II. How DOES GOD TEACH? In many ways. By parents, ministers, friends. Also by outward objects — churchyard, storm, epidemic, etc.

III. THE END OF GOD'S TEACHING. "That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Do you find this a hard lesson? The Israelites found it so, and their stiff-neckedness is written in an enduring record for your learning. The old world found it so; for they were "eating and drinking," etc. The foolish virgins found it so. Their lamps were gone out, they themselves were slumbering, when the bridegroom came and the door was shut. Are you wiser? Have you profited by these warnings? Have you been "taught"? Are you numbering your days with a consciousness of the relative difference between time and eternity? But what is wisdom? That is the practical question which so many never ask, though it concern them so vitally to learn the lesson; that is the question, too, which so many ask, but not of Him who alone can give them the true answer. What, for instance, did Moses himself esteem wisdom to be? Not all the learning of the Egyptians with which he was conversant, for he renounced it all, esteeming the reproach of Christ better than all the riches of Egypt. And what is Job's definition of wisdom (Job 28:28; 1 Corinthians 3:19). What did the great apostle pronounce is not to be, after he had ceased to sit as Saul of Tarsus at the feet of Gamaliel? And what does he say it is? First, the receiving of Christ by us as sinners; secondly, the adorning of the doctrine in our lives.

(Bp. Sumner.)

1. We must form a correct estimate of human life, comparing its average length with its interests.

2. We must cherish a serious conviction of the uncertainty of life. Boast not thyself, young man, of thy strength, nor old man of thy wisdom, for a worm is in the bud of youth and at the root of age.

3. We must pay an observant regard to our days as they pass away. Days, weeks, and years are but the landmarks.

II. THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE FOR WHICH WE ARE TO NUMBER OUR DAYS.

1. Wisdom consists in the adoption of the best means to secure the best ends. In what relation do I stand to God and eternity? is the first question which every man should put to himself. Until he can answer this solemn inquiry satisfactorily, he is but a fool in knowledge and a child in his pursuits.

2. To apply our hearts unto wisdom, we must moderate our affections to earthly objects. Eternity will be our grand concern. Like the apostle, we shall learn to die daily, we shall be crucified to the world with its affections and lusts; it will gradually recede and eventually disappear as an object of felicitous contemplation.

3. We must peculiarly cherish those graces which mitigate the sorrows and heighten the joys of the present life.

4. We must cultivate those dispositions of mind which will increase all the lawful enjoyments of life. Habitual dependence upon God, walking with humility and gratitude beneath his favour, adds zest to all our enjoyments.

(S. Summers.)

1. The analogies of nature which correspond with human life. All things here are double. The world without corresponds with the world within. No man could look on a stream when alone by himself, and all noisy companionship overpowering good thoughts was away, without the thought that just so his own particular current of life will fall at last into the "unfathomable gulf where all is still." No man can look upon a field of corn, in its yellow ripeness, which he has passed weeks before when it was green, or a convolvulus withering as soon as plucked, without experiencing a chastened feeling of the fleetingness of all earthly things. No man ever went through a night-watch in the bivouac, when the distant hum of men and the random shot fired, told of possible death on the morrow; or watched in a sick room, when time was measured by the sufferer's, breathing or the intolerable ticking of the clock, without a firmer grasp on the realities of Life and Time.

2. Moses is looking back, and his feeling is loss. Many a one consumed, like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, by the wrath of God. Many a Hebrew warrior stricken in battle, and over him a sand-heap. And those who remembered these things were old men — "consuming," his strong expression, "their strength in labour and sorrow." We stand upon the shore of that illimitable sea which never restores what has once fallen into it; we hear only the boom of the waves that throb over all — for ever.

3. There is, too, an apparent non-attainment. A deeper feeling pervades this psalm than that of mere transitoriness: it is that of the impotency of human effort. "We are consumed" — perish aimlessly like the grass. No man was more likely to feel this than Moses. The cycles of God's providences are so large that our narrow lives scarcely measure a visible portion of them. So large that we ask, What can we effect? Yet there is an almost irrepressible wish in our hearts to see success attend our labours, to enter the Promised Land in our own life. It is a hard lesson: to toil in faith, and to die in the wilderness, not having attained the promises, but only seeing them afar off.

II. THE RIGHT USE OF THESE SAD SUGGESTIONS. Duty is done with all energy, then only, when we feel, "The night cometh, when no man can work," in all its force. Two thoughts are presented to make this easier.

1. The eternity of God. Shall we give up our hopes of heaven and progress, because it is so slow, when we remember that God has innumerable ages before Him? Or our hopes for our personal improvement, when we recollect our immortality in Him who has been our refuge "from generation to generation"? Or for our schemes and plans which seem to fail, when we remember that they will grow after us, like the grass above our graves?

2. The permanence of results.(1) The permanence of our past seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, are gone, but the harvest is gathered in. Youth and manhood are passed, but their lessons have been learnt. The past is ours only when it is gone.(2) The permanence of lost affections. The sound and words are gone, but the tale is indelibly impressed on the heart. So the lost are not really lost. Perhaps they are ours only truly when lost. Their patience, love, wisdom, are sacred now, and live in us.(3) The permanence of our own selves — "The beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Very striking this. We survive. We are what the past has made us. The results of the past are ourselves.(4) The permanence of work. Not a true thought, pure resolve, or loving act, has ever gone forth in vain.

(F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

II. THE WORD "HEART" INCLUDES ALL THE FACULTIES. The whole soul and spirit, with all their strength, are to be applied in the search for wisdom.

III. GOD'S QUALIFICATIONS TO INSTRUCT US.

1. He possesses sufficient knowledge. Is it not true that in the study of history, science, or philosophy, we are thinking God's thoughts? It is said of Agassiz, that before he would venture upon a line of investigation, he would bow his head in prayer, and ask God to direct him in the discovery of the truth. Let us pray, likewise, that God will teach us wisdom; that He will enable us to discover the highest, and the greatest truth; the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son.

2. God has the power to teach.

3. God has the strong personality necessary to impress the learner.

4. God's works are evidence to us that He is competent to teach us wisdom. Can we look across the broad meadows of our valleys, the rolling pasture lands on the hillsides, and the boundless grain-fields of redeemed prairies, without feeling in our souls that He has stretched these out before us, and for us, in infinite wisdom? And as we dig into the bowels of the earth, and discover stupendous and varied forces, undreamed-of wealth of gold, silver, copper, oil and gas, are we not confounded and led to exclaim, "What infinite wisdom, goodness and power are manifested here"?

IV. TIME IS OUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY FOR ACQUIRING WISDOM. An Italian philosopher expressed in his motto "that time was his estate; an estate, indeed, that will produce nothing without cultivation, but will always repay abundantly the labours of industry, and satisfy the most extensive desires, if no part of it be suffered to lie waste by negligence, to be overrun by noxious plants, or laid out for show rather than for use." Time is our opportunity to estimate human life by the purpose to which it should be applied. It should be measured by the eternity to which it leads.

(R. V. Hunter.)

I. BECAUSE A DAY IS A DIVINE DIVISION OF TIME.

1. This division of our time by God into periods whose coming and going must be felt, is a beneficent arrangement. Without it the voice of time would be a monotone in which we should sleep, not listen; or, even if we listened, it would make no impression on us. "Days should speak."

2. God has given us, in the arrangement of "days," striking symbols of the lifetime they unitedly compose. Each day is an epitome of a life. Morning paints our childhood, noon our manhood, night our death.

II. BECAUSE OF ITS BREVITY. We do not attempt to reckon our mortal life by centuries, scarcely by years; for they are so uncertain, and at best there are so few of them. Only then do we realize that the sum of life demands, and will repay, careful calculation, and that a blunder in it is of immense mischief.

III. BECAUSE OF ITS WORTH. Gold-dust and diamonds shall be weighed by grains, not by tons. So, because of its preciousness, "Time is dealt out by particles," and we number it, not in decades or in years. Life, as a whole, is of such untold worth, that every portion of it is priceless.

IV. BECAUSE OF ITS IMPERCEPTIBLE DEPARTURE. Its final departure is marked and emphatic enough. The agonies of bereavement, the mysterious process of dying, make that known and felt. But it is equally and more solemnly true, that life is always departing. It ebbs from us with every breath.

(Homilist.)

I. THE BREVITY OF HUMAN LIFE. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Against this destiny no sagacity and no prosperity can build up a shelter.

II. OUR INDISPOSITION TO CONTEMPLATE WISELY THE RESULTS OF THAT BREVITY. That which follows death; the introduction to another world; responsibility; judgment to come; the vision of God; eternal weal or woe; the friendly or unfriendly mediation of Christ; the spiritual character which welcomes or opposes the celestial manifestations of truth and wisdom; these are the associations which properly belong to death. Yet from this view of death, men deliberately turn away!

III. Thus situated, thus exposed, thus beguiled, how palpable becomes the truth, THAT A WISE USE OF OUR CONVICTION OF MORTALITY IS THE GIFT OF GOD. Unless God shall deign to teach, we refuse to learn. The means of instruction are indeed abundant. Much knowledge is afloat in the world; and the daily events of life utter solemn accents, were we disposed to listen. But the machinery of instruction; the apparatus of revelation; the combination of events, are inadequate to make us wise. These are the means of wisdom, but they are not the disposition to be wise. The conversion of the heart is from God.

(G. T. Noel, M.A.)

I. WHAT IT IS TO NUMBER OUR DAYS.

1. To find out the number of them. You cannot hope to live above seventy; it is an even chance whether you live to be thirty; and you are not sure that you will live a day.

2. To consider the kind of them. They have all been days of blessing — yet all of sin. Still God has spared you, and all His gifts continue with you.

II. FOR WHAT PURPOSE WE ARE TO NUMBER OUR DAYS.

1. So as to be ready for the last one when it comes. What is the preparation needed? To be in Christ, and so escape condemnation in the judgment (Romans 8:1). To be like Christ, and so fit for the pure joys and company of heaven (1 John 3:2). To be each of these things now, as our last day may come at any time (Matthew 24:44).

2. So as to use them to the best advantage. Time given to sin is wasted and something worse. You must not only be doing, but doing good. Cultivating the garden of life. Digging out the weeds, and digging in the flowers and useful herbs (Ephesians 4:22). Cultivating the garden of your neighbour also. Helping the sinful out of sin, the suffering out of sickness, the sorrowful out of grief (1 John 3:17; Romans 9:1-3; 2 Corinthians 1:4).

3. So as to make up for lost days. Time is a river, and runs only once under the bridge of life. Still lost time may be made up for a little by working extra in the time that remains. The train behind time makes up for it by putting on extra speed. You may do the same. In one hour get through the work of two.

III. HOW WE ARE TO LEARN TO NUMBER OUR DAYS ARIGHT. "So teach us," etc. The text is a prayer. Moses could not number his days profitably. But God could teach him, and he cries to be taught. You cannot begin all this too soon. The Inquisition tortured its victims by putting them in a cell which gradually contracted till at last it crushed them to death. So life — large and roomy-looking in youth — gets narrower year by year, till at last we are pressed in the arms of death. Therefore begin early.

(J. E. Henry, M.A.)

II. WE OUGHT TO COUNT UPON THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED FOR FORMING AN ELEVATED RELIGIOUS CHARACTER.

1. One of these is the awakened attention and increased facilities for studying the Bible.

2. As another event in these times, adapted to form religious character, we may notice in some respects a salutary change in the ministry of the Gospel. It is now freed from many of the encumbrances of former ages that destroyed its power on the conscience and the heart.

3. Another fact bearing on this point is, that the days which we are numbering are days in which "the glorious ministration of the Spirit," in that form which it took after the ascension of Jesus, has become more pervading and effective than it has been since the day of Pentecost.

III. WE OUGHT TO COUNT UPON EXERTING A FAR MORE WIDELY EXTENDED INFLUENCE AS CHRISTIANS. Such are the laws of our intellectual and social being, arid such are the relations and connections of one mind with another, that an influence of some kind we must and shall inevitably exert. The kind of influence exerted, and the direction which that influence shall take, will be one of the most solemn items of man's last account to his God. The elements of Christian influence are knowledge and holiness. How much more available is the power of holy example now than in those past days, when population was more sparse, and the means of personal intercourse more restricted! What an organ of extended Christian influence does the religious Press constitute! Think, too, what instruments of power are put into the hands of Christians by the organization of the great benevolent societies of these times. They can thus truly extend themselves, in an important sense, "beyond their measure," — can stretch out the arm of mercy and pour light on the darkness and miseries of the whole earth.

(D. L. Carroll, D.D.)

1. Those days, or divisions of time, in which we feel neither good nor evil, neither joy nor grief, and in which we practise neither virtue nor vice, and which, for this reason, I call days of nothingness; let us reckon these, and compare them with the days of reality.

2. The days of adversity, and compare them with the days of prosperity.

3. The days of languor and weariness, and compare them with the days of delight and pleasure.

4. The days which we have devoted to the world, and compare them with the days which we have devoted to religion.

5. The amount of the whole, that we may discover how long the duration is of a life consisting of days of nothingness and of reality; of days of prosperity and of adversity; of days of pleasure and of languor; of days devoted to the world, and to the salvation of the soul.

II. CONCLUSIONS.

1. The vanity of the life that now is, affords the clearest proof of the life to come.

2. Neither the good things, nor the evil, of a life which passes away with so much rapidity, ought to make a very deep impression on a soul whose duration is eternal.

3. This life is a season of probation, assigned to us for the purpose of making our choice between everlasting happiness or misery.

4. A life through which more time has been devoted to a present world, than to preparation for eternity, corresponds not to the views which the Creator proposed to Himself, when He placed us in this economy of expectation.

5. A sinner who has not conformed to the views which God proposed to Himself in placing him under an economy of discipline and probation, ought to pour out his soul in thanksgiving, that God is graciously pleased still to lengthen it out.

6. Creatures in whose favour God is pleased still to lengthen out the day of grace, the economy of long-suffering, which they have improved to so little purpose, ought no longer to delay, no, not for a moment, to avail themselves of a reprieve so graciously intended.

(James Saurin.)

I. THAT THERE IS A CERTAIN JUDGMENT TO BE FORMED AS TO THE DURATION OF AN EARTHLY LIFE. What is it? Not the exact hour, scene, or circumstances of our end. We thank Heaven for concealing all this. Ignorance of this is —

1. Essential to our practical watchfulness.

2. To our personal enjoyment.

3. To our social usefulness. It means that we should have a practical impression that life here is temporary and preparative.

II. THAT THERE IS A TENDENCY IN MAN TO NEGLECT THE FORMATION OF SUCH A JUDGMENT. Why this tendency?

1. Not from the want of circumstances to suggest it. History, observation, experience — all remind us every day of our end.

2. Not from any doubt that we have about the importance of realizing it. All acknowledge the importance. But —

(1)From the secularity of one controlling purpose.

(2)From the instinctive repugnance that we have to death.

(3)From the moral dread of future retribution.

(4)From the delusive suggestions of the tempter. "Ye shall not surely die."

III. THAT THE FORMATION OF A CORRECT JUDGMENT IS ESSENTIAL TO PRACTICAL WISDOM. "That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

1. Such judgment would serve to impress us with the connection between this life and the future.

2. It would serve to moderate our affections in relation to this earth.

3. It would serve to reconcile us to the arrangements of Providence. We are pilgrims, voyagers, scholars.

4. It would serve to stimulate us to render all the circumstances of this life subservient to a higher. Time is bearing us and all away.

(Homilist.)

1. As all virtues in general, both by their own proper influence, and the blessing of God, which reason leads us to expect, and Scripture expressly assures us of, conduce to prolong our days, the consideration of their natural brevity may well direct us to a virtuous conduct; particularly to sobriety, temperance, and chastity; to a prudent moderation of anger; and to whatever duties have especially the promise or the prospect of long life annexed to them.

2. Since we have but a small time to stay here, it is our wisdom to make it as easy and agreeable to ourselves, and all with whom we have any intercourse, as we are able; and to imitate persons of prudence, who occasionally go journeys together; bearing with each others' temper and behaviour; giving mutual comfort and assistance under the misfortunes and inconveniences of the way; and continually endeavouring to preserve or restore the good humour and cheerfulness of the company.

3. The shortness of life should teach us to be speedy and diligent in doing all such things as we ought to do.

4. The shortness and precariousness of our present state of being should teach us to avoid long pursuits of worldly profits or pre-eminences; which probably either we shall not have time to attain, or must soon quit.

5. A fifth use of numbering our days is, to check and compose all strong emotions of mind about worldly concerns; for in so transitory a state there can be nothing to deserve them. Why should we be elated with hope of future good, when both our own lives, and those on whom our expectations may depend, are subject to such innumerable chances; and the higher we raise ourselves in imagination, the more afflicting will be our fall? Why, again, should we be dejected with fear of future evils, when a thousand accidents which none of us can guess at beforehand, may prevent their coming; or, if they do come, our head may be laid low enough before that time, and far enough out of the way of feeling them?

6. The most important lesson, taught us by the shortness and uncertainty of our present life, considered in itself, is, that we may reasonably expect, and should therefore continually look forward to another.

II. WITH RESPECT TO THE ETERNAL LIFE WHICH IS TO FOLLOW. Whatever conclusions men may think they can draw from the former view, yet, when our life on earth is contemplated as a state of preparation for another and an endless one, then neither the wit, nor almost the folly of man, can make any other than virtuous inferences from the shortness of it.

1. Conviction of the necessity of applying diligently to know and do our duty.

2. Encouragement to persist in it to the end against temptation.

3. Support under the afflictions to which we are exposed in the meanwhile.

(T. Secker.)

1. The anxious life. A matter of temperament, you say. Yes, to a certain extent. Blood, inherited disposition, may not be overlooked here. Then it is said that this over-anxious condition of the mind is a result of impaired health. And here also is a truth. It is only a very superior person who can rise above and triumph over his physical condition; who can be equable, and wise, and tender, when the body is sick. But admitting all this, still education, reason, truth, must not be left out here. There is such a thing as a man taking himself in hand for correction. He may call reason to his aid. He may smite his propensity with the hand of truth. So here, the hand of truth is raised for smiting, for condemnation. First, this truth, — your own helplessness; secondly, — God's infinite goodness. And now comes the wisdom of the text, sharpest, strongest of all to rebuke and condemn here. Thus it speaks: It will soon be over. The dream will soon be past. The battle will soon be fought. Do not worry then. The burden so heavy, you shall carry it but for a day. The trial so sharp, you shall soon have an escape from it. These things will soon have an end, and that for ever. Oh, how quiet, how peaceful is the region to which human life hasteth!

2. The selfish life. This covers the whole range from mere indifference to hate; from hands which are folded in the presence of human want, to hands which are raised to beat down the weak and the struggling. Consider that only for the brief period of this life is it given unto any one of us to work our life power into the welfare of our fellow-men.

3. The worldly life. It may be to make money; it may be to get into places of honour; it may be the acquisition of knowledge. It matters not. Only so that the life of man is circumscribed by sense. Only so that in its noblest outreachings it is bounded by this world. So that the man does not love, or think upon, or care for, anything which he cannot handle, or see, or analyze. Just so sure as this is the case, so surely does the wisdom prayed for in the text condemn, "Thou fool, thou hast not numbered thy days."

4. The irreligious or unchristian life. Doth not the fact that our days may end at any time condemn such a life? Unpreparedness for an event which may be precipitated at any moment, — is not this folly?

(S. S. Mitchell, D.D.)

1. A duty to be discharged: "number our days." The very term implies —(1) That they have a limit, and that this is within the scope of our powers to calculate. The tale may soon be told.(2) The uncertainty of life.(3) The preciousness of time. As the miser counts and recounts his gold because it is his treasure, and fears lest a single piece should be lost, so should the child of eternity number those few and fleeting days which constitute his only season for preparing for eternity. Here alone is parsimony a virtue.

2. An inaptitude on the part of man for the fulfilment of the duty. He is called, indeed, to that for which his understanding is qualified, but to which his heart is not inclined.

3. This duty involves —(1) A comparison of the number of our days with the duration of eternity.(2) A comparison of the work which we have to do, with the space allotted for its accomplishment.

3. His need of assistance in the duty. God communicates this necessary instruction by His Word, and Providence, and Spirit — reminding by many a solemn text, by many an awakening dispensation, and by many an inward admonition, that "The time is short."

II. THE END TO WHICH THE PETITION WAS DIRECTED. What is "wisdom"? We need no better definition than that which describes it to consist in "pursuing the best end by the best means"; and seeing that happiness is "our being's end and aim," and that holiness is the only revealed means of securing it, the definition in question obviously identifies wisdom with godliness. "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Seek, then, to apply your hearts to the "wisdom which cometh down from above."

(C. F. Childe, M.A.)

(E. J. Hardy, M.A.)

(W. H. Murray.)

(T. De Witt Talmage.)

     4016   life, human
     4903   time
     5017   heart, renewal
     6203   mortality
     8231   discipline, divine
     8438   giving, of time
     8674   study
     9021   death, natural

The Present Life as Related to the Future.
LUKE xvi. 25.--"And Abraham said, Son remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." The parable of Dives and Lazarus is one of the most solemn passages in the whole Revelation of God. In it, our Lord gives very definite statements concerning the condition of those who have departed this life. It makes no practical difference, whether we assume that this was a real occurrence, or only an imaginary …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

The Glorious Habitation
This first verse will derive peculiar interest if you remember the place where Moses was when he thus prayed. He was in the wilderness; not in some of the halls of Pharaoh, nor yet in a habitation in the land of Goshen; but in a wilderness. And perhaps from the summit of the hill, looking upon the tribes of Israel as they were taking up their tents and marching along, he thought, "Ah! poor travelers. They seldom rest anywhere; they have not any settled habitation where they can dwell. Here they have …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Moses, the Mighty Intercessor
Intercessory Prayer is a powerful means of grace to the praying man. Martyn observes that at times of inward dryness and depression, he had often found a delightful revival in the act of praying for others for their conversion, or sanctification, or prosperity in the work of the Lord. His dealings with God for them about these gifts and blessings were for himself the divinely natural channel of a renewed insight into his own part and lot in Christ, into Christ as his own rest and power, into the …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

Life a Tale
We spend our years as a tale that is told. Psalm xc.9. We bring our years to an end like a thought, is the proper rendering of these words, according, to an eminent translator. But as the essential idea of the Psalmist is preserved in the common version, I employ it as peculiarly illustrative and forcible. It will be my object, in the present discourse, to show the fitness of the comparison in the text;--to suggest the points of resemblance between human life and a passing narrative. I observe, …
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

The Eternity of God
The next attribute is, God is eternal.' Psa 90:0. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.' The schoolmen distinguish between aevun et aeternum, to explain the notion of eternity. There is a threefold being. I. Such as had a beginning; and shall have an end; as all sensitive creatures, the beasts, fowls, fishes, which at death are destroyed and return to dust; their being ends with their life. 2. Such as had a beginning, but shall have no end, as angels and the souls of men, which are eternal …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Opinions
Of the Hebrew Doctors on the great Day of Judgment, and of the Reign of the Messiah then to come. Carpentarius, in his Commentary on the Alcinous of Plato, p. 322, asserts, that "the seventh millenary was called, by the whole school of the Cabalists, the great day of judgment, because then they think that God will judge the souls of all." He means, by the name of Cabalists, (if I am not mistaken,) the Talmudic doctors, according to whom, in more than one author, that tradition is found to be recorded. …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Inner Chamber
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. xc. I My Beloved, from earth's many voices Welcome me to Thy seclusion sweet-- Let me still, and restful, and adoring, Sit with Mary at Thy blessed Feet-- In Thy secret place, alone with Thee, None beside to hear, and none to see. Led by wnadering gleams o'er fen and moorland, What are we, outwearied at our best? For the heart amidst the world's allurings Craveth evermore for God and rest-- God and rest--all else the weary load Of a toiler on an endless road. Blessed he, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Circumcision of Christ: a Hymn for New Year's Day. So Teach us to Number Our Days, that we May Apply Our Hearts unto Wisdom.
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. O Ewigkeit, o Ewigkeit [56]Wülffer. 1648. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Eternity! Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity! And yet to thee Time hastes away, Like as the warhorse to the fray, Or swift as couriers homeward go, Or ship to port, or shaft from bow. Ponder, O Man, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity! For ever as on a perfect sphere End nor beginning can appear, Even so, Eternity, …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Table of the Books of Holy Scripture According to Date.
HISTORICAL BOOKS. PROPHETIC AND POETICAL BOOKS. B.C. 4004 1689 Genesis 1529 Job Psalm lxxxviii. by Heman, the Ezrahite, (See 1 Chron. ii. 6) 1491 Exodus 1491 Leviticus 1451 Numbers Psalm xc. and (perhaps) xci 1450 Deuteronomy 1451 1427 Joshua 1312 Ruth 1120 Judges 1171 1056 1 Samuel Psalms, certainly vii, xi, xvi, xvii, xxii, xxxi, xxxiv, lvi, liv, lii, cix, xxxv, lvii, lviii, cxliii, cxl, cxli, and many more 1056 1 Chronicles Psalms, certainly ii, vi, ix, xx, 1023 Psalms …
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Old and New Year 445. O God, Our Help in Ages Past
[1699]St. Anne: William Croft, 1708 Psalm 90 Isaac Watts, 1719 O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home: Under the shadow of thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting thou art God, To endless years the same. A thousand ages in thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

Wesley's Reasons for his Long Life
Saturday, June 28.--I this day enter on my eighty-fifth year; and what cause have I to praise God, as for a thousand spiritual blessings, so for bodily blessings also[ How little have I suffered yet by "the rush of numerous years!" It is true, I am not so agile as I was in times past. I do not run or walk so fast as I did; my sight is a little decayed; my left eye is grown dim and hardly serves me to read. I have daily some pain in the ball of my right eye, as also in my right temple (occasioned …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Letter cxl. To Cyprian the Presbyter.
Cyprian had visited Jerome at Bethlehem and had asked him to write an exposition of Psalm XC. in simple language such as might be readily understood. With this request Jerome now complies, giving a very full account of the psalm, verse by verse, and bringing the treasures of his learning and especially his knowledge of Hebrew to bear upon it. He asserts its Mosaic authorship but is careful to add that "the man of God" may have spoken not for himself but in the name of the Jewish people. He speaks …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Jesus Discussed in Jerusalem.
"And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that Thy disciples also may behold Thy works which Thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou doest these things, manifest Thyself to the world. For even His brethren did not believe on Him. …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I

A Startling Statement
TEXT: "The wicked shall not be unpunished."--Prov. 11:21. There are very many passages of Scripture which ought to be read in connection with this text; as for example, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9), for only a fool would. Better trifle with the pestilence and expose one's self to the plague than to discount the blighting effects of sin. And, again, "The soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). From this clear statement of the word of God there is no escape. Or, again, "Our …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

Aron, Brother of Moses, 486, 487.
Abba, same as Father, [3]381; St. Paul uses both words, [4]532. Abel, [5]31, [6]252, [7]268, [8]450. Abimelech, [9]72, [10]197. Abraham, seed of, faithful Christians also, [11]148, [12]149, [13]627; servant's hand under his thigh, [14]149, [15]334; poor in midst of riches, [16]410. Absalom, David's son, [17]4, [18]5; type of Judas the traitor, [19]4, [20]20. Absolution granted by the Church, [21]500. Abyss, or deep, of God's judgments, [22]88; of man's heart, [23]136. Accuser, the devil the great, …
St. Augustine—Exposition on the Book of Psalms

Works by the Same Author.
Crown 8vo, cloth, price 7s. 6d. each. THE PSALMS. VOL. I.--PSALMS I.-XXXVIII. " II.--PSALMS XXXIX.-LXXXIX. " III.--PSALMS XC-CL. IN THE "EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE." "The work of a brilliant and effective teacher. He writes with real power and insight."--Saturday Review. "Dr. Maclaren has evidently mastered his subject with the aid of the best authorities, and has put the results of his studies before his readers in a most attractive form, and if we add that this commentary really helps to the better …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Boniface, Apostle of the Germans.
BONIFACE, or Winfried, as they called him in Anglo-Saxon, born at Crediton in Devonshire, in 680, deserves to be honoured as the father of the German Church, although he was by no means the first who brought the seeds of the Gospel to Germany. Many had already laboured before him; but the efforts which had been made here and there did not suffice to secure the endurance of Christianity amongst the many perils to which it was exposed. Christianity needs to be linked with firm ecclesiastical institutions, …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

The Christian's God
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; 17:1; Exodus 34:6,7; 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 32:4; 33:27; Isaiah 40:28; 45:21; Psalm 90:2; 145:17; 139:1-12; John 1:1-5; 1:18; 4:23,24; 14:6-11; Matthew 28:19,20; Revelation 4:11; 22:13. WHO IS GOD? How Shall We Think of God?--"Upon the conception that is entertained of God will depend the nature and quality of the religion of any soul or race; and in accordance with the view that is held of God, His nature, His character and His relation to other beings, the spirit …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible