1.
An
urgent plea (1-4 BHS, 1-3ESV).
-
The
opening pattern is similar to those of Ps 3 and 4
but this sounds more intense in a different way: give ear, give attention
followed by addressing God as King and God. Verse 2 – my words, give ear, hear
O Lord, cf. Ps 3:5 BHS, my voice, to the Lord I call. What’s the difference? In
the latter, David wants the Lord to be aware of his situation by the loudness
of his call, the urgency of his condition, being surrounded by multitudes of
his enemies. This is a cry for help. The content is nothing but SOS – Save our
souls. In the former, David wants the Lord to focus more on the content.
Consider my meditation – is a call for the Lord to examine David’s thought.
This is a habitual activity rather than sporadic like what we observe in Psalm
3. How do we know this? The next verse gives a clue: in the morning.
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In
the morning you hear my voice. the word morning is
mentioned twice in verse 4 (3 ESV). David has a habit of faithfully, thoughtfully and fervently praying in the
morning. I will order my prayers to you and look forward (MM), I will prepare
sacrifice and watch (ESV) – which one is a better translation? What does arakh
and tzapah mean? I think MM is more literal, order my prayer, thinking
carefully what to present before the Lord. ESV seems to be off-the-mark by
translating arakh as preparing sacrifice. But when we consider that the prayers
of the saints are a form of sacrifice to the Lord (cf. Ps 141:2, Rev 8:4), ESV
is correct as well. So my conclusion is both are legitimate views of what David
is trying to say here. MM is more central to what David is doing but ESV
expands the meaning of prayer. It is not simply communication with God, but it
is also an offering to him which is something that David has in mind as well in
the original context. If we consider that prayer is something we offer to God,
we would do well to examine the content of our prayer, the level of reverence,
humility, submission, faith, repentance, expectation, fervency of it. Are we
content to offer God cold, monotonous, thoughtless prayers? Is this the right
and respectful thing to do? Jesus not only teaches us the content of prayer
(ACTS – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) but also a
pattern of prayer. One may argue that Jesus follows David’s pattern of morning
devotion. I argue the opposite. Jesus as the second Adam, the head, the
first-fruit of a new humanity provides us a pattern of a devoted life that
begins with what we do as we begin the day, which I think is a representative
of what we do, our attitude for the rest of the day. So instead of Jesus
following the pattern of David, it is David following the pattern of devotion
of Jesus who was to come. Prayer signifies dependence on the Lord. The godly
begins the day with prayer. Mark 1:35 early in the morning Jesus got up and
went to an isolated place to pray. Scripture tells us the timing of Jesus’
prayer, his priority of the day, how he began the day and a resolution on how
he would spend the day, namely in dependence on God, following him closely,
instructed by his commands and divine wisdom. But it also tells us the manner by which his prayers are offered in Heb 5:7 with fervent cries, tears and reverence
which reminds us of the David’s manner of prayer as well. The timing of Jesus’
prayer suggests discipline and faithfulness. The manner of Jesus’ prayer
suggests humility, holy fervency and sincerity. Furthermore, the content of
prayer that Jesus teaches us in Mat 6:9-13 suggests comprehensiveness of
prayer. May your will be done, namely God’s revealed will is one comprehensive
plea. May your will be done in my life, in my family’s life, in the church, in
my workplace, in my neighborhood, in my country and in the world: on earth, as
it is in heaven. Do all these characterize our prayers? How are we doing in
prayers? What is the level of our discipline, faithfulness, humility, fervency,
sincerity?
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We
have just discussed the meaning of arakh, what about tzapah? Here
ESV is more literal, watch. Tzapah is the word used to describe the main job
for a watchman stationed at the wall of the city to keep monitoring the
vicinity of the city particularly whether a hostile army is approaching to
mount an assault on the city. MM’s translation, "look forward" gives us an
impression more of an anticipation of what the Lord will do in response to
David’s prayers. In the end I think both are legitimate as well. God’s people
are to watch vigilantly at all times. Prayerfulness often goes together with
watchfulness (cf. Col 4:2). There is an element of anticipation of what the
Lord would do in response to our prayers. God hears prayer, so we look forward
to his providence in reverence and humility, with faith and expectation that he
would be glorified every day. David prays to God (v.3). In the morning he
carefully orders his thoughts what he is about to bring up before the Lord with
the confidence that God will hear. On this basis, he looks forward, he will
keep watch on what God has in store for him, for his people and for the world
and in doing so, he also prepares himself that he may respond well to whatever
God’s providence of the day is. This is the point of watchfulness. If something
happens, we will be able to respond appropriately. Regardless of which
translation is better, we see that morning prayer for David is not a casual,
cold, monotonous, boring routine like uttering prayers without meaning it by
merely “heaping empty phrases” (cf. Mat 6:7), but a reverential thoughtful
priority of the day. Do I have the same attitude as David when it comes to
beginning the day with a humble fellowship with God by taking the time to be in his presence through thoughtful
prayers? Then look at David’s expectation on what the Lord will do in response
to his morning prayers. God will hear and do something in response to the daily
morning sacrifice that David offers.
2.
The
Holiness of God with respect to sin and sinners (5-7BHS, 4-6ESV):
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His
relationship to sin: We praise God not only explicitly when
we give him thanks for what he has done. This is the normal pattern of
thanksgiving Psalms, e.g., Ps 107, 118. But we praise God also when we speak of
him, describe him truthfully according to what his Word says like what David
does here. The deliverance has not come yet. There is no expression of praise
from deliverance such as for example in Psalm 107 where the Psalmist speaks of
God rescuing his people from various adversities. But here David still praises
God that he is holy. The holiness of God is highlighted when contrasted to sin
and sinners. Unlike sinners who enjoy sinning, God doesn’t delight in sin. The
opposite of delight is hatred, repulsion. Indeed, one purpose God ordains sin
is to magnify his holiness by exposing how wicked, odious, unholy, unrighteous
sin is in light of God’s righteousness and holiness. Evil may not dwell with
you – the second part of verse 5 (4 ESV). Literally: evil will not sojourn with
you. Sojourn is a temporary stay. The use of the word here is emphatic in
support of the prior section. There is no slightest chance that God would do
evil. Unlike fallen men, even Christians that still sin, of which we may say
that sometimes evil sojourns with us when we give in to temptations. But it is
not the case with God. God does not do evil. He doesn’t tempt, nor can he be
tempted (Jam 1:13). In other words, evil or sin has no chance of succeeding
with God in their attempt to cause him to sin.
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His
relationship to the wicked: the boastful shall not stand before
him. He hates evildoers (note well). The root word used to describe the
boastful arrogant in verse 6 (5 ESV) is the same as the word praise halal. In
verse 6 David uses the plural participle of halal, holelim, the praisers.
Obviously the praisers referred to here are not the praisers of God but the
praisers of idols, those who boast of their idols including themselves. When
one brags about how much money he has or how successful or famous she is,
although this is a hint of the idolization of wealth and fame, but these point
to self, how much one has accomplished in order to draw the praise of man. I
believe this is the sense of holelim, the praisers, those who brag about
themselves, their accomplishments as evidenced by the amount of money they
make, their social status, their title or education. How are these
praisers-of-self doing in God’s presence? The word stand yatzav implies
challenge and defiance. The praisers challenge God as if they could compete
with him to determine who is more supreme. David says, they have no chance. Recall in
Psalm 2:1 the people plot in vain – riq. Sinners, the boasters of self work so
hard to steal God’s glory and claim it for themselves. It is their aspiration
to ascribe at least a portion of his glory to themselves one of which ways is
that they plot against him… in vain. Regardless of how seemingly brilliant
their schemes are, in the end they will all fail. So the praisers, the boasters
of self will not get what they want, the exaltation of self in the place of God
although they seemingly accomplish their desire, but sooner or later God will
vindicate himself once for all that these boasters will be exposed as to who
they really are and be put to shame forever. When you hate someone or something
you don’t want that object of your hatred to be around you. The holiness of God
naturally requires that he hates evil. He can’t stand evil. He must purge evil
and cast it out from his presence. This is a frightening prospect considering
the fallen condition of humanity deserves this very casting out from his
presence away from all his goodness, away from all his benefits but most
importantly deprived from the greatest blessing that one ever experiences,
namely being in the presence of God, enjoying his fellowship, to gaze upon the
beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple (Ps 27:4). God hates all doers
of evil. We have heard that God hates sin but loves sinners, but this verse
says God hates all doers of evil. Even those whom he saved in times, such as
Saul, and in fact every Christian, before we were converted Eph 2:3 says that
we were children of wrath consistent with what David says here. It is true that
they were elect before the foundation of the world, but there were times when
they were still children of wrath and at the appointed time, God in his
goodness according to his purpose exercised his mercy by irresistibly
conquering their sinful nature, granting them faith, repentance and obedience
(Ezek 36:26).
-
He
destroys those who speak lies. Lit: He causes to
perish the speakers of falsehood (kazav is the same word used in Ps 4:3-BHS,
4:2 ESV). The word destroy (ESV) is the same word usually translated as perish
abad (with aleph, to be distinguished from the same pronunciation except the a
is ayin in which case the word means to serve). It is curious why David uses
the Piel form of abad (cf. the Qal form in Ps 1:6, the way of the ungodly will
perish). I venture to argue that David intends the word to convey soft
causation, namely God causes those who speak lies to be destroyed. To elaborate
more, the liars do not perish right away. They gradually perish like those who
die of cancer without realizing that there is something dangerous eating them
up from the inside as they continue in the course of lying. Question for
reflection: do we have a habit of speaking lies? – consciously or
unconsciously? If we are Christians God is working in our hearts to change
this. Perhaps there is a need for a more earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit
help us to speak and conduct ourselves in truth.
-
He
abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. Man of blood and
the treacherous one (man of blood and of deceit – MM, similar translation in
ESV). What is a man of blood? The nuance is not necessarily outward murderers
but those who are consumed with hatred. An intense hatred desires the demise of
the hatred. Jesus and John issue this warning in 1 Jn 3:15 and Mat 5:21 against
hating fellow Christians. The question is now whether it is legitimate to hate
those who are blatantly evil, e.g., Hitler? It is if our desire is for public
good, for God’s justice to be upheld. Imprecatory psalms are not accompanied by
prayers for the salvation of the wicked, but if God chooses to save them, then
Christians are to rejoice. Saul was responsible for the persecution of
Christians and the death of Stephen. It wouldn’t be surprising if Christians
prayed that God would at least thwart his aspiration to wipe Christianity out.
Ananias’s prayer in Acts 9:13 alludes to this. To paraphrase, “Lord, should I
believe this man even though he is praying considering how much evil he has
done to Christians?” The treacherous one is more specific than those who speak
lie in the first half of the verse. The treacherous or deceitful person has an
intention to manipulate others to their harm for his or her own benefit. Judas
received financial benefit by delivering Jesus to the Pharisees. Saul gave his
daughter to marriage to David in order that he might kill David. In the second
half of verses 6 and 7 (5-6 ESV) the word translated “hate” is used twice (sane
and taev) showing us the character of individuals that God hate. So negatively,
God hates liars, traitors, manipulators and haters. What about positively? What
kind of character does God love? Honesty, sincerity, transparency and patience
although we may argue that in some cases there is no need to be transparent to
the enemies of God (e.g., those who lied to the Nazi when asked whether there
were Jews hiding in their homes or see 1 Sam 16:2).
3.
God’s
relationship with his people (8 BHS, 7 ESV):
-
He allows David to enter his house. In
contrast with the wicked – but I, vav here is better translated as “but”
instead of “and” to contrast God’s relationship with the wicked and his people,
having been purified by the blood of Christ, God’s people can enter his
presence at any time. This is David’s singular passion, the longing of his
heart, to be in his presence all the days of his life (Ps 27:4). Being in
fellowship with God is a privilege, not a right, a privilege procured by Christ
(see Heb 10:19). The OT sacrificial system that the high-priest needs to offer
tells us that there is a problem of sin. Why can’t men and women enter in to
God’s Holy of Holies to worship him but it has to be done by a mediator, namely
the priest and that with rigorous purification ritual? Because fallen humanity
is stained by sin. We have highlighted God’s holiness above that necessitates
his utter hatred and complete separation from sin because there is nothing so
contrary to his nature than sin. The privilege to enter into a fellowship with
God doesn’t owe to anything distinctive or meritorious from believers’ side but
all from God’s side – but I, in the abundance of your faithfulness, I will
enter your house. The reason given here why David can, and will enter God’s
house is because of God’s abundant faithfulness to him, and his people. I can’t
think of a greater privilege than to interact – with reverence, to know deeply through
this interaction, the God, who is the sovereign Lord, Creator and Ruler of all.
David understands this. May we not take this privilege for granted and labor to
be in his presence much in our pilgrimage here below (Heb 4:16), looking
forward to an eternal never-interrupted blessed fellowship with the Holy
Trinity, to serve and praise him all the days of our lives.
-
to
worship in order to behold his glory (cf. Ps 27:4), to bow
down in fear – lit: let me worship (I will worship) in the temple of your holiness
in your fear. The goal of coming to God’s house is to know him in his worship.
We come to a corporate worship every Lord’s Day but Rom 12:1 and 1 Cor 6:19-20
say that believers’ bodies are God’s temple where his Holy Spirit reigns.
Therefore worship is not limited to Lord’s Day corporate worship but every day,
every action is to reflect worship (Rom 12:1 offer your bodies a living
sacrifice). As long as we live, worship goes on. A natural question for
reflection would be, do we often consider this truth, whether all we do with
our bodies, our brains, our hearts, our hands reflect our worship, allegiance,
filial fear to God, the Lord who owns us (note 1 Cor 6:19b – you are not your
own). Do we savor beholding God’s glory in worship, not just during corporate
gathering but in personal devotion? Does David’s attitude that he comes to
God’s house to worship (MM translates eshtachaveh – shachah as bow down which
tells us more about the right posture / attitude, bodily as well as the
attitude of our hearts when we come to God’s presence) resonate with ours? Do
we savor deeply, derive sweetness and joy out of our fellowship with the Lord
(Ps 27:4 – to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord)?
4.
Prayer
(9 BHS, 8 ESV):
-
God
leads him in righteousness – a prayer: Lord, lead me in
righteousness the word translated as lead (ESV, guide MM) is nachan. It is used
for example in similar context in Ps 23:3 (for your name’s sake) and 27 (lead
me in a straight path). The similarity between v.9 (8 ESV) with 23:3 is the use
of in-your righteousness (betzidqatekha). The similarity with Ps 27:11 (10 ESV)
is the use of lemaan shoreray - because-of my enemies ESV, MM: those who lay
wait on me). What does David’s prayer that God lead him in his righteousness
mean? It means that God would guide him to do the right thing, whether as a
lifestyle, or in a particular situation where the enemies are watching in order
to find fault with David or to attack during his moments of weaknesses, the
moments of lack of vigilance. Indeed Christians are called to be vigilant at
all times, because the enemy, the diabolos, the devil prowls around like a lion
always seeking someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). The prayer for God’s guidance in
his righteousness implies willingness on David’s side to follow closely, a commitment
to obey, although this doesn’t imply a guarantee of perfect performance. But it
does imply allegiance to cling to the Lord at all times. It is pointless to ask
God to lead him without a commitment from David’s side. The same is true for
Christians. As believers in whom the Holy Spirit reigns, they are enabled to
obey by faith, which is the right motive, not to earn merit, but out of love,
gratitude and desire to see God’s name honored in all of life. We too, like
David, ask God to lead us in his righteousness while at the same time that he
would enable us to follow him with all earnestness, to fight sin and the
remaining corruption in our hearts with all our might.
-
In
order – because of my enemies. ESV translates shorer as
enemy. It is interesting that David doesn’t use other words that mean the same:
oyev and tzar. Shorer may be linked to shor (to leap or spring), so shorer more
literally means watcher. From this point of view Mechon Mamre is correct when
it translates shoreray as those who wait on David. Why wait? In order to harm
him. So lemaan shoreray, because-of-my-enemies means that the God would show
himself victorious over his enemies and David’s enemies despite the enemies’
expectation of his demise and scheme to attack him as they watch like prowling
lions ready to devour David when he lets his guard down. Therefore, this
context refers to the specific situation where the enemies watch David
carefully in order to ambush him. It may suggest that they watch for David’s
conduct to see if there is anything they can use as a ground for accusation. So
David asks God to lead him in his righteousness to maintain his integrity and
thus frustrate the enemies’ scheme.
-
Make
your way straight before me (lit: my face). The request is
based on the root word yashar in hiphil which suggests strong causation. I
venture to interpret this to mean that David asks God not only to make it clear
to him what to do, how to conduct himself, but also do everything necessary in
order for David to follow him in a straight path. Why? Because David is aware
of his own sin. There is still sinful inclination in our hearts despite the
radical change that happened during our conversion. There will no perfection in
this life, in this fallen world. The sinful inclination is still there
internally until Christians arrive at the state of glorification. This is a
sobering reflection. Do we have the courage to ask God to do everything
necessary for our sanctification? To conquer the besetting sins that we are
struggling with? To bring about a greater conformity to Christ (cf. Phil
3:10-11)? In order to serve him in a greater capacity, to honor him in a
greater way? Do we have the courage to part with everything that hinders
holiness? That prevents us from going straight in the path that the Lord has
laid before us as he guides us?
5.
Description
of the wicked (10 BHS, 9 ESV)
- Verse 10 contains a description of what the wicked do. The imprecatory section straddles
verse 10 and continues in verse 11. No truth in their mouth. David does not use
emet for the word ESV translates as ‘truth’ (cf. Prov 3:3), but nekornah that
MM translates as sincerity. Does that mean when the wicked do good such as when
they obey their parents, tell the truth, these actions are still insincere? Yes
according to verse 9, but how can this be? To answer, I’d bring up Romans 4:23
whatever that doesn’t come from faith is sin. It may be true that by God’s
common grace the wicked do good and honorable things, but these actions are
still not sincere, not good and are sin in the sight of God because they are
done without the right motive. So sincerity here implies motive. The right
motive according to Rom 4:23 is to honor God out of faith in all we do (cf. 1
Cor 10:31). We are sincerely devoted to the Lord. He is the reason why Christians
honor their parents, avoid lying and covetousness etc. The wicked do good
things insincerely because their motive is not to honor God, the true God. I
venture to say that their motive is idolatry. Instead of the glory of God, the
right motive that God considers sincere, their motive is either their own glory
or the object of their good work. Atheists and Secular-humanists often reject
the moral argument of the existence of God by saying that we do good for
goodness sake or for our fellow-men and women’s sake for the greater good of
the world. Here is insincerity. Here is idolatry. All things are created to
expose, to highlight the glory of God including human actions. The wicked
refuse to be sincere by acknowledging that the right motive why they do good
ought to be for God’s sake. Instead, they set up idols in place of God whether
they be themselves or the world at large.
-
The
inmost-self is destruction. Qirbam havuot. Qarab the inner part. Havuot is derived from havah
that literally means chasm, abyss, often associated with hell and destruction.
So what does the term qirbam havuot mean – their inner part is an abyss or hell? I
think a good way to explain what this means is to use a suicide bomber as an
illustration. His lifestyle is conformed in such a way that he is deeply
entrenched in this Islamic ideology, that if he dies killing the infidels, he
will go to paradise. This conviction rooted deeply in his whole personality
acts like an abyss that swallows him, that consumes him, something that he
identifies fully with, that drives him wholeheartedly into fulfilling it,
plunging himself straight to destruction, sending his soul straight to hell. So
it is with the unrepentant wicked. They are so sure, so convinced that their
way of life is the way to go, the right way that they devote their entire life
pursuing it with passion and in this way they plunge themselves into the abyss
of hell, the point of no return, sooner or later.
-
Their
throat is open grave. They flatter with their tongue. These
two expressions are quoted in Rom 3:13. They suggest the manner of their
conversation. We have heard the expression “you are what you eat,” or “you are
what you love.” The latter is closer to what David is talking about here. David
is saying here that you can tell what a person is, his character, his worldview
from the manner of his or her conversation. It may not be obvious when you meet
that person for the first time during a casual exchange of greetings. But as
you get to know them more and as the interaction goes deeper beyond small
talks, you will have a better idea about who this person really is, his
aspiration, his worldview, his belief, his character. ESV and MM’s translation
of qever pathuach (the adjective of patach) geronam are similar – their throats
is an open grave. Why does David associate one’s throat with an open grave?
Grave can be associated with sheol which reminds us with the term havuot above,
abyss or hell. The conversation of the wicked reveals who he is. When he
interacts with others, he inevitably shares his worldview and whether this is
something he consciously does or not, he may influence others to embrace what
he believes. In this way they are corrupted by the false worldview propagated
by the wicked. Their throats , their conversations act like a grave ready to
swallow those who are attracted and influenced by the false beliefs they sow
abroad. Paul warns Christians in 1 Corinthians 15:33 to pay attention to who we
associate with – bad company corrupts good character. We may then paraphrase what
David is saying here, not merely “you reveal yourself – sooner or later – by
what you say,” but also, “you are who you hang out with – you are who your
close friends are – you are who your heroes are.” You love your heroes because
their character, their aspirations align well with yours. We may not know what
the person is right away if he hides his identity, his true color based on what
he says alone. MM gives us more insight on the next part of the verse: they
make smooth their tongue (leshonam yachaliqun – their tongue, they make
smooth). Yachaliqun is the hiphil form of the adjective chalaq (smooth) which
means to smoothen. Here is another example of Hiphil that suggests strong
causation. The wicked work so hard to smoothen their tonques, a metaphor for
flattery. This may refer to blatant flattery, smooth political talk to gain
favoritism. But it may also refer to their attempt to mask who they really are
for fear of negative repercussion if they are discovered or in attempt to
deceive others, namely to prey after other people, to manipulate them, to draw
them into embracing their worldview. In other words, there is a nuance of
selfishness which I believe is linked to the lack of nekornah, lack of
sincerity in the conversation and conduct of the wicked. Can we say that
someone is sincere, someone is not smoothening his tongue when he doesn’t point
to God directly or indirectly through his conduct and conversation? For
Christians, a question for reflection is, do we strive to honor God in all we
say and do? Does 1 Cor 10:31 resonate with our passion, to point others to God,
to the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed us to be his own in all our interactions,
public and personal conducts, in our prayers and worship?
6.
Imprecation
– Prayer against the wicked (11 BHS, 10 ESV):
-
What
David asks God to do. Make them bear their guilt (ESV), hold
them guilty (MM). MM is simpler. The root noun asham (guilt) is turned into a
hiphil verb. David asks God not to let the wicked get away. Do not let them
think that there is no God and therefore their sinful actions have no
consequence whatsoever (Ps 73:11). When extrapolated to today’s use, does it
mean that we ought to pray for sinners to be judged instead of being saved? No.
David’s prayer doesn’t necessarily imply a desire for the wicked to perish but
God’s justice to be upheld, for God to vindicate his righteousness. To do this,
he can either execute his judgment upon sinners or pardon them through a
substitute. Nowhere is this concept of a substitute clearer than Rom 3:25-26. This
is what penal-substitutionary atonement (PSA) is about. Jesus Christ the
righteous is the propitiation of sinners (1 John 2:2b). The commonality is God
must punish sinners. The difference is whether the sinners themselves bear his
wrath or a substitute does. The OT illustrates the concept of PSA through the
sacrificial animals that were sacrificed on behalf of sinners. Heb 10:1-10
expounds the meaning behind the symbolism more that those sacrifices represent
Christ who was punished on behalf of sinners who trust in God’s promise of
provision of the atonement of their sins. So whether the wicked will eventually
repent or perish is a something that no one knows but God alone. One can be
wicked today and be radically changed tomorrow like what happened to Saul of
Tarsus. In his prayer, David’s priority is God’s justice. It is true that David
desires the wicked to be declared guilty. He wants them to own up their sins,
but not necessarily perish in their sins.
-
In
order to bring the wicked to their senses, it may be
necessary for God to execute temporal judgment, although it is possible for him
to execute eternal judgment which is the most horrific prospect, the last thing
that one wants or provokes God to do. The OT is full of examples of God
bringing his people to repentance through temporal punishments (see the book of
Judges, the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem). We don’t sense our need of good
when things go well, when everything works smoothly. Hence David’s next prayer:
let them fall by their own counsel (MM, and ESV’s translations are identical).
What is implied here as more explicitly spoken of such as in Ps 35:8, (Ps 37:15
and 73:18 seem to have a similar theme). is that there is no need to fret about
the schemes of the wicked when they appear to prevail. God would cause their
own schemes to backfire. Those who either don’t sense the weight of their sins
and the need for God’s forgiveness in the end will sooner or later have to bear
the consequence the punishment of their own sins. Yiplu mi-moatzotey-hem. Yiplu
can either be the imperfect (they will fall) or jussive (let them fall) of
nafal (to fall), but considering that the verb is sandwiched between two
petitionary imperatives (haashimem, hadichemo, both imperatives are in hiphil),
it is more likely that yiplu is jussive, namely that God would cause their
counsels (etzah, cf. the counsel of the ungodly in Ps 1;1) to be the means of
their demise, just like what God does to Haman. The next phrase is a parallel
form, “in the abundance of their transgressions, cast them down” At the height
of the execution of their scheme, as they go on with their lifestyle, David
asks God to bring about a rude awakening, a harsh rebuke to their actions, just
like God “cast” Saul down from his high horse on the way to Damascus. The last
section gives the reason behind David’s imprecatory prayers, namely they rebel
“in you”. The wicked’s schemes are devised out of their rebellious souls
against God. They challenge his supremacy, his rules, his law as if there were
no such things and therefore they imply that they are their own Lord, they are
gods. This lustful tendency to be our own Lord instead of submitting to the
lordship of God and Christ is common to fallen humanity. While David’s desire
is for God to frustrate the rebellious schemes of the wicked, it is appropriate
to examine ourselves as Christians whether our counsels, plans, desires and
aspirations reflect the lordship of Christ or our own lordship. It is necessary
to be vigilant, to be aware of the remaining corruption in our hearts and pray
for its further and greater mortification by the Spirit (Rom 8;13).
7.
Prayer
for the righteous (12-13 BHS, 11-12 ESV):
-
That
they may rejoice in God as they take refuge in him.
Yismechu can either mean “they shall rejoice” (imperfect / future) or jussive
“let them rejoice” where “them” refers to kol-chosey bakh (all who take refuge
in you). The entire Psalm is a prayer characterized by requests in imperative
forms (note imperatives here are not commands but petitions). So the last
section of the Psalm consists of a petition on behalf of God’s people, namely
those who take refuge in him, who acknowledge they are powerless without him,
that they are fully dependent on God for everything, creation, provision and
redemption. A natural response of those who have tasted that the Lord is good
is that they rejoice in knowing this mighty and powerful yet gracious God, not
merely intellectually but by experiences, experiences of his grace, goodness,
faithfulness and fatherly care and love including his fatherly discipline. An
outward expression of this joy is the saints sing “to eternity” le-olam. In
their pilgrimage here below, God’s people go through much hardship and
adversity. It is strange then that they still sing since we tend to think that
singing is an expression of joy. This is true but there can still be joy in our
hearts despite the contrary outward circumstances that we are going through. In
other words, in the lives of the saints, God’s joy conquers all, as God is
their all-in-all. Revelation tells us that one chief activity in heaven is
singing praises to God (e.g., 5:9-10, 15:3-4). The next expression vetasekh
aleymo can also be either a jussive, which implies a prayer (may you shelter
them, spread your protection over them – ESV) or imperfect / future (you will
shelter them). Both MM and ESV go with the future option – You will shelter
them. I’m not convinced since all the imperfect verbs in this verse are best
translated as jussive so there is nothing wrong to translate tasekh as jussive.
The reason behind the future translation is perhaps the petition to God is
usually expressed in imperative form (see v.2-3;9, 1-2;8 ESV). If translated as
jussive then tasekh is a petition. If translated as future, tasekh expresses
God’s promise to shelter, protect his people. David reiterates that promise.
The saints here are called the lovers of God’s name – Lit: let the lovers of
your name exult in you. God’s people love his name. God’s names reveal his
attributes. Adonai nisiy – the Lord my banner, Adonai tsevaot – the Lord of
host, literally: the Lord of the army, Elyon – the Most High, Shaday – Almighty
(see Ps 91:1). There is a link here between God’s name and the praise of his
people. God’s attributes give us a glimpse of his glory. Adonai Tsevaot – the
Lord of the armies. God is the supreme commander of not just the heavenly army
but ultimately all the armies of the world. He controls all of them, although
he does not necessarily exercise a direct control. When God’s glory is
manifested to his people, they respond with joyful praise. Hence David puts the
two together. God’s people, the people who love his name, exult in him as a
proper response to the revelation of who God is to them.
-
For
you bless the righteous, like a shield (MM, tzinah instead of
magen) you cover him with favor. Note here the imperfect tebarekh and ta-asar
are not jussives but present, showing facts. There is a more compelling reason
to translate these two imperfect verbs in this manner since there is atah – you
- at the beginning of the verse. So David brings up two more of God’s promises,
that he blesses his people, not necessarily with material blessings, but his
presence sufficient to procure for them all their needs (cf. Phil 4:19). The
subject is still the same, God’s people except here it is in singular (tzadiq)
instead of plural in the previous verse (kol-chosey bakh). The imagery of God
that David wants to convey to the readers in these last two verses is first,
God is his people’s protection from danger and second, He is their sovereign
provider. There is no more fitting response to the knowledge of who God is to
his people, his promises than a grateful acknowledgment of his goodness and
faithfulness through a joyful praise. In this Psalm, David overcomes his
plight, like he usually does, by a contemplation of who God is, particularly in
relation with his people and the wicked – those who don’t know him, and acting
on the outcome of this exercise. The outcome of the knowledge of God is the
praise of his people expressed in songs of joy. We may not feel like singing to
God. There may be no reason outwardly that we ought to sing but as believers
Jesus reminds us that no one can take our joy away (Jn 16:22b). So regardless
of our circumstances, what Matt Redman says rings true. It resonates deeply
with our hearts with which I will close my reflection on this Psalm,
The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes...
Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name...
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