PSALM CXIX, 60 by G. W. A.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 17, 1861

By G. W. A.

"I MADE haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments."

Dr. Adam Clarke, the great English annotator, has a wonderfully expressive note on this text which may help the minds of some who are "halting between two opinions" on the all-important question of the Sabbath. He says:

“I made haste, and delayed not.] He did this with the utmost speed; and did not trifle with his convictions, nor seek to drown the voice of conscience.

“The original word, which we translate delayed not, is amazingly emphatic—velo hithmahti—‘I did not stand what-what-whating,’ or as we used to express the same, shilly-shallying with myself. I was determined, and so set out. The Hebrew word, as well as the English, strongly marks indecision of mind, positive action being suspended, because the mind is so unfixed as not to be able to make a choice.”

Then according to the Doctor's comments, when the commandments of God rose up before king David's mind he did not stand a "what-what-whating," or dilly-dallying about duty, but set at once about it as soon as he was rationally convinced of what was right. Thus, too, it was with the apostle Paul, when God's broad law like a sledge-hammer came home to his heart. He did not stop to "confer with flesh and blood," he did not query and question about this and that, he was very punctillious about duty, he moved out on the new light like a man, and God made him a giant.

"A word to the wise," etc.

G. W. A.

PSALM CXIX, 60.