My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 5:1
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.
In the old KJV, the last word is translated as meditation, and having spent a considerable time in the authorized version, it is how I have understood this verse. I considered it to have a positive connotation about it, that is, to meditate meant to think on the things of God in a methodical, unhurried praiseworthy manner.
Reading the ESV version above makes me reconsider. The word has a number of definitions, including “musings”, “meditation”, even “complaint”. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon speaks of this term as from a Hebrew root word meaning “heat, fervor of mind”
This sheds a bit different light on the passage for me. Is David bringing his complaints to the Lord? Is this an acceptable way to approach the Creator and Savior?
Let me share a verse that has always shocked me when I read it. Of course, I am not in the same situation as Jeremiah, seeing his beloved country being run over by the enemy, and his countrymen becoming hardened to the call of repentance toward God. But this verse has always intrigued me.
Jeremiah 12:1
Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
It appears that coming to the Lord includes the freedom to express our concerns and complaints. It is good to remember that Jeremiah approached the Lord as such, but did not remain in this attitude.
Such was the fate of David by the time he concluded his musings of the fifth Psalm.
My wife an I have noticed that in the Psalms, as the author may start out with a concern, a complaint or a question, by the time he gets to the end of the psalm, it is resolved, or at least the author is at peace, with praise flowing from his pen to the Lord.
Psalm 5:11 – 12
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
Questions, complaints, concerns, problems, setbacks, dilemmas, hassles and predicaments are decision points in our lives. We can sit in the problem, suffering the impact of the negative, or go to the Lord, express our concern or trials to Him who has suffered all trials, and humbly receive the correct perspective on life, renewing our mind to think properly, soberly and righteously, that is, of a servant.
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