Friday, December 11, 2015

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.  Psalms 121:3-5

A great practical difficulty is to find a "keeper" who will remain awake during the whole night.  The weariness of those who keep a faithful watch, and their longing for day during the tedious lonely hours of darkness, is alluded to in a graphic and beautiful figure of the Psalmist.....The usual method adopted to secure due vigilance is to require the man to call out loudly, or to blow a whistle, every quarter of an hour.....Yet, notwithstanding all precautions, as soon as sleep falls on the tired camp, it is too often the case that the hireling keeper lies down on the ground, wraps around him his thick abaiyeh, or cloak, and, careless of his charge, or overcome with weariness, yields himself up to his drowsy propensities.  Viewed in the
light of these facts, how full of condescension and cheer is the assurance of God's never-ceasing care.....
                                                                                                                 James Neil

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