ones, and takes up His abode with the humble and contrite heart that trembles at His word.

Observe, in conclusion, the description of those in

whom the Lord takes

pleasure, them that fear Him and hope in His mercy. Two things are joined together, godly fear and hope that maketh not ashamed.' Yes, beloved, in the humble and contrite spirit is a dwellingplace which God loves better than all the splendour that wealth can give. Seek, O seek to realize this for yourselves, beloved! You are not, you cannot be too low or too far off for Him to come and dwell in your hearts, if He has given you this meek and quiet spirit, the meekness of fear mingled with the blessed assurance of the hope that maketh not ashamed.

May this be yours, my beloved friends! May God Himself come to you and make your hearts His home! May you know what it is to be of those in whom the Lord delights! May you be able to say, 'I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!'

Lift up your eyes on the golden grain

Which is clothing nature's breast,

The bright fruit of heaven's refreshing rain,

Which a God of love hath blest.

And behold in that an image true

Of the gospel harvest bright;

Which hath flourished 'neath heaven's gentle dew,

And the day-star's wondrous light.

For the golden shocks are waiting now
For a better harvest home,

Where unfading beauties purer glow,
In the land whence none can roam.

But the harvest needeth willing hands
To cut down its glittering store,
And convey the fruit from distant lands
To the peaceful heavenly shore.

For it blooms not alone on Afric's shore,
On its dreary desert sand,

Nor where Araby's bright fountains pour,
In a fair and beauteous land.

Nor where Ceylon's pearly treasures lie
'Mid the ocean's rippling wave,
Or beneath the burning Indian sky,
The bright waters gently lave.

For the golden ears are waving too
In the far-off lonely West,
Where the Mississippi's waters blue,
Softly roll in 'restless rest.'

From each clime the anxious cry is heard
'Come and help us ere we die;

Come and tell us of the glorious Word
That can lead us to the sky.'

Then let us who know the Saviour's love,
The glad tidings swiftly spread,
That the Indian's home now waits above,
That for him the Blood was shed.

And the harvest shall be gathered home

To a garner in the skies,

Where the storms of earth may never come
Nor its raging tempests rise.

And yet louder shall the shout ascend

Till heaven's archèd vault shall ring,
When all tribes and nations joyful blend
In the praises of our King.

H. E. B. D.

PSALM CXLVII. 12-20.

PRECIOUS PROMISES.

'Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

'For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee.

'He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

'He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: His word runneth very swiftly.

'He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. 'He casteth forth His ice like morsels: who can stand before His cold?

'He sendeth out His word, and melteth them: He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

'He sheweth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel.

He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.'

We have seen, dear friends, that this Psalm divides itself into three distinct parts, each commencing with an emphatic exhortation to praise, see verses 1, 7, and 12. In the first division we are called upon to praise the Lord for His grace in gathering in the outcasts of Israel ; in the second, for His dealings with His people when He has brought them in and bound up their wounds, when He covers the heavens with clouds, not to overwhelm, but to bless them; the third exhortation to praise is not in reference to either of these, it is Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion!' Every one of God's redeemed ones, wherever or whosoever they may be, all are to praise Him; there is to be one glad song of triumphant thanksgiving ascending to Jehovah from the whole Church militant on earth; for it is a good thing to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is comely.' Observe the expression in the 13th verse, 'He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates.' Does any ask How are we to enter into that glorious city? Verily, saith Jesus, I am the door.' Ah, beloved, here is the gate, the only gate, by which we can enter into fellowship with Jesus and communion with His people. By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.' But what then, beloved, are the 'bars' and the strengthening of the bars here spoken of? The answer seems a simple one. The gate of a city

is not only used for admission within its walls, but by means of bolts and bars, it must be rendered secure from aggressors without. Those who pass within that gateway are flying for refuge, yea, for life, and they require not simply to get inside the walls of the city for safety, but to see that the gates are closed and barred behind them so that the avenger of blood cannot follow.

Well, dear friends, the bars of these gates of the heavenly Zion, the bars which are to keep out every enemy, to defy the strength of the strongest and the wisdom of the most subtle, these bars are the promises of Jesus. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.' There is one of the bars. Here is another, 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.' Again, 'No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.' These are strong enough, beloved, to keep the gates against every assault of the enemy. Greater truly is He that is with you than all that can be against you. Well, indeed, may we trust to such bars as these, my beloved friends; yet listen further. He has promised, strong though they be, to strengthen them. He not only in His grace and mercy makes the promise, but he confirms it by an oath. That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.' These walls of salvation,' which have their foundation laid in the sufferings and death of Jesus, are guarded indeed by exceeding great and precious promises, which cannot be broken, and of which not one jot or tittle shall ever pass away.

'He hath blessed thy children within thee.' Outside all may be dark and threatening, but within those blessed gates, ah, there thy children have the blessing, even life for evermore; life perfect, life eternal, life unfading. Yea, there the Lord 'commands the blessing.' This is a remarkable expression, commands the blessing.' How does this blessing come to us, dear friends? Is it not made ours solely through the all-atoning blood of God's dear Son-His finished work, His glorious work; by Him He commands the blessing; none can hinder it from coming to His people, and it is 'life for evermore."'

Verse 14, 'He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat,' or, as it is beautifully expressed in the margin, 'who maketh thy border peace.' Jerusalem was the centre and metropolis, but to the utmost limits of the land it shall be filled with peace; peace all around, peace at all times, 'perfect peace' within those blessed borders. For it is written, 'Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace (or 'peace, peace') whose mind is stayed on Thee.' We may go round about Zion; we may mark well her bulwarks, and consider her palaces; we shall find that all within is perfect peace, constant peace, which the world can neither give nor take away.

But here the believer, whose faith is as a grain of mustard seed, may say, alas! with my poor uncertain peace, how can I be within this blessed Zion at all? Can I be within these walls of salvation and gates of praise? Ah, beloved, remember it is the day of small things as yet, and some may experience the peace more fully and constantly than others, though its full beauty shall not be realised until that day when the Church of the living God shall go forth clothed in her beauteous apparel, 'prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.' Then peace shall flow in like a river, and righteousness as the waves of the sea. Do not be downhearted, my beloved, do not be discouraged, but watch and pray; ere long the