What Is It?

A miktam of David  Psalm 16:1 (Hebrew text)

Miktam – Only six psalms contain this Hebrew word, miktam.  No one is quite sure what it means, but all six of these psalms are psalms of lament.  All six are linked to David and four of the six have references to David’s struggles with enemies.  One possibility is that this word introduces the theme of the psalm.  In this case, the theme is protection or covering.  Another possibility is that this word is about engraving the letters on a stone.  Thousands of years after David wrote this word, we are left guessing.  Check your Bible to see how the translators dealt with this. 

While the word itself is difficult, the text of this psalm is no better.  There are several passages where translation is guesswork.  But does it really matter?  Technically, yes.  We would like to know exactly what David was thinking when he wrote these poems.  The opening phrases that use miktam are part of the Hebrew text.  They are not additional explanatory phrases in spite of the fact that most English Bibles put the words is smaller print, making us think that they are not part of the original.  So, technically, we hope to one day understand what David meant.  Perhaps we will have to wait for him to explain it to us.

On the other hand, just because we know longer know what miktam means does not suggest that we can’t hear God speaking through David’s words.  We’ll look at the rest of these words over the next few days, but the first thing to notice about this psalm is its personal cry for help.  This alone is unusual.  Why?  Because the Hebrew perspective is most often tied to the community.  Psalm after psalm describes the community interaction with the God of the people.  Individual pleas and individual affirmations are not the norm.  What God does with and through Israel is most often about the qahal, the congregation. 

Not here.  How important it is for us to see that God is more than the nation’s King.  He is our individual sovereign, fully committed to our individual well-being.  For those of us who arrive at Scripture from a Greek background, this might not seem out of the ordinary.  We are saturated with the individual perspective.  But for a Semitic reader, this is very important.  God cares for me.  It’s not just about my tribe, my nation or my lineage.  God is  my God.  “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.”  If a miktam is a poem about personal deliverance in the face of danger, then we all need a miktam.

When life attacks us, we often deflect the blows by saying that the ways of our Lord are hidden from us in this life.  We know He is good, but there are times when we can’t reconcile His goodness with our circumstances.  So, we defer the explanation by saying:  “God is doing something through me that is for the good of others.  It might not be what I want, but it will bless someone else.”  A miktam helps us realize that even if God does use us as a vehicle for other purposes, He still is our individual protector and deliverer.  He is still my God.    When the horizon is dark and the storm is coming, God still saves me! 

David wrote this miktam to extol God’s personal involvement.  You and I can take encouragement from his effort, and we can write our own miktam, because God loves each of us.  Perhaps that’s the most important part about this strange little word.  Perhaps that’s what we really need to hear.  So, say it with me:  “YHWH is my God and He cares for me.”

Topical Index:  miktam, Psalm 16:1, personal, preserve, my God