Lessons on the Book of Mormon 2020
Lesson No. Six
A Lesson From the Psalm of Nephi
A psalm is a deep heartfelt spiritual feeling, essentially a song of praise to the Lord – Nephi lived in the days of the Old Testament prophets and was familiar with their manner of teaching, especially Isaiah. (See 2 Nephi 25:1-6). The Psalm of Nephi has a rhythm and cadence similar to the psalms of David.
Psalms are poetry and are meant to be read aloud. One of my most precious experiences as a mission president was when at a zone conference testimony meeting Elder Bochard stood and with emotion recited the Psalm of Nephi by memory. The Psalm of Nephi had a powerful impact on Elder Bochard and his mission, and hearing him recite it touched my heart and it was etched in my soul.
“O Wretched Man That I Am” – Even though Nephi delights in the things of the Lord and the great blessings he has received (Vs 15-16), he is overwhelmed by sorrow for the weakness of the flesh:
“My heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted” (Vs 17-19).
Anger caused Nephi’s sorrow – We might think that if anyone had a cause to be angry it was Nephi. His brothers had conspired several times to murder him, and each time Nephi had forgiven them and had compassion for them. After Lehi’s death the conspiracy came to a crescendo, and Nephi got angry.
However, Nephi understood that anger is not acceptable to the Lord. It is interesting to note that the King James Version of the Sermon on the Mount has Jesus saying: “But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22, emphasis added), but the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 12:22 omit the words “without a cause.” This teaches that anger, in all its forms, must not be part of our lives.
Anger is a sin and it gives the devil power in our lives – In mortality all people experience a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. Nephi, after having experienced so many great and marvelous things (see Vs 20-25), he still struggled with the flesh: “Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh” (Vs 17); “And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have placed in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy. Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul” (which is the devil). “Do not anger again because of mine enemies” (Vs 27-29). Here Nephi’s enemies were his brothers who sought to take away his life.
Nephi knew that because anger is a sin he must turn to the Lord and repent – A simply wonderful and a wonderfully simple definition of repentance is to “turn to the Lord” (Bible Dictionary, Repentance).
In the remainder of his Psalm Nephi praises the Lord and rejoices in the blessing it is to repent, and turn back to and trust in the Lord: “Rejoice on my heart, and cry unto the Lord” (Vs 30); “O Lord wilt thou redeem my soul?...Wilt thou make that I may shake at the appearance of sin? May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite (Vs 31-32); “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever” (Vs 34); “Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen” (Vs 35).
Lesson for life – Too often we may find ourselves feeling like Nephi. We desire to be worthy, but because of the weakness of the flesh we get angry or fall short in some other way. This brings sorrow and causes our soul to grieve. However, when we come to ourselves, we desire to repent and turn back to the Lord. As we do so we feel the Lord’s forgiveness, and He “encircles us around in the robe of His righteousness” (Vs 33), and we have great reason to “rejoice in our God, and the rock of our salvation” (Vs 30).