_I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever._ A MAJESTIC SONG This psalm is one of the very choicest songs in the night. Midst a stream of troubled thoughts there stands a fair island of rescue and redemption, which supplies standing-room for wonder and worship; while the music of the words,... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I have said, Mercy shall be built up far ever._ THE BUILDING UP OF A GOOD GOVERNMENT FOR THE WORLD I. A good government for the world is a desirable thing. Human society would scarcely be possible without a government. II. A good government for the world is destined to be established (Psalms... [ Continue Reading ]
_And, the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord._ THE WONDROUSNESS OF GOD I. His wonderfulness is the inspiration of universal worship. Awe, reverence, amazement, enter into the highest worship, but these could not exist if the object were fully comprehended. II. His wonderfulness is seen in h... [ Continue Reading ]
_For who In the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?_ THE GREATNESS OF GOD The true God, Sovereign of heaven and earth, is incomparably great-- I. In His being and existence. 1. Eternal. 2. Perfect. 3. Independent. 4. Unchangeable. There are no tenses with God--past, present, and to come; bu... [ Continue Reading ]
_God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints._ A MODEL SOCIAL GATHERING Men meet in vast multitudes for pleasure, for counsel, and for worship. The text indicates a social gathering of the highest type. I. The characters united in this gathering. The word “saint” means a sanctified... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My _servant. THE COVENANT OF REDEMPTION The psalmist is anticipating the time when the families of mankind should be raised from a condition of spiritual ruin, when the covenant should be given back to them, whereby they should be bro... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them._ THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT OF THE TUMULTUOUS I. He rules the material sea. How furious does the old ocean sometimes become, how its billows often rise like mountains, roar like lions, and battle like demons! But God... [ Continue Reading ]
_The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine._ THE AFFLUENCE OF GOD God owns the whole universe. I. He holds His vast property by absolute right. He produced all. II. He holds His vast property in perpetuity. All that men fictitiously call their property must pass from their hands. But God ho... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast a mighty arm; strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand._ THE MIGHTY ARM When the soul is perfectly reconciled to God, and comes to delight in Him, it rejoices in all His attributes. At the first, perhaps, it dwells almost exclusively upon His love and His mercy, but it afterwards... [ Continue Reading ]
_Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne._ THE THRONE OF GRACE I. A view of the throne. 1. What it is, and why so called. It is God manifesting Himself in our own nature, and dealing with sinners through Christ according to the grace of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:19). Now, God’s ad... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound._ THE BLESSEDNESS OF KNOWING THE GOSPEL I. The Gospel is a happy message. “The joyful sound.” It is good news. 1. Liberty to the captive. 2. Pardon to the condemned. 3. Salvation to the lost. 4. Immortality to the dying. It is a trumpet of jubi... [ Continue Reading ]
_In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted._ THE BELIEVER EXALTED IN IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS I. A few propositions anent this righteousness for clearing its nature and necessity. II. A few properties of this righteousness in which believers are exalt... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have laid help upon One that is mighty._ OUR HELPER I. We need help. Christianity does three things for us, which Deism does not. 1. It tells us that this was not our original state; that God made man upright, but he sought out many inventions. 2. It checks much of the evil now: by its direct... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers._ THE MEDIATORIAL GLORY AND DOMINION OF JESUS CHRIST UNDER THE GOSPEL-DISPENSATION I. The means and the agency by which the kingdom, authority, and grace of the Mediator are extended among the nations of the world, and this pro... [ Continue Reading ]
_If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments._ GOD’S DISPLEASURE AT HIS PEOPLE’S SINS I. The conduct described. 1. Far from uncommon. 2. Exceedingly heinous. 3. Very ungrateful. 4. Highly inconsistent. How unlike Him whose name they bear! 5. Truly lamentable. (1) In itself.... [ Continue Reading ]
_As the sun _ THE SUN AS AN EMBLEM OF GOD The sun has always been an object so full of mystery and amazing quality that in a large part of history it was worshipped as a deity, and it is destined in all the remainder of history to be the greatest emblem of God. It leaves behind it the seven wonder... [ Continue Reading ]
_It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven._ THE CHARACTER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST UPON EARTH AS SYMBOLIZED BY THE MOON IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM In the history of the creation it is written (Genesis 1:14). How the sun and the moon in our solar system come to be “f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast Thou made all men in vain?_ THE SENSE OF LIFE’S BREVITY I. That it is a right feeling, because it accords with fact. Human life is short, if you consider-- 1. That an end must come to it here. 2. Its re-beginning after its earthly close. It is short... [ Continue Reading ]
_What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?_ shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? THE CERTAINTY OF DEATH Death is the beaten road of all mankind: it is the way of all flesh. I. Illustrate the point. 1. Both good and bad are promiscuously taken away by death. The reaso... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lord, where are Thy former lovingkindnesses, which Thou swarest unto David in Thy truth?_ ETHAN’S PSALM Of Ethan the Ezrahite we may form a much more complete conception than of Heman, his colleague and friend. Like Heman, he was born in the age of David, but moulded chiefly by the influences, lit... [ Continue Reading ]