At the beginning of this study I pointed out that the immediate problem facing the psalmist is that he was sick. That is not all that was bothering him; he was concerned for Jerusalem too, as I said, and he was being taunted by his enemies. These conditions enter into his lament. Nevertheless, it is chiefly his sickness, frailty and the brevity of life that trouble him and give force to his complaint. He describes his condition like this:

David wanted to surround himself with good people, people he could trust and whose walk was blameless. Sometimes, when people are in positions of power or responsibility, they turn to those who can "get the job done" and do not ask questions about how they do it. It is worldly wisdom to say, “No one can rule effectively who cannot close his eyes and ears to some of the things that are going on around him.” But a good government is one in which the high places are filled with upright and not unscrupulous people. Luther said, "If God wants to be good to a prince or a country, he gives him a fine Joseph or a Naaman to be near him, through whom all things fare well and prosper.”¹

As we saw yesterday, David, having affirmed the positive virtues in this psalm, also rejects the negatives. We have already looked at two vices suggested by these stanzas—faithless men and men of perverse heart—and continue with two more.

I do not often take issue with the translation provided by the New International Version, but I think I should do so here by pointing out that the word "your" in the first line of this psalm ("I will sing of your love and justice") is not in the Hebrew manuscripts. The psalm actually begins: "I will sing of love and justice.” In other words, the psalm is about love (or mercy) and justice, and the way David introduces these two ideas is much like the style of older writers who would compose essays with such titles as "On Friendship," "On Civil Government,” and so on.

The final verse of the psalm, like verse 3, explains why you and I should thank God. But it is not just a repetition of the first explanation. The third verse said that we should thank God because of what he has done; he has both made and remade us. That is, he is both our Creator and Redeemer. The final verse invites us to thank God because of who he is. It tells us three things about him.