Bible Commentary - Psalms 40

The first question to ask when reading any psalm is, what kind of psalm is it?  Psalm 40 is a fascinating blend of praise and petition.

In nearly every case, the first verse tells us the purpose and general theme of the psalm.  In this case, I don’t think we get such a clear answer.  In the beginning of the psalm, I actually find verse 3 is the clearest  statement of purpose for this psalm.  The “new song” of verse 3 is most likely a reference to the psalm itself, and it is a “song of praise”.  What is the purpose of this song?  It was written so that “many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD” (v. 3).  It is, in fact, a testimony of deliverance, so that others will trust in God to deliver them in the same way.

Verses 4-5 continue with a similar tone, focusing on the theme of trust.  This is consistent with the tone of verse 1; the “man who has made the LORD his trust” is “blessed” (v. 4), and in fact David writes this psalm so that others would hear about his fortune and trust in God as well.  Verse 2 is a clear past-tense deliverance that has already happened, and David is praising God for it.

The imagery in this passage is remarkably similar to Psalm 18.  The notion of being “drawn out” of a pit of destruction is very similar to the “cords of Sheol” and “the snares of death” in Psalm 18:4.  Psalm 18:16 has David “drawn out” of the many waters, and Psalm 18:19 has David placed in a “broad place”, given a strong and secure dwelling place, much like the “rock” and the “firm footsteps” of v. 2 here.

Where things get a little strange is in v. 6-8.  This is a powerful passage, deeply reminiscent of 1 Samuel 15:22-23.  In that passage, Samuel himself poetically declares that obedience is better than sacrifice.  Verses 6-8 have the same meaning: after saying that God did not “desire” or “require” sacrifices, the psalmist says “I delight to do your will… your law is within my heart”.  Doing God’s will and obeying the law is better than sacrifices by far.  God doesn’t even desire sacrifices compared to obedience.

Why it’s strange to me is not the content of the message, which is powerful, but trying to understand why the psalmist places it here.  Why is David saying this now?  What does it have to do with his deliverance earlier in the psalm, or (as we will see) his continued trials and struggles later in the psalm?  I admire this passage while struggling to contextualize it.

Verses 9-12 seem to go together.  The way I read this passage is that there is an equivalence drawn between verses 9-10 and 11-12.  In 9-10, David says “I have not hidden your righteousness”, by which he means declaring the works of God and righteousness of God to the people around him.  In 11-12, David petitions for God to not “withhold your compassion”.  In other words, David is saying that he did not withhold the praise of God in the midst of the congregation, doing his part by declaring God’s wonders, and now he’s asking God to do God’s part by not withholding compassion and love to “preserve” David.  If David does not hold back, God should not hold back either.

In verse 12, David makes it quite clear that he is still in need of God’s deliverance and strength.  Quite apart from the “rock” of v. 2, David is in a lot of trouble.  That’s what I find so fascinating about this psalm.  In the beginning, David is so obviously triumphant, exulting over his enemies and declaring the praises of God that “many will see and fear”.  By the end of the psalm, “evils beyond number have surrounded me” (v. 12).  This simultaneous reality that David is surrounded by evils, overtaken by his iniquities, and yet God has already drawn him out of the pit and placed him on the rock.  You would think, if we analyzed this rationally, that David would first pray for the removal of his many enemies, and then secondly, perhaps at a later time, praise God for saving him from the aforementioned enemies.

This looks like a reversal of the typical prayer psalm.  A typical prayer psalm has three parts: the problem statement, the petition for deliverance, and praise in anticipation of God’s response.  This psalm, for no reason that I can easily discern, appears to reverse that flow.  It begins with praise, not in anticipation of God’s response, but seemingly as an outflow of God having already delivered David.  Then, after asking God to maintain his faithfulness (v. 11-12), David finally concludes with a petition for relief in v. 13-17.  An obvious question is why; why does David re-order things here?

I don’t think I can offer any definitive answers.  One possibility is that the deliverance of v. 1-5 is from a different problem as v. 13-17.  That is, maybe David is praising God for an earlier victory as a reminder that God can deliver him from his present struggles as well.  Another alternative is that the prayer psalm format is simply more malleable and fluid than I recognize, and that David reordered the elements of the psalm to suit his own literary preferences.  Or possibly there is some other explanation that I cannot identify.

Do you have any ideas?  If so, comment below and let me know what you think!

Bible Commentary - Psalms 39

This is an unusual psalm. It seems to most resemble a prayer, but it does not follow the typical formula of the prayer psalms.

A normal prayer psalm has three parts: the problem, the petition, and praise. The problem sets up the context and background for what is going wrong. The petition is asking for God’s miraculous intervention to bring some kind of resolution to the problem. Praise concludes the typical prayer psalm by thanking God in anticipation and belief that his intervention is forthcoming.

In this psalm, it opens instead with a peculiar resolution. David says that he resolved to himself to say nothing, either good or bad. In verse 1 he clarifies that it is only “while the wicked are in my presence”, but in other verses it seems that his resolution to speak nothing is possibly more general than that.

In either case, it’s not entirely clear the context or why David chooses to refrain from judgment. What did he hope to accomplish? What was he afraid of? In verse 2, he says he “refrained even from good”, suggesting that this might be some kind of vow of silence, not just avoiding criticism or condemnation of these “wicked” people.

What’s even more strange about this story is how David says that his vow is protecting him from sin: “That I may not sin with my tongue” (v. 1). Is David afraid that he will join in the plots of the wicked, or is he afraid that condemning the wicked is itself an act of sin? What sin is he afraid of? Perhaps he is using the word “sin” sarcastically. In a general sense, the word “sin” means fault, mistake or error. Perhaps David is suggesting that by condemning the wicked, the wicked themselves would become enemies of David, and ascribe David’s words as a “sin” to him. It might not be wrong or evil for David to judge the wicked, but the wicked themselves could view it as such.

Most of these points are not clear: what is clear is that, as David remained silent, all of the words and thoughts built up more and more pressure in David’s heart, and “the fire burned” within him (v. 3). And how relatable is that! How many of us, having once vowed to speak nothing, to hold our peace, find the peace within us broken as “the fire burns”. I know for myself, having a sharp disagreement with one friend or another at one time or another, that many times I have resolved to say nothing. How many times I find my opinion raging unabated but unspoken, because I am living in the presence of people making (what I think are) mistakes. I can only imagine David finds himself in a similar contradiction, where his thoughts and feels are burning against the behavior that he sees, but he has resolved to say nothing. The pressure builds and builds until at last he speaks.

When David does speak, it’s hard for me to understand how his prayer relates to his earlier time of silence. David speaks a prayer, first that God would teach his heart the momentary briefness of life. Second, David prays that God would remove his punishment, that David may have joy for the few moments of his life before he dies and passes away forever.

Here’s what I don’t understand. When David was silent, it seemed like all his thoughts and energy were directed outward. He was burning because he had to remain silent in the presence of the wicked, because of his heart’s conflict with the wicked. When he finally speaks, it seems like all his thoughts and prayers are directed inward, towards his own life, suffering, and desire for joy. I don’t see how his thoughts in the first place lead to his words in the second place, unless perhaps I misunderstand the nature of his burning heart in verse 3.

Verses 4-6 clearly lay out David’s view that life is a brief and momentary thing. In verse 6, David specifically points out the folly of the wicked; they struggle and strive to accumulate wealth, but at the end of their lives, the wealth passes on to another and nobody knows who that might be.

In verses 7-11, David seems to shift direction quite a bit and asks God to “deliver” him from his sins and from God’s corresponding punishment. This whole section from v. 4-11 is why I consider this a prayer psalm, because David has a clear petition for God’s deliverance. Yet the other customary parts, the problem statement and praise, are suspiciously absent. Verses 1-3 seem to make up what is normally a problem statement, but as I previously mentioned I don’t really see how we can logically go from David’s silence before the wicked to David’s own transgressions and why David needs relief from God’s punishment.

If we viewed these sections as completely unrelated concepts, it would make a lot more sense; however, since it is all formed together as a single psalm, the nature of the text clearly relates them together. Perhaps the missing piece is the nature of David’s sin. What is David’s sin? And why does he choose to be silent before the wicked? The psalms are often decontextualized (stripped of any motivating incident) so that they can be more relatable, but in this case it’s simply confusing. Without knowing David’s sin, I don’t see why it would make him choose to be silent, or why, after his long silence, this is the prayer that bursts forth from his heart. I fear I cannot answer such questions for my readers, because I simply don’t know. If anyone has any ideas feel free to reply in the comments.

Bible Commentary - Psalms 38

This psalm is utterly depressing.

From beginning to end, it has just a single message: things are going really badly, and David is petitioning the LORD to help him.

Throughout our study of the Psalms, I have described some of the common formats, or styles, of the Psalter. This psalm is closest to a prayer psalm, which we learn by focusing on the purpose of the psalm.

A typical prayer psalm has three parts. It begins with a “problem statement”, a declaration of what’s going wrong in the author’s life. In the middle is a petition for deliverance, usually in an imperative tone: “save me, oh God!” In conclusion, prayer psalms generally end with praise in anticipation of God’s response. That is the basic formula, and individual psalms vary from this format on occasion, but they will usually have at least two out of three elements. Psalm 18 is a great example of a prayer psalm in “past tense”, i.e. a scenario where the deliverance has already occurred, and thus the problem statement, prayer for deliverance and God’s response have all happened, and David is telling us retrospectively what God has done in his life, but using the prayer formula.

In the case of Psalm 38, it differs from the typical formula because it has a problem statement and prayer for deliverance, but no corresponding praise in anticipation of God’s response. This is a bit surprising because in most cases David prays with considerable faith that God will respond to his need and bring deliverance.

In the case of this psalm, the omission of the typical “praise section” places more emphasis on David’s troubles. Coupled with the considerable lengthening of David’s “problem statement” and the absence of any description of God’s glory or righteousness, the overall tone of this psalm is very dark.

In this psalm, David highlights three particular problems that he is facing. The first and most obvious is physical suffering, injury or disease. Before going further, I want to emphasize that in some cases physical disease or suffering appears in the bible (and especially the psalms) as a metaphor for emotional suffering, grief or distress. For instance, Psalm 31:9-13 seems like it’s mostly a situational distress and David talks about his “strength failing”, and his “body [growing weak] with grief”. In this case it’s clear that he’s talking about his body suffering as a consequence of emotional pain or distress. Psalm 32:3-4 is a more ambiguous case, where David talks about his “bones wasting away” and his “strength was sapped” due to some otherwise undescribed sin. In this case, it could be either a metaphor or a real description of his physical decline. Like the present case, David viewed his physical suffering as a consequence of sin and probably as a manifestation of God’s wrath.

In the present psalm, David’s physical suffering is interwoven with two other sources of misery (which I have not yet described). It’s somewhat ambiguous whether this is a real suffering or purely metaphorical, but the fact that physical pain is such a recurring theme makes me view it as more likely to be a real thing. Simply put, if it were just a metaphor then I think David would be less persistent about it. In v. 5, David says “my wounds fester”. In v. 7, “my back is filled with searing pain”. In v. 11, “my friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds”. In v. 17, “my pain is ever with me”. As anyone who has experienced chronic pain would know, when enduring chronic pain it is difficult to think about anything else, and for such a religious person as David it would be easy to ascribe such pain as God’s punishment or wrath.

In conclusion, this psalm blends together the topic of physical pain with emotional guilt and sin. In part, the ambiguity between metaphor and real pain is because these two ideas (physical pain and emotional pain) are not clearly distinguished by David. Once again, anyone who has endured considerable emotional pain (such as the death of a loved one or a broken relationship) can attest that the emotional pain can manifest in the physical body, whether as insomnia, loss of appetite and sometimes even physical pain. Perhaps it is appropriate that David does not distinguish them, because suffering of the one kind so often produces suffering of the other.

This leads me to the second source of David’s misery: his pervading sense of guilt and awareness of his own sin. This is what takes an otherwise secular topic and makes it religious. David views both his physical and emotional suffering as the consequence of God’s wrath, itself a consequence of David’s sin. “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” (v. 18) The suffering that manifests in David’s body has its ultimate origin in David’s soul and broken relationship with God. David says that his “wounds fester and are loathsome” - physical suffering - “because of my sinful folly” - spiritual brokenness (v. 5). This psalm seeks to repair his spiritual condition, that his physical condition may also be restored.

The third and final source of misery is David’s fairweather friends evaporating in the midst of his trial, and the resurgence of his enemies. As he physically weakens, his enemies perceive an opportunity to bring about his downfall, and his erstwhile friends likewise see little advantage in maintaining their loyalty to the weakened king. Sadly, during the time that David needs his friends the most, the time when David has the least to offer them, is the time that he is abandoned as his friends (and enemies) pursue a Darwinian optimization of their own personal interests. This is the time when David’s friends reveal themselves for who they are. When their friendship finally has a price, when there is a cost with no corresponding benefit to oneself, but only to the friend, those friends conclude that they never really cared about David. They were only exploiting the friendship for their own benefit, and as the fortune of David declines, the friends subsequent divorce themselves from him. The fact that David’s enemies would attack him is perhaps not a surprise, but the fact that his friends and neighbors abandon him is sadly revealing.

In the midst of this darkness, David sees hope in his one consistent friend and support, the LORD. “Do not forsake me” (v. 21). This is the prayer for deliverance. David’s problems are many, his physical suffering, opportunistic enemies and friends, and an overwhelming sense of guilt at his “folly” ultimately driving all of his misery. In all of this, David finds a single answer to his problems: it is in the LORD’s presence, that the LORD would “not be far from me”, that David will be forgiven his sin, healed his pain and delivered from his enemies.

As I previously mentioned, this psalm does not have any praise in anticipation of God’s deliverance, perhaps because David is so overwhelmed with pain that he simply cannot see past his current problems. David’s biggest sin and the time of his greatest crisis was immediately after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah the Hittite. This resulted in the immediate death of his son through Bathsheba (though his later son and heir Solomon comes from the same woman), and the later rebellion of his son Absalom causing David’s temporary exile from power.

However, this psalm does not actually contain any indication of what sin David is talking about. This is a common trend for nearly all of the psalms; I call this “decontextualization” (I talked about this when discussing Psalms 4, 7 and 18). Just as with those psalms, I believe that Psalm 38 is deliberately excluding any mention of David’s actual sin so that it can be more relatable to our own situations. By removing David’s context, the structure of the psalm, the process of grieving, suffering and ultimate healing, can more easily fit with our own lives. Although we will likely never have a man killed so that we can steal his wife and then be overthrown from our kingdom by our own son, and David’s life is especially dramatic in ways that we will never experience, yet we do experience grief and guilt, suffering and redemption in all our own ways. Though David’s situation and life will never match our own, yet the emotions are eerily reminiscent of our own experiences. This is the thread that binds us all together and gives the Psalms such a profound power to speak into modern life in spite of their ancient origins.

In the same way that we can relate to David’s suffering, we can also relate to his solution. God’s presence is the answer. When God is with us, when he is near to us, we can also experience God’s salvation. Our emotional health, sense of wellbeing and contentment will flow from our communion with God’s presence, and no matter what happens, whether we are delivered or continue through trials, we can also say with David that we will “see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13).

Bible Commentary - Psalms 37

Although this psalm has many themes and elements, the central message is to contrast the enduring prosperity of the righteous with the fleeting success of the wicked.

In many psalms, the first verse defines the overarching theme or message of the psalm as a whole. In the case of this psalm, the first verse only really covers half of the message. It says we should not worry or have envy for the wicked, because their destruction is assured. Verses 3-4 give us the second half of the psalm, telling us that those who “do good” and “delight in the LORD” will dwell in the land and enjoy the desires of their hearts.

This presents the first basic theme of contrast between the wicked and the righteous. We are told that, though the wicked may appear successful, their success is a mirage; here today and gone tomorrow. Like the grass of the field, like a “luxurious native tree”, like “the flowers of the field”, they may appear to be prosperous, secure and happy. Yet they pass away. However, the righteous have enduring prosperity. They have “a future” (v. 37), also translated as “posterity”. Not only are the righteous blessed, but their children are also blessed (v. 25-26). This is a multi-generational blessing that reinforces the second theme: endurance.

We see throughout this psalm the notion of blessing represented through endurance or posterity. The idea is that a righteous person is blessed through the persistence and blessing of their descendants. Consider David himself, of whom God says “you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel” (1 Kings 9:5). While in part this can be (correctly) construed as promising the line of kingship in particular, it can also be more generalized as a promise that David’s descendants would endure through all generations. Here in Psalm 37, there is of course no throne promised, but the idea of God blessing the descendants of the righteous has close parallels to David’s promises.

On the contrary, we see temporary blessing in the lives of the wicked, but then they are snuffed out. Like a flower blooming in spring but dead by fall, so is the lives of the wicked. The wicked have “no future” (v. 38). Their present appearance is like an illusion, presenting the appearance of blessing but lacking its substance.

Of course, this whole theme exists to present a contrast between the righteous and wicked; it does so in a very specific way. David is basically telling us to not be deceived; we might see the wicked prosper for a time, but their prosperity would be cut short.

Interestingly, this theology is similar to what’s offered by Job’s three friends. They have a strongly held belief that the LORD punishes the wicked and blesses the righteous, and see Job’s suffering as evidence of the LORD’s punishment (and implicitly, Job’s sin). The difference is that Psalm 37 allows for what I call a “time of confusion”. There is a time when we might see the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. There is a time when the wicked will hunt the righteous like prey (v. 14), plotting against them and preparing disasters for good people (v. 12). However, this is only temporary. The psalm assures us that in the end, things will return to the correct and just order, with the righteous blessed and enduring in the land, and the wicked being cut off and destroyed.

The blessing of the righteous flows from their relationship with the LORD. Verses 3-4 tell us to “trust in the LORD” and “delight in the LORD” as the way to experience God’s blessing. The rest of the psalm continues to repeat this pattern as well, such as verse 5 (“commit your way to the LORD”), verse 7 (“Be still before the LORD”), verse 9 (“hope in the LORD”), verse 18 (“The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care”) and on and on.

A third key theme is the concept of inheriting the land as a symbol of divine blessing. This relates to the overall message of the psalm in two ways. First, inheriting or possessing the land is symbolic of the LORD’s blessing and punishment to righteous and wicked people respectively. Many verses refer to inheritance of the land, such as v. 9, 11, 18, 22, 24, 29 and 34. I could probably find more if I looked more carefully but that should be enough to prove my point. Across all of these verses, possessing or inheriting the land is a blessing from God directed at the righteous and withheld from the wicked. Second, inheriting the land is another way of expressing multi-generational continuity, which I previously discussed. Beyond just having children or security in time of famine, possessing the land is another way to “abide forever” as v. 27 says.

More generally, the promised land is deeply symbolic of God’s covenant with Abraham and Israel. Possessing the promised land and one’s tribal inheritance is another way of connecting with God’s manifest presence and maintaining the covenantal relationship with God. Deuteronomy 28:63-64 makes it clear that if Israel sinned they would be torn from the land. They would be separated from the temple built on that land, separated from the LORD’s presence that dwells in the temple, and as a result they would “serve other gods”. Being torn from the land was the final punishment for disobedience because it was the most severe.

A fourth key theme is borrowing and lending. This borrows (no pun intended) from the language of Deuteronomy 28, which says that if Israel obeys God they will “lend to many nations but will borrow from none” (Deut 28:12). Contrariwise, Deuteronomy 28 also tells us that if Israel is disobedient and sins against the LORD, “they will lend to you, but you will not lend to them”. In essence, the lender is blessed because the lender has extra possessions that he or she can afford to invest. The lender has an abundance. The lender gets to make decisions, choosing who to share with. The lender is in a position of power and overflow.

Finally, the last key theme is understanding the LORD’s role. God’s role in all this, if you observe how he is actually described, is primarily upholding and defending the righteous. Implicitly he does other things, like destroying the wicked, but what the text says most often is that the LORD “upholds” the righteous (v. 24) in one way or another. Although we understand that God is the great judge, upholding his righteous judgments over all people, both good and bad, this psalm emphasizes God’s special relationship with the righteous. While God is distant and hostile towards the wicked, he is caring and loving towards the righteous. This is reflected in the many ways that God helps the righteous: the LORD “sustains” the righteous (v. 17), he “establishes” them and “delights” in them (v. 23), the LORD “holds [the] hand” of the righteous person (v. 24), a particularly intimate expression of affection and blessing. Ultimately, the psalm concludes that the LORD “delivers” the righteous out of the hands of the wicked, and “saves” the righteous (v. 40). The LORD is our salvation from any kind of trouble, “because [the righteous] take refuge in him”.