Favor of the Lord

who wants to hit the site and look at them.

This one is broken up in like five different sections.

So I think what I'll do is just read through those sections.

It's just a couple verses at a time.

Just share a little bit and go through it that way.

This is a psalm that on the heading in my Bible,

it says that it was sung at the dedication of the temple.

It was one that David wrote before he dedicated his house.

So when we read over it, you'll kind of get the feel of it.

It's like a lament, but a Thanksgiving lament

because he's already gone through some trials and now he's through them.

So he's remembering those tough times, but then he's also praising God.

And now that he's looking to dedicate his house,

he's praising God for what God's brought him through.

He's praising God for how he's been blessed.

And so that kind of winds up with him dedicating his house.

And you can see how it would be fitting to also be sung at the dedication of the temple.

So I think both of those work out.

Verse one,

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

O Lord, my God, I cry to you for help and you have healed me.

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from shield.

You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

So this first section,

David is just rehearsing what God has done for him

and how he was delivered.

He doesn't give any detail as to what he's going through.

We just see that there were enemies that were against him.

And God didn't allow him to be overcome.

David cries out for help and God heals him.

He doesn't let him go down into Sheol,

which whether it was from affliction, sickness,

or what the enemies were doing to him at the time,

God didn't allow David to die.

And so he wasn't put down to the grave or down into the pit,

what verse three is talking about.

And then the next section is David is praising God

and he's calling others to do the same.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints.

Verse four,

and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

So here we see that there are times of anger,

at least David is talking about that.

And we can see it where we can offend God, right?

We can disappoint him.

He can be angry at things that we do,

but he doesn't stay there.

He's a God of love

and he is quick to forgive and be at peace with us.

We're able to have that peace because of Christ,

but he's not like an angry father

who doesn't want to forgive.

He's slow to anger.

He's also quick to forgive and to embrace,

which is a blessing.

And then verse six,

this is talking about,

let me read it first,

verses six and seven.

As for me,

I said in my prosperity,

I shall never be moved.

By your favor,

oh Lord,

you made my mountain stand strong.

You hid your face.

I was dismayed.

Here David is talking about

how in his prosperity,

he gets overconfident

and he just makes assumptions,

assumptions like things are going great,

they're always going to be great.

But we know that that's not true.

So whether it was because he thought

that early in his life,

he had had a bunch of trials,

so maybe he already got his portion of trials

and now the rest of his life will be good.

Or he just was enjoying the good times and forgot.

But here he makes reference to the fact

that he was taking that for granted

and the Lord hid his face

and that was a surprise to David.

And then as we move down to verses eight, nine, and ten,

to you, oh Lord, I cry

and to the Lord I plead for mercy.

What profit is there in my death

if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

Hear, oh Lord, and be merciful to me.

Oh Lord, be my helper.

So these are our prayers and complaints,

some of them are complaints,

that David is recalling to us

while he was going through this time.

And I think this is helpful,

at least it is for me,

I think it is for everyone else as well,

to realize that there is complaining

that isn't necessarily bad

in situations that we go to,

or go through.

But the important thing to remember

is that we're not complaining about God,

but we're complaining about the situation

that we're in.

You know, you can easily see,

depending on what you're going through,

David saying, God, I trust you,

but this isn't fair.

Why is this happening?

You know, I need you to save me from this.

What am I supposed to do with this?

You know, you can,

depending on how deep your trial is,

there could be a lot of pain

and crying out in those type of questions.

And that couldn't be,

those can sound like complaining,

and I think that's fair.

I think David is saying that those,

those we can ask the Lord,

he's saying, what profit is there in my death?

Lord, if I go down to the pit,

I can't praise you.

If I'm, if I'm dirt,

dirt can't do anything to bless you.

So I think in those times,

that's, that's right and good.

It's, it's working through those

as we trust God,

and we're asking him for help.

At the same time,

we're struggling with what it's for.

That that's just part of,

that's just part of our trial,

how we walk through it.

And then the ending,

verse 11 and 12,

is just describing where

he finds himself currently.

You have turned,

you have turned for me

my mourning into dancing.

You have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness.

That my glory may sing your praise

and not be silent.

O Lord my God,

I will give thanks to you forever.

So we see how God is,

or how David has walked through this,

this trial,

and we get to see

how he is praising the Lord

for what he's given.

So it just reminded me of,

as we look at other Psalms,

where they're more like real laments,

where he's, you know,

just deep in distress,

how we still get in that cycle

where we, we praise God,

and we pray to God.

We bring our petitions to him,

and then we trust God.

And then it just keeps going back

in the circle,

because it's through that

where we get strengthened

from talking to the Lord.

I was thinking about it on the way,

you know,

as people who are not saved

go to therapy,

or they're told to talk to somebody.

Like, there's something soothing

in talking to someone else

about your problems.

Where it falls short

is that they're talking to someone

or wanting to put trust in someone

where there, there is no trust.

There's no, there's no real solution,

right?

There's not someone

that can actually solve their problems

that they're struggling with.

So they feel better

for a little while.

It's just not something

that's lasting.

So we're able to have that

with, with God

and with other Christians

because the Spirit

speaks through them

the same way

He speaks through us.

And that's where we can

get encouraged

and strengthened

even through times of trial.

So, that's another good psalm

to go through

as you're struggling

through different things.

Just to take a couple verses

and see how David, like,

worked them over

in his own life

and then how he applied it.