In Psalms 36 to 40, David is seen engulfed in pain and misery caused by a severe ailment that is making his wounds to smell bad. He is lonely and sad as God has abandoned him in punishment and his friends and family are avoiding him because of his physical condition. After a long and patient wait, God finally forgives him and David rejoices by praising God for all the blessings that He has been showering on him.
Psalm 36
In Psalm 36, David is called the ‘servant of the Lord”, meaning, someone who obeys the orders and commands of his Master and does in accordance to his Master’s will. God has referred to fifteen persons as His servants; the phrase “the Servant of the Lord” has appeared twenty two times in the Old Testament. It has been used:
- Seventeen times for Moses
- Twice for Joshua
- Twice for David
- Once for Israel
Being a Prophet of the Lord and His servant, David received the divine Word, through the Holy Spirit, which he taught to Israel. David says that he could not only see the godless ways of the wicked but was blessed and empowered by God to read their thoughts and understand their motives. He says that the wicked live in total negation of God’s Word; they never beg for forgiveness of their sins as they do not see God as their Sovereign, who is the only one to be trusted for His Mercy and Grace. They actively rebel against God and do not care how they will be dealt with on the Day of the Lord. While the righteous trust the Lord with all their heart, praise all of His creations, place their life in the hands of God and submit to His will in everything they do. David says that the wicked are about to take a life threatening fall off a cliff where only their piety can save them but unfortunately they have no good deeds to show.
David says that the haughtiness and overconfidence of the wicked comes in their way and “blinds” their conscience mind to acknowledge the evil that they do. They deny the good teachings and endeavor to excel in wickedness, out weighing each other in competition. Their deceptive actions hurt others, but being sadists they enjoy the pain that they cause to others. Their denial of God has made them disciples of Satan who makes them believe what they are doing is right.
David praises God and emphasizes upon four characteristics of God that help sustain life on earth. He highlights God’s:
- Faithful love; besed, God’s promise to His chosen people to always bless them and protect them
- Faithfulness: God’s unfaltering, continuous love that one can count on without doubt
- Righteousness: God is the ultimate in His character; perfect in every way and in everything
- Judgments: God is the epitome of justice; He is the creator and the sustainer; those who spend their life in God are the happiest as God’s light shines bright in their hearts and minds.
David takes the opportunity to ask God for His protection against those who are ungodly and wicked, for the sake of His covenant love. He seeks protection for all those who are righteous and cannot stand up to the unjust and mean ways of the wicked; he pleads for the defeat of the wicked who destroy the peace of those who are God fearing.
David ends the Psalm by talking about his prophetic vision which ensures the righteousness of God’s everlasting protection and victory over the wicked while it serves as a warning to the wicked who will not escape God’s judgment. Those who live their lives to please God will reign supreme while the ways of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 37
David says that the righteous people should not be afraid of the wicked as their life of evil practices is short lived. They might appear to be powerful and destructive at present but eventually, they will not be able to withstand the wrath of God.
David’s advice to those who are the targets of evildoers is to trust in God and leave the worries to Him. It is not worth their while to waste their time on what these wicked people are planning. David says that we should all delight in the Lord, which means that we should love God beyond measure, over and above anyone else in our lives; we should rejoice in His attention and be grateful for all that He blesses us with and what he has promised us for the future; we should bask in His love for us.
Continuing with his advice, David says that the believers should hand over their lives to God in a way that it should include the deepest and most personal emotions of the heart such as desires, jealousies, problems, resentment and fears. When the believers put their ultimate trust in God, He responds with astonishing and unexpected rewards. He loves those who have unconditional faith in Him. However, once one trusts God, one should not fret for an immediate response as God has His own planning and his own timing to deal with everything. Trusting in God requires patience and extreme faith in Him.
David talks about the wicked who are forever after those who are devoted to God and have strong faith in Him. They despise the God fearing people and gnash their teeth whenever they set their eyes upon them. They try to harm the poor, the needy and the faithful but God has His own plans to turn their weapons against them so that they bear the brunt of their own evil designs.
The believers should be happy with what little they have instead of envying the riches of the wicked as the wealth they have amassed will all come crashing down on them. When God provides for his faithful people and it is blessed and everlasting.
David says that God never abandons those who depend on Him and have faith in His decisions. Their lives are blessed. They speak wisely as their hearts are full of God’s Word. They depend only on God and He vindicates them no matter how bad the situation is. Evil will not survive no matter how strong it appears to be.
David ends it by saying that the best example of faith are the believers who trust in God and patiently wait for God’s decisions as they know that God is the best decision maker. Their lives are peaceful and their deeds are righteous as they live by the Word of God. He warns the wicked to mend their ways or else the wrath of God will destroy them.
Psalm 38
In this Psalm David is either remembering the hardships that he went through in the shape of severe illness or is in the midst of suffering from an agonizing illness; both the eventualities are due to God’s anger towards David. He believes that his un-repented sins are the cause for such distress whereby God is disciplining him. He pleads to God for His forgiveness, His Mercy and Grace.
David is sure that the suffering is from God who is admonishing him for his sins; sins which David had not confessed in-front of God; sins he had not begged forgiveness for. David says that the sin that he committed is weighing heavy on him and he feels consumed by the guilt and shame while he is equally miserable due to the accompanying physical discomfort and pain of the abdomen. David repents his “foolishness” in disobeying God’s Word and bringing himself to such spiritual, mental and physical suffering. He implores God to forgive him and heal him of the dreadful ailment that is driving his friends and family away. David feels extremely lonely after being abandoned by God as well as his loved ones. The punishment that God has awarded David is severe and he understands that God is angry with him.
Adding to his already despondent and wretched disposition, his enemies are spreading rumors against him and are planning to bring his life to an end. David says that he is shocked at such behavior but his mental and physical condition is so weak that he doesn’t care what they plan against him. He believes that in obedience to God is his only salvation; he prays to God with all his heart to help him stand tall in front of his enemies, so that they may not rejoice in his defeat. He begs God not only to forgive him completely but to help him in staying devoted to Him, all through his future life.
David asks God to fulfil three requests:
- He beseeches his covenant God “Yahweh”, never to abandon him and to stay with him, making His presence known to David;
- David calls out to God (Hebrew word for God=Elahim), to attend to his needs as He is the Creator, Sustainer and Judge of all creation, having infinite power and wisdom to control everything;
- Lastly David calls out to his Lord or Master and assures Him of his total subservience to Him. As a servant of the Lord, he asks Him for a speedy response to his prayers, restoration of his health and defeat of his enemies.
Psalm 39
The lament from Psalm 38 continues, as David is enduring the acute illness that has nearly brought him to the point of death. His enemies are hovering to find out what the news is, awaiting his total submission to the ailment. Even though David has sinned in response to which God is punishing him, however David is still faithful to his Lord and avoids to say anything that might bring dishonor to his covenant God and his utmost trust is in him. David does not want his enemies to find any cause to mock his faith and his devotion to God as they are always on the look out to torment believers with their mockery.
As much as David tried to exercise tolerance he finally speaks out. He says that human life is fragile and short, as short as a “vapor” of a single breath. David says that God has been here long before the beginning of the heavens and the earth and will be there forever more whereas human life is insignificantly short. He says that one should understand that earthly possessions are worthless and will be left behind when one dies.
David’s anxiety and frustration, due to his prolonged and aggravating illness, are apparent when he starts to question the life purpose of an obedient and faithful believer. He wonders why it is necessary to be righteous and godly when the wicked and the believers both have a very short life on earth. Why are we not free to live a life of prosperity, bought with unjust means when nothing is going to last anyway. Why do we have to follow the Word of God, endure hardships, be tested and put on trial for our sins when we have to perish the same way the wicked will?
Having vented out his health related stress, David reverts back to asking God for His forgiveness so that his sins may be washed away and he regains his good health. David is afraid that the continuation of his ailment will be a cause for his enemies to humiliate him and comment that his God has forsaken him. He asks God to pardon him as only He can do so. Being fully aware of his sin, David does not ask God why He has turned away from him. He says that absence of God’s fellowship from his life has been his greatest loss. His wish is to spend the rest of his life in complete obedience to God with His continuous favors and blessings in David’s life.
Psalm 40
God forgave David and answered his prayers after a long and patient wait. God eventually delivered him from a dismal situation, like a father pulls out his injured child from a tight spot. David says that God has given him another reason to rejoice and sing His praises, especially in front of the unbelievers. He says that his “new song” of praises will be an encouragement to the believers who will learn how God reached out and saved David from the abyss of pain and anguish; fear God for what he can do to sinners and help them trust God for His forgiveness, love and mercy towards those who consider Him their Lord, their Yahweh and their Elahim.
David says that God loves those who turn to Him and happily place their compete trust in Him. He never forsakes them and is always there to help them overcome any situation. David says that no one is comparable to God; He is sovereign over everything. He has done wonders in David’s life and David is sure that His plans for everyone’s lives will be wonderful as well.
David explains what pleases God. He says that God is not interested in acts of worship. God observes what the offerings and sacrifices of the people show. He gives the examples of burnt offering which represent a wish to establish a good relationship with God in total devotion to Him and sin offering which is for cleansing of sins, however the mere acts mean nothing to God if the intentions of the worshipper are not right. As these offerings are for God, they represent nothing if they are not practiced in light of the Word of God.
David says that those who live their lives in complete devotion to God will testify to the favors and blessings of God, for everyone to hear. They will share their blessings with everyone and tell them how God works in their lives. This will not only Glorify God in front of the unbelievers but will also be a source of encouragement to other believers and make their faith stronger. David is happy that God has always protected him, saved him and his honor and is confident that He will continue to do so, all through David’s life.
The last part of the Psalm is again a plea for God’s assistance, as David’s sins have marred his spiritual, emotional and physical abilities. David’s weakened state is encouraging his enemies to overpower him and destroy him. David’s request to God is to ward them off in a way that leaves them awestruck at their defeat. He prays that all believers may be victorious in their wars and struggles so that they may also sing praises of God’s Mercy and Grace. David ends the Psalm by admitting to God that he only looks up to Him for help as He is the only one who can deliver him and weaken his enemies.
I would like to elaborate upon Psalm 39 which talks about life on earth, which is but a moment!
Main point of the passage
Human life span is not as long as it appears; it is extremely short and passes by too quickly.
Most Important Truth from the Text
The disappointment and disheartening of believers is very natural when they see that the wicked ones in this world are thriving in business, have extravagant personal lives and their coffers are over flowing with treasures and fortune. It takes a lot of devotion, strength and self-control to remain on the right path and spend our lives in complete obedience to God’s commandments.
What is one area in your life from a practical perspective that the text pointed out
When David speaks out about the wicked enjoying their lives on the same earth on the same timeline, his words strike home. It is absolutely true that the fancy and royal ways of the wicked, their luxurious lives and their never ending treasures make the hearts of the faithful flicker! It is disturbing to see that God does not punish them for their mean and sinful ways and they can roam the earth as they please, hand in hand with Satan, enjoying each and every moment, acquiring more than they need or require; wasting everything.
It takes a lot of self-discipline to keep from faltering and following the ways of the wicked. Satan is always just around the corner, waiting to mislead and incite greed in the hearts of the believers. It takes a huge amount of faith to continue in life with what little one has.
When our elders advise us and guide us towards the ways of the righteous while we are young, it appears to be nonsensical, but as we mature and observe life around us we come to the conclusion that it is always better to be blessed by God than to be smothered in treasures by Satan. Life spent in obedience to Jesus has much far reaching effects as compared to the ways of Satan as his disciples always suffer in the end under the wrath of God. The suffering can be monetary, health issues, disobedient children, and early death of loved ones. Anything done without the consent of God, His blessings and in accordance to His Word will always come crashing down and the ways of the wicked are like shackles that never come off.
