“You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come. For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.” Psalm 102:13–14
A selfish man in trouble is exceedingly hard to comfort, because the springs of his comfort lie entirely within himself, and when he is sad all his springs are dry. But a large-hearted man full of Christian philanthropy has other springs from which to supply himself with comfort beside those which lie within. He can go to his God first of all, and there find abundant help. And he can discover arguments for consolation in things relating to the world at large, to his country, and, above all, to the church. David in this Psalm was exceedingly sorrowful. He wrote, “I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places; I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.” The only way in which he could comfort himself was in the reflection that God would arise and have mercy upon Zion. Though he was sad, yet Zion should prosper. However low his own estate, yet Zion should arise.
Christian man! Learn to comfort yourself in God’s gracious dealing toward the church. That which is so dear to your Master, should it not be dear above all else to you? What though your way be dark, can you not gladden your heart with the triumphs of his cross and the spread of his truth? Our own personal troubles are forgotten while we look, not only upon what God has done and is doing for Zion, but on the glorious things he will yet do for his church. Try this receipt, O believer, whenever you are sad of heart and in heaviness of spirit: forget yourself and your little concerns, and seek the welfare and prosperity of Zion. When you bend your knee in prayer to God, do not limit your petition to the narrow circle of your own life, tried though it be, but send out your longing prayers for the church’s prosperity, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” and your own soul shall be refreshed.
Adapted from Morning and Evening.
