I Can’t Get No

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.  I will satisfyhim with a long life, and show him My salvation. Psalm 91:15-16  NASB

Satisfy – God promises to satisfy us.  That’s a fact!  But far too often it seems as if His answer is delayed or our plight is ignored.  “I can’t get no satisfaction” is the common human theme song.  Yet David’s poem claims that God will satisfy the person who calls on Him—with long life.  We reply, “Only the good die young.”  How can this be?

Perhaps the first step is to understand the meaning of the root śābaʿ, translated “satisfy.”  Is it literal or metaphorical?  Literally, śābaʿ is about abundance and food.  To be satisfied is to have enough to eat, a very practical concern in the ancient world (and today in large parts of our world).  In this regard, śābaʿ is a material expression.  But it is also used metaphorically.  It can describe fulfilling plans or actions, being filled with good things, spiritual blessing, experiencing God’s steadfast love, and, in the opposite context, being filled with suffering.  From this background, David uses the derivative śābēaʿ, found only ten times in the Tanakh.  Now things change.  Whereas the desire for śābaʿ is associated with “a basic aspect of humanity,”[1] only five people in the Tanakh are described as experiencing śābēaʿ: Abraham, Isaac, David, Job, and Jehoiada.  Apparently śābēaʿ isn’t for everyone.  It is as rare as the word for rescue, ḥālaṣ.  Job 14:1 sets the contrast for the rest of humanity: “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble.”

This is not very comforting!  We began this verse with the high hope that God’s answer would fill our desire.  We assumed that “calling on Him” was all that was necessary.  Now we discover that less than a handful of men actually experience śābēaʿ, and it is clear to me that I am not in that august company.  I’m ready to put this verse aside as nothing more than David’s personal declaration.  Then I notice something important.  All of these men had deep flaws (perhaps Jehoiada is an exception) and all of them experienced personal trauma and tragedy.  All of them seem to fit Job’s description and Psalm 91:16.  Maybe there is hope yet.  Maybe this line in the poem isn’t simply autobiographical.  When I reflect on the actual history of these men, I discover the answer to my opening question.  God does promise to satisfy, but that satisfaction often comes in the midst of real trauma.  Satisfaction isn’t a permanent state of affairs.  Perhaps it’s the conclusion of a lifetime of experiences like Job had.  What sort of satisfaction is that?  Well, you’ll notice that the promise isn’t for “blessed assurance Jesus is mine.”  It’s for long life.  It’s for the end game, the ability to look back and reflect that through it all God was faithful.  It’s for knowing it mattered, I mattered.  I’m satisfied, or at least I will be when I’m finished.  Then I notice something I missed.  The verb is an imperfect.  That means it is a continuous, incomplete action.  I thought “satisfy” would bring me to a state of complete comfort.  I see that the poem tells me it’s a direction, not a goal.  Ah, now I get it.

Topical Index: śābēaʿ, satisfy, long life, Psalm 91:15-16

[1] G. Warmuth, TDOT, Vol. XIV, p. 28.