It is scarcely necessary at this time to show that the 100th Psalm is suitable as a Canticle after a Missionary Lesson; for it seems to be assumed that the Old Hundredth, in its metrical form, is an integral and necessary part of a Missionary meeting. "In its breadth and simplicity it is fit for all occasions of access of the redeemed to God, and naturally it has become (both in its original form and its metrical rendering) the regular hymn of unmixed thanksgiving in the Church of Christ. It is in _vv._ 1, 2 an invitation to joy, because we know that we are God's people[2]." This Psalm was formerly used at Lauds on Sundays. 1. We claim the whole earth for God, 2. Because He is God, because He made us, and because He protects us. 4. The wide extent of His mercy is made the ground of praise and thanksgiving at this place in the Service, because the spread of the Gospel has been called to mind by the Second Lesson. {88} Deus Misereatur. Ps. lxvii., styled by Dr Kay The Spiritual Harvest-Home Song of Israel, is to be applied by us to the Harvesting of Missionaries, when set before our minds in the Second Lesson. It especially refers to the gathering-in of the Gentiles ('all nations'), and extends the threefold blessing of Num. vi. 24-26 to them; see _vv._ 1, 6, 7. Cf. the description which is placed at the head of this Psalm in the Bible, _A prayer for the enlargement of God's kingdom--to the joy of the people--and the increase of God's blessings_. In the Sarum Use it was a special Sunday Psalm at Lauds (see p. 44); together with Psalm 63, it followed _Jubilate Deo_ and preceded _Benedicite_. [1] Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet, Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet. [2] Bishop Barry. {89} CHAPTER X. PRAISE. VI. The Creeds. The discussions which arose upon the Revelation of Himself, which God gave in His Son Jesus Christ, were carried on between people who lived far apart round the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The Nature of Almighty God could not possibly be easily understood by man. We might as well expect a horse to understand the nature of man. When a man tries to make a horse understand kindness, he is often disappointed with the lower nature which seems unable to appreciate it: but he perseveres, and expects some response to his efforts. In like manner we may believe that God expects us to respond when He reveals something of His own Nature to us. Assuming that He is perfectly Wise, we must own that what He tells us about Himself it is good for us to believe, and to try to understand. The Revelation is itself a claim upon our Worship. We start with a grain of Faith: that is, we believe that there is a Revelation--an unveiling of the mystery of God's Being. {90}