Psalm 66:17 “For I cried out to Him for help, praising Him as I spoke.”
Observation: David here rejoices over God’s miraculous deliverance and then moves toward praise. He goes on to call even the earth itself to shout joyfully to God (v.1) and to sing the glory of His name (v. 2).
Application: How is this even possible? Even as David declares that all the earth will worship great Jehovah God and sing praises to him (v. 4), there is a counterpoint: he makes it clear that sin is the great disqualifier by saying, “If I had not confessed the sin within my heart the Lord would not have listened.” (vs. 18-19)
How can I become like David, using soaring language to extol God’s never-ending goodness? And should I want to? Wasn’t David’s life beset by darkness time and again? And what about my own life? Long after coming to Christ, have I seen all his promises fulfilled? Where is His promised freedom? Where is true victory? How can I ever arrive at the place David was, filled with confidence in God’s magnificence? How do I ever hope to be free from the dark side…free from cynicism as to His promises unfulfilled?
This one thing I know: I have never experienced true victory by trying to avoid sin. No amount of turning away from flesh’s natural urges has ever worked for long. Dorothy could squeeze her eyes and click her heels to wish herself back to Kansas, but no depth of resolve to live only for Him has ever been deep enough to bring more than passing victory before flesh’s failure again plunges me into discouragement and a sense of failure. So, what’s the answer?
My answer, as David’s, must be displacement. It’s the practice of so concentrating my gaze upon Him that all other pursuits lose their focus and attractiveness as they become but a distant memory of filth cleansed by His blood. In asking Jesus each day to keep my eyes focused upon Him and Him alone all other temptations and patterns are diminished to the point that my spirit overflows with abundance. It comes down to an active choice.
The hymnist Helen Lemmel captured this strategy perfectly when she wrote in 1922:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
David ends his supremely encouraging Psalm by declaring, “But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His lovingkindness from me.” (vs. 19-20)
Prayer: Great and glorious Savior, on my own I haven’t the strength to turn away from sin. But I thank you that hope reaches its fulfillment as I turn my gaze toward you. Cause me to seek your face moment by moment, to the glory of God. Amen.