Cast Off or Broken Down – Psalm 60
What valuable lesson is God teaching you?
“O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again” (v. 1).
(The following information is taken from What They Believed by D. James Kennedy.)
President Abraham Lincoln was the most melancholic president the United States has ever had. Ward Lamon, who knew the President very well, said about him, “The melancholy that dripped from him as he walked was due to his want of religious faith.” Mr. Lincoln became almost useless as President when his son died, because he had no hope.
Dr. Francis Vinton, a pastor, who was a friend of the family, visited him and told him, “Your son is alive in Paradise with Christ, and you must not continue . . .” After some reflection, Mr. Lincoln jumped to his feet as he realized and accepted this truth. From that day on, a change began to take place in his life. This change came to a climax on November 19, 1863, when he went to Gettysburg and spoke at that battlefield.
Later, Mr. Lincoln was asked, “Mr. President, do you love Jesus?” After a long pause, he answered, “When I left Springfield, I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus.”
Mr. Lincoln continued to become more spiritually mature. He was going to make a public profession of faith on Easter Sunday morning. Unfortunately, he was shot and died just two days before he could fulfill his plans.
“Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies” (vv. 11, 12).