Recount

Psalm 118:17, 18 ESV

I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord has disciplined me severely, but as not given me over to death.

“His steadfast Love Endures forever” is the heading given by the translators of the ESV for this Psalm. It is appropriate. That line is repeated five times in the twenty-nine verses that comprise this Psalm, they are in the opening and closing of it as well. Coming off the Easter weekend it is good to note that this is also the place where the line “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” in verse twenty-two. Truly his steadfast love does last forever and he has shown it to us through his son whom the builders rejected and God made the Cornerstone of his church. In light of these things what is the Christian response? When coming face to face with God’s might works, overwhelming love, and steadfast nature, how are Christians to respond?

The answer to this question is seen in verse seventeen. As the psalmist is overwhelmed by his mean estate he finds that God “has not given me over to death” and therefore the psalmist will persist and “recount the deeds of the Lord” with the strength remaining to him. This line hangs in the air around me. As if a giant bell were not ringing anymore but the vibration from it could still be felt, as if the base note on a giant Pipe organ were still being played. The very air was alive with its power and majesty, leaving the haunting impression of immensity and power. The resolute conviction in the necessity of his purpose in life had not been diminished or clouded. It was for him “to glorify God” while breath remained in him.

As I listened to the news today the story of an elderly couple (95 and 94 years old married 73 years) was told to me. Seeing the inevitable decline that lay ahead of them and not wishing to endure it chose to commit suicide together, submitting themselves to the physician to murder them at the same time. This breaks my heart because of what was lost in them and also what was really declared by them. Then I read my bible and am overwhelmed by the reality and depth of the witness of God’s people through out time. There is nothing new under the sun, men have deteriorated in health and mental ability for many seasons. The Psalmist even tells us that “the Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death”. No suffering, real or imagined, present or future, physical or emotional, removes the servant of Christ from the reality of his master being sovereign over him. Nor does it remove Christians from the reality of their call to “recount the deeds of the Lord”, most critically that which is prophesied later in this text and we celebrated this last weekend, the death and Resurrection of Christ.

Yet all of us have other notable examples of God’s faithfulness to us in the midst of trials. Events so meaningful we pray we would not forget them. Why are we not recounting them as we ought? Every night my children beg for stories, real or imagined. Yet, I constantly, am “too busy” or “too tired” to recount the deeds of the Lord. Even as many who read this are blessed with grandchildren longing to hear stories of how they fit into this thing called life, this story of redemption, how they fit into God’s plan. Will you take the time to recount the deeds of the Lord that he has done for you? How he has saved you from yourself? Are you willing to tell that story enough so that everyone in the room already knows it? Or does fear rule your tongue? Live your life in the presence of God, declaring to him, and those around you his faithfulness.

Coram Deo