Sermon 2451. "Blessed in Him"

(No. 2451)

A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1896.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, 1886.

"Men shall be blessed in Him." Psalm 72:17.

I wish that I could speak at my very best concerning the glorious Him who is mentioned in the text, but I have hardly gotinto full working order after my season of rest. One's voice becomes rusty, like an unused key, and one does not, at first,feel quite at ease in speaking after a time of comparative quietude. Do not, however, think that my subject is a poor one-ifthere are defects in my discourse, remember that it will only be the speaker who is poverty-stricken-not the great King andLord of whom he is speaking. "Men shall be blessed in Him." O Sirs, if one had the tongues of men and of angels, and if onecould only, for once, use that speech which it is not lawful for a man to utter-those words which Paul tells us that he heardwhen he was caught up to the third Heaven-if we could even speak as never man yet spoke, we could not fully set forth allthe glories of Him of whom this text speaks!

David's thoughts, doubtless, rested in part upon Solomon when he said, "Men shall be blessed in him"-and our Lord, Himself,spoke of Solomon in all his glory. But what poor stuff is human glory at the very highest! The, "Him," mentioned in the text,the higher and the greater Solomon who is truly meant in these words, has a real Glory-not of earthly pomp and fading tinsel,nor of gold and pearls and precious stones, but the more excellent Glory of Character and the true beauty of Holiness. InHim all Divine excellences are blended. I cannot hope to set Him forth as He deserves. I cannot tell you all His virtues andHis glories, but, oh, He is very dear to many of us! His name is engraved on the fleshy tablets of our hearts and when welie upon our last bed and all other things shall be forgotten in the decay of nature, we shall still remember that dear namewhich is above every name! The contemplation of our Savior's blessed Person shall then absorb every faculty of our being!"Men shall be blessed in Him," the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior, the Redeemer, the God OverAll, blessed forever, who is also bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh!

As I should fail altogether to speak of Him as He deserves, I will not attempt the impossible task, but will try to speakof men being blessed in Him. That is a note a little lower. If we cannot reach the highest octave, we may attain to a lowerone. Yet, while we speak of the blessing that comes from Him, let us still think of Him from whom the blessing comes, andlet us remember that as all blessings come from Him, it is because all blessings are laid up in Him-because every conceivablegood is stored up in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, "and of His fullness have all we received, and Grace for Grace."

I. My first remark concerning the text is that it makes mention of AN AMAZING CONDITION-"Men shall be blessed in Him." Itis an amazing condition to be blessed, for, by nature, men are not blessed. We are born under a curse. Our first father turnedaside the blessing when he disobeyed God's command and, in the early dawn of the day of our race, he darkened our sky onceand for all. The curve still abides upon man, that in the sweat of his face he shall eat bread, and upon woman, that in sorrowshe shall bring forth children. How much woe lies in the curse that falls upon us in consequence of our own personal sin!"Who slew all these"-these comforts and joys of life? Oftentimes, they have been slain by a man's own hands through his ownsin, or through the sins of those who surround him. The trail of the old serpent is everywhere! You cannot open your eyeswithout discovering that man is not blessed, but oftentimes abides under the curse. Put that Truth of God down before youand then read the text, "Men shall be blessed in Him."

Apart from Him, they are accursed! They wring their hands and wish they had never been born-and some sigh and sorrow almostwithout ceasing. Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward, and it is an amazing thing that any man should be blessed-soamazing, that no man is ever blessed until he comes to be connected with the Lord Jesus Christ-"Men shall be blessed in Him."

Many people who forget all about the curse, nevertheless acknowledge that they are unhappy. Go up and down among the wholerace of men and how few you will find really happy! I believe that none are truly happy until they are in Christ, but evenif they were happy, that is not the word that is used in our text. It does not say, "Men shall be happy in Him." It givesus a fuller, deeper, richer word than that-"Men shall be blessed in Him." To be more happy may be a thing of time and of thisworld only. I do not mean that the happiness may not be true and real, but still, compared with all that the word, "blessed,"implies, the word, "happy," has no eternity, no depth, no fullness, no force in it! So that, even if men were happy, theywould not come up to the fullness of the promise in our text. But, alas, the mass of men are unhappy-sighing for this andmourning for that-never blessed, but only hoping to be so. The text, therefore, comes in with its sweet silvery ring, tellingthat men shall cease to be unhappy and that they shall rise even above merely being happy-they shall come to be "blessed inHim."

I regret to say that there is a third class of people who, when they rise above the curse and are not absolutely unhappy,yet nevertheless are in a state of doubt and hesitation. We could not positively say that they are cursed, for we hope thatsome part of the blessing has fallen upon them. We may not call them unhappy, yet we know that they are not eminently happy.They hope that they are saved, or they trust that they shall be safe at the last, but they are not sure that the blessingsof salvation are already theirs. Our text does not say that, in Christ, this condition of luminous haze, if I may so callit-this condition of doubt and uncertainty is all that is to be attained. No, but it says, "Men shall be blessed in Him"-andno man can call himself truly blessed till he knows that he is blessed, till he is sure of it, till he has passed the periodof dubious questioning, till he has come out of the miry and boggy country of hesitation and doubt and stands upon the firmground of full assurance, so that he can say, "I am God's child. The Father's love is fixed upon me; I have a part and portionin the Covenant of Grace-I am saved."

Now it is to that blessed condition that the text directs our thoughts-it promises that men shall be delivered from the curse,that they shall be lifted up from their natural unhappiness, that they shall be rescued from their doubtful or their hopefulquestioning-and shall even come to be blessed! God shall pronounce them blessed. He shall set upon them the broad seal ofDivine approbation and call them blessed! And with that seal there shall come streaming into their hearts the sweetness ofintense delight which shall give them experimentally a blessing to their own conscious enjoyment!

Let me tell you what Christ does for a man who is really in Him and then you will see how he is blessed.

The man who comes to Christ by faith and truly trusts Christ has all the past rectified. All his sins, whatever they may havebeen, are pardoned in a moment as soon as he believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His iniquities are blotted out andare as if they had never been committed. As the cloud passes away and is no more to be seen, so the thick clouds of our sinsare dispersed by Christ as soon as we believe in Him! Nor will they ever return to darken our sky. The forgiveness which Godgives is not temporary, but eternal! Once pardoned, you are pardoned forever-the act of Divine amnesty and oblivion standsfast forever and ever. Is not that man truly blessed, then, who is made free from sin? David says, "Blessed is he whose transgressionis forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there isno guile." This is the blessedness which Christ gives to those who are in Him, that, as for the past, in its entirety, withall its blackness, with all its aggravated sin, He has taken it upon Himself and borne the penalty due on account of it-Hemakes a clean sweep of it and says of the man who trusts in Him, "Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven you; go in peace."That is one part of the blessedness of those who are in Christ-the past is all forgiven.

At the same time, the man who is in Christ receives present favor. As soon as we truly believe in Jesus, there steals overour heart a delicious sense of rest according to His gracious invitation and promise, "Come unto Me, all you that labor andare heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And as we go on to serve the Lord and take His yoke upon us and learn of Him,we find rest for our souls, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I believe that, oftentimes, a child of God, whenhe realizes his union to Christ, feels so blessed that he does not know of anything that could make him more blessed thanhe is! He says, "I am perfectly content with my Lord and with what I am in Him. With myself, I am always dissatisfied andalways groaning because I cannot entirely conquer sin, but with my Savior I am always satisfied! I am triumphant in Him andrejoicing in Him, indeed, blessed in Him."

Some of you know what a blessed thing it is to be a child of God and an heir of Heaven-how blessed it is to have the Throneof Grace where you can take your troubles and to have a Helper who is strong enough to deliver you. I spoke, the other day,with a Christian friend, and I said to him, "My life sometimes seems to be like that of a man walking upon a tight rope. Thewalk of faith is very mysterious-one false step, or one slip and where would we be?" My friend replied, "Yes, it is so, nodoubt. But then, underneath are the everlasting arms." Ah, that is a blessed addition to the figure- there is no slippingoff the rope on which God calls us to walk, but if there were, underneath are the everlasting arms, and all is well! And theChristian, when he knows that and lives as one should live who is in Christ, is, even now, a truly blessed man!

But that is not all, for he who believes in Christ has his future guaranteed. He does not know how long he shall live andhe does not want to know, for his Father knows. God knows all that you and I may wish to know-and as He knows it, it is betterthan our knowing it! Whether our life is long or short, He will be with us unto the end. And as our days our strength shallbe. He will sanctify to us every trial we meet and nothing shall, by any means, harm us. He will bring us safely to our journey'send and we shall go through the cold death stream without a fear! We shall rise triumphant on the shore of the hill countryon the other side and we shall behold our Savior's face without a veil between forever and forever! All this is an absolutecertainty if we are the children of God, for it is not possible that one of the Divine family should perish-that one boughtwith the blood of Christ should ever be cast away! He will keep His own and preserve them even to the end. Are they not blessed,then, and is not the text full of sweetness as to this amazing condition, "Men shall be blessed in Him"?

Where are you, you blessed men and women? Where are you? Come and enjoy your blessedness! Do not be ashamed to be happy! Ibelieve that some Christians are a little frightened at themselves when they find that they are full of joy and if, perhaps,they should ever break through the rules of decorum and express their joy, then they turn crimson! It was not thus with thesaints of old, for sometimes they spoke and sang so loudly of the joy of their hearts that even their adversaries said, "TheLord has done great things for them," and they replied, "The Lord has done great things for us; therefore we are glad!" Andagain they lifted up their hallelujahs. Then were their mouths filled with laughter and their tongues with singing. So letit be with you, for you are, indeed, a blessed people if you are in Christ!

II. Having thus dwelt upon this amazing condition, I now give you another keyword. The text says, "Men shall be blessed inHim." This is A WIDE STATEMENT.

Oftentimes, the greatest Truths of God lie in the shortest sentences. There is a great mass of Truth within the compass ofthese few words-"Men shall be blessed in Him." There are only six words, here, but to make the wide statement true requiresbreadth of number. You could not well say, "Men shall be blessed in Him," if those to be blessed were a very few. It is notpossible that the Election of Grace should consist of a few scores of persons making up an especially favored denomination-otherwisethe Psalmist would not speak after this wide fashion, "Men shall be blessed in Him." The Holy Spirit is not given to exaggerationand He would have put it, "A few men will be blessed in Him." But here there is nothing of the kind! It is, "Men shall beblessed in Him," meaning the great mass of the human race, vast multitudes of the sons of Adam! I believe that when this dispensationcomes to an end, notwithstanding all the dreary centuries that have passed, Christ shall have the pre-eminence as to numbersas well as in every other respect-and that the multitudes who shall be saved by Him shall far transcend those who have rejectedHis mercy. The text says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." That is to say, the most of men, innumerable myriads of men shallget the blessing that Jesus purchased by His death on the Cross.

But when the text says, "Men shall be blessed in Him," it implies great width of variety. "Men"-not merely kings or noblemen,but, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Men-not working men, or thinking men, or fighting men, or this sort of men, or the othersort of men, but men of all sorts-"Men shall be blessed in Him." It is a delightful thought that Christ is as much fittedto one rank and one class of persons as to another-

"While Grace is offered to the prince,

The poor may take their share.

No mortal has a just pretense,

To perish in despair."

Christ is the Christ of the multitude! His Father says of Him, "I have exalted One chosen out of the people," but He is equallythe Christ of the most refined and eclectic. He comes with equal Grace to those who stand in the highest or the lowest earthlyposition. "Men shall be blessed in Him." Of course, the word, "men," includes women and children-it means the human race!"Men shall be blessed in Him." Do not, therefore, let anyone say, "I am a strange, odd person," for the text puts in thislittle-big word, "men," which takes you in, whoever you may be! If you come to Christ, you are included in this promise, "Menshall be blessed in Him." So that there is a width of variety implied here.

Our text also indicates length of period. "Men shall be blessed in Him." Men have been blessed in Him these many centuries,Christ has shone with all the radiance of Omnipotent Love upon this poor fallen world, but His light is as full as ever and,however long this dispensation shall last, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Though some of those men are, perhaps, gray withyears and decrepit through age, yet the promise still stands, "Men shall be blessed in Him." And while that verse has theword, "shall," in it, why should not the grayest head receive the Divine blessing? Why should not a man who is on the bordersof the grave yet lay hold of this blessed text and say, "I will trust Him in whom men shall be blessed"?

Further, the text suggests fullness of sufficiency concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a wonderful depth of meaningin this passage when it says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." "Oh," says one, "men shall he blessed by philosophy, or by Christand philosophy!" Not at all. It is, "Men shall be blessed in Him." "But they shall be blessed in Him through trade and commerceand the like." Not so! "Men shall be blessed in Him." Have we not, who are half a century old, heard a great number of theoriesabout how the millennium is to be brought about? I remember that at one time free trade was to bring it, but it did not! Andnothing will ever make men blessed unless they get into Christ-"Men shall be blessed in Him." The quacks are crying up thisremedy and that, nostrums old and new-but there is only one true Physician of souls! It is the Christ of God who alone hasthe balm that will cure the disease of sin! When He is received, the world shall be blessed. But as long as He is rejected,the curse will still remain upon the sons of men. "Men shall be blessed in Him."

Oh, that our fellow men would receive Him! Oh, that they would bow down before the Crucified and acknowledge Him as theirLord and Savior! Oh, that all would look up to His wounds, still visible in His Glory, and put their trust in Him! Then shouldcome that glorious time when wars shall cease to the ends of the earth and every evil shall be put away. His unsuffering Kingdommust yet come! Oh, that it might come speedily! But it can only come through Himself, not by any other means. "Men shall beblessed in Him." Anything short of trusting in Him will end in eternal failure. You have noted, dear Friends, these two things,the amazing or, singular condition, and the wide statement.

III. Now I want to dwell for a minute or two, for the exaltation of our Lord, upon THE FULL ASSURANCE which is expressed inthis text-"Men shall be blessed in Him."

The Prophet speaks here, my Brothers and Sisters, in a very positive manner. There is no quiver in his voice, there is nohesitancy about his speech. I am afraid that at the present moment there are some, even of godly men, who tremble for theArk of the Lord and the hand of Uzzah is visible here and there! But the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord needs no steadyinghand from you or from me-the cause of God is always safe in His own keeping. The cause of the Truth of God is always secure,for God preserves it. Let us not be afraid, neither let us be discouraged. It is a grand thing to get a sentence like thiswith a, "shall," in it-"Men shall be blessed in Him. " It is not, "perhaps they may be," but, "Men shall be blessed in Him."Not, "perhaps they may be blessed under certain conditions," but, "Men shall be blessed in Him."

This means, in the first place, they shall not try Him and fail. There never was a man who came to Christ who failed to geta blessing from Him! There never was one who believed in Jesus and yielded himself up to the gracious sway of the Prince ofLove who did not get a blessing from Him. I have never met with a Christian yet, who, in life or in death, has said, "I havebeen disappointed in Christ. He has deceived me. I sought and hoped for blessedness, but I have missed it." Never can thisbe truly said! "Men shall be blessed in Him." If they really come to Him, they shall not miss this blessedness.

No, I go further and say that they shall not desire Him and be denied. There was never a soul that desired to be blessed inChrist and was willing to yield itself up to Christ, that Christ did ever reject! There is no one in Hell who can truthfullysay, "I came to Jesus and He spurned me." And there never shall be one such, for it is written, "Him that comes to Me I willin no wise cast out." The foot that was nailed to the Cross never spurned a sinner yet. The hand that was pierced never pushedaway a penitent! Christ is all invitation-there is no rejection about Him-He constantly bids sinners come to Him and thistext is true for you, whoever you may be, "Men shall be blessed in Him."

I am glad to go as far as that and to say that none who ever came to Christ failed to get a blessing from Him-and that nonewho desire to come to Him have ever been denied by Him! But I am going still further. "Men shall be blessed in Him," thatis to say, they shall come to Christ and get the blessing. Some, alas, will not come to Him. But, O Sirs, if any of you refuseto come, do not make any mistake about the matter! You think that by refusing His invitation you will thwart Christ and defeatthe purposes of God, but that is absurd! The King's wedding feast shall be furnished with guests-and if you who are bid willnot come, there are others who will! He will send His servants out into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in,that His house may be filled! Do not imagine that the result of the death of Christ depends upon you and that it is in yourpower to prevent the accomplishment of the Almighty purposes of the Savior's love! No, no! "He shall see His seed, He shallprolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shallbe satisfied."

If you believe not, I must say to you what Christ said to the Jews, "You believe not, because you are not of His sheep." Hissheep hear His voice and He knows them, and they follow Him, and He gives them eternal life, and they shall never perish."All that the Father gives Me," He says, "shall come to Me." Not one of those whom God has given to His Son shall be leftto perish! They shall all come to Him and so the text shall be fulfilled, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Do not imagine thatwhen Jesus hung there on yonder bloody tree and groaned away His life for men, He was dying at a whim! There was at the backof Him the Eternal Purpose and the Covenant that cannot be changed-and the Invincible One who, without violating the willof men, can yet achieve the will of God, making men willing in the day of His power-turning them from darkness to light andfrom the power of sin and Satan unto God!

Be of good courage, my Brothers and Sisters-the consequences of redemption are not left in jeopardy! Those results which Godhas purposed will, to the last jot and tittle, be fulfilled. "Men shall be blessed in Him." It is not to me a question whetherEthiopia shall stretch out her hands to God-she shall do it, though I may not live to see it. It is not to me a question whetherthe kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ-they must become His! Let us work in thisconfidence and believe every promise in this blessed book. If we get down-hearted and full of fear, we are unworthy of ourLord. If we served a temporal prince with limited power, we might talk with bated breath, but the banner that gleams on high,above our ranks, is the banner of the Lord God Omnipotent-and the shout that shall be heard at the last, is this-"Alleluia!for the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

I ask you-Is it not very natural that He should reign? If He really is Omnipotent, are not all the certainties as well asthe probabilities in favor of His universal dominion? Must He not reign? Yes, says the Spirit, "He shall reign forever andever." "Men shall be blessed in Him." There is the tone of full assurance about this blessed prophecy! Therefore, let us rejoiceand praise the name of the Lord.

IV. Now, lastly, I want you with all your hearts to think of my text with A PERSONAL APPROPRIATION- "Men shall be blessedin Him."

Dear Hearers, are you blessed in Christ? Will you answer the question personally? Do not pass it around and say to yourself,"No doubt there are many who think that they are blessed who are not." Never mind about them! For the present moment, askthis question of yourself, "Am I blessed in Christ?" Some people think that they have Christ as their Savior, but their religionbrings them no blessedness. They go to Church or to Chapel very regularly. They are, apparently, a good sort of people, buta part of their religion consists in being, on the whole, as comfortably miserable as they can! As to anything like blessedness,that does not enter into their minds. Now, if my religion did not make me really happy, I would seriously question whetherI was a possessor of the religion of the happy God, for "Men shall be blessed in

Him."

"Oh," says one, "but we have so many trials and troubles!" Ah, that we have! Do you know a man or woman who does not haveany? I should like you to mark all the doors in London where people live who have not any trouble-it will not cost you muchfor chalk! There is nobody without trouble! If a man could be without trouble he would be without a blessing, for in thisworld one of the rarest blessings-one of the richest, truest blessings that God ever sends to His children is adversity! Hesends more blessings upon the black horse than He ever sends upon the gray one! It is the messenger of sorrow who often bringsthe choicest jewels to our door. Ah, there is many a woman who has not left her bed these dozen years, or had a fair nightof rest all that long time who is truly blessed! There is many a man who is as poor as poverty can make him, shivering inthe cold, tonight, and scarcely knowing where to find another bit of coal to keep his little fire alight-yet he is blessed!If it were necessary, I could get some of you to stand up and testify that though you have very little of this world's joys,and very little of temporal goods, yet you can say, "Yes, I am blessed, I am blessed indeed-

"'I would not change my best estate, For all that earth calls good or great! And while my faith can keep her hold I envy notthe sinner's gold.'"

Well, you have that blessedness, then, enjoy it! What would you think of a man who went thirsty when he had a well in hisback yard? What would you think of a person who always went about poverty-stricken though he had millions in the bank? Thinkof Mr. Vanderbilt standing in the street and asking passers-by for a half-penny! Yet I have seen children of God act likethat in spiritual things. A little boy came up to me in an Italian town and asked me to give him a soldo- he meant a half-penny.He was quite a moneyed man, for he had a farthing in his pocket! He took it out and showed it to me and he seemed delightedwith it. But then he said that it was the only one he had in the world. You might think, from the way some persons act, thatthey had about a farthing's worth of faith, but that is all they have. Is it not so? O you who have Christ and God, this worldand worlds to come and whom God has pronounced blessed-what? Are you going to live the starveling life of the unblessed andthe unsaved? I pray you, do not! Gentlemen, live according to your quality! Peers of the upper house-for you are such if youare born again-I beseech you, act in accordance with your true nobility. Has not Christ made you princes and kings? And hasHe not said that you shall reign with Him forever and ever? Look up, then! Lift up your heads and say, "Yes, He has blessedme, and I am blessed, indeed! My poor spirit dances for joy because of Him!"-

"'My heart it does leap at the sound of His name.'" "But," says one, "I have never enjoyed that." My dear Friend, if you canbelieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may enjoy it! To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is to trust yourself with Him justas you are-to cast your guilty soul on Him. Oh, that you would do it! That one act will mark your passing from the kingdomof darkness into the Kingdom of Light. That one act will be the means of your coming into the glorious liberty of the childrenof God and your life shall be totally changed from that time forth so that you shall joy in God by Jesus Christ our Lord!"Men shall be blessed in Him." Are you to be one of those men? God grant that you may be! The Lord add His blessing, for Jesus'sake! Amen.

HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"-72 (SONG I), 436, 438.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM72.

This is a Psalm which relates to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, not as the Man of Sorrows, but as the King of Glory-notas David, struggling to secure the throne-but as Solomon, seated upon it, and reigning in peace.

Verse 1. Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness unto the king's Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ is both aKing and the Son of a King. He is King of kings and, therefore, our Sovereign by His own native right. But He is also ourSovereign Prince as the Son of God. Oh, that the Lord would visibly give into His hands power over all the people of the earth!"Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness unto the king's Son."

2. He shall judge Your people with righteousness and Your poor with judgement. It is the peculiar characteristic of the reigningChrist that He has His eyes chiefly upon the poor. Most princes rule in the interest of the great ones around them, but ourKing rules for the good of the poor of His people.

3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. The reign of Christ is the reignof righteousness, the rule of true uprightness and, consequently, it is the reign of peace, love and joy. Oh that His gentlerule were acknowledged by all the kings of this world!

4. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.This is the King we want to reign over us! Oh, that the day were come for Him to take the crowns from all other heads andto wear them on His own! And to take all scepters from other hands and gather sheaves of them beneath His arms, and to beuniversally proclaimed, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords"! Then would the world's loud hallelujahs rise as with the soundof mighty thunders. O God, how long shall it be before this glorious King takes to Himself the power that is His by right?

5. They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. All other kings and princes and rulerspass away. Our King, alone, has an everlasting Kingdom. Where are the dynasties that have ruled over vast empires? They havepassed almost out of remembrance, but the promise to our King still abides-"They shall fear You as long as the sun and moonendure, throughout all generations."

6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. The reign of Christ, even now, is tothe poor dispirited sons of men like rain upon the mown grass! And when He shall come in His Glory, as He will shortly come,His coming shall be as blessed to this world as the gentle showers are to the grass that is newly mown.

7. 8. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endures. He shall have dominionalso from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. This is God's decree. As surely as He has set His Kingupon His holy hill of Zion, so surely will He make Him to "have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the endsof the earth." I do, therefore, expect greater Glory for the Cross of Christ than any that the world has hitherto seen. Thecrescent shall wane and fade away in eternal night, but the light of the Cross of Christ shall burn brighter and brighterunto endless day!

9. 10. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshishand of the isles shall bring presents. Commerce with all its wealth shall yet lend its homage to the Savior. And every shipthat crosses the sea shall yet bear its cargo of praise unto His glorious name.

10. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Their barbaric splendor shall find a higher glory in being consecratedto the King of Kings!

11. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him that has no helper. That is what we look for asthe true recognition of religion. The true recognition of religion in a State is not the setting up of some favored sect tobe indulged above the rest-there is something better than that reserved for the Christ of God! He must have the first placeall the world over-"All kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him."

12. For He shall deliver the needy when he cries; the poor also, and him that has no helper. Again I remind you that thisis the distinguishing mark of the Christ of God, that He has a special eye to the poor and needy.

13-15. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit andviolence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight. And He shall live. With all our hearts we cry, "Long live the King!"And our King shall live forever-to Him alone of all kings may it be truly said, "O King, live forever!" "He shall live"-

15. And to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer, also, shall be made for Him continually; and daily shall He bepraised. One of the marks of sovereignty is the king's visage upon the coinage of the realm, and the use of His name in publicprayer. And Christ claims this homage of all His followers-"Prayer, also, shall be made for Him continually; and daily shallHe be praised."

16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. The cause of Christ in the earth may be so reduced as to be onlycomparable to a handful of corn and that handful of corn may be, as it were, sown on the bleak mountainside; yet it shallgrow and increase until it fills the whole earth! His Kingdom is without end!

17-19. His name shall endure forever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: allnations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things. And blessed beHis glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with His Glory. Amen, and Amen. Is not that double Amen the verymark of the Christ? Often when He preached, He commenced His sermons with, "Amen, Amen." That is, "Verily, verily, I say untoyou." He is God's great "Amen, the faithful and true Witness." But interpreting the word in the other sense, do not you andI most heartily say, "Amen," and again, "Amen," to this royal prayer? "Let the whole earth be filled with His Glory."

20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. This is the end of the second great division of the Book of the Psalms.It is. Therefore. most appropriately closed with this verse-"The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." But I thinkthat David, when he had reached this point, felt that he could not ask for anything more than he had already requested inthis great petition. If the whole earth should be full of the glory of God, the Psalmist would then have gained the utmostthat he could desire! Is it not so with us, also? If the name and the glory of Christ did but cover the whole earth, whatmore could we wish for? What more could we ask of God? Till that blessed consummation is reached, let us keep on praying,"Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen."