I Only Dance in My Head

Psalm 43 is a beautiful little psalm. It is one of the psalms of the Sons or Korah. There are eleven psalms by the Sons of Korah, and as the ancient scholar Origin said, "Their subject and tone are pleasant and cheerful, free from anything sad or harsh" (Homily on 1 Sam.). I've always found that interesting since Korah was the one who led a terrible rebellion against Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 16). Verse four is especially beautiful: The New King James and English Standard Translation both take it the same way: "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God." But it could really be translated "Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, the joy of my rejoicing..." You could expand on that even more to say, "the joy of my jumping up and down, whirling about and rejoicing..." Of course as a German Lutheran I only do this now in my head and deep down in my heart. But wait till I get to heaven! If you're interested here are some of my textual notes.