God, the Refuge of the soul.
"My hope is in thee." This is the single note of joy the psalmist strikes from his harp amid its mournful music—like a ray of sunshine from a stormy sky. From his own private sorrow, from his wide survey of the troubles of human life, he takes refuge in God.
I. A HOPE OF PRESENT HELP, IMMEDIATE DELIVERANCE. (Psalms 39:13.) He is a stranger and a sojourner with God (Le 25:23); but he hopes the brief remainder of his pilgrimage will be divinely led, even as his fathers had the manna, the water from the rock, the pillar of cloud and fire, in the desert. Hope in God is not a faraway hope, but looks to him as "a very present Help" (Psalms 46:1; John 14:18).
II. A HOPE THAT LOOKS BEYOND THIS LIFE, FOR GOD IS THE EVER-LIVING. (John 14:19.) If hope in God stopped short at the grave, the transient gleam would make the darkness but more terrible (1 Corinthians 15:19; comp. Hebrews 11:13-16). Wonderful pleasure seems taken by critics and commentators in casting doubt on the knowledge or hope of a future life among God's ancient people. How could they be ignorant of what formed the basis of Egypt's religion and wisdom, on the one hand, and was no less believed, on the other, by the Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, etc.? King Saul was no saint, but certainly he fully believed that the spirit of Samuel existed after death (1 Samuel 28:11).
III. THIS HOPE RESTS WITH CERTAINTY ONLY ON GOD. This is our Lord's argument against the Sadducees, to prove that the Old Testament Scriptures do teach immortality (Matthew 22:31, Matthew 22:32). Immortality apart from God would be no glorious hope, but the most appalling of our terrors.
IV. THIS BLESSED HOPE—to those ancient believers matter of sheer faith—RESTS FOR CHRISTIANS ON AN IMMOVABLE DOUBLE FOUNDATION—the resurrection of Christ, which is an actual physical demonstration of life beyond death; and the promises of Christ, which bind our lives personally to his (2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Peter 1:3; John 14:1-3). No wonder if the faith of the ancient saints sometimes wavered; but ours should be as strong as its foundation (2 Timothy 1:12).