The Psalms featured here reflect on the struggles that marked his
transgression with Bathsheba.
Psalm 6 : A lamentation to God.
This Psalm laments a
sick state of mind as he pleaded for the life of his son, following Nathan's pronouncement of death for the child born to Bathsheba.
Many commentators
argue that he was sick, but I don’t buy that. I have never felt inclined to
write anything when I have been ill, but I have written a lot during times when
my soul was troubled.
That said, his
brokenness does impact on his health or state of being, his bones, his soul.
He even feels death stalking, but alludes to the imminent and inevitable death of his son. He was wearied of the
pursuit of his soul and the constant affliction of his enemies.
Psalm 8: An exhortation to praise
The reason I have
spent so many years in Psalms, is because it is all so real. Thus, as is quite typical,
David bounces back from Psalm 6, with his reflections in Psalm 8.
My personal experience
was of a dark nimbus that would move in overnight into the next morning, before
lifting as God always interpreted the pain and brought perspective.
Thus, Psalm 30 rightfully said, "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning".
God is faithful and my
sense was that even when I prayed the most robust of prayers, he always let
that run its course so he could reveal himself through the pain and
contradictions.
As a child in understanding, I echo the notion: “out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you
ordained strength”. Jesus rephrased that as praise (Matt 21:16), because
praise and strength are as synonymous as energy and mass.
David sensed his own
vanity as he gazed up into the evening harvest sky and whispered, “what is man
that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that you visit him, for you made
him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor”.
Those verses are a
frequent retreat for Jews in times of pride and self-adequacy. They appear in Hebrews
2:6, where the writer says, “all things are put under his feet”, yet “not all
things - but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death”.
Therein lies the
substance of the highest perspective: not that we who were nothing should rule
over all, but that God should stoop to our level to lift us up.
Psalm 9: A psalm of triumph on Muthlabben,
which many see as “on the death of my son”
From the outset there
is a celebration of enemies turning back. This is evidently the Psalm that he wrote after
his son died as he felt the refreshing of God.
The general context is
a confession of a righteous God, who sits on a just throne, a refuge in times
of trouble. If that was said in the context of his discipline, then it is a
noble refrain for a heart that had made its peace with God’s justice.
His words dwell on the
lot of the unrighteous and their hopelessness before a just God, but the humble
who turn back to him always have hope.
If this was indeed
written after the death of his son, then it at least concurs with the way that
he moved on, accepted his death and returned to his table. It may seem dismissive of all that happened, but
as he said, “while he was alive, there was hope, now there is acceptance”.
This Psalm makes a
clear case for hell and its torments, which is often disputed by non-biblical commentators.
It offers no respite to the unbeliever.
Psalm 10: a continuation of Psalm 9
Some argue that the
two Psalms should be combined. It adds more condemnation to the wicked. I remain dubious about whether it is fitting for those who grieve, as many commentators argue.
My sense of the truly
grieving is that they rarely, if ever, use their grief as a platform to
lambaste others. If these Psalms do truly relate to the death of his son, then
he was more hardened by the ordeal than we were led to believe.
That said, it’s a mixed
message, because he also worshiped God and honored him, urging him to arise and
defend the broken and drive back the wicked. Maybe he was also justifying
himself.
Psalm 20-21: A contemplative prayer
This is classic David.
It opens with a declaration of intent, as a prayer in time of trouble.
He appeals for
sanctuary out of Zion. That reflects the keep where he often went to pray, “the
citadel of Zion”. The legal concept of sanctuary is apposite here. If he was
feeling the heat of judgment he really needed to find solace in the court of
God.
In a later offence, he
preferred to face God’s judgment than judgment at the hands of men, which is
reflected in his language here.
It is also a mixed
message, for it sounds out his praise and declares that where others trust in
horses or chariots, he would always in the Lord. He is assured that God will
save his own, that the wicked will go down, but the righteous will rise.
Psalm 21 is his response to God's answer. It was indeed the time when God, through Nathan, confirmed the continuity of his throne (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Thus David rejoices, for having asked for life, he gained that and more.
Thus he exalts God and puts all his trust in him.
Psalm 21 is his response to God's answer. It was indeed the time when God, through Nathan, confirmed the continuity of his throne (2 Samuel 7:12-14). Thus David rejoices, for having asked for life, he gained that and more.
Thus he exalts God and puts all his trust in him.
Psalm 51: the repentant prayer
No commentary about
his sin would be complete without the plaintive cries
of Psalm 51, which reveal the true character of David.
This is what he prayed
when his son lay dying and he faced the shame of his sin. It contrasts Saul’s compensating sacrifice where Samuel said, “Obedience is
better than sacrifice” - for here David said, “The sacrifices of God are a
broken and contrite heart” (vs 17).
He appeals to God to create
in him a clean heart and to renew a right spirit. This is the prayer of a man
broken on the altar, face in the dust, with outpourings of great grief.
I once chaired a
disciplinary inquiry for two schoolgirls that had been caught stealing, but we
all agreed that their tears were more about being caught out than true repentance.
It is the same with so many politicians. It was not, however, true of David.
This is where his
heart is truly revealed and that is why God let the matter go. God is not
heartless and unforgiving, but the heart that justifies itself before him, that
will not humble, turn away from sin or turn back to him, will learn why it is
fearful to fall into his hands.
The only defining
difference in David was his heart. That was what God heard in his childhood
sheep-cote, that was what he saw when he called him to be king, and that was the authenticity
he displayed when the worst of life was thrown at him.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
