Ps. Ixxi. 3. Be thou my strong habitation, tvhereimto 1 7nay
continually resort.
NO one can enter into the spirit of David's psalms, unless he himself have been sorely persecuted and severely tried. A very great number of the Psalms Y^exe written under circumstances of deep affliction ; and record either the prayers of David for protection from his enemies, or his thanksgivings for deliverance from them. This psalm was written when David, far advanced in life, was driven from his throne by his son Absalom, and was in the most imminent dan- ger of falling by the hands of his blood-thirsty pur- suers. But as in early life, when menaced by Saul, he had besought the Lord, saying, " Bow down thine ear to me ; deliver me speedily : be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me"";" so now, in nearly the same terms, he repeats the cry : " In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust : let me never be
a Ps. xxxi. 1, 2.
put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape : incline thine ear to me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort"." Now though, through the goodness of God, we are not brought into such imminent perils as David, yet have we occasion to adopt his language, and to seek in God that protec- tion which no created power can afford.
Let us, in discoursing on his words, consider,
I. The sentiment propounded —
Accustomed as we are to hear the language of the Psalms, we pass by, without any particular notice, expressions which, if duly considered, will appear truly wonderful. How extraordinary is the idea, for instance, of making Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth, "our habitation!" Contemplate, I pray you,
1. The condescension of God in suffering himself
to be so addressed —
[Consider, for a moment, what a habitation is. Whether it be greater or less in point of magnificence or strength, if it be ours, we have access to it as our own ; we gain a ready admission to it at all seasons ; we expect to find in it all the accommodations which our necessities require ; we regard every chamber of it as destined for om- use ; we shut the door against every unwelcome intruder ; and whatever storms may rage without, we lie down to rest in it, in perfect peace and safety. If we superadd the idea of a fortress, we deride the vain attempts of our enemies, and defy all the power that can be brought against us. Now, think of God as revealing him- self to us under such an image ; and permitting every sinner in the universe, who will but enter in by Christ as the door, to take to himself this mansion as his own. Truly, if God him- self had not authorised such a representation of his character, we should have been ready to denounce it as blasphemy. That the Most High God should give even to the vilest of the human race such intimate access unto himself, seems to be per- fectly incredible. Even an earthly monarch could not endure such humiliation as this : and yet the God of heaven and earth feels it to be not unworthy of him. Truly, I say again, this condescension far exceeds all that could ever have entered into the mind of man to conceive, if the voice of inspiration itself
b ver. 1—3.