This is a psalm of David. All Psalms were part of the liturgy of God’s people but this Psalm makes clear reference to offering of a thank offering to God and fulfilling vows in the presence of God’s people. It starts with a shout for joy: “I love the Lord for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy”.
In this Psalm I’m most struck by the theme of salvation, the movement from death to life and I want to unpack that and who how once again David is a template for Jesus who truly looked death in the face, but who also came through death to new life and gives us true rest in this life and also the promise of perfect rest in the future.
David speaks of God’s salvation as beginning at a single point in time when he experiences a transition from one state (being brought low, entangled with death, sorrowful and stumbling) to another (walking in the land of the living). It’s the transition from death to life - or from being overwhelmed by the fear of death to being freed from that fear and secure in God’s presence. It’s that new state of life that David sees as rest.
But in this life, that rest will still be marred by suffering - as it was in David’s life. I wonder if that’s why David reflects as he does in verse 16: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants” and then speaks of the faith of his mother (likely dead at this point) and likens his faith to hers. For the person who never stops calling on the Lord (v2) and perseveres to the end, death leads to final, perfect rest, walking in the land of the living without any shroud between us and God.
David’s own experience also points to Jesus. Like David (v11), Jesus experienced betrayal. Jesus became entangled in the chords of death and in Gethsemane he was overcome by the anguish of the grave and overwhelmed by sorrow, calling out to his father: “save me!” (v3).
Jesus’ death was precious in God’s sight. But, unlike David, Jesus rose again, in this world, to new life (see Acts 2:29-31), pointing to a future where there will be no more sorrow, no more tears and no more stumbling (Revelation 21:4).
For us, like David, there is the offer of salvation. In Jesus, God responded to our cries for help and turned his ear toward us. In Jesus God entered our world to save us. And like, David, we can find rest for our souls in Jesus, even in the midst of suffering and disappointment.
And like David we can look forward to final rest with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth.
Jesus’ salvation is amazing news. Like David and the people of Israel, let’s make a point of testifying to God’s great rescue in our lives when we meet together publicly.
The rest we find in Jesus is also great news for or friends, family, neighbours, classmates and colleagues. Learn to tell the story of God turning to you in your cries for help and of your salvation and it’s resulting rest in Jesus.
Keep calling on the name of the Lord for all the days of your life, looking forward to that perfect rest with Jesus.
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