Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
The verse is David's wish to escape his distress by wandering far off and remaining in the wilderness. It is a longing to flee far away from overwhelming sorrow and from storm in search of rest. The psalm around it confronts human wickedness and God's just anger against sin. It holds together deserved punishment and the call for justice against persistent, incorrigible wrongdoers with God's mercy and loving-kindness.
The same words belong prophetically to Christ's inward experience in His struggles with the enemy, opening what He felt in those life-and-death trials. There He is seen brought very low in humiliation as man's substitute, taking human weaknesses, infirmities and sins upon Himself. Bearing Jacob's sins so fully as to feel Himself as the worm Jacob, He pours out His soul in agony for God's help while pleading God's promises concerning Jacob, revealing the greatness of His sacrifice.
Flight from troubling people and circumstances expresses desire for relief, not the way to find true rest. The picture remains that of the weary saint desiring relief from trials and hardship, while the promised rest for God's people urges pressing on. That longing also points to the hope of rest from toil and care in heaven, which is near and awaits those who overcome.
The verse is David's wish to escape his distress by wandering far off and remaining in the wilderness. It is a longing to flee far away from overwhelming sorrow and from storm in search of rest. The psalm around it confronts human wickedness and God's just anger against sin. It holds together deserved punishment and the call for justice against persistent, incorrigible wrongdoers with God's mercy and loving-kindness.
The same words belong prophetically to Christ's inward experience in His struggles with the enemy, opening what He felt in those life-and-death trials. There He is seen brought very low in humiliation as man's substitute, taking human weaknesses, infirmities and sins upon Himself. Bearing Jacob's sins so fully as to feel Himself as the worm Jacob, He pours out His soul in agony for God's help while pleading God's promises concerning Jacob, revealing the greatness of His sacrifice.
Flight from troubling people and circumstances expresses desire for relief, not the way to find true rest. The picture remains that of the weary saint desiring relief from trials and hardship, while the promised rest for God's people urges pressing on. That longing also points to the hope of rest from toil and care in heaven, which is near and awaits those who overcome.