Main thoughts:
We do not know the background of this Psalm. All we know was that David wrote it for the entire congregation to learn. It appears to be written after God delivers him from one of the many adversities he faced in his life. A significant portion of the psalm is prophetic concerning the coming of the Messiah; how much of the psalm is difficult to tell.
God’s Faithfulness (v.1-3a)
David begins by speaking of how he has had to wait on God. God not only heard his prayer, but God brought about a great deliverance for David. David now sings God’s praises because of what He has done. It is easy to see the resurrection of Jesus Christ in these verses. Jesus willingly suffered and died, waiting until the day God raised Him from the dead. He was raised to the glory and praise of God.
Response of faith (v.3b-4a)
The first possible response to what God has done is seeing, fearing, and trusting. God in His grace shows us what He has done for us in the person of Christ. This is not just hearing the Gospel but seeing God’s hand at work in our world. Through this the Spirit opens our eyes so that we might better grasp who we are and who God is.
This realization should lead to the fear of God. When we see our sinfulness and weakness contrasted with God’s righteousness and power, there should be a natural fear that overcomes us. We can see this with Isaiah in Isaiah 6. We can also see this in Luke 5 when Peter sees the power of Christ. This sight produced fear.
This fear of God then leads to trusting in God. When we see our weakness and sinfulness compared to the holiness and power of God it should move us to reject ourselves and trust in Him. This is the path of salvation. The Law is preached. The Spirit of God brings conviction of sin which is the fear of God. This leads us to confess our sins trusting in the finished work of Jesus. This man is truly blessed by God.
Response of pride (v.4)
When God opens our eyes to see what He has done we can also respond in pride. We fear man more than we fear God. However, notice that the one who rejects Christ does so out of a fear of the proud. Not only has he turned to pride, but he only cares about what the proud think of him. A mark of pride is devaluing certain people. We judge them to be unworthy of us. In the same vein, our pride can lead us to be more concerned about what certain people think of us instead of what God says.
This pride forces us to lie. We have seen the truth, yet our pride refuses to accept it. The only alternative left is lying. We do not just lie to others, but we lie primarily to ourselves. We must lie to ourselves because the alternative is unthinkable to an arrogant person; instead of acknowledging our wrong we lie to ourselves that we did not actually do wrong. Instead of confession of sin, we cover our sin by lying.
The joy of faith (v.5)
The one who responds to God through faith has many reasons to praise God. He can freely praise God because he is not trying to win the approval of man. Like David dancing before the ark, the man who fears God can freely praise Him. The believer sees more and more all that God has done for him; he realizes that he will never be able to praise God enough for all that He has done.
Application:
How are you responding to what God is doing in your life?
Do you fear God?
Are you concerned with what certain people think of you?
Are you able to confess your sin?
Are you lying to yourself?
Will you confess your sins and believe in Jesus?
Will you praise God for all that He has done?
0 Comments