Comments on Psalms between 55 and 65

(All verses are quoted from the Complete Jewish Version)

Psalm 55:13-15:
    For it was not an enemy who insulted me; if it had been, I could have borne it. It was not my adversary who treated me with scorn; if it had been, I could have hidden myself. But it was you, a man of my own kind, my companion, whom I knew well. We used to share our hearts with each other; in the house of God we walked with the crowd.
v. 21 & 22:
    [My companion] attacked those who were at peace with him; he broke his solemn word. What he said sounded smoother than butter, but his heart was at war. His words seemed more soothing than oil, but in fact they were sharp swords.
    One thing I appreciate about the Psalms is their blunt honesty. David experienced all kinds of hardships during his life, including betrayal by those closest to him. He certainly was not perfect, as we well know, but he is a pretty extreme example of the grace of God (in pre-Jesus days, no less!).
    Anyhow, one case of betrayal I can think of in his life was when one of his mighty men killed Absalom. I guess you have to hear the full story for it to make sense (but not in detail, because that takes too long). It has to do with screwed up family issues and a son taking matters into his own hands. That same son rebelled and nearly dethroned David (not the natural order of things in that particular dynasty). Civil war erupted, and in the course of battle, Absalom (the son) got caught in a tree while riding (sounds random, but that’s what happened). One of David’s mighty men (I think it was Jeroboam?) found him and killed him. David was quite upset, understandably, and I don’t think the results were too pretty. He would have extended a certain amount of grace to his son if he had been able to capture him alive, I am sure of it. For some reason, this story sticks in my head very well…
    Anyhow, I think I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get what David was saying in these verses. It hurts a hell of a lot more when someone I am close to betrays or insults me. At the same time, this fact does not prevent me from developing friendships on a deeper level - that would be very unwise, because we all need close friends. I’ve learned to be very careful about who I talk to about what. And I always try to remember - no matter what - that we are all human, and bound to make mistakes.

Psalm 57 is just incredible.

Psalm 58:12:
    And people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded; there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”

Psalm 59 is also pretty awesome.

Psalm 60:13 & 14:
    Help us against our enemy, for human help is worthless. With God’s help we will fight valiantly, for He will trample our enemies.

Psalm 65:1:
    To you, God, in Zion, silence is praise; and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
    I want to emphasize the phrase, “Silence is praise.” That’s pretty darn cool.


Psalm 63:4b:
    My lips will worship you.
    Note that it doesn’t say “I will worship you.” It says “My lips will worship you.” This Psalm has more than one body part doing this, which is pretty cool if you think about it. Am I crazy for noticing this? Probably, but having taken language classes, I pay attention to weird details like this. Things that seem to take action on their own, which words were chosen by the writer, and what they mean at heart rather than on the surface: “I will/would” usually means more than just a future tense (future participle? I forget the exact term) of something in older writings. It can mean, “I desire that [fill in event/action].” So, if you pull that into reading this sentence, it could read like this: “My lips plan to/want to worship you.” If the words were “My lips shall worship you,” this would read just a bit differently.

    Just for fun, here’s the origins of “will” (American Oxford Dictionary):

ORIGIN Old English wyllan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch willen, German wollen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin velle ‘will, wish.’

If the words were “My lips shall worship you,” this would read just a bit differently.

    For fun again, info on the distinction between “will” and “shall” (American Oxford Dictionary):

USAGE There is considerable confusion about when to use shall and will. The traditional rule in standard English is that shall is used with first person pronouns (I and we) to form the future tense, while will is used with second and third persons (you, he, she, it, they): : I shall be late;: she will not be there. When expressing a strong determination to do something, the traditional rule is that will is used with the first person, and shall with the second and third persons: : I will not tolerate this;: you shall go to school. In practice, however, shall and will are today used more or less interchangeably in statements (although not in questions). Given that the forms are frequently contracted (we'll, she'll, etc.), there is often no need to make a choice between shall and will, another factor no doubt instrumental in weakening the distinction. In modern English, the interchangeable use of shall and will is an acceptable part of standard U.S. and British English.

I shoulda’ been a linguist. I love etymology… and words. Of course, there is one key thing I am leaving out here- the Psalms weren’t written in a Germanic tongue. I wonder what Dr. Suuqiina would have to say about this phrase of a verse...