When a search party led by Ammon arrived from Zarahemla, King Limhi’s hope was reignited. He and his people had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to free themselves from captivity, including going to battle three times and sending a large group of people in search of help. (See Mosiah 21:6-12, 25; Mosiah 8:7-8.) Now, help had come to them, and he was confident that they would find a way to escape. (See Mosiah 7:18.)
After encouraging his people and sharing their story with Ammon, Limhi declared his faith in the form of a psalm:
O how marvelous are the works of the Lord,
and how long doth he suffer with his people;
yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men;
for they will not seek wisdom,
neither do they desire that she should rule over them!Yea, they are as a wild flock which fleeth from the shepherd,
Mosiah 8:20-21
and scattereth,
and are driven,
and are devoured by the beasts of the forest.
Not the happiest of outcomes, but a pretty dramatic contrast between God’s constancy and our fickleness. This is a fitting psalm for a man who saw his people ignore the warnings of the prophet Abinadi and suffer the consequences. In fact, the last part of the psalm appears to be a paraphrase of Abinadi’s final prophecy:
Ye shall be smitten on every hand,
Mosiah 17:17
and shall be driven and scattered to and fro,
even as a wild flock is driven by wild and ferocious beasts.
And the section about wisdom and understanding sounds a lot like Abinadi’s rebuke of King Noah’s priests: “Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise” (Mosiah 12:27).
Limhi’s people did successfully escape their captors. With Ammon’s help, they arrived safely in the land of Zarahemla and were reunited with Mosiah and his people. In contrast, their enemies, who tried to pursue them, “were lost in the wilderness” (Mosiah 22:16).
Today, I will be grateful for God’s goodness and long-suffering. I will strive to find and follow wisdom, and I will stay close to my Shepherd instead of wandering from my place of safety.
Thank you for the reminder
“He may not deliver us when or how we expect. We need be willing to trust His timing and His method.”
I needed this today. It’s easy to get frustrated and to wonder, when we feel Heavenly Father has not responded to our prayers according to our timing.
I’m glad to hear that the post was useful to you. Thanks for letting me know!
I really appreciate the way you pull different thoughts together but especially how you remind us where in scripture we have learned a principle. Thank you!