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It was a really long time ago, during final exams (I was the giver, not the taker). That is an extremely busy time of year, with a great deal of pressure thrown in. I was once again reading through the Psalms and was in Psalm 94. As I came to verse 19 (“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul”), my heart was gripped by it as never before. Since that day, it has remained one of my “go to” verses in times of stress.
Our hearts have a recurring tendency to get crowded with cares. Family matters, financial needs, health concerns, national affairs, and a myriad other things, small and great, swirl around in our minds. Not missing from this maelstrom is the daily struggle that we have with indwelling sin.
The anonymous author of Psalm 94 was no different. Consider these things that were weighing heavily on his mind and heart: he was living among the wicked (vv. 2–4); he was witnessing the crushing of his people, particularly the oppression of the widow and fatherless (vv. 5–6); he heard their boastful claims that the Lord doesn’t see or hear their wickedness (v. 7). Furthermore, he lamented the lack of support from others (believers) (vv. 16–17); he even felt that his own foot was slipping from its secure place (v. 18); and he witnessed the wicked framing unjust laws and preparing to move against the righteous (vv. 20–21). This psalmist was no stranger to tangled and troublesome thoughts.
But the great verse of this psalm that gripped me not only mentions that “the cares of my heart are many” but says of the Great Physician that “your consolations cheer my soul” (v. 19). The divine comforts that flow down from the hand of the One who is called the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3) are said to “cheer” our souls. These are soul delights, deeply satisfying dispellers of the shades of care that we contend with. These are like soothing balm to a troubled soul.
Consider the consolations that are woven through this psalm: the psalmist delighted that he could make his appeal directly to God (Ps. 94:1); he was sure that God does see and hear and will judge (vv. 9–11, 23); he took comfort in the fact that the Lord disciplines His people and blesses them thereby (v. 12); he was convinced that God will never forsake His people (v. 14); he knew that the Lord was his help when no one else was (v. 17); he was assured of God’s upholding mercy (v. 18); he took confidence in the Lord as his stronghold and refuge (v. 22); and finally, he knew that God would judge the wicked (v. 23). That’s quite a list of consolations, wouldn’t you say?
When the cares start swirling and your head is spinning, start listing the consolations that you have in Christ. That list is weightier by far. Recite Psalm 94:19 and rest in its truth.