God's practical kindness, past and future.
Much as is said in Psalms 115:12, more is implied. Written in full, it would read thus: "The Lord has been mindful of us: he has blessed us; he will still be mindful of us, and will still bless us." We have—
I. GOD'S GREAT KINDNESS IN THE PAST.
1. His thoughtfulness of us. He has had us in his mind, has "remembered us in our low estate," has been concerned for our true welfare, has rejoiced in our well-being, has sympathized with us in our sorrows.
2. His action on our behalf. He has blessed us; he has given to us a great estate—this earth—for our use (Psalms 115:16). He has blessed us with material bounties, with the nappy bonds of kindred and friendship, with the treasures that feed and satisfy the mind, with all sacred privileges.
II. ITS CONTINUANCE IN YEARS TO COME. "He will bless us," will "increase" us. The guarantees of this continuance are found:
III. A TIME-LIMIT TO HIS SERVICE. "The dead praise not the Lord" (Psalms 115:17). We have it in our heart to seek and serve the Lord; and we believe that, so long as we do, we may reckon on his abounding kindness. But how long will that last? At any moment "death may interrupt these songs." A flash of lightning, an engine off the rails, a puff of poisonous air, a chill, may bring the holiest and the wisest to the grave. And there is perpetual silence—no more song, no more service, no more rejoicing in that "long home." That is so; but then we have—
IV. THE TRUER AND THE LARGER OUTLOOK. Coming after Christ, we can give to the "evermore" of Psalms 115:18 a meaning which goes beyond the psalmist's thought. We think not of our departed as silent in the grave; we think of them as blessing and praising Christ in the heavens, as spending their powers in his higher service there, as taken out of, and not down into, the shadows of time, and introduced into the blessed light and unfading glories of eternity.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY