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psalm 18 meditation 4--psalm 18.4-5 (part 1)
wednesday, may 7, 2025
the psalmist’s predicament and plea
4Death’s domain overwhelmed me.
Its obliterating torrents terrorized me.
5Šeʾôl’s snares wrapped around me,
Death’s snares confronted me.
As we have mentioned in earlier meditations on this psalm, the Psalmist is, as he has usually been in psalms 3-17, under stress. The source of his stress is his enemy. In this psalm, the Psalmists enemy is, we contend, not Šāʾûl (Saul), but Šeʾôl, death itself, or, in the language of Nephi, “that awful monster, death and hell.” For reasons that we will discuss in this and future meditations, we understand Šeʾôl to be something far more that the death and dissolution of the physical body, though it is that. It is a threat to being, existence, and self. It is a threat to one’s awareness of and access to God.
Now, this is not the first time the Psalmist has expressed anxiety about the threat of that awful monster. In Psalm 5, the Psalmist liken his enemies threat to a slippery and “open grave,” signifying the life threatening nature of their attacks. In Psalm 7, the Psalmist, with an apparent threat of death hanging over him, reminds God that “there is no awareness of You… in še’ôl?” In an apparent allusion to his enemies intentions, the Psalmist accedes to having his enemies “stomp my life into the underworld” and “establish my abode in death” if God finds him to be truly guilty of charges that his enemies have brought against him. In Psalm 13.3, the Psalmist pleas for God’s help “lest I sleep death’s sleep.” In Psalm 16, thoughts of death and hell come to the Psalmist’s mind, whether due to the threat of enemies or his own failings.
“You will not abandon me to Šeʾôl.
You will not permit Your devotee to experience the pit.”
Finally, in Psalm 17, the Psalmist point blank describes the intentions of his enemies: “They set their sights on casting me into the underworld.”
While the threat of death has been present in previous psalms, nowhere has the threat been so immediate, so intense, so alive as in Psalm 18. Indeed, while the threat of death will often raise its ugly head in the Book of Psalms, rarely will it be as immediate, intense, and alive as in this Psalm. Here, the Psalmist is in the very belly of the beast. He is solidly in “Death’s domain” where terrorizing “torrents” and constraining “snares” threaten to drown and annihilate him.
Given Šeʾôl’s very immediate, intense, and alive threat in this psalm, this seems like a good time to survey the nature of Šeʾôl. Because this is a meditation rather than a scholarly expose, we will do no more than sample the Psalmist’s views of Šeʾôl. But it is a fascinating topic that the reader is welcome to explore more deeply on their own.
In this and following meditations on this passage, we will sample some of the metaphorical language that the Psalmists utilizes for Šeʾôl. These are largely consistent with ideas, thoughts, and language of the entire ancient Near Eastern world. We will then sample some of the psalmist’s non-metaphorical portrayals of Šeʾôl.
The first thing we note is that even though the imagery is not used in Psalm 18, Šeʾôl is often viewed as a pit. We have already quoted Psalm 6.5. Here, the structure of Hebrew’s poetic parallelism allows us to equate Šeʾôl with “the pit.”
“You will not abandon me to Šeʾôl.
You will not permit Your devotee to experience the pit.”
In another Psalm, the Psalmist praises God because, as in Psalm 18, God rescued him after he had actually entered Šeʾôl.
“YHWH, it was You that lifted me up out of še’ôl.
It was you that revived me after my descent into the pit.”
After expressing confidence in God, the Psalmist complains in Psalm 88 of the looming threat that Šeʾôl poses to him,
“I am exhausted by cataclysm,
as my life nears Šeʾôl.”
He follows this up with,
“I am thought of with those who descend into the Pit.
I am as one without strength,
let go to be among the dead like those fatally wounded;
among those sleeping in the grave…”
While “the pit” and “the grave” are sometimes, as here, mentioned in close proximity, for reasons we will discuss later we should not think of the pit only or even primarily in terms of the hole dug in dirt in which the lifeless body is buried.
One other passage deserves mention here. In Psalm 69, the threat of Šeʾôl is as immediate as it is in Psalm 18, though Šeʾôl is not mentioned by name. Here too, we find the pit.
“Deliver me out of the muck
so that I don’t sink.
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the unfathomably deep waters.
Don’t let the surging waters sweep over me,
or let the muddy depths engulf me,
or let the pit shut its mouth upon me.”
I wanted to include this passage because of its mention of “deep” and “surging” waters. These bring us back to Psalm 18 and its terrorizing “torrents.” In addition to “the pit,” Šeʾôl is imagined as being a place of deep, violent, and threatening waters. We will explore this metaphor in the next meditation.
We often say that death is not to be feared. I don’t know how you feel about physical death. I don’t know if you fear physical death. But I do not that the death that is Šeʾôl is a fearful thing. A threatening thing. A terrifying thing. The Psalmist does fear it, as well he should. There is a reason that Nephi speaks of it as “that awful monster.”
In this meditation, we have briefly discussed one aspect of Šeʾôl and its fearfulness. It is imagined as a pit. It is, the Psalmist laments, “the lowest of pits,” the “very darkest and deepest” of pits. We can relate to this symbolism, which was likely more than symbolism to those of the ancient Near East, including the Psalmist. None of us want to fall into a pit, especially one that is so deep and so dark that there is no climbing out. We can all relate to the terror of falling into such a pit.
But, as we will see, there is no pit so deep and so dark that God cannot descend and rescue. It can sometimes be difficult to remember and even believe this. But, I for one, am grateful for the Psalmist’s witness found in this and many other Psalms of God incomparable power to deliver.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
4Death’s domain overwhelmed me.
Its obliterating torrents terrorized me.
5Šeʾôl’s snares wrapped around me,
Death’s snares confronted me.
As we have mentioned in earlier meditations on this psalm, the Psalmist is, as he has usually been in psalms 3-17, under stress. The source of his stress is his enemy. In this psalm, the Psalmists enemy is, we contend, not Šāʾûl (Saul), but Šeʾôl, death itself, or, in the language of Nephi, “that awful monster, death and hell.” For reasons that we will discuss in this and future meditations, we understand Šeʾôl to be something far more that the death and dissolution of the physical body, though it is that. It is a threat to being, existence, and self. It is a threat to one’s awareness of and access to God.
Now, this is not the first time the Psalmist has expressed anxiety about the threat of that awful monster. In Psalm 5, the Psalmist liken his enemies threat to a slippery and “open grave,” signifying the life threatening nature of their attacks. In Psalm 7, the Psalmist, with an apparent threat of death hanging over him, reminds God that “there is no awareness of You… in še’ôl?” In an apparent allusion to his enemies intentions, the Psalmist accedes to having his enemies “stomp my life into the underworld” and “establish my abode in death” if God finds him to be truly guilty of charges that his enemies have brought against him. In Psalm 13.3, the Psalmist pleas for God’s help “lest I sleep death’s sleep.” In Psalm 16, thoughts of death and hell come to the Psalmist’s mind, whether due to the threat of enemies or his own failings.
“You will not abandon me to Šeʾôl.
You will not permit Your devotee to experience the pit.”
Finally, in Psalm 17, the Psalmist point blank describes the intentions of his enemies: “They set their sights on casting me into the underworld.”
While the threat of death has been present in previous psalms, nowhere has the threat been so immediate, so intense, so alive as in Psalm 18. Indeed, while the threat of death will often raise its ugly head in the Book of Psalms, rarely will it be as immediate, intense, and alive as in this Psalm. Here, the Psalmist is in the very belly of the beast. He is solidly in “Death’s domain” where terrorizing “torrents” and constraining “snares” threaten to drown and annihilate him.
Given Šeʾôl’s very immediate, intense, and alive threat in this psalm, this seems like a good time to survey the nature of Šeʾôl. Because this is a meditation rather than a scholarly expose, we will do no more than sample the Psalmist’s views of Šeʾôl. But it is a fascinating topic that the reader is welcome to explore more deeply on their own.
In this and following meditations on this passage, we will sample some of the metaphorical language that the Psalmists utilizes for Šeʾôl. These are largely consistent with ideas, thoughts, and language of the entire ancient Near Eastern world. We will then sample some of the psalmist’s non-metaphorical portrayals of Šeʾôl.
The first thing we note is that even though the imagery is not used in Psalm 18, Šeʾôl is often viewed as a pit. We have already quoted Psalm 6.5. Here, the structure of Hebrew’s poetic parallelism allows us to equate Šeʾôl with “the pit.”
“You will not abandon me to Šeʾôl.
You will not permit Your devotee to experience the pit.”
In another Psalm, the Psalmist praises God because, as in Psalm 18, God rescued him after he had actually entered Šeʾôl.
“YHWH, it was You that lifted me up out of še’ôl.
It was you that revived me after my descent into the pit.”
After expressing confidence in God, the Psalmist complains in Psalm 88 of the looming threat that Šeʾôl poses to him,
“I am exhausted by cataclysm,
as my life nears Šeʾôl.”
He follows this up with,
“I am thought of with those who descend into the Pit.
I am as one without strength,
let go to be among the dead like those fatally wounded;
among those sleeping in the grave…”
While “the pit” and “the grave” are sometimes, as here, mentioned in close proximity, for reasons we will discuss later we should not think of the pit only or even primarily in terms of the hole dug in dirt in which the lifeless body is buried.
One other passage deserves mention here. In Psalm 69, the threat of Šeʾôl is as immediate as it is in Psalm 18, though Šeʾôl is not mentioned by name. Here too, we find the pit.
“Deliver me out of the muck
so that I don’t sink.
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
and out of the unfathomably deep waters.
Don’t let the surging waters sweep over me,
or let the muddy depths engulf me,
or let the pit shut its mouth upon me.”
I wanted to include this passage because of its mention of “deep” and “surging” waters. These bring us back to Psalm 18 and its terrorizing “torrents.” In addition to “the pit,” Šeʾôl is imagined as being a place of deep, violent, and threatening waters. We will explore this metaphor in the next meditation.
We often say that death is not to be feared. I don’t know how you feel about physical death. I don’t know if you fear physical death. But I do not that the death that is Šeʾôl is a fearful thing. A threatening thing. A terrifying thing. The Psalmist does fear it, as well he should. There is a reason that Nephi speaks of it as “that awful monster.”
In this meditation, we have briefly discussed one aspect of Šeʾôl and its fearfulness. It is imagined as a pit. It is, the Psalmist laments, “the lowest of pits,” the “very darkest and deepest” of pits. We can relate to this symbolism, which was likely more than symbolism to those of the ancient Near East, including the Psalmist. None of us want to fall into a pit, especially one that is so deep and so dark that there is no climbing out. We can all relate to the terror of falling into such a pit.
But, as we will see, there is no pit so deep and so dark that God cannot descend and rescue. It can sometimes be difficult to remember and even believe this. But, I for one, am grateful for the Psalmist’s witness found in this and many other Psalms of God incomparable power to deliver.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
psalm 18 meditation 3--psalm 18.2b-3
wednesday, april 30, 2025
invocation and confession of trust in YHWH
2YHWH is my hiding place, my stronghold, and my means of escape.
He is my God, my mountain retreat, the One in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield, the power that protects me, my impregnable fortress.
3Because He is praiseworthy, I call to YHWH,
and am protected from my enemies (author’s translation).
Over the past three years, and still to this day, we have witnessed horrific and inhuman scenes and heard horrific and inhuman stories of suffering and death due to Russia’s violent and criminal war of aggression against Ukraine. Few countries have endured more frequent violent, militarized intrusions across its borders and into its territories than Ukraine. But the land that is today called Israel is one place on earth that can, blow for blow, match Ukraine when it comes to invasion. That area, both before and since Israel came on the scene, has for millennia been subject to one invading army after another. It is quite possible that this area holds the world record for being invaded by armies--an “honor” no nation or people wishes to have.
The sad reality of human violence, both individual and national, comes to my mind as I read these two verses from Psalm 18. The composer of this psalm was well aware of the reality of violent incursions and of the need for refuge from aggressive militarized invasion. He used the reality of invasion and the need for refuge from it as a metaphor to express His trust in God during times of stress, including times when personal enemies attacked.
We find several examples in the Old Testament of the populace’s response to invading enemy armies. Judges 6, for example, reports that because “Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD,” He “delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Median, with help from allies, invaded and then ravished the land. As a consequence of the invasion “Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds” as places of escape and refuge. In a triumphal hymn commemorating Deborah’s victory over Jabin, king of Hazor, the poet describes multiple and extended times of invasion and defeat when “the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased.”
It was beyond common for entire villages to be abandoned with the approach of an invading army. Villagers would, of course, avoid traveling on roads where there was a chance of being confronted by hostile armed forces. Where did villagers go to seek refuge from the enemy? Most commonly, villagers went into surrounding hills where they hid in caves and on inaccessible rock cliffs. When and where necessary, they create their own hideaways in forbidding mountainous areas.
Such temporary relocation was an effective defense of, at least, one’s life. In the first place, the invader was unlikely to go to the trouble of searching for refugees in such wilderness areas. It was slow, time and resource intensive work for invading forces unfamiliar with the area to look in rugged areas for refugees who knew the area. The invaders might just end up chasing their own tail. Even if they found refugees, it amounted to a few here and a few there. Hardly worth the effort. Then again, as the refugees possessed little of value, the return on such labors was negligible even if they managed to find and pillage. Then there was always the danger of meeting armed resistance and loosing personnel with no profit or strategic gain to show for it.
All of this would be intimately familiar to ancient people who read, sang, and prayed Psalm 18. Thus, through metaphor, the Psalmist is able to express how reliable God is and recommend to those reading, singing, and praying that they trust God. It is the Psalmist’s witness that God is the safest of hiding places; that in the face of stress, including the stress caused by the hostility of others, God is like a mountain stronghold or retreat, an un-discoverable, inaccessibly high, and impregnable refuge, far from the stresses and threatening dangers. There is no enemy that can, if they can even identify them, breech His defenses and lay hold of those hiding in Him.
Though the metaphor is different, in Jesus’ likening himself to a shepherd and those who trust him and his Father to sheep, believes and teaches the same thing as the ancient Psalmist’s.
“… they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which a gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
With such knowledge, one can, like the Psalmist, “call to Yahweh” and find protection from all enemies, mortal and cosmic, including that great satanic and arch enemy of humankind whose work is to bring about the destruction of life, security, and happiness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
2YHWH is my hiding place, my stronghold, and my means of escape.
He is my God, my mountain retreat, the One in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield, the power that protects me, my impregnable fortress.
3Because He is praiseworthy, I call to YHWH,
and am protected from my enemies (author’s translation).
Over the past three years, and still to this day, we have witnessed horrific and inhuman scenes and heard horrific and inhuman stories of suffering and death due to Russia’s violent and criminal war of aggression against Ukraine. Few countries have endured more frequent violent, militarized intrusions across its borders and into its territories than Ukraine. But the land that is today called Israel is one place on earth that can, blow for blow, match Ukraine when it comes to invasion. That area, both before and since Israel came on the scene, has for millennia been subject to one invading army after another. It is quite possible that this area holds the world record for being invaded by armies--an “honor” no nation or people wishes to have.
The sad reality of human violence, both individual and national, comes to my mind as I read these two verses from Psalm 18. The composer of this psalm was well aware of the reality of violent incursions and of the need for refuge from aggressive militarized invasion. He used the reality of invasion and the need for refuge from it as a metaphor to express His trust in God during times of stress, including times when personal enemies attacked.
We find several examples in the Old Testament of the populace’s response to invading enemy armies. Judges 6, for example, reports that because “Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD,” He “delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.” Median, with help from allies, invaded and then ravished the land. As a consequence of the invasion “Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds” as places of escape and refuge. In a triumphal hymn commemorating Deborah’s victory over Jabin, king of Hazor, the poet describes multiple and extended times of invasion and defeat when “the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased.”
It was beyond common for entire villages to be abandoned with the approach of an invading army. Villagers would, of course, avoid traveling on roads where there was a chance of being confronted by hostile armed forces. Where did villagers go to seek refuge from the enemy? Most commonly, villagers went into surrounding hills where they hid in caves and on inaccessible rock cliffs. When and where necessary, they create their own hideaways in forbidding mountainous areas.
Such temporary relocation was an effective defense of, at least, one’s life. In the first place, the invader was unlikely to go to the trouble of searching for refugees in such wilderness areas. It was slow, time and resource intensive work for invading forces unfamiliar with the area to look in rugged areas for refugees who knew the area. The invaders might just end up chasing their own tail. Even if they found refugees, it amounted to a few here and a few there. Hardly worth the effort. Then again, as the refugees possessed little of value, the return on such labors was negligible even if they managed to find and pillage. Then there was always the danger of meeting armed resistance and loosing personnel with no profit or strategic gain to show for it.
All of this would be intimately familiar to ancient people who read, sang, and prayed Psalm 18. Thus, through metaphor, the Psalmist is able to express how reliable God is and recommend to those reading, singing, and praying that they trust God. It is the Psalmist’s witness that God is the safest of hiding places; that in the face of stress, including the stress caused by the hostility of others, God is like a mountain stronghold or retreat, an un-discoverable, inaccessibly high, and impregnable refuge, far from the stresses and threatening dangers. There is no enemy that can, if they can even identify them, breech His defenses and lay hold of those hiding in Him.
Though the metaphor is different, in Jesus’ likening himself to a shepherd and those who trust him and his Father to sheep, believes and teaches the same thing as the ancient Psalmist’s.
“… they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which a gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
With such knowledge, one can, like the Psalmist, “call to Yahweh” and find protection from all enemies, mortal and cosmic, including that great satanic and arch enemy of humankind whose work is to bring about the destruction of life, security, and happiness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
psalm 18 meditation 2--psalm 18.2b-3
saturday, april 26, 2025
invocation and confession of trust in YHWH
2YHWH is my hiding place, my stronghold, and my means of escape.
He is my God, my mountain retreat, the One in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield, the power that protects me, my impregnable fortress.
3Because He is praiseworthy, I call to YHWH,
and am protected from my enemies (author’s translation).
As the last line of this passage hints, and the rest of the psalm confirms, the Psalmist is, once more, under stress and in trouble. This has been been the norm in psalms to this point. The Psalmist is clearly in direct difficulty in Psalms 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9/10, 11, 13, and 17, and in indirect difficulty in Psalms 12, 14, and 16. Because Psalms 1 and 2 serve an introductory role to the entire Book, we can eliminate them in this survey of Psalms 1-17, thus leaving us with twelve of fourteen psalms in which the Psalm experiences some form and level of stress. We will have to wait and see what form and level of stress the Psalmist suffers in this Psalm. We will wait until we have finished commenting on this Psalm before discussing whether it is related to the stresses found in the previous psalms, and if so, how.
As I have remarked on a number of occasions, I am unceasingly confounded by my LDS culture’s strange disinterest, if not outright antipathy for the Book of Psalms--a Book that, for me, is as powerful and moving as any found in scripture--indeed a Book only surpassed by the New Testament Gospels when it comes to its insights into the character of God and His relationship to humanity.
Perhaps the culture’s ignorance and antipathy can be mostly credited to the fact that tradition has ascribed to David--a man for whom the culture has, once more, some antipathy--a huge influence in the composition and collection of the psalms, an influence that, I believe, tradition drastically overestimates (to say nothing of the LDS culture’s inflated estimation of its understanding of how things work in the great beyond, e.g., in relation to David’s eternal status).
Based upon a number of conversations and discussion with others over the years, there seems to be a second reason for the culture’s disinterest, if not antipathy, toward the Psalms. This reason can be found in my opening paragraph of this meditation. The Psalmist, many have complained to me, is needy; seemingly constantly in trouble and incessantly complaining.
This has always struck me as odd, since those who make such complaints assume, I guess, that they are not in constant trouble and that when in trouble they do not complain. I challenge you, dear reader, to attend a few LDS sacrament services, especially those we call “testimony meeting,” and not find a string of complaints/ confessions about the trouble and turmoil individuals are facing. Perhaps such confession/ testimonies get a pass because they are often accompanied with expressions of trust in God. But, if anyone ever expressed trust in God in the midst of trouble and turmoil, it is the Psalmist.
Anyway, as I contemplate the frequent complaining about the Psalmist’s frequent stresses, troubles, and turmoils, I can’t help reflect upon the LDS Hymnal. Perhaps we do not actually hear or feel the words we sing (a sad commentary, if true), for the hymnal is jam packed with confession/ complaint about innumerable stresses, troubles, and turmoil, often, just like the Psalms, accompanied by confessions of trust in God.
I could fill pages listing the confessions/ complaints that we make in our worship services week after week as we sing from the hymnal. The neediness we express through our hymns is extensive and intense. Here is but a sampling.
Through the hymns, we confess/ complain about “days of trouble and gloom,” “days of mortal strife;” the “darkness of the world, “ the “dark world of strife,” the “weary world,” “the awful gloom,” “mists of darkness,” “clouds of darkness,” “misty vapors,” “nature’s universal blackness,” “seasons of distress and grief,” the “world of toil and strife,” “worldwide commotion,” “a world of care,” “the storm of life,” “life’s tempestuous sea,” and “treacherous shoal,” “billows of despair,” “life’s perils,” “the shackles of the earth,” “deathly danger.” We confess and complain about our “toilsome way,” “our anxious load,” our “burdens,” our “grief distressing,” our “accents of sorrow and mourning,” our “anguish,” our “outward ills,” our “broken heart,” our “wounded heart,” our “sad and troubled heart,” our “timid heart,” our “aching heart,” our “bitter tears,” our “tearful eyes,” our “fainting soul,” our “erring soul,” our “sinking soul,” our “helpless soul,” the “surges of our soul,” “our defenseless head,” our “dying faith,” our “painful tribulation” our “deep’ning trials,” our “battle with temptation,” our “earth stains,” our “inward foes.”
Then too, we are ”strangers on earth,” “strangers in sin,” “by sin oppressed,” “straying,” “apt to go astray,” “in the darknesss… gone astray,” “rebellious and proud,” “careworn and fainting,” “heavy laden,” “disconsolate,” “desolate,” “sad and lone,” “weak,” “depressed,” “weary,” “far from home,” “cast upon the rocky shore,” “amidst a thousand snares.” We “search in weakness,” and “languish.”
We are, the hymnist laments, ‘in peril every hour.”
So, I don’t know, but maybe we shouldn’t complain about the Psalmist always complaining about being in trouble. Of course, our hymns, like our testimonies are often accompanied by expressions of trust and reliance on God. But, as we have said, the Psalmist rarely utters complaint unaccompanied with powerful and confident expressions of trust and reliance on God. This is certainly true in these two initial verses of Psalm 18. It is upon the Psalmist expression of trust and reliance on God found in these two verses that we turn in our next meditation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
2YHWH is my hiding place, my stronghold, and my means of escape.
He is my God, my mountain retreat, the One in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield, the power that protects me, my impregnable fortress.
3Because He is praiseworthy, I call to YHWH,
and am protected from my enemies (author’s translation).
As the last line of this passage hints, and the rest of the psalm confirms, the Psalmist is, once more, under stress and in trouble. This has been been the norm in psalms to this point. The Psalmist is clearly in direct difficulty in Psalms 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9/10, 11, 13, and 17, and in indirect difficulty in Psalms 12, 14, and 16. Because Psalms 1 and 2 serve an introductory role to the entire Book, we can eliminate them in this survey of Psalms 1-17, thus leaving us with twelve of fourteen psalms in which the Psalm experiences some form and level of stress. We will have to wait and see what form and level of stress the Psalmist suffers in this Psalm. We will wait until we have finished commenting on this Psalm before discussing whether it is related to the stresses found in the previous psalms, and if so, how.
As I have remarked on a number of occasions, I am unceasingly confounded by my LDS culture’s strange disinterest, if not outright antipathy for the Book of Psalms--a Book that, for me, is as powerful and moving as any found in scripture--indeed a Book only surpassed by the New Testament Gospels when it comes to its insights into the character of God and His relationship to humanity.
Perhaps the culture’s ignorance and antipathy can be mostly credited to the fact that tradition has ascribed to David--a man for whom the culture has, once more, some antipathy--a huge influence in the composition and collection of the psalms, an influence that, I believe, tradition drastically overestimates (to say nothing of the LDS culture’s inflated estimation of its understanding of how things work in the great beyond, e.g., in relation to David’s eternal status).
Based upon a number of conversations and discussion with others over the years, there seems to be a second reason for the culture’s disinterest, if not antipathy, toward the Psalms. This reason can be found in my opening paragraph of this meditation. The Psalmist, many have complained to me, is needy; seemingly constantly in trouble and incessantly complaining.
This has always struck me as odd, since those who make such complaints assume, I guess, that they are not in constant trouble and that when in trouble they do not complain. I challenge you, dear reader, to attend a few LDS sacrament services, especially those we call “testimony meeting,” and not find a string of complaints/ confessions about the trouble and turmoil individuals are facing. Perhaps such confession/ testimonies get a pass because they are often accompanied with expressions of trust in God. But, if anyone ever expressed trust in God in the midst of trouble and turmoil, it is the Psalmist.
Anyway, as I contemplate the frequent complaining about the Psalmist’s frequent stresses, troubles, and turmoils, I can’t help reflect upon the LDS Hymnal. Perhaps we do not actually hear or feel the words we sing (a sad commentary, if true), for the hymnal is jam packed with confession/ complaint about innumerable stresses, troubles, and turmoil, often, just like the Psalms, accompanied by confessions of trust in God.
I could fill pages listing the confessions/ complaints that we make in our worship services week after week as we sing from the hymnal. The neediness we express through our hymns is extensive and intense. Here is but a sampling.
Through the hymns, we confess/ complain about “days of trouble and gloom,” “days of mortal strife;” the “darkness of the world, “ the “dark world of strife,” the “weary world,” “the awful gloom,” “mists of darkness,” “clouds of darkness,” “misty vapors,” “nature’s universal blackness,” “seasons of distress and grief,” the “world of toil and strife,” “worldwide commotion,” “a world of care,” “the storm of life,” “life’s tempestuous sea,” and “treacherous shoal,” “billows of despair,” “life’s perils,” “the shackles of the earth,” “deathly danger.” We confess and complain about our “toilsome way,” “our anxious load,” our “burdens,” our “grief distressing,” our “accents of sorrow and mourning,” our “anguish,” our “outward ills,” our “broken heart,” our “wounded heart,” our “sad and troubled heart,” our “timid heart,” our “aching heart,” our “bitter tears,” our “tearful eyes,” our “fainting soul,” our “erring soul,” our “sinking soul,” our “helpless soul,” the “surges of our soul,” “our defenseless head,” our “dying faith,” our “painful tribulation” our “deep’ning trials,” our “battle with temptation,” our “earth stains,” our “inward foes.”
Then too, we are ”strangers on earth,” “strangers in sin,” “by sin oppressed,” “straying,” “apt to go astray,” “in the darknesss… gone astray,” “rebellious and proud,” “careworn and fainting,” “heavy laden,” “disconsolate,” “desolate,” “sad and lone,” “weak,” “depressed,” “weary,” “far from home,” “cast upon the rocky shore,” “amidst a thousand snares.” We “search in weakness,” and “languish.”
We are, the hymnist laments, ‘in peril every hour.”
So, I don’t know, but maybe we shouldn’t complain about the Psalmist always complaining about being in trouble. Of course, our hymns, like our testimonies are often accompanied by expressions of trust and reliance on God. But, as we have said, the Psalmist rarely utters complaint unaccompanied with powerful and confident expressions of trust and reliance on God. This is certainly true in these two initial verses of Psalm 18. It is upon the Psalmist expression of trust and reliance on God found in these two verses that we turn in our next meditation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
psalm 18 meditation 1 (introductory)--psalm 18.1-2a
tuesday, april 22, 2025
1For the director. Belonging to YHWH’s servant, Dāwid, who addressed the words of the following song to YHWH at a time that YHWH delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, including the power of Še’ô l and he said, 2"I adore You, YHWH, my strength."
Verses 1-2a represent a superscript to Psalm 18. I have said little about the superscripts that accompany previous psalms--all but psalms 1, 2, and 10 possessing a superscript. Most of the superscripts seem administrative, some perhaps provide direction on performance. Up to this point, only the superscripts of Psalms 3 and 7 have, like this psalm, offered a suggested historical setting for the psalm.
Scholars and interested readers have approached the proposed historical settings in the superscripts differently. Some believe that the superscripts indicate that the Psalm was actually written in light of the proposed event, and that the event should guide one’s interpretation of the entire Psalm. Others feel that the superscripts were not original, but added later. Both positions have their strengths and weaknesses. I tend to side with the latter position that the superscripts were added later. I rarely use them to interpret any psalm so headed.
In addition to my general reluctance to utilize any superscript as a cipher for interpreting any psalm, I find other reasons to be skeptical about this Psalm’s superscript. First, there is no compelling reason for connecting the psalm with the events surrounding the conflict between David and Saul. Even the psalms presence in 2 Samuel 22 seems contrived and certainly misplaced. Without the superscript, it is doubtful that one would read the psalm and connect it with that conflict.
Second is the issue of translation. The superscript, as it reads in the KJV, claims that the psalm was written “in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the power of Saul.” This is in line with the Masoretic text as we have it today, specifically its vowel pointing of Š’l . As opposed to this translation, I translate, “at a time that YHWH delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, including the power of Še’ôl.” The translation “Še’ôl” rather than “Saul,” is the result of changing vowels without any alteration of the consonantal text--remembering that for many centuries the text existed without vowels.
In reading Psalm 18 independent of the superscript or its contrived location in Samuel, one would never think of Saul as the enemy discussed in the psalm. However, one would absolutely think of death and Še’ôl as the threat the Psalmist faced. It is most certainly from Še’ôl’s power that God delivers the Psalmist--the suggestion that it was death at the hands of Saul is not persuasive. Thus, if the superscript is to be kept and utilized for interpretive purposes, it makes more sense to understand the enemy of the superscript as Še’ôl rather than Saul. Indeed, the enemy that threatens the Psalmist and from which he is delivered is so obviously Še’ôl that the superscript is superfluous. At least, that is how I see it.
In previous psalms and, indeed, in many, many more to follow, the Psalmist finds himself under a variety of threats. These threats bring him to call upon God for His help and deliverance. Many a psalm contains praise of God as He responds to the pleas, and delivers the Psalmist. This psalm’s superscript informs us that God has already delivered the Psalmist. Because of this deliverance, the Psalmist “adores” God and looks to Him for strength in whatever challenges he may face.
I too adore God. I adore Him for what He has done and meant in my life. Just as with the Book of Mormon figure, Lehi, there is a sense in which He “hath redeemed my soul from hell,” or from Še’ôl-- death and hell.
But, more than this, I adore my God for who and what He is, in and of Himself. Even if He did not act in my life, I would find His character worthy of adoration. He is magnificent. And, as the Psalmist will later exclaim, “His character alone is excellent.”
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Verses 1-2a represent a superscript to Psalm 18. I have said little about the superscripts that accompany previous psalms--all but psalms 1, 2, and 10 possessing a superscript. Most of the superscripts seem administrative, some perhaps provide direction on performance. Up to this point, only the superscripts of Psalms 3 and 7 have, like this psalm, offered a suggested historical setting for the psalm.
Scholars and interested readers have approached the proposed historical settings in the superscripts differently. Some believe that the superscripts indicate that the Psalm was actually written in light of the proposed event, and that the event should guide one’s interpretation of the entire Psalm. Others feel that the superscripts were not original, but added later. Both positions have their strengths and weaknesses. I tend to side with the latter position that the superscripts were added later. I rarely use them to interpret any psalm so headed.
In addition to my general reluctance to utilize any superscript as a cipher for interpreting any psalm, I find other reasons to be skeptical about this Psalm’s superscript. First, there is no compelling reason for connecting the psalm with the events surrounding the conflict between David and Saul. Even the psalms presence in 2 Samuel 22 seems contrived and certainly misplaced. Without the superscript, it is doubtful that one would read the psalm and connect it with that conflict.
Second is the issue of translation. The superscript, as it reads in the KJV, claims that the psalm was written “in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the power of Saul.” This is in line with the Masoretic text as we have it today, specifically its vowel pointing of Š’l . As opposed to this translation, I translate, “at a time that YHWH delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, including the power of Še’ôl.” The translation “Še’ôl” rather than “Saul,” is the result of changing vowels without any alteration of the consonantal text--remembering that for many centuries the text existed without vowels.
In reading Psalm 18 independent of the superscript or its contrived location in Samuel, one would never think of Saul as the enemy discussed in the psalm. However, one would absolutely think of death and Še’ôl as the threat the Psalmist faced. It is most certainly from Še’ôl’s power that God delivers the Psalmist--the suggestion that it was death at the hands of Saul is not persuasive. Thus, if the superscript is to be kept and utilized for interpretive purposes, it makes more sense to understand the enemy of the superscript as Še’ôl rather than Saul. Indeed, the enemy that threatens the Psalmist and from which he is delivered is so obviously Še’ôl that the superscript is superfluous. At least, that is how I see it.
In previous psalms and, indeed, in many, many more to follow, the Psalmist finds himself under a variety of threats. These threats bring him to call upon God for His help and deliverance. Many a psalm contains praise of God as He responds to the pleas, and delivers the Psalmist. This psalm’s superscript informs us that God has already delivered the Psalmist. Because of this deliverance, the Psalmist “adores” God and looks to Him for strength in whatever challenges he may face.
I too adore God. I adore Him for what He has done and meant in my life. Just as with the Book of Mormon figure, Lehi, there is a sense in which He “hath redeemed my soul from hell,” or from Še’ôl-- death and hell.
But, more than this, I adore my God for who and what He is, in and of Himself. Even if He did not act in my life, I would find His character worthy of adoration. He is magnificent. And, as the Psalmist will later exclaim, “His character alone is excellent.”
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
meditation archives
OLD TESTAMENT
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| ot_genesis3_1-5_meditation.pdf |
genesis 4.9
| ot_genesis4_9_meditation.pdf |
genesis 6.5-6, 11-13
| ot_genesis6_5-6_11-13_meditation.pdf |
genesis 13.1, 5-12
| ot_genesis13_1_5-12_meditation.pdf |
genesis 29.15-30
| ot_genesis29_15-30_meditation.pdf |
genesis 31.43-55
| ot_genesis31_43-55_meditation.pdf |
exodus 13.3-10
| ot_exodus13_3-10_meditation.pdf |
leviticus 19.33-34
| ot_leviticus19_33-34_meditation.pdf |
2 samuel 21.1-14
| ot_2samuel21_1-14_meditation.pdf |
psalms introductory meditations
| ot_psalm0_introduction_meditation.pdf |
psalm 1 (16 meditations)
| ot_psalm1_meditations.pdf |
psalm 2 (9 meditations)
| ot_psalm2_meditations.pdf |
psalm 3 (6 meditations)
| ot_psalm3_meditations.pdf |
psalm 4 (5 meditations)
| ot_psalm4_meditations.pdf |
psalm 5 (10 meditations)
| psalm5_meditation.pdf |
psalm 6 (4 meditations)
| psalm6_meditation.pdf |
psalm 7 (5 meditations)
| ot_psalm7_meditation.pdf |
psalm 8 meditation
| ot_psalm8_meditation.pdf |
psalms 9 & 10 (15 meditations)
| ot_psalm9-10_meditations.pdf |
psalm 11 (3 meditations)
| ot_psalm11_meditations.pdf |
psalm 12 (3 meditations)
| ot_psalm12_meditations.pdf |
psalm 13 (3 meditations)
| ot_psalm13_meditations.pdf |
psalm 14 meditations (6 meditations)
| ot_psalm14_meditations.pdf |
psalm 15 meditations (6 meditations)
| ot_psalm15_meditations.pdf |
psalm 16 (11 meditations)
| ot_psalm16_meditations.pdf |
psalm 17 (7 meditations)
| ot_psalm17_meditation.pdf |
psalm 22 meditations (11 meditations)
| ot_psalm22_meditations.pdf |
psalm 32
| psalm32_meditations.pdf |
psalm 46 (5 meditations)
| ot_psalm46_meditations.pdf |
psalm 51
| ot_psalm51_meditations.pdf |
psalm 102.17-21
| psalm102_17-21_meditation.pdf |
psalm 103.8-12
| psalm103_8-12_meditation.pdf |
psalm 115.4-8
| psalm115_4-8-meditation.pdf |
psalm 119
| ot_psalm119_meditations.pdf |
psalm 130
| psalm130_1-8_meditation.pdf |
psalm 143.1-2, 4, 6-9
| psalm143_1-2_4_6-9_meditation.pdf |
all other psalm meditations
| 02_ot_meditations_psalms_24_05_15.pdf |
isaiah 1.21-23
| ot_isaiah1_21-23_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 3.4-8
| ot_isaiah3_4-8_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 3.9-11
| ot_isaiah3_9-11_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 9.3-7
| ot_isaiah9_3-7_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 40.1-2
| ot_isaiah40_1-2_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 60.1-2
| ot_isaiah60_1-2_meditation.pdf |
isaiah 61.1-3
| ot_isaiah61_1-3_meditation.pdf |
jeremiah 5 (7 meditations)
| ot_jeremiah5_meditation.pdf |
jeremiah 6.1-6
| ot_jeremiah6_1-5_meditation.pdf |
joel 2.12-14
| ot_joel2_12-14_meditation.pdf |
amos 5.10-13
| ot_amos5_10-13_meditation.pdf |
amos 6.3-6
| ot_amos6_3-6_meditation.pdf |
micah 7.18-20
| ot_micah7_18-20_meditation.pdf |
NEW TESTAMENT
matthew 2.1-3, 7-11
| nt_matthew2_1-3_7-11_meditation.pdf |
matthew 3.15 ("jesus' first words series)
| nt_matthew3_15_meditation.pdf |
matthew 5.23-28
| nt_matthew5_23-28_meditation.pdf |
matthew 6.9-13
| matthew6_9-13_meditation.pdf |
matthew 6.24
| nt_matthew6_24_meditation.pdf |
matthew 11.28-30
| nt_matthew11_28-30_meditation.pdf |
matthew 20.25-28
| nt_matthew20_25-28_meditation.pdf |
matthew 21
| matthew21_meditation.pdf |
matthew 22.34-40
| matthew22_34-40_meditation.pdf |
matthew 24.42, 44, 46
| nt_matthew24_42_44_46_meditation.pdf |
matthew 26.26-46
| matthew26_36-46_meditation.pdf |
mark 5.1-5
| nt_mark5_1-5_meditation.pdf |
mark 5.14-20
| nt_mark5_14-20_meditation.pdf |
mark 5.24-34
| nt_mark5_24-34_meditation.pdf |
mark 15.22-38
| mark15_22-38_meditation.pdf |
luke 1
| nt_luke1_meditations.pdf |
luke 2
| nt_luke2_meditations.pdf |
luke 4.40-44
| nt_luke4_40-44_meditation.pdf |
luke 6
| nt_luke6_meditation.pdf |
luke 8.26-39
| nt_luke8_26-39_meditation.pdf |
luke 10.38-42
| luke10_38-42_meditation.pdf |
luke 15.1-7
| luke15_1-7_meditation.pdf |
luke 17.3-6
| luke17_3-6_meditation.pdf |
luke 18.9-14
| luke18_9-14_meditation.pdf |
luke 22
| luke22_meditations.pdf |
luke 23
| luke23_meditations.pdf |
luke 24
| nt_luke24_meditation.pdf |
john 1
| nt_john1_meditations.pdf |
john 4
| nt_john4_meditations.pdf |
john 10
| nt_john10_meditations.pdf |
john 13.36-38
| nt_john13_36-38_meditations.pdf |
john 14.16-21, 23
| john14_16-21_23_meditation.pdf |
john 15.4-5
| nt_john15_4-5_meditations.pdf |
john 18
| nt_john18_meditations.pdf |
acts 2.14-21
| nt_acts2_14-21_meditations.pdf |
acts 3.12-18
| nt_acts3_12-18_meditations.pdf |
acts 5.29-32
| nt_acts5_29-32_meditations.pdf |
acts 7.2-8
| nt_acts7_2-8_meditations.pdf |
romans 1.18-23
| nt_romans1_18-23_meditation.pdf |
romans 5.6-11
| nt_romans5_6-11_meditation.pdf |
romans 8.31-34
| nt_romans8_31-34_meditation.pdf |
romans 8.35-39
| nt_romans8_35-39_meditation.pdf |
1 corinthians 1.1-3
| nt_1corinthians1_1-3_meditation.pdf |
corinthians1.4-9
| nt_1corinthians1_4-9_meditation.pdf |
1 corinthians 12.14-27
| nt_1corinthians12_14-27_meditation.pdf |
galatians 3.24
| nt_galatians3_24_meditations.pdf |
philippians 2.5-11
| nt_philippians2_5-11_meditation.pdf |
colossians 1.12-20
| nt_colossians1_12-20_meditation.pdf |
colossians 2.1-5
| nt_colossians2_1-5_meditation.pdf |
colossians 2.13-19
| nt_colossians2_13-19_meditation.pdf |
colossians 3.1-4
| colossians3_1-4_meditation.pdf |
hebrews 13.1-2
| nt_hebrews13_1-2_meditations.pdf |
1 john 1.1-5
| nt_1john1_1-5_meditations.pdf |
1 john 1.8-10
| nt_1john1_8-10_meditations.pdf |
1 john 3.16-19
| nt_1john3_16-19_meditations.pdf |
1 john 5.9-13
| nt_1john5_9-13_meditations.pdf |
revelation 21.3-7
| nt_revelation21_3-7_meditations.pdf |
"jesus' first words (new testament series)
| nt_jesus_first_words_meditation_series.pdf |
BOOK OF MORMON
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| bm_1nepi11-14_meditation.pdf |
1 nephi 19.23
| bm_1nephi19_23_meditation.pdf |
1 nephi 25.23, 26-27
| bm_2nephi25_23_26-27_meditation.pdf |
jacob 1.8
| jacob1_8_meditation.pdf |
jacob 2.17
| bm_jacob2_17_meditation.pdf |
mosiah 4.26-27
| mosiah4_26-27_meditation.pdf |
mosiah 15
| bm_mosiah15_meditation.pdf |
mosiah 16.3-7
| bm_mosiah16_3-7_meditation.pdf |
mosiah 29.17, 21-23
| bm_mosiah29_17_21-23_meditation.pdf |
alma 7.7
| bm__alma7_7_meditation.pdf |
alma 26.16
| bm__alma26.16_meditation.pdf |
alma 31.24-28
| bm__alma31_24-28_meditation.pdf |
alma 31.27-29
| bm__alma31_27-29_meditation.pdf |
alma 33
| bm__alma33_meditation.pdf |
alma 34.15-18
| alma34_15-18_meditation.pdf |
alms 37.9
| bm_alma37.9_meditation.pdf |
alma 39.8-9
| alma39_8-9_meditation.pdf |
3 nephi 1.13-14
| bm_3nephi1_13-14_meditation.pdf |
3 nephi 6.10-12, 14
| bm_3nephi6_10-12_14.pdf |
3 nephi 11.9-11
| bm_3nephi11_9-11_meditation.pdf |
3 nephi 17.11-18
| bm_3nephi17_11-18_meditation.pdf |
3 nephi 27.30-32
| bm_3nephi27_30-32_meditation.pdf |
ether 3.2
| bm_ether3_2_meditation.pdf |
ether 12.32-34, 41
| bm_ether12_32-24_41_meditation.pdf |
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS / PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
dc 3
| dc3_meditation.pdf |
dc 10
| dc10_meditation.pdf |
dc 19.18-19
| dc19_18-19_meditation.pdf |
dc 20
| dc20_meditation.pdf |
dc 37
| dc37_meditation.pdf |
dc 38.23-27
| dc38_23-27_meditation.pdf |
dc 49.5-7
| dc49_5-7_meditation.pdf |
dc 49.20
| dc49_20_meditation.pdf |
dc 76.1-4
| dc76_1-4_meditation.pdf |
dc 76.5-10
| dc76_5-10_meditation.pdf |
dc 84.112
| dc84_112_meditation.pdf |
dc 88.123
| dc88_123_meditation.pdf |
dc 101.37-38
| dc101_37-38_meditation.pdf |
dc 101.46-51
| dc101_46-51_meditation.pdf |
dc 128.22-23
| dc128_22-23_meditation.pdf |
dc 138.11-12, 15-16, 18-19
moses 7.18
| pgp_moses7_18_meditation.pdf |
Hymn #72
| hymn_72_meditation.pdf |
MEDITATION SERIES
Jjesus' first words
| nt_jesus_first_words_meditation_series.pdf |