Dear Friends,
Sometimes I wonder about how to think about the Psalms in the Bible. I read things like Psalm 137:8-9 (NIV),
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
At first, I'm horrified to find this in the scriptures. Then I remember that a lot of the Psalms are expressions of human thoughts and feelings poured out to God. The point in the above passage isn't that it is good to get revenge on one's oppressors by murdering their children. Rather, this Psalm expresses the blind hatred and consuming rage experienced by those who have seen their own children murdered before their eyes. These are real feelings had by real people both in the past and in the present that need to be expressed in the presence of God, feelings that would probably make a lot more sense to me if I had lost my own children to senseless violence. I wonder, for example, how many parents who lost their children in the February 28 bombing of Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, Iran might resonate with the feelings expressed in this Psalm.
On a happier note, this week, I have been reflecting on Psalm 23 (NIV), which gives voice to a very different human experience, one of overwhelming peace and trust in God's provision and care.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
As I read this Psalm, I couldn't help going back to the idea of the Psalms as expressions of human thoughts and feelings before God. Can I read Psalm 23 as if it expresses timeless truth relevant to my own relationship with God? Or must I, for the sake of consistency, read it instead as if it expresses David's thoughts and feelings about his relationship with God at a particular point in time? After all, isn't it simply untrue that every person has a life characterized by the continual peace and abundant provision that David describes in the Psalm? Certainly the parents of the little girls who died in the school bombing do not feel that God is with them and caring for them in the ways described here?
I spent some time praying about these questions on Wednesday morning. Then I read the Psalm again. And this time, I read it differently. I occurred to me that the provision and care of God that David describes here aren't about unmitigated, overwhelmingly
Whether you find yourself in a season of abundance and joy, a season of grief and stress, or a season with some of both, take some time to read Psalm 23 again slowly and to ask the Spirit to speak to you about how it applies to your life right now. May you walk closely with Jesus this week, and may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding come to you and fill you up.
Love in Christ,
Michelle
