Worship

Good morning you guys! Welcome to Part 3 of being the church in the pandemic series, this is my final thoughts for you. Thank you so much for watching these and commenting, I hope they have been a source of comfort for you!

So today, I’m going to do something a little different, I’m actually going to jump backwards into the Old Testament with you guys, all the way back to King David.

A little context for where we are diving into this morning, David’s son Absalom (through a very interesting series of events, seriously I suggest reading 2 Samuel sometime) is trying to kill David. He is trying to overthrow him from the throne and wants David killed.

In response to this, David takes a few of his servants and flees Jerusalem into the wilderness of Judah. He is in exile.

It is here that David sits down and he starts to write poems and hymns, that (spoiler alert) will make up the book of Psalms. I want to focus on one particular Psalm that we know David wrote during this time of exile. Psalm 63:1-4

The New Revised Standard Version Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence

O God, you are my God, I seek you,

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4 So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call on your name

Were you expecting that? Because I certainly wasn’t. Think about it… David’s son is trying kill him, he has fleed the country, he is alone, he is mourning the loss of his people and probably even mourning the loss of the relationship with his son Absalom. There are very few people with him, and the situation is looking very bleak for David.

Yet, he sits down and he writes out this psalm praising God.

Of all the people to be writing a psalm of lament right now, its DAVID!

But no...

No, David says Because your steadfast love is better than life.... I’m gonna praise you… I’m gonna praise you...

My friends, it’s no lie that our situation looks pretty bleak right now. We are in isolation, we are lonely, we are fearful...

David received his comfort in praising God, so should we.

This is the time where we get to continue to praise God as one church even amidst the darkness. We know that God’s steadfast love is good, and so he deserves our deepest praise.

Will you join me in praising him?

Let me pray...