fortless gloom before them, and that to the upright there ariseth light in darkness. Here the youthful Christian finds an echo of encouragement to the energy and resolution of his hopes, and the aged and experienced one, a delightful exhibition of sure and confiding trust in the long-tried mercy of Jehovah. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing. - Thou hast been my support from my youth; now also, when I am old and grayheaded, forsake me not. I have been young, and now am old, yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.-Happy would it be could we all realize in our own bosoms, the love, the gratitude, the penitential sorrow, the sacred confidence, and the fervent aspirations after holiness and heaven, which here so faithfully and vividly delineate the inward life of the Christian. PART OF THE 18th PSALM, COMPOSED BY DAVID ON THE I WILL love thee, O Jehovah, my strength! Jehovah is my rock and my fortress, And my deliverer is my God: My rock, in Him will I trust; My shield, and the horn of my salvation: my high tower. In mine affliction I called upon Jehovah; Then was I delivered from mine enemies. The cords of death surrounded me, And the floods of wickedness made me afraid. In my distress I called upon Jehovah, He heard from his temple my voice, The foundations also of the mountains trembled; He bowed the heavens also and came down; * Hades, translated in the English Bible, Hell, signified a vast subterranean kingdom, -immense, dark, and silent; supposed to be the residence of departed spirits, immediately after death. It is not improbable that the sacred writers of the Old Testament understood by it the intermediate state of existence between death and the judgment. See their sublime poetical description of it in Isaiah, chapter xiv. the translation of which by Lowth may be found in the American First Class Book. And darkness was under his feet. He rode upon the cherub and did fly: He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness his secret place, His pavilion round about him: Darkness of waters, and thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before him his thick clouds passed: Hailstones and coals of fire! Jehovah also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered his voice: He shot out his arrows and scattered them: The multitude of his lightnings, and discomfited them. The foundations of the earth were discovered: At thy rebuke, O Jehovah ! At the blast of the breath of thy wrath. He sent from above, he took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy : And from those who hated me, for they were e stronger thanl. They fell upon me in the day of my calamity, But Jehovah was my stay. He led me out also upon a broad place: He delivered me, for he delighted in me. THE BOOK OF NATURE AND OF REVELATION. PSALM ΧΙΧ. TRANSLATED BY THE REV. GEORGE R. NOYES. THE heavens declare the glory of God; The firmament sheweth forth the work of his hands. Day uttereth instruction to day, Yet their sound goeth forth to all the earth, In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, Which cometh forth, like a bridegroom, from his chamber, And maketh his circuit to the end of it; And nothing is hid from his heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, The precepts of the Lord are sure, giving wisdom to the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart, The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More precious are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold. By them also is thy servant admonished, And in keeping of them there is great reward. Who knoweth his own offences? O cleanse thou me from secret faults! Keep back also thy servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me; Then shall I be upright, I shall not be polluted with gross transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD PSALM ΧΧΙΙΙ. TRANSLATED BY THE SAME. THE Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.- He reviveth my spirit; He leadeth me in the right paths, When I walk through the darkest valley, My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. THE KING OF GLORY. PSALM XXIV. TRANSLATED BY THE SAME THE earth is the Lord's, and all that is therein; The world, and they who inhabit it. For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend the hill of Jehovah, And who shall stand in his holy place? He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, Lift up your heads, O ye gates! Jehovah, God of hosts, He is the glorious King. GOD OUR REFUGE. PSALM XLVI. God is our refuge and strength; A powerful help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth change, Though the mountains tremble in the heart of the sea: The mountains shake with its raging. There is a river, whose brooks gladden the city of God; The holy dwelling-place of the Most High. God shall help her, earlier than the dawning. The God of Jacob is our Refuge. Come, behold the doings of Jehovah ! The bow he breaketh in pieces, and cutteth asunder the spear; Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Jehovah of hosts is with us ; The God of Jacob is our Refuge CONFIDENCE IN THE MERCY OF GOD. PSALM LXV. To thee belong submission and praise, O God, in Zion! And to thee shall the vow be performed. O Hearer of prayer! to thee all flesh must come. But our sins, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed are the people whom thou choosest and bringestnear; they shall rest in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the glory of thy house, of thy holy temple. By wonderful things in mercy wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; The confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the remotest parts of the sea. Establishing the mountains by his strength: girded with power. Who stilleth the roar of the seas, The roar of the waves and the tumult of the people. joice. Thou visitest the earth and waterest it abundantly; Thou enrichest it: the channels of God are full of water: Thou preparest corn, because, for this hast thou provided it. Thou dost moisten its furrows; thou smoothest its ridges; Thou makest it soft with showers, thou blessest the springing plants. Thou crownest the year of thy goodness, PRAISE TO JEHOVAH. PSALM XCV. O COME, Let us sing unto Jehovah! Let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout to him with songs! For a great God is Jehovah, And a great king over all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth, And his are the heights of the mountains. |