I. THE MOAN. It is not that of an impenitent man; at the same time, it bears no very clear indication of being a penitential wail over sin. It is the plaint of one who is overwhelmed with sorrow - with sorrow that has come upon him through his enemies. So intense is his anguish that it haunts him by night and by day; it exhausts his frame, consumes his spirit. Note the various expressions: "withered away," "bones vexed," "sore vexed," "weary with groaning," "make my bed to swim," "water my couch with my tears," eyes dim" "eyesight wasting away," etc. What caused such overwhelming sorrow, we cannot tell. But this is of no consequence. The point to be noted is this - there are not unfrequently times in the experience of God's people when some care, or trouble, or perplexity is felt, and that so severe that they are haunted by it night and day; they cannot shake it off; and they cannot, even when at prayer, forget it. What are they to do? Let them not try to forget it; let them turn their prayers in that direction, so that the perplexity and the prayer are concurrent and not contrary forces. This is what the psalmist did. This is what we should do.

"Give others the sunshine; tell Jesus the rest."

II. THE PRAYER. It is twofold.

1. Deprecatory. (Ver. 1, "Rebuke me not," etc.; "nor chasten me in thine hot displeasure.") Here is one of the traces of the Old Testament saints' thinking about God: they regarded their afflictions as indications of God's anger. We are now taught rather to regard them as a part of the gracious training which our Father sees that we need. The sharpest trials often force out the most fervid prayers; yet, at the same time, we are permitted to cry to our Father to ask him to deal gently with us, and to "throw away his rod," since "love will do the work."

2. Supplicatory. "Mercy," "healing," "deliverance," "salvation," - for these he pleads. Probably his yearning is mainly for temporal relief and deliverance from his foes. But we, under similar circumstances, as we know more than the psalmist did, should rise higher than he could. We should regard temporal deliverances as entirely subordinate to the higher spiritual improvement, which ought to be earnestly prayed for as the result of every trial. We should always be more anxious to have our trials sanctified than to have them removed.

III. THE PLEA. This also is twofold.

1. The psalmist feels that his burden is so great, it will soon bring him to the grave, if not removed. Hence he says, "In death there is no remembrance of thee; and in Sheol who shall give thee thanks?" Here is another proof that, in dealing with this specimen of the devotion of an Old Testament saint, we have to do with one to whom, as yet, life and immortality had not been brought to light; to whom death was but the passage to a dim and gloomy state of being; although, as we shall see in dealing with Psalm 16., 17., there was the hope of an awakening. Still, "Sheol," the all-demanding realm, was not as yet lit up with gospel light. The Greek word "Hades" and the Hebrew word "Sheol" both refer to the state after death, though under different symbolic expressions. Historically, there are three conceptions of Hades, or Sheol.

(1) The pagan: all gloom and no hope.

(2) The Hebrew: gloom, with hope of a blest awaking in the morning.

(3) The Christian: no gloom at all, so far as the godly are concerned. Absent from the body; at home with the Lord. Hence we cannot now adopt ver. 5 of this prayer, knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ died for us, that whether we wake or sleep we should live together with him; that hence our death is the gateway to rest, and that the time of our departure may be peacefully left in wiser hands than ours.

2. The psalmist grounds a second plea on the loving-kindness of God. This is better, surer ground (ver. 4). Very often is this plea used. It cannot be used too often. It takes hold of God's strength.

IV. THE ISSUE.

1. The psalmist receives an answer to his prayer. (See Psalm 34:6.) Thousands can say the same. "The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping."

2. Consequently, there is:

(1) New confidence Godward (ver. 9). "The Lord will receive my prayer." As he has done in the past, so he will continue to do. New courage manward (ver. 10, Revised Version). Yea, by prayer the spirit is calmed. Trouble is turned to rest, fear to bravery, and despair to hope. Note: How much care and worry good people would save themselves if they did but take all their troubles to God at once, without waiting till they obtained such hold upon them l

(2) It is infinitely better to tell God everything, than to go about moaning and groaning to our fellows! God knows all. He never misunderstands us. He knows exactly how to help us. He will help us, at the right moment, in the best way, and to the full extent of our need; yea, he will do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." - C.

I. THE CRY OF THE FAINTING SOUL. Circumstances are adverse. There is gloom without and within. Conscience accuses. God seems full of wrath. Death is regarded, not as a release, but as the minister of judgment; and the grave, not as a quiet resting-place, but as a "pit," loathsome and terrible. Amidst the darkness, and with fears on every side:

1. God's indignation is deprecated. Affliction is hard to bear; but with God's wrath it would be overwhelming.

2. God's pity is appealed to. Weakness is pleaded, and the hope expressed that in deserved wrath God will remember mercy. His smile will turn the darkness to light.

3. God's deliverance is entreated. It is craved on the ground of God's mercies (ver. 4). It is urged on account of the brevity of life, and because death will put an end to the power of serving God in this world (ver. 5). It is claimed as the only relief for the helpless and miserable (ver. 7).

II. THE RESPONSE OF A GRACIOUS GOD. It is said the darkest hour is that before the dawn. So here the psalmist, in his utter weakness and woe, turning from sin unto God, finds help. A light surprises him like sunrise breaking in suddenly on a dark night (vers. 8, 9). The answer from God is not only quick and timely, but effectual. Thrice the glad heart says, "God has heard," thus confirming to itself the news which seems almost too good to be true. - W.F.

I. NIGHT. There is darkness. God hides himself. There is dreariness. The soul is left alone with sad and distressing thoughts. There is depression. The ghosts of past misdeeds rise up. There are nameless terrors. But though perplexed, there need not be despair. God is near. He can help. He can even give songs in the night.

II. MORNING. Light comes, bringing hope and peace. God has beard the cry of his child. Such deliverances are comforting. They not only show God's mercy and truth, but they prophesy of complete redemption. If there be night, let us wait for the morning. The weary traveller, the tempest-tossed mariner, the city watchman dreading the assault of the foe, comfort themselves with the thought that the morning cometh. So let us look up, for our redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21:28). - W.F.

I. THAT THERE ARE WORSE AFFLICTIONS THAN WE KNOW OF. We must not make our life the limit, nor our experience the standard. Besides what we see, there is what we only hear of, and besides all these, there are miseries beyond our wildest imaginings. Even as to ourselves, let our case be ever so bad, we can conceive of its becoming worse. What a glimpse have we of the dread possibilities of the future in that solemn word of our Lord to the man who had for thirty and eight years been a helpless cripple, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14)!

II. THAT THERE ARE ADEQUATE CONSOLATIONS FOR THE SEVEREST TRIALS. Come what will, God is our Refuge and our Strength. Let us therefore be patient and trust. Let us also be thankful. Things might be far worse than they are. Let us also bear ourselves gently and kindly to others who suffer. It is those who have themselves been sorely tried who can best sympathize, as it is those who have themselves been comforted who can best comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). - W.F.

I. A PICTURE OF COMPLICATED DISTRESS.

1. Danger from outward foes. Producing constant fear and anxiety, and perhaps threatening his life.

2. A sense of being under the chastising hand of God. The malice of his enemies was regarded as the rod by which God in his anger was punishing him - an Old Testament view. "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten" - the New Testament view.

3. These two things caused the prostration of both body and soul. Mental troubles are the causes of our severest afflictions and sufferings. Threatened by man, frowned upon by God, laid low by disease, - that is the picture here given.

II. ARGUMENTS USED IN SUPPORT OF THE CRY FOR DELIVERANCE. "Let thine anger cease;" "Forgive my sins."

1. Because of the extremity of my sufferings. He "languished ' (ver. 2). His "bones were terrified" (ver. 2). His "soul sore vexed" (ver. 3). His bed swam with his tears (ver. 6). His eye wasted and grew dim with his grief (ver. 7). It is an appeal to the Divine pity. "He will not keep his anger for ever."

2. His power of endurance was exhausted. "0 Jehovah, how long?" I cannot endure the severity of thy judgments. "How long?" was all Calvin said in his most intense grief. Here it means, "Do not quite destroy me, for I am well-nigh spent. Still a cry for mercy.

3. Because his death would put an end to his power to praise God. "There is here the childlike confidence which fears not to advance the plea that God's glory is concerned in granting his request." And that is the ground of all true prayer - the granting will honour thee. Those in Sheol lived a spectral, shadowy life, apart from the light of God's presence, and could not praise him. "The living, the living, he shall praise thee." The meaning here is - it is pleasing to God to be praised, and pleasing to himself to praise.

III. THE TRIUMPH OF RELIEVING, PENITENTIAL PRAYER. Salvation from his enemies had become a patent fact. God had forgiven, and he was safe, and could now rejoice. The psalm epitomizes his experience, and that accounts for the sudden change in the eighth verse. Our sins are our greatest foes, and when God, through Christ, forgives them, that is the hour of our greatest triumph. - S.