Homilist Psalm 79:1-13 O God, the heathen are come into your inheritance; your holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.… Good men are here, as in many other places in the Bible, spoken of as the inheritance of God. They are His property, His portion. I. He has no property to which He has a STRONGER RIGHT. Whilst good men are His, as all things are His in the universe, by creation, they are His also — 1. By special restoration. They were lost as slaves, aye, as prisoners condemned to death are lost; but He redeemed them by a stupendous sacrifice. "Ye are not your own," etc. 2. By voluntary consecration. They have given themselves up to Him, body, soul, and spirit, which they felt to be their "reasonable service." This is the one constant act of religion. II. He has no property that is MORE VALUABLE. 1. A soul is more valuable in itself than the material universe. A soul can think upon its Creator and love Him, can alter its course, can change its orbit, but matter cannot. 2. A soul is more serviceable to its Owner than the material universe. (1) It gives Him a higher revelation. There is more of God seen in one soul than in all the orbs of immensity. (2) It renders Him a higher homage — of free-thought, conscience, heart, life. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: {A Psalm of Asaph.} O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. |
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