PSALM XLI. 1-4.

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

OUR

UR Lord says, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." And this seems to be the idea in David's mind, and he expresses it in the opening verses of this Psalm. He pronounces a blessing on those who have compassion on the poor. And when he speaks of "the poor" he does not refer merely to those who are poor in pocket; but to the suffering and afflicted generally.

Now see what he says of one who is thus compassionate; "The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." As he has a heart to feel for the afflictions of his brethren, God will draw near to him in the time of his affliction. The compassionate man will receive compassion from God, and those who are ready to weep with the weeping may console

themselves with the assurance that their own sorrow will be turned by God into joy.

Again, "The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies." Here is a gracious promise of Preservation, of Blessing, and of Deliverance. And what more comforting than to feel that we are in His safe hands, under His sure protection, and that our bitterest enemies cannot harm us, so long as we are under the Lord's promised care?

And further, the Psalmist specially declares that, when such an one is laid down with illness, God is very near to him, administering strength to him in his weakness, and comfort in his suffering. And just as one is relieved and soothed in sickness by having his bed made up by some tender hand, so are we greatly comforted by the kind and gracious consolations which God bestows; "Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."

And now the Psalmist puts up an earnest prayer to God for His merciful and healing grace; " I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul." He comes to God, pleading His mercy, and throwing himself upon His compassion. He draws near to the great Healer, and asks Him to supply the needed remedy.

And he adds as a reason, "For I have sinned against thee." He does not plead any goodness of

his own; but he pleads his own misery, and therefore his utter need of God's merciful interposition. He felt that sin was the cause of all his sorrow; and as he looked within he felt that every trouble must be traced to that source.

Is any one afflicted? Here is a prayer to suit his case. Is any one bowed down with a sense of guilt? Here are words with which he may approach his heavenly Father: "Lord, be merciful unto me heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee."

PSALM XLI. 5-13.

Yea, mine did eat of

Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

DAVID'S

But thou,

AVID'S sorrow was increased by the unjust reproaches and calumnies of his enemies. Their feeling was so bitter against him, that they exclaimed, "When shall he die, and his name perish?"

And when any one came to visit him in his trouble, it was not on an errand of kindness, but in order to frame some lie against him, and to circulate some report to his discredit. Like Job's comforters, they attributed his sickness or his affliction to some

sin that he had committed; "An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him; and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more."

His wound too was deepened by the piercing thrust of those who were nearest and dearest to him; "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me."

This was a bitter aggravation of all his trialsthat his friend, and one even nearer to him than a friend, his own child, was acting the part of his enemy. One can feel that this was hard indeed, very hard, to bear.

This verse makes one feel that David's troubles were not his alone, but were shared by a greater and a holier Sufferer. For He, of all others, could say that His own familiar friend, the close companion of His earthly life, the partaker of His bread and of His cup, treacherously turned against Him. The base conduct of Judas was the dagger that pierced Him in the tenderest part.

But now again he turns to his God, and is lightened. He asks God to show him mercy, especially by the discomfiture of his enemies. There is certainly somewhat of a revengeful spirit in the words to which he gives utterance. But there is such a thing as a righteous vengeance, which is ready to withdraw itself when the offender shows the first sign of repentance. David could doubtless love his