We Will Praise Him More and More
It’s difficult to nail down the exact situation of this Psalm. We don’t know who wrote the Psalm, when it was written, from where it was written. And yet, what we do know is enough to get a good sense of what it was that was going on.
For starters, the writer of this Psalm is not young. Did you catch that? Look at verse 9,
“Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.”
Or, verse 17,
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me.”
He’s not young. In fact, he’s grown old, and not only that, but he’s grown old in such a way, that he feels it. He notices it. He recognizes he is not the man he used to be in regard to his physical abilities. He’s grown old, and, in his own words, his strength is spent.
We also know that this old, worn man, has enemies. Verse 4,
“Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.”
Verse 10,
“For my enemies speak concerning me, those who watch for my life consult together.”
He’s got enemies, his enemies want him dead, but unlike himself, his enemies don’t seem to have shown any sign of slowing down. For the words on their mouths are not, “My strength is spent” but, verse 11, “Pursue…seize.” The Psalmist is the wounded and worn out prey in this picture, his enemies are the vicious lions in the thicket.
Significance
It’s not a promising situation if you’re the Psalmist here, right? His enemies in the background, full of vigor, himself in the foreground, wore out and weak. Do you get a sense for just how defenseless he would have appeared before his enemies? Do you get a feel for just how threatening his enemies would have appeared before him? But there’s yet another layer to this whole thing that we need to recognize. An aspect of this situation that incites this entire Psalm, gives this thing weight, significance, a sense of consequence, like whatever happens to this man has massive relevance for a far larger group of people, on the outside as they look in. What is it? What is that aspect that adds surprising weight to a situation from a few millennia ago between an unknown Psalmist and his unknown enemies in an unknown location?
It’s not that his enemies noticed that this man’s movements have slowed a bit and concluded, “He’s weak.” It’s not that his enemies have caught a glimpse of his tired, wrinkle eyes and concluded, “He’s worn out.”
But, it’s that while at other times his enemies might have seen him in his strength and health and concluded, “Look at his power, his vitality, his prosperity, his position in society – surely that means his God is with him. If his God is with him, we’re not going to try and take him down.” But now when they see him wrung out, now when they observe him exhausted, now when speak concerning him and consult together they conclude, “surely what his current state of weakness means is that his God has left him.” Verse 11,
“God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.”
You see the significance here? Their conclusion takes in the poor, fatigued, outward appearance of this man and goes upward. Goes vertical. Concludes “If a man looks like that, the only reasonable explanation is that his God has left him.” You get that? Circumstantial decline equals spiritual destitution — that’s their logic.
Do you see the kind of bearing this might have on you, me, someone looking in on this and thinking, “Well my circumstances look an awful lot like his. In fact, mine might be even worse. I’ve lost my strength. I’ve lost my energy. I’ve lost my ability. Physically speaking, I am a shell of who I used to be.” If it’s true that his situation signals God left him. What should I conclude when I look in the mirror and see much of the same? You see the significance? Should God’s people conclude God has left them if they’re experiencing decline? I mean, anyone here ever experience a season of physical decline? I mean, my goodness!
So, the way his enemies are looking upon this man, concluding his poor physical situation a sign of spiritual desertion by God, is what it means to be seen as a portent. See verse 7,
“I have been as a portent to many.”
That’s not a word we often use, but put simply, a portent is a sign. A sign, given by God, to signal attention (Blinking red light - Hey, look here, look here! See, by the look of this thing, or the look of this person, an outward picture of my inward disposition toward that person, or that nation he’s a part of). As an example, the Egyptian plagues were portents – signs of God’s judgment of Egypt (Exodus 7:3). The prophet Isaiah served as a portent – a sign of God’s judgment against Egypt and Cush (Isaiah 20:3). The prophet Ezekiel served as a portent – a sign of God’s judgment against Israel (Ezekiel 12:6). In all three cases we know they are portents, we don’t need to guess at it or wonder, because God says it explicitly and it is recorded for us in his word.
Well that’s what this Psalmist’s enemies are saying. Without a word from the Lord, they are saying, “This is a man forsaken by God.” And note, it may not be they were the only ones thinking that. Again, verse 7, “I have been as a portent to many.”
Maybe friend or foe alike were drawing that conclusion about him. I mean, would it have been the first time a group of people concluded their friend cursed by God simply because of their disastrous circumstances? Think of Job and the conclusions his friends drew upon seeing him.
Response
So, zooming out for a moment. Worn, tired man – wicked, cruel enemies – conclusions arising about having been forsaken by God. It doesn’t look good for the Psalmist does it? And yet, that is the reality he is faced with. And there are a number of ways he could have choosen to respond.
He could have gone into denial, “I don’t need a refuge.”
He could have gone into despondency, “I’m a gonner. What’s the use of seeking refuge?”
He could have puffed himself up in pride, “I can take them. I am my own refuge.”
He could have put his trust in man, “I’ll call on people more powerful than they – they’ll be my refuge.”
Well, he didn’t do any of those things. But what he did do was set his sights on the only refuge that he – in all the many years of his long life – had ever known. Verse 1,
“In you, O LORD, do I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame.”
He goes to God for refuge, and that movement of his toward God for refuge is what we’re going to look at for the remainder of this sermon. His movement toward God as refuge, in which, first, he calls out to God. Second, he recalls the character of God. Third, he draws a conclusion concerning God and his care for his people. Call to God, character of God, conclusion concerning God and his care for his people.
Call to God
First, the Psalmist calls to God. And let’s just recognize for a moment just how hard it can be to even do just that in situations as sad as these. I mean you’ve been there, right? Wore out with tears, weighed down by sorrow, you want to call out to God but the words just seem to get stuck in your throat, you know? As if it’s the most challenging task in all the world to get your mouth to even whisper, “God, help.” It makes it all the more amazing, and instructive, to note that God gives the Psalmist the grace, in this moment, to not only call out to God, but do so over and over again. He says,
Verse 1,
“Let me never be put to shame”
Verse 2,
“deliver me, Rescue me, Incline your ear to me, save me”
Verse 3,
“Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may continually come”
Verse 4,
“Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked.”
Verse 9,
“Do not cast me off, forsake me not”
Verse 12,
“Be not far from me, make haste to help me”
Verse 18,
“do not forsake me”
The Psalmist calls out to God.
Character of God
As he calls to his God, he recalls the character of his God.
That he is faithful. Verse 22,
“I will also praise you…for your faithfulness, O my God.”
That he is Holy. Verse 22,
“I will sing praises to you…O Holy one of Israel”
That he protects his people. Verse 3,
“You are my rock and my fortress.”
Verse 7,
“You are my strong refuge”
That he sustains his people. Verse 6,
“Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; You are he who took me from my mother’s womb.”
More than anything else, over and over again, he says God is righteous.
Verse 2,
“In your righteousness deliver me”
Verse 15,
“My mouth will tell of your righteous acts”
Verse 16,
“I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone”
Verse 19,
“Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens”
Verse 24,
“My tongue will talk of your righteous help”
See the reason he knows his cry doesn’t fall on deaf ears. The reason he knows not one of his words are not spoken in vain is because he knows something about his God that his enemies don’t. Namely, that though friend or companion may spurn you, though neighbor or co-worker may turn on you, though brother, or sister, or mother, or father may say to you, “Good riddance, I’m gone!” God won’t. If you are truly his, God will not forsake you because God is not like man. Untainted by sin, untouched by evil, unlimited in energy, awareness, and presence He is the only infinitely reliable rock and fortress for mankind. It is upon his character that the Psalmist rests his weary soul.
Conclusion For All Who Seek Refuge In God
So he calls out to God. As he does, he recalls the character of God. And lastly, he draws a conclusion concerning God and his care for his people. And he does so in a really unique way. He draws a conclusion concerning God and his care for his people by connecting it to his own praising of God. Said another way, he cites his praising of God as the key to understanding God’s care for his people. Now how does this work?
Does he reason, the way God cares for his people is conditioned upon whether or not they praise him in return? That’s the key. That’s the connection. Like the Psalmist is saying here, “God, I will praise you in return for you saving me.” Is that how the Psalmist wants us to understand the way God cares for his people?
Well it can’t be, because there’s nothing conditional about words like:
Verse 6,
“My praise is continually of you.”
Verse 8,
“My mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all the day”
Verse 14,
“I will praise you yet more and more.”
Verse 22-23,
“I will praise you with the harp, praise you with the lyre, shout for joy to you with my lips… and sing praises to you”
It’s not conditional, it is certain. This man is going to praise God.
Is it because he reasons, the way God cares for his people is based upon whether or not they earn his favor? That’s the key. That’s the connection. Like, “God, you should save me because I’ve praised you. I’ve always praised. Why, just listen, I’m praising you even now.”
Well it can’t be because nothing is said in this entire Psalm about the Psalmist being deserving of anything. Instead, this Psalm is overwhelmingly focused on God’s righteousness, God’s goodness, not this man’s.
So if he’s not trying to make a deal by offering to praise him, if he’s not trying to earn something from God by praising him, what then is the connection between his praise of God and God’s care for his people? What is this Psalmist wanting us to see about God’s care for his people given that he says,
“I will praise him more and more?”
Indicator
Well, what he’s wanting us to see is that his praising of God is a sign. An indicator. A proof — God is his strong refuge. God is his mighty fortress. He is, in fact, God’s man, loved by him, not forsaken but held tight to his chest.
His enemies have a plan to take him out. His enemies conclude God has left him. God has forsaken him. The Psalmist says, You want to know how God cares for his people? Listen to their praising of him!
The Psalmist’s continued praising of God is the sign, the indicator, God is still faithful. The words of the Psalmist, the song on his lips, the praise that flows out from his mouth show that God is still faithful.
See it as he reflects upon his past, verses 5-6,
“Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.”
See how his praise follows God’s faithfulness? Even more clear, Verse 17,
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.”
See how his praise confirms God’s continued faithfulness?
Now look to the future and consider his enemies are saying, “that God has forsaken him.” Like, “You want to know how God really cares for his people? Well, he doesn’t. When they get old, when they get weary, when they fall down, it’s means God has left him. He is the kind of God who forsakes his people. Just look at this man.”
Well, if they were right in that conclusion, and they ended up carrying out their plan of pursuing him and seizing him, what would you expect to hear from the Psalmist then?
Nothing.
No more words, no more praise, the blinking indicator of God’s faithfulness, the sign of God’s care – snuffed out!
Is that what in fact we see in this Psalm? Is that what we in fact hear? Note the connection between God’s faithfulness and his peoples’ praise of him. It’s here, starting in verse 20, that we see it most clearly,
“You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. 24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt.”
See, you will revive me, and disappoint them. You will bring me up, and put them to shame. You will comfort me, and scorn them, and after you do so, then like the roar of thunder follows the flash of lightning so will my praise of you follow your rescue of me. You see it?
The Psalmist is arguing, “Where’s the evidence, where’s the indicator that God cares for his people? Brother, sister, hear it in my song!
And, brothers and sisters hear it in our song as well, for
“What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Application
You know, a few days ago we were gathered with our community group in our living room, singing. And as it does every other Wednesday night, the sound of our sound spills out into the neighborhood. This last Wednesday, it was the sound of the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” You got to wonder, what are my neighbors thinking when they hear, every other Wednesday night, 15, 20, 25 adults gathered together, singing? What do they think when these words fall upon their ear:
“Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee,”
What do they think when they hear us sing those words?
How about those who live within a few blocks of this building? Has a single Sunday morning gone by in the last two, three years that they have not heard 400, 500 voices together singing out,
“Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not, as thou hast been, thou forever will be.”
What do they think when they hear us sing those words?
Oh God make it so that when they hear your people sing in homes, in churches, when they hear your people sing aloud of your righteousness and your faithfulness and your holiness, may it be that they can manage no other thought than, “They’re right.” Their God is righteous. Their God is faithful. Their God is holy. Their God has not forsaken them, their God has not let them be put to shame, their God has brought them up from the depths, again! Their God cares for his people – I can hear it in their song.
Hear the Song Yourself
And, brothers and sisters, may the same be said of us when we come here, Sunday after Sunday,
Following the shattering of a relationship we thought would never break, following the sudden and shocking loss of a job we were counting on always having, following the diagnosis we always feared, following the phone call we never wanted to receive, following the season of life we never wanted, never asked for, and don’t see any way out of.
May it be that when we come here, bearing those kinds of burdens, and we hear songs of God’s praise begin to rise up from the mouths of those gathered round us, may it be that we too think – they’re still right. Our God is still righteous. Our God is still faithful. Our God is still holy. He has not forsaken me, he will not let them be put to shame, he will pull me up from the depths, again!
Yes, may we sing often of the goodness of our God. May we pray, along with the Psalmist, verse 18,
“Lord do not forsake us until we proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
Proclaim it my brothers and sisters. Sing of his righteousness for all to hear.
The Table
Now, part of our weekly proclamation of God’s care for his people involves this table. Did you know that? Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11, quoting Jesus, says that
“as often as we take of this bread, drink of this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
We proclaim that God didn’t spare even his own Son, but rather gave him up for us all, and so – how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (Romans 8:31-32). We proclaim that God promised to send his Son, and that he was faithful to do it. And that this Son, will come again.
And so, if you’re here today and you’ve trusted in Jesus, then we invite you to take and eat with us. If you’ve not put your trust in Jesus, we ask that you’d let the elements pass, and we pray you would, in this moment, put your trust in the God who alone is righteous, and a refuge to which you can continually come.
I’ll invite the pastors to come, let us serve you.