Psalms 69:17-36: a reflection

17Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily! 18Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies. 19You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you. 20Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none. 21They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. 22Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap. 23Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent. 24Pour out your indignation on them. Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them. 25Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents. 26For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt. 27Charge them with crime upon crime. Don’t let them come into your righteousness. 28Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. 29But I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me. 30I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31It will please the LORD better than an ox, or a bull that has horns and hoofs. 32The humble have seen it, and are glad. You who seek after God, let your heart live. 33For the LORD hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people. 34Let heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein! 35For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it. 36The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein.

In the depths of his distress, surrounded by enemies and finding no one to comfort him, the psalmist makes a striking resolve: even now, before any rescue has come, he will praise God. I will praise the name of God with a song, he says, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. It will please the LORD better than an ox. His trouble has not lifted; he is still in pain and distress. Yet he resolves to praise God, to magnify him with thanksgiving, in the very midst of his affliction. And he declares that this praise pleases God more than the costliest sacrifice. To praise God in the midst of distress, before the deliverance comes, is an offering that pleases him more than any outward sacrifice, for it is the offering of a heart that trusts him even in the dark. Praise offered from the midst of trouble is precious to God.

Notice when the psalmist resolves to praise: in the midst of his distress, before the rescue. He is still in pain, still surrounded by enemies, still without comfort; and yet he says, I will praise the name of God with a song, I will magnify him with thanksgiving. He does not wait for the trouble to lift before he praises; he praises in the midst of it. And this praise, he declares, pleases God more than the costliest sacrifice, more than an ox. Praise offered from the depths of distress, before any deliverance, is precious to God, for it is the offering of a heart that trusts and honors him even in the dark, when there is no visible reason to. To magnify God with thanksgiving in the midst of trouble is a costly and precious offering, pleasing to him beyond outward sacrifice. Praise from the pit honors God more than praise from the mountaintop.

That is worth taking to heart, for praising God in the midst of distress, before deliverance, is an offering that pleases him. We can feel that praise must wait until our troubles lift, that we cannot honestly praise God while we are still in pain; but the psalmist resolved to praise God with a song in the very midst of his distress, and declared it pleased God more than sacrifice. Praise offered from the depths, before the deliverance, is precious to God, the offering of a heart that trusts him in the dark. When you are in distress, you need not wait to praise God; praise him even now, as the psalmist did, and know it pleases him. Praise God in the midst of your distress, before the deliverance comes, magnifying him with thanksgiving even in the dark, as the psalmist resolved to praise God with a song and declared it would please the LORD more than an ox; for praise offered from the depths of trouble, when there is no visible reason to praise, is precious to God beyond any outward sacrifice, the offering of a heart that trusts and honors him even before the rescue has come.

Lord, in the depths of his distress, surrounded by enemies and finding no one to comfort him, the psalmist makes a striking resolve: even now, before any rescue has come, he will praise you. I will praise the name of God with a song, he says, and will magnify him with thanksgiving; it will please the LORD better than an ox. His trouble has not lifted; he is still in pain and distress. Yet he resolves to praise you, to magnify you with thanksgiving, in the very midst of his affliction. And he declares that this praise pleases you more than the costliest sacrifice. Show me when the psalmist resolves to praise: in the midst of his distress, before the rescue. He is still in pain, still surrounded by enemies, still without comfort; and yet he says, I will praise the name of God with a song. He does not wait for the trouble to lift before he praises; he praises in the midst of it. And this praise, he declares, pleases you more than the costliest sacrifice. Praise offered from the depths of distress is precious to you, for it is the offering of a heart that trusts and honors you even in the dark. Take that to my heart, for praising you in the midst of distress, before deliverance, is an offering that pleases you. I can feel that praise must wait until my troubles lift, that I cannot honestly praise you while I am still in pain; but the psalmist resolved to praise you with a song in the very midst of his distress. Praise offered from the depths is precious to you. When I am in distress, keep me from waiting to praise you; help me praise you even now, Lord, as the psalmist did, magnifying you with thanksgiving even in the dark, knowing it pleases you more than sacrifice.