Seeing Jesus in Psalms 71

 Psalm 71

“You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.”

Psalm 71:20 NLT 

Each time I read the Psalms I am asking myself which of these words could have come from the mouth of Jesus during His life on earth? And apart from the verse above which I will discuss in a bit, I want to say that I need to revise my thoughts about Jesus. I in no way want to imagine that David was a better worshipper than Jesus. David was not more full of praise, not more excited to talk about God and not more full of joy about God’s salvation. 

How could anyone moreso than Jesus truthfully utter these words found in verses 5-6?

“O Lord, you alone are my hope.

I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.

Yes, you have been with me from birth;

from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.

No wonder I am always praising you!”

Psalm 71:5-6

And could David be more an example than Jesus? 

”My life is an example to many,

because you have been my strength and protection.”

Psalm 71:7

But if David can say it and Jesus can say it then maybe we should consider if we can say it? Or do we want to be able to say these words? and so I come back to verse 20. 

MAIN POINT: For David, Jesus and the followers of Jesus extraordinary praise is always accompanied by (by God’s plan and design) extraordinary suffering.

“You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.”

Psalm 71:20 NLT 

1. Death always proceeds resurrection. 

1. The words on verse 20 fit no one better than Jesus. No one ever had or would know such suffering, and no one could ever be so sure of resurrection power.

2. I feel a bit like Jesus in that He often talks of this equation. He regularly tells the disciples of the path planned by God the Father: suffering, death and then resurrection. But no one seems to get it. 

1. Maybe because so few have followed the path. 

2. Maybe because it is so counter to all the advice and expectations of the world.

3. All the following verses attest to the same path: suffering followed by glory. Luke 9:22, 44, 18:31-34, 24:7, 26, Daniel 9:26, Matthew 16:21, 17:22, Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34, 1 Corinthians 15:4, 1 Peter 1:11

3. Resurrection by definition follows death. And so is it for the Christian; we must die to self and according to Hebrews we must also face death. Matthew 16:24-25, Mark 8:34-35, Luke 14:27, Romans 6:4-8, Galatians 2:20, 24, Hebrews 9:27 (I’ve looked each of these verses up and read them before copying the reference, so if you want the riches of this knowledge, you can look them up too. In the PDF version of this lesson there should be links with all the references that are not quoted in the text.

4. So you want the power of the resurrection? Then you have to die. And sorry, it won’t be pretty or easy. It will require suffering. Do we think we are better than our master? Do I think I will get by following Jesus part way but not all the way? Paul surely didn’t think that way, and he was quite clear that all who live a godly life will suffer.

“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 

2 Timothy 3:12-17 

2. We can expect God to resurrect us when we are His.

1. David expected it. Psalm 71:20

2. Jesus expected it Luke 9:22

3. Paul expected it. Philippians 3:10

4. We are encouraged to expect it. 1 Peter 5:6 and James 4:10

3. The confidence of resurrection power gives a person great confidence to praise and obey God.

1. The follower of God who suffers ultimately knows that the suffering cannot undo the promises of God.

2. The follower of God who suffers sees a spiritual power and dimension that makes them feel like saying God is invincible--and He is! God is invincible. No evil can thwart His promises and plans. No wonder David wants to praise. All the desire to have superpowers and be a superhero can’t be topped by a God who works this way. A God who can literally raise the dead.

3. “I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me.” Psalm 71:23

1. Ransom implies the need to buy back, to pay a demand, to rescue.

2. But God does that. He pays the price required. 

 

Conclusion:

Jesus knew even better than David this confidence in God’s resurrection power and Jesus knew too that to be raised up, He’d have to die. We will have to follow the example of Jesus if we want to be His followers. We will have to die. We will have to suffer. We will have to trust the resurrection power of God. Such confidence will fill us with trusting, exuberant  praise, because we expect the problems but we also expect God to ransom us from those problems. 

Handwritten Psalm 71