What a cool flow to this Psalm. There are several oft quoted verses in this psalm, but in reading it today, it was particularly cool to see how they all come together to move the psalm from delighting in God’s general revelation (vs 1-6) to delighting in God’s special revelation (vs 7-10) to responding in obedience (vs 11-14). Watch how this unfolds…

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (vs 1). The psalmist looks around him and sees the majesty of the Creator reflected in creation. Commonly referred to as “general revelation” because everyone in the world can has access to it, God reveals his greatness in both the skies above and in all the earth.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple… They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (vs 7, 10). The psalmist moves from his reflection on creation to rejoicing in the law of the Lord. Most of us look at the laws, statues and precepts as constricting and binding. Not the psalmist. He sees the glory of God reflected here even more pointedly than just in creation. This is called special revelation because not everyone has equal access to God’s law and God’s written word must be specifically revealed to people.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (vs 14). Upon reflecting on God’s glory as revealed in creation and in God’s law, the psalmist is moved to obedience. The message of creation and the message of the Scriptures are consonant with one another in their call to obedience. And the psalmist joyfully responds.

Before he was the king, David was a refugee on the run. His success in leading the military against Israel’s enemies made him the enemy of Israel’s king. Saul was jealous at his success, at his reception from the people, and at his status as blessed of God. So David ran for his life.

The same one who delivered Israel from the giant, Goliath, needed a deliverer of his own. So he called upon the name of the Lord, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (vs 6).

Yet here is the lesson for so many of us. When, in our despair, we “cry to my God for help,” and he is faithful to respond (as he always is), how will we respond? Most of us, if we even remember, say “thanks” and move on. Not David. He stops and meditates on God’s provision and on his deliverance. He remembers the goodness of YHWH, and he is drawn into worship.

Consider these verses…

• “I love you, O Lord, my strength” (vs 1)
• “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (vs 2)
• “I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise” (vs 3)
• “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light” (vs 28)
• “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” (vs31)
• “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” (vs 46)

David recognizes that his deliverance is from the Lord as he declares, “You have delivered me…” (vs 43). And he responds in worship. When your enemies crowd in around you and despair threatens to overtake you, how will you respond?

“Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer -
it does not rise from deceitful lips
May my vindication come from you:
may your eyes see what is right.

Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.
As for the deeds of men -
by the word of your lips
I have kept myself
from the ways of the violent.
My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
Psalm 17:1-5

Notice how many times in just these five verses the psalmist makes reference to what comes out of his mouth? “My righteous plea” – “It does not rise from deceitful lips” – “My mouth will not sin” For the psalmist, purity in speech and word are equal to having a pure heart (vs 3) and walking in obedience (vs 5). James, in his epistle, echos that sentiment when he wrote, “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check” (James 3:2). For many of us, the first step to walking in holiness before God is to tame our tongues.

But the psalmist does not stop by declaring that the words of his lips have been righteous. He also declares the very source of his obedience. “By the words of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent” (vs 4). It is by the Word of God that the psalmist guards his own words. That is just as true for us today as it was for the psalmist. Yet we have experienced the Word of God in a more powerful way than the psalmist ever imagined. We have the Word of God become flesh in Jesus Christ. “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). Our lips, our actions and our hearts will be declared righteous as we hold to the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

I’m sure there are many who thought I had abandoned my journaling of the Psalms. Actually, I have been consumed by the Psalms as I just finished writing a paper. In the paper, I conducted a literary analysis of Psalms 42-43. The two psalms were handled together because they were, originally, a single song. This can be seen in the progress of the psalm and the repitition of the same chorus to conclude each stanza. Here are a few thoughts on Psalms 42-43…

1) The song is compromised of three stanzas, each ending with the same chorus.
2) Each stanza progresses the storyline of the psalmist and with each occurence of the chorus, the emphasis changes.
3) The psalmist wrote this when in exile with David after fleeing Absalom, yet longing to be in the sanctuary where he might experience God’s presence. (this was a conclusion in my paper).
Each of these thoughts set up the power of the psalm.

Stanza 1 – Desperation
The psalmist is anguished that he is separated from the sanctuary and longs to be there that he might experience the presence of God. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Ps. 42:1). This is not a “Oh, it would be nice to have a drink” type of thirst. This was a “I’m gonna die of thirst if I don’t get something to drink” type of thirst. He was desperate to be restored to the presence of God.

Stanza 2 – Depressed and Downcast
The psalmist is still separated from the presence of God. Yet now it is not just desperation, but depression that besets him. He is saddened that God has “forgotten me” (Ps. 42:9). His enemies come upon him and he is not with God. And he is depressed.

Stanza 3 – Depedence leading to Delight
As the song moves to the thirst stanza, Psalm 43, the psalmist is begins to trust in God. He declares, “Send forth yur light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell” (Ps. 43:3). He is still longing to be in God’s presence, but he declares his dependence on God, believing that God will leading him safely into his presence. The psalmist continues, “Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight” (Ps. 43:4). Upon demonstration of dependence, the psalmist is moved to delight in God.

The Message for Us
Something has changed since the time of the psalmist to our time. Jesus has come bringing the very presence of God to us. No longer is God’s presence confined to the sanctuary. Rather, the curtain has been torn and we all have access to the throne of grace by way of the cross of Christ. Thus, Jesus says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). The psalmist ached to be in the presence of God. Let us delight that, because of Christ, God is with us.

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My whole paper on Psalms 42 and 43 is available here – Structure and Meaning in Psalms 42 and 43

Life is really hard. Somehow, most of us, when we came to Christ, didn’t realize just how hard it would be. We heard Jesus’ victorious words, “I have overcome the world,” but we never told the words that proceed them, “In this world you will have struggles” (John 16:33).

The problem is that we have an over-realized eschatology. That is, one day there will be no more tears or pain or sorrows. But not yet. The new earth will be full of perfect joy. But not this present one. This present one will pass away, as Romans 8 tells us, “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (8:21). All of creation longs for that day when all things will be made new and evil will be destroyed forever. But this present earth, still enslaved because of humanity’s sin, is marked by heartache and suffering. And, here is what really scares us, there are times where God feels so distant. We often wonder if God is not listening to our cries for help because He is so slow to act.

Which brings us to Psalm 77. In this psalm, Asaph is crying out in distress to the Lord. But he gets no answer. Asaph feels as if God has rejected him and abandoned him. He reached out to God and found nothing. That is the deepest fear of my heart. I have given my whole life to the service of God. What could be worse than at the moment of my greatest need to be left alone?

But how does Asaph respond to his unrequited prayer? This is the lesson for me. Verse 11 declares, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord.” He moves from his own story to God’s story. The story of the redemption and re-creation of humanity as the image of God for the glory of God. He remembers God’s faithfulness in the past and clings to the promise of God’s ongoing faithfulness.
When I think I’ve arrived as a Christian, expecting no more pain and hurt, I, like Asaph, wonder what happened to my God. Where did he go? Why isn’t he doing anything? But I’m not there yet. I’m not at the destination, I’m still on the journey. And while on this journey, I will place my story within God’s knowing that his faithfulness will endure forever.

What a welcome change of pace in the Psalms. Agony, anguish, sorrow and heartache dominate many of the psalms we have seen so far. But here David is sitting at the feet of his Lord, encompassed in his gracious love. His delight is in his God.

“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (vs 9-11).

Not only will he reap the benefits and blessings of God’s right hand (“sure I have a delightful inheritance” and “with eternal pleasures at your right hand”). He will have those (and he knows it), but they are not the psalmist’s obsession. It is the One who gives those blessings. Listen to these phrases throughout the psalm.

“Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge” (16:1) - he honors God for keeping him safe.

“You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (16:2) – he knows all the good things he has received are intended to point him to the gift-giver.

“You have made my lot secure” (16:5) – his safety and security are from God.

“I will praise the Lord who counsels me” (16:7) – even his wisdom comes from the Lord and for that he praises YHWH.

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (16:8) – again, he knows he is safe and his foundation is sure because the Lord is with him.

David knows that in YHWH is his safety. In YHWH is the path that leads to life (16:11). In YHWH he trusts that he will not be abandoned to the grave (16:10).

He has received the blessings of God’s right hand. But all of those blessings are intended for one end: to point to the Giver of those blessings. I wonder in my own life, how many of the good things I have received have I attributed to my own hard work or that I deserved it or earned it or even to dumb luck? When there, right before, is the Lord, with his arms of grace open before me. Though I take the gifts, do I ever lift my eyes to the see the face of him who gives them?