◄ Psalm 10:2 ►














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Why? Or, Hard Facts And Puzzling Questions
Psalm 10:1-18
C. Clemance
Whether or no this psalm was originally a part of the ninth is a question which, as may be seen, is discussed by many expositors. The mere absence of a title to it is, however, a very slight indication in that direction; while the contrast, almost violent, between the two psalms seems to be sufficient to show that they could scarcely have been penned by the same writer at the same time. The ninth psalm is a song of praise over the great deliverance God had wrought in bringing about the destroyer's destruction. This is a mournful wail over the ill designs and too successful plans of the wicked on the one hand, and over the long silence of God on the other. The ungodly are at the very height of their riotous and iniquitous revelling; and the Divine interposition is passionately and agonizingly implored. We have no clue whatever to the precise period of disorder to which reference is here made. Perhaps it is well that we have not. There have been times in the history of the world and of the Church, again and again, when designing and godless men have been, as it were, let loose, and have been permitted to play havoc with God's people, while the righteous were mourning and the wicked were boasting that God did not interpose to check their cruelties and crimes. And it will be necessary for the student and expositor to throw himself mentally into the midst of such a state of things, ere he can appreciate all the words of a psalm like this. For it is one of those containing words of man to God, and not words of God to man. We have therein - terrific facts specified; hard questions asked; a permanent solace; a forced-out prayer.

I. TERRIFIC FACTS. (Vers. 2-11.) Let every phrase in this indictment be weighed; it presents as fearful a picture of human wickedness as any contained in the Word of God. It sets before us pride, persecution, device, boasting, ridicule, denial of Providence, hardness, scorn, evil-speaking, defying and denying of God, oppression and crushing of the poor, a glorying in deeds of shame, and expected impunity therein. And what is more trying still is, that God seems to let all this go on, and keeps silence, and stands afar off, and hides himself in times of trouble. Such trials were felt by the Protestants in their early struggles; by the Covenanters in times of persecution in Scotland; by faithful ones on the occasion of the St. Bartholomew Massacre; by the Waldenses and Albigenses; by Puritans and Independents under Charles I.; by Churchmen under Cromwell; and by the Malagasy in our own times; and it is only by the terror of such times that psalms like this can be understood.

II. HARD QUESTIONS. Of these there are two. One is in the first verse.

1. Why is God silent? As we look at matters, we might be apt to say that if God has indeed a people in the world, he will never let them fall into the hands of the destroyer; or that, if they are oppressed by evil men, God will quickly deliver them out of their hands, and will show his disapproval of their ways. But very often is it otherwise - to sight, and then faith is tried; and it is no wonder that Old Testament saints should ask" Why?" when even New Testament saints often do the same! But we know that to his own, God gives an inward peace and strength that are better marks of his love and better proofs of his timely aid than any outward distinction could possibly be. Take, e.g., the case of Blandina in the times of early persecution; and the cases of hundreds of others. And besides this, it is by the Christ-like bearing of believers under hardships such as these, that God reveals the reality and glory of his redeeming pace (see 1 Peter 4:12-14).

2. A second question is: Why doth the wicked contemn God? Ah! why does he? He does contemn God in many ways.

(1) His inward thought is, "There is no God" (ver. 4).

(2) He denies that God will call him to account (ver. 13).

(3) He denies that God watches his actions (ver. 11).

(4) He lulls himself in imagined perpetual security (ver. 6).

Thus the life of such a one is a perpetual denial or defiance of God. And all this is attributed

(a) to "pride" (ver. 4);

(b) to love of evil as evil (ver. 3).

And yet the psalmist, seeing through the vain boast of the ungodly, may well peal out again and again the question, "Why does he do this? "for the implied meaning of the writer is, "Why does he do this, when, in spite of all his proud glorying in ill, he knows that God will bring his wickedness to an end, and will call him to account for it? This is the thought which connects our present division with the next.

III. PERMANENT SOLACE. However hard it may be to interpret the ways of nod at any one crisis, yet the believer knows that he must not judge God by what he sees of his ways, but ought to estimate his ways by what he knows of God. And there are four great truths known about God by the revelation of himself to man.

1. Jehovah is the eternal King (ver. 14).

2. God is the Helper of the fatherless (ver. 14).

3. God is known as the Judge of the oppressed (ver. 18; cf. Psalm 103:6; Psalm 94:8-23).

4. God hears his people's cry (ver. 17).

When believers know all this, they have a perpetual source of relief even under the heaviest cares. God's plan for the world, in his government thereof by Jesus Christ, is to redress every wrong of man, and to bring about peace, by righteousness (Psalm 72:2, 4).

IV. FERVID PRAYER. (Vers. 12, 15.) Times of severest pressure are those which force out the mightiest prayer (Acts 4:23-30). Luther, etc.; Daniel (Daniel 2:16-18; Daniel 9:1-19). The true method of prayer is thus indicated, viz. to ascertain from God's revelation of himself, what he is and what are his promises, and then to approach him in humble supplication, pleading with him to reveal the glory of his Name, by fulfilling the promises he has made; and when our prayers move in the direct line of God's promises, we are absolutely sure of an answer (but see Psalm 65:5; Revelation 8:4, 5; Deuteronomy 33:26-29). To-day is a day of God's concealing himself; but his day of self-revealing is drawing nigh. - C.

Biblical Illustrator
Thou hast hoard the desire of the humble.
Psalm 10:17
The desire of the humble encouraged
J. Evans.
I. THE CHARACTERS HERE SPOKEN OF. Though there be great difference between man and man with regard to natural character, yet the truly humble before God are those only whom He has humbled. The humble are those whom God doth teach the plague of their own hearts. He humbles them by discoveries of themselves.

II. THE DESIRES HERE SPOKEN OF. The soul of man is a restless principle. The souls of the humble ones do desire. The humble soul wants a clearer inward witness of his adoption; a renewed application of the blood of Christ to his conscience; a deeper sense of his acceptance in the Beloved; a closer walk with God.

III. THE ENCOURAGEMENTS HERE SPOKEN OF. Three expressed in the text —

1. "Thou hast heard the desire of the humble."

2. "Thou wilt prepare their heart."

3. "Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear.

(J. Evans.)

The desire of the humble
T. Scott, M. A.
I. HERE IS A CHARACTER DESCRIBED — "the humble." It is a characteristic of all Christians. Humility befits us if we regard —

1. The meanness of our origin — "dust"

2. Our sinfulness.

3. That pride is hateful in the sight of God. What evil it has wrought; how unwarrantable it is.

4. But God hears the desire of the humble. What is that desire? It is to know the want of Himself. To have an interest in Christ. To think highly of others. To adore the goodness of God, and to be obedient to His will.

II. GOD PREPARES SUCH A HEART.

1. By giving conviction of sin.

2. By encouraging trust in Christ.

3. By giving desire after holiness.

4. By emptying him of self.

III. GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER.

1. Because they come in Christ's name. Because —

2. He is their Father.

3. He Himself has bidden us pray; and

4. Prepared their hearts to do so. He who will not pray has no excuse.

(T. Scott, M. A.)

Thought-reading extraordinary
I. THE LOWLIEST FORM OF PRAYER MAY BE MOST TRUE AND ACCEPTABLE. "The desire of the humble." It is only a desire. It may not be uttered. Many prayers are very prettily expressed, in fact, so grandly that their tawdry fineries will not be tolerated in heaven. God will say, "They were meant for men, let men hear them." The desire of the humble may not be recommended by any conscious attainments, if your stock-in-trade is made up of empty vessels, and little else, the Lord can deal with you as He did with the prophet's widow, "who had empty vessels not a few." Your little oil of grace He can multiply till every vessel is filled; and you may have no confident expectation. I would chide your unbelief, but I would encourage your desires, for that desire which God hears is not to be despised. Note that it is "the desire of the humble." It has this advantage about it that it is free from pride. Now, to be humble is a sweet thing; there is no lovelier spot on the road to the Celestial City than the Valley of Humiliation: he that dwells in it dwells among flowers and birds, and may sing all day long. The desire of the humble is saturated with a gospel spirit, and therefore is acceptable to God.

II. AND HE IS QUICK TO HEAL IT. "Thou hast heard the desire." This must be a Divine science. We hear much about thought reading now. Whatever this may be, here is a wonderful instance of it with the Lord. It is an act which God has exercised in all ages. "Thou hast heard," etc. It is a matter of frequent fact, the record of a deed.

III. THE HEART IS THE MAIN MATTER IN PRAYER. Desires are the fruit of the heart. "Thou wilt prepare their heart." When a fair wind fills the sails of desire, then make all possible headway.

IV. GOD HIMSELF PREPARES THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE. "Thou wilt prepare their heart." I am rejoiced at this statement, because preparation is such an important business. And it is often difficult as it is important. Surely none but the Lord can prepare the heart for prayer. One old writer says it is far harder work to raise the big bell into the steeple than to ring it when it is there. This witness is true. In that uplifting of the heart lies the work and the labour. Now, God prepares the heart by restraining wandering thought by giving us deep sense of need, and by working in us strong faith.

V. PRAYER FROM PREPARED HEARTS MUST BE HEARD. "Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear." He will, for if God had love enough to prepare your heart He has grace enough to give you the blessing. His goodness and faithfulness ensure that He will. Where God leads you to pray, He means you to receive. Be comforted, therefore, you beginners in prayer. God is inclining His ear to catch the faintest moan of your spirit.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

The gracious desires and prayers of the humble
Lord Bolingbroke once asked Lady Huntingdon how she reconciled prayer to God for particular blessings with absolute resignation to the Divine will. "Very easy," answered her ladyship; "just as if I were to offer a petition to a monarch of whose kindness and wisdom I have the highest opinion In such a case my language would be 'I wish you to bestow on me such a favour; but your majesty knows better than I how far it would be agreeable to you or right in itself to grant my desire. I therefore content myself with humbly presenting my petition, and leave the event of it entirely to you.'".

In the Lord put I my trust.
Psalm 11
Jehovah the Protector and Avenger of the persecuted saint
A. C. Jennings and W. H. Lowe.
The Psalmist, beset by malicious foes, is warned by some of his adherents to seek refuge in flight. The Psalm is his response to this suggestion. In Jehovah, he says, is his trust, and there is no need for him to fear; Jehovah is watching all human actions from His heavenly sanctuary, and it is certain that He will eventually whelm the ungodly in a terrible ruin, and cheer with the light of His countenance the righteous whom He has proved in the furnace of adversity. The Psalm is Davidic by title, and may perhaps be assigned to the period when David's life was imperilled by the rebellion of Absalom.

(A. C. Jennings and W. H. Lowe.)

Safety in God
J. J. Stewart Perowne, B. D.
The singer is in danger of his life, and timorous and fainthearted counsellors would fain persuade him to seek safety in flight. But full of unshaken faith in God, he rejects their counsel, believing that Jehovah, the righteous King, though He tries His servants, does not forsake them. Not the righteous, but the wicked have need to fear. The Psalm is so short and so general in its character that it is not easy to say to what circumstances in David's life it should be referred. The choice seems, however, to lie between his persecution by Saul and the rebellion of his son Absalom. Delitzsch decides for the last, and thinks the counsel (ver. 1), "Flee to your mountain," comes from the mouth of friends, who were anxious to persuade the king to betake himself, as he had before done when hunted by Saul, to the "rocks of the wild goats." The expression (ver. 3), "When the foundations are destroyed," points to a time when lawful authority was subverted.

(J. J. Stewart Perowne, B. D.)

Faith's answer to timid counsellors
A. Maclaren, D. D.
The structure of the Psalm is simple and striking. There are two vividly contrasted halves: the first gives the suggestions of timid counsellors, who see only along the low levels of earth; the second, the brave answer of faith which looks up into heaven. Vers. 1-3. The Psalmist begins with an utterance of faith, which makes him recoil with wonder and aversion from the cowardly, well-meant counsels of his friends. The metaphor of flight to a stronghold, which is in the word for trust, obviously colours the context, for what can be more absurd than that he who has sought and found shelter in God Himself should listen to the whisperings of his own heart, or to the advice of friends, and hurry to some other hiding place? Safe in God, the Psalmist wonders why such advice should be given, and his question expresses its irrationality, and his rejection of it. Have we here a good man's dialogue with himself? Were there no voices in him: the voice of sense which spoke to the soul, and that of the soul which spoke authoritatively to the sense?.... The timid counsel is enforced by two considerations: the danger of remaining a mark for the stealthy foe, and the nobler thought of the hopelessness of resistance, and therefore the quixotism of sacrificing one's self in a prolongation of it. Prudent advice, when the prudence is only inspired by sense, is generally foolish; and the only reasonable attitude is obstinate hopefulness and brave adherence to duty. In the second part the poet opposes to the picture drawn by fear the vision of the opened heaven and the throned Jehovah. To the eyes that have seen that vision, and before which it ever burns, all earthly sorrows and dangers seem small. There is necessarily in the Divine nature an aversion to evil, and to the man who has so completely given himself over to it as to "love" it. Retribution, not forgiveness, is here the conception of the relations between man and God.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Moral courage
W. L. Watkinson.
We have in this Psalm a striking instance of Christian heroism. The Psalmist is found in circumstances of great moral perplexity and personal danger, but he stands his ground, trusting in God.

I. THE SEVERITY OF HIS TRIAL. David's timid counsellors bring before him several pressing reasons why he should despair of his cause, and retire from the scene of conflict.

1. The desperate designs of his enemies.

2. Their perfidious policy.

3. Their successful action.

II. THE CONSTANCY OF THE TRIED. What were the sources of this sublime courage?

1. The presence of God.

2. The majesty of God.

3. The knowledge of God.

4. The righteousness of God.Here the Psalmist rested, and here may we rest. God loveth the wise, the just, the good, and in Him may we rest.

III. THE CERTAINTY OF THE TRIUMPH.

1. All God's people may expect to be thus tried. At one time or other our faith, principle, hope will be thus severely tested.

2. Let us at such times beware of the temporising policy of faint-hearted men. It is often a sorer trial for faith to withstand the pleadings of well-meaning friends than to arm itself against open enemies.

3. Let us trust confidently in God, and He shall make us to triumph.

(W. L. Watkinson.)

"Courage
Homilist.
says Webster, "is that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without any fear or depression of spirits."

I. GENUINE MORAL COURAGE TESTED. By the alarming intelligence and cowardly counsels, not of enemies but of friends. They presented to his mind two facts to prompt him to a cowardly flight.

1. The imminence of his danger.

2. The uselessness of religion.

II. GENUINE MORAL COURAGE EXPLAINED. All this did not intimidate David. On the contrary, it reinspired him. What was the very spirit of his courage? Trust in an all-sufficient Helper. "In the Lord put I my trust." To show that He in whom he trusted was sufficient to help him, he refers to four things.

1. God's authority. "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." He is the King of the universe, and is able to control the events that are transpiring.

2. God's knowledge. "His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men." He is not ignorant of what is going on, nor is He a mere spectator. He examines the motives of every actor m the scene.

3. God's feeling. "The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, His soul hateth." He not only superintends and sees all that is going on, but He has a heart in the matter. His feelings are interested. He loves the good; He loathes the wicked.

4. God's retribution. "Upon the wicked He shall rain snares," etc. Such is the God he trusted in. One who has moral feelings, who recoils from the wrong and sympathises with the right. One who will exercise a righteous retribution. Who that trusts in such a God as this need fear?

(Homilist.)

A song in the night
J. H. Jowett, M. A.
The environment of the Psalm is stormy. The singer is a soul in difficulty. He is the victim of relentless antagonists. It is a song in the night.

I. INADEQUATE RESOURCES. The Psalmist hears the voices of counsellors. They are urging him to get away from the exposed plains to the strongholds. But to the Psalmist the suggested defences are inadequate. The enemy can reach him there. Against these imperfect defences the Psalmist proclaims his own confident boast, "In the Lord put I my trust." Look at some of our suggested refuges. Take up literature, music, science, or art. All such suggested strongholds are inadequate.

II. THE ALL-SUFFICIENT SECURITY. Upon what, then, shall the driven soul depend? "In the Lord put I my trust." The Psalmist enumerates some of the foundations upon which his joyful confidence is built. See some stones of the grand foundation — the Lord's immanence, the Lord's sovereignty, the Lord's discernments, the Lord's repulsions, the Lord's purposes.

(J. H. Jowett, M. A.)

Trust in the Lord
Samuel Martin.
Birds of high flight and of great strength make their nests in mountains. When these creatures are alarmed and desire a place of refuge you find them flying not to the valley, but to the mountain. Every man is liable to fearfulness and alarm. And every man has his mountain — wealth, friends, patronage. The man of God has his mountain in God. Many a good man forgets this, and advises others by his fears rather than by his faith. David is speaking of such people, for such have given him bad advice.

I. THE PROPER INFLUENCE OF TRUSTING IN GOD. It should give you a firm adherence to that which you feel to be right. The man who trusts in God keeps from doing anything until he sees the right thing to be done. The effect of this is the production of peace of mind — calmness of spirit.

II. GOD DOES NOT DISTURB THIS QUIETNESS, BUT THERE ARE THOSE WHO DO. Not Satan and his angels only, but also your fellow men. Do not put the blame of every mischief on Satan. We are our own Satans very frequently. Whatever use a man may make of friends, neighbours, and religious advisers he will take care that they never come between him and God.

III. INFER YOUR DUTY FROM YOUR PRINCIPLES. Whatever is consistent with trust you may do. The application of the principle of trust will keep you consistent, and will settle ten thousand matters that otherwise would perplex you.

(Samuel Martin.)

The secret of faith's victory
Robert R. Muir.
The exercise of genuine faith is frequently involved in a conflict with unbelief; and they not seldom get entangled one with the other, like wrestlers, so that they can scarce be distinguished. Just such a struggle is set forth in this Psalm. It tells of David's experience as a believer assaulted by suspicions and fears and perplexities prompted within him by unbelief.

I. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE ASSAULT WAS MADE (vers. 1-3). We cannot tell the circumstances which occasioned their suggestions. But the danger represented was well-nigh desperate. The very foundations of his safety were threatened. Then it was said to him, "Flee, flee as a bird to your mountain." The suggestion was insidious in form, of a prudent and very practical hint for self-preservation. And yet it was alien to his faith. That was not disturbed in its depths where it was anchored on the Lord. Their suggestions did indeed ruffle his feelings, but did not make him doubt the truths of his faith. Hence he avows his trust. "In the Lord put I my trust." "How dare ye say to my soul, flee?"

II. HOW HE MET THE ASSAULTS OF UNBELIEF. By turning his gaze outwards and upwards to the Lord. From Him he derived all the power wherewith to meet their assaults.

III. THE PSALM MAY BE TAKEN AS A DIALOGUE.

1. The suggestion to "flee" is met by asking how they dare to say that when "the Lord is in His holy temple."

2. That "the wicked bend their bow" is met by the thought, "His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men." As if He could not see!

3. "That the foundations were destroyed," by the thought that if they were the Lord was dealing with him; "the Lord trieth the righteous;" and "I put my trust in Him," "who of old laid the foundations of the earth," in Him the Eternal. Then, should such a man as I flee?

IV. LESSONS.

1. Dread and resist the faintest whisper of retreat, whatever be the troubles and dangers of your course.

2. Live much aloft in communion with the Divine object of a victorious faith.

(Robert R. Muir.)

Confidence in God
Joseph Parker, D. D.
The utter helplessness in which David's soul was plunged may be inferred from the advice which his friends had kindly, yet foolishly, tendered to him. They had advised him to flee as a bird to the mountains; in other words, they had advised flight from trouble, — the coward's cure for the distresses of life. The quality of David's spirit is seen from the answer which he returned to this mean counsel. It was absolutely intolerable to him, creating in him a sense of revulsion and utter disdain. There is only one flight possible to the truly good man, and that is a flight towards the Lord, his Infinite Deliverer. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The suggestion made by the friends of David shows their own irreligiousness, and shows indeed all that the world has to offer to the soul when it is in its last extremity. In the case of the Christian there is no need to invent any religious alleviation of trouble, for that alleviation is abundantly supplied by the promises of God, which are exceedingly great and precious, never so great as when greatly needed, and never so precious as when every other voice is silenced, and all the world confesses itself to be unable to touch effectually the tremendous agony. It is beautiful to notice how an assault of this kind is repelled by the very character of David. "In the Lord put I my trust." That was the solidity of his character. Outwardly he was troubled enough; waves and billows were rushing upon him in great storms, so rapidly that he had not time to lift up his head and open his eyes upon the fair scene that was above; but inwardly there was a religious trust which made him what he was — a secret, unfailing, abounding confidence in the living God; all this confidence seemed to the outward observer to be eclipsed and indeed destroyed, but it was still there, making David's heart strong amidst all the temptation and wrath which turned his life into daily suffering.

(Joseph Parker, D. D.)

The mission of trial
W. J. Stracey, M. A.
It is very remarkable that this world has always hated the good and loved the evil; but it has always been so. The world and the Church are perpetual and eternal enemies. Darkness and light continually are opposed to one another. If we look down the list of God's servants from the first, we find it as an invariable rule that the world has ever hated them in their generation. Men cast them out of whom the world was not worthy. Still, they all maintained their faith in God; each could say with the Psalmist, to the close of his life, "In the Lord put I my trust." And God has never forsaken them that trust in Him. Sorrows may fall thick around them at times, trials grievous to be borne, and divers temptations may come upon them; but all these things tend only to strengthen faith in them that are saved. If a man enjoys all good things on earth — great prosperity, continual ease, nothing to vex him — then it needs, we know not what an amount of grace, and what years of careful training in himself, and of prayer and watchfulness, to keep that man from falling away. There are so few of us who would really love and serve God if we met with no trials in life, that in His great mercy God sends these things, first upon one, and then upon another amongst us. It is out of love to us He does so. No less true is this principle of faith, and trust, and security as applied to a nation, as it is to a church, or to each individual Christian among us. It is the secret of all national security, and prosperity, and peace.

(W. J. Stracey, M. A.)

Flee as a bird to your mountain
Times for flight
David Caldwell, A. M.
It is by no means always an easy question for the good man to decide when he shall flee, and when resist, the storm of immorality and irreligion that may be prevailing in the community to which he belongs. He may err as widely in precipitating the time for doing a thing as he can in allowing the time to pass by unimproved. It is as much the part of a good general to know when to halt as when to advance; when to retreat as When to attack; when to save life as when to cast it away. The only question for him to settle is, which course for the time being will, in the end, best promote the cause he has in hand. Our Lord both spoke and acted on this principle, counselling His disciples at one time to save themselves by flight, at another to remain at their post, even at the cost of their lives. He counselled them to determine their line of conduct, not by its consequences to themselves, but by its consequences to the cause in which they were identified. If flight would best promote its interests, they were to flee; if remaining at their posts, they were to remain; and, if needs be, die there. Many a bishop in the primitive Church did this; fleeing, so lone as flight could best serve their Master's cause; but when it demanded the surrender of their lives, giving themselves up freely to martyrdom. David, for years after he had been divinely designated to the throne of Israel, fled before his persecutors like a terrified bird. In this Psalm his affairs are no longer as they have been. The time has come when the cause with which he has identified himself can no longer be promoted by his flight. It demands champions and defenders, and it may be martyrs.

(David Caldwell, A. M.)

People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Afflicted, Arrogance, Caught, Conceived, Cruel, Devices, Devise, Devised, Devises, Evil-doer, Hotly, Hunt, Hunts, Imagined, Inflamed, Invention, Persecute, Plots, Poor, Pride, Pursue, Pursued, Schemes, Tricks, Weak, Wicked
Outline
1. David complains of the wicked
12. He prays for remedy
16. He professes his confidence

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 10:2

     5342   hunting
     5348   injustice, nature and source
     5589   trap
     8791   oppression, nature of
     8795   persecution, nature of

Psalm 10:2-4

     6186   evil scheming

Psalm 10:2-5

     8805   pride, results

Psalm 10:2-6

     5550   speech, negative
     6121   boasting

Psalm 10:2-11

     5793   arrogance

Library
One Saying from Three Men
'The wicked hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved.' --PSALM x. 6. 'Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.' --PSALM xvi. 8. 'And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.' --PSALM xxx. 6. How differently the same things sound when said by different men! Here are three people giving utterance to almost the same sentiment of confidence. A wicked man says it, and it is insane presumption and defiance. A good man says it, having been lulled into false security by easy times, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Poor Man's Friend
"The poor committeth himself unto thee."--Psalm 10:14. GOD IS THE POOR MAN'S FRIEND; the poor man, in His helplessness and despair, leaves his case in the hands of God, and God undertakes to care for him. In the days of David,--and I suppose, in this respect, the world has but little improved,--the poor man was the victim of almost everybody's cruelty, and sometimes he was very shamefully oppressed. If he sought redress for his wrongs, he generally only increased them, for he was regarded as a rebel …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 53: 1907

Jerome
I, Jerome, [2568] son of Eusebius, of the city of Strido, which is on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and was overthrown by the Goths, up to the present year, that is, the fourteenth of the Emperor Theodosius, have written the following: Life of Paul the monk, one book of Letters to different persons, an Exhortation to Heliodorus, Controversy of Luciferianus and Orthodoxus, Chronicle of universal history, 28 homilies of Origen on Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which I translated from Greek into Latin, …
Various—Jerome and Gennadius Lives of Illustrious Men.

Look we Then, Beloved, what Hardships in Labors and Sorrows Men Endure...
3. Look we then, beloved, what hardships in labors and sorrows men endure, for things which they viciously love, and by how much they think to be made by them more happy, by so much more unhappily covet. How much for false riches, how much for vain honors, how much for affections of games and shows, is of exceeding peril and trouble most patiently borne! We see men hankering after money, glory, lasciviousness, how, that they may arrive at their desires, and having gotten not lose them, they endure …
St. Augustine—On Patience

The Tests of Love to God
LET us test ourselves impartially whether we are in the number of those that love God. For the deciding of this, as our love will be best seen by the fruits of it, I shall lay down fourteen signs, or fruits, of love to God, and it concerns us to search carefully whether any of these fruits grow in our garden. 1. The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

These Things, My Brother Aurelius, Most Dear unto Me...
38. These things, my brother Aurelius, most dear unto me, and in the bowels of Christ to be venerated, so far as He hath bestowed on me the ability Who through thee commanded me to do it, touching work of Monks, I have not delayed to write; making this my chief care, lest good brethren obeying apostolic precepts, should by lazy and disobedient be called even prevaricators from the Gospel: that they which work not, may at the least account them which do work to be better than themselves without doubt. …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Situation of the Jews During this Period.
As we have seen in earlier chapters, the declarations of Holy Writ make it very clear that Israel will yet be restored to God's favor and be rehabilitated in Palestine. But before that glad time arrives, the Jews have to pass through a season of sore trouble and affliction, during which God severely chastises them for their sins and punishes them for the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah. Fearful indeed have been the past experiences of "the nation of the weary feet" but a darker path than …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Life of Jerome.
The figures in parentheses, when not otherwise indicated, refer to the pages in this volume. For a full account of the Life, the translator must refer to an article (Hieronymus) written by him in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography. A shorter statement may suffice here, since the chief sources of information are contained in this volume, and to these reference will be continually made. Childhood and Youth. A.D. 345. Jerome was born at Stridon, near Aquileia, but in Pannonia, a place …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

The Revelation and Career of the Anti-Christ.
Who is the Anti-christ? Varied and wild have been the answers to this question. In pre-christian times there were many who regarded Antiochus Epiphanes as the one whom Daniel and the other prophets described. At the beginning of this dispensation Nero was looked upon as the predicted Man of Sin. After the Reformation the Papacy was selected as the fulfiller of the prophecies given through the Patmos seer. And in our day there have been those who consider the Kaiser to be the Son of Perdition. It …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Desire of the Righteous Granted;
OR, A DISCOURSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN'S DESIRES. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR As the tree is known by its fruit, so is the state of a man's heart known by his desires. The desires of the righteous are the touchstone or standard of Christian sincerity--the evidence of the new birth--the spiritual barometer of faith and grace--and the springs of obedience. Christ and him crucified is the ground of all our hopes--the foundation upon which all our desires after God and holiness are built--and the root …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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