Psalm
When I was a new convert at the age of 34, my church challenged me to read 5 chapters of Psalm and 1 chapter of Proverbs each day. I was told I could finish the two books within one month since there are 150 chapters of Psalm and 31 chapters of Proverbs. Then, I can re-start from the 1st chapter again on the 1st day of the following month. I did this for about 3 months before the church directed me to read the Gospel.
I started to fall in love with Psalm after the 3rd reading. To me Psalm has all kind of feelings human being possibly have. I found love – hate, sweetness – bitterness, clam – anger, kindness – cruel, tender – rough and others in Psalm. I like it because I can associate my feeling to those of Psalmists.
Psalm has been used for over 2000 years by believers to voice or express their prayers in all kinds of circumstances. Francois Benezet, a ministry student and a victim of the persecution on the church, sung Psalm 51 on his way to execution. He was executed as a young man in January 1752 and left with him a widow and a child.
I remember I once too prayed to the Lord in my anger with Psalm 3:7 reading, “Lord, strike all my enemies on the jaw and break their teeth.” I felt not only the relief of my animosity after I committed my emotion unto Him, but I knew also that He will actually smite those who infringe injustice to this world. His promises in Psalm will always be true.
Another thing that makes me fond very much of Psalm is its unique happy ending nature. For no matter how sad or how bad the mood of the Psalm is in the beginning, it always ends in a cheerful mood. You will always find refuge in the Lord in the last few verses of Psalm although the first few verses may just be in a totally different tone.
I read in the 1st verse in chapter 2 that ‘the nations conspire and the people plot against me’, but the last verse is ‘blessed are all who take refuge in him.’ Psalm 10 started in a hopeless sound by asking, ‘Why O Lord do you stand far off, why do you hide from me in times of trouble?’ But the last verse is; ‘the Lord defends the fatherless and the oppressed in order that man, who is of the earth terrify no more.’
This phenomenon prevails throughout the whole 150 chapters of Psalm less one. There is one Psalm that delivers no happiness ending but deep grievances. This Psalm makes me sad and my tear drops. At time I asked God why this Psalm amid all the cheerful others. We see in this Psalm with cries, prayers, trouble, grave, without strength, dead, cut off, lowest pit, darkest depth, wrath, heavily upon me, overwhelm, destruction, darkness, land of oblivion, afflicted, terror, destroy, flood, and engulf me right from the beginning to the very last end.
There is total a darkness in this Psalm. It is a completely no hope Psalm. The Psalmist seeks help from the Lord with a loud cry of, “Why O Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?” The final verse 18 reads, “You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closed friend.”
Before Bishop Hooper was burned at the stake in 1555 during the reign of Queen Mary, wrote to his wife and commended this sad Psalm to her. Psalm 88, he wrote, is for the purpose of help when the mind can have no understanding or the heart any joy of God’s promises.
I still love Psalm even with Psalm 88. I read Psalm in the cheerful days. But whenever the sky is dark, when I can not hear or feel Him and I am frightened, I visit Psalm 88. The Psalm I learn both patience and consolation.
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