Prayer: its warrant, petitions, and arguments.
It is thought by some that this prayer belongs to the Exile period; but by whomsoever it may have been penned, or at whatsoever age, matters little. There is nothing in it which depends on known historic incident £ for its elucidation. And whoever desires to dive into the depths of its meaning will find the habit of waiting on God the best key to its words and phrases. No merely natural man can possibly unravel spiritual things, and he who is a stranger to prayer will get no help whatever in the understanding of this psalm from all the scholastic critics in the world. There are a few doubtful phrases, on which Perowne's notes will throw some light; but, speaking generally, this is one of the psalms on which Calvin and Matthew Henry will furnish adequately suggestive remarks. Reserving all dealing with specific texts in it for other writers in this Commentary, we propose to survey the psalm as a whole, though it may be that each heading thereon might furnish a theme for separate discourse. This prayer of an Old Testament saint suggests—
I. THAT WE KNOW ENOUGH OF GOD TO FURNISH US WITH A SOUND BASIS FOR PRAYER. Interspersed among the several petitions there are here several statements of exquisite beauty (cf. verses 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 3, 13). These may be thus set forth:
1. God is good and upright; therefore will he teach and guide those who seek him. Good, so that he delights to do it; upright, so that he will be true to his promise.
2. This guidance he vouchsafes to the meek (verse 9). Taken in a physical sense, the word translated "meek" is equivalent to "afflicted;" in a moral sense its meaning is as given here (cf. James 1:21; James 4:6; Matthew 11:25).
3. To loyal souls all his ways are mercy and truth (verse 10); hence he cannot shut his ear to their prayer (see also verse 12). "Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose;" Luther, "Er wird ihn unterweiseuden besten Weg."
4. He will give such souls a rest and refuge in himself (verse 13)."His soul shall lodge in goodness" (Hebrew cf. Psalms 91:1 Hebrew).
5. To such God will open up the heavenly secrets of his covenant love. A glorious anticipation, By spiritual intuition, in Old Testament times, of John 15:15.
6. He will never put to shame those that wait on him (John 15:3, Revised Version; see Perowne's note thereon). As followers of our Lord Jesus, we may add to all this the amazing statement, "The Father seeketh such to worship him." God is not only willing to receive their worship, but he eagerly desires it (John 4:23).
II. THAT PRAYER IS THE HIGHEST EFFORT OF MAll. It is described in the first verse as "lifting up the soul to God" (cf. Psalms 121:1; Psalms 143:8). This the psalmist did
The psalmist prayed not only when trouble came, but always. His heart spontaneously went up ever to God, as to the Friend without whose smile he could not live, and without whose protection he dared not move. Note: For elevation of life our spirits must be ever looking above and beyond themselves. An upward look will uplift character; the downward look will degrade.
III. THAT INWARD CONFLICTS AND OUTWARD CIRCUMSTANCES OFTEN GIVE SPECIAL INTENSITY TO PRAYER. Glancing over the varied forms of expression which indicate the psalmist's mental state and his surroundings, we shall see this:
1. The remembrance of past sins troubles him. Oh that the young would beware of sin! Long, long after it is forgiven by God, it will poison and worry the memory (John 15:7). So much so, that only as the sinning one flings himself on mercy, can he have any rest at all.
2. The psalmist is desolate, afflicted (John 15:16), troubled in heart (John 15:17), in a net (John 15:15), surrounded with bitter enemies (John 15:19). What a burden of care and grief he has to roll over upon God] Note: It is an infinite mercy to be Permitted to tell God exactly what we feel, and all that we feel, knowing that we shall never be misunderstood, but that we shall be laying open all our griefs only before infinite goodness and mercy.
IV. THE SPECIFIC PETITIONS IN PRAYER MAY BE VARIED AS OUR NEED. The petitions specified in this psalm are mainly for himself, but not exclusively. Those for himself are such as any child of God may present at any time. The special colouring given to each must need be the reflection of hues of his own, "fresh borrowed from the heart." The psalmist's petitions for himself may be grouped under eight heads.
1. That God would not put him to shame before his enemies (John 15:2).
2. He prays for light (John 15:4).
4. That he may have experience in God's faithfulness (John 15:5; see notes, 'Variorum Bible').
5. For loving-kindness and mercy (John 15:6).
6. For forgiveness (John 15:11).
7. For Divine guardianship (John 15:20).
8. For a gracious, compassionate look (John 15:18).
9. That amidst all temptations to wander from the way, he may be kept in integrity and uprightness (John 15:21, John 15:22).
But the pleading one cannot close without one prayer for the Church of God (John 15:22; cf. Psalms 51:18, Psalms 51:19). A noble, pious, public spirit existed in the Old Testament saints. Such a one as the writer of this psalm cannot forget his people at a throne of grace. Well would it be if such earnest public spirit were possessed by Christian people everywhere, so that, as priests unto God, they would never enter the holy of holies save with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel graven on their breast.
V. THE PRAYING ONE MAY USE MANIFOLD ARGUMENTS IN PLEADING WITH HIS GOD. There is a blending of simplicity, boldness, and grandeur in the pleas of this prayer.
1. "I trust in thee" (John 15:2). When there is trust on one side, we may be sure it is reciprocated by love and pity on God's side.
2. "Thou art the God of my salvation" (John 15:5). Thou hast undertaken to deliver me, and thou wilt be true to thine own promises. God loves to be reminded of his promises. He has never said in vain to the seed of Jacob, "Seek ye me."
3. "Remember thy tender mercies," etc. (John 15:6). David's past experience of God's mercy was a pledge that God would not forget him.
4. "For thy Name's sake" (John 15:11). Gracious answers to his people's prayer magnify God's Name; they reveal his grace and love. And the psalmist, in holy daring, pleads with God to magnify his own Name in hearing him. Yea, more; a more startling argument still is used.
5. "For it [mine iniquity] is great" (John 15:11)! Who but those who know bow God delights to forgive, and even to multiply pardons, could ever venture to plead for forgiveness because their sin was so great? Yet surely the meaning is, "Lord, though my sin is great, the greater will thy mercy be, and the more lustrously thy pardoning love will shine forth on the background of my guilt!" Such prayers and such pleadings as these are not learnt in a day nor in a year. They can come only from one whose eyes are ever towards the Lord.
VI. SUCH TRUSTING AND PRAYING ONES WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME. (John 15:3, Revised Version.) They never have been. They never will be. £ They cannot be. The revealed character and attributes of God assure us of this. The opening up of the new and living way to God, which our great High Priest has consecrated for ever for our use, ensures it. The blood of Christ seals the same; it is the "blood of the everlasting covenant." The love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost is another pledge of the efficacy of prayer. Yea, the immutability of God himself confirms this; not only that prayer will avail, but also that without prayer we have no right to expect the blessings we need. Our Lord has said, "Ask, and ye shall receive." Thus he teaches the Divine rule for us. If, then, it is God's will to give us blessing when we ask, it is useless for us to think to change the mind of God, and to expect the blessing without asking for it.—C.
HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH