Daily Devotionals
Devotional: February 16th
"Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man." - Psalms 60:11.
There was a poor woman that spent all her living upon physicians. She went everywhere soliciting the help of man, and experimenting upon the capacities of earth. Finally she despaired. The shades of night were gathering around her; she cried unto God, saying, perhaps, " give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man;" then speedily came the Prince of Life, and the mere sweep of his garment imparted what had been so long and vainly sought from man.
Altogether the bitterest element of trouble is the foolish expectation of man’s help, of the world’s consolation. Has man then no power to succor his fellow-man? Does the Bible wish to make us misanthropists? Is the voice of human friendship the voice of a siren? And shall we treat with suspicion and contempt the sympathizing ones who hasten to us at the report of our trouble? Not so. If God notices the cup of cold water, it cannot be that we should slight it. Christ would have the sweet odor of the act performed by Mary, in the house of Simon the leper, diffused through all the world. Far be it from us to repel the kindnesses of any.
Yet consider; - Christ was pleased with Mary’s tribute; but the sorrows of his soul were not stanched by it. He knew what was in the heart of Judas; he knew what Peter was ready to become; he had troubles that human solaces were vain to remove. When Peter was in prison, there were thousands that loved him and would have made all sacrifices to liberate him; but all they could do was to go to God in his behalf. Where, in all the world, is the man that has not had experience of troubles that the help of man was powerless to remove? No one can remove them effectually and permanently, but that Divine being who bore our sins in his own human body on the tree; no one but he who is able to remove our unbelief, our selfishness, our wrong desires, our inordinate affections.
Lord, give thou us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man.
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