When I was told that I had to read the psalms, I was like what the heaven are you talking about? First of all, what are psalms? Whenever I have a doubt, I Google it. So thats exactly what I did. The Book of Psalms consists in 150 psalms each of which constitutes a religious song. Psalms are also known as any of the songs, hymns, sacred poems, or prayers that are contained in the Book of Psalms. So after finding the answer to what a psalm is, I realized that the 's' is actually well placed. Well, why would we have to read about palms anyways?
The first psalm seemed as a poem or prayer by David dedicated to God. It talked about how David felt really honored by God and was extremely grateful that He preferred by him. "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." (Psalm 23: 3) In the books of Samuel, it is clearly shown how David was chosen and guided by God in many ways. He was encouraged to save the people of Israel out of the land of the Philistines and far away from their enemies. In the psalm, David says that the Lord is his shepherd and that He restored his soul. I believe, that what he wanted to say with this was that God thought and encouraged him to be the moral and faithful David that he was at first. Even though he committed a huge sin by laying with a married woman, it seems as if David still considers himself strong and moral after being punished by the Lord. He also says that he will be followed by goodness and in this way, he will be with the Lord for ever. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23: 6)
"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?" (Psalm 42: 3) Maschil, the Chief Musician, is suffering under his own condition for his soul feels abandoned by the Lord. He has not received any sign of His existence and his devotion to God is now being questioned. Many questions are being asked to God by Maschil, yet no response does he receive. "I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" (Psalm 42: 9) Why does Maschil refer to God as a rock? Is it because he is hard to believe in? Or is it because he rocks? I don't think that he would be loved so much by Maschil in that time for him to say he rocks so lets just forget about the second option. Okay so going back to the story, the Chief was indeed depressed that he even comes to wonder as if he was his own enemy being attacked by a sword. "Where is thy God?", his enemy asked. However, Maschil also says that he will never lose hope in God and that he will always praise him for he is the health of his countenance and most importantly, his God. This psalm made me reflect about the holocaust and its people since it shared an essential question that most people had during those tough and horrible days: Does God really exist? The one thing that I'm wondering right now is if God will ever appear to Maschil. Will he?
This psalm was very poetic and I believe it had some sort of rhythm. Considering that it was about the Chief Musician, I come to think that it had this sense because of him. Music has rhythm, and these writing changes might be done for some reason. Up to now, I would say that each psalm had one unique author.
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Psalm 51: 1) Here, the author is asking God for forgiveness after committing a sin. I inferred that the author was David for he is begging God for mercy after what he did with Uliah and his wife. I realized that the more David tried, the harder it was for him to achieve God's forgiveness. However, I noticed that David was really sorry and even though forgiveness is something hard to get, he tried and demonstrated his repentance. "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me." (Psalm 51: 10 - 11) David really wanted to be who he once was.
I was able to identify this psalm as soon as I began reading it. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." (Psalm 137: 1) It took only one line for me to read and already know what it was talking about. Jews were taken to Babylon and obligated to serve as slaves. They met near the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers to reunite and claim for freedom. They deserved dignity, as all humans do.
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