shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.' To labour as in view of all this-of the great 'feast in this mountain '—is to contend in prospect of victory. But are we prepared, and preparing, for the day of the Lord'? More than ever do we here feel the need of Thy sovereign grace to teach and uphold us, that so we may be 'unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.'

2. The gospel is the announcement of a blessed fact--that God has provided a way of escape in Christ Jesus, and that He has accepted His perfect righteousness and finished work in our room and stead. This we are to believe; and the gospel call is an invitation addressed to one and all, on the ground of God's love, and of their own need, to credit these tidings, and to avail themselves of the benefits so proclaimed. Faith is our obedience to this invitation; our rest upon that foundation; our trust in what Love has provided, Righteousness effected, Justice accepted, and Truth and Grace dispensed. Thus our faith consisteth mainly of credence and of acceptance. About which of these two, my soul, art thou troubled? Canst Thou distrust either His purpose or His work? Most deeply do I feel my need. But there is sufficient provision, prepared by the Lord Himself, at the price of His precious blood. If there is not evidence of infinite compassion and love to the guilty in this, nowhere else could it be found. Then why hesitate to come? Is it because of the unbelief and unwillingness of the heart which

is natural to us? Then let me ask His Holy Spirit to guide me, with this emphatic assurance upon my mind:' If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?'

3. Once more, let us devoutly meditate over the last verses of this Psalm (vers. 23-31). What a wonderful arrangement has Divine grace made! See how deeply He has descended; see how suitable to our case the gospel-feast which He has spread; see how glorious the results; see how precious the end! Surely we 'shall eat and be satisfied. And with Thyself, blessed Lord, who givest Thyself not only for us, but to us. Here let me worship before Him, wondering how such grace has reached me, and what that grace can effect even in me. This is Thy gospel. O lead me nearer to Thyself, and enable me now to joy in what Thy grace will so soon give Thy Church to enjoy.

SING, my tongue, the glorious battle

With completed victory rife;

And above the Cross's trophy

Tell the triumph of the strife,

How the world's Redeemer conquer'd
By surrendering of His life.

When, O Judge of this world, coming
In Thy glory all Divine,

Thou shalt bid Thy Cross's triumph

Bright above the stars to shine,

Be the light and the salvation

Of the people that are Thine!

Medieval Hymns and Sequences. (Slightly altered.)

XXXIII.

FOLLOWING AFAR OFF.

I My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? 2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not;

And in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel!

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were

not confounded.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the

people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn:

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him :

Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb;

Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

Io I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

II Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

PSALM XXII.

GENERAL REVIEW AND APPLICATION.

AFAR off, and only afar off, can believers here follow in the footsteps of the Master. He bore the cross,-we, also bear it; but it is not the accursed tree;' it is the tree on

which He hung, and which has burst into new life. Then it was winter, now it is spring, and buds and blossoms have appeared on the tree. Still ours it is to follow the Son of Man in His humiliation,' and we also have to 'die daily.' Even in the modified sense in which it applies to us, most awful are the experiences which this Psalm describes. Not all of us are called to pass through such deep waters, though all have spiritual understanding of what the Psalm implies. As Luther saith: 'Therefore let us lay up these words in our hearts, and carefully keep them till the convenient time when we shall require them. And let him who cannot comprehend them, remain with the people down below in the plain, while the disciples go up to Christ in the mountain (Luke vi. 12-17). For all the sayings of this Psalm do not equally apply to every one, even as all have not the same gifts, nor all the same sufferings. According to our varied wants, the Scriptures offer milk to babes, and wine and strong meat for those who are strong, so that as the weak find their proper sustenance in the Scriptures, so they also who are strong, and they who have to undergo a great fight of afflictions.'

Yet, let us mark that as so applying, in a secondary sense, to those who are tried and tempted, this Psalm perhaps more than any other refers exclusively to God's people. This appears from the very intensity of the cry, 'My God.' By this hope and truth the believer clings, as preserving him from utter despair. The fear and apprehension of desertion, caused by a view of ourselves, or by the assaults of the enemy, are such that it appears as if there were only a hair between death and life.' The waves seem closing all around

us, and God is far from helping' us, and 'from the words' of our 'roaring.' Nor can we be 'silent,' until answer is made from the sanctuary (ver. 2). And this is another evidence of the gracious working of His Holy Spirit. Nor is there any argument derived either from His character (ver. 3), or from the history of His dealings (ver. 4, 5) which is not urged. And though it seems as if all this were uttered in the form of complaining contrast, yet does it offer fresh ground for hope and entreaty. So graciously does He allow us to pour out our whole heart, to make known all our doubts and difficulties, and to convert even these into pleas for mercy. The very taunts of our enemies furnish fresh ground for application. For, God cannot give us over to the will of our enemies, and we gladly accept the challenge to 'roll' our case over upon Him who is full of grace and of truth (ver. 8). The burden is too heavy for us, and we remember the admonition of the apostle: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.' The fact that we are His creatures upon earth includes us in the number of those for whom His provision in grace has been made. This is further confirmed by our entire dependence upon Him, from the first moment of our existence (vers. 9, 10). And how otherwise could we stand in face of such enemies? Our felt inability appears (as Luther has it) in 'that inward anxiety, terror, and awe, so great and sudden as to wither and dry up the natural sap of all the members of our body' (ver. 16). Yet even here constant reference is made to God, and in this lies our hope of ulti