Toni’s Title
An Uprooted and a Sprawling Tree
ESV Title
The Steadfast Love of God Endures
Literary Type
This is an individual lament, a mix of types.
Laments
More than 1/3 of the Psalms fall into the category of complaints to God in situations of limitation or threat. These laments were a form of prayer and praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about people and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation or understanding. Israel’s laments out of distress were a way of praising God even when he seemed absent. The faith of the psalmists is founded on the good news that God intervenes in desperate situations to help those who are distressed. The psalmists share a deep confidence that God is compassionate, concerned, hearing his people and involved with them; God is faithful and trustworthy. A lament is an outcry to God from a responsive heart. Laments came from individuals or from the community.
Examples: Psalms 3-5, 22, 27:7-14, 42, 51, 69, 90, 130, 137 and many others
NT Prayer Guide
Phil. 2:12-16
Note that the verse numbering in the New Coverdale version below differs from the ESV.
Superscription
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52
Quid gloriaris?
1 Why do you boast, you tyrant, *
that you can do evil;
2 Whereas the goodness of God *
endures all the day long?
3 Your tongue devises wickedness, *
and with lies you cut like a sharp razor.
4 You have loved unrighteousness more than goodness *
and to utter lies more than truth.
5 You have loved to speak all words that hurt, *
O you deceitful tongue.
6 Therefore, God shall destroy you for ever; *
he shall catch you, and pluck you out of your dwelling, and root you out of the land of the living.
7 The righteous also shall see this and fear, *
and shall laugh him to scorn:
8 “Behold, this is the one who did not take God for his strength, *
but trusted in the multitude of his riches and relied on his wickedness.”
9 As for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; *
my trust is in the tender mercy of God for ever and ever.
10 I will always give thanks unto you for what you have done, *
and I will declare your Name among the faithful, for it is good.