Today while we were singing this hymn, we touched the spirit of the author. It is a spirit unmatched in power in all the ages. The word presence is parousia in Greek. It refers to the Lord's descending, His manifestation. Although the Lord has not physically come again, we can bring His presence to our midst. This presence will bind us and restrict us; we will not dare be slothful. May all our walk and work be constrained and bound by His presence, and may we not deviate from this pathway in any way.

Before we begin to consider Psalms 140 through 145, I would like to say a word about hymn #960 in our hymnal. As we sing this hymn, our heart is touched and we feel that the Lord is close to us and that we are close to Him. We have the sense not mainly of the Lord's coming or of His being the King but of His nearness and dearness. We also have the feeling that the writer of this hymn was very intimate with the Lord. For instance, the third stanza says, "My heart is always with Himself,/My eyes are heavenward,/My lips would utter nothing else/Than meeting with my Lord./The coming of the Lord draws nigh,/His coming is for me;/His promise ever standeth firm/And soon fulfilled I'll see." The writer addresses the Lord as "my King," an expression that indicates dearness and nearness. The more we sing or read this hymn, the greater is our sense of how dear and near the Lord is to us and we to Him.

This word about Hymns, #960 may help us to appreciate Psalms 140 through 145. These six psalms are not great or important, and they do not have any particular taste. Although these psalms are common, they nevertheless show us one striking thing—that David, the writer, was very close to God. Thus, the sense of nearness to the Lord in these psalms is very similar to the sense in Hymns, #960.