I am an English teacher, so I notice grammar even when reading the Scripture. I have found the grammar of the Psalms especially encouraging when facing difficult times. A number of psalms possess a grammatical structure that expresses the essence of faith in the midst trials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grammar of Psalms 13 swings on \u201cbut\u201d, the coordinating conjunction in verse five:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(1) How long, O Lord? Wilt Thou forget me forever?
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(2) How long shall I counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
(3) Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God;
Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(4) Lest my enemy say, \u201cI have overcome him,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lest my adversaries rejoice when I am shaken
(5) But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
(6) I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cbut\u201d connects his trust in the God\u2019s kindness to all the complaints, fears, and doubts in the preceding verses. The difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions is that coordinating conjunctions present what comes before and after them as equally important. One truth is not subordinate to the other. It is also true that they seldom make any explanatory claims like subordinate conjunctions such as \u201cbecause\u201d or \u201csince\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was younger, I rushed through the first part of Psalm 13 to get to verse five<\/strong>. The \u201chow longs\u201d sounded whiny. During my sojourn with charismatic triumphalism, I wondered if the psalmist was wrong to recognize the strength of his enemies. His claim to be near death seemed melodramatic. I was glad when David snapped out of it and celebrated God\u2019s goodness and bounty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I now believe the first four verses are as important as the last two.<\/strong> Here, and in other psalms, we encounter honesty about the psalmist\u2019s experience and reality. David tells us the truth about what is in his life and his heart. Such honesty is often not celebrated in Christian communities. Many declarations before the conjunction would receive a rebuke or correction. The \u201chow longs\u201d, for instance, might be met with an exhortation to trust in God\u2019s sovereign timing. Complaints about enemies would be met with exhortations to love and pray for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But we should not diminish the power of Christian realism<\/strong>. When we dress up our trials in the trite rags of Christian cliches, we fail to let our light shine in the darkness. Honesty about ourselves, our failures, doubts, and fears gives power to our faith when we declare, \u201cBut as for me, I trust in Thee, O Lord\u201d (Psalm 31:14). The world is looking to the church for spiritual reality and authenticity\u2014but often not finding it. Faith declared the midst of the darkness and the pain of our brokenness makes the Word flesh, dwelling among us in our day to day lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned already, these coordinating conjunctions (and, yet, but), don\u2019t explain much<\/strong>. The first four verses are not offered as a reason for trusting. The next two verses don\u2019t explain God\u2019s delay or absence. David simply says, \u201cThis is true, but this also is true.\u201d This where many of us live. For instance, I am having surgery for cancer, but I believe God heals the sick. I am putting my body in the hands of a surgeon, and my surgeon in the hands of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Realism, however, that never gets to the \u201cbut\u201d, isn\u2019t realism. <\/strong> God has entered history and entered our lives.We must be honest about the faithfulness of God, the fact of resurrection, our hope of glory.The \u201cbut\u201d or \u201cbut for me\u201d expresses our choice to believe. It is where we take a stand and stake our tent. Our experience, or lack of it, is not the final authority or last word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This conjunction, \u201cbut\u201d, is the hinge upon which all our faith swings<\/strong>. Jesus died but rose again. With man there is little hope, but with God all things are possible. Evil seems to reign, but Jesus is coming again. In this world we face many tribulations, but we should be of good cheer because Jesus has overcome the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hinge can get rusty, stubborn, and squeaky. <\/strong>Singing Christmas carols at the Presbyterian church last night gave my hinge a needed shot of oil. I found my heart swinging open to God\u2019s love. Israel had waited long, but her king was born in Bethlehem. \u201cHow long, O Lord,\u201d was answered on Christmas with \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am an English teacher, so I notice grammar even when reading the Scripture. I have found the grammar of the Psalms especially encouraging when facing difficult times. A number of psalms possess a grammatical structure that expresses the essence … Continue reading