Blogging Bible Study: Digging in the Desert -- Psalms, Part 2

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, the next group of verses mentioning 'desert' that we encounter in the Psalms are verses that mention, for want of a better description, the emotions of the Psalmist.  There are only three two..(on further consideration, I moved one to another category) but I have included some extra verses for context.

Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.  I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest -- I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and the storm." -- Ps. 55: 5-8

My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.  Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones.  I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.  I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. --  Ps. 102: 4 - 7

David is identified as the Psalmist in the 55th Psalm, but the 102nd Psalm is not attributed to anyone more specific than 'an afflicted man'.  Which could easily have been David, but I won't assume anything.

We see two different applications of the desert; in Ps. 55, the desert is a refuge; a safe place away from 'the storms'.  'Storms' could be severe weather, but I am thinking it's more likely the storms are just the stresses and the pressures of government; there are meteorological storms in the desert but the solitude of the desert would be far, far away from human interaction and responsibilities. That's an appealing thought...go to the desert, where the air is clear and the stars are bright and the other demands are laid aside and spend time just listening for the voice of Abba. 

But the Psalmist of 102 has a different viewpoint.  For him, the desert is isolation.  He's wasting away, alone, with no comfort.  For someone focused on their own misery, there is not much distraction available.  No help, even in a crowd of folks...one might as well be a bird in the desert, on the roof of an abandoned barn.

Neither Psalmist is actually in the desert...one yearns for it, the other feels the remoteness in his circumstances.

So...maybe it's about attitude?  That with the right attitude the desert is rest and refuge instead of isolation?  Or...is this a case of the heart desiring what it doesn't have at the moment?  David longing for a quiet respite while in the turmoil of dealing with people and decisions...while the Ps. 102 Psalmist yearns for interaction and friendship while he is isolated by distress?

Maybe it's both.  Maybe the contrast should encourage me to do a heart check...where am I, right now?  Am I wistfully wishing to ditch everything and run away for a bit?  Or am I feeling cut off and isolated, wasted and useless?  How can I move from a position of complaint to a position of contentment?