Psalm 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the righteous shall compass me about; for you shall deal bountifully with me. Thou shalt deal bountifully with me. The point here seems to be that an unusual experience of the Divine goodness, in one particular case, excites the attention of others who trust in God, and becomes, for them, an inspiration to increased confidence in God. I. GOD'S BOUNTIFULNESS AS OUR IMPRESSION OF GOD'S DEALINGS WITH US. It is not the constant impression. Sometimes we have to say, "My purposes are broken off;" "He hath hedged up my way with thorns." Sometimes what strikes us is the narrow limitations within which God puts his answer to our needs and desires. But there is no good man's life into which, at some time, the almost overwhelming impression of God's bountifulness has not come. He has surprised us with his benedictions; altogether gone beyond our expectations and our prayers. The times he has chosen, the deliverances he has wrought, the guidance he has given, the provisions he has made, have altogether astonished us. His bountiful goodness has called forth our songs. But the cases of bountifulness illuminate all his dealings with us. We know what he can do, and what he will do sometimes, and so light is thrown on all his dealings. He is never short of the bountiful, save for good reasons. He is always as bountiful as he can wisely be. It is helpful to read all our life in the light of those times when God, as it were, went beyond his usual in blessing. The infinite resources are open to us. II. GOD'S BOUNTIFULNESS AS OTHER PEOPLE'S IMPRESSION OF GOD'S DEALING WITH US. St. Paul thought of himself as a monument of grace, on whom other people might look, and from whom other people might gain confidence in the grace of God. The unusual in our lives sets us in the world's eye, makes us spectacles unto men. If the unusual is manifestly God's unusual, God's bountifulness in dealing with us, it has a most gracious impression on those around us. They learn "what almighty grace can do." And if ours is a Divine triumph over extraordinary difficulties and depressions, it is the assurance to others that God can make his grace abound unto all sufficiency. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. |
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