May 27 Daily Devotional

Hitherto the Lord Hath Helped: A Meditation on the Ninth Psalm

Psalm 9

1 I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
13 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

Devotional

(continued)

His Arm Not Short

When all is black before us and only destruction seems to be ahead, then are the faithful to look up to the throne of grace. But suppose the Lord does not let us see His hand in our distress? Then are the godly to take hold, with the hand of faith, of God's revealed will and purpose as it concerns them. He will not be lacking regarding His promises to them. God rules in righteousness and cannot deny Himself.

Are you tempted to forsake God when Heaven is silent ? Be assured that God is only waiting His own time to show Himself strong in your behalf. With God a thousand years is as one day. He is never behind in helping His children, but only permits us to know grief that we may the more readily acknowledge His help. God often purposely puts us into the position of making our crying unto Him seem vain. But in the end it will be His delight to show how precious the righteous are to Him by a mighty deliverance. Only let us not measure God's help by our own understanding, for then are we hopeless and miserable creatures.

What more can a believer desire than God's fatherly favor? Of this he is amply assured in His Word. Can it be grievous for a child of so gracious a Father to be counted as poor and needy in the eyes of the world? Has he not, by his profession of God, renounced the world and its hidden things of darkness, and has he not taken God for his sole portion?

"Only Trust Him Now"

Yea, God is not far off from those who call upon Him. He is the more ready to help when affliction is at its height. And He does help, as all of God's children witness in every age. Having come through our distresses with patience, we have learned the more to trust His grace. Who are the humble in God's sight but those who, through many trials and afflictions, bear patiently the cross laid upon them ? These know nought of presumption.

All men should thus trust God and adore their Maker who has revealed Himself in His beloved Son. But they do not choose to retain Him in their knowledge. Because they do not know Him as their Saviour, they do not confide in Him.

Men may forsake Him; He never will forsake those who love their Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.