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It is of great importance that men be taught that there are limits even to the forbearance of God, and that it is possible so to presume on it as to exhaust it. "They have made void Thy law." They have reduced the Divine precepts to a dead letter, and refuse to receive them as a rule of life. But what effect will be produced on a truly righteous man by this extraordinary prevalence of iniquity? Will he be tempted, by the universal scorn which he sees thrown on God's law, to think slightingly of it himself, and give it less of his reverence and attachment? On the contrary, this law becomes more precious in David's sight, in proportion as he felt that it was so despised and set aside that the time for God to work had arrived. The verses are connected by the word "therefore." "They have made void Thy law." What then? is that law less esteemed and less prized by myself? Quite the reverse; "they have made void Thy law; therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold." This, then, is the second truth presented by our text-that there is greater reason than ever for our prizing God's law, if the times should be those in which that law is made void. It is obvious, in the first place, that, in days such as these, there is the very finest opportunity of giving honour to God. To love His commandments above gold, whilst others count them but dross, is to display a noble zeal for His glory, and to appear as the champions of His cause, when that cause is on the point of being universally deserted. The prorated, moreover, runs, "Them that honour Me, I Will honour"; and the season, therefore, in which the greatest honour may be given to God, is that also in which the most of future glory may be secured by the righteous. To adhere boldly to the cause of righteousness, when almost solitary in adherence, is to fight the battle when champions ere most needed, and when, therefore, victory will be most triumphant. Let, then, saith the psalmist, the times be times of universal defection from godliness — I will gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, loyalty from their treason. Indeed, as I gaze on what is passing around me, I cannot but observe that Thy law, O God, is made void, and that it is therefore time for Thee to work. But I am not on this account shaken in attachment to Thy service. On the contrary, Thy law seems to me more precious than ever, for in now keeping Thy commandments I can give Thee greater glory, and find greater reward. What then? it may be that they have made void Thy law; but from my heart I can say, "therefore, on that very account, I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold." But we have yet another mode in which to exhibit the connection between the verses. We have hitherto supposed the strengthened attachment which David expresses towards the law, to have been produced by the fact that this law was made void. But we now refer it to the fact that it was time for God to work. We consider, that is, that when the psalmist says, "therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold," the reason is to be found in the character of the times, in the season being one at which God must bring judgments on the earth. "Since Thy law is made void, it is time for Thee, Lord, to interfere in vengeance; and on this account, because Wrath must be let loose, therefore I love Thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold." And if this be regarded as the connection between the verses, you will readily admit that there is abundant force in the reason of the psalmist. If there be one season at which, more than at another, the righteous feel the worth of revelation, and the blessedness of obeying its precepts, the season must be that of danger and trouble. Whether the danger and trouble be public or domestic; whether it be his country, or only his own household, over which calamity hangs; the man of piety finds a consolation in religion which makes him more than ever prize the revealed will of God. There is a beauty and energy in the Bible which nothing but affliction can bring out and display; and men know comparatively little of the preciousness of Scriptural promises, and the magnificence of Scriptural hopes, until placed in circumstances of difficulty and distress. "It is time for Thee, Lord, to work." "They have forsaken Thy covenant", etc.; and the Judge of men must arise, and vindicate His insulted authority. But I know on whom the mark of deliverance will be set when the men with the slaughter-weapons are commanded to pass through the land. I know that where there is obedience to Thy law, there will be security from Thy wrath. And hence that law is more precious in my sight than it ever was before — "it is time for Thee to work; therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." "It is time for Thee, Lord, to work." There is much in myself which requires the processes of the refiner, much of the corruptible to be removed, much of the dross to be purged away. But if it be needful that I be cast into the furnace of affliction, I have Thy precepts to which to cling, Thy promises on which to rest. I find that Thy Word comforts me in the prospect; I know that it will sustain me in the endurance; and hence, because it is time for Thee to work, therefore is Thy word dearer to me "than the gold, yea, than the fine gold."

(H. Melvill, B. D.)

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KJV: It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.

WEB: It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break your law.