When God seems to be judging our enemies, it
can produce relief. I hear the beginnings of relief in Psalm 9. In verse 3, the
enemies turn back, a very good sign in battle. The psalmist says they are
destroyed and their name has been removed from future history (v5). And then he
says that even their memory has disappeared (v6). I think we could learn a good
lesson from this. Sometimes we have to let the memory of the past just die. And
I think worship and time in the LORD’s presence can help (vv8-10).
There is a time for keeping silent, and a
time to speak (Psalm 39). We need to know when it is the right time to let it
out (v2). If we don’t let it out, it can eat us up inside (v2b-3). And telling
it to the LORD is the right thing to do. We need to remember how short this
life is (v5). We need to not place our hopes in this life (v6), but in the LORD
(v7). Somehow he knows that his current
distress is due to how own sin. He is not complaining about the discipline, but
confesses and prays for reconciliation and relief.
The pictures that the writer paints in Psalm
69 accurately capture the feeling of someone overcome by life. We would call it
depression. The feeling of being overwhelmed by life’s events (v1-2), of having
no one who listens and helps (v3), and of feeling attacked by everyone (v4) and
alone (vv8 & 11-12) are very common depression feelings. These feelings
bubble up repeatedly in this psalm. He cries out to the LORD for salvation and
protection (v29), for ultimately, it is the LORD who can reach him. He worships
knowing that this is what the LORD really wants and it seems to renew his
spirits.
In Psalm 99 the image of the earth being the
footstool of the LORD is explored in a song of worship and remembrance. There are
two different angles at which the writer sees this image: past and present. He
looks back to a time when the LORD’s presence there was demonstrated with a
physical display of the pillar of cloud and fire. People experienced His
presence powerfully. There could be no doubt about His power and authority at
that moment. Then the writer draws upon that image and calls his current
generation, and our generation, to worship this Almighty God.
Psalm 129 captures the sentiment of a people
in captivity. They have kept their spirits up by recognizing the LORD’s
deliverance. They have hope in the middle of a situation that could bring
despair, because they have the promise of God. Notice the repeat at the
beginning of the psalm. It seems as though the worship leader would say verse
one and then the congregation would join in. Worship is a corporate activity.
It can be done in solitude, but when we worship with others there is a power
that can be felt. Sometimes, often in fact, I need to feel my faith. How about
you?