Set me free from my prison that I might praise your name. (Psalm 142:7, NIV)
THe psalmist David moves from complain to confidence in this maskil. (a psalm of instruction, yet prayerful in nature) Though didactic psalms are not usually my favorites, verse 7 speaks volumes to my heart and offers comfort.
God can set me free from my "prison,"...... I have occupied several prison cells in my mind over the years. I have been a prisoner to the approval of others, a prisoner of worry and a prisoner of self-pity. Even depression, which I sense this psalm alludes to in verse 3. "When my spirit grows faint within me....." Have you ever been there? Been so imprisoned by those dark thoughts that your entire body seems weakened? David was there---in a dark cave and "brought very low." (Psalm 142:6)
That's why this psalm brings comfort---the thought of God setting me free from those anxious and self-critical thoughts. What relief.
But....the verse doesn't stop with, "God can set me free from my "prison." It goes on to give the motive. Relief is a motive that might first come to mind. But is relief a pure motive? Is there a motive that speaks to the greater good?
In all of one's life's choices, motive is key. Motive reveals our heart. ".....that I might praise His name." The conclusion of the verse states the pure motive of praise and glory to the Lord.
That's the pure cuppa "liber-TEA"---
a cuppa that
might provide warmth of comfort and relief...
BUT, it pours out in praise.
