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I love how this translation weaves David's Psalms throughout his life. In today's reading, the psalm he wrote "when Saul had sent men to watch David's house in order to kill him" appears in the text at the moment it happens. This paralleling of psalm almost as commentary to the text gives real insight and depth to the character of David. His story is amazingly complex and richer for being reflected in the psalms.
Here is a warrior who is also a poet. I don't think the two are so far apart. There is an interesting perspective and passion shared by both poet and warrior. Both require a certain amount of emotion in order to perform the demands of their task, whether killing or penning a poem. I know these activities seem at odds, but good poetry and good military leadership both seem to demand getting outside yourself, rising above the conflict at hand to look objectively and deeply at what's happening. Planning a military maneuver or capturing a moment on paper aren't so far removed as they might seem. Both poet and warrior seek life lived intensely.
As a writer, I can't help but wonder how close to the actual event David crafted his poems. Were they written in the moment? Did he pause while Saul's soldiers lurked outside his door to put pen to paper? Did he write them with Michal at his side, begging him to save his life and escape? Did he draw on the emotion of the moment? Or were they created years after in reflection on having survived Saul's snare, years after when he was king and could write with the confidence of knowledge? Wouldn't there have been more doubt if they'd been written in the moment rather upon reflection? Lord knows.
The story of David punctuated and accentuated with his psalms gives us a unique opportunity to peek into the reflections of a Biblical figure on his own story and the events of that story. I don't think it's accidental that we have the poetry to complement the story of a man who God holds dear because of his heart.
In this passage, David escapes his enemies through the window of his home...and through the window of his poetry.
My post last year on this date.
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