Spurgeon: January PM
* 01/20/PM
"Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me
in Thy way."
--Psalm 119:37
There are divers kinds of vanity. The cap and bells of the
fool, the mirth of the world, the dance, the lyre, and the cup
of the dissolute, all these men know to be vanities; they wear
upon their forefront their proper name and title. Far more
treacherous are those equally vain things, the cares of this
world and the deceitfulness of riches. A man may follow vanity
as truly in the counting-house as in the theatre. If he be
spending his life in amassing wealth, he passes his days in a
vain show. Unless we follow Christ, and make our God the great
object of life, we only differ in appearance from the most
frivolous. It is clear that there is much need of the first
prayer of our text. "Quicken Thou me in Thy way." The Psalmist
confesses that he is dull, heavy, lumpy, all but dead. Perhaps,
dear reader, you feel the same. We are so sluggish that the best
motives cannot quicken us, apart from the Lord Himself. What!
will not hell quicken me? Shall I think of sinners perishing,
and yet not be awakened? Will not heaven quicken me? Can I think
of the reward that awaiteth the righteous, and yet be cold? Will
not death quicken me? Can I think of dying, and standing before
my God, and yet be slothful in my Master's service? Will not
Christ's love constrain me? Can I think of His dear wounds, can
I sit at the foot of His cross, and not be stirred with fervency
and zeal? It seems so! No mere consideration can quicken us to
zeal, but God Himself must do it, hence the cry, "Quicken Thou
me." The Psalmist breathes out his whole soul in vehement
pleadings: his body and his soul unite in prayer. "Turn away
mine eyes," says the body: "Quicken Thou me," cries the soul.
This is a fit prayer for every day. O Lord, hear it in my case
this night.