David’s Five-stringed Harp

David's Five-stringed Harp

(No. 2527)

INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, JULY 25, 1897.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH
27, 1884.

"I said unto the LORRD, You are my God: hear the voice of my
supplications, O Lord. O God, the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle. I know that the Lord
will maintain the cause of the afflicted and the right of the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Your name: the upright
shall dwell in Your Presence." Psalm 140: 6,7,12,13.

This Psalm was written by David when he was sorely vexed by many
adversaries. These adversaries were bent upon his destruction–they
could not bear that the son of Jesse should be favored of God and that
he should come to the throne–so they set their wits to work to invent
all manner of slanders against him. They misconstrued his actions, they
misrepresented his motives. They spat the very venom of asps from their
mouths against him and, at the same time, they said to one another, "If
we can lead him to do wrong. If we can, somehow or other, entrap him,
either in his speech, or in his private character, or in his public
actions, then we shall have a weapon wherewith we can smite him." The
ungodly are fully aware that slander is, after all, a very dangerous
weapon to handle and, like the Australian boomerang, it is very apt to
come back to the man who throws it. Stones, hurled into the air, often
fall upon the head of the thrower, and slander often recoils upon those
who utter it. So, if they can but get a trthflaccusation against a man
of God, then they are exceedingly glad. Slander is like shooting at a
man with only powder, or with very small shot that can sting, but
cannot kill. But, oh, if they can discover some questionable action of
the man, or some decided wrongdoing, then they can load their rifles
with bullets and have something deadly to fire at the righteous!

David was exceedingly troubled by all this malice on the part of his
enemies. He was a man who would have liked to go through the world at
peace with everybody. Even when Saul tried to hunt him to the death,
you remember that he would not lift his hand against his adversary even
when he might have slain him. When, at night, he stood looking at his
sleeping foe, and Abishai said to him, "God has delivered your enemy
into your hands this day: now, therefore, let me smite him, I pray you,
with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the
second time." David answered, "Destroy him not: for who can stretch
forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?" And when
David and his men were in the sides of the great cave at Engedi, Saul
came in to sleep awhile and he was, again, in David's power, but David
did not touch him, save only that he cut off a piece of the skirt of
the king's robe that he might show him, afterwards, how completely he
was in his servant's hands. It is peculiarly trying to a man who is
thus patient and long-suffering to be incessantly compassed about with
false accusations and manifold temptations. David said of his
adversaries, "They compassed me about; they compassed me about like
bees," stinging him here, and stinging him there, and stinging him
wherever they could!

I want you to notice how this man of God acted in this trying time. He
betook himself to his knees–he began to pray, "Deliver me, O Lord,
from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man." And again, in the
next Psalm, he said, "Lord, I cry unto You: make haste unto me; give
ear unto my voice, when I cry unto You." He found his remedy for all
the stings of falsehood in drawing near to the living God! He was a
wise man, thus, to bathe his wounds in that bath which alone could take
the venom out of them, by a prayerfully drawing near to the Most High.
And he mingled great faith with his prayer. When trying to expound this
Psalm, I was much struck with the positive way in which David speaks
all through it. Notice that sixth verse–"I said unto the Lord, You are
my God." That is a grand way to talk! And then, further on, in the 12th
verse–"I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted."
He has no question about the matter, no hesitation. He does not say, "I
hope He will," but, "I know He will, I am confident of it." And that
makes him say, in the last verse, "Surely"–he felt so certain about it
that he could say, "Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Your
name."

It is a blessed thing when faith rises as tribulations increase. A
little faith may do for a skirmish with the enemy, but you need the
full assurance of faith for a pitched battle. When the waters are up to
the ankles, a little faith may enable you to stand. But when you get to
"waters to swim in," then you need, in childlike confidence, to cast
yourself entirely upon the stream of Divine Love, or else, assuredly,
you will sink. May God be pleased to increase the faith of all of us
who believe in Jesus! If we are tempted and tried very sorely, may the
Great High Priest, whom we cannot see, but who always sees us and
foresees every danger to which we are exposed, pray for us till He can
say to each one of us, as He did to Peter, "Satan has desired to have
you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for you, that
your faith fail not." For, if faith keeps her proper place and prayer
does her duty, there will be a way for the child of God to escape from
every trial.

There are five things in my text to which I especially want to draw the
attention of any who are in sore trouble–and particularly those who
are in trouble from enemies who are seeking to ruin them. That which
occupied and satisfied David's mind may wisely occupy and satisfy ours
when we are in a similar condition to his. Flowers from which this bee
has sucked some honey are the kind of flowers for us to light upon,
with the expectation that in them we shall find honey, too! The first
thing I see here is, possession asserted. ' 'I said unto the Lord, You
are my God." The second is, a petition presented. "Hear the voice of my
supplications, O Lord." The third is, preservation experienced. "O God
the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the
day of battle." The fourth is, protection expected. "I know that the
Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the
poor." The last is, praise predicted.' 'Surely the righteous shall give
thanks unto Your name: the upright shall dwell in Your Presence." I can
only speak very briefly upon each head.

I. The first is very precious. I pray that every child of God may
realize and experience it. It is POSSESSION ASSERTED. "I said unto the
Lord, You are my God."

What was the possession? It was the Lord Himself! "I said unto the
LORD, You are my God." The word, "LORD," here, means Jehovah. You see
that it is in capital letters and wherever our translators print the
word, "LORD" thus, they mean Jehovah. "I said unto Jehovah, the only
living and true God, You are my God." This is a wonderful speech for
David to make–"'You are my God,' in opposition to the gods of the
heathen. They may worship Baal and Ashtaroth, but, 'You are my God.' I
count other gods to be idols, the works of men's hands, and I despise
them. All other confidences, all other grounds of trust are to me but
as broken cisterns that can hold no water. 'I said unto Jehovah, the
only living God, You are my God,' in opposition to every other who is
called God."

"'I said unto Jehovah, You are my God.' I have taken You unto myself as
much as if no other man ever trusted You. I feel that I could stand
alone and acknowledge You to be the God of the whole earth. I said to
my heart, 'All that God is, is henceforth mine.' He has given Himself
to me in the Covenant wherein He said, 'I will be their God.' And He is
as much mine as if He belonged to nobody else. Yes, as fully, as
completely and as entirely mine, if I am a Believer in Him, as if I
were His only child, His only chosen, His only redeemed one." Oh, but
this is a wonderful thing, to put the lines of possession round the
Infinite, to lay the grasp of faith upon the Incomprehensible, and to
say, "Jehovah, You are my God"! Your possessions, dear Friends, are
very large. "Why do you say that?" asks one–"my garments are wearing
out and I am sure I do not know how I shall ever renew them. My
cupboard is very bare and my wallet is empty." My dear Brother in
Christ, you are a very rich man, after all, for all these treasures
that may be eaten up with moth, or cankered and corrupted, what are
they? But if God is your God, all things are yours, for all things are
in God and the God who has given Himself to us cannot deny us anything!
No, He has already, by that very act, given everything to us! So I pray
that every child of God may know that he has this possession and be
able to say without any hesitancy, "O Jehovah, You are my God."

Observe in the text, not only mention made of the possession, but of
the claim to it "I said unto Jehovah, You are my God." David exhibited
his title deeds. He did not say to himself, "That possession is mine,
but I will leave it unrecognized and unclaimed," but he declared his
right to it–"I said unto Jehovah, You are my God." Oh, if the children
of God would sometimes be silent instead of speaking, they would be
wise! But if, on the other hand, they would sometimes speak instead of
remaining silent, they might be equally wise! Have you, dear Friend,
ever said to the Lord, "You are my

God." Have you said it? "Well, I have hoped'it," says one. Oh, but I
want you to get much beyond that, till, with full assurance, helped by
the Holy Spirit, you can say, "It is so! My faith has grasped my God
and I have dared to say it, say it at the Mercy Seat, say it when I
stood at the foot of the Cross–and I expect to say it, before long,
when I stand before Jehovah's Throne above, 'You are my God!' I put in
my claim. I dare not do otherwise. I could not let You go without
claiming You as my own. O Lord, You have been my dwelling place in all
generations. I have said unto You, You are my God."

Notice also where this claim was made, in whose Presence, and who was
the attesting Witnesst o it–"I said unto Jehovah, You are my God." It
is a very easy thing to say to the minister, "The Lord is my God," or
to say it to some Christian friend by way of profession. But it may not
be true. It is a very solemn thing to be able to say toJehovah, "You
are my God." True Believers have dialogs with their God! They are
accustomed to speak with the Most High. They may say some good things
to men, but they say their best things to God–"I said unto Jehovah,
You are my God." Can you stand, at this moment, in the dreadful
Presence of the Eternal? Can you realize to yourself that He sees and
hears you, that He is all around you, that He is in you? Can you think
of His infinite holiness and His inflexible justice and yet say to Him,
"You are my God; You are a consuming fire, but You are my God"? Even
our God, the God of those who believe, is a consuming fire, yet we call
Him ours. It is a grand thing, in time of trouble, in time of slander,
in time of temptation, if you can just turn your back on it all and
say, "I look to God, and I say, 'O Jehovah, You are my God. I say it
even in Your Presence.'" If you can truly say this, it will spread a
delightful calm over your spirit! It will encase you as in an armor of
proof! It will make your bleeding wounds to be stanched and your broken
heart to rejoice, if you can say it!

And, once more, it seems to me to be a grand point in this text to note
the occasion chosen by David to say, "You are my God." It was in the
time of his trouble that he repeated to himself the fact that he had
made this declaration. "'I said unto Jehovah, You are my God.' Men said
that I had a devil, but I said, 'You are my God.' They said I was a
castaway, but I said, 'You are my God.' They said I was without a
friend, but I said unto Jehovah, 'You are my God.' They said of me
everything they could think of that was bad and they would have said
worse things if they could have thought of them. And after they had
done their worst and said all they could say, I said unto Jehovah, 'You
are my God.'"

I cannot say that I care much for a conversation which consists all of,
"he said and I said," and, "says he and says I," and so on. But for
once it is good for a man to tell us what he said! Sometimes, in the
court, a judge stops a witness and says, "I do not want to know what
you said, and what the other man said! I want to know what you saw."
But in this case, we do not wish to stop the good man. We wish him to
go on and tell us more of what he said when he was in the very midst of
his trouble. "'I said unto Jehovah, You are my God,' and my enemies may
say what they like after that. Now, open your mouths, let your venom
come forth–you who are like adders and asps, sting as sharply as you
may, you can do me no harm, for, 'I said unto Jehovah, You are my
God.'" That is the first thing I see in the text–possession asserted.
II. The next thing I see is, A PETITION PRESENTED.

It ran in this fashion–"Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord,"
from which I gather that his prayers were frequent He puts the word in
the plural. "Hear the voice of my supplications." He did not, in those
days of trouble, pray once, and have done with praying, but he prayed
again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again! When you
have double trouble, take care that you have double prayer. When men
speak worst against you, then speak most with your God. Multiply your
supplications as God multiplies your tribulations. "Hear the voice of
my supplications, O Lord." Importunate prayers will prevail.

Next, I gather that David's prayers were full of meaning.' 'Hear the
voice of my supplications." There are some people's prayers that are
dumb prayers. They offer just so many words and yet there is no voice
in them. It is a grand thing to have a voiceful prayer. We cannot
always tell what is the "voice" of a man's prayer, especially when that
prayer is full of moans, tears, sobs and sighs, but God hears a
peculiar "voice" in every true supplication. If there were a houseful
of children and they were all to cry, yet a mother would distinguish
her baby's supplication from all the other cries. And when she went to
the child, she would find out what the little one wanted. You and I
would not know, perhaps, but she does. "Poor darling," she says, and
she puts herself into such sympathy and union with her baby that she
soon discovers the child's needs. What the baby cannot express, the
mother can hear and discern. And when you cannot pray as you would, God
can hear the voice of your supplications just as if you had said what
you wanted to say. He takes the meaning out of our hearts, for our
thoughts are like words to God. Remember that to speak into a man's
ear, you must make a sound, otherwise he cannot distinguish your voice,
but in God's ear there need be no sound whatever, for He can hear the
voice of your tears, the voice of your silent supplication–

"To Him there's music in a groan,

And beauty in a tear."

Is it not a blessed thing that God understands the meaning of our
prayers? "Hear the voice of my supplications."

We also learn that David's prayers were meant for God.' 'I said unto
Jehovah, You are my God. Hear the voice of my supplications,
OJehovah"Some men's prayers are meant for themselves–just to quiet
their consciences. Other men's prayers are meant for their friends,
that they may see what pious people they are. But the true suppliant's
prayer is meant for God! When he addresses the envelope that contains
his supplications, he addresses it to the God of Heaven, for the prayer
is meant for Him.

And, once more, David's prayers were of such a kind that he could not
rest unless he had the Lord's attention. This was his great cry, "Hear
the voice of my supplications, O Jehovah." He could not bear to hear
his own voice unless God heard that voice. I urge every troubled child
of God to go straight to his own God and cry unto Him. You thought of
going down the street and calling on Mrs. So-and-So, and telling her
your sorrow. Yes, very well, you may do so if you like. But it is a
shorter road to go to God with your trouble. Straightforward makes the
best runner and there is no door that has such an inviting knocker, and
that opens so easily, as the door of God! Go to the Lord with your
trouble. Ask Him to hear you, for assuredly He will.

So much, then, on that second point. We have spoken of possession
asserted and a petition presented.

III. Now, very briefly, David, to encourage himself, mentions
PRESERVATION EXPERIENCED. "O God, the Lord, the strength of my
salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle." As much as
to say, "You have done this for me before. Will You not do the same
again? As You have begun with me, do not leave off with me till You
have taken me to the country where there are no more battles–and where
my head shall be covered with a crown of glory– and need not be
covered with a helmet to ward off the enemy's sword."

You remember that when David went out to meet Goliath, two warriors
came towards him, for Goliath came out with his armor-bearer–"the man
that bore the shield went before him." Poor little David! He had no
armor-bearer, had he? Saul had offered him armor that he might wear in
the fight, but it did not fit him. He had never tried and proved such a
protection as that, so he laid it aside. But was David without armor?
No! The Hebrew of our text runs, "You have covered my head in the day
of armor." That is to say, God had been David's Armor-Bearer. The Lord
had borne a shield before him. Instead of the harness in which warriors
put their confidence, God had covered David with a coat of mail through
which no sword of the enemy could possibly cut its way! Has it not been
so with us in days past? Have we not had our heads covered when God
held His shield above us? Have we not been guarded from all hurt by the
Providence and by the Grace of the Most High? I know it is so! Well,
then, the God who delivered us out of the jaws of the lion and the
claws of the bear will deliver us from the uncircumcised Philistine!
And the God that in our youth taught our hands to war and our fingers
to fight, so that the bow of steel was broken by our arms, will not
leave us and forsake us now that we have grown older and feebler–but
even to the end will He preserve and protect us! Therefore, let us be
of good cheer and let our past experience encourage us to trust in the
Lord.

"You have covered my head in the day of battle," said David; that is,
God had guarded his most vital part' 'Lord, I have a cut or two here
and there. I have scars upon my right arm and my foot has been injured,
but, 'You have covered my head.' The adversaries could not give me such
a blow as would lay bare my brain and spill my soul upon the field, for
'You have covered my head.'" Flesh wounds there may be, and deep
bleeding gashes that cause pain and sickness of heart, but the
essential part has been guarded and we may rest contented that it shall
be protected unto the end!

Moreover, David adds here that God had been the strength of his
salvation. The power that had saved him had been God's power and it is
so with all of us who have been brought into the way of life. Some of
us came to Christ long ago, yet still we sing–

"Many days have passed since then, Many dangers I have seen. Yet have
been upheld till now– Who could hold me up but You?"

Now, if the Lord had meant to destroy us, would He have done so much
for us as He has done? I feel, when I think of some of my present
troubles, very much like Admiral Drake who had sailed round the world
and, here and there fought the Spaniards on the great ocean. And when
he came back to the Thames, it blew a gale and his ship was likely to
be driven ashore. He said, "No, no, no! We have not gone round the
world and now come home to be drowned in a ditch!" So let us say, "No,
no, no! We have not experienced so much of the goodness of God to be
drowned in a paltry ditch like this." So let us still rejoice in the
God who has preserved us until now and who will preserve us until the
day of Jesus Christ!

IV. But I must hasten on to notice the fourth thing in our text, that
is, PROTECTION EXPECTED. "I know that the Lord will maintain the cause
of the afflicted and the right of the poor."

If a man is oppressed, if he is slandered, if he is evilly spoken of,
let him say to himself, "God will see to this. He is the Judge of all
the earth and shall not He do right?" Do not meddle with the case
yourself. Leave it in the Lord's hands. Our proverb says, "If you want
a thing done well, do it yourself," but, if it is anything which has to
do with your own character, let me tell you that this is the worst
proverb that ever was invented! If you want a blot that you have made,
or that somebody else has made, multiplied into two, try and rub it out
with your finger while it is wet. But if you are wise, you will leave
it alone. All the dirt that ever comes on a man's coat will brush off
when it is dry. I do believe that, sometimes, holy characters shine all
the brighter because they have been tarnished for a while by the filth
cast upon them by ungodly men. If men cast mud at you, leave it alone.
"But," says one, "this slander affects my character." Oh, yes, I know,
but who are you that your character should not be assailed? "But it is
the only one I have," you say. Well, that is quite right–and mind that
you do not get another and a worse one–by making a fool of yourself!
Leave it alone and be wise! The God who gave you the Grace to have a
good character will take care of what He has given you and you need not
be afraid, for God is a righteous Judge.

Moreover, beside that, God is a compassionate Friend. And when He sees
any of His dear saints very poor and afflicted, do you not think that
when they cannot take care of themselves, He will take care of them?
David thought so, for he said, "I know that the Lord will maintain the
cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor."The rich man can
take care of his own rights, but the poor man cannot–so God will take
care that the poor man shall not lose his rights, or if he does, God
will avenge him of his adversary. Trust your cause with God! You can
not have a better Advocate or a better Helper. Put not forth your hand
unto unrighteousness, neither speak you on your own behalf. You will be
wise if you will do as your Master did, "who, when He was reviled,
reviled not again." Who was led as a lamb to the slaughter and, as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened He not His mouth.

V. Now, lastly, here is PRAISE PREDICTED. "Surely the righteous shall
give thanks unto Your name."

They are down in the dumps today. They are troubled and burdened,
despised and made to cry. But, says David, "Surely they shall give
thanks unto Your name." Praise is assured by gratitude. There shall
come a day when their gratitude shall be so great that they shall be
obliged to give thanks unto God on account of all that He has done for
them. "Surely" they shall. God will so astound them by His delivering
mercy that they shall be compelled to speak up and to speak out–and
give thanks unto the name of the Lord.

Yes, and they shall do more than that, for they shall not only express
their thanks, but they shall praise God by their holy confidence. 'The
upright shall dwell in Your Presence." They shall be drawn nearer to
God and be peaceful, happy, quiet and at ease. This is a beautiful and
comforting promise–"The upright shall dwell in Your Presence." All the
world is up in arms against them and there is a great uproar. And what
do they say? "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of
our life: and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." One of
the grandest ways of praising God is not by singing Psalms and
hymns–that is a very sweet way of praising Him–but a grander way is
by being quite calm in the time of trouble, quite happy in the hour of
distress, just dwelling with God and finding all your grief relieved in
His blessed Presence. How really and truly a child praises his father
when he just bears anything from him! "It must be right," he says, "for
my father does it." And I believe when a child of God says, "It is the
Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him," he is praising God more than
he could ever do with the cornet or the high-sounding cymbals! Let us
try to do that.

And, once more, we can equally praise God by abiding in fellowship with
Him.' 'The upright shall sit in Your Presence." So it may be rendered.
How can I explain it? If you could look within the veil up yonder, in
the Glory Land, you would see a Lamb in the midst of the Throne of God,
and round about Him all those redeemed by blood who have entered into
their happiness. And you down here, in your time of trouble, can just
go to your Father's table and take your seat as one of His children, or
go to your dear Savior's feet and take your place with Mary–and so you
will be praising the Lord Jesus Christ in the most effectual manner! I
know that your temptation will be to be buzzing about the kitchen with
Martha, fretting and worrying over what has happened and what has not
happened–but all that the Lord Jesus Christ will say to you will be,
"Martha, Martha, Martha, Martha, you are cumbered about many things." I
know men who ought to be called Martha, for they are as much cumbered
as ever the women are and just as ready to fret and to worry, so that
the Savior might say to them, "You are cumbered about many things, but
if you want to praise Me, come and sit here. Come and learn of Me, for
that is the good part which shall not be taken away from you. Come and
listen to Me. Give up your whole heart to drinking in My Word and I
will bless you. You come and mind My business and I will stay and mind
your business. Come and try Me, and I will give you proof that trusting
in Me is the safest and best way of living in this world."

All this I have spoken to the people of God. I would you were all such,
but, if you are not, I pray the Lord to bring you into the bonds of the
Covenant. It is a very blessed thing to come to Christ and, when you do
come to Him, all these precious things are yours! Trust in what Christ
has done for sinners. Trust in the promise of the faithful God to save
all who believe in Jesus! And when you have trusted, you shall never be
confounded, sinner though you are. The Lord bless you, for Christ's
sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALMS 140 and 141.

Psalm 140. To the Chief Musician, a Psalm of David. Very likely this
Psalm was written by David while he was being hunted about by Saul, and
while all manner of falsehoods were being spoken against him. He
therefore comforts himself in his God. He writes this Psalm and he
means to have it sung, and sung well, so he dedicates it "to the chief
Musician." There are some parts of our life which are so crowded with
urgent necessity and so full of Divine mercy that we feel that if we
ever get through them, we will make a song about our deliverance and
dedicate that song unto God through "the chief Musician."

Verse 1. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the
violent man. He is wicked at heart and violent in his temper. Whenever
we meet with such an adversary, we have good reason to cry to God,
"Deliver me: preserve me." Yet, if we must have enemies, we prefer that
they should be bad men. We do not wish to have a child of God against
us. If we must have an antagonist, we would much rather that he should
be one who is "evil" and "violent."

2. Which imagine mischief in their hearts continually are they gathered
together for war I t goes hard with a peace-loving man–a man of quiet
spirit–when he is beset by those whose very hearts are set on mischief
and who cannot meet one another without conspiring to prepare for some
fresh form of battle.

3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders 'poison is
under their lips. Selah. Before a serpent strikes any object, its
tongue is in quick motion. If you ever see a cobra when he is angry,
you will notice that his tongue darts to and fro, as if impatient to
sting. And the Psalmist, here, writing of the tongue of the ungodly,
remarks how quickly it moves. They seem to have sharpened it–to have
prepared it for all manner of mischief. "Adders' poison"–the poison of
the deadliest known serpent in the East–"is under their lips." Perhaps
you think that this is a very dreadful description of some remarkably
bad man. So it is, but remember that when Paul, in his Epistle to the
Romans, wishes to describe us all, both Jews and Gentiles, he quotes
this very passage and says, "The poison of asps is under their lips."
There is still poison in our mouths unless Grace has taken it away. We,
too, shall soon be speaking evil and talking slanderously, if the Grace
of God does not keep our tongues and our lips.

4. 5. Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;preserve me from
the violent man who has planned to overthrow my goings. The proud have
hid a snare for me.' 'They have put it where I cannot see it. I do not
know where it is, nor what it is, but I know that they want to lead me
into such sin that they can afterwards turn round upon me and accuse me
for it. 'The proud have hid a snare for me.'"

5. And cords; they have spread a net by the wayside. ' 'Close to where
I am walking, so that if I go even an inch out of the way, I shall be
caught in it. They seem to be tempting me in my usual course of life.
'They have spread a net by the wayside.'"

5. They have set traps for me. Selah. As men try to ensnare poor birds
in all kinds of traps, so the ungodly sometimes seek the destruction of
the righteous by setting many snares for them.

6. I said unto the LORD, You are my God. Ah, that was the right thing
to do–to leave the ungodly and their traps and go straight to God. "I
said unto the Lord, You are my God."

6, 7. Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord. O GOD the Lord, the
strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of
battle.''When the darts flew thick and fast, and when the battleaxe
came down with a mighty crash, 'You have covered my head in the day of
battle.'" This Psalm reminds me of that passage in the song of Deborah
and Barak–"O my Soul, you have trodden down strength." What wonders we
also have been enabled to do by the upholding and preserving Grace of
God!

8. Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not their
wicked devices lest they exalt themselves. Selah. If it seemed that
God's Providence was helping them against the righteous, they would be
too proud to be borne with– they would lift up their heads on high,
and say, "See how God is with us, how He permits us to have our way?"

9. As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of
their own lips cover them. This may be read as a prophecy in the future
tense–"The mischief of their own lips shall cover them."

10. Let burning coals fall upon them. Or, "Burning coals shall fall
upon them."

10. Let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not
up again. The Psalmist doubtless had before his mind's eye the picture
of Sodom, where burning coals fell on the guilty cities, and where men
stumbled into the fire and when they tried to escape, fell into the
deep slime pits and perished. And, truly, it is but just that, if men
lie and slander–and try to tempt the righteous to their
destruction–they should fall into the pits that they have themselves
dug.

11. Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth. Neither shall
he be! The man who is glib of tongue and who uses that facility of
speech for the destruction of the characters of godly men shall never
be established.

11. Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. His own dogs
shall eat him. He was a huntsman against the righteous and, behold, the
evil of his own mouth shall turn upon him to devour him! "Evil shall
hunt the violent man to overthrow him."

12. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and
the right of the poor. We may always leave such matters with the Lord.
God is the poor man's Executor and the proud man's Executioner! He will
take care of the oppressed and such as are down-trodden.

13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto Your name; the upright
shall dwell in Your Presence. Now let us read the next Psalm, which is
to much the same effect.

Psalm 141:1. LORD, I cry unto You: make haste unto me; give ear unto my
voice, when I cry unto You. You see how a child of God prays when he is
in trouble. David says, "I cry unto You," and then the second time, "I
cry unto You." And he cried forGod as well as to Him. "Make haste unto
me." The very best thing you can do, when you cannot help yourself, is
to cry unto God, for He will help you.

2. Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense; and the lifting up
of my hands as the evening sacrifice. David was probably far away from
the Tabernacle and he could not join in presenting the morning or the
evening sacrifice there. But he prayed God to let his prayer be such a
sacrifice–"Let it be sweet as the perfume of the smoking spices of the
morning; let it be as acceptable as the burning lamb of eventide."

3. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Our
mouth is a door and it needs a watchman, and there is no watchman who
can keep it except God, Himself. "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth;
keep the door of my lips."

4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works
with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. That
last petition is a very proper one. We are neither to think the
thoughts of the wicked, nor to practice their ways, nor to enjoy their
pleasures. "Let me not eat of their dainties." There are certain
amusements which are fraught with sin–"Let me not eat of their
dainties." There are some erroneous doctrines which are very pleasant
to the taste of those who believe them–"Let me not eat of their
dainties." There are some sins that seem to have a peculiarly sweet
flavor and so are very attractive to men–"Let me not eat of their
dainties."

5. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness. You see, dear
Friends, David cries out against slander. He cannot bear that wicked
men should lie against his character, but he says, "I do not want to be
left alone where I am in the wrong. I do not wish to be flattered. 'Let
the righteous smite me.' He is the man who ought to do it. When I have
done wrong, it is his duty to correct me, and I wish him to do it. 'Let
the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness.'"

5. And let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil which shall not
break my head. Some people cannot bear to be spoken to about a fault.
They feel as if the reprover had broken their head, directly, and they
are as savage as a bear with a sore head! But the child of God is not
so–he looks upon the rebuke of a good man as being like healing,
sweet-smelling oil–and he prizes it. Depend upon it, the man who will
tell you your faults is your best friend! It may not be a pleasant
thing for him to do it and he knows that he is running the risk of
losing your friendship–but he is a true and sincere friend–therefore
thank him for his reproof and learn how you may improve by what he
tells you.

5. For yet my prayer, also, shall be in their calamities. I will try to
repay the righteous for their rebukes by praying for them when they are
in trouble. I will say to my God, "These good men tried to keep me
right and they smote me when I did wrong. Now, Lord, they are in
trouble, I pray You to help them and bring them out of it."

6. When their judges are overthrown in stonyplaces, they shall hear my
words; for they are sweet Wicked men often will not hear the Gospel,
but when they get into trouble, they will. When their judges are
overthrown in stony places, then they begin to be willing to hear what
good men have to say. A bitter world makes a sweet word and when
Providence frowns upon us, it often happens that we love the Gospel all
the more, and smile upon its messengers, for their words are sweet.

7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth. "We are like men ready
to be put into their graves, or the cause that we advocate seems so
totally dead that we seem to be like dry bones that are flung out of a
grave."

7. As when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth. "We feel as if we
were like chips out of a tree that has been cut down."

8. But my eyes are on You, O God the Lord: in You is my trust "I may be
cut to pieces, I may be chopped up, I may seem to be made into a bundle
of firewood, but, Lord, my eyes are on You. 'O God the Lord: in You is
my trust.'"

8. Leave not my soul destitute. "If I have You, I am still rich. Even
if I lie at the grave's mouth, I may still live. But if You are gone
from me, then am I destitute, indeed."

9, 10. Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the
traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own
nets, while I escape. Amen! So let it be!