_Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul._ DAVID DEPRESSED I. David was at this time in a state of great trouble. This is the children’s path; it is the path most of God’s family walk in. It is not an uncommon path. The Master trod the path before them, and told His people to expect tribulation. I... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let me not be put to shame._ DELIVERANCE AND GUIDANCE Trust that was not vindicated by deliverance would cover the face with confusion. “Hopes that breed not shame” are the treasure of him whose hope is in Jehovah. Foes unnamed threaten; but the stress of the petitions in the first section of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shew me Thy ways, O Lord; and teach me Thy paths._ DIVINE AUTHORITY UPON EARTH All right-minded men will agree with Matthew Arnold’s famous saying, that “Conduct is three-fourths of human life.” It will be also admitted that the professed aim of all Churches and religious societies is to regulate... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me._ GUIDING AND TEACHING A short but expressive prayer. All need it. We need it when we are surrounded with gloom, when we are tempted, and when we find bur path very rough. I. The petition for guidance. We need it because-- 1. We are ignorant of the future. 2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies._ THINGS TO REMEMBER AND TO FORGET It is only by a figure of speech that we can speak of God as remembering and forgetting. It is an accommodation to our human weakness and ignorance. He who sees all things at a glance has no need to remember, and is incapable... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remember not the sins of my youth._ YOUTHFUL SINS The Psalm belongs to the later days of David. In youth we live in the present; in age we live in the past. I. Youthful sins are remembered when the sinner attains to an advanced age. Generally speaking, the youthful sinner is a thoughtless sinner.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He teach sinners in the way._ THE GUARANTEE IN GOD FOR GUIDANCE FROM GOD The Psalmist exchanges petition for contemplation; and gazes on the character of God, in order thereby to be helped to confidence in an answer to his prayer. Such alternations of... [ Continue Reading ]
_The meek will He teach His way._ THE HUMBLE The heathen moralists give many admirable counsels, but always forget humility. They had not, indeed, the word for it. The term “humility” before Christianity meant what is base, despicable, vile. Humility can only come with the knowledge of one’s self,... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies._ THE DEALINGS OF GOD WITH HIS PEOPLE This text is intended to represent a universal attribute of God, in all His ways in His government of the world. As such it sets before us an important element of... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great._ A PRAYER FOR PARDON AND ITS PLEA The context shows that this is the prayer of a man who had long loved and served God. Yet side by side with this consciousness of devotion and service there lie the profound sense of sin, and of... [ Continue Reading ]
_What man is he that feareth the Lord?_ THE FEAR OF GOD A RESTRAINING INFLUENCE This secret fear, if it be once planted in the heart, will direct thee in all good actions acceptable to God, and correct thy evil doings. The love of God hath a constraining power whereby it compelleth and forceth us t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him._ THE SECRET OF THE LORD Then the Lord has a secret. Why does He not tell it to every man? Why do we not tell our secrets to every man? Every man does not understand us. We always best understand those who are like-minded with us. God gives His sec... [ Continue Reading ]
_Turn Thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted._ A SUFFERER’S PRAYER How tender is this language, and how instructive too. David was a sufferer as well as a king. But he is a petitioner also, He prays for-- I. Deliverance. II. A kind look from God is desirable at any... [ Continue Reading ]
_Look upon mine affliction and my pain._ A TROUBLED PRAYER I. It is well for us when our prayers about our sorrows are linked with prayers about our sins. Our sorrows profit us when they bring our sins to mind. 1. They give us time for thought. A sick bed has often been a place of repentance. 2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on Thee._ RESOLUTIONS MADE AND STRENGTH INVOKED FOR A YEAR OF DUTY What should our memories do for us? If we are really humbled and grateful for the past, what should we resolve on now? We should strive to “grow in grace,” that “love may aboun... [ Continue Reading ]