Psalm Project

Psalm 43

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“Send forth Your light and Your truth.” (43:3)

Israel is described by Isaiah as an or goyim, “light of the nations.” By the example of their behavior, Israel is charged with the responsibility to teach the non-monotheistic world about belief in one God. In the ancient worldview of the Hebrew prophets, there were God-followers and there were idolators. The former were moral because of their adherence to God’s revealed scripture, and the latter were immoral because they ignored God’s instructions to the world. In our world we have multiple monotheistic God-following religions and many ways to follow God, all of them true. The job of religious people is to show that the way we live our lives is illumined by one of those sets of truths.

Psalm 42

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“Why so downcast, my soul?” (42:6)

A brief conversation with the soul: “Hey, soul – it’s a beautiful day and I’d like to enjoy myself. Stop dragging me down with your nagging!”

“No problem. I’ll stop when you give some attention to these issues you’ve been ignoring.”

“Those are your issues, not mine. I just need a break! Let me enjoy myself for once, and I won’t be so angry.”

“Look – your problem is not your co-workers, your spouse, your children, or the driver who doesn’t accelerate fast enough. Your problem is deeper, a spiritual problem. You are looking for ways to experience the rush of anger because it makes you feel alive.”

Listen to your soul.

Psalm 41

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“You have wholly transformed his bed of suffering.” (41:4)

There is a difference between emotional or physical pain and suffering. Suffering entails pain, but not all pain needs to be understood as suffering. Pain has a physical or emotional cause. Suffering is a particular interpretation of pain. We suffer when we decide that the pain is unjust. Complaining magnifies pain into suffering, as does blaming and anger. As a rule, negative emotions magnify suffering, and positive emotions, especially laughter, reduce suffering. Quieting one’s breath through prayer or meditation, a form of embracing the pain rather than fighting with it, can also transform and reduce suffering.

Psalm 40

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“I did not withhold my words.” (40:10)

The Psalmist might say with regret, “I did not withhold my words and I regret having said things that I cannot unsay.” In this case he has damaged relationships so his words were better left unsaid. He might say with a sigh of futility, “I did not withhold my words, but I am glad that I spoke truth to power, even though nothing has changed.” He feels good and might have a positive influence on bystanders. Or he might say with a sense of accomplishment, “I did not withhold my words and the person or organization I was addressing has changed because of what I said,” effecting positive change. Before you open your mouth, consider in which category your words are likely to fall.

Psalm 39

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“No one endures longer than but a breath.” (39:6)

Compared to the tens of thousands of years of modern human history, the life of any individual is no more than a moment. In the scheme of human history, our individual troubles are transitory and trivial. This doesn’t mean that our suffering isn’t real, but it does mean that we should contextualize it with the question, ‘how much is my pain today going to matter in 100 or 1,000 years?’ When you get frustrated and feel compelled to strike out, first take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Do this five times, ten times, or twenty times, until the urge to strike has passed. You now have the proper mindset to decide whether and how you should take action.