HOLY BUOYANCY
[p. 187] HOLY BUOYANCY
This psalm, as possibly some may be aware, is partly taken from the earlier Psalm 57 and Psalm 60, which are in the second book. They are historical psalms, in the sense that they bring into view certain circumstances in David’s history in regard to his sufferings, lending great interest to them; for the sufferings of David thus foreshadowed the sufferings of Christ in which we are privileged to have part. The repetition of certain passages in the psalms would remind us of the resetting of precious stones; they shine, they retain their lustre in every setting, but especially in their final setting as in this last book of Psalms. They refer to fineness of thought, which should not be foreign to us as christians; indeed, as partaking of the heavenly calling, we are to “judge of and approve the things that are more excellent”, to compare and define what is excellent and what is more excellent. The more excellent a thing is, the more it can be employed in testimony, whether it is by a christian, or in the Word itself.
The same excellence and variety seen here is found throughout the Scriptures, so that we may have the same thought in Romans or Colossians or Ephesians, but the setting is different in each epistle. Timothy was sent to Corinth to represent what was spiritual amongst persons who were far otherwise, and hence he is selected for a mission to Corinth, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, not only for what he could say, but for what he was. Were we to see that man sitting in Corinth at the reading meeting, we should be affected by his whole deportment, how he would sit and how he would speak. And in the Lord’s own service in the synagogue at Nazareth, the [p. 188] Spirit dwells on His movements, His personal movements, then on His words, then on His mouth; the words He speaks are “gracious words”. The same words, of course, would be gracious on the lips of the saints, but they are particularly so in connection with the lips of Christ: no setting could be greater than that. “His mouth is most sweet”; there is no mouth like it; the setting of the quotation from Isaiah 61 in Luke 4, is therefore unique.
So these sections of the Psalms set together here are to be considered as to what the setting signifies. It is the last book of the Psalms; a book full of jubilance, which, though having its own place in the testimony, is arrived at by the way of David’s sufferings and rejection. This fifth book is full of buoyancy, spiritual buoyancy, ending up with Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! So that praise is the leading thought of this book, and I believe what was included in the praise which accompanied the institution of the passover, and the inauguration of the Supper by the Lord, was taken out of this book. So while these earlier psalms have to be understood in their setting in relation to the sufferings of Christ, that is, the sufferings of David entering into them, it is not so here in Psalm 108. The point is not suffering here, but the outcome of suffering; and so though the setting in the first place is in relation to the suffering, the jewel of praise retains its radiance and beauty in other settings. The outcome of sufferings, beloved brethren, will appear in eternity, not necessarily as connected with the sufferings, but as the product of the suffering. The lustre and value of the psalms is thus secured eternally.
So the psalmist here begins with the statement, “My heart is fixed, O God”. We are often very vacillating, and in a sense nothing is more required than fixity with us, but when everything comes clearly into view as in relation to Christ, then you fix your heart and say, “My heart is fixed, O God; I will sing, yea, I will sing psalms, even with my glory”. This is, I think, what God is doing at the present time among many other things, He is bringing about fixity, steadfastness and stability in us. Aside from this the testimony in our hands must lose lustre at times, for we are liable to become discouraged, and dejection is a discredit to the position, but as we see all things clearly established in Christ, we are fixed. Clarity of view is one of the greatest things needed. Part of the Lord’s great service in Matthew is to give His disciples clear perspective; He took them on high for that. On the level things were exceedingly weak, but He took them up and the perspective is clear, and He is the centre of the picture. You see Him impressing the principles of His kingdom in chapters 5, 6 and 7, the Lord standing out in great majesty, so that the disciples understood; and as they descend there is a certain fixity in their affections and in their minds, which is what the Lord intends.
So in this Psalm 108, there is this fixity, as you will observe, not as in the earlier psalms where great need existed, but the heart being fixed, he says, “I will sing psalms, even with my glory. Awake lute and harp: I will wake the dawn”. There is a great suggestion there of what can be brought about in great persons as the outcome of sufferings. It seems as if the psalmist had in mind that whatever the darkness of the night, he would be there in His praise with the awakening of the morning. That is pre-eminently seen in the Lord Jesus on the morning of the resurrection, and He will yet come out with healing in His wings in a coming day; but I refer to what is here, to show the great thought of His securing this praise for God; and surely great thoughts belong to us: no other family of any of the families of God should be more capable of great thoughts than the saints today! John would press that, the greatness of the saints, that [p. 190] it needed the great persons to bring in the great thoughts of God. So here these thoughts are Godward, as if he would wake the dawn, the glorious morning with songs of jubilee; like the birds in nature who awake the dawn with their songs. How beautiful is this suggestion of life showing itself in this variety in the praises of the believer in the dawn of the morning! How suggestive all this is! How stimulating to our hearts! Lest we should be looking to the west and the setting sun, instead of to the east and the sunrising. When the church comes into view we look towards the east! The tabernacle looked toward the east.
We have suggestions in some of the psalms of David as to what he would do. His influence extends, as the influence of the christian is extending, but his thought is not to exalt himself, but to exalt God. God gave him victory among the nations by which he secured right of way for his brethren, but in it all his desire was not to make himself great, though it did make him great, but to exalt God. God does widen our influence if we are faithful, but the thought here is to celebrate God in the saints. So he says, “I will give thee thanks among the peoples, O Jehovah; of thee will I sing psalms among the nations: for thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens, and thy truth is unto the clouds. Be thou exalted above the heavens, O God, and thy glory above all the earth. That thy beloved ones may be delivered”. Now, dear brethren, this is a very important matter, for there are so many needing deliverance; the enemy is attacking in various places amongst us, holding people in bondage, hence the need of deliverance for hundreds of our brethren. How can we deliver them except in buoyancy, spiritual buoyancy? As it says, “That thy beloved ones may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me”. We see the exalted feelings of the psalmist, dear brethren, “Be thou exalted above the heavens”. God [p. 191] loves that thought! Jesus has gone beyond all that, “ascended up above all the heavens”, but faith loves to see Him there, exalted above the heavens, for the service of man. So that there are results from the glory on high for the deliverance of the brethren. They are all dear to Christ, “the Lord knows those that are his”.
Then the following verses from verse 7, are what God says: “God hath spoken in his holiness”. The point is to emphasise that the speaking is in holiness; I speak now of what is unfolded in these verses, that is, God coming in and asserting His rights. There are different international settings among men which are always difficult, because it is all a question of man’s selfish will. The believer learns that they have to surmount their selfish interests, that there is such a thing as superiority to international considerations; but that is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts”. The mountain may seem insuperable; it may indeed be called “great”, but God says, “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou dost become a plain”. That is, nothing is impossible as we recognise the rights of God in Christ; everything gives way before the power of the Spirit. So that in our service we can look north, south, east and west, and the Lord has right of way everywhere. That is, dear brethren, the testimony is secured; the affections of the saints are widening and becoming universal instead of national. “The eyes of Jehovah run to and fro through the whole earth”; He is Lord of all the earth, and He asserts His rights; He has right of way there-a very great fact.
So here we find God speaking in His holiness and saying, “I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth” (verse 7). It is the blessed God full of holy buoyancy in what He is doing. He has got the right to man, and He exerts that right with joy; He rejoices over His saints with joy: as it says elsewhere, “He will rest in his love; he will exult over thee with singing”. He is full of exuberance, and we, as it were, enter into His enjoyment. What He says is, “Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine”. That is God speaking, that is what He says in His holiness; He is in perfect consonance with the psalmist. It shows how God comes in and identifies Himself with us, that is victory indeed for those who serve, to see that God is working. So He says, “I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth”, no one can stand in My way! Can anyone say to Him, This is my territory? Presently the Lord Jesus will come down from heaven, as a mighty angel, and will set His foot upon the sea, and His left foot on the earth, and who can say Him nay? Shechem and Succoth? He has rights there. However difficult the position, He has got rights there: “Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the strength of my head”; it is as if God would allude to the wisdom of His people, they are “the strength of my head”. He has got that; He has got something here, and we want to be in that to which He alludes here, whether it be Gilead or Manasseh or Ephraim. They all belong to God who is exalted above the heavens; that is elevation, and He speaks in holiness. Then He says also that He has got a lawgiver, that is Judah.
Then finally, He has a “wash-pot” in a place of reproach, that is Moab, but it is useful. It is not what we might call a refined thought, but it is very necessary. We all know what Moab stands for: “We have heard of the arrogance of Moab-he is very proud”, but God may use even an abominable element like pride for our purification; He can turn it into a wash-pot, a means of purification. And then, “Upon Edom will I cast my sandal”, as if He could do anything with that. Edom is the haughty brother, but who can say nay to what God does? And so, “Over Philistia will I shout aloud”; that speaks of the great [p. 193] leaders in christendom today. So that the psalms are full of holy experiences for us, and God joins Himself to these experiences of His saints and gives effect to them. If David’s influence is extending, God says, ‘I will give effect to it too: I will give the same kind of victory’. “My grace suffices thee”.