The Hart and the Water-Brooks: a practical exposition of the forty-second Psalm.

A Peculiar Experience.

John R. Macduff

"I ask'd the Lord that I might grow

In faith, and love, and every grace;

Might more of His salvation know,

And seek more earnestly His face.

"'Twas He who taught me thus to pray;

And He, I trust, has answer'd prayer,

But it has been in such a way

As almost drove me to despair.

"I hoped that in some favour'd hour

At once He'd answer my request;

And by His love's constraining power,

Subdue my sins and give me rest.

"Instead of this, He made me feel

The hidden evils of my heart;

And let the angry powers of hell

Assault my soul in every part."

—Cowper.

"If we listen to David's harp, we shall hear as many hearse-like harmonies as carols."—Lord Bacon.
"If we be either in outward affliction or in inward distress, we may accommodate to ourselves the melancholy expressions we find here. If not, we must sympathise with those whose case they speak too plainly, and thank God it is not our own case."—Matthew Henry.

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