Whenever we see the words, "It is written," we know that this is a reference to a passage from the Old Testament. Some people are inclined to dismiss the Old Testament as not having any relevance to today, but there are so many links between the 39 books (Old Testament) and the 27 (New Testament) that to question the first is to question the second and this leads to a lack of trust in the Word of God as a whole.
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, [2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV]
Paul is quoting from Psalm 116 when he says, "I believed; therefore have I spoken." Here is a longer section from the Psalm in question.
I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. [Psalms 116:10-19 NIV]
The writer of this psalm is going through a bitter experience. He became afraid that his life was coming to an end ("the anguish of the grave came upon me") and he was facing death ("being entangled by the cords of death"). He spoke of "being overcome by trouble and sorrow." [Psalm 116:2 NIV] It is in this situation he realises that he cannot trust anyone. In his panic he exclaimed, " Everyone is a liar." Then he turns to God and put his complete trust in Him. Such a deep experience strengthened his faith and he reacts spontaneously with worship. If we read through the verses quoted above from Psalm 116, we see these expressions of faith and worship - expressed in terms typical of the psalms - 'lifting up the cup of salvation and calling on the name of the Lord. He goes from dedication and expressions of faith in the Lord to worship ("I will sacrifice a thank offering to you" and "I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people" and ends with Hallelujah or Praise the Lord.
Notice that the bitter experiences the psalm writer has endured has not destroyed his faith - in fact, the reverse is true - his faith has been strengthened and vocalised. He has been able to express his faith openly and publicly. So far from losing heart and giving in, his faith in God is strengthened by times of trial and suffering. I have heard the phrase from this psalm quoted at times of bereavement - "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants." God has a deep purpose in allowing any of his saints to go through the 'valley of the shadow of death'. His purposes are often difficult for us to understand but any such experience is permitted by God for our good - even though this may not be apparent at the time.
For Paul says that the sufferings and his reaction to them are a strong witness to others. They see for themselves the evidence of the risen power of Jesus and the reality of the eternal life which is found in Him alone. We may not need to say much - our conduct through times of trial are a witness to others without much needing to be said.
"So that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." This verse is not saying that Paul has all the suffering and they have all the benefits. There is a deep spiritual lesson for us to learn. We may be going through bitter experiences - even death itself but we are being watched by others while we are experiencing trials. If we allow our faith to triumph in the same way as Paul did and act like the writer of Psalm 116, this is a dramatic witness to the reality of our faith. They see evidence of divine life in action. We may be able to express ourselves worship to God and praise him audibly during the trials or we may just give silent witness to the power of the divine life within us by our conduct and our patience in suffering.
Picture by Linda Gerbec on Unsplash.
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