Changing Your Life with Psalms

Despair

There comes a time in every person’s life when one is overwhelmed with despair. Things seem hopeless, one might feel almost as forlorn as the psalmist of Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my roar? O my God! I call out by day, but You do not answer me; and at night but there is no relief for me… But I am a worm and not a man, scorn of humanity and despised by people. All who see me ridicule me… (Psalm 22:2-8).

It gets even worse:

Like water I am spilled out, and all my bones came apart; my heart has become like wax, it melted in my innards … For dogs have surrounded me; a pack of evildoers have encircled me; as a lion at my hands and feet. … They divide my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots (Psalm 22: 16-19).

Despair

Things may seem desperate but suddenly the psalmist changes direction.

But You, God, be not distant; my Strength, hasten to help me. Rescue my soul from the sword, from the grip of the dog, my quintessence. Save me from the lion’s mouth; for from the horns of the reimim [vicious animal, possibly an ox or buffalo] You have answered me. I will proclaim Your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I shall praise You (Psalm 22: 20-23).

Psalm 22 ends on an upbeat note:

“They will come and declare His righteousness to a newborn people that which He has done” (Psalm 22: 32). “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” a verse from Psalm 22, is well known to everyone since it is similar to Jesus’ last words. This psalm reminds us that no matter how bad things seem, one should not give up hope. One can understand why the Jewish people who were persecuted by numerous empires for more than 2,000 years could identify with Psalm 22.

Ecstasy

Psalm 23 is among the most popular ones in all of Tehillim. It is no accident that it follows Psalm 22, one of the most depressing ones. One can go from misery to happiness in the blink of an eye if one relies on God.

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He lays me down in green pastures. He leads me beside tranquil waters. My soul He restores. He leads me on the path of tzedek [usually translated as either righteousness or justice] for the sake of His Name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23: 1-6).

Ecstasy

Psalm 23 is arguably among the most powerful (and renowned) passages in Scripture dealing with faith in God and offers instruction on how to deal with life’s inevitable vicissitudes. The secret of happiness is hidden in Psalm 23. First, one has to rely on the Lord who is being compared to a shepherd who has a rod (i.e., crook) and staff and takes care of His flock. We should never forget that we have to live a moral and spiritual life and understand that God is watching over us and cares what happens. Note that the Shepherd guides his flock on the path of righteousness and justice.

One must do more than simply rely on God. The Psalmist asks that we not be overly materialistic. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” is not a message of asceticism. It is a message to humanity asking them to reduce their wants and needs and be satisfied with less. This will ensure that there will be plenty for everyone. It is greed that caused the Great Recession of 2008 and the loss of millions of jobs. In the long run, the desire for an ostentatious, flamboyant life filled with material goods results in unhappiness. True happiness comes from living a moral, righteous life filled with the love of family, friends, and people. One does not need to own five homes and a $200,000 car to be happy.

Doing Good

There is a strong connection between happiness and friendship and happiness and doing good. There is nothing more joyful than a united humankind that is concerned with social justice and improving the world. Psalm 133 describes a time when all nations of the world will assemble as “the people of the God of Abraham” in peace.

A Song of Ascents of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1).

Psalm 17 is the shortest of all the hymns in Psalms but sends a powerful message about the future that humanity should strive for.

O praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all you peoples! For His lovingkindness has overwhelmed us; and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Hallelujah! (Psalm 17).

Some see Psalm 100 as a song of gratitude that all of mankind will eventually sing to God.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Shout out praises to the Lord, everyone on earth! Worship the Lord with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing! Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we belong to him; we are His people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courtyard with praise! Give him thanks! Praise his name! For the Lord is good. His loving kindness is eternal, and he is faithful through all generations.

Never Give Up Hope

“By the rivers of Babylon” might seem like a lament, but upon close examination, it is a message of never giving up hope.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea! we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth (Psalm 137: 1- 6).

By not forgetting about Jerusalem, these exiles (and/or their children) did eventually see Jerusalem rebuilt. The Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in 586 B.C.E. The prophet Jeremiah had predicted that the Israelites would be punished and that “this whole land shall be a ruin and desolation; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon for seventy years” (Jeremiah 25: 11).

Never Give Up Hope

One might mistakenly assume that this psalm is only meaningful to the ancient Israelites. Frederick Douglass (1852) used a verse from Psalm 137 to denounce slavery. The verse - “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” — alludes to the alienation and harsh conditions endured by American slaves and was filled with significance and pathos to African Americans. It took a long time, but America now has a black man as president. Well, it took 2,000 years for the Israelites to return to the Promised Land after the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.C.E. The Second Temple was rebuilt under the reign of Darius by Zerubbabel about 520 B.C.E. The psalmists teach us to never give up hope and one day the world –based on moral and spiritual values –will be at peace.

The psalmist provides the solution when all hope appears lost—cry out to the Lord! He declares (Psalms 130:1): “A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice; let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas.”

The Righteous Person

Psalm 15 provides a perfect description of the upright person who may “dwell on God’s holy mountain.” It is not the person who acquires a huge amount of wealth, but the individual who is concerned with helping others and being a moral, honest person. The righteous man avers: “I prefer the teachings of Your mouth, than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Psalm 119:72). The righteous person declares: “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of the Lord and to meditate in His temple” (Psalm 27: 4-5).

The righteous person understands: “For a day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand days elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of My God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10). As far as the “greed is good” philosophy, the psalmists asked God to “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward covetousness” (Psalm 119:36). Greed transforms righteous people from the upright, moral life to a life of depravity.

The Righteous Person

A Psalm of David. Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain? One who walks in total integrity, works righteously, and speaks truth in his heart. One who does not slander with his tongue and has done no evil to his fellow human, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is despicable, but who honors those who fear God; one who keeps his oath even when it hurts. He lends not his money for interest and neither takes a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never falter (Psalm 15).

This idea of what it takes to be a good person is repeated in Psalms 24 and 82:

Who may ascend the mountain of God, and who may stand in the place of His holiness? He that has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity and who has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive God’s blessing and righteousness from the God of his salvation (psalme 24: 3-5).

Give justice for the poor and orphan; uphold the rights of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Psalm 82: 3-5).

The psalmists are asking humanity to imitate God and be concerned about justice and equity for all. In fact, Psalm 146 demonstrates what God does for the oppressed, the poor, and the helpless.

He secures justice for the oppressed; He gives bread to the hungry. The Lord releases the imprisoned. The Lord gives sight to the blind; The Lord straightens those bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects the stranger; orphan and widow He enables to stand firm; but the way of the wicked He thwarts (Psalm 146:7-9).

Righteous people are hardworking and engage in honest, productive work. This provides them with satisfaction and shows us how we too can achieve peace of mind. The verse below stresses the importance of industriousness. Indeed, there is a considerable amount of research that indicates that losing one’s job has a huge impact on one’s happiness; a good job, one the other hand, contributes a great deal to one’s happiness and self-confidence.

When you shall eat of the toil of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you (Psalm 128:2).

The Righteous Person

One extremely popular phrase used in so many speeches is that “the meek shall inherit the earth.” It is actually a verse in Psalms (37: 11): “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” To understand the meaning of this passage, it is important to read the entire chapter. It starts as follows: “A Psalm of David: Grieve not over the success of evildoers nor envy wrongdoers.” In this Psalm, humanity is encouraged to “turn away from evil and do good” (Psalm 37: 27) and not to envy the prosperity and apparent success of wrongdoers. This Psalm could easily be directed at the corrupt bankers and financiers who made billions while destroying their organizations.

Righteous people who become leaders (this includes CEOs) are urged to read Psalm 72 which is targeted to them. Solomon, David’s son, became king after his father died.

For Solomon. God endow the king with Your justice, and Your righteousness to the son of the king. May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your poor with justice. May the mountains bear peace to the people and the hills, through righteousness. May he judge the poor of the people and save the children of the destitute, and may he crush the oppressor… For he will save the needy when he cries out, and the poor who has none to help him. He will have pity on the impoverished and the needy; the souls of the needy he will save. From fraud and violence he will redeem their soul (Psalms 72: 1-14).

Psalm 112 praises the truly righteous person and describes what he or she is like.

Praise the Lord! Happy is the man who fears the Lord; His commandments he greatly desires. Mighty in the land will be his offspring; a generation of the upright who will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light shines in the darkness for the upright; [since] he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. Good is the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For he will never be moved; the righteous man will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; steadfast is his heart, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed [charity] freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. The wicked will see it and be angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!

Note how the psalmist ties wealth to fearing the Lord and using ones riches to help the poor through charity and/or loans. Wicked people will never have the joy or honor the righteous man has.

The secret of long life is mentioned in Psalm 34 (13-20). It involves turning away from evil and not slandering others or lying. It is a message to evil people to change their ways.

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, guard your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to excise their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he saves them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit, he saves. Many evils befall the righteous person but from all of them the Lord saves him.

Hypocrisy and the Deceit of Man

The psalmists believe that it is foolish to rely on mortals since most are deceitful and will betray their friends in times of trouble. Righteous people rely on God. This is a common theme in Psalms. The psalmist proclaims: “I said in my haste, all men are deceitful” (Psalm 116:11). Perhaps not everyone is deceitful; however, a large number of people are indeed devious and falsehearted.

Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaks of haughty things: Who have said, “With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is master over us?” (Psalm 12:3-5).

Also, my close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me [to trample me] (Psalm 41:10). But you, O God, You shall lower them down into the pit of destruction: men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You (Psalm 55:24).

O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent. For wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me the language of falsehood. With words of hatred they surround me, they attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. They repay me evil in return for good, and hatred in return for my love (Psalm 109: 1-4).

Reliance on God

Since the psalms were sung in the Temple by the Levites and combined poetry and prayer, it is not surprising that many deal with faith in God. As noted above, a key observation of the psalmists is that humans cannot confide in mortals whose days “are as grass.” One of the most important messages in Psalms is never to give up and rely primarily on God, not on man. In fact, one should not be surprised if the so called friends he turns to when in trouble do not come to his assistance. It is foolish for one to confide in people who are filled with deceit and whose days are numbered. Those who place their trust in God, however, will see that justice ultimately prevails.

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help (Psalm 146:3).

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip; He who watches over you does not slumber (Psalm 121: 1-3).

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I was helped. My heart was overjoyed and I will give praise to him with my song. The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and elevate them forever (Psalm 28: 7-9).

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he sprouts. For if a wind passes over it, it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those that fear him, and His righteousness unto children's children (Psalm 103: 15-17).

Penitence

The most important message of Psalms is that part of being mortal is making mistakes. Good people are willing to learn from their mistakes, do penitence, and then move on. In fact, Psalm 90:3 indicates that God says: “Return, children of man.” God wants the sinner to return to him by repenting of his wicked ways. Psalm 51 also teaches us that the door to penitence is always open as long as a person acknowledges his or her misdeeds. This psalm refers to the story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba which is described in II Samuel 12-13.

For the director of music, A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to your vast compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and from my sin purify me. For I know of my transgressions, and my sin is before me always. Against You alone have I sinned, and done that which is evil in Your eyes; therefore, you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge... Hide Your face from my sins, and all my iniquities blot out. A pure heart create for me, God; and a spirit of correctness renew within me. Cast me not away from Your Presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:1-6; 11-13).

Penitence

This Psalm demonstrates who a leader is supposed to be concerned with: the poor, the needy, and the helpless members of society. Leadership is about justice, truth, and compassion.

Psalm 101 stresses the importance of hating evil and believing in truth, kindness, and justice. It is intended for ordinary people as well as leaders. Leaders have a special responsibility to ensure that the “wicked in the land” cease from their endeavors. The same can be said of political leaders and CEOs.

A Psalm of David. I will sing of Your lovingkindness and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praises. I will be careful to lead a life of integrity, when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a heart of integrity. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate the doing of crooked things; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil. Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. My eyes will be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; the one who walks in the ways of integrity he shall minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off from the city of the Lord those who do evil (Psalm 101).

Conclusion

The messages from Psalms are meant for people seeking meaning and fulfillment in their life. The ancient, powerful messages resonate today as much as they did thousands of years ago. Honesty, helping the poor, world peace, community, forgiveness, justice and more are all touched on in Psalms. The secret of happiness, wealth, and long life is embedded in Psalms. Its words are therapeutic and provide comfort in the most adverse of circumstances.

The Book of Psalms ends on a powerful note. In Psalm 150, the root word hallel (praise) is used 13 times:

Praise God. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise God in the firmament of His power. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness. Praise Him with the blast of the shofar; praise Him with the lyre and harp. Praise him with drum and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and flute. Praise him on the loud cymbals: praise him with clanging cymbals. Let every soul praise God. Praise God.

The world achieves perfection when every soul expresses gratitude to God for all He has done. This is the ultimate gratitude journal communicated by all kinds of musical instruments.