April 16

1 The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;

2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;

3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah

4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.

5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our sinners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.

6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

9 Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

In this Psalm a happy people plead for a beloved sovereign, and with loving hearts cry to Jehovah, "God save the King."

"It needs but a moment's reflection to perceive that this hymn of prayer is prophetical of our Lord Jesus, and is the cry of the ancient church on behalf of her Lord, as she sees Him in vision enduring a great fight of afflictions on her behalf. The militant people of God, with the great Captain of salvation at their head, may still in earnest plead that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in His hand."—C. H. Spurgeon.

"The scene presented in this place to the eye of faith is deeply affecting. Here is the Messiah pouring out His heart in prayer in the day of His trouble; His spouse overhears His agonizing groans; she is moved with the tenderest sympathy towards Him; she mingles her prayers with His; she entrants that He may be supported and defended."—Hamilton Verschoyle.

And so still to-day we may pray for Him. We can pray for Him in His members. And thus is fulfilled what is written in Psalm lxxii. 15.

"A sweeter wish, or a more consolatory prayer for a child of sorrow was never uttered by man, 'The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.' And who is there of the sons of men to whom a 'day of trouble' does not come, whose path is not darkened at times, or with whom is it unclouded sunshine from the cradle to the grave? 'Few plants,' says old Jacomb, 'have both the morning and the evening sun;' and one far older than he said, 'Man is born to trouble.' A 'day of trouble,' then, is the heritage of every child of Adam. How sweet, as I have said, how sweet the wish, 'The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.' It is the prayer of another in behalf of some troubled one, and yet it implies that the troubled one himself had also prayed, 'The Lord hear thee'— hear and answer thine own prayer!'—Barton Boucher.

Closet Promise.—Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you—John xvi. 23.

While I tread ble's weary path, Give me faith, O Lord, to see In the trials that surround me Naught but Thee.

Give me strength, O Lord, to lighten The burdens of the weak around, And to tell the peace to others I have found.

When I reach the valley dark, Give me eyes, O Lord, to see

In that awful, awful darkness Round me—Thee.

When I touch the gloomy river, Hold me that I cannot sink; Hold me, Lord, that I may see Thee On the brink.

Take me to the "many mansions" That Thou hast prepared for me; There I would abide forever, Lord, with Thee! —Selected.