The Treasury of David
by C.H. Spurgeon

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS
(Psalms 86 Verse 7)

 

EXPOSITION

Verse 7. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. A pious resolve backed by a judicious reason. It is useless to cry to those who cannot or will not hear; once convince men that prayer has no effect upon God, and they will have no more of it. In these busy days and especially in troublous times, men cannot afford to waste time in entreaties which must be unavailing. Our experience confirms us in the belief that Jehovah the living God really does aid those who call upon him, and therefore we pray and mean to pray, not because we are so fascinated by prayer that for its own sake we would continue in it if it proved to be mere folly and superstition, as vain philosophers assert; but because we really, indeed, and of a truth, find it to be a practical and effectual means of obtaining help from God in the hour of need. There can be no reason for praying if there be no expectation of the Lord's answering. Who would make a conscience of pleading with the winds, or find a solace in supplicating the waves? The mercy seat is a mockery if there be no hearing nor answering. David, as the following verses show, believed the Lord to be a living and potent God, and indeed to be "God alone", and it was on that account that he resolved in every hour of trouble to call upon him.

 

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 7.

  1. Help needed.
  2. Help sought.
  3. Help found. -- G.R.

Verse 7.

  1. A time to be expected -- "day of my trouble".
  2. A resolve to be practised -- "I will call upon thee."
  3. A result to be experienced -- "thou wilt answer me".

Verse 7. -- Prayer is the design of trouble, the evidence that it is sanctified, its solace, and the medium of deliverance from it. --William Jay.



Back to Index                                                               Next Verse