לַמְנַצֵּחַ אַל־תַּשְׁחֵת לְדָוִד מִכְתָּם בְּבָרְחוֹ מִפְּנֵי־שָׁאוּל בַּמְּעָרָה

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

Because I read along in Hebrew, I often start reading the scribal note before I realize it. In Hebrew it's verse 1.

And, while I usually skip these, and I don't really know what to make of them for sure; I can still see three distinct stages in my attitude toward them. (1) I first took them seriously as part of the inspired text. If it said it was "by David" or "by Moses" or "by Asaph" that's what it meant. Sometimes they gave me background information about the circumstances in which the Psalm was written. (2) As time went on however, (and being a somewhat skeptical person) these scribal notes became more and more mystifying to me. Sometimes the circumstances mentioned in the note didn't seem to fit very well with the content of the Psalm.

And, I began to wonder what something as vague as לְדָוִד really meant.

But, even with those which might seem doubtful, the לְדָוִד still can have meaning.

It invites us into another level of reflection: having thought about the meaning of the words, reflect on it again in terms of the history of David. The scribal notes allow us to see the Psalm from the perspective of those who cherished and collected and re-copied these songs from ancient times.

So, here. The scribal note is mostly mysterious. What's "Do Not Destroy"? (Can you hum a few bars? I don't think I know that one.) What's a "Miktam"? Don't know. But, it is still an invitation. It invites us to see this prayer against the history of David. Specifically, David hiding for his life in a cave, while Saul the King is searching for him.

חָנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים חָנֵּנִי כִּי בְךָ חָסָיָה נַפְשִׁי וּבְצֵל־כְּנָפֶיךָ אֶחְסֶה עַד יַעֲבֹר הַוּוֹת

      Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

until the destroying storms pass by.

In a single word, the Psalm captures what is probably the most basic prayer in all human experience: חָנֵּנִי "have mercy!"

I don't suppose there is a person living who hasn't at some time in their life cried out "God help me" — even if they weren't certain whether there was anyone or anything to whom to cry.

This is when our prayers have gained depth: in times of trial and uncertainty and confusion and grief and need. To go on living we need to know that somewhere there is mercy. Like an infant crying out, all we know is that we need something and we need for there to be someone who hears.

In this case, it is purely a cry for mercy, too. At this point there is no claim to faithfulness, no argument that says: "Hey, Lord, I've kept your Law, after all." No claim to worthiness. It's a bit like the classic Jesus Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Not that the Psalms don't connect the ideas of "faithfulness" and "blessing." Because they do. This theme is clearly in place from the very beginning of the book: "for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." (Psalm 1:6 NIV).

But, there are times when our righteousness seems, even to us, pretty feeble. We feel we have no worthiness to plead. and, in that moment we cast ourselves upon the mercy of God. "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me...."

Actually, these first few words seem to me like an Alcoholics Anonymous-appropriate prayer. A pure appeal for mercy. There is no attempt to plead the covenant with Israel.

It is a call to God in a generic sense: אֱלֹהִים. Literally: “gods”. The Divine Realm. Whoever is “up there.” The Higher Power.

חָנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים חָנֵּנִי

"Mercy, Higher Power(s), Mercy...."

But, then it becomes far more personal:

כִּי בְךָ חָסָיָה נַפְשִׁי וּבְצֵל־כְּנָפֶיךָ אֶחְסֶה

"...for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge...."

עַד יַעֲבֹר הַוּוֹת

"...until destruction passes by."

And here is an allusion to the urgent need that called forth the prayer. It is a prayer for desperate times. Destruction has come. The prayer is a desperate cry: 'May my life be preserved through this time of destruction.' According to John 16:33, Jesus told his disciples: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (NIV). Times of trouble come. There is no exemption. In fact, people sometimes suffer for doing right. "It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." (1 Peter 3:17 NIV). And, the Biblical history stresses that that was the case for David.

The image of the cave in which David hid from Saul resonates well with the Psalm. David is hiding in God until the storm of Saul's fury exhausts itself.

The storm of destruction will not be forever.

God does not turn away from us simply because it is our own desperate situations that call forth our most fervent prayer. For most of us (all of us?), it is the times of desperate need that have served to draw us closest to God.

Lord God,

          known to us through the sacred remembrances of Israel

          and the story of Jesus Christ,

have mercy.

Grant

    that today when I call out

        into what appears to be darkness

                I might find the sheltering presence of God.

Preserve my life and my hope through the hard times

encourage me when faithfulness itself has brought me hard times

remind me that the times of destruction will pass;

and keep me faithful to You

who knows me

                and has redeemed me.

In the name of the One

    who "died for sins once for all,

                the righteous for the unrighteous."

Amen.

Earlier posts in this series can be found listed as “Praying the Psalms” on either the Bible Studies page or the Prayer page. An introduction to this series can be found here: Praying the Psalms: An Introduction.