What do you do, or where do you go, when you’re discouraged? Under great stress? Facing times of uncertainty? Suffering from grief? Feeling anxious? When you’ve messed up so badly you wonder if it can ever be made right? Or simply needing a hug?
People find all manner of ways of handling such things: Alcohol, drugs, eating, physical exertion, immersion in mindless entertainment, finding a shoulder to cry on. Each of these is short-term help at best, but in the end, whatever’s troubling them remains.
Over the years, one of my favorite places to nestle in the Scriptures has been the Psalms. I’ve gone there in times of pain and distress, when needing encouragement, searching for direction and wisdom, or simply desiring to feel closer to God. Sometimes like a child wanting to cuddle next to its parent.
The Psalms are no more or less divinely inspired than the other 65 books of the Bible, but there’s something about the collection of Hebrew “songs” that touches the human spirit in a manner like no other. Perhaps one reason is because many of the Psalms were written by King David of Israel, who despite his regal standing was quite ordinary in many ways. He had enough flaws and failings to match his strengths and successes.
In an entry in his classic devotional book, Morning and Evening, Charles H. Spurgeon presented an insightful description of the shepherd-king:
“…He knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown. The peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd’s crook. The wanderer has many hardships, and David hid in the caves of Engedi…. He was an able master of the human heart because he had been tutored in the best of all schools – the school of heartfelt, personal experience.”
David is credited with writing approximately half of the 150 psalms. His contributions read almost like the pages of a personal journal or diary, with unvarnished honesty and candor, conveying a vast range of emotions. He didn’t hesitate to admit when feeling afraid, angry, sorrowful, repentant, exuberant, doubtful, or awestruck.
Entire books have been written about the Psalms, but here’s a sampling of observations about David’s expressions of faith in times of both triumph and trouble.
He wrote about finding great peace in trusting the Lord, despite enemy opposition the king encountered a lot: “But You are my shield around me, O Lord…. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake up, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side” (Psalm 3:3-6).
A friend has confided in me recently about being wrongfully accused. Perhaps you’ve experienced this as well. King David wrote, “O Lord my God, in you I have taken refuge. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me…” (Psalm 7:1). He expressed similar thoughts in Psalm 26:1-2, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart.”
There were times it wasn’t vindication but mercy and forgiveness that caused the king to cry out to God. Seven of his writings are regarded as penitential psalms – songs of repentance – including the sinful burden he carried after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. He pleaded:
“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight…” (Psalm 51:2-4).
How does one recover from the guilt of great sin? David knew it was possible only by God’s grace and mercy, and His restorative power. This was his petition later in the psalm:
“Create in me a clean heart of God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12).
In another psalm David wrote his conclusion: “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Psalm 32:1-2).
This is an assurance God offered not only to the Israelite king but also to all of us who profess faith in Him. Because in Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Drawing from his experiences in shepherding sheep, David often reflected on the comfort and confidence he had in his heavenly Shepherd. In perhaps his best-known psalm, the king wrote:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me….” (Psalm 23:1-6).
Sheep are helpless, not smart animals. Often during our life’s journey, if we’re honest, we have to admit that we too are helpless and not so smart.
There are so many examples in the Psalms we can draw from for encouragement and assurance, but I must include one in which David expressed his great awe of God. He declared:
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!... When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers…. What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!” (Psalm 8:1,3-5).
This barely scratches the surface of the Psalms, in which we can learn much about God and His relationship with His foremost creation, humankind. They’re refreshing spiritual water that can be drawn from a bottomless well. I couldn’t urge strongly enough: Drink, and drink deeply.
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