Death Shall Not Praise You, The

The Dead Shall Not Praise You

In our recent study on “What To Do When A Loved One Dies?” a question arose concerning Psalm 6.5. In verse one the writer requests God to not rebuke or chasten him, in verse 2 he petitions the Lord for mercy, in verse 3 he continues with the thought of being troubled and ends questioning how long he would have to endure. “Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies sake! For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?” (Psalm 6.4-5). The Psalmist seems to be saying that once man dies he cannot praise God. A question arose because in Luke 16 we read of Lazarus and the rich man. Both men were aware of their circumstances and remembered their life before dying. Why would the Psalmist say we cannot praise God after we die if we are conscience?

Indeed the Psalmist does say that once we die we cannot remember or praise God. His point seems to be that by God sparing and prolonging his life he would be able to praise God; whereas if God allowed him to die he would not be able to praise God. If one looks at other Old Testament passages he sees the same thought expressed. “The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 115.17-18) “For Sheol cannot praise You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth” (Isaiah 38.18).

We must remember that God has revealed Himself and His word on an “As Need To Know Basis.” In other words He did not reveal everything to the Patriarchs. I have heard the Patriarchal Dispensation called the “Star Light” Dispensation. Only a small fraction of God’s plan for man’s redemption was disclosed. In Genesis 3 we read of the seed of woman that would bruise the head of satan. Later on in Genesis we read of Abraham and the promise made that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed, Genesis 22. However, a lot was not revealed to the Patriarchs. From Mount Sinai to the time of Christ the Jews lived under the Law of Moses. This has been called the “Moon Light” Dispensation. Just as the moon radiates more light than the stars so God revealed more of His plan for man’s salvation. The seed of woman would come through the tribe of Judah and be a descendant of David. He would be born in the town of Bethlehem , Micah 5.2. However, a lot was not revealed. With the death of Jesus, we passed from the Law of Moses to the Law of Christ. As the Hebrew writer states, “God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1.1-2). In the Law of Christ we have all that God intended for us to know. Thus we now live in the “Son Light” dispensation.

How does this relate to our question on Psalm 6.5? In the Old Testament, God revealed very little about life after death. The word “Sheol” referred to the grave and in the New Testament it is the word “Hades.” Job asked the question, if a man dies shall he live again, Job 14.14. However, the Jews knew very little about life after death. If you stop and think about it, we know very little about life after the grave. Jesus in Luke 16 teaches us that we will be conscious and will either be in torment or in paradise. John 5.28-29 teaches that all will arise from the grave. Other passages teach that we will all stand before God in judgment. To the Jews the grave was the end. In fact even today the Jews view death as a great tragedy. Because they reject Jesus as the Son of God they reject what He taught about life after the grave. We would not have the ability to praise God. From our perspective that is true. We do not preach to the dead and we do not hear the dead praising God. However, we now know that the dead do know God. However, there is still a lot we do not know about life after the grave.—Dennis Tucker

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