“I Shall Yet Praise Him” (Ps 43)

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (vs5)

In due time, I will praise God for His salvation, even though I struggle now. Therefore, let me PRAISE Him now, rather than go on in my anxiety and fear. He said, “I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance [cheers up my face] and my God” (vs5). He will fulfill His promises, and He will be gracious indeed, so be confident in this, as you seek His power.

First, let the misery of the day bring you to prayer (vs1-2). The Psalmist said, “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! For You are the God of my strength; why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” We are not to say, “Oh well, this is how it is. Power is a fairy tale, and God cannot be counted on to help, so I'll just go on miserably as if He didn't exist, calling upon Him for nothing, and expecting nothing better than how it is, or what I can do for myself”. This grievous error is dangerous unbelief. Let us know that Christianity isn't all “ups”, but also know the “downs” are intended to strengthen us, rather than to make us not care or be comfortable in defeat.

Secondly, our prayer is the same as the Psalmist, “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, and to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God” (vs3-4). You see the order? The Psalmist wants God to reveal Himself in Christ, the Light of the gospel, so that he can see God's glory in salvation, the promises, the pardon, and the predestined purpose to assuredly bring us to eternal bliss. Peter said, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Pet 2:9-10). The Psalmist wants to see this BEAUTIFUL God in His mercy's revealed, so that he can praise Him for real, so that he may sing, preach, and live from the HEART! Bless His holy name. God doesn't ask us to fake it, but being weak and helpless, being down and in defeat, He teaches us to come to Him as we are to get what we need, so that when we say, “Praise God”, and, “Amen”, we say it in heart belief as possessors of what God has commanded us to preach.

Finally, be confident (vs5). He said, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God”. You will yet praise God because He will hear all who call upon Him in Christ, who ask to know God in His saving mercy, and to be enlightened with gospel privileges earned by Christ. You and I may not have the fullness now, but it is coming. We're asking for God to save us by the gospel, and this is His purpose, His pleasure, and His promise. He will not forsake the cry of His people. We ask for REAL strength to serve God, and we look diligently to the cross as the only means whereby the Spirit works in power, by Jesus Christ, what He's earned, and God's grace in Him.