In Case You Forget

Answer me when I call, God ^[b]of my righteousness!  You have ^[c]relieved me in my distress; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.  Psalm 4:1  NASB

Relieved – You will recall the Chabad translation of the prior verse (Psalm 3:8).  Following Rashi, Chabad interprets Psalm 3:8 as:

It is incumbent upon the Lord to save, and it is incumbent upon Your people to bless You forever. 

Orthodox Judaism treats the first five psalms as a single unit.  The themes and meaning of these psalms flow together as if they were one.  If we look at these as one, then some perplexing questions arise.  For example, if it is “incumbent upon the Lord” to rescue His people, why does the psalmist have to add this verse (4:1).  It’s just repetition.  Why plead the case if God has already obligated Himself to act?  Notice the other odd statement in this verse, that is, if God has already “relieved” him of his distress, then why ask for grace and why ask that his prayer be heard?  Hasn’t God already heard—and answered?

Rashi treats these questions as if they were proleptic, that is, while some of the meaning can be attached to the speaker in his own era, these repetitions and extensions are provided so that future generations can also experience the blessing of God’s righteousness.  God’s action toward the psalmist can be appropriated for us.  We can pray his prayer and expect that same response.

Let’s consider this for a moment.  When you read the psalms, do you hear yourself speaking the same words to the Lord?  Do you imagine that you are the poet expressing your feelings, hopes, and dreams?  Do you anticipate the same response from God?  Do you hear the comfort following your complaint?  I imagine that one of the reasons we so enjoy the Psalms is precisely because the words of the poet are our words.  He captures what we have all felt but perhaps have not been able to articulate.  Suddenly we have a voice, crying out before the Lord.  Perhaps we need to come back to the Psalms over and over to remind ourselves that if God hears the poet, He hears those who mime the poet.

But this is only half of the lesson.  We might find it comforting to speak the poet’s words in our pleas.  Great teachers often tell us to recapture the spirit of prayer by speaking the psalms.  For those of us who have felt estranged, damaged, or condemned, this exercise opens doors that may have been closed for a long time.  But there is still the other side of this coin, the side of God’s answer.  The poet doesn’t just voice his struggle.  He hears God’s reply.  And he writes it down.  That might be the part of these verses most difficult to speak.  We have been convinced that God can’t repair all the damage we’ve done, that our trespasses are too great for Him to forgive, that we deserve punishment.  When the poet voices God’s restoration, our ears may suddenly become deaf.  Our internal condemnation drowns out the whisper of consolation.  We succumb to the internal shouts demanding reparations.  “You have relieved me” is for someone in the past; not for us.  Perhaps that’s why the poet writes then down, so we won’t forget that these are ours too.

Topical Index: relieve, proleptic, Psalm 3:8, Psalm 4:1