Many a believer during periods of trial has breathed the words of the Psalmist, "My

times are in Thy hand" (Psa. 31: 15), and we are sure that the slightest movement

towards a more implicit trust in the Lord will always received His encouragement. Yet,

like many other oft-quoted passages of Scripture, there is a qualifying context, and our

knowledge of this will make the committal all the more real and wonderful.

We observe first that the words "My times are in Thy hand" refer to the external

circumstances of life rather than to the more fundamental inner realities. We have a very

clear expansion of what these "times" involve in the first eight verses of Eccles. 3::

Here, in a series of fourteen pairs of opposite facts, we have a summing-up of our

"times". These "times", says the Psalmist to the Lord, "are in Thy hand"--all my

outgoings and incomings, all the movements of daily life. If we know anything of the

Word, however, we shall also realize that it is impossible for any man to commit his

whole life to the Lord unless his heart and soul go with it. If we look back to verse 5 of

the same Psalm we shall find that this thought has already been expressed:

Here we have the inner aspect of the matter. Before we can truly say "My times (that

is, the externals of life) are in Thy hand" we must also be able to say: "Into Thine hand I

commit my spirit."

If the reader will refer to verse 15 he will see that the phrase "My times are in Thy

hand" is followed by a reference to deliverance "from the hand of his enemies".

Following the reference to the "spirit" in verse 5, on the other hand, we have the words:

"Thou hast redeemed me." The two references, to the "hand" of the Lord, and the "hand"

of the enemy, are suggestive, and further study reveals the following arrangement:

Let us by all means, and with all our heart, say unto the Lord, "My times are in Thy

hand", but let us also commit our spirit to Him too.