One of the most interesting things about the Psalms is that most of them are not purely praise. The average person, if asked what the Psalms are, would probably think that they are songs of praise to God. The Psalms are compositions of praise to God - but they are more than that. They are songs that were sung to God on a myriad of occasions involving just about every kind of emotion and situation. Psalm 9 is one of the psalms that fit this kind of description. It begins with praise to God, but then quickly turns to how God has delivered the psalmist from past situations of peril and danger - then does another turn to a prayer for God’s future deliverance. Let’s take a closer look at a Psalm that should give us great confidence in our God as the One who has delivered us - and who will deliver us because of His great mercy and compassion. I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. David begins with four “I will” statements that open this song to God. This should remind us that a true heart of worship is not an emotional thing - it is a choice. We are to choose to thank God. We are to choose to tell of all God’s wonders. We are to choose to be glad and exult in God. We are to choose to sing praise to the name of God Most High. These are not options for us - to be entered into when we feel like it. They are to be regular choices for the child of God who recognizes that Jehovah is worthy to be praised at any time and in any circumstance. David begins with giving thanks to Jehovah. Often thanksgiving for God’s blessings is a good way to start when we worship Him. Psalm 100 reminds us to enter His gates with thanksgiving - and then enter His courts with praise. Taking a few moments to consider what God has done should be enough to fill our minds with all the ways we should thank God. Take for instance the ground upon which you walk, or the air you are currently breathing. Who is responsible for that? God is, for He created it all. Then remind yourself that according to Psalm 139 you were knit together in your mother’s womb by His hand and formed by His mighty power. If this is not enough remind yourself that you’ve eaten food - or enjoyed a sunset - been amazed at the stars in the sky - or enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Yep - all by His hand and because of His provision. Then think of grander things like your salvation by His grace. The provision of righteousness through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that has been gifted to you by God. Consider that you have a Bible in your hand or your home - something that has only existed since the printing press - and even then was often opposed and would result in punishment by an anti-God government (by the way there are still governments all over the globe who continue to see the Scriptures as dangerous - and as contraband). All these things are reasons to thank God. David also gives a qualifier in his thanks to God. It is with all his heart. This is not an exercise in “having” to say thank you to God - like you may have had to thank someone as a child being prompted by good parents. This should be an overflow of our hearts as we consider the riches of God’s kindness, goodness, and love. David’s next step is to tell of all God’s wonders. There are the wonders of His creation - which scientists will continue to examine and will never exhaust. There are the wonders of the heavens - stars, planets, solar systems, galaxies, asteroids, supernovas, and the wonders of a universe we can’t even measure yet. There are the wonders of the human body - for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. There are the wonders of this earth with its array of animals and plants - which we have not fully catalogued. There is the wonder of God’s mighty works and the miracles He has wrought among all the peoples of the earth. And if this is not enough - there is the infinite wonder of His person and attributes. He is holy. He is good, He is kind. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is to be feared. He is to be loved. He is to be gazed at with infinite wonder and amazement. And the list could go on as infinitely and eternally as both time and space could ever offer. Oh the wonders of His plans and purposes that could blow our minds. The wonder of a God who can know the heart of every person - their every word before it comes out of their mouth - and the motive that is behind their every action and attitude. Truly God is a God of wonders and how we should think on them and praise Him for them. David’s third choice is to be glad and exult in God. The word glad is the Hebrew word “samah” which means to rejoice, be joyful, to be glad, even to gloat over how God is the ultimate. The word has the idea of a state of happy and agitated rejoicing. What a fascinating concept that is to consider. We are to be glad in God! We are to choose to rejoice and be joyful - to be glad and to gloat over all other things (other stuff, other false gods, other worldviews, and even other reasons to be happy and glad). We are to choose to be in a state of agitation - but not agitated toward anger or resentment or frustration. No! There should be an agitation of our minds and thoughts to where we are almost over stimulated to rejoice and be happy in God and His plans and purposes for us. There is a second word used here, “exult.” The word is “alats” or “alas” which means to be jubilant in rejoicing. Strongs Concordance says that the word means, “to jump for joy, be joyful and rejoice.” Seeing these two words reminds me that praise and worship is a choice - and when we consider God’s deliverance both past and future - we should jump for joy in a gladness based in God’s infinite goodness and superiority over all things. The fourth and final “I will” David employs is that he chooses to sing praise to the name of the Most High. There is a single word for the phrase “sing praise” in the Hebrew. It is the word “zamar” which means to play an instrument or to sing with musical accompaniment to God using instruments like a harp, lyre, tambourine, cymbals, and even loud cymbals. The sound of singing to God with musical accompaniment on instruments is not only spoken of in the Psalms, it is commanded in many of them. The content of such songs is to praise the name of the Most High. The word “name” has the idea not just of any name, but that of a famous name. It is a name that when heard touts the fame of the one mentioned. Here it is the name of Elyon - the most High. The word indicates not just one who is high - but the very highest of all. The musical song praises Jehovah’s famous name - and sings of how He is highest of all - with none greater and all infinitely inferior to Him. David certainly kicks off this song of praise in high gear. Yet don’t mistake his words for a mere emotional outburst that lasts only as long as the music in the service keeps playing. What David is very clear about here is that whether he is in high spirits or feeling lower than a snake belly in a wagon rut - he chooses to praise God. This is a WILLFUL thing - not just an emotional one. Thus we can learn from him that any time is a good time to “I will” some praise to God. It is a choice we are to make - and make no mistake about it - we will not regret making that choice.
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There are times in life when we feel that the entire world is coming apart at the seams. There are times when those who were close to us may betray us and walk away - times when nothing seems stable. David experienced those times when his son led a rebellion against Him and even sought to hunt him down and kill him. Absalom had declared himself king and the majority of Israel had been led astray to follow after him. He had fomented discontent in the hearts of the people making them think David was no longer accessible to them. David had to flee the palace and leave Jerusalem. It is interesting to note that songs come to us not just in the "good" moments of our lives, but also in times of distress. Country music and the blues do not have a corner on music written in times of trouble, difficulty, sadness, and even depression. David sang to the Lord - in good times and in bad. So what did David do when faced with very distressing times? That is what we learn in Psalm 3 as we listen to him sing this song in the midst of betrayal and dire trouble. David was facing a very real problem. Thus as he begins this troublesome song he begins by facing the problem. He did not seek to hide from it or deny that it existed. "O Lord how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me! Many are saying of my soul, 'There is no deliverance for Him in God!'" The statement among these three that troubled David most was the third. No deliverance for me - not even from God? Could it be true? Could it be that this was a sign that God was finished with David? Could it be that the sins of David's past had come home to visit him for the last time? Was God saying through His providence in all this that He was casting David off - that he need not even call out to God - that the last of his deliverances was used up - and now all that remained was his pitiful demise? This is one of the most deadly things we face in times like David faced. God is through with you! There is no more deliverance for you from Him. Your sins have risen too high and this stroke of bad fortune is proof of it! There is nothing left for you - you are beyond His mercies or His grace! Oh what a pitiful and horrible place to think you have come to in life. That was the talk that surrounded David in these hours that seemed like days. The truly troubling thing to David in these moments was that he might have believed them. He had failed in the Bathsheba incident. He had blown it when he did not deal with the rape of his own relative, who happened to be Absalom's daughter. He failed to act with strength when Absalom took matters into his own hands and killed his brother, the crown prince, for his actions. Then David flip-flopped in his dealings with Absalom, banishing him - then having him return - then not seeing him - then receiving him after Joab interceded for him. It was quite a mess - and maybe that mess is what led God to allow this. Maybe there wasn't any grace or mercy left for David's failures. Those are hard moments for us too. Moments when all our failures are before us - and we begin to wonder if the whispers in our spirit are accurate. There is no deliverance for us in God. He is sick to death of us and all our multitudinous mistakes, blown moments, and failures. We know we would be sick - and indeed are sick of ourselves. Our number of Romans 7 moments mounting up even as we consider praying in our current mess. These are very dangerous moments for us. They can be moments of incredible despair - and moments when we give up hope - giving up the one thing we truly need, which is the ability to turn to God, crying out to Him for mercy and grace in our time of need. What should we do in moments like this? Where can we turn and how do we get to the point of turning? Moses was told by none other than God Himself what Jehovah's true character is. In Exodus 34 after one of Israel's greatest sins, the making and worshipping of the golden calf, God revealed Himself to Moses as He re-wrote the 10 commandments on new stone tablets. This is what God said to him. "Jehovah, Jehovah God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin . . . " What a glorious revelation of Himself God made. I must also state that in the rest of that verse God also promises to not leave the guilty unpunished. But remember this - He had not consumed Israel in His wrath and judgment. If ever there was a moment to let His wrath fly, that was it! Consume all of them in a moment! There would be no deliverance for them in God - they had sinned - they had blown it again and again through the wilderness! You have got to be kidding to even ask for mercy and grace! Yet - there it is - again - and again - and again . . . mercy . . . compassion . . . forgiveness of iniquity, transgression, sin. Moses turned to God in the worst of situations . . . and in the worst of situations God revealed Himself merciful and compassionate and forgiving. The day would come when the wrath and judgment for sin would fall. But not today. Not on David, even in this moment that reminded him of every failure and every blown opportunity. That judgment would fall . . . on a different One. God Himself - in the person of the Son - would pay the price - WOULD take the fall - the ultimate fall. But today . . . the failures of today . . . the problems, difficulties, horrors of sin's past . . . they would receive mercy - compassion - forgiveness. What a God - indeed - what an amazing God! Where are you - troubled saint of God? Has the rising tide of your past failures come to the point of attempting to drown you today? Have you struggled to keep your head above them, all the while hearing whispers in your spiritual ears that there is no deliverance for you in God this time? Oh, precious saint of God - know that even in this moment your wisest choice is to turn to God - crying out to Him in the midst of your troubles. The One Who showed that His lovingkindnesses indeed never cease is near to the broken-hearted. The One Who revealed that His marvelous compassions never fail will hear your call. Amidst the deafening whispers of the wicked one David still heard the still, small blowing of the Holy Spirit. It was that voice that reminded him that even in Israel's horrific moment of "golden calf" sinfulness and failure that God showed His glory to a broken-hearted Moses who cried out to Him. It was in that most horrible of spiritual devastations that God revealed Himself by His endless mercy and grace. Don't listen to the wicked whispers, most precious ones of God. Listen to the glorious roar of God's gentle breeze - to the precious blowing of the Holy Spirit as He speaks of the "praise of the glory of His grace" to you. It is the song that has comforted the spiritual failures of every generation since the fall of man. It is the song that continues to emanate from the very throne of God - through the blood-stained cross of Calvary. Listen, saints, listen! Can you hear it? |
Pastor John LawrencePsalms for Life . . . God moved on several people to write the Psalms. This is a book of songs and poems written by people who were seeking to be devoted to God as they walked though their lives. This is a collection of songs and poems that express the true, wonderful, and often raw emotions that we have as we journey through life with God. I hope you will be blessed and encouraged as you read. But more than that I hope that these expositions and writings will help you to seek Him in the midst of the life you live in this world. It will be at times comforting and encouraging, while at others it will be challenging and awkward. Regardless of where you find yourself on this spectrum as you read, it will be a reminder that God invites us into His presence to truly walk with Him, know Him, and at times, pour out emotions of joy, sorrow, frustration, anger, and everything else you can imagine. He not only invites you to do this - He delights in it too! Hope you enjoy your journey! Archives
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