my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty (Ps 131:1);
But my eyes are fixed on you, יהוה God; you are my refuge; do not leave me unprotected (Ps 141:8);
I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for יהוה, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Ps 132:4, 5);
I lift up my eyes to you whose throne is in heaven (Ps 123:1);
My eyes are ever on יהוה, who alone can free my feet from the net (Ps 25:15).
Six. The Psalms’ personalism of concrete immediacy is frequently expressed in a narrative form which captures the drama of the poets’ present moment within the totality of their on-going story. Vivid images abound. Human life is the walking of paths, but only one path is secure and therefore desirable; the path of יהוה—You will show me the path of life; In your presence is the fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures for evermore (Ps 16:11);
My steps have held steadily to your paths; my feet have not faltered (Ps 17:5);
What god is there but יהוה ? What rock but our God? It is God who girds me with strength and makes my way free from blame, who makes me swift as a hind and sets me secure on the heights (Ps18:31,32);
יהוה revives my spirit; for [his] name’s sake [he] guides me in the right paths (Ps 23:3);
Teach me your way, יהוה; . . . lead me by a level path (Ps 27:11);
Whoever fears יהוה will be shown the path he should choose (Ps 25:12);
It is יהוה who directs a person’s steps; [he] holds firm and approves of [his] conduct. Though [he] mayfall, [he] will not go headlong, for יהוה grasps [him] by the hand (Ps 37:23, 24);
For you have rescued me from death and my feet from stumbling, to walk in the presence of God, in the light of life (Ps 56:13);
I have chosen the path of faithfulness; I have set your decrees before me (Ps 119:30);
יהוה, teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth (Ps 86:11);
When my spirit is faint within me, you are there to watch over my steps (Ps 142:3).
God is a very real companion and stronghold, a high tower and refuge to the poets.5 This is a recurring theme in the Psalms and is especially appropriated in the psalms of trust– But let all who take refuge in you rejoice, let them forever shout for joy (Ps 5:11);
יהוה my God, in you I find refuge (Ps 7:1);
May יהוה be a tower of strength for the oppressed, a tower of strength in time of trouble (Ps 9:9);
Keep me, O God, for in you have I found refuge (Ps 16:1);
יהוה is my shepherd: I lack for nothing (Ps 23:1);
יהוה is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? יהוה is the stronghold of my life; of whom then should I go in dread? (Ps 27:1);
In you, יהוה, I have found refuge; let me never be put to shame (Ps 31:1);
Taste and see that יהוה is good. Happy are they who find refuge in him! (Ps 34:8);
Deliverance for the righteous comes from יהוה, their refuge in time of trouble (Ps 37:39);
יהוה will save him in time of trouble; יהוה protects him and gives him life (Ps 41:1,2);
God is our refuge and our stronghold, a timely help in trouble (Ps 46:1);
The mountain of Zion. . .is the city of the great king. God in her palaces is revealed as a tower of strength (Ps 48:2,3);
God has rescued me from every trouble (Ps 54:7);
I shall raise a psalm to you, my strength; for God is my strong tower. [He] is my gracious God (Ps 59:7);
I am safe in the shadow of your wings. I follow you closely and your right hand upholds me (Ps 63:8);
With יהוה on my side, as my helper, I shall see the downfall of my enemies (Ps 118:7);
God, be gracious to me; be gracious, for I have made you my refuge. I shall seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms are past (Ps 57:1);
But יהוה has been my strong tower, and my God is my rock and my refuge (Ps 94:22).
Seven, there are remarkable notes of intimacy with which Israel addresses her God. They speak too in the language of the formidable and address God in wondrous titles. יהוה is addressed as:
The Praise of Israel: You, the Praise of Israel, are enthroned in the sanctuary (Ps 22:3);
The Shepherd of Israel: Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock (Ps 80:1);
The Holy One of Israel: . . . on the lyre I shall sing to you, the Holy One of Israel (Ps 71:22);
Again and again they tried God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel (78:41);
To יהוה belongs our shield, to the Holy One of Israel our king (89:18).
Israel’s God: But you, Lord God of Hosts, Israel’s God . . . (59:5);
Awesome is God in your sanctuary; [he] is Israel’s God (68:35);
God of Israel, let none who seek you be humiliated through me (Ps 69:6);
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel (Ps 72:18;);
Blessed be יהוה the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting (Ps 106:48).
Israel’s hiding-place and shield: But you, יהוה, are a shield to cover me (Ps 3:3);
For you, יהוה, will bless the righteous; you will surround them with favour as with a shield (Ps 5:12);
I rely on God to shield me; he saves the honest of heart (Ps 7:10);
Guard me like the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings (Ps 17:8);
the word of יהוה has stood the test; [he] is a shield to all who take refuge in [him] (Ps 18:30);
יהוה is my strength and my shield; in יהוה my heart trusts (Ps 28:7);
. . . you are a hiding-place for me in distress; you guard me and enfold me in salvation (Ps 32:7);
You will hide me under the cover of your presence (Ps 31:20);
O Lord, my shield (Ps 59:11);
In your tent I shall make my home forever and find shelter under the cover of your wings (Ps 61:4);
To יהוה belongs our shield (Ps 89:18);
You have made the Most High your dwelling-place
