When I Awake I Will See Your Face
Summer in the Psalms • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What comes to mind for you when you think of the word “perseverance”?
Here are some quotes that I found on the internet related to perseverance.
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
― Confucius
“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
― Maya Angelou
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Do you remember a time in your life when you simply had to persevere?
Right now my son Jake is training for his second marathon. He’s really hoping to achieve a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, which is not easy to get. And as I watch him train—see how he tends to his diet, sleep, and his running schedule, I think of perseverance.
A more trivial example in my own life was when Jake and I hiked up to the top of Golden Ears mountain.
Doing that in one day is gives you a pretty good sense of accomplishment.... and for me the big prize at the end is the view from the top. On that particular day it started out being quite clear but as we continued to hike for a few hours clouds had rolled in and our view was being severely compromised. When we got up to Panorama Ridge the cloud cover was thick and we almost couldn’t see anything. Coupled with the fact that we were hiking over a deep snow without the proper equipment, it was tough and many times we wanted to turn back. [BLANK] But it was the potential for a beautiful view that kept us going and eventually we eventually saw a little opening of blue in the clouds and we knew we were getting close to the top of the cloud cover and sure enough when we finally broke through and got to the top of Golden Ears the view was spectacular. Completely above the clouds all we could see were mountaintops peeking up all across the horizon.
And you know what, for that day at least I felt we persevered and in the end it was all worth it.
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Psalm 17 is a prayer for persevering faith. A faith that calls upon the goodness and the lovingkindness of God to help us overcome the persistent trials that we come across as we live our daily lives.
In a commentary that I leaned on this week the writers put it this way: “A life of persistent trials demands a life of persevering faith.” (Daniel Akin, Josh Smith)
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The subheading says that this is a prayer of David. We actually don’t know that for sure, those sub-headings were added to the text many centuries later, but it does seem like a prayer that David could pray. Perhaps this was a prayer that he offered as he was being pursued by Saul in the wilderness before he became King. It’s quite possible that the events described in 1 Samuel 24-26 serve as the backdrop for this prayer for perseverance.
In 1 Sam 24 we read of King Saul pursuing David in the desert of En Gedi with 3000 men. At one point unbeknownst to Saul, he and David were in a cave together and David cut off a small part of Saul’s robe. Sometime later David is able to call out to Saul and show him the piece of robe in his hand, saying “Saul, why are you pursuing me? I could have killed you in that cave, yet I spared your life”
At one point David says,
15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”
And this language does seem to evoke the language of our Psalm doesn’t it.
In this prayer David says to the Lord,
2 Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.
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And that word vindication has the same Hebrew root word as the word vindicate in 1 Sam 24.
When you notice that verbal connection and see how the words of David in 1 Samuel 24 are similar to the prayer of Psalm 17 you can see why the tradition has attributed this prayer to David.
And actually I think that is important and here’s why:
When you first read this psalm you can get the sense that David seems to think pretty highly of himself.
“my plea is just” “it does not come from deceitful lips” “I have not transgressed…I have planned no evil… I have kept myself from the ways of the violent…my feet have not stumbled”
Those are just some of the things David prays and if we have no background than it can feel as though David is saying, Lord, have you noticed how good I’ve been? Surely you will hear my prayer and respond to it!
Now it may be that David is honestly saying to God....”I’m trying to live a good life.” but I think there’s more to it. The background story is helpful and here’s why:
Most of what David seems to be saying is: “Lord, with respect to the accusations of my accusers, they are liars. I have not participated in their violence. I have not submitted to their bribes. I have not planned the evil that they are accusing me of.” You get the sense that David is saying, “Lord, I’m trying to live with integrity in the face of this persistent trial that I’m enduring, listen to my plea.”
Another reason why this appears to be the case, that David is pleading with the Lord with a genuine sense of dependence on Him, is because right at the centre of this prayer is a calling upon the mercy and love of the Lord show in the covenant that God had secured with his people long ago through his servant Moses.
How do we know that? Let’s read v.7-8
7 Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. 8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
wonders
10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you.
love - hesed
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
right hand
6 Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.
apple of His eye (pupil)
10 In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
wings
9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
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What we see in these two verses at the centre of our Psalm is what we might call covenant faithfulness language. David calls upon the covenant faithfulness of God who revealed himself to Moses, who covers his covenant people with the protective wings of his cherubim, and says, “Lord, I belong to you, in your mercy you have made a covenant with me. Listen to my prayer.
And he prays for God to deal with his enemies. He prays that the Lord will bring them down. He prays that the Lord will give them over to their desires which are rewards in this life....let them fill their bellies with those rewards. Because those rewards will ultimately be their downfall...
He prayer for God to deal with his enemies.
I think it is fair to say that few if any of us have or experience the kind of enemies that the psalmist appears to be dealing with. Not many if any of us know of people who are physically trying to destroy us. But it is not hard to imagine how our persecuted family, our Christian brothers or sisters who experience very real threats might find strength in a prayer like this.
When the ministry of Open Doors was here in our church recently to share about their work with the persecuted church we heard stories like the one about Ayuba (not his real name). He is a Christian who lives in northeastern Nigeria. Sub saharan Africa is a region in the world that remains a place where persecution against Christians is a constant reality.
When gunshots penetrated their village, 20yr. old Ayuba and is brothers and sisters fled to the forest to hide from the Boko Haram terrorists. The next morning they emerged from the bush and found nine Christians slaughtered, including his beheaded father.
Today 13 of the 20 most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian are in sub-Saharan Africa.
It’s not hard to image that Psalm 17 would be an encouraging prayer for persevering faith in times of persistent trials.
What about for us today?
At times it’s true, we as Christians experience political and legal pressure, but I’d be hesitant to use the word persecution.
But all of us face different kinds of struggles that certainly can feel like enemies. Brokenness in our relationships, it can be false accusations that we receive from another person, it can be severe illnesses, or the untimely death of someone you care about.
When my daughter and son-in-law experienced a very serious car accident 18 months ago…that experience felt like being confronted by a terrible enemy. We can all fill in with experiences in our own lives....
And sometimes the enemies that confront us are temptations and discouragments, things that come our way which in a very real sense my come to us as Paul writes in Ephesians, as a “flaming arrow from the evil one.”
And we do pray with the psalmist, “Lord, confront them....bring them down.”
I recently came across this prayer from the early church, we don’t have a precise date....but its a prayer against our archenemy, Satan and his demonic host.
Be off, Satan, from this floor and from these four walls. This is no place for you; there is nothing for you to do here. This is the place for Peter and Paul and the holy Gospel; and this is where I mean to sleep now that my worship is done, in the name of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ [God] send me your Spirit; instill the wisdom of your Holy Spirit into my heart; protect my soul and body, every limb in my body, every fiber of my being, from all possible harm and all traps the Devil may set for me and every temptation to sin. Teach me to give you thanks, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Source: Euchologium Sinaiticum. "Worship in the Early Church," Christian History, Issue 37.
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I happen to think that is a really meaningful prayer.
Perhaps though what’s most meaningful about our Psalm that prays for perseverance in the presence of persistent trials, is the closing verse. The centre verse of the Psalm calls upon the covenant faithfulness of God, the closing verse brings us into the very presence of God Himself.
And it is in the presence of the living God that our deepest satisfaction is met.
15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
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We can’t be certain of exactly what David meant when he wrote that part of this prayer....perhaps he was thinking soon to come experience of being near the Lord’s tabernacle. Or maybe it’s a calm assurance that comes over him that even if these enemies are successful and he is to die, David knows he will be present with the Lord and see his face. We can’t be certain...
But as we read that verse through the message of the NT, as we read it through the life and work of Jesus Christ it brings to us a place of strong comfort and unshakable security.
“As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face...”
John writes in John 1: the word made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory....full of grace and truth. We have seen the hesed....the loving kindness of God revealed to us in the person of Jesus.... He has comes to us and announced forgiveness for our sin and ultimate protection over all our enemies.
And one day, when we awake..... when the trumpet sounds and all God’s people rise to new and everlasting life..... we will be satisfied with seeing God......
Dear friends, because of how our Lord Jesus Christ has vidicated us....becasue he has declared us not only forgiven, but righteous in Him, our destination is secure. And when you know that nothing can threaten the destination of that eternal home, no enemy no matter how formidable, that enables us to persevere in the faces of persistent trials.
“I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness” writes the Psalmist.
That reminds me of something that J.I. Packer once wrote. He invites us to imagine all those experiences in this life, the sunsets, the vacations, the joyfilled gatherings we have with family members or dear friends…they are like the prologue to a story that is incomprehensibly grand.
Here’s what he writes:
"Hearts on earth say in the course of a joyful experience, 'I don't want this ever to end.' But it invariably does. The hearts in heaven say, 'I want this to go on forever.' And it will. There can be no better news than this." (J.I. Packer)
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And as the hymn writer says, as Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God, All his foes—all his enemies and ours— will submit, bow down at his command and fall beneath his feet.
Thanks be to God for this powerful prayer for persevering faith in the presence of persistent trials.
AMEN.