It's funny and not necessarily good how a view can lodge in your head and stay there unchallenged for years, even though you hold other views on the same subject that actually contradict the first view and, unlike the first view, are actually based on evidence.

So I know, because I've read them, that the Psalms contain sections that are harsh and apparently unforgiving. The classic example is Psalm 137:9, which says “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”, and it's by no means the only one.

But despite realizing that verses like this are peppered throughout the Psalms, and despite having spent years as a Christian reading and singing Psalms, I've long held the view that if you went through the Psalms one by one, this sort of cursing by the psalmists would be exceptional. And yes, I have gone through the Psalms one by one over the years, and I've been trying to pay attention too, and sometimes I've taught individual Psalms because they work so well as one-off sermons between other series. So you would think that I'd know what I'm talking about.

Yesterday I got it into my head to test my theory, and, in the grace of God, I happened to be sitting on the bus, which is a great place to read the Bible uninterrupted. What gave me the idea to test this out was reading Psalm 3:3, and being shocked to find a verse that I'd known and even sung for years (“But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head”) was not in a context I'd expected. If you've ever sung the song I'm thinking about, you will know that it is a boppy and completely disposable little ditty that you sing in youth fellowship at the beginning of your time, along with about three other songs, with the intention of getting people to quiet down a bit and focus on the fun you're about to have. It's uplifting, it's bouncy, you sing and forget. It's the church equivalent of a McDonald's Happy Meal, perfectly timed and delivered to keep kids entertained without necessarily being well nourished (but who cares about nourishment when you're on a long car trip).

Anyway, back to Psalms. Before you read on, check Psalm 3 and see if you see what I found.

Take your time now. I'm only putting this paragraph in to encourage you to do it and stop your eye accidentally flicking down to give away what I saw.

So there I was, reading Psalm 3, and I noticed that it was written when David “fled from Absalom his son”. That in itself is striking, and if you know the story in context, you will know that Absalom is trying to kill his dad (see the start of the story right here in 2 Samuel 15). The wrapping of this Happy Meal is none too happy.

And if you read on in Psalm 3, you'll see David praying that God will take sudden and deliberate action against his enemies, at the head of whom was his own son. “Arise, O Lord!” he cries. To do what? To help David out of a tight spot? To cheer him up out of his depressed state? To inspire him with a suitably up-beat tune to go with his Psalm? Well, I'm not sure whether those things are irrelevant, but they are not what he specifically asks for: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.”

Do you know for all the times over the years that I've sung about God, “my glory and the lifter of my head”, I have never once got to the bit where I sang about God striking my enemies on the cheek, and breaking the teeth of the wicked. Why not?

It's not the only Psalm where the violent bits have been censored. Try to find any reference to babies' heads being dashed against rocks in this piece of Youtubery featuring Psalm 137 (3 minutes 19 seconds, funky memories for all fans of the 1970s).

I'm about to make a point here, but I feel I've said enough for one post. If you have enough time between now and when ‘Break your teeth on this part II’ appears, read through the first 75 Psalms (I managed it on the bus back home; if you can do more, then more power to your arm), and just make a little note of where the Psalmist decides to record the downfall of his enemies with satisfaction, asks God to bring shame upon them in general terms, or prays that specific physical violence might fall upon them. How many of the 75, do you reckon, are couched in these terms? 8? 18? More?

You'll have to come back in a day or two to compare your answer with mine.

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