A New Song in our Mouths

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Father God – As we read your word, please open our eyes that we may see how great you are and help us to trust in your unfailing love. In Jesus' name, amen.

Life is hard and then you die.

There is some truth in that statement. Suffering is a fact of life. Life is hard. Things do not work out the way we thought they would. We fail exams. Relationships are difficult to sustain. We are let down or abused by others. Our kids go off the rails. You get sick. You worry about the economy and your job. You get old. You get depressed or anxious. Natural disasters strike. Or war. There are internal struggles with sinful behaviours and addictions. As Christians, we also face the opposition of those who try to hurt us or laugh at us. On and on it goes. Then we die. It will come to us all, unless Jesus returns first. And it's simply not the case that because you've suffered badly in one way, you'll be spared from all further suffering. Just because you've been diagnosed with cancer, doesn't mean you won't lose your child in an accident. Bad things happen in a world that's been messed up by sin.

However, the outlook in that quote is wrong because it takes no account of God. It's a cynical slogan for those without hope because they do not serve the true and living God. It an attempt to use humour to cope with a depressing forecast. "If you think life is bad now… just wait. It gets worse. You work hard, try to survive, and then what happens? You die."

The contrast with the outlook of King David who wrote Psalm 40 couldn't be any greater. That's what we're looking at tonight and you'll find it a help to have that open in front of you. This song was written by David who was king, 3000 years ago, of the ancient kingdom of Israel. It divides into three sections. In the first, David looks back to a previous time of trouble and remembers how God has rescued him. In the second, he publicly declares his trust in God in the present. Then finally he looks ahead, with confidence, to a future where he knows he will once again need God's help. Past, present and future. So my three headings are:

1. Past Rescue
2. Present Trust
3. Future Confidence

Life is hard. But David has learned that the one who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. And when evils beyond number once more encompass and iniquities yet again overtake, he is confident that the Lord will not restrain his mercy and will once again deliver him. This psalm is the words of someone who has been through a deep crisis. They know that faith that speaks the truth can never pretend that all will always be well and that all is as it should be. And yet they are not cynical. They have experienced new life and grace - so they know that despair is not all powerful and evil does not have the last word. So, first:

1. Past Rescue (vv. 1-5)

As I read those verses notice the past tenses. He's looking back to a time he was in trouble and how the Lord rescued him. Verses 1-3a:

I waited patiently for the Lord;he inclined to me and heard my cry.He drew me up from the pit of destruction,out of the miry bog,and set my feet upon a rock,making my steps secure.He put a new song in my mouth,a song of praise to our God.

We're not told what the previous situation was, which perhaps makes it easier to take this song and make it our own - even if what you're looking back on isn't exactly the same as what David faced. Whatever it was, we know it was bad. He describes it as a pit of destruction and a miry bog. It was an apparently hopeless situation with no obvious way out.

We also know that David's cry for help wasn't answered immediately. He needed to wait patiently. Literally he waited and waited. Or as one translation puts it: "Waiting, I waited". Waiting meant accepting God's wisdom and timing. That is never easy. We may not get what we ask for, or we may get it but not when we think we need it. But we don't sulk, or give up. We wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14:

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

And the Lord did rescue him. His feet were back on solid ground and he was singing again with a new found realisation of how great God is. These verses and their clear yet powerful description have helped countless believers through the ages and was the inspiration for the U2 song '40'. 'I was lost and the Lord rescued me, He reached down into the pit and lifted me, So now on my lips is a song of thanks and praise.' It's a song the ten men Jesus healed from leprosy could easily have sung – even though only one came back to say thank you. And it perfectly describes how Jesus has made it possible for us to be rescued from the worst of all possible situations – the punishment of death we all deserve for our sin against him.

As David looks back, he's had time to reflect and the lesson he has learned is in verse 4: "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust." He discovered that for himself and he wants everyone to know that it was right to keep waiting and waiting - there was no one else who could have rescued him. He wants others to see what God has done for the man who depended on the Lord and he wants his story to help them trust in the Lord for their own deliverance. Verses 3b-5:

Many will see and fear,and put their trust in the Lord.Blessed is the man who makesthe Lord his trust,who does not turn to the proud,to those who go astray after a lie!You have multiplied, O Lord my God,your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;none can compare with you!I will proclaim and tell of them,yet they are more than can be told.

So how good are you at telling others about how good God has been to you in tough circumstances? Have you lost the sense of wonder at how amazing it is that "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18)? Some cultures are better at this than others but even in a reserved British way we need to allow space for sharing our story of past rescues with one another so that others will be encouraged to keep trusting too.

Perhaps you're going through a tough time right now and feeling overwhelmed. Let the words of this psalm keep you waiting patiently and trusting in him alone through these dark days. But don't try and struggle alone – seek help from other Christians. Very often God sends you help through other believers. It worth pointing out too that we run a group here called Celebrate Recovery and it exists to help those who feel they're in a deep hole or up to their eyeballs in mud, so to speak. It breaks down what it means to trust in the Lord into manageable steps and perhaps best of all puts you right into a community of people who help one another to wait patiently for the Lord. Every time I have been, what struck and helped me most was hearing everyone's stories of how Jesus has helped them in situations that appear hopeless. Perhaps you'd find it helpful? We meet on Monday nights and you can just pop in and see what it's like – you're sure to find a warm welcome. Speak to me or to Catherine Robinson on the church staff if you'd like more information or pick up a leaflet on your way out.

So those are verses 1-5 which look back on God's wonderful rescue. How did David respond to God's goodness to him? That brings us the next point:

2. Present Trust (vv. 6-10)

After such a wonderful rescue, how can you respond? David knows that what would please his Lord is for him to trust and obey. That is what delights his redeemer. So he says, verses 6-8:

In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,but you have given me an open ear.Burnt offering and sin offeringyou have not required.Then I said, "Behold, I have come;in the scroll of the book it is written of me:I delight to do your will, O my God;your law is within my heart."

An open ear is simply one that listens to his voice, one that delights to do what God's law commands. The Old Testament speaks of the offerings and sacrifices the Hebrew people brought to God as part of their worship. But David knows that such sacrifices are of no value without true obedience to the Lord, because his predecessor – King Saul – was rebuked by God through the prophet Samuel for going through the motions of offering God's sacrifice, but insulting him with the disobedience of his heart. He did not have ears open to hearing God's voice. 1 Samuel 15:22:

And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams."

So in response to God's rescue, David dedicates his whole life to serving and obeying his creator God. The order is important – God didn't rescue him because he was obedient, but the obedience is a right response to God's saving work and David models to us what it looks like to trust God and how we too should respond to God's goodness to us – in obedience and trust.

However, these verses clearly mean more than that. Verses 6-8 of Psalm 40 are quoted in Hebrews 10.5-10 and we are told there that they ultimately apply to Jesus. The writer to the Hebrews says: "when Christ came into the world, he said" and then these three lines from Psalm 40 are quoted. So we know that these words point forward to someone greater than David. David was changed by God's rescue so that he wanted to obey his words, but that doesn't mean David was able to do it – at least not perfectly. These same words on the lips of Jesus declare that he was far greater than David. Not only did Jesus tell his Father that he wanted to obey him, he actually did it. He lived the perfect and obedient life we were never able to live.

We however are disobedient and deserved death. We were in the pit of destruction and a miry bog. Jesus did not deserve death. But he went on to die the death we deserved in order to bring us to God. Jesus willingly swapped places with us – on the cross he substituted himself and took the punishment we deserved. He offers to draw you up from that pit of destruction, out of the miry bog and to set your feet upon a rock, making your steps secure. Are you willing to accept?

In a few minutes we will eat bread and drink wine together and these wonderful words help bring home to us again what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross. Will you respond with a grateful heart?

But back to David. In response to God's rescue, David dedicates his life to obeying his creator God. He goes on to also commit to telling everyone about God's goodness. Verses 9-10:

I have told the glad news of deliverancein the great congregation;behold, I have not restrained my lips,as you know, O Lord.I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulnessfrom the great congregation.

Those who have been rescued by God will also want to tell others about what he has done. God's saving work is such good news that they should not be hidden from others, which is one of the reasons we're busy planning for a season of special events in October to help us speak of his faithfulness. Will you commit to praying for this and for courage to speak to those around you about what Jesus has done in your life? Well that brings us to the third and final point. David has:

Future Confidence (vv. 11-17)

Even when we have known the Lord's rescue, this side of the new creation, life does not proceed smoothly. Trouble has come again in the present, but the language changes to the future tense for he's not yet seen the deliverance he needs. Yet he remains confident of God's mercy and ability to help. Verse 11:

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrainyour mercy from me;your steadfast love and your faithfulness willever preserve me!

Again it's not clear what trouble he's now facing, but it's not just a single problem. It's a medley of issues; there is trouble and danger all around. Can you relate to this? Once again he's in the pit of destruction and the miry bog. First there is the category of 'evils' in the sense of trials and difficulties and sufferings. Verse 12:

For evils have encompassed mebeyond number;

Next there is his own personal sin. Verse 12 continues:

my iniquities have overtaken me,and I cannot see;they are more than the hairs of my head;my heart fails me.

Finally there is opposition from those who seek to hurt him. Verses 14-15:

Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogetherwho seek to snatch away my life;let those be turned back and brought to dishonourwho delight in my hurt!Let those be appalled because of their shamewho say to me, "Aha, Aha!

The language is strong. He's encompassed, overtaken, his troubles are more than the hairs on his head. He cannot see and his heart sinks within him, but verse 13 is his striking prayer in such troubled and confusing times. David once again calls on the Lord to deliver him. Verse 13:

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!O Lord, make haste to help me!

He knows he is poor and needy. And in contrast he knows that God is great. That is what gives him confidence that once again the Lord will be his help and deliverer. Verses 16-17:

But may all who seek yourejoice and be glad in you;may those who love your salvationsay continually, "Great is the Lord!"As for me, I am poor and needy,but the Lord takes thought for me.You are my help and my deliverer;do not delay, O my God!

Did you notice again the reference to time? Verse 13: "make haste to help me" and verse 17: "do not delay, oh my God". As we saw in verse 1, in his infinite wisdom sometimes God allows us to remain in hard times and our experience is one of waiting and waiting, and crying out to the Lord. Yet he has proof enough from his previous experience that God is strong and that God is good and so he remains confident that God will again rescue him. He continues to pray for God's deliverance, knowing that how and when he would be delivered is in his hands.

Let's end with the quote I started with: "Life is hard and then you die." Yes, life is hard. But with David we have learned that the one who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. Ultimately we'll see that when we die and face the judgement of our creator. If we have trusted in Jesus and his death on the cross, we'll find our feet upon a rock and our steps secure.

We will also see that in this life. When trouble comes – and it will – we can be confident that the Lord will not restrain his mercy and will once again deliver us, in his time and in his way. We are not promised a life free from suffering, but we are promised that we will experience his steadfast love and faithfulness. So let's make the prayer of verse 13 our prayer tonight, whatever our circumstances or situation:

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
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