God of my whole life
Some think we praise God to put him in a good mood before asking him for things. 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
my 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
since he’s got no one to save 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 Even when I’m old and gray
don’t desert me, God.
Give me another 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 the bowels of the earth.
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 Septuagint, or early Greek translation, ascribes it to David. With enemies whispering and plotting his ruin, the psalmist repeatedly asks God for rescue and refuge. Because he’s aging, the psalmist knows others consider him a has-been and 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.
Also emphasizing praise, the psalmist 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.
No, praise completes our enjoyment of God and is a corrective we need most when we’re in distress. Urgent need seems to demand nonstop petition. In fact, trouble counterintuitively calls for continual praise, so we can see that the God who sets things right by faithfully rescuing the weak reigns over all we’re up against. Praise corrects the psalmist’s vision, opening him up to heaven’s determination to put things right in the world, backed up by all of heaven’s infinite resources. This gives him the hope—even in old age—of a future brighter than his past. Seeing that, the psalmist imagines himself singing and shouting for joy, his rescue complete, his foes disgraced.
Jesus, free me from a mindset of scarcity and want to one tuned to your abundance and joy. Let me soar through the stratosphere of your sovereign power and love on the wings of prayer and praise till even my biggest needs are dwarfed and I discover your faithful provision 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?
