my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

SUMMONS TO PRAISE GOD.

[Here the Psalmist prays for the extension of the knowledge of God throughout the earth.]

GOD

OD be merciful unto us, and bless us; And cause his face to shine upon us. That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: For thou shalt judge the people righteously, And govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise thee, O God; Let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; And God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; And all the ends of the earth shall fear him,

A PSALM OF MOURNING.

[Here the Psalmist mourns the captivity of Jerusalem, and prays for deliverance.]

GOD, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given To be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to

them that are round about us. How long, LORD, wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire? Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, And upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. O remember not against us former iniquities: Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: For we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.

Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight By the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; According to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; and render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom, their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O LORD. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever; we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

THE GREATNESS OF GOD.

[The Psalmist calls on all nations to praise and glorify God, giving reasons for so doing.]

O

SING unto the LORD a new song:

Sing unto the LORD, all the earth. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. For the LORD his great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations. are idols: But the LORD made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, Give unto the LORD glory and strengh. Give unto the

LORD the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come into his court. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: Fear before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: He shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD: for he cometh, For he cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people with his truth.

PRAISE FOR GOD'S GOODNESS AND MERCY.

[God's goodness and mercy are here shown forth, with the fervour of a grateful soul.]

LESS the LORD, O my soul: and

BLE

all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: Neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth his children, So the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; And the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, And his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, And to those that remember his commandments to do them. LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the LORD, ye his angels, That excel in strength, that do his commandments, Hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts;. Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the LORD, all his works In all places of his dominion: Bless the LORD, O my soul.

A CRY TO GOD FOR HELP.

The

[The Psalmist in distress, calls upon God'

to deliver him, and prays for pardon for past sins and grace for the future.]

HE

ness.

EAR my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications: In thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousAnd enter not into judgment with thy servant: For in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; He hath smitten my life down to the ground; He hath made me to dwell in darkness, As those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is desolate. remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: My soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily O, LORD: My spirit faileth: Hide not thy face from me, Lest I be like unto them that go

I

down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; For in thee do I trust: Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; For I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; For thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: For thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

THE MAJESTY OF GOD.

[Here God is praised for his mighty power as well as for his goodness and mercy.]

I

WILL extol thee, my God, O king; And I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; And I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, And shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, And of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: And I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy

great goodness, And shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious,

and full of compassion; Slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: And his tender mercies are over all his works.

All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; And thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, And talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall; And raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

The eyes of all wait upon thee; And thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, And holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him He also will hear their cry, and will save them.

The LORD preserveth all them that love him: But all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Question. What is the general contents of the book of Psalms?

Answer.-The Psalms are generally poems in praise of God, and were sung in the services of the Jewish church. The contents are various. Some are full of praise and thanksgiving to the Creator, others speak of His glory, power and goodness; others again, are the outpourings of mournful souls, grieving under misfortunes or under a sense of sin, and breathing forth the spirit of repentance, and supplication for pardon. Q.-By whom were the Psalms written? A.-Many of them by king David, who is therefore called the royal psalmist, but a number were written after his time, and refer to later events in the Jewish history, such as the captivity, &c,

Q. What attributes of God are especially marked in the Psalm beginning "The Lord is my Shepherd?"

A. The provident care of the Almighty compared to that of the shepherd who leads his flocks to green pastures and beside still waters; and the bounty of the Creator compared to that of a kind host who "spreadeth a table in the wilderness."

Q. What sense is the word "rod" taken in "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me?"

A. In the sense of the shepherd's crook, with which he can, defend the sheep, and draw them out of dangerous positions and pitfalls. It does not mean the rod of chastisement.

Q. When is the Psalm beginning "God be merciful to us and bless us supposed to have been written ?"

A. At the end of the Babylonish captivity.

"That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations" is an aspiration that the heathen may be brought to the knowledge of the true God. "All the ends of the earth shall fear Him" means that the worship of God shall be extended everywhere. "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the seas."

Q-By whom is the Psalm commencing "O God, the heathen are come unto thy inheritance" supposed to be composed, and why?

A.-It is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah because two of the verses are very similar to words in the 10th chapter of that prophet. The Psalm is a lament for the desecration of the temple and the captivity of the holy city.

Q.-What is the cause put forth for joyfulness in the Psalm beginning "O sing unto the Lord a new song?"

A.-The subject of rejoicing is the coming of Christ, who established the Holy Gospel, and to save mankind from the punishment due to their sins.

Q.-What is the character of the Psalm beginning "Bless the Lord, O my soul?"

4. From beginning to end it breathes the spirit of joy and gratitude for benefits received. It is the outpouring of a soul freed from destruction, and conscious of the infinite goodness and loving kindness of God. Q.-To which division of Psalms does that beginning "Hear my prayer, O Lord" belong?

A. It is the last of the seven Psalms called penitential, and is generally considered to have been composed by David during the rebellion of Absalom his son. Deliverance from enemies is especially prayed for.

Q. Why is the Psalm beginning "I will extol Thee, O Lord, my King" called an acrostic Psalm?

A. Because it originally contained twenty-two verses, one to correspond with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is attributed to David.

A captive in the land,

A stranger, and a youth,
He heard the king's command,

He saw that writing's truth.

The lamps around were bright,
The prophecy in view, -
He read it on that night,
The morrow proved it true.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

EBUCHADNEZZAR the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were

gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of