September 14, 2021
Worship in WORD
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14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.
NIV |
Ps 31 14 But I am trusting you, O LORD, saying, “You are my God!” 15 My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. 16 Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996,
2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers. All rights reserved. |
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Ps 31 14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. 15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine
enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.
KJV |
Ps 31
14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 16 Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!
ESV |
I. Hope – vv. 1-8
A. Action – v. 1
B. Appeal – v. 2
C. Acknowledge – vv. 3-4
D.
Abandon – v. 5
E.
Abhor – v. 6
F.
Acclaim! – vv. 7-8
II.
Help! – vv. 9-18
A.
Sorrow – vv. 9-13
1. Soul sickness – vv. 9-10
2. Societal scorn – vv. 11-13
B. Sovereign – vv. 14-18
1.
Surrender – vv. 14-15
2. Shine – v. 16
3.
Shame – v. 17
4.
Silence – v. 18
III. Hail – vv. 19-22
IV. Heart – vv. 23-24
Thought
flow: Hope→Help!→Hail→Heart
In my previous journal entry, I
wrote about the tale of two hands - God’s hand and fallen man’s hand. David had
chosen to yield his life and times into the hand of his faithful LORD. In God’s
firm grip, he knew he was safe. Thus held, he could declare:
For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
Ps 21:7 NIV
This is the same trust, David
professes in verse 14 (I trust in You) and the same unfailing love he
recognizes in verse 16 (“Your unfailing” or “steadfast love”).
If verses 5 and 15 are the
“tale of two hands,” then verse 16 is the “tale of two faces!” In the background is the averted faces of his acquaintances and adversaries (vv.
11-13). In the foreground is the Lord’s face. Thus, in verse 16, David prays:
“Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!” (ESV).
Those familiar with the Old Testament will recognize the echo of the Aaronic
blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26.
24 “ ‘ “The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’
The New International Version. (2011). (Nu 6:24–26). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Kidner comments:
David is seeking for himself (as he did for his companions in 4:6) the familiar blessing of Numbers 6:25, now highly relevant to the dark looks or averted faces (11) which he meets on every side. cf. 84:9, 11; 123:1–4.
Kidner, D. (1973). Psalms 1–72: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 15, p. 150). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
The basic meaning of the
shining of God’s face means presence and favor. I wrote about this in a
previous journal entry and will leave a link for it here.
https://journal4christ.blogspot.com/2016/11/what-does-it-mean-to-seek-his-face.html
David is, in essence, asking
for what is imparted in this High Priestly prayer. He asks God to “show up” and
show favor towards him and deliver him from his enemies. Would not this be a
blessing (“bless you”)? An act of preservation (“keep you”) – though undeserved
(“gracious to you”) – which results in peace (“give you peace”).
Worship
in Witness:
The
Unshakable Ground We Stand on
Why could David, in Psalm 21:7, declare that he would not be
shaken? Was it the fact that his faith
was unshakable? Not at all! It was the “unfailing”
or “steadfast love of the Most High” (Psalm 21:7b). The same love he staked his
deliverance on here in Psalm 31:16. The steadfast, glorious, matchless,
faithful, and compassionate love and mercy of the LORD enabled David to
proclaim this in Psalm 21:7 and was the foundation of his petition in Psalm
31:16.
We may be a person in a
prominent position (David was a King!) or a “nobody” in the sea of humanity. No matter our
circumstances, the “steadfast love” and the love of our steadfast God are the
foundation and ground upon which we can stand unshaken (regardless of our
standing in society). In the shifting tectonic plates of our life, full of
earthquakes and volcanic activity, we hear God declare:
“Though the
mountains be shaken
and the hills
be removed,
yet my
unfailing love [“steadfast love – ESV] for you will not be shaken
nor my
covenant of peace be removed,”
says the
LORD, who has compassion on you
Isaiah 54:10
NIV
Two Thousand years ago, this
“covenant of peace” was made possible on a cross on Golgotha or Calvary hill.
The sinless Savior died for our sins and satisfied the wrath of God. The Father
signified this transaction when He shook the ground, tore the veil that hid
access to the Holy of Holies, and opened access to His presence. Once again,
the ground shook, and the stone was rolled away, revealing the empty tomb.
The
Unshakable Promise We Must Believe
And we have this unshakable
promise from the God who shakes the earth but is Himself unshakable:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Rom 10:9-10 NIV
The author of Hebrews declares that all who do this have come:
“23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Heb 12:23-24 NIV
But to all who have not – and those thinking of turning away – the author of Hebrews warns:
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth [see Exodus 19:18], but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb 12:25-27 NIV
Finally, how are God’s people to respond to all this?
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Heb 12:28–29 NIV
Worship
in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise
From Pieces to Peace
From pieces to peace
From shambles to shalom
May my life increase
By Your hand alone
To Christ from collapse
To doxa from dust
Built not with scraps
Nor things that rust
But with gold, silver, and gem
Upon the firm foundation
Not with things You condemn
Make my life an oblation
— Amen
Steadfast by Sandra McCraken
I will build my house
Whether storm or drought
On the rock that does not move
I will set my hope
In your love, O Lord
And your faithfulness will prove
You are steadfast, steadfast
You are steadfast, steadfast
By the word you spoke
All the starry host
Are called out by name each night
In your watchful care
I will rest secure
As you lead us with your light
You are steadfast, steadfast
You are steadfast, steadfast
I will not trust in the strength of kings
On your promise, I will stand
I will shout for joy; I will raise my voice
Hallelujah to the Lamb!
You are steadfast, steadfast
You are steadfast, steadfast
In the moment of emptiness
All was fulfilled
In the hour of darkness
Your light was revealed
In the presence of death
Your life was affirmed
In the absence of holiness
You are still God
You are steadfast, steadfast
You are steadfast, steadfast
Writer(s):
Joshua David Silverberg, Leslie Anne Jordan, Sandra McCracken
Lyrics: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/joshgarrels/steadfast.html
Video:
https://youtu.be/G5PGwsgYrCs
Further
Notes:
I continue here with another
excerpt is from Lange’s commentary (Phillip Schaff, General Editor). I had
included a part of it in my previous journal entry. However, since it is rather
long, I have divided it into several portions. Here is the third segment.
Homiletical and
Practical
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Bake: Let us believe without guile, live without
guile, die without guile, and so we will please God.
Arndt: All temporal and eternal consolation arises from
this faith and hope, that God is our God.
—Where
faith and love meet together and both depend on God, God cannot refuse us
anything.
Franke: If we had our heart truly given to God, the
world would soon show itself displeased.
Frisch: To know one in trouble is the mark of true
friendship. The pious David boasts this of our God. Make and retain God as your
friend; He knows your soul in trouble. His knowledge is power, consolation and
life.
Tholuck: Great evil serves to awaken in man the
consciousness of sin.
—The faith
of David sees not the number and power of his enemies, but the hand of God
alone, which distributes to men their lots. Thus the believer transacts his
business in his chamber with his God instead of with his enemies; and whilst
they fancy that they are entirely safe, the power of his prayers fights against
them from heaven.
Schaubach: It is so easy to explain the word “trust:” it is
not so difficult to believe that the Almighty God is able to help out of every trouble; but to be sure that the Lord will and wishes to help likewise me and thee in every affliction, in which
we have fallen for the sake of His honor, that will only be learned and
exercised by true and manifold experience.
Taube: How hope does not let a believer’s heart be
ashamed even in the deepest need: 1) it impels to prayer and supports prayer;
2) it hopes even under circumstances where nothing is to be hoped; 3) it is
therefore so gloriously crowned with the assurance of a hearing, that it
praises loudly and extols the wonderful goodness and faithfulness of the Lord.
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From the Word Biblical Commentary, vol.
19 – Ps. 1-50
(e) Concluding words of prayer
(31:16–19). The final prayer has parallels to the opening prayer; the focal
point of the request is once again deliverance from enemies. Whereas the first
prayer had concluded confidently with a statement of commitment into God’s hand
(v 6a), the closing prayer opens with a similarly confident statement; the
psalmist’s future is in God’s “hand” (v 16a), and so he prays to be delivered
from the hand of enemies (v 6b). On the request for God’s face to “shine” (v
17) upon his servant, see Ps
4:7* and Comment.
↓
*6 Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will
bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on
us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.
The New International Version.
(2011). (Ps 4:6–7). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
A
prayer of confidence
(4:7–8). Early in the prayer, the psalmist recalled mentally the words of the
arrogant adversaries (v 3), but now, as his thoughts progress, it is the words
of the pusillanimous doubters which come to mind, the people who say: “Who will
show us good?” And the dubious help of doubters can sometimes be as dangerous
as the arrogant words of enemies! An attack by enemies can be thwarted if the
innocent person has trust in God, but when nagging doubts arise, confidence can
easily be undermined. Enemies are real and all too visible, but is there
anybody who can really help against them? Can God really do any good? And so
the psalmist, as his confidence grows, must not only transcend the attacks of
opponents, but must also overcome the voice of doubt within himself. And he
overcomes it by recalling an ancient blessing, the Blessing of Aaron, which he
had doubtless heard hundreds of times during his participation in worship: “The
Lord will make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord will
lift up his face to you and give you his peace” (Num 6:25–26). In a shortened
form, he makes that blessing his own to quash the uncertainties within him. He
prays for an inner joy which would be greater than those outward manifestations
of joy which characterized his society, the joy and rejoicing which stemmed
from a successful harvest of corn and grapes for new wine. The greatest joy for
which he prayed was not that of a harvest home, but of an awareness of the
light of God’s countenance.
Craigie, P. C. (2004). Psalms 1–50 (2nd ed., Vol. 19, pp.
81–82). Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic.
* NOTE: This is not a
typo. Craigie is following the verse
order in the Hebrew Text and not our English versification. The original Old and
New Testament writings did not contain verses. Consult a Hebrew Interlinear of
the OT. You will often see this one-off situation in the Psalms because the
heading found over some of the Psalms was counted as the first verse in that
Psalm. The English Versions do not follow this method of versification.
