_The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof._ THE FIRST OF THE ASAPH PSALMS This_, _the first of the Asaph psalms, is separated from the other eleven (Psalms 73:1; Psalms 74:1; Psalms 75:1; Psalms 76:1; Psalms 77:1; Psalm... [ Continue Reading ]
_Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined._ ZION THE ABODE OF GOD I. That God dwells in the church. 1. In the congregation of the righteous. 2. In the hearts of His people. II. That the church is “the perfection of beauty” only when God dwells in it. Otherwise the Church is as the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence._ OUR GOD SHALL COME I. The coming of our God. The expression is very striking: “Our God shall come!” Christ is God as well as man. His first coming was in His birth at Bethlehem. Here the psalmist contemplates His second coming. The cry may soon be... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people._ NATURE, A WITNESS AGAINST THE SINNER But she seems, oftentimes, utterly insensible. The most bounteous gifts are bestowed on saint and sinner alike. No matter what outrages on all righteousness and goodness m... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gather My saints together unto Me._ The doctrine of a general judgment and of a final retribution is a doctrine of pure revelation, and is found both in the Old Testament and in the New. But before this judgment shall be issued the command given in our text. I. The characters here described--“My... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings._ LESSONS “I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices;” _i.e._ for thy neglect of them, but for thy resting in them, sticking in the bark, bringing Me the bare shell without the kernel, not referring to the right end and use, but s... [ Continue Reading ]
_If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof._ THE OWNER OF THE WORLD I. There must be a growing knowledge of God amongst men. Men once thought that God could be hungry, and that offerings of wheat, goats, etc., would appease His appetite: but when this... [ Continue Reading ]
_Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows._ A THANKSGIVING MODE OF GLORIFYING GOD 1. “Offer unto God thanksgiving.” For what? “In everything give thanks.” The propriety of this is seen at once when we consider that we owe everything to God. It is impossible, without a due acknowledgment of thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me._ THE TRUE DELIVERANCE Many an one, in the day of trouble, has called on God even with an exceeding bitter cry, and yet has found no deliverance. The “cloudy and dark day” has continued full of a gloom, which no lig... [ Continue Reading ]
_But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare My statutes?_ THE MERE FORMALIST AND THE SPIRITUALIST IN RELIGION I. The mere formalists in religion. 1. They are religiously active--often very busy in preaching and praying. The less heart in religion, generally the more hand; the... [ Continue Reading ]
_These things hast thou done, and I kept silence._ THE SILENCE OF GOD I. Divine silence maintained. He does indeed speak to you by the eloquence of creation; by the kind lips of providence; by His own inspired Word, warning, inviting, entreating and persuading you to seek Christ. But he does not s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now consider this, ye that forget God._ FORGETFULNESS OF GOD: IT’S EVIL Forget God!--is this possible? What! when we see His “eternal power and Godhead” in all things above us and about us? If we look up to the heavens, “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handy-wo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me._ SONGS OF THE BIBLE I. The song of the new birth. Every believer has learned some of the notes of this song, for we enter the kingdom singing it. When in the world, the world’s songs--songs of merriment and glee--were in our esteem the richest and best; but wh... [ Continue Reading ]