June 6

1 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I 3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. 5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows;

thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. 6 Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God for ever: oh prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him 8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

"This Psalm is a pearl. It is little, but precious. To many a mourner it has furnished utterance when the mind could not have devised speech for itself. It was evidently composed by David after he had come to the throne—see verse 6. The second verse leads us to believe that it was written during the psalmist's enforced exile from the tabernacle, which was the visible abode of God; if so, the period of Absalom's rebellion has been most suitably suggested as the date of its authorship, and Delitzsch is correct in entitling it 'Prayer and thanksgiving of an expelled king on his way back to his throne'"—C. H. Spurgeon.

What a consoling thought it is that the Lord at all times hears his people's cries, and is never forgetful of their prayers; whatever else fails to move Him, praying breath is never spent in vain! He hears when the heart is "overwhelmed." David saw the Lord was his refuge, sure and strong; but, alas! he was weak, and could not climb. "So he makes prayer the scaling ladder to get upon that rock and into that tower that otherwise had been too high for him; he gets that safety and deliverance which otherwise but by prayer unto God had been impossible to have been obtained."—Jeremiah Dyke.

Closet Promise.—He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved—Psalm lv. 22.

Rest and be silent! For faithfully listening, Patiently waiting, thine eyes shall behold Pearls in the waters of quietness glistening. Treasures of promise that He shall unfold.

Rest, and be silent, for Jesus is here, Calming and stifling each ripple of fear. —F. R. Havergas.