A movie was released a few years back with a terrifying premise- a couple goes scuba diving off of a cruise ship in open water, but gets forgotten. They are left there floating in open water to endure the cold water and isolation in the middle of the ocean. They have no idea where to swim, so they just float, hoping that the ship will realize that they're gone and send someone to get them. Then the dorsal fins start to appear, and the sharks begin checking them out. I won't spoil the ending for you, but I don't think I need to. I can't even imagine how frightening being trapped in open water would be. This psalm gives us the inner life of a person who is drowning, although in a much more metaphorical sense. The water of life circumstances seems to be a prison where the doors are locking and the key is being thrown away. Perhaps you have experienced your own days of "drowning."
The twist, however, is at the end of the psalm. This psalm, of David, begins talking about an event David did not live through. The personal experiences of David are reinterpreted to talk about the national event of the exile. When the people of God were taken away to Babylon, they were poor, distressed, and their faith was drowning. So maybe this personal experience of David's can shed light on something more than personal depression. Perhaps, this psalm is the cry of the human heart, broken and kicked down, waiting for the day for the pieces to be put together again.
And if that is the cry of the heart, then we have a story to tell...
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