David pleadeth many things in prayer.
A Prayer of David.

ear, O doest wondrous things: thou
art God alone.

1 Bow down thine LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. 3 Be merciful unto me, O LORD: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, LORD, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O LORD; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O LORD; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and

11 Teach me thy way, LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O LORD my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for

evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O LORD, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

LECTURE 929.

Of urging reasons to God in our prayers.

Throughout this striking form of prayer the psalmist urges reasons with God, as well as supplications; reasons for granting his petitions. First he refers to the circumstances of his own state and case, as arguments for God to have mercy upon him. "Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy." Here his want is the ground of claim upon attention. Again, "Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee." Here it is his holiness, or dedication to God's service, and the trust which he put in God, that he pleads in support of his petitions. Again, "Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily." Here he urges the frequency and constancy of his prayers. And once

more, Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." Here the warmth of his devotion is stated, his lifting up his soul to God; an expression that puts to shame the prayers of those, who do no more than say them with their lips.

The next topics which are urged by the psalmist, in support of his petitions, are taken from the attributes and dealings of God himself. "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." Therefore he begs that God will attend to his supplications. And again, "for thou wilt answer me;" this makes him resolve to call on God in the day of trouble. And again, he states, that among the gods there is none like unto the Lord, neither are there any works like his works, and this is a reason for all nations to pray to Him and to praise Him. And the psalmist pleads it further as an argument with God to teach him the right way, that he might walk in it, and to fill his heart with a right fear of God, "unite my heart to fear thy name." And in like manner he states his reasons for praising God, even as he had done for praying unto Him. "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." And then, after mention of the trouble and jeopardy in which he was placed by the insurrection of wicked doers, he dwells upon the long suffering and goodness of the Lord, on his compassion, and his plenteousness in mercy and truth; and so much the more earnestly and confidently does he appeal to God for help and deliverance, because of the help and comfort which he had previously partaken of at the hand of the Almighty.

For

This psalm then not only supplies us with an excellent form of prayer, in regard to the things which we ought to pray for, but also sets before us a pattern of the kind of reasons, pleas, or arguments, with which we may do well to urge our petitions; at once as animating our own devotions, and also as weighing with Him to whom they are addressed. We know indeed that it is only through the intercession of our Saviour that either prayers or praises of ours can be accepted at the throne of grace. We know that his merits are the all prevailing plea, by which alone our heavenly Father can be inclined to hear our words. But there is a fitness and reasonableness in some words rather than in others. We are bound to pray with the understanding as well as with the spirit. And in this pattern of an inspired prayer, God has Himself taught us that He would have us pray, as if we felt that He is to be best moved by that which is most reasonable, that is to say, most right, and just, and good. Thanks be to Him for hearing us at all. Thanks be to Him. for teaching us in his word how we ought to pray, and for assuring us of his willingness to hear us, through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The psalmist declareth God's love for Zion.

A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah.

1 His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. 4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, and Ethiopia; this

man was born there.

5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Highest himself shall establish her.

6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. 7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

LECTURE 930.

Of our being citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Many passages in the Law as revealed by Moses refer to the place which God should choose "to put his name there." Deut. 12. 5; 16. 2. That place proved to be Jerusalem, built on the hill of Zion, with the temple on mount Moriah. These were the holy mountains, in which it pleased God that the foundations should be laid, for a city which He would love rather than all others, for a temple in which He would be worshipped rather than in any place elsewhere. Glorious things are spoken of this city in God's law. For here it was ordained that all the festivals should be celebrated, and here all the sacrifices offered. And these we know were types of Gospel blessings, as well as of Gospel thankfulness; of the offering made once for all, in atonement for all sin, the offering of a spotless sacrifice, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1. 29. And here it was that in after times that spotless sacrifice actually was offered on the cross. And this was, and is, and ever will be, the true glory of Jerusalem, that there, by the efficacy of the only meritorious sacrifice ever offered, God was reconciled to all mankind.

Nor was it hidden from the Jews, if they had but been willing so to understand their Scriptures, that the efficacy of this sacrifice would extend far beyond their own nation; and that natives of other lands, and citizens of other countries would be counted for citizens of the spiritual Jerusalem, and be born again by a new and spiritual birth, adopted children of the most high God. This seems to be the doctrine darkly shadowed forth in the prophetic language of the psalm before us. "I will make mention of Rahab," which is another name for Egypt, "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, and Ethiopia; this man was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was

born in her;" that is to say, they who are born naturally in Egypt or in Babylon, in Philistia, Tyre, or Ethiopia, shall be said to be born spiritually in the city of God, shall be counted for children of Zion. "And the Highest himself shall establish her." God shall so replenish his holy city with citizens innumerable. "The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there."

66 come unto mount

In conformity to this prophecy thus interpreted, we are told, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that we are Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Heb. 12. 22. At least they to whom that Epistle was addressed are so told. And we know from other parts of holy Scripture, that we are made partakers of all the privileges of the Gospel, in common with the most favoured of our brethren of the house of Israel. Let us then endeavour to live as citizens of no mean city. Let us endeavour to realize in our lives some of the glorious things spoken of the city of God. Let us fulfil the spirit of that holy law, of which the Jews understood little more than the letter, and which our Lord has expressly told us that He came not to destroy but to fulfil. And let us particularly mark the brief but expressive account of this city of God given us in the last verse of the psalm before us. "As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee." God's city is a place of song and music; a place in which God's praise is made daily to be heard, by every one and every thing that hath breath. God's city is a place of plentiful refreshment; a place in which the springs of healing virtue, and life renewing grace, that flow direct from God, cease not to flow for ever. Oh, if even whilst on earth we may be truly said to have become members thereof, let us already exercise our privileges, as far as our state here admits, by living a life of thankfulness, and rejoicing to sing songs of praise, and ascribing all our health and strength of soul, all our hope and rejoicing of spirit, to the only and the ample source of every good thing, our Saviour and our God.

The psalmist uttereth his lamentation unto God.

A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.

LECTURE 931.

That we may do well to sorrow after this inspired pattern. The usual frame of mind of a devout Christian is a cheerful one; and he never feels himself more like to that which he believes God would have him be, than when he is fulfilling this rule of the apostle, "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice." Phil. 4. 4. And yet many circumstances may conspire to bring clouds of sorrow over the bright sunshine of Christian joy. Some men are naturally of a melancholy temperament. Ill health affects the spirits of others, and depresses them. Others are visited by an unusual share of heart rending woes. And others again are placed in a situation where the pre