Read
(A psalm by David for the dedication of the temple.)
A Prayer of Thanks
1I will praise you, Lord!
You saved me from the grave
and kept my enemies
from celebrating my death.
2I prayed to you, Lord God,
and you healed me,
3saving me from death
and the grave.
4Your faithful people, Lord,
will praise you with songs
and honor your holy name.
5Your anger lasts a little while,
but your kindness lasts
for a lifetime.
At night we may cry,
but when morning comes
we will celebrate.
6I felt secure and thought,
“I'll never be shaken!”
7You, Lord, were my friend,
and you made me strong
as a mighty mountain.
But when you hid your face,
I was crushed.
8I prayed to you, Lord,
and in my prayer I said,
9“What good will it do you
if I am in the grave?
Once I have turned to dust,
how can I praise you
or tell how loyal you are?
10Have pity, Lord! Help!”
11You have turned my sorrow
into joyful dancing.
No longer am I sad
and wearing sackcloth.
12I thank you from my heart,
and I will never stop
singing your praises,
my Lord and my God.
Reflect
I’ve found it sure feels good when the hurting stops. You have been caught in a cycle of sickness, poor health, maybe even injury and then notice the healing start. Or the employment situation has been less than ideal and then it begins to turn around and you regain your sense of hope for the future. Or a relationship has come undone or become stagnant or maybe somebody close to you has let you down by not living up to your expectations for them, but then things start to change there as well. David knew all of these emotions.
I like when David says to God, “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?” (v 9). I’ve prayed that prayer. I wasn’t sure if it was presumptuous of me at the time but I did think, “How does my misery, my destruction help your cause? Don’t you want me around to praise you?”
Back in the Psalm 42 reading I talked about the “raw honesty” God wants from us when we talk to him. David does that here, but he does it in two ways. He questions God’s discipline on him in this particular situation and hardship with “raw honesty”; but he also praises God and acknowledges the turn around with “raw honesty”, “O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
David was open to God with “raw honesty.” God doesn’t mind hearing our complaints, but he doesn’t mind hearing us praise him either. Be real with God. Really, really, real.
Respond
Faithful God, Father of your people, What good am I to you sunk in a pit or dead? Answer me when I come to you, so my heart may sing to you and not be silent. So when people see me they will say, how great is his/her God.
James Paterson
James works as a visual artist. His current body of work is a series of metal wire sculptures called Prayer Machines which are whimsically ambiguous machine-like objects that give expression to mystery. “I love to share the gospel message, using art as a bridge, to encourage people in their relationship with Jesus.” He and Lynn have four young adult children. Publications Jim’s Grandiose Big Bible Picture Book (Bastian Books ,2007)