Spurgeon: September PM
* 09/22/PM
"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock that is
higher than I."
--Psalm 61:2
Most of us know what it is to be overwhelmed in heart;
emptied as when a man wipeth a dish and turneth it upside down;
submerged and thrown on our beam ends like a vessel mastered by
the storm. Discoveries of inward corruption will do this, if the
Lord permits the great deep of our depravity to become troubled
and cast up mire and dirt. Disappointments and heart-breaks will
do this when billow after billow rolls over us, and we are like
a broken shell hurled to and fro by the surf. Blessed be God, at
such seasons we are not without an all-sufficient solace, our
God is the harbour of weather-beaten sails, the hospice of
forlorn pilgrims. Higher than we are is He, His mercy higher
than our sins, His love higher than our thoughts. It is pitiful
to see men putting their trust in something lower than
themselves; but our confidence is fixed upon an exceeding high
and glorious Lord. A Rock He is since He changes not, and a high
Rock, because the tempests which overwhelm us roll far beneath
at His feet; He is not disturbed by them, but rules them at His
will. If we get under the shelter of this lofty Rock we may
defy the hurricane; all is calm under the lee of that towering
cliff. Alas! such is the confusion in which the troubled mind is
often cast, that we need piloting to this divine shelter. Hence
the prayer of the text. O Lord, our God, by Thy Holy Spirit,
teach us the way of faith, lead us into Thy rest. The wind blows
us out to sea, the helm answers not to our puny hand; Thou, Thou
alone canst steer us over the bar between yon sunken rocks, safe
into the fair haven. How dependent we are upon Thee--we need
Thee to bring us to Thee. To be wisely directed and steered into
safety and peace is Thy gift, and Thine alone. This night be
pleased to deal well with Thy servants.