i was reading some psalms in the message yesterday morning, and was again blown away by david’s wonderful emotional honesty. sometimes, it feels a bit bi-polar, i have to admit. the dude had moods!
i was particularly struck by the difference between the first couple verses of psalm 9 and the first couple verses of psalm 10:
from Psalm 9
I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I’m singing your song, High God.from Psalm 10
God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.
we had a ys staff mtg yesterday morning, so i pulled the first 1 - 3 verses from a bunch of the early psalms. i read them to them slowly, while they listened for the emotion with their eyes closed. then i passed out copies of these verses and asked them to prayerfully select the one they resonated the most with at this point, then write some notes about why. after a few minutes, each table of 3 - 5 people shared with each other. then we moved on with the rest of our meeting. it seemed to connect with people.
here are the passages i used:
from Psalm 4
When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;
Now I’m in trouble again: grace me! hear me!from Psalm 5
Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
I lay out the pieces of my life
on your altar
and watch for fire to descend.from Psalm 6
Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change;
I’m so starved for affection.
Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue,
beat up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take
for you to let up?from Psalm 8
God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?from Psalm 9
I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I’m singing your song, High God.from Psalm 10
God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?
Full of hot air, the wicked
are hot on the trail of the poor.
Trip them up, tangle them up
in their fine-tuned plots.from Psalm 13
Long enough, God— you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
have looked down their noses at me.from Psalm 18
I love you, God— you make me strong.
God is bedrock under my feet,
the castle in which I live,
my rescuing knight.
My God—the high crag
where I run for dear life,
hiding behind the boulders,
safe in the granite hideout.
I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,
and find myself safe and saved.
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