For His Praise!

I have the wrong idea. I get it into my head that God blesses me so I will be happy. Yes, yes, I know better. But at my core I'm a pretty selfish individual. I want to float through this world on a yacht of happiness and pleasure. Every time God blesses me in some amazing way, it is easy to feel as if I'm on that yacht!

I can learn a lot about this very subject from King David. Today's lesson comes to us from Psalm 9.

First comes the introduction:

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

It's not about me at all! It's about Him! It's about lifting up His Name and bringing glory to Him. It's about telling of His wonders. This idea continues further down in the song.

Be gracious to me, O Lord; see my affliction from those who hate me, You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may tell of all Your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation. Psalm 9:13-14

I have no doubt that David wants to be rescued for the sake of his own relief, but this prayer indicates that his relief was a secondary factor. He would look forward to it. He would embrace it. He would delight in the freedom of it. But, he primarily wanted relief from his enemies so he could sing God's praises and tell of His mighty hand of salvation!

After all, look at the verses that come between these two passages:

When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You. For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished.

But the Lord abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, and He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble; and those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:3-12

Enemies don't turn back because God says, “I want David to be happy, content, and at peace.” No, they turn back because they see God! They see His might and His power! His very presence causes them to stumble and perish!

I was reminded of this concept last night while teaching our youth girls. We were discussing the fall of Jericho, including the manner in which God presented the battle plan to Joshua. This passage makes me laugh out loud every time:

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” Joshua 5:13-14

Not, “Oh, great leader of My chosen people, know that I am for you and on your side!” Nope, not at all. Instead, when Joshua asks if this Stranger is on his side or Jericho's side, He just says, “No!” In our modern vernacular, I can imagine the “you just don't get it, do you?” thought running through the LORD's mind.

It's not about me. It's not about my happiness or my victory or my success. It's about Him. It's about His glory and His power and His plan. It's about His might and His praise and His work.

When I make that adjustment and see things from His point of view, a lot changes. I see circumstances differently. I see blessings and motivations to praise where I would have only seen challenges and hardship before. I see God's hand in ways I completely missed before.

Today I want to sing with David,

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2