The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 1 — Section 37

HOMILETICS. Yers. 1-3.-Prayer. "Give ear," etc. 'l'here nre prayers, some of the most fervent and spiritual, which rcfuso words, and need not language (Rom. viii. 26). Dut God, who hath given spce~h as the glory of our nature and the principal instrument of human progress, will have us consecrate it to this highest use-converse with our Maker, the Father of our spirits. I. PRAYER IS rERSONAL CONVERSE WITH GoD. "My voice shalt thou hear" (var. 3). On this turns the whole reality, efficacy, spiritual benefit, of prayer. 1. Reality. We are not speaking into the air; or to an Infinite Impersonal Power that takes no heed· but to the living God. "He that planted the ear," etc. (Ps. xciv. 9). 'l'o the Fathe; of spirits (Luke xi. 13). 2. Ily ~fficacy of prayer we mean, not that prayer has a t-irtue or power of its own, not that God needs instructing what to give, or persuading to give. The very power to pray comes from him. But the earnest desire and plead- ing request of his children have real value in his sight; as they must have, if "God is love." True, God knows what we need, better than we do; but fervour of desire, per- severance and patient faith in asking, accompanied with childlike resignation to his will, are often the very conditions of its being wise and right (and therefore possible) for God to grant what we ask. 3. The spiritual benefit of prayer is no doubt its chief blessing. Nothing else could bring the soul so near to God. But this benefit turns on its reality and efficacy. God might have given promises without inviting or per- mitting us to pray; but faith claims and pleads his promises in prayer. II. PRAYER SHOULD HAVE ITS BET SEASONS, though it should not be confined to any. "In the morning," i.e. every morning. Our day should begin. with God (comp. Ps. Iv. 17; Dan. vi. 10). llL THE HABIT OF PRAYER MUST BE MAINTAINED BY HOLY PURPOSE, STEADFAST RESOLVE. "Will I direct," etc.; order and arrange it, gathering up all my powers to this great employment, this glorious privilege, as happy as holy. God's ear is not chained to a careless prayer, of which the offerer himself makes no account, V ers. 4, 5.-Gori's hatred of sin. "Thou art not a God that bath plea.sure io. wickedness," etc. It needs courage to preach the severe side of Bible truth. 'l'ime was when preaching could not be too severe. Men loved to hear the thunder and see the fire of Sinai Now it cannot be too flattering and soothing. A view of Divine love is current, not to say fashionable, which tends to reduce it to an easy-going apathetic tolerance, taking little account of the difference between moral good and evil. We need reminding that io. God's judgment the opposition is irreconcilable, infinite, eternal. These verses strongly set forth God's hatred of sin. I. GoD's HAT.BED OF SIN IS INSEPARABLE FROM HIS HOLINESS. Having no "pleasure in wickedness" stands here for abhorrence, unchangeable opposition. Were it possible to conceive "a God that bath plea.sure io. wickedness," this would be the most terrible, hateful, and hideous of all imaginations-an Omnipotent Fiend 1 Even a wicked man must see that such a thought is monstrous. But if all sympathy with evil is thus abhorrent to the Divine character, the very thought revolting, it follows that sin. must be infinitely hateful to God. Not to hate sin is characteristic of a bad man (Ps. xxxvi. 4); he finds in himself no standard by which to test and hate it. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil I" (Ps. xcvii. 10). JI. Gon's HATRED OF SIN DOES NOT CONTRADICT HIS LOVE, but is inseparable from it. Because '' God is love," he must desire the happiness of his creatures. Ilut men are created to be happy through holiness. Sin poisons the very source of human happiness; fills the world with strife, injustice, cruelty, vice, disease, want, pain, tears, death. Where would Divine love be if our Maker calmly looked upon the destruction of 1111 that is best io. his creatures, and the wholesale wreck of human. happiness? Again, bccauso "God is love," he must desire the love of his children. Love asks love. Sin robs God or his children's love; robs them of the very power of loving him, and of nil the joy that can spring only from his Jove. Because "God is love," he must desire men to know him ao.d converse with him; and in this communion grow up to their true spiritual stature (Eph. iv. 13)- Sin tends to banish the knowledge of Go<! from PB. .,. 1-12.) THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 83 -------------------------------- enrth; to dry and choke the channel or communion with God (John xvii. 3; Rom. i. 20, 21, 28; Eph. iv. 18). III. How 0AN IlATRED OF EVIL DE RECONCILED WITH LOVE TO THE WRONG-DOER? How separate sin from sinners-the sinner from his sins? The gospel is the answer. By the atonement of the Son of God, and by the renewing power of the Holy Ghost (Rom. v. 8; 'l'itus iii. 5, 6; 1 Cor. vi. 11). 'fhe Old Testament Scriptures contain abundant promises of pardon to the pemtei.t; and one wonderful example in Kin~ Manasseh (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7; Ps. xxxii.; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13). But Law, and fear of punishl)lent, were necessarily predominant till "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." On the other hand, never forget that if the sinner will not and cannot be separated from his sin, the New Testament is fully as severe as the Old (Matt. vii. 23 ; xiii. 49, 50; Rom. ii. 8, 9). The cross, which reveals God's love to sinners, is at the same time the most tremendous of all witnesses against sin (Rom. viii. 3, 4). Ver. 11.-The ;'oy of faith. "Let all those . . . rejoice," etc. People who look on Bible religion as gloomy and joyless would do w~ll to study the Book of Psalm~. It is worth note that in this one book of Scripture the words "joy," "joyful," "glad," "gladness," "rejoice," occur more than ninety times. Truly the "river that maketh glad the city of God" is a full, pure, deep-flowing stream. Idle mirth, empty-headed and hollow-hearted gaiety (Eccles. vii. 6), you do not, indeed, find characterizing the psalmists or prophets. But for full-hearted, clear-voiced joy-the joy that sings on its pilgrim-way because it sees the rainbow io the cloud, and hears the Saviour's voice in the storm-there is no joy like that which the text speaks of-the Joy of faith. I. IT Is A GREAT JOY To TRUST Goo. Trust is an indispensable element or a happy lire. A suspicious, distrustfui soul is li:ke one walking in a fog, chillin_z, per- plexing, distorting. One of a trustful nature who has no one to trnst is like a lonely traveller, hungry and homeless. Mutual confidence is essential to love or friendship worthy the name. But the most faithful, loving friend may disappoint trust through 'weakness, ignorance, calamity, forgetfulness. Only the all-wise, all-loving, almighty, unchangeably faithful God is worthy of absolute trust-the perfect rest of the soul (Isa. xxvi. 3). II. '!'RUST IN Goo JS FULL OF JOYFUL EXPECTATION. It lights up the future (else dim and dark) with the suns!Jine of certaio hope. "We know," etc. (Rom, viii. 28). Care is the heaviest burden of life; to-morrow weighs heavier to most meo than to-day; and this burden faith rolls off ou to God (1 Pet. v. 7 ; Isa. xliii. 2). III. TnUST IN GoD IS FULL OF JOYFUL EXPERIENCE. If it is joy to trust God, it is double joy to find by experience that he accepts the trust he invites; rewnrds the faith that lays hold on his promise. Joshua's experience is the experience of faith in nil ages (Josh. xxiv. 14). St. Paul could say at the end of his course, "I know whom I have beliovell," etc. (2 Tim. i. 12; iv. 7, 8). IV. 'I'm:;: GOSPEL HAS OPENED A NEW AND FULLER FOUNTAIN OF JOY, by supplying a firmer foundalion of faith, and clearer kuowledge of God, in the Person of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. i. 8). CONCLUSION. If you have no joy in God, it must be because you do not know him; and this is because you do not believe him as speaking to you io his Son. Yet let no Christian despond if his joy in Goel be not what he desires, what he hears or roads of, what it reasonably should be. Ir we have not sunshine, let us be thankful for day- light. If even daylight, for a while, fail, let us remember Isa. I. 10, nnd "watch for the morning " (Ps. cxxx. 6).