_A.M. 2946. B.C. 1058._ This Psalm, which relates not to any temporal concern, either personal or public, but wholly to matters of a spiritual nature, is reckoned one of the seven penitential Psalms, which have sometimes been made use of by penitents on their admission into the church. It consists... [ Continue Reading ]
_Out of the depths_ Being overwhelmed with deep distresses and terrors, and ready to despair; _have I cried unto thee_ “Like another Jonas, entombed in the whale's belly, and surrounded by all the waves of the ocean.” Observe, reader, “Fervent prayer will find its way through every obstruction to th... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities_ Observe them accurately, and punish them severely, as they deserve; _O Lord, who shall stand?_ In thy presence, or at thy tribunal. No man could acquit himself, or escape the sentence of condemnation, because all men are sinners. To _stand_ is a judicial ph... [ Continue Reading ]
_I wait for the Lord_ That he would manifest his favour to me in the pardon of my sins, and thereby give me relief and comfort. _My soul doth wait_ I wait for him in sincerity, and not in profession only; with fervency, and not in a spirit of lukewarmness and indifference. _And in his word do I hope... [ Continue Reading ]
_My soul waiteth for the Lord_ This verse in the original is remarkably concise, forcible, and elegant. It is literally, _My soul for the Lord_, (namely, waiteth,) _more than watchers for the morning, than watchers for the morning._ The psalmist is thought to intend those that kept the night-watches... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let Israel hope in the Lord_ Every true Israelite, every one that devotes himself to God, being encouraged by my example. _For with the Lord there is mercy_ Not only inherent in his nature, but ready to be exercised in pardoning and saving every penitent sinner. _And with him is plenteous redemptio... [ Continue Reading ]