“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread. I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down. But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations. You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come. Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise, when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.” (v4,7,9-10,12-13,18-22,25-28)
This Psalm subtitled “A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord” has some interesting aspects to it.
Lament for the author – the unknown author cries out to God, for he is afflicted. His descriptions are of his physical condition, yet I can’t help but think there are spiritual/emotional root causes for his condition: “I forget to eat my bread”, “I lie awake”, “I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink” sound like very emotional symptoms (though lying awake could be physical too).
Praise for God’s character – despite the author stating God exhibited “indignation and anger” toward him, he still praises God for several aspects of His character: “You will arise and have pity on Zion”, “the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners”, “They will perish, but you will remain”, “they will pass away, but you are the same”, “The children of your servants shall dwell secure”.
Praise for God’s works – the author also mentions some of God’s works that make Him worthy of praise: “to set free those who were doomed to die”, “For the Lord builds up Zion”, “you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands”.
At this point we may be wondering “okay, so how does this apply to us today?” Well, I take this as an encouragement to praise the Lord always. No matter what my circumstances, whether healthy or ill, rich or poor, happy or sad, short or tall, thick or thin, persecuted or free, I am to praise the Lord.
Jeremiah gives us a great example: “Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.” (Jer 20:13) How is that a great example when it sounds like an average “praise God” verse? Well, it’s immediately followed by these verses: “Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, ‘A son is born to you,’ making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?” (Jer 20:14-18).
Wait a minute, Jeremiah praises God one second, then wishes he had died before he was born? Did he really say that? Yes, it’s in the Bible. But why? Well, Jeremiah was undergoing intense persecution, so he was probably angry and depressed. Yet, despite him cursing his own birth, he manages to praise God. Now that takes some courage and faithfulness.
Not only do we learn faithfulness and perseverance by praising God in the worst of times, we also lift our spirits. What I mean is, it’s hard to remain angry/depressed when we’re making a joyful noise unto the Lord. Praising God can help naturally increase our hope and raise us out of despair, without us even realizing it. Now that should not be the motivation for praising God, praise should simply come from recognizing God is worthy of praise, but raising our spirits can certainly be a hidden blessing from praising Him.
Father God, honor, praise and glory be to You, O Lord of heaven and earth. Thank you for reminding us to “praise you in the storm”, as well as in the calm. Father thank you for being gracious with us and still loving us even when we think ill of ourselves or You. Would You please remind us of who You are even when we’re not thinking clearly, so we may return to praise more quickly. Father please help guard our minds against depression and unrighteous anger, so they will not cloud the truth of who You are, and who we are when rooted in You. May we love You and love ourselves with the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training