Tag: David

psalm 16 observations

~ dwc ~ Leave a comment

Here were my observations from reading Psalm 16 this morning.

  • “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord…” Here David is talking to himself, or specifically to his ‘soul’. Not only this, he is talking to his soul about what his soul has talked to the Lord about. David seems to be trying to reach down to his deepest commitment to rekindle it, to tend the flame of faith. I think we are deeply committed to many things and don’t realize it? To looking good, to being successful, to avoiding this or that situation that we are afraid of, to trying to make the world a better place (according to the standard of the cultures reflected on our television, tablet, computer and/or phone screens). David here reaches into the deepest part of himself, and rekindles his deepest commitment to the deepest and most Ultimate Reality imaginable. The Lord.
  • “My goodness is nothing apart from You” Long before King Jesus the Son of David taught about abiding in the vine and declared that “apart from me you can do nothing” King David relativizes his goodness in relationship to God. David is going to be turning soon to talk about goodies (“the saints”) and baddies (people “who hasten after another god”). But before those reflections, he recognizes God as the one whose goodness enables, undergirds, defines and sharpens all goodness.
  • “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places…” David has just reflected on the self-destructive result of idol worship. All the drinking blood and chanting of names cannot improve my life. Actually it makes it worse. It only adds a sense of futility to suffering: “Their sorrows shall be multiplied.” How different is the blood of the new covenant and taking the name of Jesus on our lips! But that’s for another post. Here we note the contrast of David’s gratitude. Because the Lord is his ‘inheritance’, he can enjoy and delight in his ‘lot’ in life.
  • “My flesh also will rest in hope…” This is the line just before he goes on to give those famous lines quoted in the New Testament (Acts 2) about his soul not being left in Sheol (the Grave). Rightly, like Peter at Pentecost proclaimed, the Grave is not the end for those who ‘rest in hope’. Christ is risen, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. We will rise with him.
  • “At your right hand…” In verse 8, David has just talked about the Lord being “at my right hand”. Out of context, we might misunderstand this as David imagining God as a religious trinket, a little genie in his pocket, or a voice on his right shoulder. No. David knows that the Lord is the One whom the heavens cannot contain. But the transcendent God is also immanent: “at my right hand”. The one sustaining and fixing the very laws of nature, the ones we know and the ones we don’t, is the one who is close with us with the result that we “shall not be moved.”

Uriah, the anti-David

~ dwc ~ Leave a comment

I just got up to 2 Samuel 11 this morning in my daily Bible readings.

It’s a familiar sad story, but I was struck by the contrast between Uriah and David.

David pursues Bathsheba with almost no restraint. He has every reason not to sleep with her. She is not his wife, for starters. In spite of those reasons, we are given a progression of his pursuit of her. Having ‘remained at Jerusalem’ (not fighting with the men), during a restless night of walking on the roof, he sees her bathing (could have left it there, but no). There is a implicit suggestion that he then lingers on the look, for we are told that she was ‘beautiful to behold’. He inquires about her (probably didn’t help). He sends for her (using his power, position and privilege as king). And then lays with her. After hearing of the pregnancy, his pursuit now turns to Uriah, getting him home and (hopefully) into bed with his wife, then getting him drunk, and finally getting him killed.

By contrast, look at Uriah. He is not safe at home, but actively helping fight alongside his fellows. Unlike David, who calls him home, he is unwilling to do what he is entitled to. He has a ‘right’ to sleep with his wife, surely! But he gives up his rights for what is honourable. He would have been tired from battle. He would have missed his wife. Still he chooses honour. Even when David successfully gets him drunk, he opts to sleep outside rather than go in to his house and lay with his wife.

David is driven by his lust. Uriah is driven by his convictions.

mixed fruit

~ dwc ~ Leave a comment

I continue my morning readings, currently in 1 Samuel.

This morning was chapter 19, where Saul tries (again) to pin David to the wall with (seemingly) his favourite thing to have in his hand – a spear. (see this post for more on that theme)

Then he gets swept up in some pretty intense prophetic activity while trying to hunt down David. So intense that he disrobes and lies all night naked.

This is what you might call conflicting accounts. Saul is a mixed bag of a human being (like all of us – even David), and he is bearing mixed fruit.

He gets so wrapped up in this prophetic activity that he appears emotionally overwhelmed and out of himself. Rumours are started about him: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

But then again, he seems waaaaaaaaaaay too comfortable with a spear in his hand. “Hey Saul, you are looking pretty stressed and distressed… and you and David haven’t been getting on well for a bit… so maybe don’t invite him to play music for you? Oh wait… OK there he is… fine… Well, maybe at the very least, just don’t pick up that spea…. Oh heck, you just tried to kill David… again!?”

Saul’s narrative arc is trending down big-time. And the intense prophetic experience does not undo that.

This should give us pause, too. Having intense spiritual experiences does not prove that we are spiritually healthy.