When You Want Out: Psalm 135

When You Want Out

Psalm 135

Not always OUT of our troublous times,

And the struggles fierce and grim,

But IN—deeper IN—to our one sure rest,

The place of our peace, in Him.

Annie Johnson Flint

If only. If only __________, then I would feel less stressed, happier, calmer, trust more, not worry so much, be more Christ-like. For many of us, we could quickly and easily fill in the blank. We have those things in our lives that we just want to see changed. We have situations or people in our lives that we think if they were just different, better, less problematic, we would be better. We may not actually say the first sentence, but our emotions, attitudes, and fears suggest that’s what we truly believe. Our happiness, joy, hope, and peace have become intertwined with these realities of our lives. Realities we would change, if we could. And not just our present realities. We look to the days ahead and, for some, we feel fear not hope, anxiousness instead of anticipation. The troubles of today reach into the future and we groan because we’re already weary. We experience the frailty of our human condition, and we are hurting. We just want the hard days to end.

Paul knew this weakness and frailty intimately. In 2 Corinthians, he provides details about his suffering, which made him despair of life itself (1:8), afflicted, perplexed, and struck him down (4:8-9). "'He had been so utterly, unbearably crushed' (NSRV) that he was forced to renounce all hope of survival...it [despair] implies the total unavailability of an exit from oppressive circumstances" (Verbrugge & Harris). In addition, he had a “thorn in the flesh.” He pleaded with the Lord that his thorn of suffering and weakness be removed, and God said no (12:7-9). How could Paul, in such extremities, say, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (2 Corinthians 12:10)? How do we continue in hope when we want so desperately for our present sufferings to end? When we’re searching for the exit sign, how do we find rest while we’re still locked in the room of hardship?

Praising God and Recalling Truth

Psalm 135 as well as Paul's experiences give us help when we bear the weight of an oppressive circumstance where currently there is no availability for an exit. Despite the fact that the people in Psalm 135 are in dire straights and still being oppressed, the psalmist’s lips bless the Lord. “Praising God is acknowledging who he is and what he has done. Praising is confessing what God has done in the history of salvation. Praising is confessing what God has done in our lives” (Futato). Along with being filled with praise, this psalm is unique in that almost every verse is found somewhere else in the Scriptures suggesting the psalmist leaned heavily on God's revealed truth. This is one way we can be content in whatever affliction, hardship, persecution, or calamity we face. Praising God and recalling truth to our hearts while we pray. As we bring our requests to our Father, we praise Him when we speak the truth about who He is and what He has done. As we rehearse the truth, we remind ourselves of a greater reality beyond our present circumstances. This is what the psalmist does. He is, in effect, saying, "Even in my oppression, You are good" (135:3). "Even in my oppression it is right to sing to Your name” (135:3). “Your power and rule are so pervasive that You govern the clouds that rise at the end of the earth. You make lightning. You bring forth the wind from Your storehouses. And You will vindicate me and have compassion on me” (135:6-7, 14).

Our God rules over my situation and yours that we wish so desperately to be delivered from. Like the psalmist, a confidence in the Lord, will give us a proper perspective of the future (VanGemeren). Our Father of mercies and God of all comfort, whose rule extends over everything, is not like the mute, blind, deaf idols (135:15-18). He speaks. He sees. He hears. And we honor Him when we keep turning to Him, keep crying out to Him, keep looking to Him in faith, learning to find our rest in Him and not in an exit from our present circumstances. "Crying out to God is a testimony that God is responsive, while all false gods and idols are non-responsive. When we cry out, we entreat God to help because expressed neediness compels God's very character to act. God acts on voiced pain. He is not a deaf and dumb idol" (Bob Kelleman).

The Life of Jesus Made Manifest

Paul also help us. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Paul says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭10‬). Paul reminds us that we are “jars of clay,” recognizing our (and his) human frailty. And in that frailty, we may be afflicted, pressed down, and squeezed by difficulties, but we will not be crushed. We may feel perplexed and without resource, but as God’s children we are not driven to despair or wholly without resource. We may be persecuted, but our Lord will never desert or abandon us. Our situation may strike us down, but we will not be destroyed. Our God, who raises the dead, is the God we learn to rely on as we pass through great hardships (2 Corinthians 1:9).

Our hardship, which we wish we could escape, is meant to show us the surpassing greatness of His power. It is meant also to reveal something about us. Paul said that we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus would be made manifest. To be made manifest means to be made apparent and to show openly. Suffering makes it evident what we truly love, trust, take refuge in, hope for, and desire. Will we curse God, or will His life be made manifest, shown openly through us, in our affliction, perplexity, persecution, and striking that we endure? What will be seen? What in our hearts will be revealed? With whom will our lives be identified? Who will be our treasure? This hardship is meant to reveal Christ in us and through us. Don’t be discouraged if what you see in yourself in your suffering is not a perfect representation of Christ. God is using this hardship to transform us into the image of His Son thereby producing the life of Christ.

He’s Making a Way Out

Am I looking for another to bear the burden that only Christ can bear? Do I turn to another to rescue me and hold up my weary hands before I look to my Savior? Do I want a substitute to relieve my suffering instead of my loving Father to sustain me through my suffering? Honestly, many times my answer is yes. I wallow in self-pity and think about how hard it is for me. I hang my head in doubt and defeat. Instead of ingesting the life-giving Word, holding onto its promises, and “overflowing with joy” in all my affliction (2 Corinthians 7:4), I give lip service to the Lord, quickly regurgitating His Word, as if merely knowing the words makes them true in me and for me. I’m only living alongside the truth rather than living upon it. Instead of finding His strength to be perfect in my weakness, I trudge through my hardships waiting to be content until I see God do what I want Him to do.

Suffering feels like dying. Dying to certain dreams and wishes we wanted. Dying to our own self sufficiency. Dying to self. But finding a life we could never have had apart from participating in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). A life, His life and strength in us, that is made manifest and perfected as we carry about in this weak body the dying of Christ. So when we desperately long for a way out of our hard circumstances, we can rest knowing He’s making a way out. A way out of our reliance on ourselves, a way out of thinking our strength is adequate, a way out of finding satisfaction in anything else but Him. “Not always OUT of our troublous times, and our struggles fierce and grim, but IN—deeper IN—to our one sure rest, the place of our peace, in Him.”

Let’s pray through Psalm 135 that our circumstances would drive us deeper into Christ and manifest His life through us.

135:1-4 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession.

Lord, I pray:

▫️You are good (Psalm135:3), and while this situation does not feel good, it does not change who You are. And I know that because You are good, You only do that which is good, and You work all things for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. Whatever is good for me in this situation, You will do.

▫️Your name, Your very presence, is pleasant (Psalm 135:3) and in Your presence I can experience joy and delight regardless of my present circumstances. You have promised to always be with me and to never forsake me. This circumstance is hard and sad, but I have a joy in You that nothing can take away.

▫️You have chosen me for Yourself. I am deeply loved by You. You have chosen these circumstances for me, that in them I might see the surpassing greatness of Your power. You have said that Your grace is sufficient for Your power is made perfect in weakness. In the weakness I feel today, give me Your strength.

135:5-7 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

Lord, I pray:

▫️You are great. The circumstances of this life do not change who You are. I am thankful that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. I am not adequate in myself to endure these trials, but my adequacy is from You. Give me a contentment in Your sufficiency. If I have You, that will be enough.

▫️Whatever You please, You do, in heaven and on earth (135:6), in my life, and in my situation. You know exactly what is best and You have innumerable perfect providences that You are working out. Help me to trust Your wise and kind rule in my life.

▫️You govern the clouds that rise, the lightning and the rain, and the winds come from Your storehouses. Knowing You rule all these things, how can I be anxious? Use the things around me, the birds, the lilies of the field, to remind me that I need not be anxious for anything. You care for all these things and You care for me.

135:8-12 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants; who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel.

Lord, I pray:

▫️You are my Mighty Warrior. You are for me. You are the One who has delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of Your beloved Son. You will not fail me now. You will perform what is good for me. You are using these difficulties to help me to see the ways I rely on myself instead of You. Help me to cast off all self reliance and rely wholly on You.

▫️I feel my human frailty in this situation. But You have surpassingly great power that You are using in my life so that, while I am afflicted, I will not be crushed. I am at the end of my resources, but You are the only resource I need. I may feel persecuted, yet You will never forsake me. I feel struck down, but I will not be destroyed. Make the life of Jesus manifest in my body.

135:13-19 Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. O house of Israel, bless the Lord! O house of Aaron, bless the Lord! O house of Levi, bless the Lord! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! Blessed be the Lord from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!

Lord, I pray:

▫️Your name endures forever, and Your renown throughout all ages (135:13). Increase my confidence in You. The more I know You, the more I have a proper perspective on the future. I do not need to fear what lies ahead. You have always faithfully cared for Your people. Use these circumstances to help me to know You in a new way and to cause me to lean into You and Your strength.

▫️You will vindicate Your people and have compassion on them (135:14). Defend and protect me now. The enemy of my soul prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, protect me from his schemes.

▫️You are not like any of the idols of this world. You see me. You hear me. Fill my heart with thanksgiving. My desire is to bless Your name in every circumstance, in the giving and in the taking away. Give only that which makes me more like Christ. Take away that which makes me rely on myself.

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Photo credit to kimdonkey.

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