O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me. Sermons
I. ITS CHARACTERISTICS. 1. How earnest it is! The psalmist was not in any light, indifferent, or formal spirit when he uttered this prayer. Its intensity is evident all the way through. 2. And believing. "In thy faithfulness answer me" (ver. 1). He believed the promises of God, and claims their fulfillment, expects that what God has promised he will make good. Such expectation is all too rare; and its rarity accounts for the many unanswered prayers over which we mourn. 3. And sincere. "And in thy righteousness" (ver. 1). If he had regarded iniquity in his heart, he could not thus have prayed, for he would have known that the Lord would not hear him; but he could appeal to him who was the righteous Searcher of all hearts, that with true heart he prayed. Hence he could appeal - to the righteousness of God, because "the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and his countenance doth behold the upright." 4. Humble. (Ver. 2.) For whilst he could appeal to God to attest his innocence and sincerity of heart, that did not prove him to be faultless in the sight of God. St. Paul said, "I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified." And similar to this is the psalmist's confession here. He might be, and he was, innocent before men, and sincere in heart toward God; but yet there were many a trangression and fault and failure, the remembrance of which made him pray, "Enter not into judgment," etc. (ver. 2). Such were the characteristics of this prayer, and should be of all prayer - indeed, must be, if our prayers are to avail. II. ITS COMPLAINT. The psalmist tells what his enemies had done against him (ver. 3). 1. They had persecuted his soul. He had, no doubt, some outward, present persecution in his thought; but in reading this psalm we may transfer his words to those spiritual persecutions which we often have to suffer at the hands of our great enemy; and, thus applied, the whole psalm answers to all too frequent experience of the people of God today. For the enemy doth by all manner of temptation persecute our soul - he suggests doubt, he stirs up evil thoughts, he assails our faith, he darkens our mind, and in every way seeks to loosen our hold on God. 2. And some have to confess, "He hath smitten my life down to the ground." There have been periods in the history of God's servants - there were in David's - when the Divine life in them has been all but non-existent, when they could not pray, nor witness for God, nor give him praise, nor render any service of a spiritual kind. They have been terrible seasons - the enemy hath come in like a flood, and the overwhelmed ones were unable to pray that "the Spirit of the Lord would lift up a standard against him." 3. And then, in consequence, there has been the "dwelling in darkness, as those that have been long dead." Oh, the darkness of that time! it was as the gloom of the grave. The soul that the enemy hath so smitten is conscious of his awful loss; that the life of God in him is seemingly gone; and he seems abandoned to the utter corruption of sin! No wonder that his spirit is overwhelmed and his heart desolate (ver. 4). How could it be otherwise? He is simply and utterly miserable. III. THE COMING OF RELIEF. 1. God leads him to remember the days of old. To hunger after those blessed times when God came to his soul, and was his Helper and Deliverer. Full of help are memories like these. 2. Then to "meditate on all thy works." To see the wisdom, power, and love displayed in them, and so to hope that for him, too, there should be wrought some gracious work of God. As he thus mused, the fire of love and desire and faith would begin to burn, and then his musing thought would take form and action; for: 3. He would stretch forth his hands unto God. His soul was athirst for God, and now forth go his hands in prayer. Yes, relief was coming; for there are its near harbingers, everywhere and always. IV. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TAKEN BY FORCE. (Vers. 7-12.) What a crowd and rush of prayers, protestations, cries, and pleadings, these verses contain! One after another they come, in hot haste and eagerness that will take no denial. It is a very besiegement of the throne of grace. But the chief burden of all is, not for deliverance from enemies, but for a closer knowledge of God; the consciousness of his favor, the speedy hearing of his loving-kindness; the being made to know the way wherein God would have him walk. Then come prayers that God would teach, would lead, would quicken, and would bring his soul out of trouble. There is prayer for deliverance from calamities; but the great longing is after the doing of God's will, and the quickening of his soul in righteousness. Prayer helps him in attaining that submissiveness of will which is essential to his gaining that unspeakable blessing on which his heart is set. And in proportion as a man is taught of God, this is the supreme desire of his soul. If he gains this, it matters not much whether the outward calamities go or stay. If God's face shines upon him, man's may frown as it will. He has heaven within him, even though hell be outside of and all around him. What can any enemy do unto him, since God is on his side? He has won the kingdom of heaven, and no man can take it from him. Blessed is any sorrow when such reaction as this psalm reveals follows from it ] The light affliction which was for the moment is now working out the "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." The travail of his soul has issued in the glorious birth of the life of the love of God. And this is ever God's intent in all our sorrows; for this he lets the enemy smite our soul down to the ground, and make us dwell in darkness. He desires that we should flee unto him to hide us. And, blessed be his Name! he ever will; and far more than that will he do. - S.C.
Bring my soul out of prison. : —I. THE PRISON INTO WHICH SO MANY SOULS ARE CAST. David said, "In the way wherein I walked, the hunters laid a snare for me." No one had better intentions than David; and I believe that nobody has better intentions than ourselves. But the best of wishes will do us little benefit unless we have brave resolves. To intend well is one thing; but if the intention stop short of action, it is worth nothing. When we intend well without practical resolution, it seems as if a trap were laid for us. We are oftenest caught in what seems our strongest point because we do not guard and watch ourselves where we are unconscious of weakness. Therefore, we all need to take heed lest we also be caught tripping. David further said, "The hunters are stonger than I." What makes our enemies strong? It is one's own weakness, the result of sin. David again cries, "Bring my soul out of prison!" It is a blessed thing when a man feels that his inclination to sin is like having his soul in prison. What man who is worthy of the name would not prefer liberty to bondage? II. THE WAY TO GET ONE'S SOUL OUT OF PRISON. We read in Bunyan's marvellous parable that when Christian had been beaten sore by a giant and thrust into Doubting Castle, he gave himself up to misery and despair. But one day he said, "Why, what a fool am I to stay here in all this wretchedness, when I have in my breast a key to unlock the gates of Doubting Castle." And taking out the key he found it fitted the lock, and he escaped. It was, says Bunyan, a key called Promise. This should teach us that when we seek in God's Word and find His promises, they are to us as a key to open the door of the prison into which our sins have thrust us. Would you have this priceless, this wonderful key always within your reach? Then hold on to God's promises, which apply to every individual case. (W. Birch.) Homilist. : —I. MAN'S MORAL IMPRISONMENT. All sinners are in a state of bondage. They are "spirits in prison." Like fallen angels they are in "chains of darkness." 1. A state of darkness. Justice shuts out the light from the prisoner in the cell. How morally benighted is the unregenerate soul l Having "the understanding darkened." 2. A state of confinement. Materialism — intemperance — avarice — prejudice — unholy associations and habits manacle his faculties. 3. A state of criminality. A prisoner is under sentence of condemnation. So every sinner is a moral criminal, condemned alike by God and by his own conscience. II. MAN'S MORAL LIBERATION. "Bring my soul out of prison." 1. A consciousness of its wretched condition. "O wretched man that I am," etc. How can I become free? Who can level those massive walls, who can break those fetters? 2. A consciousness that God alone can deliver. "Bring my soul." He feels he cannot emancipate himself, nor can his fellow-men effect his deliverance. Hence to Him he looks who came "to preach deliverance to the captive," etc. III. MAN'S MORAL MISSION. "That I may praise Thy name." 1. Deep in the heart of all men is the feeling of obligation to worship God. 2. Moral misery consists in this, the soul feeling its obligation to worship, and yet unable to do so through the enthralling influence of its corruptions. Hence the text may be regarded as the prayer of every sin-convicted soul. (1) (2) (3) (Homilist.) (1) (2) (3) 2. Carelessness. (1) (2) 3. Discontentedness. 4. Selfishness. (1) (2) (3) II. A SUITABLE PETITION. It is expressive of — 1. Consciousness. The spiritual dead feel not their awful condition. 2. Helplessness. We can do nothing; but He is faithful who has promised. 3. Tenderness. "Bring." The invalid cannot bear harsh treatment. And our compassionate Lord deals gently with us. Doubtless David had former proof of this, hence his present cry. Further, this would necessitate God's coming Himself, not even trusting His loved ones to His ministering spirits. "Come Lord Thyself, and bring my soul out of prison." Then it was a petition of — 4. Completeness. "Bring my soul out." It is well for our souls, when we get so dissatisfied with our prisons as to want to leave them entirely. III. A JUSTIFYING REASON. How could David praise God's name? 1. By making known His wondrous power. 2. By living near to God. 3. By warning others of their danger. (A. H. Stote.) 1. An awakened sinner. 2. A disconsolate Christian, when oppressed or persecuted, or under trouble. II. THE END FOR WHICH THIS MERCY WAS DESIRED. Mercy wanted calls for prayer; and the earnestness of the prayer should correspond with the magnitude of the blessing we implore. Mercy received requires praise; and the more importunate the prayer, the more animated will be the praise in return. 1. Praise may be considered as mental. 2. Vocal. 3. Practical. (B. Beddome, M. A.). I. THE REASONS URGED. 1. A consciousness of moral unrighteousness (ver. 2). No man will ever pray rightly until he is made deeply conscious that he has no claims whatever upon the favour of God, and that his necessities, if relieved at all, must be relieved by sovereign mercy alone. 2. A terrible sense of danger (vers. 3, 4). 3. An encouraging reminiscence of God (ver. 5). 4. An intense craving of the heart (ver. 6). There are two figures here indicating the craving of the heart after God. The first is taken from human life. As the suffering child stretches forth its hand to its mother, as the dying patient to his physician, as the drowning man to the rope thrown out for his rescue, so the soul of the penitent stretches out Jim hands to God; he must have Him or die and be lost. God is the necessity of necessities, the Supreme need. Another figure indicating the craving of the heart after God is the longing of the parched earth for fertile showers. II. THE BLESSINGS INVOKED. 1. Soul deliverance (ver. 7). This has been provided in Christ. 2. Soul guidance (ver. 8). Let the morning dawn on me, and The night of darkness and sorrow depart, and show me the way in which I ought to walk, — the way of rectitude, of safety. 3. Soul loyalty (ver. 10). 4. Soul quickening (ver. 11). There must be life to struggle for deliverance, life to follow the Divine guidance, to reach the level land of rectitude, and to walk in it. (David Thomas, D. D.) 1. That we should approach God in the full belief that He is the "Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." 2. We should appeal to Him not only as merciful, but also as faithful and righteous. 3. We should come as sinners imploring pardon. 4. Thus coming to God, we should seek comfort by uttering our grief in His presence and casting all our care on Him. 5. We should direct our thoughts from our sorrows to Him before whom we bow, and contemplate His character and former mercies. 6. Encouraged by such contemplation we should with renewed confidence present our petitions. 7. Expecting consolation in the path of obedience alone, we should pray to be enabled to do the will of God. 8. In our prayers we should renew the consecration of ourselves to God, and seek protection, deliverance and salvation as His "servants." "I am Thine, save me." (Newman Hall, LL. B.) 1125 God, righteousness The Third Rule to be Added Is: that He who Comes into the Presence Of... Earnest Supplication, under Trials of Faith. --Ps. cxliii. Tell Me, O Thou whom My Soul Loveth, Where Thou Feedest, Where Thou Reposest at Midday, Lest I Should Begin to Wander after the Flocks of Thy Companions. The Law Given, not to Retain a People for Itself, but to Keep Alive the Hope of Salvation in Christ Until his Advent. The Tests of Love to God Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us Concerning the Sacrament of Penance The Early Life of Malachy. Having Been Admitted to Holy Orders He Associates with Malchus The Man after God's Own Heart Its Meaning Of Prayer --A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. The Daily Benefits Derived from It. The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate, Question of the Contemplative Life A Treatise on Good Works The Beginning of Justification. In what Sense Progressive. Second Great Group of Parables. Psalms |
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