God of my whole life
Some think we praise God to put him in a good mood before voicing our petitions. In fact, praise opens us up to more of God’s infinite power as it completes our enjoyment of him.
1 I’ve taken refuge in you, YHWH.
Don’t ever let me be shamed.
2 Rescue me, deliver me
since you’re the God who sets things right.
Turn your ear my way and rescue me.
3 Be my rock of refuge
where I can always hide
the stronghold offering me safety
my rock, my fortress.
4 My God, rescue me
from the power of the wicked
from the grasp of ruthless evildoers.
5 You’re my hope, YHWH
the God I’ve trusted since I was a child.
6 I’ve depended on you since birth
when you brought me out of my mother’s womb
so you’re the one I always praise.
7 I’ve become a warning to many
but you’re my strong refuge.
8 I praise you
and proclaim your glory all day long.
9 Don’t cast me off in old age
or abandon me when my strength fails me.
10 Because my enemies talk about me—
watching my every move
they plot together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him!
Chase him down and seize him
because he’s got no one to rescue him!”
12 God, don’t stand aloof!
My God, rush to my aid!
13 May those who attack me
be dishonored and destroyed.
Cover with defeat and disgrace
those who want to hurt me.
14 As for me
I’ll keep on hoping in you
and praise you more and more.
15 Day after day I’ll proclaim your saving acts
your acts of deliverance
though I can’t begin to count them all.
16 I’ll come announcing the incredible deeds
of sovereign YHWH
paying tribute to your saving acts alone.
17 God, you’ve taught me from my youth.
and to this day I tell others
about the wonderful things you’ve done.
18 Now that I’m old and gray
don’t desert me, God.
Give me one more chance
to proclaim your power to this generation
your power to all those yet to come.
19 Your saving justice
reaches to the heavens, Lord.
You’ve done awesome things!
Who is like you, O God?
20 You, who have made me endure
many trials and tribulations
will revive me again
and bring me back up
from earth’s deepest pit.
21 You’ll make my honor
even greater than before
and comfort me again.
22 I’ll praise you with the lute
for your faithfulness, my God
and sing to you with the lyre
Holy One of Israel.
23 I’ll shout for joy when I sing your praise
I’ll sing to you with all my heart
because you’ve delivered me.
24 Yes, all day long I’ll tell others
about your power to vindicate
after those trying to hurt me have slunk off
disgraced and discredited.
While the Hebrew text of this psalm has no superscription, the early Greek translation, the Septuagint, ascribes it to David. With enemies whispering and plotting his ruin, he repeatedly asks God for rescue and refuge. Because he’s aging, he knows others consider him a has-been, an easy mark. They also look at him and say, “You don’t want to turn out like him—abandoned!” So he asks God not to discard him, but rather let him once more proclaim God’s faithfulness to future generations, so they too can know and believe in the God who keeps his word and never forsakes his own.
Emphasizing praise, David begins with a 2:1 petition-to-praise ratio and then reverses the ratio in the psalm’s second half. He doesn’t praise God to stroke “God’s ego” or make him more amenable to his petitions since God has none of the ego issues that plague us mortals.
To me, urgent need seems to demand nonstop petition. But in fact, trouble calls for continual focus on God, so we can see that God, who sets things right by faithfully rescuing the weak, reigns over all we’re up against. And such a vision issues in praise, which completes our enjoyment of God. Beyond mere description, praise is also a kind of enactment, which corrects our vision, opening us up to heaven’s determination to put things right in the world, backed up by heaven’s infinite resources. This gives us the hope—even in old age—of a future brighter than our past. Seeing that, David imagines himself singing and shouting for joy, his rescue complete, his foes disgraced.
Prayer:
Jesus, free me from a mindset of scarcity and want to one tuned to your abundance and joy. Let me soar on the wings of prayer and praise through the stratosphere of your power and love till even my biggest needs are dwarfed and I discover your all-sufficiency afresh. Amen.
Pray this prayer in your free moments today:
Your saving justice
reaches to the heavens, Lord.
You’ve done awesome things!
Who is like you, O God?
