Psalm 38-41
We are in the Wisdom Stream reading from the The Living Bible today.
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Lord God, we can learn from David today. May we, like David, when in anguish and pain turn to you and not turn on you. Amen.
Things are not looking too good for David and that is the tone for most of what we find in the Psalms today.
38 – David is pleading to God for the punishment he is feeling to relent. David has sinned and God is angry. David is near complete despair with pain and inflammation, disease and exhaustion. Loved ones and friends have departed. His enemies are still coming at him. David calls out to God in this state – it’s quite a lesson for all of us.
39 – David’s sin and punishment because of it is dragging on and it has him longing for happier days. It has him musing about the frailty and emptiness of life. His final verse here sums things up: “spare me Lord, let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.” He simply longs to fellowship sweetly again like he did with his God when he was tending sheep and playing harp and singing to Him in better days.
40 – is one of the most popular Psalms of deliverance, recovery and relief. It’s been a favorite for 3,000 years. The presence and loving hand of the Lord is what the heart really longs for. And God longs to be with us – ‘ever think about that? Sacrifices are … well yeah, … they are good but God wants us and we want God. The fellowship is what is most sought for. God delivers, just keep calling for him until the relationship is restored. It’s very interesting about how U2; the band from Ireland made a song out of Psalm 40 and it has been among the most popular songs ever performed. All opinions and personal impressions aside, the world longs to be with it’s Savior – even though we seem to forget this more than we seem to remember it.
41 – David has a lovely piece about God’s ability to nurse us back to health. He then quickly launches into his word against those who have turned on him. This Psalm best coordinates with what is found in II Samuel 15 when Absalom has turned and is now trying to wrestle the kingdom from David; his own dad. Absalom has recruited Ahithophel to join in the rebellion. Athithophel was once very close to David (they were the best of friends) but has now become the “Judas” of the Old Testament if y’know what is being said here. Still David remains in prayer and is turning to God in his distress, isolation, and pain. Amid this anguish he ends the Psalm exclaiming about his eternal God who is from everlasting to everlasting. What a heart for God David had!