Basham, and Reuben it was the great sheep-farm of the East; and it requires no imagination to picture David looking forth in melancholy thought from the terrace wall of Mahanaim upon the uplands, and seeing, as the traveller may see now, the shepherd bringing the flocks at noontide beneath the shadow of the trees to the greenest and tenderest pasture, and as evening fell leading them down to the springs of quiet waters to slake their thirst. Picture to yourselves the mournful king watching that landscape in his solitude, and then, as darkness suddenly fell, and the outward images became ideas in the brain, you will feel how natural it was that the Psalm should well upwards from the heart. We can almost hear the quick, spontaneous words which rushed to his lips as he retired to rest, 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.'"

"Jehovah is my

ANNOTATIONS.-Ver. 1.-" The Lord is my shepherd." shepherd." The comparison of God's care to that of a shepherd was first used by Jacob, Gen. xlix. 24-xiv. 15; then by Moses, Deut. xxxii. 6, 12. From these passages the prophets borrowed the same figure— Is. xl. 11; Ezek, xxxiv. 12, 23; Micah, vii. 14. In the New Testament Christ is compared to a shepherd—John x. 11; 1 Peter ii. 25; v. 4; Heb. xiii. 20. Travellers in the East, such as Dr. W. M. Thomson, author of the "Land and the Book;" Rev. J. L. Porter, author of the "Giant Cities of Bashan," and others record the peculiarly close and tender relationship of the Oriental shepherd to his flock. "I shall not want." This is the practical inference. With a shepherd ever present, ever tender, ever good and mighty, want is impossible. "I shall not want"-what? Money, fame, power, unbroken health, these may all go and yet there may be no want of aught to make the soul free, great, triumphant, and joyous. He is the affluent man whose soul is fully satisfied. Temporal destitution is not only compatible with spiritual opulence, but often a condition to it—“though poor, possessing all things." "I shall not want." Want nothing that I desire, for I shall desire nothing but that which makes me holier, which brings me nearer to God.

Ver. 2.-" He maketh me to lie down in green pastures."

"Pastures"

plentifulness of provision. An abundance of delicious and nutritious herbage farther than the eye can reach. "Green pastures "-the necessaries associated with the beautiful. What is more beautiful to the eye than verdant hues? In the margin it is "pastures of tender grass." But Alexander translates the expression "pastures of verdure." "Lie down." I rest amidst the beautiful and the plentiful. I lie down, I am satisfied, I am at ease; I have no fear, anxiety, or want; I ruminate amidst an affluence of bounty and beauty. "He leadeth me beside the still waters." By "still waters" here, we are not to understand quiet waters, but quiet souls. "The repose," says Alexander, "is not of the waters themselves, but of the flocks reclining near them." We don't know that "still waters 99 are more pleasant to the eye or the taste than the agitated. We like the waters that roll by us with

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sufficient agitation to make music on the ear; but stillness of soulmoral quietude—is a desirable and a beautiful state. David means to say, "He leadeth me with a quiet soul beside the waters;" or, as the "Four Friends" translate the expression, "He leadeth me beside the waters of comfort." Beside," not merely to them, but along their verdant banks. "He leadeth"-He draws, not drives. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." "He"-what a leader! It is a long and trackless way, reaching not only through time, but through eternal ages; but He knows every step. Ver. 3.-" He restoreth my soul." He refresheth my soul. The meaning of the word is to vivify, or to quicken. All finite souls are liable to exhaustion. There is but One in the universe "who fainteth not, neither is weary." And it is He who gives refreshment to wearied souls. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness." This may mean either paths opposed to the devious or the dangerous, or paths opposed to the unholy and the wrong. Righteousness has many paths, but all running in one direction: paths suited to minds of every intellectual and moral type, and of every social condition in life. There is a righteous path for the poor and the rich, for the young and the old, for the ruler and the ruled, &c. "For His name's sake." God's motives of action are underived, His springs of action are in Himself. Whatever He does He does for His own sake, and the dearest thing to His heart is the happiness of His creation.

Ver. 4.-" Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” It is generally supposed that this clause refers to death, but such a view is an utter misapprehension of the figure. What is the picture? "To realize it," says an able expositor, "we must conceive a long narrow valley or glen, shut up on either side by impassable mountains, and along the base of which lies the path we have to travel. At the further end sits the giant form of death-grim, dark, repulsive-filling up the whole space; shutting out from the view the bright scenes that lie beyond, and projecting his gloomy shadow all down the valley, even to its very gorge. It is a picture of life, which is a journey onward into death. Within the skirts of that far-reaching shadow the infant enters with the first breath it draws; and on, on, on, ever deeper into the shadow must we travel, until the grim tyrant at length holds us in his arms and claims us as his prey. Our whole life is a walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

'The arrow that shall lay me low

Was shot from Death's unerring bow

The moment of my birth.

And every footstep I proceed

It tracks me with increasing speed.

I turn-it meets me !-Death

Hath given such impulse to that dart,

It points for ever to my heart." "

It is worthy of note that all the verbs in the Psalm are in the future, except the one translated "anointest." And David is speaking of himself here as walking in death's shadow; and so are all. The dark shadow of death rests on our path wherever we go; we are walking through it. A shadow ever implies light: there is a sun behind the craggy hills. "I will fear no evil." However dark and chilly the shade that is thrown in my path as I walk through the deep and weird ravines of life I will not, or rather I do not, fear. What harm can a shadow do? The shadow of the prowling beasts can't harm me, the shadow of a mountain can't crush me. "Thou art with me." This is the philosophy of his courage. The Almighty and all-loving ever near. The child will walk with fearless steps the darkest rooms in the old castle when he feels his hand locked in the hand of his father. rod and Thy staff they comfort me." "The Shepherd," says Dr. W. M. Thomson, in his "Land and the Book," "invariably carries a staff or rod with him when he goes forth to feed his flock. It is often bent or hooked at one end, which gave rise to the shepherd's crook in the hand of the Christian bishop. With this staff he rules and guides the flock to their green pastures, and defends them from their enemies. With this also he corrects them when disobedient, and brings them back when wandering. This staff is associated as inseparably with the shepherd as the goad is with the ploughman." The "rod" and the "staff” are mentioned perhaps not as weapons of defence, but as badges of the Shepherd and tokens of His presence.

"Thy

Ver. 5.—" Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." Here Jehovah appears to his imagination in a new character. The SHEPHERD gives way to the HOST. A table is set before him and a banquet is spread. It is richly furnished with every variety of food, and he is allowed to feast in the presence of his enemies. His foes look on full of rage and envy, but they fret not his spirit, nor prevent him from enjoying the banquet. There is something triumphant in feasting before foes. "Thou anointest my head with oil." This is an allusion to the richness and abundance of the unction which was used on ancient festive occasions. "My cup runneth over." That is, my beverage runMore than sufficient to eat and drink he had, his cup ran

neth over.

over.

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Ver. 6.-" Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Here we have the source of all the blessings specified in the preceding verses-"Goodness and mercy." And here is the expression of confidence that these blessings will continue to flow on him during his life. "Surely goodness," or as some render it only goodness, nothing but goodness, &c. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” To dwell in His house means not frequenting His sanctuary, but being a permanent member of His family, enjoying His presence, and subsisting on His bounty.

ARGUMENT.-The grand sentiment of this exquisite ode is exultant con

fidence in God, in passing through life. (1.) Confidence in God as his Shepherd; (2.) confidence in God as his Host, preparing a table for

him.

HOMILETICS.-It is easy, and therefore common, to write panegyrics on this matchless poem. Some have called it the nightingale of Psalms, pouring forth a fresh melody which, when once heard, will never be forgotten. Some have called it the pearl, because in purity, beauty, and worth it is unsurpassed. Some have called it the Pleiades among the other constellations of the book. We may multiply grand names, but this will not bring out its wealth of sentiment. No portion, perhaps, of God's Word is better known than this. Thousands of children in every generation commit it to their memory at the very dawn of their reason, and it goes down with them as a good angel to the close of life, and often charms them into rapture as they cross the dividing stream. It has been the text of ten thousand sermons, and for ages it has been pealing its grand sentiments in all the churches of Christendom. It has got into nearly all the languages of the earth, and speaks to men of every tongue. It has been balm to many a bleeding heart, and courage to many a desponding soul. It has gone to the poor man in his hovel, and its words have made him rich. It has entered the cell of the prisoner, and caused the captive to exult in a liberty which no despot could injure, no time destroy. It has gone down with mourners to the grave of their loved ones, wiped away their tears, scattered the clouds of sorrow, and brought the sunshine of immortality into the breast. Naturally timid souls it has clothed with the unconquerable prowess of confessors. It has attended the martyr to the stake, and charmed him into rapturous music amidst the fury of the flames. In one word, under its influence the mean has become noble, the cowardly heroic, the sad joyous, the desponding luminous with hope.

Homiletically we see in this psalm what the God of the world is in the eyes of the good. God appears a very different Being to different minds. To some He is absolute Force; to others, an iron-hearted Spectator; to others, an arbitary Despot; to others, an indignant Judge. But here we have Him as He ap

pears to the good. We have Him here in two aspects-a Shepherd and a Host.

I. He appears as a SHEPHERD to the good. "The Lord is my shepherd." Those who follow this Shepherd are truly blest blest in many ways that are here suggested.

First: They are blest with deliverance from the fear of want. "I shall not want," or as some render it, "I do not want." The fear of "want" is one of the most disturbing fiends of the human soul. Men are everywhere fearing that they shall lack a something which they regard as vital to their interests. Godliness expels this fear from the human heart by inspiring unbounded confidence in the bountihood of Heaven. What can he want who can say, "The Lord is my portion?"

Secondly: They are blest with the enjoyment of satisfying good. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." The 'green pastures into which they are led, so beautiful and abundant, possess such a soul-satisfying quality that, having fed upon the abundance, they lie down in their midst to ruminate upon the boundless beneficence of God. "He maketh me to lie down." He has allayed my appetite, dispelled my anxieties, satisfied my nature, and caused me to "lie down" amidst the affluence of His love.

Thirdly: They are blest in being calmly led along the river of life. "He leadeth me beside the still waters." The word 66 'still," as I have already observed, refers not to the "waters," but to the soul. On the whole "still waters" to me are not as interesting as water in agitation. I like the purling brook, the rattling stream, the rushing, roaring river, better than the sleepy current. The spiritual blessings of the Gospel are often compared to "waters;" they are the rivers of soul-life. Jehovah leads His people not only to that river, but along its flowery banks, where they inhale the sweet aroma that floats in the air, and slake their thirst with the refreshing drops.

Fourthly: They are blest with reinvigoration of soul. "He restoreth my soul." There is a wear and tear of soul as well as of body. The holiest and the strongest angel would soon get exhausted were it left to depend upon itself. God is the