God Always Cares Psalm 46

God Always Cares

by Charles Spurgeon

What believer does not warm to the words of the 23rd Psalm? Probably the best-known

psalm in the world, Spurgeon leads the reader unerringly into a deeper and clearer

understanding of its great comfort.

The music of Psalm 46 has been ringing in my ears from boyhood days. I don’t mean

the tune we sang, but the majesty and calm-inducing power of the words themselves.

And who better than Spurgeon to open up their meaning and challenge the reader to

“make sure each one of you of your portion in God,” i.e. make sure you have been

reconciled to him?

After the Lord graciously drew me to himself as a sinner needing his free forgiveness in

my teens, it was often my delight to sing in our parish church what was introduced as

the Jubilate Deo, Psalm 100. I wish I had seen Spurgeon’s pithy and helpful comments

earlier!

Psalm 46 makes good reading for those going through any time of trouble, while the

words of Psalm 100 can just as helpfully lead the thoughts and praises of those who

experienced God’s deliverances in the last decade of the twentieth century as surely as

they ever did in Spurgeon’s day.

What Christian family has not read Psalm 121 over the breakfast table before a loved

member of that family set out on a long or difficult journey, or moved into a new phase

of life? Maybe we read it with a lump in our throat! Spurgeon leads us into a deeper

understanding of this wonderful psalm. What firm footing for our steps in our onward

pilgrimage to heaven, the City that has foundations more firm than anything in this fallen

world.

“Keep your eyes upon Jesus

Let nobody else take his place,

So that hour by hour

You may prove his power,

Till at last you have won the great race.”

I recommend this volume to the reader.

LEITH SAMUEL

SOUTHAMPTON

Psalm 46

1 GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains

be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with

the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place

of the tabernacles of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that

right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth

melted.

7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth

the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be

exalted in the earth.

11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

1. “God Is Our Refuge And Strength.” Not our armies, or our fortresses. Israel’s boast is

in Jehovah, the only living and true God. Others vaunt their impregnable castles placed

on inaccessible rocks and secured with gates of iron, but God is a far better refuge from

distress than all these. And when the time comes to carry the war into the enemy’s

territories, the Lord stands his people in better stead than all the valor of legions or the

boasted strength of chariot and horse. Soldiers of the cross, remember this, and count

yourselves safe, and make yourselves strong in God. Forget not the personal

possessive word “our;” make sure, each one of your portion in God, that you may say,

“He is my refuge and strength.” Neither forget the fact that God is our refuge just now, in

the immediate present, as truly as when David penned the word. God alone is our all in

all. All other refuges are refuges of lies; all other strength is weakness, for power

belongeth unto God. But as God is all-sufficient, our defense and might are equal to all

emergencies.

“A very present help in trouble,” or in distresses he has so been found, he has been

tried and proved by his people. He never withdraws himself from his afflicted. He is their

help, truly, effectually, constantly; he is present or near them, close at their side and

ready for their succor, and this is emphasized by the word “every” in our version. He is

more present than friend or relative can be, yea, more nearly present than even the

trouble itself. To all this comfortable truth is added the consideration that his assistance

comes at the needed time. He is not as the swallows that leave us in the winter; he is a

friend in need and a friend indeed. When it is very dark with us, let brave spirits say,

“Come, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm”.

“A fortress firm, and steadfast rock,

Is God in time of danger;

A shield and sword in every shock,

From foe well-known or stranger”.

2. “Therefore.” How fond the psalmist is of therefores! his poetry is no poetic rapture

without reason; it is as logical as a mathematical demonstration. The next words are a

necessary inference from these. “Will not we fear.” With God on our side how irrational

would fear be! Where he is all power is and all love. Why therefore should we quail?

“Though the earth be removed,” though the basis of all visible things should be so

convulsed as to be entirely changed. “And though the mountains be carried into the

midst of the sea;” though the firmest of created objects should fall to headlong ruin and

be submerged in utter destruction. The two phrases set forth the most terrible

commotions within the range of imagination and include the overthrow of dynasties, the

destruction of nations, the ruin of families, the persecutions of the church, the reign of

heresy, and whatever else may at any time try the faith of believers. Let the worst come

to the worst, the child of God should never give way to mistrust. Since God remaineth

faithful there can be no danger to his cause or people. When the elements shall melt

with fervent heat, and the heavens and the earth shall pass away in the last general

conflagration, we shall serenely behold “the wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds,”

for even then our refuge shall preserve us from all evil; our strength shall prepare us for

all good.

3. “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled.” When all things are excited to fury

and reveal their utmost power to disturb, faith smiles serenely. She is not afraid of

noise, nor even of real force. She knows that the Lord stills the raging of the sea and

holds the waves in the hollow of his hand. “Though the mountains shake with the

swelling thereof.” Alps and Andes may tremble, but faith rests on a firmer basis and is

not to be moved by swelling seas. Evil may ferment, wrath may boil, and pride may

foam, but the brave heart of holy confidence trembles not. Great men who are like

mountains may quake for fear in times of great calamity, but the man whose trust is in

God needs never be dismayed.

“Selah.” In the midst of such a hurly-burly the music may well come to a pause, both to

give the singers breath and ourselves time for meditation. We are in no hurry, but can

sit us down and wait while earth dissolves, and mountains rock, and oceans roar. Ours

is not the headlong rashness which passes for courage. We can calmly confront the

danger and meditate upon terror, dwelling on its separate items and united forces. The

pause is not an exclamation of dismay, but merely a rest in music; we do not suspend

our song in alarm, but retune our harps with deliberation amidst the tumult of the storm.

It were well if all of us could say, “Selah,” under tempestuous trials, but alas! too often

we speak in our haste, lay our trembling hands bewildered among the strings, strike the

lyre with a rude crash, and mar the melody of our life-song.

4. There is a river. Divine grace like a smoothly flowing, fertilising, full, and never-failing

river, yields refreshment and consolation to believers. This is the river of the water of

life, of which the church above as well as the church below partakes evermore. It is no

boisterous ocean, but a placid stream. It is not stayed in its course by earthquakes or

crumbling mountains; it follows its serene course without disturbance. Happy are they

who know from their own experience that there is such a river of God.

“The streams whereof” in their various influences, for they are many, “shall make glad

the city of God,” by assuring the citizens that Zion’s Lord will unfailingly supply all their

needs. The streams are not transient like Cherith, nor muddy like the Nile, nor furious

like Kishon, nor treacherous like Job’s deceitful brooks, neither are their waters

“naught” like those of Jericho; they are clear, cool, fresh, abundant, and gladdening.

The great fear of an Eastern city in time of war was lest the water supply should be

cut off during a seige. If that were secured the city could hold out against attacks for

an indefinite period.

In this verse, Jerusalem, which represents the church of God, is described as well

supplied with water, to set forth the fact, that in seasons of trial all-sufficient grace will

be given to enable us to endure unto the end. The church is like a well-ordered city,

surrounded with mighty walls of truth and justice, garrisoned by omnipotence, fairly built

and adorned by infinite wisdom. Its burgesses the saints enjoy high privileges; they

trade with far-off lands, they live in the smile of the King. And as a great river is the very

making and mainstay of a town, so is the broad river of everlasting love and grace their

joy and bliss. The church is peculiarly the “City of God,” of his designing, building,

election, purchasing and indwelling. It is dedicated to his praise and glorified by his

presence.

“The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.” This was the peculiar glory of

Jerusalem, that the Lord within her walls had a place where he peculiarly revealed

himself, and this is the choice privilege of the saints, concerning which we may cry with

wonder, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

To be a temple for the Holy Ghost is the delightful portion of each saint, to be the living

temple for the Lord our God is also the high honor of the church in her corporate

capacity. Our God is here called by a worthy title, indicating his power, majesty,

sublimity, and excellency. And it is worthy of note that under this character he dwells in

the church. We have not a great God in nature and a little God in grace. No, the church

contains as clear and convincing a revelation of God as the works of nature, and even

more amazing in the excellent glory which shines between the cherubim overshadowing

that mercy seat which is the center and gathering place of the people of the living God.

To have the Most High dwelling within her members, is to make the church on earth like

the church in heaven.

5. “God is in the midst of her.” His help is therefore sure and near. Is she besieged, then

he is himself besieged within her, and we may be certain that he will break forth upon

his adversaries. How near is the Lord to the distresses of his saints, since he sojourns

in their midst! Let us take heed that we do not grieve him; let us have such respect to

him as Moses had when he felt the sand of Horeb’s desert to be holy and put off his

shoes from off his feet when the Lord spake from the burning bush.

“She shall not be moved.” How can she be moved unless her enemies move her Lord

also? His presence renders all hope of capturing and demolishing the city utterly

ridiculous. The Lord is in the vessel, and she cannot, therefore, be wrecked. “God shall

help her.” Within her he will furnish rich supplies, and outside her walls he will lay her

foes in heaps like the armies of Sennacherib when the angel went forth and smote

them.

“And that right early.” As soon as the first ray of light proclaims the coming day, at the

turning of the morning God’s right arm shall be outstretched for his people. The Lord is

up betimes. We are slow to meet him, but he is never tardy in helping us. Impatience

complains of divine delays, but in very deed the Lord is not slack concerning his

promise. Man’s haste is often folly, but God’s apparent delays are ever wise. And,

when rightly viewed, are no delays at all. Today the bands of evil may environ the

church of God and threaten her with destruction. But ere long they shall pass away like

the foam on the waters, and the noise of their tumult shall be silent in the grave. The

darkest hour of the night is just before the turning of the morning. And then, even then,

shall the Lord appear as the great ally of his church.

6. “The heathen raged.” The nations were in a furious uproar; they gathered against the

city of the Lord like wolves ravenous for their prey. They foamed and roared and

swelled like a tempestuous sea. “The kingdoms were moved.” A general confusion

seized upon society; the fierce invaders convulsed their own dominions by draining the

population to urge on the war, and they desolated other territories by their devastating

march to Jerusalem. Crowns fell from royal heads, ancient thrones rocked like trees

driven of the tempest, powerful empires fell like pines uprooted by the blast. Everything

was in disorder, and dismay seized on all who knew not the Lord.

“He uttered his voice, the earth melted.” With no other instrumentality than a word the

Lord ruled the storm. He gave forth a voice and stout hearts were dissolved, proud

armies were annihilated, conquering powers were enfeebled. At first the confusion

appeared to be worse confounded when the element of divine power came into view.

The very earth seemed turned to wax, the most solid and substantial of human things

melted like the fat of rams upon the altar. But anon peace followed, the rage of man

subsided, hearts capable of repentance relented, and the implacable were silenced.

How mighty is a word from God! How mighty the Incarnate Word. O that such a word

would come from the excellent glory even now to melt all hearts in love to Jesus and

to end for ever all the persecutions, wars, and rebellions of men!

7. “The Lord of hosts is with us.” This is the reason for all Zion’s security and for the

overthrow of her foes. The Lord rules the angels, the stars, the elements, and all the

hosts of heaven. And the heaven of heavens are under his sway. The armies of men

though they know it not are made to subserve his will. This General of the forces of the

hind, and the Lord High Admiral of the seas is on our side — our august ally. Woe unto

those who fight against him, for they shall fly like smoke before the wind when he gives

the word to scatter them. “The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Immanuel is Jehovah of

Hosts, and Jacob’s God is our high place of defense. When this glad verse is sung to

music worthy of such a jubilate, well may the singers pause and the players wait awhile

to retune their instruments. Here, therefore, fitly stands that solemn, stately, peaceful

note of rest. SELAH.

8. “Come, behold the works of the Lord.” The joyful citizens of Jerusalem are invited to

go forth and view the remains of their enemies, that they may mark the prowess of

Jehovah and the spoil which his right hand hath won for his people. It were well if we

also carefully noted the providential dealings of our covenant God, and were quick to

perceive his hand in the battles of his church. Whenever we read history it should be

with this verse sounding in our ears. We should read the newspaper in the same spirit,

to see how the Head of the Church rules the nations for his people’s good, as Joseph

governed Egypt for the sake of Israel. What desolations he hath made in the earth.” The

destroyers he destroys; the desolators he desolates. How forcible is the verse at this

date! The ruined cities of Assyria, Babylon, Petra, Bashan, Canaan, are our instructors,

and in tables of stone record the doings of the Lord. In every place where his cause and

crown have been disregarded, ruin has surely followed. Sin has been a blight on nations

and left their palaces to lie in heaps. In the days of the writer of this Psalm, there had

probably occurred some memorable interposition of God against his Israel’s foes. And

as he saw their overthrow, he called on his fellow citizens to come forth and attentively

consider the terrible things in righteousness which had been wrought on their behalf.

Dismantled castles and ruined abbeys in our own land stand as memorials of the Lord’s

victories over oppression and superstition. May there soon be more of such desolations.

“Ye gloomy piles, ye tombs of living men,

Ye sepulchres of womanhood, or worse;

Ye refuges of lies, soon may ye fall,

And ‘mid your ruins may the owl, and bat,

And dragon find congenial resting place.”

9. “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth.” His voice quiets the tumult f

war and calls for the silence of peace. However remote and barbarous the tribe, he

awes the people into rest. He crushes the great powers till they cannot provoke strife

again; he gives his people profound repose. “He breaketh the bow.” the sender of

swift-winged death he renders useless. “And cutteth the spear in sunder” — the lance

of the mighty man he shivers. “He burneth the chariot in the fire” — the proud

war-chariot with its death-dealing scythes he commits to the flames. All sorts of

weapons he piles heaps on heaps and utterly destroys them. So was it in Judea in the

days of yore; so shall it be in all lands in eras yet to come. Blessed deed of the Prince

of Peace! When shall it be literally performed? Already the spiritual foes of his people

are despoiled of their power to destroy; but when shall the universal victory of peace be

celebrated, and instruments of wholesale murder be consigned to ignominious

destruction? How glorious will the ultimate victory of Jesus be in the day of his

appearing when every enemy shall lick the dust!

10. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Hold off your hands, ye enemies! Sit down and

wait in patience, ye believers! Acknowledge that Jehovah is God, ye who feel the terrors

of his wrath! Adore him, and him only, ye who partake in the protections of his grace.

Since none can worthily proclaim his nature, let “expressive silence muse his praise.”

The boasts of the ungodly and the timorous forebodings of the saints should certainly

be hushed by a sight of what the Lord has done in past ages.

“I will be exalted among the heathen .” They forget God, they worship idols, but Jehovah

will yet be honored by them. Reader, the prospect of missions are bright, bright as the

promises of God. Let no man’s heart fail him; the solemn declarations of this verse must

be fulfilled. “I will be exalted in the earth,” among all people, whatever may have been

their wickedness or their degradation. Either by terror or love, God will subdue all hearts

to himself. The whole round earth shall yet reflect the light of his majesty. All the more

because of the sin and obstinacy and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace

reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world.

11. “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” It was meet to sing

this twice over. It is a truth of which no believer wearies, it is a fact too often forgotten, it

is a precious privilege which cannot be too often considered. Reader, is the Lord on thy

side? Is Emmanuel, God with us, thy Redeemer? Is there a covenant between thee and

God as between God and Jacob? If so, thrice happy art thou. Show thy joy in holy

song, and in times of trouble play the man by still making music for thy God.

SELAH. Here as before, lift up the heart. Rest in contemplation after praise. Still keep

the soul in tune. It is easier to sing a hymn of praise than to continue in the spirit of

praise, but let it be our aim to maintain the uprising devotion of our grateful hearts, and

so end our song as if we intended it to be continued.

SELAH bids the music rest,

Pause in silence soft and blest;

SELAH bids uplift the strain,

Harps and voices tune again;

SELAH ends the vocal praise,

Still your hearts to God upraise.

Psalm 100

1 MAKE a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto

him, and bless his name.

5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all

generations.

1. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.” This is a repetition of the fourth

verse of Psalm 98. (Psalm 4:98) The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal

subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be

worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts,

and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies. In every land Jehovah’s

goodness is seen; therefore in every land should he be praised. Never will the world be

in its proper condition till with one unanimous shout it adores the only God. O ye

nations, how long will ye blindly reject him? Your golden age will never arrive till ye with

all your hearts revere him.

2. “Serve the Lord with gladness.” “Glad homage pay with awful mirth.” He is our Lord,

and therefore he is to be served; he is our gracious Lord, and therefore to be served

with joy. The invitation to worship here given is not a melancholy one, as though

adoration were a funeral solemnity, but a cheery gladsome exhortation, as though we

were bidden to a marriage feast.

“Come before his presence with singing.” We ought in worship to realize the presence

of God, and by an effort of the mind to approach him. This is an act which must to every

rightly instructed heart be one of great solemnity, but at the same time it must not be

performed in the servility of fear, and therefore we come before him, not with weepings

and wailings, but with psalms and hymns. Singing, as it is a joyful, and at the same time

a devout exercise, should be a constant form of approach to God. The measured,

harmonious, hearty utterance of praise by a congregation of really devout persons is not

merely decorous but delightful, and is a fit anticipation of the worship of heaven where

praise has absorbed prayer and become the sole mode of adoration. How a certain

society of brethren can find it in their hearts to forbid singing in public worship is a riddle

which we cannot solve. We feel inclined to say with Dr. Watts

“Let those refuse to sing

Who never knew our God;

But favorites of the heavenly king

Must speak his praise abroad.”

3. “Know that Lord he is God.”Our worship must be intelligent. We ought to know whom

we worship and why. “Man, know thyself,” is a wise aphorism, yet to know our God is

truer wisdom; and it is very questionable whether a man can know himself until he

knows his God. Jehovah is God in the fullest, most absolute, and most exclusive sense.

He is God alone; to know him in that character and prove our knowledge by obedience,

trust, submission, zeal, and love is an attainment which only grace can bestow. Only

those who practically recognize his Godhead are at all likely to offer acceptable praise.

“It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Shall not the creature reverence its

maker? Some men live as if they made themselves; they call themselves “self-made

men,” and they adore the supposed creators. But Christians recognize the origin of their

being and their well-being, and take no honor to themselves either for being or for being

what they are. Neither in our first or second creation dare we put so much as a finger

upon the glory, for it is the sole right and property of the Almighty. To disclaim honor for

ourselves is as necessary a part of true reverence as to ascribe glory to the Lord. “Non

nobis, domine!” will for ever remain the true believer’s confession. Of late philosophy

has labored hard to prove that all things have been developed from atoms, or have, in

other words, made themselves. If this theory shall ever find believers, there will certainly

remain no reason for accusing the superstitious of credulity, for the amount of credence

necessary to accept this dogma of scepticism is a thousandfold greater than that which

is required even by an absurd belief in winking Madonnas and smiling Bambinos. For

our part, we find it far more easy to believe that the Lord made us than that we were

developed by a long chain of natural selections from floating atoms which fashioned

themselves.

“We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” It is our honor to have been chosen

from all the world besides to be his own people, and our privilege to be therefore guided

by his wisdom, tended by his care, and fed by his bounty. Sheep gather around the

shepherd and look up to him; in the same manner let us gather around the great

Shepherd of mankind. The avowal of our relation to God is in itself praise; when we

recount his goodness we are rendering to him the best adoration; our songs require

none of the inventions of fictions, the bare facts are enough; the simple narration of the

mercies of the Lord is more astonishing than the productions of imagination. That we

are the sheep of his pasture is a plain truth, and at the same time the very essence of

poetry.

4. “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.” To the occurrence of the word thanksgiving in

this place the psalm probably owes its title. In all our public service the rendering of

thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house

with smoke. Expiatory sacrifices are ended, but those of gratitude will never be out of

date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks. Mercy permits

us to enter his gates; let us praise that mercy. What better subject for our thoughts in

God’s own house than the Lord of the house.

“And into his courts with praise.” Into whatever court of the Lord you may enter, let your

admission be the subject of praise. Thanks be to God, the innermost court is now open

to believers, and we enter into that which is within the veil; it is incumbent upon us that

we acknowledge the high privilege by our songs.

“Be thankful unto him.” Let the praise be in your heart as well as on your tongue, and let

it all be for him to whom it all belongs. “And bless his name.” He blessed you, bless him

in return; bless his name, his character, his person. Whatever he does, be sure that you

bless him for it; bless him when he takes away as well as when he gives; bless him as

long as you live, under all circumstances; bless him in all his attributes from whatever

point of view you consider him.

5. “For the Lord is good.” This sums up his character and contains a mass of reasons

for praise. He is good, gracious, kind, bountiful, loving; yea, God is love. He who does

not praise the good is not good himself. The kind of praise inculcated in the psalm, viz.,

that of joy and gladness, is most fitly urged upon us by an argument from the goodness

of God.

“His mercy is everlasting.” God is not mere justice, stern and cold; he has bowels of

compassion and wills not the sinner’s death. Towards his own people mercy is still

more conspicuously displayed; it has been theirs from all eternity and shall be theirs

world without end. Everlasting mercy is a glorious theme for sacred song.

“And his truth endureth to all generations.” No fickle being is he, promising and

forgetting. He has entered into covenant with his people and will never revoke it, nor

alter the thing that has gone out of his lips. As our fathers found him faithful, so will our

sons, and their seed for ever. A changeable God would be a terror to the righteous.

They would have no sure anchorage, and amid a changing world they would be driven

to and fro in perpetual fear of shipwreck. It were well if the truth of divine faithfulness

were more fully remembered by some theologians; it would overturn their belief in the

final fall of believers and teach them a more consolatory system. Our heart leaps for joy

as we bow before One who has never broken his word or changed his purpose.

“As well might he his being quit

As break his promise or forget.”

Resting on his sure word, we feel that joy which is here commanded, and in the strength

of it we come into his presence even now and speak good of his name.

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth be beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s

sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou

anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will

dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

1. “The Lord is my shepherd.” What condescension is this, that the Infinite Lord

assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd! It should be the

subject of grateful admiration that the great God allows himself to be compared to

anything which will set forth his great love and care for his own people. David had

himself been a keeper of sheep and understood both the needs of the sheep and the

many cares of a shepherd. He compares himself to a creature weak, defenseless, and

foolish, and he takes God to be his Provider, Preserver, Director, and, indeed, his

everything.

No man has a right to consider himself the Lord’s sheep unless his nature has been

renewed, for the scriptural description of unconverted men does not picture them as

sheep, but as wolves or goats. A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its

owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought with a great price. It is well to

know, as certainly as David did, that we belong to the Lord.

There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. There is no “if” nor “but,” nor

even “I hope so;” but he says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We must cultivate the spirit

of assured dependence upon our heavenly Father. The sweetest word of the whole is

that monosyllable, “My.” He does not say, “The Lord is the shepherd of the world at

large, and leadeth forth the multitude as his flock,” but ‘“The Lord is my shepherd;” if

he be a Shepherd to no one else, he is a Shepherd to me; he cares for me, watches

over me, and preserves me. The words are in the present tense. Whatever be the

believer’s position, he is even now under the pastoral care of Jehovah.

The next words are a sort of inference from the first statement — they are positive — “I

shall not want.” I might want otherwise, but when the Lord is my Shepherd he is able to

supply my needs, and he is certainly willing to do so, for his heart is full of love, and

therefore “I shall not want.” I shall not lack for temporal things. Does he not feed the

ravens, and cause the lilies to grow? How, then, can he leave his children to starve? I

shall not want for spirituals. I know that his grace will be sufficient for me. Resting in

him he will say to me, “As thy day so shall thy strength be.” I may not possess all that I

wish for, but “I shall not want.” Others, far wealthier and wiser than I, may want, but “I

shall not.” “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall

not want any good thing.”

It is not only “I do not want,” but “I shall not want.” Come what may, if famine should

devastate the land, or calamity destroy the city, “I shall not want.” Old age with its

feebleness shall not bring me any lack, and even death with its gloom shall not find me

destitute. I have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the

bank, not because I have skill and wit with which to win my bread, but because “The

Lord is my shepherd.” The wicked always want, but the righteous never; a sinner’s heart

is far from satisfaction, but a gracious spirit dwells in the palace of content.

2. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”

The Christian life has two elements in it, the contemplative and the active, and both of

these are richly provided for. First, the contemplative. “He maketh me to lie down in

green pastures.”

What are these “‘green pastures” but the Scriptures of truth — always fresh, always

rich, and never exhausted? There is no fear of biting the bare ground where the grass

is long enough for the flock to lie down in it. Sweet and full are the doctrines of the

gospel; fit food for souls, as tender grass is natural nutriment for sheep. When by faith

we are enabled to find rest in the promises, we are like the sheep that lie down in the

midst of the pasture; we find at the same moment both provender and peace, rest and

refreshment, serenity and satisfaction.

But observe: “He maketh me to lie down.” It is the Lord who graciously enables us to

perceive the preciousness of his truth and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be

for the power to appropriate the promises! There are some distracted souls who would

give worlds if they could but do this. They know the blessedness of it, but they cannot

say that this blessedness is theirs. They know the “green pastures”, but they are not

made to “lie down” in them. Those believers who have for years enjoyed a “full

assurance of faith” should greatly bless their gracious God.

The second part of a vigorous Christian’s life consists in gracious activity. We not only

think, but we act. We are not always lying down to feed, but are journeying onward

toward perfection; hence we read, “he leadeth me beside the still waters.” What are

these “still waters” but the influences and graces of his blessed Spirit? His Spirit attends

us in various operations, like waters in the plural — to cleanse, to refresh, to fertilize, to

cherish. They are “still waters,” for the Holy Ghost loves peace and sounds no trumpet

of ostentation in his operations. He may flow into our soul, but not into our neighbor’s,

and therefore our neighbor may not perceive the divine presence; and though the

blessed Spirit may be pouring his floods into one heart, yet he that sitteth next to the

favored one may know nothing of it.

“In sacred silence of the mind

My heaven, and there my God I find.”

Still waters run deep. Nothing more noisy than an empty drum. That silence is golden

indeed in which the Holy Spirit meets with the souls of his saints. Not to raging waves of

strife, but to peaceful streams of holy love does the Spirit of God conduct the chosen

sheep. He is a dove, not an eagle; the dew, not the hurricane. Our Lord leads us beside

these “still waters;” we could not go there of ourselves. We need his guidance; therefore

it is said, “he leadeth me.” He does not drive us. Moses drives us by the law, but Jesus

leads us by his example and the gentle drawings of his love.

3. “He restoreth my soul.” When the soul grows sorrowful he revives it; when it is sinful

he sanctifies it; when it is weak he strengthens it. “He” does it. His ministers could not

do it if he did not. His Word would not avail by itself. “He restoreth my soul.” Are any of

us low in grace? Do we feel that our spirituality is at its lowest ebb? He who turns the

ebb into the flood can soon restore our soul. Pray to him, then, for the blessing

“Restore thou me, thou Shepherd of my soul.”

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The Christian

delights to be obedient, but it is the obedience of love, to which he is constrained by the

example of his Master. “He leadeth me.” The Christian is not obedient to some

commandments and neglectful of others; he does not pick and choose, but yields too

all. Observe, that the plural is used — “the paths of righteousness.” Whatever God may

give us to do we would do it, led by his love.

Some Christians overlook the blessing of sanctification, and yet to a thoroughly

renewed heart this is one of the sweetest gifts of the covenant. If we could be saved

from wrath and yet remain unregenerate, impenitent sinners, we should not be saved as

we desire, for we mainly and chiefly pant to be saved from sin and led in the way of

holiness. All this is done out of pure free grace; “for his name’s sake.” It is to the honor

of our great Shepherd that we should be a holy people, walking in the narrow way of

righteousness. If we be so led and guided we must not fail to adore our heavenly

Shepherd’s care.

4. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for

thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

This unspeakably delightful verse has been sung on many a dying bed and has helped

to make the dark valley bright times out of mind. Every word in it has a wealth of

meaning.

“Yea, though I walk,” as if the believer did not quicken his pace when he came to die,

but still calmly walked with God. To walk indicates the steady advance of a soul which

knows its road, knows its end, resolves to follow the path, feels quite safe, and is

therefore perfectly calm and composed. The dying saint is not in a flurry, he does not

run as though he were alarmed, nor stand still as though he would go no further, he is

not confounded nor ashamed, and therefore keeps to his old pace. Observe that it is not

walking in the valley, but through the valley. We go through the dark tunnel of death and

emerge into the light of immortality. We do not die, we do but sleep to wake in glory.

Death is not the house but the porch, not the goal but the passage to it. The dying

article is called a valley. The storm breaks on the mountain, but the valley is the place of

quietude, and thus full often the last days of the Christian are the most peaceful in his

whole career. The mountain is bleak and bare, but the valley is rich with golden

sheaves, and many a saint has reaped more joy and knowledge when he came to die

than he ever knew while he lived.

And, then, it is not “the valley of death,” but “the valley of the shadow of death,” for

death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains. Some

one has said that when there is a shadow there must be light somewhere, and so there

is. Death stands by the side of the highway in which we have to travel, and the light of

heaven shining upon him throws a shadow across our path. Let us then rejoice that

there is a light beyond. Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man’s

pathway even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword

cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us. Let us not, therefore, be afraid.

“I will fear no evil.” He does not say there shall not be any evil; he had got beyond even

that high assurance and knew that Jesus had put all evil away. But “I will fear no evil;”

as if even his fears, those shadows of evil, were gone for ever. The worst evils of life are

those which do not exist except in our imagination. If we had no troubles but real

troubles, we should not have a tenth part of our present sorrows. We feel a thousand

deaths in fearing one, but the psalmist was cured of the disease of fearing. “I will fear no

evil,” not even the Evil One himself; I will not dread the last enemy. I will look upon him

as a conquered foe, an enemy to be destroyed.

“For’ thou art with me.” This is the joy of the Christian! “Thou art with me.” The little child

out at sea in the storm is not frightened like all the other passengers on board the

vessel. It is asleep in its mother’s bosom; it is enough for it that its mother is with it, and

it should be enough for the believer to know that Christ is with him.

“Thou art with me; I have, in having thee, all that I can crave: I have perfect

comfort and absolute security, for thou art with me.”

“Thy rod and thy staff,” by which thou governest and rulest thy flock, the ensigns of thy

sovereignty and of thy gracious care —”they comfort me.” I will believe that thou

reignest still. The rod of Jesus shall still be over me as the sovereign succor of my soul.

Many persons profess to receive much comfort from the hope that they shall not die.

Certainly there will be some who will be “alive and remain” at the coming of the Lord,

but is there so very much of advantage in such an escape from death as to make it the

object of Christian desire? A wise man might prefer of the two to die, for those who

shall not die, but who “shall be caught up together with the Lord in the air,” will be losers

rather than gainers. They will lose that actual fellowship with Christ in the tomb which

dying saints will have, and we are expressly told they shall have no preference beyond

those who are asleep. Let us be of Paul’s mind when he said that “To die is gain,” and

think of “departing to be with Christ, which is far better.” This twenty-third psalm is not

worn out, and it is as sweet in a believer’s ear now as it was in David’s time, let novelty

hunters say what they will.

5. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”

The good man has his enemies. He would not be like his Lord if he had not. If we were

without enemies we might fear that we were not the friends of God, for the friendship of

the world is enmity to God. Yet see the quietude of the godly man in spite of and in the

sight of his enemies. How refreshing is his calm bravery!

“Thou preparest a table before me.” When a soldier is in the presence of his enemies, if

he eats at all he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight. But observe:

“Thou preparest a table,” just as a servant does when she unfolds the damask cloth and

displays the ornaments of the feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion. Nothing is

hurried; there is no confusion, no disturbance. The enemy is at the door, and yet God

prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect

peace. Oh! the peace which Jehovah gives to his people, even in the midst of the most

trying circumstances!

“Let earth be all in arms abroad,

They dwell in perfect peace.”

“Thou anointest my head with oil.” May we live in the daily enjoyment of this blessing,

receiving a fresh anointing for every day’s duties. Every Christian is a priest, but he

cannot execute the priestly office without unction, and hence we must go day by day to

God the Holy Ghost, that we may have our heads anointed with oil. A priest without oil

misses the chief qualification for this office, and the Christian priest lacks his chief

fitness for service when he is devoid of new grace from on high.

“My cup runneth over.” He had not only enough, a cup full, but more than enough, a cup

which overflowed. A poor man may say this as well as those in higher circumstances.

“What, all this, and Jesus Christ too?” said a poor cottager as she broke a piece of

bread and filled a glass with cold water. Whereas a man may be ever so wealthy, but if

he be discontented his cup cannot run over; it is cracked and leaks. Contentment is the

philosopher’s stone which turns all it touches into gold; happy is he who has found it.

Content is more than a kingdom, it is another word for happiness.

6. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

This is a fact as indisputable as it is encouraging, and therefore a heavenly verily or

“surely” is set as a seal upon it. This sentence may be read, “only goodness and

mercy,” for there shall be unmingled mercy in our history. These twin guardian angels

will aways be with me at my back and my beck. Just as when great princes go abroad

they must not go unattended, so is it with the believer. Goodness and mercy follow him

always — “all the days of his life,” the black days as well as the bright days, the days of

fasting as well as the days of feasting, the dreary days of winter as well as the bright

days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs, and mercy blots out our sins.

“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” “A servant abideth not in the house

for ever, but the son abideth ever.” While I am here I will be a child at home with my

God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into the upper

chamber I shall not change my company, nor even change the house; I shall only go to

dwell in the upper story of the house of the Lord for ever.

May God grant us grace to dwell in the serene atmosphere of this most blessed

Psalm!

Psalm 121

1 I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon they right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth,

and even for evermore.

1. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” It is wise to look

to the strong for strength. Dwellers in the valleys are subject to many disorders for

which there is no cure but a sojourn in the uplands, and it is well when they shake off

their lethargy and resolve upon a climb. Down below they are the prey of marauders,

and to escape from them the surest method is to fly to the strongholds upon the

mountains. Often before the actual ascent the sick and plundered people looked

towards the hills and longed to be upon their summits. The holy man who here sings a

choice sonnet looked away from the slanderers by whom he was tormented to the Lord

who saw all from his high places, and was ready to pour down succor for his injured

servant.

Help comes to saints only from above, they look elsewhere in vain. Let us lift up our

eyes with hope, expectancy, desire, and confidence. Satan will endeavor to keep our

eyes upon our sorrows that we may be disquieted and discouraged; be it ours firmly to

resolve that we will look out and look up, for there is good cheer for the eyes, and they

that lift up their eyes to the eternal hills shall soon have their hearts lifted up also. The

purposes of God; the divine attributes; the immutable promises; the covenant, ordered

in all things and sure; the providence, predestination, and proved faithfulness of the

Lord — these are the hills to which we must lift up our eyes, for from these our help

must come. It is our resolve that we will not be bandaged and blindfolded, but will lift up

our eyes.

Or is the text in the interrogative? Does he ask, “Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills?”

Does he feel that the highest places of the earth can afford him no shelter? Or does he

renounce the idea of recruits hastening to his standard from the hardy mountaineers?

And hence does he again enquire, “Whence cometh my help?” If so, the next verse

answers the question and shows whence all help must come.

2. “My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” What we need is

help — help powerful, efficient, constant. We need a very present help in trouble. What

a mercy that we have it in our God. Our hope is in Jehovah, for our help comes from

him. Help is on the road and will not fail to reach us in due time, for he who sends it to

us was never known to be too late. Jehovah who created all things is equal to every

emergency; heaven and earth are at the disposal of him who made them; therefore let

us be very joyful in our infinite helper. He will sooner destroy heaven and earth than

permit his people to be destroyed, and the perpetual hills themselves shall bow rather

than he shall fail whose ways are everlasting. We are bound to look beyond heaven and

earth to him who made them both. It is vain to trust the creatures; it is wise to trust the

Creator.

3. “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.” Though the paths of life are dangerous and

difficult, yet we shall stand fast, for Jehovah will not permit our feet to slide. And if he

will not suffer it, we shall not suffer it. If our foot will be thus kept, we may be sure that

our head and heart will be preserved also. In the original the words express a wish or

prayer — “May he not suffer thy foot to be moved.” Promised preservation should be

the subject of perpetual prayer, and we may pray believingly, for those who have God

for their keeper shall be safe from all the perils of the way. Among the hills and ravines

of Palestine the literal keeping of the feet is a great mercy, but in the slippery ways of a

tried and afflicted life the boon of upholding is of priceless value, for a single false step

might cause us a fall fraught with awful danger. To stand erect and pursue the even

tenor of our way is a blessing which only God can give, which is worthy of the divine

hand, and worthy also of perennial gratitude. Our feet shall move in progress, but they

shall not be moved to their overthrow.

“He that keepeth thee will not slumber,” — or “thy keeper shall not slumber.” We should

not stand a moment if our keeper were to sleep; we need him by day and by night. Not

a single step can be safely taken except under his guardian eye. This is a choice stanza

in a pilgrim song. God is the convoy and body-guard of his saints. When dangers are

awake around us we are safe, for our Preserver is awake also and will not permit us to

be taken unawares. No fatigue of exhaustion can cast our God into sleep; his watchful

eyes are never closed.

4. “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” The consoling truth

must be repeated. It is too rich to be dismissed in a single line. It were well if we always

imitated the sweet singer and would dwell a little upon a choice doctrine, sucking the

honey from it. What a glorious title is in the Hebrew “The keeper of Israel,” and how

delightful to think that no form of unconsciousness ever steals over him, neither the

deep slumber nor the lighter sleep. He will never suffer the house to be broken up by

the silent thief; he is ever on the watch and speedily perceives every intruder. This is a

subject of wonder, a theme for attentive consideration; therefore the word “Behold” is

set up as a waymark. Israel fell asleep, but his God was awake. Jacob had neither

walls, nor curtains, nor body-guard around him, but the Lord was in that place though

Jacob knew it not, and therefore the defenseless man was safe as in a castle. In after

days he mentioned God under this enchanting name — “The God that led me all my life

long:” Perhaps David alludes to that passage in this expression.

The word “keepeth” is also full of meaning. He keeps us as a rich man keeps his

treasures, as a captain keeps a city with a garrison, as a royal guard keeps his

monarch’s head. If the former verse is in strict accuracy a prayer, this is the answer to it.

It affirms the matter thus, “Lo, he shall not slumber nor sleep — the Keeper of Israel.” It

may also be worthy of mention that in verse three the Lord is spoken of as the personal

keeper of one individual, and here of all those who are in his chosen nation, described

as Israel. Mercy to one saint is the pledge of blessing to them all. Happy are the pilgrims

to whom this psalm is a safe conduct; they may journey all the way to the celestial city

without fear.

5. “The Lord is thy keeper.” Here the preserving One, who had been spoken of by

pronouns in the two previous verses, is distinctly named — Jehovah is thy keeper.

What a mint of meaning lies here. The sentence is a mass of bullion, and when

coined and stamped with the king’s name it will bear all our expenses between our

birthplace on earth and our rest in heaven. Here is a glorious person Jehovah,

assuming a gracious office and fulfilling it in person — Jehovah is thy keeper, in

behalf of a favored individual — thy, and a firm assurance of revelation that it is even

so at this hour — Jehovah is thy keeper. Can we appropriate the divine declaration?

If so, we may journey onward to Jerusalem and know no fear; yea, we may journey

through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil.

“The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.” A shade gives protection from burning heat

and glaring light. We cannot bear too much blessing; even divine goodness, which is a

right-hand dispensation, must be toned down and shaded to suit our infirmity, and this

the Lord will do for us. He will bear a shield before us and guard the right arm with

which we fight the foe. That member which has the most of labor shall have the most of

protection. When a blazing sun pours down its burning beams upon our heads the Lord

Jehovah himself will interpose to shade us, and that in the most honorable manner,

acting as our right-hand attendant and placing us in comfort and safety. “The Lord at

thy right hand shall smite through kings.” How different this from the portion of the

ungodly ones who have Satan standing at their right hand, and of those of whom

Moses said, “their defense has departed from them.” God is as near us as our shadow,

and we are as safe as angels.

6. “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.” None but the Lord

could shelter us from these tremendous forces. These two great lights rule the day and

the night, and under the lordship of both we shall labor or rest in equal safety. Doubtless

there are dangers of the light and of the dark, but in both and from both we shall be

preserved — literally from excessive heat and from baneful chills; mystically from any

injurious effects which might follow from doctrine bright or dim; spiritually from the evils

of prosperity and adversity; eternally from the strain of overpowering glory and from the

pressure of terrible events, such as judgment and the burning of the world. Day and

night make up all time; thus the ever-present protection never ceases. All evil may be

ranked as under the sun or the moon, and if neither of these can smite us we are

indeed secure. God has not made a new sun or a fresh moon for his chosen. They exist

under the same outward circumstances as others, but the power to smite is in their case

removed from temporal agencies; saints are enriched and not injured

by the powers which govern the earth’s condition; to them has the Lord given “the

precious things brought forth by the sun and the precious things put forth by the moon,”

while at the same moment he has removed from them all bale and curse of heat or

damp, of glare or chill.

7. “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil,” or keep thee from all evil. It is a great pity

that our admirable translation did not keep to the word keep all through the psalm, for all

along it is one. God not only keeps his own in all evil times but from all evil influences

and operations, yea, from evils themselves. This is a far-reaching word of covering. It

includes everything and excludes nothing. The wings of Jehovah amply guard his own

from evils great and small, temporary and eternal. There is a most delightful double

personality in this verse. Jehovah keeps the believer, not by agents, but by himself. And

the person protected is definitely pointed out by the word thee. It is not our estate or

name which is shielded, but the proper personal man.

To make this even more intensely real and personal another sentence is added, “The

LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul,”— or Jehovah will

keep thy soul. Soul-keeping is the soul of keeping. If the soul be kept all is kept. The

preservation of the greater includes that of the less so far as it is essential to the main

design. The kernel shall be preserved, and in order thereto the shell shall be preserved

also. God is the sole keeper of the soul. Our soul is kept from the dominion of sin, the

infection of error, the crush of despondency, the puffing up of pride; kept from the world,

the flesh, and the devil; kept for holier and greater things; kept in the love of God; kept

unto the eternal kingdom and glory. What can harm a soul that is kept of the Lord?

8. “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and

even for evermore.” When we go out in the morning to labor, and come home at

eventide to rest, Jehovah shall keep us. When we go out in youth to begin life and

come in at the end to die, we shall experience the same keeping. Our exits and our

entrances are under one protection. Three times have we the phrase, “Jehovah shall

keep,” as if the sacred Trinity thus sealed the word to make it sure. Ought not all our

fears to be slain by such a threefold flight of arrows? What anxiety can survive this

triple promise? This keeping is eternal; continuing from this time forth, even for

evermore. The whole church is thus assured of everlasting security. The final

perseverance of the saints is thus ensured, and the glorious immortality of believers is

guaranteed. Under the aegis of such a promise we may go on pilgrimage without

trembling and venture into battle without dread. None are so safe as those whom God

keeps; none so much in danger as the selfsecure. To goings out and comings in belong

peculiar dangers, since every change of position turns a fresh quarter to the foe, and it

is for these weak points that an especial security is provided. Jehovah will keep the

door when it opens and closes, and this he will perseveringly continue to do so long as

there is left a single man that trusteth in him, as long as a danger survives, and, in fact,

as long as time endures. Glory be unto the Keeper of Israel who is endeared to us

under that title, since our growing sense of weakness makes us feel more deeply than

ever our need of being kept. Over the reader we would breathe a benediction, couched

in the verse of Keble.

“God keep thee safe from harm and sin,

Thy spirit keep; the Lord watch o’er

Thy going out, thy coming in,

From this time, evermore.”

Taken from The C. H. Spurgeon Collection, Version 1.0, Ages Software. Only necessary changes have

been made, such as correcting spelling errors, some punctuation usage, and minimal updating of a few

archaic words. The content is unabridged. Additional Bible-based resources are available at