Joy in accepting discipline

God's word

A Song at the Dedication of the House of David

I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." LORD, by Your favour You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: "What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!"

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Reflection on God's word

This is a psalm of exuberant thanks giving by a man who had been brought low by the Lord due to his own pride and complacency. It is a psalm of praise dedicated to the House of the Lord, which David did not live to see; it was Solomon who built the Lord's temple.

Note as you read this Psalm two things: its focus is outward, towards the Lord, and the psalm is solely concerned with giving glory to God.

David began in hardship and in peril, facing initially bears and lions (1 Sam 17:36), followed by Goliath then King Saul, all of whom wanted to kill him. Later he became prosperous (verse 6) defeating his enemies (1 Chron 18) and living in peace in the City of David with his wives and children, having power and glory (2 Chron 11).

Yet it appears he became complacent in respect to his true position – his position before God and he suffered an affliction (verse 7). Was it his pride? His adultery with Bathsheba suggests he had lost his fervour for the righteousness of God and along with pride, lust can cause even the greatest men to fall.

Every day in the desert, while running from enemies seeking to kill him, David relied upon the Lord (Ps 18). How easy is it to live without any regard to God when all is going well; when we have all we want, when we are at peace (at least with self), and when we don't need to rely upon God for the basics of life? God brings the reality of life back to David when His anger is exercised against him (verse 5) and David is shaken (moved or frightened). It shook him out of his complacency, humbled him and returned him to pursue the Lord with all fervour. Effective discipline should cause a change in behaviour.

We see that the discipline was for a moment (5a), and David's confidence in the Lord is clear. He cries out for mercy (verse 8) and we see this is indeed the response of God. David responds with thanks and praise, verse 12. Why? Because he deserved it and a whole lot more – this was discipline, not judgement. The purpose? Healing, as emphasised in verse 2 because mercy prevailed; as it also prevails in the blood of Jesus Christ who died for you and me, and we too are healed (1 Peter 2:24).

It is worthwhile noting that David does not dwell on being disciplined – he understands he deserved it; he does not wallow in self-pity. Indeed, he commences the Psalm in extolling the Lord and encourages the whole congregation to do so with him. His starting point was not, "look at poor me; God is harsh", but rather, comprehending the truth of the reality of sin in light of God's holiness, he starts with the thought: "I extol you O Lord". He goes on "I sinned and I deserved what God did to me." Is this your starting position, praising the Lord prior to your requests, even while being disciplined in the Lord?

A word of caution; this Psalm is not saying that a rich prosperous person is likely to suffer loss, but rather it is a warning that prosperity can lead to pride, causing that person to take his or her eyes off Jesus leading to sinfulness. Our security needs to be in the Lord and him alone. If pride finds us, we must turn to the Lord and cry out to Him with repentance and humility; He will be just and righteous to forgive us (1 John 1:9), so we too can turn our mourning into dancing (verse 11).

Personally reflect on God's word to you

1. Do we have any pride in your life that interferes with communion with God and needs to be confessed? What will you do about it?
2. Give thanks to the Lord for everything; are there things in your life which you should take a moment to humbly give thanks for?