Psalm 71:1 “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.”
This Coronavirus that has swept around the world and across our Country and into our community, in addition to sickness and death, is beginning to cause folks to be discouraged, depressed, agitated, afraid, angry, and some are very lonely. As I read Psalm 71 this morning, I thought, “this is how I feel”, so again and again “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice”. And, indeed I began to feel that my God “gave ear unto me”! As I prayed, I became more and more refreshed in spirit, and began to feel even more certain that our “God” will surely do something to relieve us of this plague at a time and manner that pleases Him. In the meantime, we, like the Psalmist, must faithfully continue to cry “unto God with” our “voice”. Like the Psalmist, our human side will pitifully ask, “Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?” (Psalm 71:7-9). Then, the Psalmist prescribes an antidote to those awful feelings of despair. He used it himself and it worked, he “said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. 11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”. That is, as he began to remember how they had endured great tribulations in the past and how the Lord had delivered them; well, the same God reigns today and as He has always done for His people, He will deliver us! In the meantime, lets just keep praying, remembering the great things of our Lord, and talking to each other about the sovereign power of our God and His great love for us. And, I am certain, that as our God led His “people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 71:20), he will lead us through the ravages of this plague and one day we can sit together and rejoice as we recall how our Lord delivered us! Many years ago, I was in the midst of a dreadful trouble, and a dear very wise old Brother put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Brother Stanaland, troubles are like the weather, bad storms come upon us and sometimes cause great damage, but then one day the Lord blesses and the Sun comes out and shines so bright that it drives the troubles away” – he was and is Biblically correct. By the grace and mercy of our God, better days are ahead!!!