EXPOSITION. Ver. 5.-I oried unto thee, 0 Lord: I said, PSALM CXLil. Thou art my Refuge. When men'B fathers DAVID once more cries to God for protection e.nd mothers forsake them, the Lord taketh nnd deliverance. The "title" says the.t the them up (Ps. xxvti. 10). David looked to prayer we.s composed by him "when he wo.s God as a sure Ilefuge at all times (Pas. ix. 9; xviii. 1, 2; lvil. 1; lix. 9, 16, 17). And in the cave," by which we must understand my Portion in the land of the living; or, "the cave of Adnllam" (see 1 Sam. xxii. "my inheritance" (comp. Pea. xvi. 5; 1,2; aud comp. Pa. lviL, "title"). The con- lxxiii. 26). tents and style of the psalm are thoroughly Ver. 6.-Attend unto my ory; for I am Davidical brought very low (comp. Ps. lxxix. 8; and see also Deut. xxviii. 43; J udg. vi. 6 : Ps. Ver. l .-I oried unto the Lord with my cxvi. 6). In the cave or Adullaru David voice ; with my voice unto the Lord did I had but four hundred outlaws to defend make my supplioe.tion. "With my voice" him against S1ml, who was at the head of means aloud, and therefore earnestly and nil the thousands of Israel (1 Sam. xxii. 2). pressingly ( comp. Pas. iii. 4; xxvii. 7; lxiv. Deliver me from my persecutors. Saul, 1; lxxvii 1; cnx. 1, 2, etc.). Doeg, the Ziphites, e.nd the armed bands Ver. 2.-I poured out my complaint before with whom Saul "hunted David in the him; I showed before him my trouble (comp. mountains" (l Sam. xxvi. 20). For they Psa. oxl., oxli., and cxliii.). are stronger than I ; or, " too strong fur Ver. 3.-When my apirit was overwhelmed me." within me; or, "fainted within me." Then Ver. 7.-llring my soul out of prison. thou knewest my path. I had not to tell The word "prison" is used symbolically, thee because thou r\id~t not know, but to as a metaphor for trouble and di.stress ( comp. relieve my own feelings. In the way Pea. lxxxviii. 8; cvii. 10-H). That I may wherein I walked he.ve they privily laid a praise thy Name; or, "that men rul\y praise snare for me (comp. Pss. cxl. 5; oxli. 9, 10). thy Name." Dnvid's delivomuce from his Ver. 4.-I looked on my right hand, and enemies would cnuae the godly generally to beheld, but there was no man that would " praise the Lord." The righteous shall know me. I looked about, i.e., for human compass me about; rather, fo me ahall the nid, but there was no one who would so righteous triumph (Kay, Cheyne). Viewing much as know rue. I was utterly deserted my cause as theit· own, they will glory iu in my trouble. Refuge failed me. I had my delivemnco (comp. Pas. xxxv. 27; xl. nowhere to fl.ce unto-no safe nnd sure 16). For thou shalt deal bountifully with nbiding-plnce. The "cave of Adullam" me; i.e. thou "ill assuredly " hear my woe but e. miserable spot to hide in. No cry" aud "doliver me" (see tho preceding man oared for my soul ; or, " looked arter verBo). my soul" (comp. Jer. xxx. 17).
HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-7.-0ur resource in extremity. Few passages in Scripture more nptly illustrate the words, "They learn in suffering whnt thoy teach in song," tha.n does this rsalm. In d few strong sentences we h11vc placed before us- 344 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB. CXLU, 1-7.
I. THE EXTREMITY OF HUMAN TROUBLE. David is "brought very low." His persecutors are too strong for him (ver. 6), too numerous; moreover, they are very wily, their strat~em~ are clever, and they involve him in great peril (ver. 3). He is abandoned by his friends; he is placed outside the reach of kindly sympathy and succour (ve~. 4); nay, he is so shut up and surrounded that there seems no way of escape for him (ver. 7); he feels as if be were defeated, and he is a disheartened man (ver. 3); the waves of misfortune go over him. We may find some correspondence to this desperate position in our own case: 1. In very serious sickness, when the husband and father is stricken down in the midst of his life and of his responsibilities, and there does not open any way for the maintenance of his family; or when the student, who has spent many years in preparation for the Christian ministry, breaks down in health as the door of usefulne~s is about to open. 2. In the loss of reputation; when a true man is, through the "wicked devices" of some heartless neighbour, charged with a sin or crime of which he cannot possibly prove himself innocent, and he has to meet the averted looks and cold address of those who were once his cordial friends. 3. In desertion; when some pure and tender heart has trusted one that" smiles and smiles, and_ is a villain," and is by him betrayed and deserted, and all human "refuge fails," and no one seems to "care for the soul " of the sufferer, and the heart is indeed " over- whelmed." 4. In the bitter disappointment of some noble e.nd generous hope; when the toiling evangelist or the lonely missionary makes no way, and the heathenism at home or abroad appears to be as dense and as dark as ever. 5. In some moral or spiritual entanglement (ver. 7); when the mind is imprisoned in some inextricable difficulty, in some harassing doubt, or even in utter disbelief; or when the life is darkened because the will is ensnared by some unworthy and, it may be, even degrad- ing habit, and the soul is in a bondage compared with which that of stone walls and iron locks is as nothing; or when the spirit finds itself in the hard and cruel fetters of selfishness, or worldliness, or pride, and is therefore a long way off from the favour and friendship of Jesus Christ. In all such cases as these-and the moral are far more serious than the material-we are "brought very low;" we may well be "overwhelmed within us." 11. OUR ONE RESOURCE. Our refuge is in God; he is our Portion. 1. We go to our Divine Lord for refuge, that we may hide ourselves in him, to cast ourselves on his unfailing friendship, to rest in his deep and perfect sympathy (Heb. iv. 15, 16). 2. When everything else is lost, when we are abandoned by our human friends, we have a heritage in God; we have still a heavenly Father to trust and love, and a holy service and filial submission to render; we have fellowship with God. 3. We ask and we hope for Divine deliverance. We know that an almighty arm is on our side; we believe that the .All-wise can and will sbow to us a way of escape from the very midst of our difficulties; we are assured that God can break the net in which our soul is taken, and can enlarge us and give us a blessed spiritual freedom. Has not a Saviour come to "preach deliverance to the captives"? and "whom the Son makes free, are they not free indeed"?