Psalm 119:114

Verse 114. -- I hope in thy word. Of all the ingredients that sweeten the cup of human life, there is none more rich or powerful than hope. Its absence embitters the sweetest lot; its presence alleviates the deepest woe. Surround me with all the joys which memory can awaken or possession bestow, -- without hope it is not enough. In the absence of hope there is sadness in past and present joys -- sadness in the thought that the past is past, and that the present is passing too. But though you strip me of all the joys the past or the present can confer, if the morrow shineth bright with hope, I am glad amid my woe. Of all the busy motives that stir this teeming earth, hope is the busiest. It is the sweetest balm that soothes our sorrows, the brightest beam that gilds our pleasures. Hope is the noblest offspring, the first born, the last buried child of foreseeing and forecasting man. Without it the unthinking cattle may be content amid present plenty. But without it reflecting man should not, cannot be truly happy. --William Grant (1814-1876), in "Christ our Hope, and other Sermons"

Verse 114-115. -- Thou art my hiding place. "Depart from me, ye evil doers." Safe and quiet in his hiding place, David deprecates all attempts to disturb his peace. The society, therefore, of the ungodly is intolerable to him, and he cannot forbear frowning them from his presence. He had found them to be opposed to his best interests; and he feared their influence in shaking his determination of obedience to his God. Indeed, when have the Lord's people failed to experience such society to be a prevailing hindrance alike to the enjoyment and to the service of God? --Charles Bridges.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 114. -- Our protection from danger -- "hiding-place"; in danger -- "shield"; before danger -- "I hope."

Verse 114. -- Hiding place. Secrecy to conceal us. Capacity to hold us. Safety. Comfort. -- T. Manton.

Verse 114. -- Hiding and hoping.

Verse 114. --

Verse 114. -- Thou art my hiding place.