To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul; Sermons
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. vers. 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 (ver. 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 (ver. 10); hence he cannot shut his ear to their prayer (see also ver. 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 (ver. 13)."His soul shall lodge in goodness" (Hebrew cf. Psalm 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 (ver. 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. Psalm 121:1; Psalm 143:8). This the psalmist did (1) in the morning (Psalm 5:3); (2) at noon and at evening (Psalm 55:17); (3) seven times a day (Psalm 119:164); (4) all the day (Psalm 25:5); (5) Perpetually (Psalm 25:15). 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 (ver. 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 (ver. 16), troubled in heart (ver. 17), in a net (ver. 15), surrounded with bitter enemies (ver. 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 (ver. 2). 2. He prays for light (ver. 4). 3. For teaching in the way in which he should go (vers. 4, 5). 4. That he may have experience in God's faithfulness (ver. 5; see notes, 'Variorum Bible'). 5. For loving-kindness and mercy (ver. 6). 6. For forgiveness (ver. 11). 7. For Divine guardianship (ver. 20). 8. For a gracious, compassionate look (ver. 18). 9. That amidst all temptations to wander from the way, he may be kept in integrity and uprightness (vers. 21, 22). But the pleading one cannot close without one prayer for the Church of God (ver. 22; cf. Psalm 51:18, 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" (ver. 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" (ver. 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. (ver. 6). David's past experience of God's mercy was a pledge that God would not forget him. 4. "For thy Name's sake" (ver. 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" (ver. 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. (Ver. 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.
Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. I. DAVID WAS AT THIS TIME IN A STATE OF GREAT TROUBLE. This is the children's path; it is the path most of God's family walk in. It is not an uncommon path. The Master trod the path before them, and told His people to expect tribulation. In this Psalm we see affliction in every variety. David traces his afflictions up to his sins (ver. 18). All sin is the cause of suffering. If no sin, no suffering. If no body there would be no shadow. There may have been some searching out of peculiar sins. Times of affliction are usually times of deep searching of heart.II. DAVID WAS AT THIS TIME DEPRESSED. The very expression "lift up" implies a previous casting down. Ver. 16, he says, "I am desolate and afflicted." The believer, compared with the unbeliever, is a strong man; he must needs be strong. But the strongest is not always strong. All borrowed strength is of necessity strength that fluctuates. Creature strength is dependent strength, and therefore it is but comparative weakness. Faith's wing does not always soar aloft; love does not always burn brightly. Unbelief always weakens. David looked to his troubles and was depressed. In our afflictions there are two especial dangers — that of despising them, as if they came fortuitously; and the danger of being encumbered and weighed down by them, looking at the circumstances, and not at the God of the circumstances. III. DAVID BETAKES HIMSELF TO HIS REMEDY. The believer has but one remedy. The world talks of its many remedies, but all are ineffective. A general view of God, in the power of faith and by the power of the Holy Ghost, lifts up the soul. Nothing so lifts us up against soul trouble as when we are enabled to say, "O my God, I trust in Thee." Is there anything above God's promises? Yes, God Himself is above His promises, and the very substance of them. Our trust is in Him. (J. H. Evans, M. A.) I. THE REALISATION AND RECOGNITION OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. II. THE ABSTRACTION FROM THE INFLUENCES OF THE WORLD. "I will lift up my soul." III. THE CONSECRATION AND CONCENTRATION OF ALL THE ENERGIES OF THE MAN. The consecration willing and loving. If the soul be lifted up all the powers are so. IV. THE RESULTS OF SUCH LIFTING UP OF THE SOUL. We shall be — 1. Transported with the Divine nearness. 2. Transformed into the Divine likeness. 3. Translated into the Divine presence now and hereafter. (F. W. Brown.) (W. Jay.) Gotthold, in his Emblems, says, "Doves have been trained to fly from place to place, carrying letters in a basket fastened to their necks or feet. They are swift of flight; but our prayers and sighs are swifter, for they take but a moment to pass from earth to heaven, and bear the troubles of our heart to the heart of God. These messengers no hostile force can detain; they penetrate the clouds, never linger on the way, and never desist until the Most High attends. A tyrant may shut up a godly man in the deepest dungeon, immure him between massive walls, and forbid him all intercourse with his fellow men, but these messengers he cannot restrain; in defiance of all obstacles they report to the Omniscient the affliction of the victim, and bring back to him the Divine consolation."The names which he gives God are Jehovah and Elohim — the first taken from His nature, the other from His power; and he applieth them to himself, my strong Gods, including the persons of the Trinity. He leadeth us to God in our prayers, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? He that cometh to God must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.1. First, He must love thee, and then He will defend thee. Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord. Those are foolish who seek His protection, not first having assurance of His love. If He be to thee Jehovah, then shall He also be to thee Elohim. His prayer is signified by his circumscription, "I lift up my soul to Thee"; and his faith, "I trust in Thee." What is prayer but a lifting up of the heart to God, for the heart must first be affected, and then it will frame all the members of the body, and draw them up with it. Whereby it appeareth that there is no prayer or spiritual service acceptable to God but that which comes and is derived from the heart, "My son, give Me thy heart" Ye are praying, but your heart is as the eye of the fool everywhere. Sometimes ye are thinking of the earth, sometimes of your pleasure, sometimes sleeping, sometimes ye know not what ye are thinking. And sometimes your voice is repeating some idle and deaf sounds, your heart no whir being moved, but as a parrot, uttering uncertain sounds, or a bell, sounding it knows not what; so are ye with your mouth praising God, your heart being absented from Him. 2. Next, his faith is not carried about hither and thither, but only fixeth itself upon God. 3. Thirdly, the lifting up of the heart presupposeth a former dejection of his soul. (A. Symson.) Homilist. I. A PIOUS SOUL RISING TO GOD. An indication of the true elevation of man; what is it?1. The elevation of the soul, that is, the rational and spiritual nature, that which was the divinity within him. 2. It is the elevation of the soul to God. The soul going up in devout thought, in holy gratitude, in sublime adoration, in moral assimilation to the Infinite Jehovah. 3. It is the elevation of the soul to God by personal exertion. No man can lift up my soul for me. II. A PIOUS SOUL TRUSTING IN GOD. "O my God, I trust in Thee." What does trust in the Lord imply? 1. A sense of dependency in the truster. 2. A belief in the sufficiency of the trusted. III. A PIOUS SOUL WAITING UPON GOD. "On Thee do I wait all the day." 1. To wait means patience. 2. To wait means hope. 3. To wait means service. IV. A PIOUS SOUL PRAYING TO GOD. "Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed." The prayer, from vers. 3 to 7, falls into two divisions. 1. Prayer for self. (1) (2) (3) 2. Prayer for others. (1) (2) (Homilist.) People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics David, Gt, Lift, Lifted, Lt, O, Psalm, SoulOutline 1. David's confidence in prayer7. He prays for remission of sins 16. and for help in affliction Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 25:1 5763 attitudes, positive to God 5290 defeat Library June 14. "The Secret of the Lord is with them that Fear Him" (Ps. xxv. 14). "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him" (Ps. xxv. 14). There are secrets of Providence which God's dear children may learn. His dealing with them often seems, to the outward eye, dark and terrible. Faith looks deeper and says, "This is God's secret. You look only on the outside; I can look deeper and see the hidden meaning." Sometimes diamonds are done up in rough packages, so that their value cannot be seen. When the tabernacle was built in the wilderness there was nothing rich in its … Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth A Prayer for Pardon and Its Plea Guidance in Judgment Safe Walking. On the Contemplation of Human Misery Both Things are Specially Worthy of Notice. ... In Fine, Supplication for Pardon, with Humble and Ingenuous Confession of Guilt... Christ Teaching by Parables The General Resurrection How to Make Use of Christ as the Life, when the Believer is So Sitten-Up in the Ways of God, that He Can do Nothing. Of the Fewness of those who Love the Cross of Jesus May one Lose the Blessing? Lastly; they who Will Not, by the Arguments and Proofs Before Mentioned, Of Prayer --A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. The Daily Benefits Derived from It. The Great Teacher Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow. "He is the Rock, his Work is Perfect. For all his Ways are Judgment. A God of Truth, and Without Iniquity, Just and Right is He. The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly Or are we Indeed to Believe that it is for any Other Reason... 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