the way.' There is nothing of gloom or melancholy to the believer in this idea; it is that of being alone with God and at such times as these He gives often such precious glimpses of Himself, that the ravished soul is fain to cry out, 'This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'

In this pilgrim state there are mentioned two separate conditions: Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.' 'Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.' What if it be indeed a way of solitude,' beloved friends, in which we are travelling, if we are thus hungering and thirsting and being filled by Him? which of us would not traverse the wilderness alone as regards earthly companionship, for the joy of having our wants supplied by Him, with the sweet knowledge that He is ours and we are His? Alone with God! What a blessed solitude were this; to be shut out from everything else, from all that could distract or draw away our thoughts from Jesus; to be indeed alone with Him; hungering and thirsting after Him, following the guidance of His eye, in each step of our way, as with His gracious hand He helps us over every difficulty, protects us in the rough places, and leads us oftentimes when weary and spent to the 'shadow of a great rock in a weary land.'

Their soul fainted in them.' Is not this the experience of every child of God among us? Faint and weary, and often sorely discouraged because of the way. It is strange that it should be so; but it is nevertheless true that in the course of a long ministry I do not remember to have met with one believer, who has not at one time or another experienced this 'fainting.' Is it not a miserable proof of the sin which cleaves to us, that we cannot take our stand with Christ, to live or die for Him, and be strong in Him and in the power of His might; but that our hearts must thus fail us, 'because of the way ?'

Yet mark what follows; the only remedy for such faintness as this, 'Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.' Beloved, we could not venture to dwell on the first thought, if it were not followed by this. Thanks be to God, He does not turn away from the weakest or feeblest of the flock, if it cries to Him; nay, the very feebleness of the cry gives assurance that it will be answered; the feeble moan is heard; it reaches His loving ear, and the hand is immediately stretched forth to save, and the poor trembling one is raised up and strengthened and comforted.

In the 7th verse we have a twofold view of deliverance. 'He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.' A 'right way;' ah, beloved, how often we think our way is all going wrong. No, for His hand is over us; His eye is watching us; only let us trust Him with a simple childlike confidence, and He will most surely lead us by the 'right way.' He will have His people safely home at last, and though the way may be dark and gloomy, yet He will bring us through. He will guide our erring steps, until from the thorny wilderness of earth He calls us home to the many mansions, and the rest that remaineth; and we who have wandered long 'in the wilderness in a solitary way,' shall find at last, a bright and glorious 'city of habitation,' far away above earth, and all its cares, and sins, and sorrows, a city whose builder and maker is God.

'Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men ! For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.' We must never expect to be 'satisfied' or 'filled' in this world. The Lord does give oftentimes sweet foretastes of the home beyond, but these are only as a 'brook by the way;' we must be above in His blessed presence, earth and earthly things

for ever left behind, ere we can be satisfied.' There in that bright home there will be no more aching hearts; there will be no more weeping eyes; no pain, no sorrow, no sin; we shall be satisfied when we awake with His likeness.' What a prospect is this, beloved! not only that our pilgrimage will be ended, but that we shall reach at last the peaceable habitation' and the 'quiet resting-place' which is prepared for the people of God. It doth not yet appear what we shall be,' but we know that we shall be filled and satisfied for ever with the abiding sense of the presence and love of our Heavenly Father. And, as we look back upon the days of the years of our pilgrimage below, we shall say one to another, as we meet in that bright home, ah, we sojourned together in the vale of tears; we journeyed home together, and now we are here; the wanderings are past, and the rest begun; Hallelujah to the Lamb who redeemed us; who led, and guarded us all through our pilgrim way; 'O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever!'

Know ye that better land

Where care's unknown?

Know ye that blessed land

Around the throne ?

There, there is happiness;

There streams of purest bliss;

There, there are rest and peace

There, there alone.

Yes, yes, we know that place,

We know it well;

Eye hath not seen His face,

Tongue cannot tell;

There are the angels bright,
There saints enrobed in white,
All, all are clothed in light-
There, there they dwell.

O we are weary here,

A little band,

Yet soon in glory there

We hope to stand;

Then let us haste away,

Speed o'er this world's dark way,

Unto that land of day,

That better land.

Come! hasten that sweet day,

Let time be gone;

Come! Lord, make no delay,

On Thy white throne;
Thy face we wish to see,
To dwell and reign with Thee,
And, Thine for ever be,

Thine, Thine alone.

PSALM CVII. 10-16.

PRISONERS OF HOPE.

'Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

'Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:

'Therefore He brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.

'Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.

'He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

'Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men !

'For He hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.'

WE come now, dear friends, to consider the second picture given us in this precious Psalm, of the condition of God's people in this world. Quite a different view opens before us here. We have seen the Lord's people as pilgrims, hungry and thirsty, wandering in the desert, until the Lord brought them to a city of habitation.' In these verses we have brought before us the people of God as 'prisoners of hope,' in other words as captives.' Now there are three kinds of captivity to which I shall

draw your attention, and of which it seems to me that the last is the one here referred to.

First, there is the captivity under which the sinner is found because he has broken God's law, and that law holds him fast. Second, there is the oppression and dominion of Satan; and third, and to this, I think, the Psalmist refers, that bondage or captivity to which David alludes in the 142nd Psalm, when he says, ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy Name.' He had been delivered from the grievous bondage of sin and Satan, but, like the Apostle, he would say, 'I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.' The cause of this state of captivity is very evident from the language of the 10th verse; we read, 'Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High.' God had set before them in His Word, 'precept upon precept, line upon line,' and against these they had rebelled, and contemned His counsel; they were therefore 'bound in affliction and iron,' and they sat in darkness and in the shadow of death.' And here, beloved, let us ask ourselves, do we yield fealty and obedience to every one of the commandments and precepts of God? If a man does not keep them every one, he is counted a rebel against the law of God. Alas! how slow we are to yield entire and loving obedience to the will of God, forgetting that we are thus literally breaking the whole law. We sometimes refuse to believe even the promises of God. Have we not often said, in our poor, weak faith, These blessed promises can never be for me; how can I take and priate them, vile and unworthy as I am? Thus have we reasoned, beloved, and have we not thereby 'rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of

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