The Exhaustion of Pity
Luke 5:16-17
And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.…


The spirit is never so exhausted as when it is exhausted by being pitiful. For weariness of bone and muscle nature is very generous; rest for that may be found anywhere; the tree will do for shelter, and the stone for a pillow. Weariness of brain is harder to lay aside, and weariness of heart harder still. Brain and limb fail when the heart's power is gone. Jesus needed the day for work and the night for rest. The spirit must rest and be refreshed by spirit; we are revived again, and often brought to a lively hope through the ministry of life's friendships, and have been created anew by the consciousness of being understood. Christ had been understood neither when He spake nor acted, but had been wholly when He prayed. We, too, have need of a place apart where we may be refreshed from the presence of the Lord.

(J. Ogmore Davies.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

WEB: But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.




Solitude Necessary
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