How Could David Mean This? - Ps 145

How Could David Mean This? – Ps 145

The psalm starts off so well. It’s a well-written acrostic meaning that every line begins with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And I was really provoked in my thinking through it.

We are given one of the heavenly mission statements and that is to proclaim to the next generation the ways of God. In particular His greatness, His goodness, His righteousness and His power (v. 6-7,11). As I was pondering how someone would do that and what in particular they would do, my eyes fell on a book. This book tells the amazing story of how the largest missionary organization in the world was birthed. It tells of His goodness, His righteousness and His power.

And I began to think what about my life? Not that I would write a book because people only read those things if you’re a great writer or have done something great. And even that isn’t sufficient anymore as people by and large have trouble reading books with their attention spans being greatly thwarted by re-training of youtube and now Tiktok.

So do we proclaim His goodness to the next generation? Still pondering that.

Then this stood out to me also.

“All you have made will thank you, LORD” (Ps 145:10).

That’s really a beautiful verse. His power and goodness are so great that all creation will thank him.

So everything is going along nicely and then I read a section that poses a challenge, a provocation to the heart.

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

Maybe that’s an easy one for others to rejoice and then praise the LORD. But for me, I have to confess it caused a pause. Perhaps it’s that word “all” that is used over and over and over. Read it again and see all the “all’s” and “every’s.”

But there it is, right out there in the open. David says all. The Lord helps all, he guards all the righteous, he hears their cry and saved them, he destroys all the wicked. How can David say that?

David, of all people, knew hardship and adversity and a long line of enemies and wicked people that took their turn trying to destroy him. David knew rejection from his own people and hardship unimaginable. Undoubtedly he lost many righteous friends. Where was God in protecting “all” of them? And destroying “all” the wicked? It certainly didn’t happen in David’s life. So he could say that?

I come back to some essential truths.

1) David, like his culture, had a big picture understanding of God and not an individual picture. Western culture tends to think through the lens of the individual and Eastern culture through the lens of the group. And in the big picture, the LORD has saved Israel. In fact, they are still an intact nation and culture today.

2) He doesn’t fulfill every single individual desire because if he did, we would all fall into depravity. We are selfish to the core. Even at a group, corporate level. Any nation that rejects God and takes societal opinion as its standard for truth will always deviate to dark places. Just look at what’s happening today.

But he does fulfill many desires that are righteous. Corporately and individually. But as the master weaver and in a life that is tainted with sin, sometimes that isn’t the case. It doesn’t negate his goodness. In fact, he is near to the broken-hearted. But the only way for free-will is to allow for evil choice to exist as well. And there are always consequences to that.

3) We often want to interpret what God is doing or not doing when we are in the midst of our suffering. But there is a bigger picture where we can indeed look back and see the greatness and bigness of a good God, who doesn’t always deliver us instantly but in time. His goodness is revealed often in time when we look back.

4) Sometimes God’s biggest saving work is what He does inside our hearts. Our outer life may be in shambles, but our inner life is one that can be joyful, celebrating the nearness of God. I think of Nightbirde right now and her life was filled with such joy even in the place of so much suffering.

5) He will fulfill all things when he restores all things. In heaven all wickedness will forever be put down. Righteousness will be secured in Jesus. And heaven will be a place to fulfill the plans and purposes God has for us in ways that we can’t even fathom.

6) God’s love is limitless. His love is eternal as we saw in a previous psalm. He is good when things are good in our lives, and He is still good when things aren’t good in our lives.

7) We always want God to save us from suffering and death. But the truth is that we all die. And we actually all have a degree of suffering in this life. But Jesus took on the cross both suffering and death. And one day, we will be where there are no more tears. Suffering and death will have suffered and died once for all. And in that day, “all” will truly be the “all” of Psalm 145.

And then there is this:

Especially v. 16. “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing…”
And v. 19. “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him…”

One thing I’ve struggled with throughout my life is the disappointment of not having the deepest desires of my heart fulfilled. Decade after decade passes. What’s worse is people sense and feel that disappointment in my life. I hate it. I wish it wasn’t there. I try not to be disappointed but still it lurks.

I was encouraged by this post today by someone who recently lost her husband:

There are times when things don’t go the way we had hoped. Disappointment enters in. We can become sad, even burdened down by unfulfilled hopes. It’s happened to me at times – and I’m sure it’s happened to many of you.

During a recent time of disappointment, I was reminded of this verse from Proverbs 17:22 – “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” I didn’t want my disappointed, broken spirit to dry me up! I realized that the “medicine” I needed for my disappointment was to turn my heart in worship to the Lord. I needed to be “merry” in Him. I needed to rest in the joy of the Lord that is my help and strength.

As I changed my disappointment focus to worshipping the Lord – everything changed. My attitude of choosing worship helped heal my heart. The clouds of disappointment lifted. My perspective changed from me to the Lord.

Many medical doctors have acknowledged that a positive outlook even helps with physical healing. My oncologist once told me that hope and a positive outlook can be the difference between surviving or not making it. Medicine helps, but it’s not enough. What’s in our hearts impacts us in every way.

“Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the Godly to slip and fall.” Psalm 55:22

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

“For I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Joy and sorrow and disappointment can intermingle in our days. Having a merry heart, worshipping, and being joyful can make all the difference in our outlook. We may not be born optimists, but we can “choose worship” and let it overcome the disappointments we face.

I need to take these words to heart. My journey isn’t over yet.
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