Who do you unload on? Elvis sang: ‘Where could I go but to the Lord?’ David agrees! We meet him, not unlike Job, in the depth of our distress. His ‘go-to’ is the Lord. He tells him exactly how this feels. He is attacked on every front – physically sick, in spiritual anguish, worn out by sleepless nights and endless tears. And he sees the Lord’s hand in this, putting at least some of this down to the Lord’s discipline (v 1). But he knows the Lord. He still trusts that God is merciful (v 2), shows unfailing love (v 4) and listens (v 9). He can sing with William Cowper: ‘Behind a frowning providence / He hides a smiling face’.* It’s like tailing a friend in the car in front up a mountain road, through dark woods, on a snowy night. ‘Where are they taking us?’ We keep trusting. 

Rebuke and discipline are part of Christian life (Hebrews 12:1–13) – although thankfully, not often this extreme. Only through discipline can we be renewed so that we think like God thinks, and feel like he feels. There is so much junk to clear from our lives. David has the added trouble that enemies seem on the brink of victory. But he holds on, reminding himself that God will break through to establish his victory (vs 9,10).

*William Cowper (1731–1800), ‘God moves in a mysterious way’

‘… the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong’.¹

This is Job’s psalm. It is also mine. If you have never experienced the pain of verse 2, or prayed the cry of verse 3, or even been through the kind of night described in verse 6, then pray for those who are, right now. Job’s friends would have done well to read this psalm before their meetings with him, had it been written then. The writer’s opening plea reveals a concern about God’s discipline. This is a vital theme of Scripture, but not a popular one.² Discipline is a sign of parental love. When God disciplines us, he is treating us as his children. He loves us as we are, but he also loves us too much to leave us that way. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace in due course.³

It is right that the psalm does not attempt to whitewash the anguish of God’s people when they undergo suffering. Here the writer pleads with God, complains to God and weeps before God. This is lament at its deepest and darkest. Thankfully, it leads on to hope and encouragement. ‘The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer’ (v 9). Here ‘is not a faith that leads to dry-eyed stoicism, but a faith so robust it wrestles with God.’⁴

Verse 5 reflects a common approach to death taken in the Near East at that time, before the event of Jesus’ resurrection. Nevertheless, it reveals the longing of the writer to be saved from imminent death. His plea for salvation is based on God’s character, not his own (vs 8,9). It is God’s unfailing love that carries him through these appalling circumstances. May it carry you through today.

Psalm 136 repeats the phrase ‘His love endures for ever’ in all 26 verses. Read it and be encouraged that God’s love is our guarantee of salvation. Give thanks.

¹ 1 Pet 5:10  ² Heb 12:5–11  ³ Heb 12:11  ⁴ DA Carson, How long, O Lord?, IVP, 2004, p73