_In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust._ MAN TRUSTING IN JEHOVAH I. Here is man trusting in Jehovah Is great trials. 1. It seems strange that God should allow a man who trusts in Him to become involved in trials. Love is the reason. He knows that oven the best of His children are so fractious and wa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be Thou my strong rook,.. . for Thou art my rock, _ “BE. .. FOR THOU ART” It sounds strange logic, “Be. .. for Thou art,” and yet it is the logic of prayer, and goes very deep, pointing out both its limits and its encouragements. If we were to read thus: “Be Thou a strong Rock to me, for a house... [ Continue Reading ]
_Into Thine hand I commit my spirit._ THE LAST WORDS OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS (with Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59):-- I. I invite you first to consider our Saviour’s words just before his death: “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” 1. Observe how Christ lives and passes away in the atmosphere of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have hated them that regard lying vanities, but I trust in the Lord._ TRUST THE ANTIDOTE OF SUPERSTITIOUS VANITIES Many think that superstition is but an exaggerated faith; that it will diminish with the growth of intelligence, and that it is necessary in appealing to ignorant and vulgar people.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy, for Thou hast considered my trouble._ DIVINE CHASTISEMENTS I. That the souls of all God’s people must have their day of adversity, This, indeed, follows from the universal methods by which God governs and upholds the world. The present life is not a state... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast set my feet in a large room._ THE “LARGE ROOM” I. the Christian creed places us in a very extended realm. Suppose the case of one puzzled by the mysteries of existence, learning the creed of the Christian Church. Such a man contrasts the narrow material ideas that had become familiar to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble._ THE COMPLAINTS OF A SUFFERER, AND THE ENTREATIES OF A SUPPLIANT I. the complaints of a sufferer. 1. His sufferings were mental and severe. 2. His sufferings told most injuriously on his health. 3. His sufferings arose from a consciousness of hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_My strength faileth because of mine iniquity._ --(Nehemiah 8:10). MORAL WEAKNESS AND STRENGTH These two passages tell of the source of both. The psalmist tells us that his iniquity was the cause of his strength failing. Nehemiah, that an excess even of penitential feeling will be injurious. One w... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind._ BURIED ALIVE This title would suggest to many, terrible ideas of an awful physical calamity, such as has taken place in mines, or in actual burials ere life was extinct. But there are other senses in which men are buried alive. I. in an unfortunate sens... [ Continue Reading ]
_Fear was on every side._ THE LENGTH AND THE BREADTH ARE EQUAL (with Psalms 71:21):--Life is circumvented by peril; yet on every side we are promised assurance and safety. I. the hinder side. 1. The world of the past clings to us, and in many ways alarms and embarrasses. We cannot rub out the bl... [ Continue Reading ]
_My times are in Thy hand._ AFFIANCE There is nothing which more distinguishes the Christian from the ungodly man than the temper with which the experiences and possibilities of life are regarded. The Christian sees in all the hand of God, and submits; the other feels the stroke hardly knowing whe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the lying lips be put to silence, which cruelly, disdainfully, and, maliciously, speak against the righteous._ ON SCEPTICISM To neglect those popular calumnies which are in circulation against any system either moral, religious, or political, is rather magnanimous than wise, and savours more o... [ Continue Reading ]
_O how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men._ OF HEARING GOD AND TRUSTING IN HIM I. explain these duties. 1. The fear of God. This sometimes comprehends the whole duty of man, but is more... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence._ HID IN LIGHT The word rendered “presence” is literally “face,” and the force of this very remarkable expression of confidence is considerably marred unless that rendering be retained. I. the hiding-place. “The light of Thy face” is “secret.” Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before Thine eyes: nevertheless Thou heartiest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto Thee._ CONSOLATION FOR THE DESPAIRING I am as a watcher on the sea beach, telescope in hand, keeping guard for an appointed time. The watcher looks through his... [ Continue Reading ]
_O love the Lord, all ye His saints._ CONSTRAINING LOVE Love Jehovah--so the text runs. God the Father demands your love and deserves it, yea, the warmest affection of your hearts. And so also does the Son who redeemed you; and the Holy Spirit, by whom we are born again unto eternal life. But we s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord._ THE BELIEVER’S SOURCE OF STRENGTH Many are almost despairing because of their trials and their temptations. But be our circumstances what they may, here is an antidote to them all. I. the promise--“He shall st... [ Continue Reading ]