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A man having a soul must worship something as a God; he must look upon something as the source of supply, of protection, of reliance, and trust; and if you do not give him a God in revelation, he will go to work and make one. We want a God whom we can adore. What is the character of the God of the Bible? He comes rolling up to us in infinite grandeur from of old, from everlasting: His date is eternal. Then look at His character — how sublime! He is represented as being universally present. That gives us the idea of infinite spirituality. He fills all space, is everywhere, and has this peculiar characteristic, that He can bring all the perfections of His nature to every point in space. wherever He is, He is there the Almighty, the all-knowing, and the infinitely wise and good God. Well, now, from the universality of His presence and knowledge, He is enabled to be the God of providence. He can interpose where He sees the necessity, and where you call upon Him according to His promise to interpose in your behalf, and superintend your wants. Well, then, we have a God who can do everything, who is everywhere, and who is infinite in mind and in knowledge. Thank God, He knows everything. I think the sublimest commentary upon the knowledge of God is the declaration that He inhabiteth eternity. We have a natural admiration for that which we feel to be infinitely greater than ourselves. The fact is we feel it toward men in a measure; but as our minds expand a little we detect mistakes and see that men are not so great as we thought, and as we go on a little further we find that they do not know so much as we supposed they did; so that these men keep going down as we keep going up. We detect many errors in their policy and in their reasoning; and we find that they are nothing but men. Not so in the study of our God, who has never made a mistake. We have never detected a point of ignorance in the great Jehovah. The further we look into His works, the grander they appear; and the further we look into the Word, how much fuller it is than we perceived at first! As our minds expand they only catch glances of the infinite sweep of His mind, which rolls on to interminable meanings, and culminates in designs worth the infinite resources and plans of the infinite God of the universe. Now, if I want something to adore, give me God. I adore Him in the exercise of His power, in the displays of His wisdom, in the fountain of His goodness, and in the plans that He has projected for my own well-being. I adore Him that He has a remedial system going on over the infirmities and calamities of mankind that will terminate in the resurrection. I adore God as an infinite, spiritual, and intelligent Being, who made the whole universe, and who is full of power and goodness. That is not all I adore Him for. The text says, "Therefore will I hope in Him." I see His resources, His plans, and His purposes, and I will hope in Him. Paul celebrates God as the God of hope. This God has given me capacity to know, has given promises and ground of hope, and has also arranged everything that pertains to hope. He has authorised me to hope for eternal life, for unbounded wealth, for glory, honour, and immortality; to look to the coming period when my head shall be crowned with life, and my hand palmed with victory; when my soul shall be home in glory in the presence of God, where there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. He authorises me to hope for the triumph over all my enemies, to look for the rest that remains to the people of God, and to anticipate association with the sweetest society in the universe. What sort of hopes has God arranged for? Christians have the highest hopes of any other class of beings that belong to this world. The politician hopes to reach the presidential chair, and he knows there is only one chance out of many millions, and that it is no great thing when he gets it at last, for it is mixed with heavy burdens, terrible responsibilities, and a torrent of perpetual abuse. The Christian hopes for a victory over all things; he hopes to ascend in glory, and to enter into the rest that remaineth for the people of God; he hopes for a kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. Again, our God is not only the God of hope; but He is also the God of all grace. It was to pardon guilty persons, to purify defiled souls, and to provide an inheritance adequate to the wants of His children; it was to help their infirmities, to comfort them in their distress, to enlighten them in their darkness and ignorance, to solace them with the comforts of holiness, and fit them for glory. He is the God of all grace; He has formed this system of salvation, and carries it out until we are saved from sin, trouble, toil, poverty, and ignorance.

(Bishop Kavanagh.)

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KJV: The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

WEB: Yahweh is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.