The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-08-18
The Cry of Need in the Book
of Psalms.

Very few of the Psalms are songs of
angels. They are not the hymns of the
ninety and nine, but of the wanderer,
the prodigal, the leper, the lost How
ever heavenly in their spirit and tone,
they are mostly earthly in their founda-
tion. They are the cries of the guilty and
impure We see the leper standing
apart, and hear his plaintive moan, "Un-
clean, unclean' The voice rises from
the dust from the depths, If Thou,
Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, o Lord,
who shall stand?'
But with all this sense of guilt and
unworthiness, the cry of the Psalms is
never the cry of despair 1t is always
mingled with hope, and the hope usually
rises at last to confidence and triumph
Even when the cry comes de profoundis.
out of the depths, we find the Psalmist
resting his soul on the truth, "There is
mercy with Thee, that Thou mayest be
feared, and plenteous redemption.
The gloomiest of all the Psalms is the
eighty eighth. 1t is a wall throughout
1t ends, Glover and friend hast Thou put
far from me, and mine acquaintance into
darkness" Yet the first words of this
Psalm are, 40 Lord God of my saliva
tion." Under all its complaints and
lamentations lies the truth that God is
the God of salvation" The Psalmist
wonders why his experience from such a
God is SO unlike what might have been
looked for. He is by no means in des-
pair, but like Job, perplexed and amazed
that a loving Father should so hide His
face from him; and using the privilege
of genuine love, he speaks to Him almost
reproachfully, if by any means he may
induce Him to reveal Himself in His
tender, gracious mood.
Now, we shall search in vain all the
Vedas in the world, we shall ransack
without success all the records of reli-
gious feeling in connection with Assyrian
or Egyptian, Greek or Roman religion,
to find any parallel to this feature Of the
Psalms. The dreary thing about all
other religions is just the want of this
hope, rising first into confidence, and
then into triumphant joy. In connection
with these religions, we hear often
enough the wall Of the sinner. We see
the sad face of the worshipper, including
dissatisfaction with himself, and con-
seriousness of deserved wrath; but we
never see the sadness giving way to hope,
confidence, and JOY He comes to the
shrine of his God with burden of guilt.
but he finds no open tomb into which the
burden may roll, and he comes away
not much lighter than he went He
has discharged what he fancies to be
duty by that amount, but only by that
amount, is he relieved Even when he
has gone through great penance, or
offered great sacrifice, when he has
given the fruit Of his body for the sin of
his soul, he is not at ease. God is not
reconciled his face wears no smile, his
heart is not more open, the sky is still
clouded and dark
The contrast between this experience
and that delineated in the Psalms is won
derful. 1t is not merely that the
Psalmist gets touch of JOY or gladness
before the Lord-he is actually filled
with it. The oppressive sense of guilt
is not merely relieved, it is absolutely
removed the sting of sin is not merely
blunted, it is taken away and he is made
to know this and to feel it. Under the
sense of it his heart bounds like the heart
of little child. A great tide of wonder
and gratitude surges through him. 1t is
too vehement to be kept int must find
an outlet. And the outlet is in those
psalms of Joy and triumph which first of
all pour out to God his own adorinp
gratitude, and then appeal to all his
brethren in the faith and fear of God
that, hearing what God has done for his
soul, they may call to mind their own
mercies, and join in great halleluiah
chorus to Him "who alone doeth great
wonders; for His mercy endureth for
ever"
Let us glance, for example, at the
thirty -second psalm The first words
are keynote and index Of the whole
" Blessed is he whose transgression is for
given, whose sin is covered. Blessed is
the man unto whom the Lord imputeth
not inquiry" The emphatic threefold
repetition indicates that the man has got
rid completely of the guilt of sin. It is
forgiven, covered, not imputed to him.
The process is complete nothing beyond