Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. It is supposed by some that this verse was added during the "trouble" of the Captivity; and certainly its stand-lug outside the alphabetical arrangement favours this view; but the similar irregularity at the close of Psalms 34:1-22, rather makes against it. David evidently was not a slave to a mechanical arrangement; and any pious Israelite, at any age (therefore certainly David) might naturally append a prayer for his people to an outpouring of prayer for himself. Moreover, redemption is an idea familiar to David (Psalms 19:14; Psalms 26:11; Psalms 31:5; Psalms 34:22).
HOMILETICS
Show me thy ways, etc.
Prayer ought to be the most natural, as it is the noblest, form of speech. It would be if human nature were not off its balance, out of tune, morally crippled and disjointed. In extremity of peril or grief, the instinct of prayer often wakes up even in godless hearts—
And lips say, 'God be merciful!'
That ne'er said, 'God be praised!'"
But no godless lips would be surprised by danger or stung by pain into uttering such a prayer as this (Romans 8:26). The Book of Psalms abounds in prayers like this, or like verses 6, 7, 11, which bear the stamp of the Holy Spirit's teaching.
I. THESE WORDS TEACH OUR URGENT NEED OF GOD'S TEACHING.
1. Concerning himself. Nature is a revelation of God; a lesson-book stored with Divine meaning (Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:19, Romans 1:20). His existence; his infinite wisdom and goodness in design, power in execution, ruling, upholding; unchanging faithfulness;—these are lessons we may read, if we have eyes, in this glorious universe. But nature has no message to the individual; no answer to this petition, "Show me, teach me, lead me." Like a machine, it is guided by fixed laws; all is universal, calculable, relentless. The knowledge of God the heart needs is personal. Does he care for me, love me, invite my love? Have I sinned against him? and, if so, will he pardon? Will he listen if! speak, answer if I pray? Is that Arctic creed true, that he
"Sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish or a sparrow fan"?
Or that blessed faith, that, while not a sparrow dies without the will of my heavenly Father, I count for more in his reckoning "than many sparrows"?
2. Concerning curatives. Our life, duty, salvation. This is the teaching the psalmist asks for: "thy ways;" "thy paths;" "Lead me in thy truth." The revelation of Scripture in a sense resembles that of nature. It is universal—for mankind ("all nations," Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47). The individual soul needs more than revelation—inspiration, the light and leading of the Holy Spirit.
II. THIS DIVINE TEACHING IS TO BE SOUGHT AND OBTAINED BY PRAYER.
1. Not as a substitute for Scripture. The inward light is not to supersede the written Word. God has given us there, so far as words can convey it, all the knowledge we need of himself, and of our duty, salvation, and destiny.
2. Nor yet to make us independent of human teaching. God does not bestow equal light on all Christians; but larger, deeper, clearer knowledge and wisdom to some, that they may impart to others. A mind too proud to learn from man is not in a fit state to be taught of God (1 Corinthians 12:8; Ephesians 4:11, Ephesians 4:12).
3. But the capacity to apprehend Divine truth is from God. So is a right disposition of heart—faith, humility, sympathy, desire for holiness, love God. The Bible is a sealed book to the understanding as long as the heart is closed against the gospel (Matthew 13:13-15; 1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27). The Spirit of God can teach us more in a single verse or sentence of a sermon, book, or letter, than we can gain without his teaching from whole volumes (Acts 16:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:5),
Remark: This truth is vital to Protestantism. Private judgment apart from Divine teaching would mean only the right to err. Daily experience shows the adequacy of the Scriptures, studied with earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit apart from human teaching, to convert the heart and bless and guide the life (John 6:45). Without such prayer and Divine teaching the most learned biblical scholar may utterly fail to reach the hidden heart of Scripture.