Day 170, Psalms 38-44

Psalm 38
Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A PSALM OF DAVID, FOR THE MEMORIAL OFFERING.

*An urgent appeal for relief from a severe and painful illness. God’s “rebuke” for a sin David has committed. Neither the specific occasion nor the illness can be identified. David’s suffering is aggravated by the withdrawal of his friends and the unwarranted efforts of his enemies to seize the opportunity to bring him down. In traditional Christian usage, this is one of seven penitential psalms.

But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God,
who will answer.
-38:15

Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
-38:21-22

Psalm 39
What Is the Measure of My Days?

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: TO JEDUTHUN. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*The poignant prayer of a soul deeply troubled by the fragility of human life. He is reminded of this by the present illness through which God is rebuking him for his “transgressions.” Psalm 38 speaks of silence before the enemy, Psalm 39 of silence before God. Both are prayers in times of illness (God’s “rebuke”); both acknowledge sin, and both express deep trust in God.

O Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
-39:4-6

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
-39:7-8

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!
-39:12-13

Psalm 40
My Help and My Deliverer

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*A prayer for help when troubles abound. The causes of distress are not specified, but David acknowledges that they are occasioned by his sin. They are aggravated by the gloating of his enemies, a theme also present in Psalm 38-39; 41. The prayer begins with praise of God for his past mercies and a testimony to the king’s own faithfulness to the Lord. These form the grounds for his present appeal for help.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go stray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and
your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.
-40:1-5

I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.
-40:8

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness
will ever preserve me!
-40:11

But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!
-40:16-17

Psalm 41
O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*David’s prayer for mercy when seriously ill. He acknowledges that his illness is related to his sin. His enemies greet the prospect of his death with malicious glee and even his “close friend” betrays his friendship. This psalm concludes a collection of four psalms connected by common themes, and also from the conclusion of book one. (Book one begins and ends with a “Blessed” psalm.)

As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
-41:4

But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
-41:10

But you have upheld me because of my integrity;
and set me in your presence forever.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
-41:12-13

BOOK TWO

Psalm 42
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A MASKIL OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

*Psalm 42-43: A prayer for deliverance from being “oppressed by the enemy” and for restoration to the presence of God at his temple. That these two psalms form a single prayer (though they are counted as two psalms also in the Septuagint) is evident from its unique structure and the development of common themes.

This psalm begins Book Two of the Psalter, a collection that is distinguished from Book One primarily by the fact that the Hebrew word for “God” (Elohim) predominates, whereas in the first book the Hebrew word for “the Lord” (Yahweh) predominates.

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
-42:1-2

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
-42:5

By day the Lord commands steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
-42:8

Psalm 43
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

*Psalm 43 may have come to be separated from Psalm 42 for a particular liturgical purpose. The speaker may have been a leading member of the Korahites whose normal duties involved him in the liturgical activities of the temple.

Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
-43:3-5

Psalm 44
Come to Our Help

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A MASKIL OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

*Israel’s cry for help after suffering a devastating defeat at the hand of an enemy. In the light of verses 17-22, it is difficult to associate this psalm with any of those defeats announced by the prophets as judgments on Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness. It probably relates to an experience of the kingdom of Judah (which as a nation did not break covenant with the Lord until late in her history), perhaps during the reign of Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah.

Structurally, three thematic developments rise one upon the other as the psalm advances to the prayer in the closing verses. First there is praise of the Lord for past victories, second a description of the present defeat and its consequences, third a plea of innocence, then finally the prayer. Each of the themes (recalling of past mercies, description of the present distress, and claim of covenant loyalty) in its own way functions as a ground for the appeal for help.

O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old.
-44:1

For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever.
-44:6-8

If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
-44:20-21

Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
-44:26