_How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord?_ DISTRESS AND CONFIDENCE This little Psalm begins in agitation and ends in calm. However true it is that sorrow is “but for a moment,” it seems to last for an eternity. Sad hours are leaden footed and joyful ones winged. That “How long,” reiterated, betrays ho... [ Continue Reading ]
_How long shall I take counsel in my soul?_ PLAN MAKING The literal rendering of this verse brings before us the folly of mere plan making. David is taking counsel in his own soul: inventing plans of self-deliverance; making up schemes of daily life and programmes of service and progress. He no soo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death._ MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEATH The Psalmist’s cry was for a physical deliverance from mortal danger--probably from a violent death at the hands of his enemies. With little or no straining of the words they may be turned into a prayer against the per... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I have trusted in Thy mercy._ ON THE MERCY OF GOD I. What is meant by the mercy of God? Mercy differs from goodness in that it supposes guilt. Without the fall of man there could have been no occasion for his redemption; and without the plan of redemption it does not appear that we could have... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will sing unto the Lord._ THE PASSING OF MORBID STATES OF MIND Much spiritual darkness is no doubt caused by the mind’s sympathising with a morbid condition of the body, a condition not always known to the sufferer, and often not even suspected. Nevertheless, the morbid condition exists, and pr... [ Continue Reading ]