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<\/a>Throughout Lent<\/em> I have been focused on Psalms and Ecclesiastes in my devotions.\u00a0Lent is a season for remembering wilderness moments\u2014like the one in which Jesus spent 40 days faithfully in the desert at the beginning of his ministry, and like the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness. These moments are often a season of lament. Psalms and Ecclesiastes are a good place to focus on lament. Many of us find ourselves in wilderness moments far more often than we encounter mountaintop or burning bush experiences.<\/p>\n For followers of Jesus, life is about learning how to live joyfully even in these challenging moments. That\u2019s why Lent holds such power as a practice for the church. Recently, I have found life has been difficult politically, socially, physically (health wise) and even weather-wise. Many of you may feel this as well.<\/p>\n I think Psalm 63<\/a> gives us a significant practice, or at least highlights David\u2019s way, of transforming the wilderness by choosing loud and bold praise.<\/p>\n This morning, I was reflecting on Psalm 63<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Psalm 63, David says \u201cMy lips will praise you\u201d (Psalm 63:3, GW<\/a>). The word he uses there for praise is \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7 (shabach). The shape represents and reminds us of fire \u2013 and that is included in it\u2019s Hebrew meaning (but not all of it\u2019s meaning). It carries connection to God\u2019s presence (think Shalom and Shaddai). The second letter in praise from David is \u05d1\u05b7 (Bet), and it looks like a lean-to-hut because that is what it means, it represents a home, household, a dwelling. The last letter \u05d7 (Chet) implies a boundaried area that is protected and separate.<\/p>\n I love the letter \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1. As one author<\/a> points out, \u201cThere are those who see the shape of this letter to be a type of flame that rises up, which represents the fire of the sacrifices, and the constant fire that was in Holy Temple.\u201d The letter is rich with imagery.<\/p>\n I suspect David\u2019s choice to use \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7 (shabach) is with great intention here. In the wilderness of Judah, David chooses \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7 (shabach) rather than \u05d4\u05dc\u05dc (halal), \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05d4\u05b4\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4 (tehillah), \u05d9\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4 (yadah), or \u05e8 (zamar).<\/p>\n In this Psalm, David identifies he is in the wilderness and fleeing, and already \u201cthe King\u201d (Psalm 63:11, GW<\/a>). So, here he is probably on the run during Absalom\u2019s rebellion. David, in the middle of this moment, decides to have a Tabernacle experience. David confesses \u201cat dawn I search for you,\u201d (NIV and ESV like earnestly over dawn, KJV, GW, and I don\u2019t) \u2013 and that his soul and body (includes all fleshy parts in the Hebrew) are in longing for Elohim (\u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd).<\/p>\n Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch<\/a> say, \u201cit is difficult is it to adopt this choice spiritual love-song as one\u2019s own prayer!\u201d I cannot agree more. Grumbling is often easier in the wilderness than bold praise.<\/p>\n David recalls what it was like to see the place of God\u2019s power and glory \u2013 the holy place (some translations miss the past-tense here, and I am no Hebrew expert). However, the New English Translation (NET)<\/a> captures it well, \u201cin the sanctuary, I have seen you\u201d \u2013 and your \u201cpower and splendor\u201d (Psalm 63:2, NET<\/a>). David is in a wilderness moment, remembering when God felt close.<\/p>\n It is because of those experiences, a place where David is being put through the trials of the wilderness, without home, or the safety of his palace boundaries, that he will still praise God. Not just praise, he will praise loudly, actively, and boldly. This is the meaning of the \u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7 (shabach) on David\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n In that space of the wilderness, David chooses to praise as if he is in the tabernacle \u2013 because he can remember the beauty and otherworldly experience there. This holy place was a space for ongoing worship and prayer, with singers and musicians pouring out their worship and intercession day and night with music and prayer.<\/p>\n Psalm 63<\/a>\u00a0goes on to outline how the wilderness becomes that holy place where David will lift up LOUD praise (\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7, shabach). In this Psalm, David models what it means to lifts his hands, praise God, remember God, confesses God\u2019s character, pursues God, and experiences God\u2019s protection. Some scholars point out that David is saying because even in the wilderness he is \u201cexperiencing God\u2019s mercy, which exceeds all the blessings of life, his lips will be opened for his praise\u201d (Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown, 1997, p. 366)<\/p>\n In his act of praise (\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7, shabach), David\u2019s praise confesses and experiences God\u2019s as an all consuming presence (\u05e9), a sense of belonging and being at home (\u05d1), and the boundaries of God\u2019s protection (\u05d7).<\/p>\n Let me point out one more connection. David uses praise (\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d7, shabach), but also look at the word \ufb2a\u05b7\ufb31\u05b8\u05ea (Shabbat).<\/p>\n The dagesh<\/em> in the Shabbat is there to change the sound. However, I also love that it is an encompassed within the \u05d1 (Bet, house). In the wilderness, we praise loudly, and in the season of Shabbat, we rest and listen (how Shabbat is practiced). Shabbat ends with \u05ea (Tav), reminding us that we live within a covenant, and praise ends with \u05d7 (Chet), reminding us in the wilderness all of God\u2019s creation is the boundary of God, there is no where you can go.<\/p>\n I am not claiming to be a scholar, there are plenty perhaps in our community and my Facebook post that may point out more, or downplay my thoughts \u2013 I am merely a practical and applying thinker.<\/p>\n We are in Lent, and Lent is a time to reflect on wilderness moments. The wilderness moments we are in, can be recalibrated to have meaning \u2013 through praise. That is the hope of Psalm 63<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the wilderness, David chooses loud praise, active searching, and refreshment in God alone. David chooses to praise God, though he is not in the holy place, the home, or the safety of his Kingdom\u2019s boundaries. Wilderness moments always feel isolating from God\u2019s presence, power and from others \u2013 these moments feel like we exist without a place to belong \u2013 and we feel pushed beyond the safety zone. These dark night of the soul moments are familiar to many of us.<\/p>\n\n
Psalm 63: A Lament for the Wilderness Moment<\/h2>\n
Wilderness Moments Are For Remembering<\/h2>\n
The Wilderness is for Transformative Worship<\/h2>\n
Wilderness Moments Can Be Recalibrated<\/h2>\n