More Adventures in the Psalms

I read Psalm 54 today.  There are many psalms that I look forward to reading, that are familiar to me by number.  This Psalm was not one of them, so I was unaware of what to anticipate.  As I read through it, nothing really seemed to accentuate itself to me, so I decided to write it down.  The entire psalm.  Some where between “O God…” and “…in triumph on my enemies”, the psalm captured my attention and reminded me what prayer was all about.

Here it is:

O God, save me by your name,
        and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
        give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers have risen against me;
        ruthless men seek my life;
        they do not set God before themselves.
Behold, God is my helper;
        the Lord is the upholder of my life.
He will return the evil to my enemies;
        in your faithfulness put an end to them.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
        I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
        and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. (Psalm 54 ESV)

By the time I was done writing it down, I was captivated by the progression from despair and uncertainty to trust and thanksgiving.  Almost all of my daily prayer times are shaped like this.  We begin in bewilderment – we have no idea what the day holds.  We may even have carried over some of yesterday’s discomfort into the morning.  But as we purpose in our minds and hearts to turn our thoughts to God a remarkable transformation takes place. 

This psalm is a microcosm of the daily struggle of godly men and women to find their rest in the God who is.  We tend to myopically perceive our circumstances as too overwhelming, the obstacles before us as insurmountable, the sins that so easily entangle us as too powerful and insistent, and we are prone to despondency and despair.  But if we are believers in God who have trusted in Christ and His atoning sacrifice, He has provided a helper who is in us and is always with us.  The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out to God, in the same way this psalmist did so many years ago, and not turn in on ourselves.  And here is where the transformation of our perception begins.  We tell God about our circumstances and acknowledge to Him that we have no power in ourselves to change them - or ourselves in the midst of them.  The Spirit uses this  to awaken in us the remembrance of WHO GOD IS and what He in His grace has promised.  HE is our helper.  We are not left to fend for ourselves in the barren wasteland of this corrupted world.  He will deal with all that stands against us.  Our part is to be faithful to give Him the worship He alone deserves, to give our selves to Him wholeheartedly, to thank Him for His deliverance – which is ever present whether we perceive it or not – and to declare this deliverance wherever we go and to whomever we encounter.

So a day that began with “O God, save me!” ends with “He has delivered me from EVERY trouble…”  A day that began in fear and uncertainty ends in peace and contentment, and with confidence in God’s ability to cover every situation with grace. 

Many are the Afflictions…

The psalms are full of opportunities to experience the complexities of being in relationship with the “infinite personal” God.  I have read through the book of Psalms many, many times and I still find myself marveling at the vastness of experience that a very small number of human persons have written about within them.  If one would slow down and consider carefully each expression of relationship one finds, what richness would be found there!

Here is one of my experiences with the Psalms.  I was reading Psalm 34 a short time ago and I came across this verse:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34;19

I am in the habit of sharing a scripture as my status on Facebook, and this day I set this particular verse as my status.  After having explored it a bit in my journal, I was curious about what comments I might receive, so I encouraged those who might come across this verse to comment.  The first comment I received was “I’m not in favour of having many afflictions.”  I could not have asked for a better opener, because that is the sentiment that seems most logical, most human.  But in fact, it misses the point of this verse – in fact, of the whole book of Psalms.  The key is in the second part of the verse, but we almost always miss it because we are too busy trying to avoid, evade or deny afflictions.  Experiencing the deliverance of God out can make even the most severe affliction bearable, even an occasion for joy and celebration.  How can we experience deliverance if we have never faced affliction?

If the result of affliction is a deeper understanding of God’s kind disposition toward unworthy sinners, a more profound experience of His sustaining grace, a more intimate encounter with the Living God, then we who love God and are pursuing Him should welcome affliction.  I don’t mean we should actively seek out affliction, try to make it happen in our lives, cause our own difficulties and heartache, intentionally put ourselves in the way of affliction.  But I do mean that we should set our minds to see afflictions that we encounter or experience as an expression of God’s abundant and omnipotent care for us.  Our “infinite personal” God is also infinitely loving, and He knows better how to care for us than we ourselves know.  When these occasions of affliction come, we can look for His deliverance and encounter His love – and love is always a good thing!