Aren’t the psalms more powerful when read in the context of their history?
Psalm 7 contains more examples of why Hebrew poetry can be tricky for us. The paragraph starting in verse 12 begins by talking about God, and in verse 14 changes the subject to the man to whom verse 12 referred, who doesn’t repent. The subject change is not always evident, but certainly what the text says about the subject in verse 14 is not true of God. Thus, realizing whom it is talking about might take a little consideration.
Another tricky issue with Hebrew poetry is that it takes liberties with time. Verses 14 and 15 start by talking about what the one who does not repent has done. Verse 15 says that he has fallen into the pit he has dug, when he probably hasn’t yet, or David wouldn’t be asking God to deliver him. Often Hebrew poetry talks about future events as if they had already happened. I believe one reason this is so is that the poet trusts in God’s justice so much that it isn’t a matter of if, but when. Another reason is that he is likely fantasizing about it. Can you relate to that? Have you ever longed so much for a situation to come to pass that you imagine what it would be like? In this case, the one about whom David speaks likely won’t literally fall into a pit he has dug, but that is one scenario that gives David satisfaction in imagining.
Rather than share with you my insights in the psalms, I want to guide you in gleaning your own insights from them. God has much more meaningful insights for you than I do! Since some of you may be new at this, I won’t set you loose on your own the first day, but give you some examples to follow. So as you read these psalms, consider the following:
Psalm 27:
When David says that God is his light and salvation, he isn’t just making a pious-sounding statement; he explains how that has come to be and what it looks like practically. Note what he says about that – make a list.
1) He will not fear. (v.3) This doesn’t mean that he foolishly doesn’t feel fear, but that he chooses not to be afraid and instead chooses to be confident. Recall that “feeling follows faith.”
2) He seeks (remember the importance of seeking) to live in intimacy with God and to know Him as the wonderful being that He is. (v.4) This means that when life gets messy or trials come (recall that David knew a lot about that), He has that refuge established.
3) He is prepared (he has made up his mind while he is in his right mind, before the trials come) to sing with joy in the day of trial because, since he enjoys that intimate relationship with Him, he is hidden by God and lifted to a firm place.
4) He will be quick to cry out to God for help in a time of crisis; he wouldn’t take God’s help for granted.
5) He was teachable, sought to continue being taught by God.
6) He sought leading from God and intended to follow it.
7) He chose to believe in the goodness of the Lord. Again, choosing implies that faith is employed even when the feeling isn’t there, because faith doesn’t follow feeling or else it’s not faith. “Feeling follows faith.”
8) He refused to give way to despair.
9) He intended to wait on God’s timing for deliverance. That meant not impatiently taking matters into his own hands. Isn’t it interesting that he saw the way of strength would be to wait on God, and the way of courage would be to wait on God? That is counter-intuitive to our culture.
Psalm 31:
Note the practical steps David has taken to make God his refuge. You should be able to identify steps that you could put into practice as well, since these things happened to the man after God’s own heart as an example to us. As in the previous psalm, these may look like choices he makes while he is in his right mind.
Note that beginning in verse 9 he talks about his distress. Here’s that parallelism that is such a feature of Hebrew poetry. Let each line enlarge your understanding of how distressed David was, and why. That makes his praise for God beginning in verse 19 all the more amazing to the reader. He can offer that sacrifice of praise in the midst of distress because he has taken these practical steps to make God his refuge, and that praise is actually part of his steps to make God his refuge.
Psalm 34:
The reference to Abimelech in the introduction may actually be intended to mean the incident recorded in I Samuel 21:10-15. That was a dangerous situation in which David greatly feared the king. David sought God’s help in his crisis, and possibly the idea to feign madness came from God! The king’s reaction was probably also from God.
David then would be looking desperately for a place to find refuge, but in his desperation he was so full of praise to God that he wrote this psalm. I’m sorry to say that praising God is not a strength of mine; I definitely need to practice it more. Praising Him in desperate times comes even less naturally to me. This psalm gives a great example of how to praise God. I use psalms like this as a starting point for offering God praise when I can’t come up with something on my own. The circumstances in which it was written leave me with a compelling reason not to give way to weak human reactions in desperate times as an excuse not to choose to praise God. The praise David offers here is both worship to God and balm for one’s soul. Isn’t it lovely that God works worship that way? Why not make a note to reference Psalm 34 when you need some help getting started in praising God?
Psalm 52 – I’m leaving you on your own here, because this post is already too long. What is one insight that God has especially for you in this psalm? Ask Him, expect Him to answer, and spend time considering. Please feel free to share with me your insights!