The Context of Meditation
A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Psalm 102 NASB
Complaint – You’re praying. You feel oppressed and downtrodden. You acknowledge your total dependency on God. You’re weak; He’s strong. You kneel before Him—His servant, His child. And you complain?
Before we tackle the noun “complaint” we should consider the verb šāpak (to pour out). Its uses might help us understand if śîaḥ should be translated “complaint.” The verb:
is used in both physical and metaphorical senses. In the former sense it is the common verb for describing the pouring out of a wide variety of materials. Thus, what is poured may be water (Ex 4:9; I Sam 7:6), broth (Jud 6:20), dust (Lev 14:41), or blood. This latter, the pouring of blood, constitutes the single most frequent use of the verb. In this connection it may be used in the ordinary sense of pouring, almost always as a part of the sacrificial ritual. More often it is used of the pouring out of a man’s lifeblood, i.e. the shedding of blood. Thus in Num 35:33 God states that unpunished bloodshed (šāpak) pollutes the land (cf also Gen 9:6; Deut 21:7; II Kgs 24:4; Zeph 1:17; Ezk 22:3; Isa 59:7). [1]
Since the verb is frequently about sacrifice, and sacrifice is typically about ritual purity and obedience, this gives us a clue concerning the meaning of śîaḥ. After all, sacrificial obedience doesn’t seem to have much to do with complaining. In Hebrew culture, sacrifice is a form of worship, not grievance. I don’t make a sacrifice in order to voice my objection to life’s circumstances. I make a sacrifice to demonstrate my acceptance of God’s sovereignty. That suggests to me that we need to revise the English translation. Not surprisingly, when I investigate the Hebrew word śîaḥ, I discover that it is usually not about complaining.
The basic meaning of this verb seems to be “rehearse,” “repent,” or “go over a matter in one’s mind.” This meditation or contemplation may be done either inwardly or outwardly. Since English differentiates these two notions, the word is usually rendered “meditate,” or “talk.” . . . If the subject, however, is painful, it is translated “to complain” (Ps 55:17 [H 18]; Job 7:11).[2]
But we should ask, “Why translate this as ‘complaint’ simply because the subject is painful?” Isn’t life itself painful? After the Garden, shouldn’t we expect sorrow and toil? And if the verb is typically about sacrifice, shouldn’t the noun reflect our attitude in sacrificial obedience? In fact, if I am before the Lord, assured of His presence with me, praying to Him with a sacrificial attitude, am I not more likely to be repenting or meditating than complaining? How different might we read this psalm, if instead of complaint, we realized that the one praying is pouring out his acceptance. He doesn’t have to like it, but he does have to recognize that he is in God’s hand no matter what the circumstances. Maybe.
A Prayer of the afflicted when he is weak and pours out his mediation before the Lord.
Maybe. We will see.
Topical Index: complaint, śîaḥ, pours out, šāpak, sacrifice, meditate, Psalm 102
[1] Austel, H. J. (1999). 2444 שָׁפַך. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 950). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] Cohen, G. G. (1999). 2255 שִׂיַח. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 876). Chicago: Moody Press.
