THE KEY TO THE STORY
Psalm 34:1-10,22
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; *
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the Lord; *
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt his Name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me *
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant, *
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, *
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; *
happy are they who trust in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints, *
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.
22 The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, *
and none will be punished who trust in him.
“Narrative theology” is a way of reading scripture as a meaningful story engaging both divine and human characters. Like all narratives, the biblical story has a beginning, a middle, and an end – or denouement. It is this ‘story-line’ that rings most true to us in narrative theology, since our own lives reflect the same pattern, the same quest for a “happy ending.”
One example of narrative theology is the way the Christian Church has, for centuries, seen the entire biblical canon as the story of creation, the fall of humanity, and our eventual redemption through the saving grace of God. Generations of faithful have found this ‘story-line’ deeply inspiring and comforting.
In the Psalms, a ‘story-line’ can be epic (like descriptions of the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt), or – as here in Psalm 34 – much more personal: “I called in my affliction, and the LORD heard me, and saved me…” One modern commentary gives the theme of Psalm 34 as “The Nearness of a Personal God.”
The first verse of Psalm 34 in the original Hebrew has been omitted in the lectionary translation above – which is unfortunate. Just because that verse seems “disconnected” (scholars call it a superscription) doesn’t mean we should ignore it. In fact, that first verse gives us the crucial ‘story-line’ within which the psalm should be understood. Psalm 34, verse 1, originally reads:
“Of David. When he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.”
This cryptic note probably alludes to the time when David pretended to be insane, to escape death at the hands of a king named Achish (1 Sam. 21:10ff.). The spectacle of the desperate hero, tearing at the palace doors with his fingernails, and spitting into his beard, is a shocking contrast to the image of poetic religious genius we associate with David. And yet, in a strangely powerful way, it is exactly the “mad desperation” of the psalmist that gives this psalm its deepest meaning. The psalm’s positive joy is in stark contrast to the “narrative setting.” At that moment in David’s life, he doubted that he would be able to save himself – and yet, saved he was.
Sometimes, human despair is the “interpretive key” that unlocks revelation. It is not always in moments of calm confidence that the best of our prayers come to our lips.
Henry Ralph Carse