I have having a hard time with all the language of the last few psalms so I decided to change my reading up a little bit. I think it was helpful for me today and I will probably do the same for tomorrow's psalms.
What I did, instead of focusing on the actual words of the psalms, I looked more at their structure. My hope is that this may also help me structuring my prayers.
57) structure in 3 parts:
1) what God has done or meant to me
2) my current state of danger
3) my continued dedication to God with praise and thanks.
58) 1) Rhetorical question about the enemy followed by stating the assumed answer and giving examples
2) Calling for God to intervene
3) our praise to God for #2 above.
vs 4-5 - I think it is great that they knew and understood that snakes couldn't hear
59) 1) a- petition to God, b- what is happening, c- restate petition
2) a- illustrate what is happening (this image is continued for the rest of the prayer), b- name God's reaction and our reaction, c- qualifier on petition with reasons why
3) repeat 2) a-b
The dog imagery for the enemy is interesting to me. I remember from a very early age being taught (and seeing the effects) how a stern "Go Home" would repel most stray dogs. While a puffed up chest and step toward the dog would take care of the rest. This always came in handy running in the country.
6) 1) Petition to God naming places where God has allowed the opposite to happen
2) name God's promises and words
3) question God's support in our endeavors
- Rhetorical - the assumed answer is God will of course be with them.
4) Name how God is with them and what that means.
Judging by the length of my writing, it feels like this helped me engage these psalms a bit deeper. Something to try if, like me, the war, enemy, destruction, language is getting you down.
How was your experience reading these psalms today?
Understanding the historical context makes these cries of DAvid heart-wrenching. 57, 59-As I thought about being surrounded by enemies I wondered what "enemies" I face. Mostly those from within..Depression, passionate sesires, my failings and weaknesses, confusion. Feeling despair in the nighttime. But having the reassurance that God with continue to guide and enfold me me in love and protection.
ReplyDelete58- Leslie Brandt in Psalms Now writes" My heart grieves over the leaders in this world who play god with the lives of their people, manipulating followers, blinding them to persoanla conscience, creating cults, etc." Keep us from following such false shepherds.
I admit to skipping once over lightly on Ps 57 and 60 because I recognized that 58 and 59 were 2 of my "Psalm friends" - Psalms that I have marked when they meant a lot to me in the past. When I was a teen, the words of 58 about the true fast the Lord loves which is things like overcoming injustice, loosing the yoke, feed ing the hungry - these words helped shape my career choice and helped me see, as the Quakers say, "Work is love made visible." Then when I was 62, we took a young couple expecting a baby into our home on a temporary basis. There were many problems and I did not have answers but they had immediate needs that fit the description of this Psalm. The last lines of this Ps really spoke to us - we prayed and claimed them with great sincerity: "Then you will call and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help and he will say, Here I am." We believe God did indeed protect us.
ReplyDeletePsalm friend 58:20-21 I have starred, underlined, and dated 4 times - times when I had real fears about the paths my children or mentees were on, on our 43 anniversary when we were sharing our deepest hopes for the future of our famiy,when I had read one to many articles about the church losing relevance for future generations, etc. Here the Lord makes a covenant with the repentent and faithful, "My Spirit,who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not part from your mouth,or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendents from this time on and forever!" Amid all the enemies within and without that Betsy spoke of, it is certainly the prayer of my heart that this promise come to pass in my life and beyond to those yet to come. If fact, I pray it for our whole church especially as we do planning for the future!