The Highway Forums Announcements What's New on The Highway website? "Relief in God Alone" by John Owen

The words of these two first verses declare also the deportment of the soul in the condition that we have described that is, what is it doth and what course it steers for relief. “I have cried unto thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.”

There is in the words a general application for relief is here made, in which is first to be considered, to whom the application is made; and that is, Jehovah. I have cried unto thee, Jehovah. God gave that name to his people to confirm their faith in the stability of his promises. Exod. 3 Being to deal with God about the promises of grace he makes his application to him under this name. I call upon thee, Jehovah.

In the application it may he observed, that he prays that God would cause his ears to be attentive, after the manner of men, who seriously attend to what is spoken to them, when they turn aside from that which they regard not.

Also, the earnestness of the soul in this supplication, which is evident, both from the reduplication of his request, “Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to my voice;” and the emphatical nature of the words he uses, “Let thine ears be (in the Hebrew, diligently) attentive.” The word signifies the most diligent heedfulness and close attention; let thine ears he very attentive, and unto what? “to the voice of my supplication;” generally say interpreters, of my deprecations, or earnest prayers for the averting of evil or punishment. But the word is, to he gracious or merciful; so that it signifies properly supplications for grace. “Be attentive, O Lord, to my supplications for grace and mercy,” which, according to my extreme necessity, I now make unto thee. And in these words the Psalmist sets forth, in general, the frame and working of a gracious soul cast into depths and darkness by sin. We hence derive these two propositions:

First, The only attempt of a sin-entangled soul for relief lies in an application to God alone. “To thee, Jehovah, have I cried; Lord, hear.”

Secondly, Depths of sin-entanglements will excite a gracious soul to intense and earnest supplications unto God. “Lord, hear; Lord, attend.” Dying men do not usually cry out slothfully for relief.