_The Lord is my light and my salvation._ IMPLICIT TRUST This psalm was written by a man who was at the moment far down in the depths of spiritual conflict, and yet was holding a steady front against his troubles, after all. He prays so passionately, that we should deem him weak even to cowardice, i... [ Continue Reading ]
_They stumbled and fell._ GOD’S PRESERVATION OF DAVID IN EXTREME DANGER I. the state and condition of David’s enemies, They are wicked men. The reason whereof is the enmity put by God Himself between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), which David found (Psalms 38:19;... [ Continue Reading ]
_My heart shall not fear._ A STOUT HEART These are the words of a veteran, not of a raw recruit in the battle of life. A first disaster brings consternation; a ripened experience alone can take calamity calmly. God educates His servants by hard discipline, in conflict with the forces of evil; and... [ Continue Reading ]
_One thing have I desired of the Lord._ SINGLENESS OF PURPOSE IN WORSHIP Worship is a necessity to the spiritually awakened soul. Public worship was an urgent, pressing necessity in the psalmist’s case. When, on another occasion similar to that on which he penned this psalm, he found himself depri... [ Continue Reading ]
_For in the time of trouble He shall hide me._ SAFETY IN TIME OF TROUBLE I. David makes account that, while he lives here on earth, he is liable and subject to manifold evils. Reasons-- 1. God’s Divine sovereignty, whereby He may do with His own what He will, and dispose of His dearest children t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice._ A PRAYER OF DESIRE AND DEPENDENCE David here expresses-- I. his desire towards God. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer. 1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believe... [ Continue Reading ]
_When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek._ A SWEET ECHO One of the sweetest marvels of nature is “the echo.” It is nature’s poetry that charms and captivates the mind. Standing, some years back, on a lone mountain side, with giant peaks towering up a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hide not Thy face far from me._ HIDE NOT THY FACE FROM ME 1. The surpassing worth and excellence of God’s special favour, whereof he would not be deprived (Psalms 30:5; Psalms 63:3). 2. He knew the displeasure of God was a most heavy and grievous thing, which no creature is able to bear (Psalms... [ Continue Reading ]
_When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up._ PERISHABLE GOOD MEASURED AGAINST THE UNCHANGEABLE PORTION Change is earth’s perpetual motto. It is grown on her ever-varying seasons; it gives material for her daily history; and it marks with chequered and subtle lines the b... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies._ OUR OBSERVERS Instead of “enemies,” the margin reads “observers.” And we have many such. I. the world--with keen and malignant eye. If we act inconsistently with our profession, they will be sure to notice it and despise us, and our religion acc... [ Continue Reading ]
_I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living._ THE GOODNESS OF GOD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING The words “I had fainted” are not in the original. The sentence is a broken one, such as one utters under strong emotion, suggesting possibilities, but lea... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord._ THE CHRISTIAN’S STRENGTH The Church of God has often been in a low, languishing, and, to all human appearance, in a desperate condition; yet one thing, as Solomon says, is set against another, an... [ Continue Reading ]