Psalms 69:30–31

If the sufferings of Christ at the hands of men lead to judgment of the nation, they will also have a glorious answer in the exaltation of Christ. So, though "poor and sorrowful," the Lord can say, "Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high." With His exaltation there will be praise to God. Christ will take the lead in that praise, and it will replace the sacrifices of old.

Take the three Psalms, 22, 40, 69 — each of them showing the Lord in His path of suffering here, yet each one showing that He comes out with a song of praise. In Psalm 22 we see Him as the sin offering, yet He says, "In the midst of the congregation I will praise You." In Psalm 40, He is the burnt offering, and we read, "He has put a new song in my mouth — praise to our God." In Psalm 69, the trespass offering, we find, "I will praise the name of God with a song." Note the "our God" of Psalm 40. This shows that others will be linked with Him.

He will pay the vows He here makes. And this praise for resurrection is more welcome to God than sacrifices of oxen and bullocks offered in remembrance of sin. And it is in fellowship with Jesus in resurrection that the saints now worship. There they lay, as on a new altar, their sacrifices of praise.

This gives him a song of praise and thanksgiving to the name of God (v. 30). That response pleases the Lord far more than the outward offering of an ox or a bull. The Lord seeks the response of our hearts, not gifts that may have little heart in them. Not that He despises gifts if they are moved by heartfelt appreciation, but He seeks our hearts first.

But how beautiful this is: "I will praise the name of God with a song." Of course, the ox and the bullock present the simple thought of service. There is something the Lord enjoys more than service. How can I best please the Lord? "I will praise the name of God with a song" is the divine answer. We often have prayer-meetings, but I wish we more often had a praise-meeting.

The Lord delights in the happiness of His people, and that happiness comes out in a song that sets out His excellencies... But it is in redemption that God comes to light. So the first song we get in Scripture is the song of Moses and the people of Israel on the wilderness banks of the Red Sea... He must be known before He can be praised. His praise is the setting out of His excellencies, and those excellencies come into view in the work of redemption.

Let all such rejoice. Though they are denied many privileges that others enjoy, they may still have unbroken communion with the Lord. Of Him it is written: "the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise His own people who are prisoners" (Ps. 69:33). Let them take the affliction or sorrow from Him who orders everything in His infinite wisdom and love, and count themselves as "His prisoners." Then they too "will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving" (v. 30). How worthy of praise is that compassion that takes notice of each of His saints, according to their individual needs.

If, however, the sufferings of Christ at the hands of men lead to judgment of the nation, they will also have a glorious answer in the exaltation of Christ. So, though "poor and sorrowful," the Lord can say, "Let your salvation, O God, set me up on high." With His exaltation there will be praise to God. Christ will take the lead in it, and it will replace the sacrifices of old.

We have often heard Psalm 22 referred to as the Sin Offering, Psalm 40 as the Burnt Offering, and Psalm 69 as the Trespass Offering, and in each of them we have a song. There seems to be an ascending note of praise from Psalm 69 to Psalm 22 and then to Psalm 40. In the first it is "I will praise" — that is Christ alone. In Psalm 22 it says, "in the midst of the congregation." Psalm 40 adds "praise to our God." It suggests that while the praise begins with Christ Himself, He associates us with Himself in it.

In the Book of Psalms we see a shift away from the system of sacrifices given through Moses. In a veiled way it hints that God was not well pleased with the offering of bulls and goats. He did not find His pleasure in the sacrifice of an animal that had horns and hoofs. God was looking for something else; He desired what was in the heart. "In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted … burnt offering and sin offering you have not required." Jehovah's delight was in the language of the heart that said, "Behold, I have come … I delight to do your will." There God found His full satisfaction in His Beloved and Blessed Son.

This gives him a song of praise and thanksgiving to the name of God. Such a response pleases the Lord far more than the outward offering of an ox or a bull. The Lord seeks the response of our hearts, not gifts that may have little heart in them. He does not despise gifts when heartfelt appreciation prompts them, but He seeks our hearts first.

But how beautiful this is: "I will praise the name of God with a song." Of course, the ox and the bullock present the simple thought of service. There is something the Lord enjoys more than service. How can I best please the Lord? "I will praise the name of God with a song" is the divine answer. We often have prayer meetings, but I wish we more often had a praise meeting.

He will pay the vows He here makes. And this praise for resurrection is more welcome to God than sacrifices of oxen and bullocks in remembrance of sin. And it is in fellowship with Jesus in resurrection that the saints now worship. There they lay, as on a new altar, their sacrifices of praise.

What a little breath, breathed out in a few words of praise — an "acceptable sacrifice"! One can understand Christ's sacrifice being acceptable — that one sacrifice by which we are perfected for ever. But does the same Spirit, after telling us of that, turn round to you and to me, saying, "I look to you to offer sacrifice"? What! Can God accept as sacrifice a little breath that carries to my soul the thought of what He has done? Yes! And I am to offer it to Him continually as the fruit of the lips giving thanks to His name.