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PSALM LI- HAVE MERCY"

20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you and there be none to deliver.

in pieces,

23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

Psalm 51

1 David prayeth for remission of his sins, whereof he maketh a deep confession. 6 He prayeth for sanctification. 16 God delighteth not in sacrifice, but in sincerity. 18 He prayeth for the church.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

AVE mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15 O LORD, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering.

Mordecai Reveals the Plot

BY GERARD DE LAIRESSE, AN ARTIST OF THE FLEMISH

SCHOOL, DIED 1711.
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"And the thing was made known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen.”—Esther, 2, 22.

NR

OW came Mordecai's opportunity to serve the Persian state. He was apparently a man of prominence in his own race. The Greek version of the Bible says that he was also a "great man” in Shushan, a "servitor in the king's court." It would seem that his position was that of a judge or perhaps an officer of the royal bodyguard, for he sat frequently "in the king's gate," as though on duty there, either to dispense justice to all comers, or to guard the entrance.

In this position he learned of a plot in which were concerned two of his companions at the gate, the king's chamberlains or, according to one version, porters. These men planned to "lay hand on the king." Mordecai, presumably unable to approach Ahasuerus directly, awaited an opportunity to see Queen Esther, and as she passed him he warned her of her husband's danger. Then Esther warned the king, the plot was fully uncovered, the two guilty men executed, and a record of the matter inscribed in the chronicles of the state. Yet for some reason, apparently mere royal negligence, no special honors were conferred upon Mordecai. The Greek version speaks of gifts being given him, but nothing more.