Dignoscentia

The prayer of a down and out man is recorded in this psalm. It is a lament, where the author recounts the injustices done to him because of his steadfast belief in God, and asks God for divine rescue, as well as retribution against his enemies. The NJB calls this a Messianic psalm, but I [...]

To me, this psalm is a clear-cut demonstration of the way Israelites worshipped God. To others, it’s a resurrection psalm, and I disagree. Let me go through the arguments and show you each side. Then you’ll be able to decide for yourselves.
When we look at the plot of the psalm, it goes like this: A [...]

This hymn of thanksgiving is a pleasant and insightful demonstration of the dependence of the Israelites on God. Let’s enumerate the ways in which they counted on God:

Fulfillment of vows (verse 1)
Answers to prayers (verse 2)
Judgment (verse 3)
Forgiveness of sins (verse 3)
Blessings and “good things” (verse 4)
Justice (verse 5)
Hope (verse 5)
Control of nature (verses 6 [...]

This is the prayer of a Levite in exile, longing to be restored to God’s Temple. I like the metaphor used in the second verse to refer to the Temple, namely, “the high rock”. We meet this image throughout the Bible when referring to God’s Word, or to Jesus Christ - the two being the [...]

A tone of wailing can be heard throughout this psalm. Pain and defeat are confessed, and help is asked of God. It’s a tortured prayer, after a battle that’s left Israel in a pretty sorry state. “God, you have rejected us…” the author cries out. A better exclamation would have been, “God, what have we [...]

Oh, how I wish these things didn’t jump out at me so! I read through Psalm 54, and couldn’t help noticing verses 5 and 7. Read the psalm and tell me, are these Biblical sentiments? Is this what Jesus would do? Would you wish this on your enemies?
I can’t help thinking David’s CPU skipped a [...]

I read this psalm repeatedly, over multiple days, before I wrote about it. Every time I read it, what I’m going to talk about stuck out at me like a sore thumb. I just couldn’t get past it. Fair warning: what I’m going to say will go contrary to what you might believe about this [...]