_In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to
confusion._
A PICTURE OF A PIOUS OLD MAN
I. The entreaties of a pious old man.
1. Against evil.
(1) Moral failure (Psalms 70:1).
(2) General danger (Psalms 70:2; Psalms 70:4).
(3) Divine desertion (verse 9).
2. For good.
(1) Divine p... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou art my hope, O Lord God: Thou art my trust from my youth._
GOD OUR HOPE IN YOUTH
It was a man well advanced in life who uttered these words. Aye, the
snows of age are falling on his head; his back bends under the weight
of years; but,--is the frail old man dejected and forlorn? No, nothing
of... [ Continue Reading ]
_By Thee have I been holden up from the womb._
GOD THE CREATOR, PRESERVER, AND GOVERNOR OF THE WORLD
I. Our birth and being are owing to God, as the original cause of
them.
II. It is His providence which sustains, preserves, and holds up our
goings in life. Even if the materials of our being had,... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am as a wonder unto many; but Thou art my strong refuge._
A WONDER UNTO MANY
Consider the text, with reference to David, to Christ, and to the
Christian. (_John Cawood, M. A._)... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be Thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort._
GOD, OUR CONTINUAL RESORT
David knew what it was to hide himself away in the great caverns and
rocks of his native land. He had done so in the cave of Adullam. And
such residences are never forgotten. You may live for an age in su... [ Continue Reading ]
_Cast me not off in the time of old age: forsake me not when my
strength faileth._
THE CRY OF THE AGED
This is the cry of trembling, tottering age to man as well as God.
Among the very saddest of human experiences is the decay which is the
harbinger of death. If death were always a swift, sudden t... [ Continue Reading ]
_O God, be not far from me._
GOD ALWAYS NEAR
A busy woman entered her room hastily as twilight shades were
falling--went directly to her desk, turned on the gas, and began to
write. Page after page she wrote. The solitude became oppressive: She
wheeled her chair around, and with a shock of joyful... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I.. . will yet praise Thee more and more._
MORE AND MORE
When sin conquered the realm of manhood, it slew all the minstrels
except those of the race of Hope. For humanity, amid all its sorrows
and sins, hope sings on. To believers in Jesus there remains a royal
race of bards, for we have a ho... [ Continue Reading ]
_My mouth shall show forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the
day; for I know not the numbers thereof._
AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SUBJECT
This psalmist’s words may well be a pattern for old men, who need
fear no failure of buoyancy, nor any collapse of gladness, if they
will fix their thoughts whe... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of Thy
righteousness, even of Thine only._
GOD THE SOURCE OF THE MINISTER’S STRENGTH
I. What is the help the minister requires?--“the strength of the
Lord God.”
1. Not human strength, that is but weakness. What was Isaiah’s
comfort b... [ Continue Reading ]
_O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I
declared Thy wondrous works._
THE OLD MAN’S SERMON
His scholarship. “O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth.”
1. The psalmist was an instructed believer. He had not merely been
saved, but taught: conversion had led to instruction. I... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou who hast showed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me
again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth._
DIVINE HELP IN TIMES OF TROUBLE
This is a psalm of experience: it begins with trusting and ends with
praise, which is the usual ending for such beginning.
I. The fac... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side._
CHRISTIAN DIGNITY
The world has its great men; so has the Bible. Alongside the monarch,
the Bible puts the man who rules his own spirit well; the warrior, one
who fights the fight of faith; the artist, one who by loving deeds
paints... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will also praise Thee with the psaltery, even Thy truth, O my God:
unto Thee will I sing with the harp, O Thou Holy One of Israel._
THE PRAISES OF A HEBREW SAINT
Dr. Sanday has remarked that, “on the great world-stage different
races have different functions,” and that “for the Hebrew it was
re... [ Continue Reading ]