Psalm 8

verses 3 & 4:

"When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?"

It is absolutely preposterous that God would care for humans - mortals comprised of decaying flesh and brittle bones, unable to truly heal themselves or truly heal each other.

I'm glad that they author finds it crazy absurd, and though he isn't able to articulate an explanation as to why God would care for humans, he praises God for who He is and He's done: "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (verses 1 & 9)

Psalm 7

There is one line in particular I find striking: "Awake, my God; decree justice."

I see this as a plea. A plea as the author looks around at the devastation and brokenness and helplessness and vicious cycles that engulf him. Overwhelm him. He sees God as absent. Asleep. Oblivious. Ignorant. Indifferent.

And yet he knows his God and knows that He is a righteous God and a righteous judge and will "layeth the smacketh down" (credit: friend).

But "decree justice?"

That is so much more than busting out guns and killing the bad guys. Decreeing justice requires complete structural renovation and public renewal. There is order and purpose that comes from authority and wisdom and fairness. Justice is so much more than the absence of conflict. We so desperately need a righteous judge.

Psalm 6

This is probably one of my favorite Psalms because of its honesty.

This is probably one of the most unsettling Psalms because of its honesty.

"bones in agony"

"soul is in anguish"

"worn out from groaning"

"i flood my bed with weeping"

"drench my couch with tears"

"eyes grow weak with sorrow"

I'm not sure what had occurred to provoke the writing of this Psalm, but it sounds long and messy and hard. All he does is describes the state he is in. There's no explanation for how or why he's there. He doesn't even acknowledge that the LORD has done anything to rescue him or comfort him yet, but the LORD has done 3 things:

1. "heard my weeping"

2. "heard my cry for mercy"

3. "accepts my prayer"

The LORD seems incredibly passive and removed and powerless while the Psalmist implodes.

I am so grateful that David, the man after God's heart, the man from which the Savior of the world would descend from, reconciling God to us, us to each other, and us to the earth, felt this way too on at least one occasion.