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dition upon which he will interpose to save us. It is a condition, however, which being fulfilled by us, secures us his help in the self-same hour, in the selfsame moment. If then we are conscious of exercising faith in him, we can with safety offer up the prayer of the last verse of our psalm, "Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee:" trust in thee, wait for thee. The prayer is just a reminding God, that having through his grace fulfilled the condition on which he has promised to show mercy, we hope for the fulfilment of his promise so made. It is claiming no merit for our faith —that also being the gift of God, (Eph. ii. 8)—but only that, having himself inspired the hope that is in our hearts, he would realize it, according to the strength he has given it. This then being the connection between the exercise of faith on our part, and the exercise of mercy on his part, how earnestly and incessantly should we put up the prayer of the apostles, "Lord, increase our faith." Luke xvii. 5. It enlists on our side at once the great I AM; him who is true, and just, and merciful, omniscient and omnipresent; him who called the universe into being by a word: who spake, and it was done; who commanded, and it stood fast. And surely, if we have him on our side, him, as he was manifested in Christ, we need not fear what man can do unto us. Our

safety and our happiness are in hands where no created power can reach them.

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LECTURE ON PSALM XXXIV.

THE heading of this psalm reads, "A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech ; who drove him away, and he departed." The reason for this caption is given us in the history to which it refers, 1 Sam. xxi. 10-15. Being so sorely persecuted by Saul, that he could no longer remain with safety in any part of the land of Israel, David betook himself to the court of Achish, the king of Gath, who is called in our title also Abimelech, the general name of the kings of the Philistines, as Pharaoh was for a long time the general name of the kings of Egypt, and Cæsar, of the emperors of Rome. Whether or not David visited Achish at his solicitation, we cannot tell. Some suppose that he did, Achish hoping to find him useful in his wars against Saul. It seems, however, that the captains and chief men of Achish were not pleased with David's presence at the court of their king. They seem to have in some way ascertained his true relation to the throne of Israel, as its future occupant; for they say to Achish, "Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands; and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said Achish, unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore have ye brought him to me? Have

I need of madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?" Thus dismissed by Achish, David escaped the dangers threatening him. His conduct, however, on this occasion has been the subject of a great diversity of comment. Some have

defended it; more have condemned it; while others have so explained it as to free it of all just censure. If David's madness was really feigned, the propriety of his conduct is certainly to be questioned; and it was a deception unworthy of him, both as a man and as a believer: unworthy of him as a man, because the true man will no more act an untruth, than he will utter one; and still more unworthy of him as a believer, because it was, for the time-being at least, a distrusting of the power of God to deliver him. It was, in short, doing evil that good might come, and that, too, when the prayer of faith, ascending from his heart at the moment, would have secured him the Divine interposition and protection. The man whose trust in God continues steadfast, will never be left to be tempted beyond his strength. He therefore, to escape from danger, need resort to no mode of questionable morality. There are, however, some few persons who think that David's conduct on the present occasion was not feigned; that the change in his behaviour was caused by a sudden attack of sickness, which, for the time, did actually deprive him of his reason-epilepsy. The persons holding this opinion, think they discover the unmistakable symptoms of that spasmodic and delirious sickness in David's scrabbling, or rather, falling upon the posts of the gate, and foaming at the mouth. If this was so, the fact exculpates David of all blame: if, however, the

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more common opinion be true, that his madness was feigned, his conduct is without excuse. The man who saves his life by a falsehood, pays more for it than it is worth. When told that he might save his life by telling a falsehood, by denying his handwriting, Algernon Sidney replied, "When God has brought me into a dilemma in which I must assert a lie or lose my life, he gives me a clear intimation of my duty, which is, to prefer death to falsehood.' But whether David effected it by means justifiable or unjustifiable, he was equally bound to thank God for the mercy of his escape; and he does this in this psalm, and also improves the occasion to teach, as another has said, his fellow-believers "the art of leading a quiet life, and of being secure against enemies. This art consists in the fear of God, in keeping watch on the lips, in doing no evil, and in following after peace: the consequences of which are, prayer heard, deliverance out of all danger, the gracious presence of God, communion with him, consolation from him, and the protection of person and life."

VERSE 1. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Great and special deliverances excite the mind, as nothing else can, to praise God without ceasing. Such deliverances not only recall to our minds similar deliverances, but they also excite within us a more vivid and abiding sense of God's common mercies to us, and the recollection of the two, so revived. in the memory, keeps his praise continually upon our lips. This was the case with David here. He had been delivered when, throughout all Israel, there was hardly a man whose hand was not against him to

take away his life; and for mercy so vouchsafed him, he resolves that he will render unto the Lord the tribute of continual thanksgiving. This is all the return that God asks of us for any of his mercies to us; and yet how few of us make him the return, so easy, so natural, and so becoming to dependent creatures!

VERSE 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

What causes David specially to exult in the Lord is this-the encouragement which his deliverance would give to others similarly situated, not to despair of the Divine mercy. "The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad." Other tried and tempted believers shall learn, from my experience, that God will never leave them nor forsake them. This we are too apt to forget, and to think, when trouble and sorrow come upon us, that no one else ever had trouble or sorrow like ours. In this we are mistaken; and herein consists the great advantage of being familiar with the spiritual exercises and experiences of other Christians. Their religious history soon teaches us that we have not a trouble which they had not, nor a trial which they had not, nor a temptation which they had not, nor a weakness which they had not, and did not overcome in the strength of the Lord. We hear thereof, and are glad; their experience of the sufficiency and certainty of the grace of God leads us to hope and believe that we too may conquer. Thus the victorious faith of every believer in the whole Church becomes a heritage of hope, and strength, and comfort to every other believer; they hear thereof, and are glad.

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