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The psalmist declares, "Thou didst deliver them"—referring to the faithful fathers who cried unto the Lord and were rescued.
George Herbert, that most luminous of Christian poets, captured this vision magnificently: holiness crowns the head, light and perfections adorn the breast, and harmonious bells below raise the dead to life and rest.
Yet among all God's gifts, salvation stands supreme, both as our greatest need and His greatest gift.
In what sense does the Almighty cast off His people?
In Psalm 132, David and his successors appealed to God's solemn covenant spoken through Nathan the prophet, words so momentous they remained fresh in Israel's memory for generations.
First, consider what the good man loses by gaining the world's approval.
Spurgeon discerned in this verse a sermon for every loiterer and procrastinator in God's kingdom.
The Hebrew word for "upright" means a person *good throughout, though not thoroughly*—one who genuinely pursues holiness, not one who merely personates religion.
Consider the stars—our starry monitors—fixed in their courses by divine decree.
She cannot afford the luxury of trust toward those beyond her ramparts.
Spurgeon's commentary, drawing from Thomas Playfere, presents a penetrating image: shame becomes as inseparable from the wicked as the very clothes a man wears wherever he journeys.
At the Battle of Arbela, Persian forces mustered between five hundred thousand and one million soldiers—a staggering host arrayed in terrible might.
Soldiers and hunters would excavate deep holes, carefully cover them with branches and earth, and disguise them so completely that approaching enemies or wild beasts would plunge unsuspectingly to their doom.
Their humility is mere theater, a calculated mask worn to deceive the vulnerable.
Rather, we should echo back our thankfulness at the first intimation of His coming blessing.
The hands lifted up signify continuous action—not a single gesture of devotion, but habitual, recurring engagement with God's Word.
God's Word carries three uncompromising claims upon us.
David understood this principle when he declared, "I will pay my vows before all his people" (Psalm 116:14).
Notice that David does not merely pose the question once; he takes up his soul "very short," demanding accountability: "Why art thou so cast down, O my soul?
The Hebrew word for "abide" (*yalun*) literally means "to lodge" or "to spend the night." Thus the ancient scholars read the verse with piercing irony: Adam, placed in honor within Paradise itself, did not remain even one night.
During seasons of great scarcity, poor farmers parted with every precious measure of seed—like taking bread from their children's mouths.
Thus recovered, it draws with power once more.
He placed his confidence in King Saul—and Saul hunted him like a beast through the wilderness.
The sinless Savior slept amid tempests—storm-winds raged, yet He rested upon the Father's breast in perfect trust.