The Lord's service commended.
It is so
I. BY SCRIPTURE. (See text.) The one trouble of the psalmist seems to be lest he should not be owned by the Lord as his servant. Hence:
1. He asserts with emphasis, "Truly I am thy servant." Here is not a mere make-believe, as so many professed servants of the Lord are.
2. And he reasserts it. "I am thy servant," not was, or will be, but I am, here and now, this day, thine.
3. And he cites a fact which unanswerably proves his assertion. I am "the son of thine handmaid." Slaves born in the house, home-born of another slave, were regarded as the property of their master, even more than those gained by purchase or taken captive in war. The meaning, therefore, is, "I am thy very own." Thus completely and altogether does the psalmist dedicate himself to God.
4. And he brings forward the mighty motive which had led him thus to do. "Thou hast loosed my bonds." He was speaking, probably, of the bonds of death, from the very gates of which he had been delivered (Psalms 116:8). In his over whelming gratitude for this deliverance, he yields himself entirely to God. What a contrast does the psalmist present to the ordinary run of men! They care nothing for God's service. If they begin it, they soon forsake it; or if perchance they seem to continue in it, with what sloth and slackness is it pursued! But the psalmist feels that no service he can render is too great; his one desire is to be confessed as the servant of the Lord.
II. AND RIGHT REASON ENDORSES THIS COMMENDATION.
1. We cannot escape service of some sort; some lord will have rule over us. Where is one whose rule is righteous and reasonable as is that of the Lord?
2. Has he not all claim? He is our Creator, Preserver, our Redeemer, and daily Benefactor, our heavenly Father.
3. The noblest of mankind have been the first to confess this.
III. So ALSO DOES EXPERIENCE. Who ever repented of having served the Lord too well, or thought he had done so sufficiently? The best of his servants are eager to have all those they love, and all whom they can influence, in his service. It brings here and now such rich recompense of reward, and promises eternal reward by-and-by. Our happiest hours are those spent in serving him. "He has loosed my bends, and I must and will serve him."—S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK