How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
This morning my brother was preaching at church and the text he selected to speak on was Psalm 13. I hadn't read it in a long time and going through it today was very timely and refreshing.
I have much more appreciation today for this Psalm and others like it in which the writer expresses the anguish he feels in the midst of hardship and directs it towards God. An immature view of the strong language used in the Psalm would be that David is being bold and arrogant, and towards God directly at that. But for someone who has experienced difficult and challenging times in their life it's a perfect expression for what they were feeling. I think it also shows that God welcomes and encourages us to air out those emotions to Him. If you read carefully then you can see that David has not in complete despair even though he's crying out.
What I love about this Psalm and others is that as you think it's only going to get worse that it suddenly changes, as if David's spirits are being lifted as he's singing about his sorrows. His prayer is being answered as he's saying it and hope starts to come back again as He's singing God's praises.
As I was just writing that last sentence I'm reminded of a musician I saw in an interview saying the same thing about blues music. He gave an example of a song in which he's singing about a lost love and how life isn't worth living anymore and then he suddenly comes to his sense again and finds a reason to hope for the future.
The sad thing is people who don't read the Bible don't even know about all of these literary gems buried in its pages.
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Comments :
Nov '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
Thank you, sir. I am off to read that psalm right now.
Mar '11
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
You and I are in precise agreement, Bereket. Thank you for an excellent start to a Monday!
Jul '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
Very well put! The Psalms show us that it's okay to be honest with God about how we feel; He already knows anyway, so be open about it. It's not until we humble ourselves and admit our pain and hurt that He can work with our broken spirits and bring restoration and peace.
Apr '11
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
Berekat, I had that immature view you speak of, about the Psalms and most of scripture when I first started reading the Bible some 32 years ago. I was naive to think that the Holy Bible would only have good and perfect things throughout. Once you have someone like your brother who can bring the scripture to life and cause you to see yourself, your family and the world around within it's pages you then understand that the depth of the wisdom and insight of God's word can never be reached because it is inexhaustible.
I once heard it said that the Bible contains the knowledge to both drown a man and satisfy an infant.
Also I thought it encouraging to hear Claire's brilliant father, David Berlinski, state in Peter Robinson's UncKnowledge interview that every freshman entering college should have the Old Testament as mandatory reading.
Jun '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
I love the Psalms, but the OT book I always go to is Ecclesiastes. It is so beautiful and wise: a perfect statement of the tragic view of life.
I consider it the most beautiful piece of literature ever written.
Oct '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
Wow, I'm surprised by the response. When I last checked the post last night there were no responses, I guess since you guys are a couple of hours ahead of me, sleeping.
sevenfold, I like that saying and I'll need to write that one down.
Lance, when I went to the member feed and saw your song of the day I felt a little more confident that the post was apropos for the day, if for no other reason.
May '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
An amazing thing about the Psalms is that the ancient Hebrew approach to poetry focuses on repetition and contrast of ideas, not phonetics or meter, so they are among the least resistant to translation of all poetry. Serendipity. . .or divine plan.
Read more >> Options >>
Jul '11
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
I have read the Psalms many times and while quite beautiful I just cannot wrap my earthly head around a micromanaging God.
Interestingly though, I see a parallel here with Christ in his final hours wondering why he was forsaken and then lovingly being accepted in to the Father's kingdom.
Edited on Nov 7, 2011 at 1:02pmOct '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
I don't think you can wrap your head around God no matter what. That's thing about Him being infinite.
May '10
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
BTW, bereket: is that your real name? And, did you know "bereket kelile" is an anagram for "Elk, be treelike"?
Oct '11
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
Apr '11
Re: How Long, O Lord? Reflections On Psalm 13
bereket kelile: Wow, I'm surprised by the response. When I last checked the post last night there were no responses, I guess since you guys are a couple of hours ahead of me, sleeping.
sevenfold, I like that saying and I'll need to write that one down.
Lance, when I went to the member feed and saw your song of the day I felt a little more confident that the post was apropos for the day, if for no other reason. · Nov 7 at 11:28am
Bereket,
Thanks for noticing but I have always wondered if The Psalms were Jesus Christ's way of understanding his future when he was still a young man. They seem to mirror his very same feelings when faced with the path to the cross. Since The Father speaks to us through his word I often wondered if He spoke to His Son through the Psalms in a similar fashion.
I would be appreciative of any response you might have.