Workaholics

Strange creatures roam the land these days. Being efficient, diligent, and productive, they are remarkably impressive . . . but beneath the surface they are suffering from a miserable malady. Compulsively driven with an obsessive desire to achieve, these creatures give themselves to labor like alcoholics give themselves to booze. Workaholics. You will find them in every imaginable occupation, and unfortunately, they are usually successful.

The Ghost of Ephraim, Part One

Psalm 78 is a hymn of history. Being a Maskil psalm, it is designed to instruct those who ponder its message. The opening words command us to listen . . . to incline our ears to what the composer, Asaph, has to say. Immediately we realize that he is recounting the unhappy days of disobedience which characterized the Jews during their rebellion and wandering.

Miscommunication, Part One

“Don’t garble the message!” If I heard that once during Marine boot camp, I must’ve heard it four dozen times. Again and again, our outfit was warned against hearing one thing, then passing on a slightly different version. You know, changing the message by altering the meaning a tad. It’s so easy to do, isn’t it? Especially when it’s filtered through several minds, then pushed through each mouth.

Asking God for Help

David’s dark song, Psalm 142, concludes with a final request and a bold prediction. Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me. (142:7) In 142:5–6, David asked the Lord to change his circumstances: to deal justly with his persecutors and to honor His promise to make David king.

Confessing Despair

In David’s dark song of depression, recorded as Psalm 142, the king confesses his deepest feelings of isolation and despair. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. (142:3) David feels enveloped or wrapped up in his depression, so much so his spirit feels faint and feeble.

Opening to God

The raw emotion of David’s prayer in Psalm 142 comes through clearly in his choice of words. In his Cave of Adullam, the beleaguered future king struggled with depression and shrieked heavenward. I used to wonder why we ever needed to utter words in prayer since God already knows all our thoughts (Psalm 139:4). Then one day I stumbled across Hosea 14:1–2.

Crying Aloud from the Darkness

David’s depression most likely resulted from an unusually long period of stress. The superscript for Psalm 142, identifying David’s circumstances as “in the cave,” probably refers to the cave of Adullam. To appreciate the context, observe the first two verses of 1 Samuel 22: So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him.

An Abysmal Cave

Who hasn’t struggled with those demoralizing seasons of dark sadness? Everyone suffers from grief and sorrow from time to time. But depression is a different matter. Like a disease, it’s very common, but it’s not “normal.” Depression is an extended state of mind characterized by acute sadness that most likely will not go away by itself. It needs attention.

A Tactical Advantage

Having predicted your success in battle against the attacks of the devil (Psalm 91:5–10), this Psalm continues with several commitments from the Lord. He has promised to give you a tactical advantage, which the songwriter enumerates in the final verses. Assistance against Evil. God has promised to send angelic assistance when we face attacks from supernatural realms.

Claiming Refuge in God

In Psalm 91:1–4, the songwriter has acknowledged the Lord as his refuge when under attack by the forces of evil. Now in 91:5–10, he sizes up his enemy and calculates his (and our) chances of surviving the battle. (Spoiler alert: we stand a 100 percent chance of victory.) Attitude toward Evil. The majority of the song is written in the second person singular, as if composed especially for one person.

Tag Archives: Psalms