Discovering Ourselves in the Psalms

Jim Davis

Psalms 7:1-17

The psalms are filled with emotion. Visiting the psalms enables us to examine every emotion we have ever felt in the lives of others. The Psalms invite us to see ourselves through Scripture as our feelings and emotions are mirrored in those struggling to be faithful. The writers of the psalms invite us to come to God with every raw emotion we experience. It doesn’t matter whether we are experiencing joy, rage, fear, doubt, betrayal or having doubts about God’s faithfulness. The psalms enable us to discover others who have gone before us who were experiencing the same emotions. These heart rending struggles from the past become a key essential for our spiritual growth. 

Seeing our emotions mirrored in the psalms in the lives of others who have experienced what we are feeling invites us to get real with God. We begin to gain a sense of confidence in God as we allow him to enter into our raw feelings about life. As God enters our hearts through his Spirit our hearts become God’s sanctuary in an evil world. Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16.) Inviting God to dwell in us through his Spirit as we mediate on his word enables us to sort out our feelings about life. Our hearts become God’s sanctuary and in giving him a sanctuary he becomes our refuge.

The writers of the psalms are as concerned about the issues of life as any one of us. It may seem as though they have an unshakable confidence in God. Yet, they are as frightened as any of us might be in their circumstances. Through the psalms we see the faithful get personal with God in an effort to sort out their feelings. They remind themselves of God’s faithfulness despite their emotions running wild. We read about their struggles realizing their life stories offer a place of refuge for the weary in every age.

We shouldn’t think the cries of the psalms are coming from the hearts of sinless people. The cries are coming from the hearts of those struggling to be righteous. We hear their cries but we don’t always know the specific battles raging in their hearts. Perhaps the heart rending cries are coming from those battles going on inside them that others never see. 

I must not come to the psalms thinking only the exceptionally righteous can pray the prayers or sing the psalms they sang. The Pharisees came to Jesus with this attitude. They suffered Jesus’ strongest rebuke (Luke 18:9-14). 

Getting Real With God

Read the following excerpts from the book of Psalms. Notice how the writers’ raw feelings about God are expressed. They bring it all to God. 

In Psalm 6 David feels the weight of his personal failures as he dreadfully awaits God’s discipline. I am not exactly sure why David fears God’s discipline. I don’t know what he has done. I know how he feels. 

Psalms 6:1-7
6:1 For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.  A psalm of David.

O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger 
or discipline me in your wrath. 
2 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. 
3 My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long? 

4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love. 
5 No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave? 

6 I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping 
and drench my couch with tears. 
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes. NIV

There are other times David thinks life is unfair. I am not sure what is going on in David’s life in this next psalm. I do know how circumstances can make me feel as he felt. 

Psalms 10:1-11
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises. 
3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 
5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies. 
6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble." 
7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue. 
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims. 
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. 
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength. 
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees." NIV

In other times David feels forgotten. I don’t know why a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) feels so alone and forgotten? I do know suffering through the silence of God is heart rending. 

Psalms 13:1-4
13:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me? 
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall. NIV

Often, we find ourselves crying out with Jesus as he quotes the words of David as he hangs on the cross.

Psalms 22:1-5
22:1 For the director of music. To [the tune of] "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning? 
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent. 

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.   
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them. 
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed. NIV

The Confident Cry of the Faithful

According to tradition in Psalms 7 we find David seeking to survive the onslaught of Saul’s jealous rage. David is pursued by Saul in spite of his innocence in this particular matter. He is unjustly accused. The danger is life threatening. David seeks to take control of his fears. He takes refuge in God as he seeks protection from his enemies through the justice of God.

Psalms 7:1-17
7:1 A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 
2 or they will tear me like a lion 
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. 

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this 
and there is guilt on my hands —  
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me 
or without cause have robbed my foe —  
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground 
and make me sleep in the dust. 
Selah  

6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice. 
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high; 
8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked 
and make the righteous secure. 

10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart. 
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day. 
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow. 
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows. 

14 He who is pregnant with evil 
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. 
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made. 
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head. 

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness 
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. NIV

David expresses his unshakable confidence in God. Albeit, David’s confidence in God does not make his troubles disappear. Saul does not relent from his murderous rage.

1 Samuel 24:1-7
24:1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. 

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. NIV

David did not always do the righteous thing, but in this matter David maintained his righteousness. David writes, “Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High (Psalms 7:8). But never forget in many psalms he was just as eager to proclaim his sinfulness. In this psalm David expresses his utmost confidence in God. David proclaims, “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart” (Psalms 7:10). In other psalms he felt forsaken. Albeit in this matter David was innocent and had no problem proclaiming his righteousness. David was determined to take the righteousness path. Throughout Saul’s murderous jealous rage—David was determined not to raise his hand in anger. David committed his justice to the judge of all. He has no fear of bringing his just complaint to God for judgment.

Why would David allow Saul to walk away unharmed? Imagine being conscience-stricken! Your enemy is out to kill you. Try to imagine how David’s men felt when he refuses to seize the moment? They are caught up in the struggle. They are living in caves like vagabonds. They spend their time with David hiding in the country away from their families as they seek to protect him. His men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" He literally catches Saul with his pants down. He simply cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe, which Saul laid aside to relieve himself. Then David does the unspeakable. He repents that he goes this far. 

Surely the innocent have a right to defend themselves. Kill or be killed. David’s men think the encounter is God ordained. Yet, David refuses to raise his hand against God’s anointed. God anointed Saul as King. David is thinking “who am I to take him out?” David refuses to play God. He makes an unyielding decision to commit his enemies’ schemes to God’s justice. 

Psalms 7:6-9
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice. 
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high; 
8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked 
and make the righteous secure. 

The private moments David spent pouring out his heart mediating on God’s ways were crucial. Perhaps David had just finished or was in the process of writing this psalm in which he vows to entrust his life to God. 

David simply says:

Psalms 7:1-2
O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 
2 or they will tear me like a lion 
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. 

Taking sanctuary in God allows me to risk loving my enemies—I can risk living righteously. David’s emotions expressed in the psalms as he deals with his enemies bring New Testament verses to life for me. (Matthew 5:10-12; Acts 18:9-11; Romans 8:28-39; 12:17-21; 2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 1 Peter 1:4.) These are just a few. Think about the verses below, which David writes as he struggles with his enemies.  

Psalms 7:10-13
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart. 
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day. 
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow. 
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows. 

Vengeance really does belong to the Lord. It is heart-wrenching to watch someone you truly love take a path to self-destruction. Too often intervening to give advice is futile. You have to sit back and watch those you love fall headlong into self-destruction. It is self-destruction brought on by divine judgment. David did everything possible to convince Saul he was not his enemy. David’s graciousness did not turn Saul from his wickedness.

Isaiah 26:10
10 Though grace is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil 
and regard not the majesty of the LORD. NIV

The story of Saul and David ends with Saul falling on his own sword (1 Samuel 31:4-6). When evil is conceived it gives birth to all kinds of delusions that will ultimately lead to divine judgment and self-destruction. We will unknowingly dig a pit to fall in—we will dig our own graves. 

Psalms 7:14-17
14 He who is pregnant with evil 
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. 
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made. 
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head. 

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness 
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. NIV

Making a resolute decision to trust God doesn’t free us from negative emotions. David made many overtures in hopes of turning Saul from his murderous rage. Nothing worked. We may expect our graciousness to turn a bad situation around. Instead, it only tests our confidence in God. We are not automatically freed from our doubts or troubles just because we have chosen to make God our refuge. David also wrote Psalm 13 as he faced his troubles. He wrestles with his thoughts and doubts. 

Psalms 13:1-4
13:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me? 
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts 
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall. NIV

Human emotions are as unstable as ocean foam tossed about in a storm. In one psalm David is declaring God as his refuge. In another psalm he feels forsaken by God. In one psalm he is declaring his righteousness. In yet another, he deplores his sinfulness. He is very transparent about it all. He shares his feelings with God. He shares his feelings with the faithful as the psalms are written for worship. He holds nothing back as he seeks to work through his emotions. David may have been tossed to and fro by the waves of emotions but his soul was anchored in the eternal (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Throughout David’s life we find him living in the shadows with his enemies in hot pursuit. We witness him practicing with his sling, hiding in caves, relying on his men in battle and playing crazy to out smart his enemies. Yet, there was not a moment in his life he did not realize God was his ultimate refuge.  

Conclusion:

Twenty-four years of living in Florida has taught me to appreciate a place of refuge. A refuge for Floridians is a safe place to hunker down from hurricanes akin to Andrew, Charlie, Wilma and Jean. I remember the story of one family. The family hid in a closet during hurricane Andrew. When the storm passed they emerged from the closet—realizing only the closet was left standing. What a refuge. It is eerie to be in a place where there is positively no chance of survival—and yet—for some strange reason you survive. In your surreal moment you realize the angels took charge of your life. In that very moment God directed the attention of heaven toward you. It is an earthshaking moment for your psyche. The Bible calls it salvation.

God is a refuge to those seeking reconciliation with God. Jesus’ invitation is to those weary of fighting life’s battles all alone. 

Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV

The majesty of God is revealed through the death of his Son. The sinful can respond to Christ. Christ died to extend God’s grace to his enemies.  

Romans 5:6-11
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. NIV

There is so much sin our lives that we dare not proclaim our righteousness. The only way we dare take refuge in God is by clothing ourselves with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Coming to Christ allows Christ to advocate our defense. Christ defends us through his righteousness. His righteousness becomes our shield of protection.

Galatians 3:26-29
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. NIV

We clothe ourselves with the righteousness of Christ through faith in Christ as we are baptized into Christ. We take on ourselves the mantle of Christ’s righteousness. This allows us to come to God with all our raw emotions regardless of the battles we are fighting. 

Acts 22:16
16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. NIV