Psalm 57

Sometimes it is hard to have a steadfast heart in the midst of our trials. It is hard to be strong when all you feel is weakness. David's psalm begins in trial, despair, and isolation. Yet it ends in praise. That kind of strength cannot come when we are the center of our world. When we are the center, we will never rise above our circumstances. We will not have the strength to have a steadfast heart when we are in trial, despair and isolation.

It is only when God's glory is the center when we can have that kind of strength. What may seem insurmountable to us, seems small in the eyes of God. And thus we can have hope. So I will borrow from one of my favorite songs, sung at our worship service this past week.

Jesus, be the centre
Be my source, be my light
Jesus

Jesus, be the centre
Be my hope, be my song
Jesus

(from Be the Centre by Vineyard music)

Psalm 56

Of all the phrases in this psalm, many are familiar. There is one that jumps out for me at least, and that comes from verse 8: "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll, are they not in your record?" Another way to translate that phrase would be "put my tears in your wineskin." God collects our lamentation, either by record or the gathering of tears. What does that say about God?

God does not forget our times of trial. God does not turn a blind eye to pain and suffering. The listing of our lament is a sign of God's presence in a broken and painful world. So God walks with us in all the circumstances of life. God also rescues us in our circumstances from being overwhelmed completely. So I suppose, if this psalm reminds me of anything, it is to put my trust in God and to remember to praise God for my rescue.

Psalm 55

As I read this psalm, I became intrigued by David's wish to fly away. The impulse to flee disaster isn't terribly new, since it is a temptation everyone faces. What intrigued me was that David wanted to fly away to the desert. Why there? What in a desert would entice David to find safety there? When I spent a night in the desert of Oman, there were times when I felt incredibly vulnerable. I realized that if I had wandered away from the group and found myself too far from the camp to see it, I would be totally lost. All of the sand hills looked the same, and there were no mile markers or signposts guiding me to safety. Yet, this is where David wants to be.

And the desert as a safe place shows up in other places in Scripture as well. Revelation 12 talks about a woman who gives birth to a child and then is attacked. The child is swept into heaven, while the woman is brought to the desert to be cared for. Later, when she is pursued, she flees once more to the desert. Now, the story is a symbolic one, but it still paints the desert as a place for hiding and safety.

The desert fathers and mothers followed David and the Revelation 12 woman into the desert to flee from corruption and find safety there. So I suppose I must revisit my night in the desert. While I was there, I was completely safe. As long as I had companionship, I had no worries about getting lost. Under the big, clear sky, I could see all the stars of heaven. In the quiet breeze tumbling across the sand, I felt no sense of danger. Maybe the desert isn't so bad, after all. May you find your hiding place in God today and throughout this week.

Psalm 54

Jesus would say a thousand years after this psalm was penned "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22). This psalm is the heart-cry of the person hated, excluded, insulted and rejected as evil. Psalm 54 is the person runs from the cave of a bear only to find refuge in the den of a lion. Trapped, surrounded, and unable to save him/herself from life circumstances, this person's only companionship is God.

But what companionship to have! The verse from this psalm that strikes me as interesting is the final one, where David sings praises about the deliverance of God before that deliverance happens. David is so sure of God's faithfulness to God's promises that he is thankful for what has not even happened yet. May you and I have the faith to trust God in such a way that I am thankful for what has not happened yet.

Psalm 53

As I listened to this psalm in lectio divina, a particular form of Bible listening, a couple words jumped out at me. The directions were jumping out- "turned away" "come out from" or "looks down from." However, what really got me was the phrase "there was nothing to dread." And God spoke through that phrase in my final reading to see that in God there is nothing to dread. Even though God is described in this psalm as one who "scatters the bones," there is nothing to dread. There is much in my life that I dread- what people think about me, if I'm living a life of integrity, if I'm doing my best, etc. In God, those fears ultimately melt away. It is when I turn away that I am filled with dread. It is when I am the center of my world that the smallest things seem so big. Indeed, when God is the center and following God my aim, my deepest fears seem trivial. I hope that you found benefit in this psalm as well.

Psalm 52

Enter another one of David's angry psalms. This time, it's over a shepherd named Doeg who sold out his position to King Saul. Thus, he is an evildoer who loves evil and hates all things good. Indeed, Doeg made some bad choices in life, culminating after this betrayal in the execution of several priests (1 Samuel 22). What we don't get in this psalm, however, is David's remorse (found at the end of 1 Samuel 22). He regrets that he put all those priests in danger by hiding with them from the king. Indeed, this psalm only relates his anger at Doeg.

What a human tale! How often does our self-anger turn outward? It is a very human reaction to pain to deny our own responsibility and to place the blame solely on another. As the blame takes root in our hearts, it leaves our hearts unable to see our own part in our life situations. David's only recourse is to turn back to God. First, he rests on his own actions "I am like..." or "I trust..." but these self-descriptions will not suffice. Truly, the only way to acknowledge God is to acknowledge God's actions- "I will praise you for what you have done." It is my hope that we turn to God and root ourselves in God's faithfulness.

Psalm 51

Probably one of the most famous penitential psalms, here is the poem that gives us "Create in me a clean heart, O God" and other musical confessions of sin. It also contains the theme verse for a drama ministry I took part in during my college years. Needless to say, Psalm 51 has had an important place in my heart for some time.

Yet it strikes me as new today, it is difficult to read it today. I just watched for the first time a film called "Call + Response: A concert to end world slavery," and even as a person who has tried to be informed about the global slave trade, it once again unraveled my careful defense mechanisms and laid bare the harsh reality that I make decisions every day that promote the global slave trade. Even as I type this onto my laptop screen, I do so knowing that my laptop (as well as the cell phone I used this morning) could not have come to me without a mineral mined almost exclusively in the world by slaves. Many of those slaves are children. As I watched, I was caught up in the music and the images of this tragedy. And my scattered thoughts began to crystallize on one thought - repentance. I prayed right there, now I wish I were informed more by the prayer of Psalm 51. Especially verse 7.

My desire for cheaper products and better convenience helps create this mess. So, I too, am messy. I could point the finger at the powerful for letting this happen. I could point the finger at the slave traders who have to live with themselves. Yet, I must point the finger at myself. I am part of the mess. I am messy. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Come, Lord Jesus.