Psalm Devotional
Significant Suffering
Many of David’s psalms describe in desperate tones the persecution and betrayal that he suffered in his ascent to the throne of Israel. Psalm 54 contains this familiar setting and mood—this time in reference to the intrigue of the Ziphites who collaborated with Saul against David (cf. 1 Sam. 23:19). There are enough such psalms, whose catalyst is persecution and whose cast is adversarial, to make the conflicts of David a prominent theme in the psalter.
Themes such as these have contributed to the waning use of the psalter in today’s churches, where finding modern relevance in these scenes of ancient conflict is perhaps viewed as too great a challenge. Perhaps it is because such psalms lack the upbeat tone that some have come to expect (or demand) from music in worship. “He will repay my enemies for their evil; Cut them off in your truth” (Ps. 54:5), is the kind of thought, typical of Davidic psalms, that is rarely echoed in form or substance in modern praise music. Be that as it may, it is still a fair question: Why is the persecution, hardship, and suffering of David given such a principal place in the psalter, and, therefore, in the worship of the church?
