon to kings and shepherds, rich and poor, bond and free, men and women, Catholic and Protestant, Moravian, Quaker and Baptist. We are growing in the charity of Christ. Ther... [ Continue Reading ]
_God setteth the solitary in families._ THE MANIFOLD MERCIES OF GOD--THE FAMILY There is a strong disposition on the part of many now to deny the goodness of God as seen in Creation. A great philosopher, recently deceased, assures us, in his last deliverance about Nature, that on the whole this is... [ Continue Reading ]
_O God, when Thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst march through the wilderness._ THE PROGRESS OF HUMANITY I. It commences with the Divinely terrible (Psalms 68:7). As a rule, if not always, the very first step of the soul on its moral march is preceded by visions of God that start... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance when it was weary._ REFRESHING SHOWERS The language is figurative. There is no mention of any rain in Israel’s history. It was a rain of gifts. “He rained down manna upon them,” etc. “I will pour water upon him... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou, O God, hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor._ GOD’S PROVISION FOR THE POOR We hold it as altogether one of the most forcible sayings of Holy Writ, that “the poor shall never cease out of the land.” The words may be regarded in the nature of a prophecy; and we think their fulfilment has... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord gave the Word: great was the company of those that published it._ THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL The occasion of this psalm--the carrying up of the ark to Jerusalem: the joyful procession is described. But it has a prophetic import as well as a literal one. It points on to the Ascension... [ Continue Reading ]
_Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove._ AMONG THE POTS The text has been a sealed passage for ages. Bishop Lowth declared it “unintelligible.” Mr. Spurgeon calls it “a hard passage, a difficult nut to crack.” But new light is constantly breaking out of the Scri... [ Continue Reading ]
_The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels._ THE CHARIOTS OF GOD We read much in Scripture about the holy angels, how high and glorious their condition is. And we are told often how these holy angels do their work that we may learn how we should do ours. All God’s works teac... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive._ ASCENSION DAY This is the “Carmen seculare” of the old Hebrew Church, answering to the “Te Deum” of the Christian Church, and far surpassing it. In martial fervour, and in impassioned intensity of expression, the Hebrew songs excel all... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation._ GOD AS THE DELIVERER OF HIS PEOPLE I. A liberal dispenser of daily blessings (Psalms 68:19). “Daily beareth our burden” (R.V.). Amongst the many ways in which He helps men to bear their burdens is by kindling... [ Continue Reading ]
_But God shall wound the head of His enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses._ GOD’S THREATENINGS AGAINST INCORRIGIBLE SINNERS I. The persons threatened. 1. In general, God’s enemies; in particular, those who go on still in their trespasses (Leviticus 26:18... [ Continue Reading ]
_They have seen Thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary._ THE PROGRESS OF DIVINE TRUTH IN THE WORLD I. Some men merely witness the progress of Divine truth (Psalms 68:24). What a large class of men there is in Christendom who act thus in relation to the progress of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bless ye God in the congregations, oven the Lord, from the fountain of Israel, etc._ PUBLIC WORSHIP I. Expound the passage. 1. Israel had ordinary congregations every Sabbath and national ones three times a year, and their business was to “bless God.” 2. All Israel was to unite in this. 3. All... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which Thou hast wrought for us._ THE MORAL FORCE OF GOD I. Subjugating men. 1. Commanding kings (Psalms 68:29). 2. Subjugating enemies (Psalms 68:30). What wonderful changes in man God’s moral force in Christ has wrought! Witness the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Scatter Thou the people that delight in war._ A PRAYER FOR PEACE God sometimes does that in which He has no delight. “Surely Thou wilt slay the wicked, O God.” But God saith, “As I live, I have no pleasure in. .. wicked.” And yet He slays them. God can look at your state of ruin, and say, as the G... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God._ ETHIOPIA’S APPEAL Ethiopia is a woman who, after the manner of the poets, represents the whole race of the Ethiopians, just as Britannia, in our songs, represents all the Britons. By Ethiopia the Jews usually meant the country next to Egypt, Et... [ Continue Reading ]