throughout the whole remainder of my existence. I confess my utter unworthiness before Thee, my multiplied sins and provocations; and that in very faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me. O pardon my many shortcomings, my great ingratitude. Forgive the waywardness, the fickleness, the selfishness of my heart. Renew my soul with spiritual youth. Bring me back to my first love. Keep me ever growing in grace, in humility, in meekness, in thankfulness, in purity of heart, in entire devotedness to Thy service. Dwell in me by Thy Spirit. Restore me to Thine image. Prepare me for Thy glory. Thy kingdom, Lord, remember me,' so that Thy poor unworthy servant may be found, with Thy redeemed, ascribing to Thy most blessed name, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, all glory and power, all thanksgiving and praise, forever, and forevermore. Amen."

A

And when Thou comest in

VII.

The Lord executing Judgment for the

Oppressed.

The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.-Verse 6.

AMONG the benefits for which the believer should give thanks unto his God, this is not the least that he has an Almighty Friend to "take his part." Psa. cxviii. 7. Satan is the great adversary of all who love the Lord. The world and the flesh are utterly hostile to His holy and self-denying service. David found this to be the case in the church of old, and we find it to be still the same in the church now.

The Lord God Almighty has condescended to call Himself the “Friend" of His people. He proves Himself to be so in two capacities; for, first, He is not only their faithful Defender, but, secondly, He is also their sure Avenger. Whether Satan or men oppress "the little flock" that believe in Him, He will, sooner or later, certainly execute righteous judgment on their behalf. The present chequered scene is not to continue forever. The last of the Old Testament prophets complained that in his day they called "the proud happy, yea, they that work wickedness," he says,

are set up: yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." But immediately the Lord the Spirit taught him to add this solemn truth, "Behold the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts." Then shall it come to pass that we shall "return" from the dust, and shall fully and finally "discern" between the righteous and the wicked : "between him that serveth God, and him that serveth Him not." Mal. iii. and iv.

Retribution is positive. Its hour is appointed, but not yet arrived. Meantime, however, even in this present life, God exercises a providential judgment. Righteousness is the Lord's delight. He hateth wickedness and oppression. The poor, the widow, and the fatherless, have an unseen Defender, who will "come near to judgment," and will be a "swift witness" against "all oppressors." Mal. iii. 5. The Lord will never suffer His people to be trampled on with impunity. Solemn and emphatic are the words by which He appropriates retribution exclusively to Himself: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." Rom. xii. 19. Fearful, therefore, is the condition of those who make the Almighty God their foe, by oppressing and casting down His people. He is a just God; and it were better for such persons that they had never been born, or that they had been drowned in the depths of the sea before they incurred His righteous vengeance; for as certainly as the wicked executes violence against the just, so assuredly "the Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

How consolatory and sustaining to the persecuted believer is this truth, that God is his Protector. No wonder that the Son of Jesse places this upon his list of benefits received, and acknowledges it with a devout heart, and with fervent thanksgivings. Indeed, David, at this part of the Psalm, passes from personal to general benefits. The goodness of God enlarges his view of the Divine benevolence, and of the minuteness and the universality of His providence. No longer, therefore, does he speak only in his own name, but in that, also, of all the family of God. He selects general terms, and employs the plural number onward from this verse. As if he had said "Here I have enumerated blessings vouchsafed to myself, which others, also, may have enjoyed: now will I record benefits common to all believers, and some even to unbelievers, of which my gracious. Lord has made me also a happy partaker."

1

The Psalmist knew more than most men, that "God is a righteous Judge." Psa. vii. 11. (Margin.) He rejoiced to believe that the "just Lord," and Governor of the Universe, was interested in all that might befall him, and that He would stand up for this defence at the right time and in the right way. This doctrine was the root of his confidence, and the foundation of his strength: "The Lord is on my side;" he exclaims, "I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me." Psa. cxviii. 6, 7. In three successive Psalms, the contempt, the opposition, and the oppression, of the unrighteous, are appealed against to the Lord, His aid is implored, and His assistance is celebrated: "Have mercy upon us, O Lord,

have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud." Psa. cxxiii. 3, 4. "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us. " Psa. cxxiv. 1—3. "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever. For the rod (or oppression) of the wicked shall not rest (not remain long) upon the lot of the righteous." Psa. cxxv. 2, 3.

Every human being, who is not walking in the narrow way that leadeth unto life, presents an obstacle to the entrance of others upon that way. He is a moral hinderance to all with whom he happens to meet. In the social and domestic intercourses of life, we are helping each other onward to heaven, or onward to hell. Our looks, our words, our casual acts, and our accustomed habits, have a powerful influence on all with whom we associate. In this sense, “no man liveth to himself." His example tells with effect upon his fellows. One man may be marked amongst his neighbors as a firebrand, casting sparks on every side of him, irritating the minds of others, exciting jealousy, suspicion, and heart-burnings amongst the members of a whole community, so that the first principles of religion, the love of God and of our neighbor, may be for a time well nigh obliterated. Another man may be unnoticed for any positive evil, and yet, by his destitution of religion, he may be