pure and simple revenge does in no way restore man towards the felicity which the injury did interrupt. For revenge is but doing a simple evil, and does not, in its formality, imply reparation, for the mere repeating of our own right is permitted to them that will do it by charitable instruments. All the ends of human felicity are secured without revenge, for, without it, we are permitted to restore ourselves, and therefore it is against natural reason to do an evil that no way co-operates the proper and perspective end of human nature. And he is a miserable person whose good is the evil of his neighbour; and he that revenges, in many cases, does worse than he that did the injury: in all cases as bad." No. CLVII. Moral Features of a Good Man's Life. “I WILL PRAISE THEE WITH MY WHOLE HEART," &c.— HISTORY:-Although this Psalm ANNOTATIONS :— -Ver. 1. will praise Thee with my whole heart, before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee.” By the "gods" here some understand the angels, others the false deities of the heathen world. The idea of the author is, however, that he was courageous enough to worship God before any order of men, however high in themselves or popular in the estimation of men. Ver. 2. "I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth." As the temple was not built in David's day we do not see how he could be the author. "Thou hast magnified Thy Word." Thy promise. "Above all Thy name. "Thou hast performed Thy promise above that which Thy name and fame as a faithful performer of promises led us to expect and hope. A special promise and its abundant fulfilment seem referred to."-Canon Cooke. Ver. 3. "In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul." The rendering of Delitzsch explains the meaning. "In the day that I called Thou didst answer me, Thou didst inspire me with courage, a lofty feeling pervaded my soul." Ver. 4, 5. "All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth," &c. This is a very sanguine hope. In all ages kings have heard the utterances of Jehovah's voice, and alas, but few of them have given thanks, nor have they sung in the "ways of the Lord." ever." Ver. 8. "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me, Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for The words "that which" and "endureth" are not in the original. The idea is that He will carry out the work which He has begun. "Forsake not the works of Thine own hands." He will never neglect what He has created. "Thou openest Thy liberal hand," &c. ARGUMENT:-The author of this Psalm praises the Almighty for the truth of His word, verses 1 to 3,prophecies that all kings should do the same, verses 4 to 6, and expresses his confidence that He will take care of him, verses 7 and 8. HOMILETICS :-We have here the grand resolve, the noble testimony, the sanguine hope, the theological belief, and the sublime confidence of a good man. We have here I. The GRAND RESOLVE of a good man. His resolve was to serve God. First: Entirely. "I will praise Thee with my whole heart." Unless the Almighty is served with this wholeness of soul He is never served at all. Secondly: Courageously. "Before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee." No shame, no timidity, but exulting courage. Thirdly: Intelligently. Here is the reason. (1) "Thy lovingkindness." (2) "Thy truth." Thou hast magnified Thy word" (promise). Here are the highest reasons for serving the Highest Being. He is infinitely good and true. We have here II. The NOBLE TESTIMONY of a good man. "In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul." What good man who has ever prayed could not furnish similar testimony? The answer comes, not perhaps in the way it was expected, but comes in the form of "strength." True prayer is in itself a strengthening exercise. It brings God Himself as the great reality into the soul and makes it mighty for great deeds. We have here III. The SANGUINE HOPE of a good man. "All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth, yea they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.” (1) This hope implies a very desirable object. To have all the kings of the earth praising God, what patriotic, philanthropic, and religious ends could be more desirable? (2) This hope implies a reasonable expecta tion. Would it not be natural to expect that when kings heard of God, the words of His mouth, they would worship and serve Him? We have here 66 IV. The THEOLOGICAL BELIEF of a good man. Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly, but the proud He knoweth afar off." He believed: (1) That no creature is too humble for the Divine regard. He is not so taken up with the vast as to ignore the minute, so sublimely exalted as not to condescend to the meanest. He believed, (2) That no creature is too vile to escape His notice. "The proud He knoweth afar off." Pride is an abomination to the Lord. knows every proud man, and every proud feeling and act. We have here— He V. The SUBLIME CONFIDENCE of a good man. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me." These words present to us. First: The universal law of human life. What is that? Progress, walking. Implying: (1) A constant change of position. (2) A constant approximation to destiny, every step leading nearer to the end. Life is a constant walk. No pause. A rapid walk. "Swifter than a post." An irretraceable walk. Secondly: The saddening probabilities of human life. "In the midst of trouble." The path is not through flowery meads and under azure skies, but rugged, tempestuous, perilous. "In the midst of trouble." human life. Thirdly: The grand support of "Thou wilt revive me." The support is all-sufficient the only effective and ever available. God give us all this confidence in walking in the "midst of trouble." No. CLVIII. The All-Seeing and All-Present One. "O LORD THOU HAST SEARCHED ME AND KNOWN ME." &c.- HISTORY.-This Psalm is attri- shall I flee from Thy pre- (Jer. Ver. 8.-" If I ascend up into heaven Thou art there." Could I soar to the loftiest heights of the universe, I should find Thee there. If I make my bed in hell," literally Sheol or Hades, "Thou art there." There, too, I should meet Thee, down in the deepest abysses as well as in the highest heights. Ver. 9.-"If I take the wings of the morning." "If I should lift up wings (Ezek. x. 16) of dawn, such wings as the dawn of morning has; that is, could I fly with the swiftness with which the first rays of morning's light shot across the sky. Compare the wings of the sun (Mal. iv. 2) and of the wind (Ps. xviii. 10). "And dwell in the uttermost parts of the |