Dovid Hamelech could have been very miserable and drowning in tears, eulogies, and pain. But Sefer Tehillim sings a completely different tune, a tune of hope and bitachon, joy and thanksgiving, prayers integrated with steadfast emunah that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is with him and will certainly help and save him.
Dovid Hamelech begins perek 26 with the words, “Judge me Hashem, for I have walked in innocence; in Hashem I trusted!” And therefore, “I shall not stumble.” Rabbenu Saadya Gaon interprets this chapter in an incredible way: Dovid Hamelech is asking Hashem to deal with his enemies. He himself chose not to take revenge on them. What they are saying or plotting does not interest him. He hears them outside his window, asking each other, “When will this king die already, so that his son Shlomo can be king and build the Beis Hamikdash?”
He doesn’t try to answer them, doesn’t speak up in defense of his honor. He only turns to Hashem and asks Him to judge them, and this comes from a sense of strength. His innocence is his strength. “I have walked in innocence,” and therefore he is certain of Hashem’s salvation – so much so that he is willing to undergo a nisayon, and he asks Hashem to test him.
Bitachon in happy times is nothing like bitachon in times of difficulty. How does Dovid have the certainty that he will stand strong in his bitachon when he experiences a nisayon as well? He has a unique method: “Your chessed is the focus of my eyes!”
Even in difficult times, when flooded with pain and the difficulty overwhelms me, I see before my eyes the chessed that You do with me. I keep thinking about seeing the good, focusing on all the good and pleasant aspects. I recall all the times that I was saved and that I succeeded, with Hashem’s mercy. I know that everything is true, just and right, and this knowledge gives me a feeling of stability. I am in the Hands of the Creator yisbarach, Who does only good to me. There is nothing evil that comes from Above.
Perhaps it is possible to find a Yid who has everything going for him. He has bountiful parnassah, and he can buy whatever he pleases, his children bring home only hundreds on their tests, and the melamdim are full of praises for them. In shidduchim things go smoothly and easily, but then suddenly something happens that doesn’t seem to go according to the plan. His reaction is: What is this? Why did Hashem do this to me? What happened? What’s wrong? He has complaints, and he feels that his world is destroyed.
This is the opposite of the approach of Dovid Hamelech. From the time he was young, he was considered abnormal. His brothers treated him with contempt and sent him far away from home to watch the sheep. He quarreled with his father-in-law Shaul Hamelech. His life story is filled with very difficult chapters, and he always remembers Who brought it all upon him: Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave me this life, together with the ability to choose, and I am choosing to strengthen my belief that all of this is for my good!
There were times in his stormy life that he suffered every minute of the day. Those who wanted to kill him pursued him everywhere and sent him threatening messages. According to their plans, Dovid should have disappeared long before, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu arranges all events, and He determined that Dovid would live. My enemies received permission to hurt me, in order to test me, and not only do I accept Hashem’s hanhagah, but much more than that – I thank Him!
Sefer Tehillim is filled to overflowing with pesukim of thanksgiving. In this perek alone we find so many different forms of thanksgiving. And his thanksgiving is not only between him and Hashem; rather, he blesses and thanks Hashem publicly.
It is very nice to say thank you for good news, but Dovid Hamelech goes far beyond that. We might have to sit down for a painful meeting; the father is in the hospital and we need to arrange for family members to take turns sitting at his side. The situation is not pleasant, but how do you begin such a meeting? By publicly thanking Hashem! Start with the words, “We will thank Hashem!” Say that we see the chessed, tell stories of hashgachah that we have seen tangibly, and then continue on to the practical part of how to handle the situation.
Bitachon, thanksgiving, and seeing the chessed in all situations – those are the instructions Dovid Hamelech bequeaths to us with his songs to Hashem.
