I. THE OBJECT OF HIS HOPE IN HIS SORROW- "I wait for the Lord." This implies two things-First: A belief that the Lord would appear for him. He had no doubt of his Lord manifesting Himself in time. He seemed as if He was hidden from him now. The clouds of his sorrow concealed him, as the mists of the earth conceal the sun, but he knew that He would come, and he waited. It impliedSecondly: A belief that at his appearance he should have relief. He would not wait if he felt there would come no deliverance, still less if he felt that his sorrows would be aggravated by the event. God will come to deliver his peo ple out of their sorrows. Job said, in the midst of his anguish, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," &c.

have mercy upon thee: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Secondly: His word is infallibly trues What He has promised must be fulfilled. The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for He is not a man that. He should repent. "Heaven and earth shall pass away," &c.

III. THE EARNESTNESS OF HIS HOPE IN HIS SORROW. His hope is an earnest thing.' "My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch for the morning."

This earnestness implies

First: The intensity of his distress. His soul is in the midnight of sadness, and he looks with stronger solicitude for relief than they that watch for the morning. Some understand the reference here' to mean the watchman of the temple, who waited for the first break of day that the morning sacrifice might be offered. Others understand the reference to mean the watchman of the city, whose term of trying labour expired when the morning broke. Both are but conjectures, for in a suffering world there are thousands every night who watch earnestly for the morn ing. The man tossed on the bed of agony watches for

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the morning the prisoner | in his cell swatches for the morning,ar the mariner in the storm watches for the morning the general who has to decide on the como ing day the destiny of his eampaign, watches for the morning. None, however, watch more anxiously for the morning than the soul in anguish watches for its God. to Secondlyo The certainty of his deliverance. Unless he was certain that deliver ance would come he would

not wait anxiously for it. Waiting implies a belief in certainty He was as certain that it would come as that the morning would come. However dark and long the night, the morning will dawn. The night always appears long to the sufferer; still the morning comes at last. The sun comes mounting the steeps of heaven, chasing the darkness away, brightening the landscape, and pouring gladness into the world. Even so deliverance will come to the good. to 08.

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TRUST IN THE LORD, THE CON:
DITION OF STABILITY AND
VISAFETYJO!) eurai's Vi

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains, are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever." →Psa, exxv. 4, 2

Trusting is a necessity of human nature; men everywhere, are trusting. Some trust in one thing and some in another. Some trust in horses, some in chariots," &d. Trusting determines man's condition,lle that trusts in the frail, the imperfect, the uncertain, the insufficient, the dying, must be in constant anxiety, irritation, and distress. There is ONE, and only OneЛ true and sufficent object of humah trust, and that is "the

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My tried brothers, it is night with thee, night in the tempest, dark waves rolling over thy spirit. The sky is starless and the elements are tumultuous; still the great sun is travelling his majestic rounds. He will soon appear on the

I. TRUST IN THE LORD IS THE CONDITION OF MORAL STABILITY, "They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion which cannot be moved," &c. How firmly stands mountain Zion; the storms of a thousand ages leave it unmoved. Its im

Secondly: Such a soul is firm in its faith. It believes not in mere propositions, but in the substance of all truth -God; and it cannot be tossed about with every wind of doctrine. Thirdly: Such a soul is firm in its purpose. Its purpose is to do the will of God Nothing will turn it from this; everythingit subordinates to this. This is its firmness-its immovability nothing can turn it from its course. It is steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. A God-trusting soul is no reed to be shaken by the wind+ no cloud to be tossed by the tempest. Moses, Elijah, Daniel, John the Baptist, and Paul, are noble examples of this moral firmness. You could sooner move Mount Zion than move those men from their love, their faith, or their purpose.

II. TRUST IN THE LORD IS

THE CONDITION VIÓFTODIVINE SECURITY. "As the mountains are now about Jerusalem s0 the Lord is round about his people." Jerusalem was not only built upon mountains, and therefore firm, but surrounded by them, and there fore protected. "All around," says Dr. Robinson in his "Biblical Researches in Pa lestine," "are higher hills: on the east, the Mount of Olives; on the south, the Hill of Evil Counsely so called, rising directly from the Vale of Hinnom; on the west the ground rises gently to the borders of the great road; while on the north a bend of the ridge, connected with the Mount of Olives, bounds the prospect at the distance of more than a mile." Such, then, was the natural strength of Jerusalem. By the best judges she was considered impregnable; and the mili tary opinion of Titus, when the Roman legions destroyed tower and temple, was her unconscious echo of the touching language of Jere miah.

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How often mountains protected nations! The free winds that sweep the summits, and thunder at the sides, seem to inspire the people with an invincible love of freedom. Tyrants have often been crushed with thun

The thunders breaking at her feet.

Above her shook the starry lights;

Beneath she hears the torrents 71 meet.

But no mountains have guarded a people as God guards those who trust in him! The Eternal God is a refuge, and underneath are the "everlasting arms." He "is a fire round about" them, and the their "glory in the midst" of them.

Let us trust in Him, then, that liveth for evert trust in Him will make us calm in trial, invincible in duty, and safe amidst the rage of hell, the agonies of death, and the convulsions of the last day. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," &c.

"lifting up" here evidently refers to his crucifixion. On another occasion the Saviour spoke of his death in a similar way" If I be lifted up," &c. His death by crucifixion was, First: The culmination of human wickedness. Human wickedness could not reach a

higher point than the putting to death the Son of God." Second: The culmination of human suffering. The crucifixion involved ignominy, insult, cruelty, torture. Yet how calmly Christ speaks of

this terrible death."He endured the cross, despising the " shame.

PIL THIS LANGUAGE EXPRESSES UNSHAKEN FAITH IN THE TRIUMPH OF HIS CAUSE. Ye shall know that I am he." First: He was not disTo the world, his life, ending couraged by apparent failure. in crucifixion, would appear a stupendous failure. To him, however, it was a success. His death was a seed falling into the earth. Second: He did not despair of man's improvability. He believed that there would come a reaction in men's minds concerning Him; that when He was gone they would begin to think, recognise, and give Him credit for excellences which they could not see when He was among them. Thirdly: He was not doubtful of ultimate success.

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