of myself and to Him, the more entirely I forget myself and remember Him; the more simple my faith is not studying its own actings so much as Him and His grace and powerthe more peace and cause for praise shall I have (ver. 11). Such experience will find a way outward. There is, so to speak, a propelling character in the experience of grace. 'We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.' Excessive prudence is sometimes excessive coldness, fear of men, and want of realizing faith. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.' Let us also remember that it is the special commission of the Lord, the special mission of the Church, to 'declare among the nations His doings,' or magnalia,' and,' as Calvin has it,' even though this be like preaching to deaf ears.' Answers to prayer may be delayed for a time, at least so far as outward manifestations (not the inward feeling of peace and security) are concerned. They will, however, certainly come, and that, perhaps, in times of judgment to the world (ver. 12). He remembereth them,' long after their prayer has ascended; He forgetteth not the cry of the humble,' long after the event which had called it forth has passed away. On these Divine facts the believer rests his petition and his hope. Thus vers. 13, 14 embody the prayer of the undeserving through Christ, his felt need, the plea of experienced salvation (Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death'), and the grand object of glorifying God and rejoicing in Him (ver. 14). Such expectations cannot be put to shame nor perish (ver. 18). In His long-suffering and patience the Lord waiteth long, and waiteth to be gracious. But how

awful will be His manifestation, when He adjusteth the balance of His moral government, and 'is known' in view of all His universe 'by the judgment which He executeth! That sad and strange ‘quid pro quo,' as one calls it, which is indicated in the terms of the original, 'let not man prevail,' or be strong the word for 'man' being derived from the verb 'to be weak'-will cease when the Lord shall come. Then shall we be found safe-safe in the clefts of the Rock, -till the storm that shatters the rocks, and the earthquake which shakes the mountains, and the awful fire that lights up that night, are past. Till the morning breaks, we feed among the lilies!

1. Yet a little while,'-God's 'little while,' not mine. Then shall all be adjusted, all put to right; order come out of seeming confusion, light out of darkness, and life out of death. May I not be content to wait with the Master in the ship? Only believe: all things are possible to him that believeth. Let me look around. Oh, what change will take place, and what beauty, when the Lord createth all things anew! And of this we have already both the assurance and the first-fruits in the covenant of grace.

2. I have got, so to speak, four handles by which to lay hold on this Psalm; four steps by which to reach its topmost branches, and shake the olives from its boughs. Thy power and work are my joy (vers. 1, 2); Thyself and Thy name my refuge (vers. 9, 10); Thy mercy my salvation (vers. 13, 14); and Thy faithfulness my hope and confidence (vers. 18, 19).

3. 'None shall pluck them out of My hand;' and, by grace, none shall pluck this out of my hand. I will make ver. 10

my bed of rest. Truly it is a perfect verse. Often have I, in times past, experienced its sweetness and truth. When driven from one clause, I have fled to the other; and from this last, the seeking of Thee, my God in Christ, none can drive me. Whatever else I am or do, I will seek Thee. 'How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.' Though I be the vilest, the weakest, and the lowest of Thy people, Thy love and Thy grace condescend to me; nor can I find 'stronger consolation' than this of verse 10. Amen. Even so let it be with me, both to-day and for ever!

THE trials that beset you,

The sorrows ye endure,
The manifold temptations

That Death alone can cure,—

What are they, but His jewels
Of right celestial worth?
What are they but the ladder
Set up to heaven on earth?
O happy band of pilgrims!

Look upward to the skies,
Where such a light affliction

Shall win you such a prize!

S. JOSEPH OF THE STADIUM. (Hymns of the Eastern Church.)

XIII.

FAITH AND PATIENCE.

I WHY standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor:

Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire,

And blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.

4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God : God is not in all his thoughts.

5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight : As for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.—Psalm x.

THIS is one of the nine alphabetical Psalms (though not without some irregularities—the other eight being Ps. ix., xxv., xxxiv., xxxvii., cxi., cxii., cxix., and cxlv.), and one of the two in the first book of the Psalter (Ps. i.-xli.) which have no inscription (the other being Ps. xxxiii.) Still, as the difference of subject shows, Ps. x. must be looked upon as rather a sequel than a continuation of Ps. ix. It is an earnest cry of the Church for deliverance; as it were, the Old Testament cry of the souls under the altar. Such, alas! frequently For at all times, even when David was King of Israel, was the Church a small, despised, and persecuted people.

recur.

Her strength lay in spreading her case before God, and expectantly looking up. Thus alone she solved by faith the great mystery of Providence, and conquered, by converting what was matter of complaint into matter of praise—having first converted it into matter of prayer. For Christ is our peace.' The shadow of Christ falling upon us is peace. That such peace is indissolubly joined with constant prayer, appears from Phil. iv. 7, in connexion with ver. 6.

The spiritual frankness with which the Psalm opens (ver. 1), is one of the many signs of the sonship of its writer. For nothing more clearly marks our absolute confidence than to bring our questions to Him, instead of attempting to answer or to suppress them. Very certainly there is but one solution for all such difficulties-to be lifted above them, and to have a clear and bright view of the glorious prospect set before us in His Word. Yet the same objection still often recurs in our experience. The 'why' of Jehovah standing at a distance-hiding, concealing, covering himself in times of pressure and anguish (for that is the idea conveyed)—forms the subject of anxious inquiry, which indeed is answered by that inquiry itself. For all these things will He be inquired of by the house of Israel. Then follows the outpouring of the anguished heart, and too faithful a description of the conduct, motives, and views of the enemy (vers. 2-11). In the pride' (or upliftedness) of the wicked, the poor' (or suffering) becomes burning.' Let us here bear in mind the commentary in 1 Pet. iv. 12, and again, in i. 7, 8. Nay, it even seems that the poor 'are caught in the devices which they have imagined' (for so the expression should be rendered).