Homilist Psalm 42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites… I. SOUL SORROWS. 1. Oppressive. "O my God, my soul is cast down within me." They seemed to rest upon his heart as lead. Beneath their weight he sank down into darkness and despair. How often the soul falls prostrate beneath its load of grief and trials. 2. Tumultuous. "Deep calleth unto deep." "Trials," says our dramatist, "come in battalions." In the hour of deep conviction for sin, there comes a moral inundation. 3. Excruciating. "As with a sword," etc. As the physical nerves quiver with agony at the entrance of the sword, so his soul writhed at the reproaches of ungodly men. II. SOUL RELIEFS. 1. Memory. 2. Hope. 3. Prayer. 4. Self-fellowship. "David," says Calvin, "represents himself here as divided into two parts. In so far as he rests through faith in God's promises, he raises himself, equipped with the spirit of an invincible valour against the feelings of the flesh, and at the same time blames his weakness." David here — (1) inquires of his own soul the cause of his own sorrows; and (2) exhorts it to trust in God. "Hope thou in God."God is the "health of my countenance." He will clear away all the gloom, and make it bright with the sunshine of His love. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. |
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