Psalm 146:1-6
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever.
On the anniversary of the death, while studying at the University of Edinburgh, M’Cheyne wrote in his diary, "On this morning last year came the first overwhelming blow to my worldliness; how blessed to me, Thou, O God, only knowest, who hast made it so."
We love to sing his hymns, such as “When this passing world is done”. In his hymns, M’Cheyne shares his personal testimony: “I once was a stranger to grace and to God”; “Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me”.
M’Cheyne was awoken by grace and light from on high, and evinced a remarkable passion for worshipping the Lord and spreading the gospel. He went to be with the Lord when he was only 29 years old. All accounts of his life indicate that he did indeed praise the Lord during these 10 years, singing praises to God while he had his being.
Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,
Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne’er can be lost;
In thee I shall conquer by flood and by field,
My cable, my anchor, my breast-plate and shield!
Reader – if you are saved by God’s grace, you have both permission and reason to burst out into song wherever you are reading this. (If you are on a bus, I am sure your fellow passengers will understand and enjoy the moment!) We do not trust in princes, failing politicians or vain philosophers; rather, we trust in the God of Jacob, the Lord who made heaven and earth. If you are not happy this morning, ask yourself, "where does my trust lie?’’ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help!
