They live as if no God existed, relying only upon the frail and fleeting creatures of time. And of those who feel their dependence a large number only feel it occasionally, in circumstances of severe trial and terrible danger, when the world seems to fail them. Constant conscious dependence on God is indeed the root of all genuine piety and the soul of all moral excellence. By it we set Him always before us, and cause Him to fill up the horizon of our being. He becomes to us the great fact of existence-the substance of which all else are shadows. This conscious dependence upon Him turns the of our soul away from the material to the spiritual, from the human to the Divine, and stretches out its hands to the great Father for the supply of its hourly needs. Yes; it is this that makes the whole universe to us the house of God and the very gate of heaven. This makes prayer a reality, not a form—a life, not a service. Another truth underlying prayer is,

this

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II. THAT THE

UNIVERSAL DIFFUSION OF DIVINE KNOWLEDGE IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO MAN. "That Thy way may be known upon earth, and Thy saving health among all nations." The prayer is not for mere material good, but for spiritual; not for personal blessings, but for universal good; it is essentially philanthropic, it embraces the highest interests of the race. What are the things relating to God, a knowledge of which is so devoutly sought for the race? Two things are stated here,

First: His general method of action. "His ways." The Almighty acts not from impulse or caprice. He has a method; a method by which He creates, supports, and manages the inorganic masses of immensity; a method by which He produces, sustains, developes, and controls all sentient existences; a method, too, by which He enlightens, educates, and governs the great universe of souls. His method of action is the best revelation of Himself. It is said that "He made known His ways unto Moses, and His acts to the children of Israel." He who knows the "ways," the methods of a man, knows a great deal more of him than he who knows merely his acts. A man's

acts, either from ignorance, sudden impulse, or hypocrisy, often conceal and sometimes misrepresent himself. But man in his regular ways and settled methods reveals himself, his mental attributes, and his moral tendency. It is so in relation to God. His methods of action, both in the material and spiritual domain, reveal His wisdom, goodness, and immutability too, for His methods remain unaltered and unalterable from age to age. The great mass of the Jewish people knew many of God's acts; but they knew Him not, they were ignorant and rebellious. Moses knew His ways, and thus knew Him, and became His loving, loyal servant. It is therefore of paramount importance to man that he should know the ways of God. The study of His ways is essential to all true science, and agreement with His ways is the essence of virtue and the condition of happiness. God has a method by which He gives His harvests: the farmer must practically recognise and follow it, if he would have his labour rewarded by abundant crops. God has a method by which He restores exhausted energies and impaired health: the physician must follow that method, if he would succeed in his profession. God has a method by which He imparts knowledge to mankind: the inquirer must follow it, if he would obtain intelligence and wisdom. And He has a method by which fallen souls may be redeemed; and this method must be followed before salvation can be reached.

Secondly: His special method of salvation. "Thy saving health among all nations." The word rendered "health is "salvation" in the original. Some render it “ Thy salvation among all nations." Morally, the human world has fallen, fallen from the knowledge, the love, the image, the fellowship, and the enjoyment of God. This is at once the cause and burden of all its woe. God has a method of moral restoration. He has salvation, He has health for the diseased, liberty for the captive, knowledge for the ignorant, pardon for the guilty, and immortality for the dying. And He has a method for imparting this salvation. What is that? Here it is, "This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one that seeth the Son

and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life." What can be more important for the world than a knowledge of this method, the only method, and it is fixed and unalterable? Should not every patriot, philanthropist, and every lover of his race enthusiastically seek, not only by prayer, but by persevering, invincible, and self-sacrificing effort, to make God's "ways known upon earth," and His "saving health among all nations?"

"Waft, waft, ye winds His story,

And you, ye waters, roll,

Till, like a sea of glory,

It spreads from pole to pole."

Another truth underlying this prayer is,—

III. THAT GOD'S CONNECTION WITH THE WORLD IS THE GREAT HOPE OF MAN. "For Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.' There are two reasons here.

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First Because God judges the nations righteously. He who presides over the race is a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." He is "righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His doings." Sometimes the best of men fail to see the righteousness of the Divine government in the history of mankind. Some even deny it, and charge the Almighty with injustice. Still, like all the great forces of nature, the right moves on silently and unseen. And it brings the wrong in the life of the individual or the nation, at last, to a terrible crisis. The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish for ever. They which have seen him shall say, Where is he? He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him."

Rectitude is on the throne of the universe; and wrong, though encircled with crowns, rooted in nations, backed by all the navies and armies of the world, must melt before it as

mountains of snow under the rays of a burning sun. The right with the might shall one day prevail.

"And govern

Secondly: Because God leads the nations on. the nations upon earth." Margin, "lead." God does not drive men, but leads them. He leads them, as a commander does his army, against the mighty hosts of evil principles, institutions, and habits. He leads them, as a shepherd does his sheep, from dangerous precipices, ravenous beasts, and sterile rocks, to safer scenes, richer pastures, and more salubrious climes.

Here is our hope. There is a God of Righteousness over the nations, leading them on slowly but surely. Were it not for this, where would be our hope for the future of the race ? Without a God, we might well plunge into black despair; or even, with a God who was too great to notice a little world like this, or, if He noticed, dealt with it unrighteously and had no interest in leading it onward, we might still stand aghast with terrible forebodings. But here is our confidence, "Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth." "The Lord reigneth": let the nations rejoice. Another truth underlying this prayer is,

IV. THAT SPIRITUAL EXCELLENCE IS CONDUCIVE TO THE TEMPORAL INTERESTS OF MAN. "Then shall the earth yield her increase." The language implies that it is when "all the people praise God," that all the people shall have temporal plenty, that "the earth shall yield her increase." Though the Hebrew verb is in the past tense, and should be translated "has yielded her increase," the context shows that the future is referred to. The whole poem looks to the future, and gives no backward glance. Temporal destitution is one of the greatest evils. What thousands in all lands have been, and still are, groaning under the mighty load of poverty! Day by day thousands die of starvation; and the pauperism even of this wealthy England of ours is something fearful to contemplate.

Poverty is not only in itself a tremendous physical evil, but it is the fertile soil of ignorance, disorder, unchastity, and irreligion. Now the moral improvement of the people, it is implied, is the way, not only to mitigate, but to remove it.

Let the moral heart of the people be right, and "the earth shall yield her increase.' It is not difficult to see how spiritual excellence is conducive to temporal prosperity. Let men be just, and the millions of acres of land from which the greed and ambition of the wealthy exclude the people, will be thrown open to general cultivation. Let the people be industrious, then they will put forth those efforts by which worldly good is generally obtained. Let them be temperate and economical, then self-indulgence and extravagance, which are the prolific sources of poverty, will cease. Let them be bro

therly and pacific, then the millions of soldiers who destroy property will be employed in tilling the soil, and thus contribute their part to the temporal wealth of the world. It has been said that the globe has sufficient cultivatable land to support in comfort a hundred times its present population. Why is it not cultivated? The causes are moral: they are found in the injustice, in the cupidity, in the ambition, in the indolence, and in the stupidity of the depraved hearts of men. The best and the most philosophic way to advance the temporal interests of mankind, is to promote the cause of spiritual excellence. Who is the greatest temporal benefactor of the race? The man, whoever he is, who is the most successful in indoctrinating human minds in the great principles of morality and religion.

The other truth underlying this prayer is,—

V. THAT TRUE WORSHIP COMPREHENDS THE SUPREME GOOD OF

MAN. The whole psalm implies this. "Let the people praise Thee, O God: let all the people praise Thee." "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy." And when they do this, "the earth shall 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." We learn from this that there is nothing higher for man than true worship. The conventional preacher has been for ages, and still is, holding up religion and worship as means to some higher end. Men are exhorted to become religious in order that they may escape some local hell and reach some local paradise. This is an egregious and a per