Praise in Suffering

Psalm 65, 66, 67, 69 & 70

Ps 65:8 “When morning dawns

And evening fades.

You call forth

Songs of joy.

9 You care for the land & water it;

You enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God

Are filled with water

To provide people with grain

For so you have ordained it. 

Ps 66:3 “How awesome are your deeds…

5 How awesome His works on man’s behalf

9 He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.

12 We went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance.

16 Come and listen,

All you who fear GOD;

Let me tell you

What He has done for me.

17 I cried out to Him with my mouth;

His praise was on my tongue.”

God’s plenty and abundance in a land of milk and honey.  

So many good reasons to sing and give praise and bring thanksgiving. 

So many good days and blessings. 

But that’s not all of life.

And I’m so glad that kind of day also has Psalms written about it.

Psalm 69.

One Psalm of suffering.

And questioning and wondering.

Only Psalm 22 is quoted more frequently in the New Testament (NIV Notes). 

Why a song that questions suffering? 

A prayer begging God to save. 

A prayer in the middle of all these praise songs. 

Rescue me.

Deliver me.

Answer me.

Come near.

Redeem me.  (vs 13 to 18)

Enemies uniting against this writer.

Feeling as if the pit of despair is about to close over his head. (vs 15)

I think we all arrive at this place of being overwhelmed sometimes. 

We all arrive. 

All of us susceptible.

Sometimes we stay here for days, weeks and even months.

This heart break. 

This wrestling with the grip of deep waters.

Troubled seas.

But this cry also, for help. 

Of Hope.

Ps 70:1 “Hasten, O God, to save me;

5 You are my help

And my deliverer

O LORD do not delay.”

Because sooner is always better than later.

But so much happens in the waiting. 

All of these songs.

Songs for life

Words for living.

For living and dying

Celebration and suffering and sorrow.

That David and Asaph

Would take the time

To write words that we read today

Words that fall on the ears

And flow into the soul

Through the eyes

Of people from all walks and various stages of life and living. 

One look around our small and wonderful group

Of women

Of mothers and daughters and sisters and aunts and cousins and nieces.

So many ways we are tied to one another. 

We celebrate and multiply our joys together

We suffer and divide our sorrows and carry them together.

Lighter somehow.

Encouraging each other on.

And just walking. 

Together.

Less alone.

Ps 67:1 “May God be gracious to us

And bless us

And make His face shine upon us.

2 That your ways may be known on earth

Your salvation among all nations. “

Words of Grace shining on us today. 

Peace in our troubles seas.