Psalm 119:147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in your word. So intent was the psalmist on devout meditation and prayer, that he arose before the dawn for that purpose. And in his prayer he pleaded his trust. "I hoped in thy Word." It is as if he had said, "I trusted thee, surely thou wilt respond to my trust." There are two great pleas which man may use when approaching God in prayer - God's promise, his own trust. And both are powerful and prevailing pleas with God. I. TRUST DRAWS OUT THE REST OF EVERY MAN. It is perhaps the mightiest of all moral forces. The parent gets the best out of the child by trusting him; and the child gets the best out of the parents by trusting them. In common business relations, the keen man, who trusts nobody, is badly served; the man who trusts his fellows is indeed occasionally deceived, but usually he gets the best attention, the best goods, and the best services. The master who trusts his servants and employees puts them on their mettle, and secures their best of energy and devotion. Show little or no confidence in your fellow-men, and all you can get from them is drudgery. It is often noticed how positions of trust rapidly develop a man's powers. It would be a world full of poor characters but for the ennobling power of mutual trust. Society is built on mutual trust. II. TRUST DRAWS THE MOST GRACIOUS RESPONSES FROM GOD. "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him." 1. God is to be thought of as a Father, and his relations with us understood through our paternity; and we have suggested what wonders child-trust works in family life. 2. God is to be thought of as a Master; and we have seen what response the workman makes to the trust of the master, and the master to the trust of the workman. 3. God is to be thought of as a King; and we know how he is moved when any one relies upon his gracious Word. It is but using imperfect human language, based on human analogies, if we say, "Would we take God at his best?" Then we must trust him fully, absolutely rely on him, take him at his word, commit ourselves to him. This is our all-prevailing plea, "I have hoped in thy Word." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.WEB: I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words. |
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