Читать книгу The Psalms - Herbert O'Driscoll - Страница 10

Psalm 3

You, O Lord, are a shield about me;

you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

There is no gradual introduction, no soothing reassurance before we are exposed to the first piercing cry. “Lord, how many adversaries I have!” Suddenly we are in the company of someone who is coming apart in front of us. The terrifying realization has just hit home that there are enemies everywhere, far too many to be dealt with. We hear of “multitudes of people who set themselves against me all around.”

As we listen, we realize that this person is on the verge of paranoia. “How many there are who say of me, ‘there is no help for him in his God.’” There are voices whispering, sniggering, jeering, taunting, suggesting that all options have run out, that there are no longer any resources available.

Moments such as this reveal for all of us the presence or absence of inner resources. One of the greatest gifts of the Book of Psalms may be that it takes us to such moments of human experience again and again. The psalmist fully shares a sense of desperation, a feeling of not being able to cope. Nothing is held back. As readers, we are allowed into the inner sanctum of a life. We watch someone’s agony.

But we also watch as recovery begins, and it comes with the realization of the grace of God. “You, O Lord, are a shield about me … I wake … because the Lord sustains me. I do not fear.” This realization turns into an almost savage energy. “Strike all my enemies across the face … break the teeth of the wicked.” Hearing this may at first appall us. Nowadays we tend not to allow ourselves so free an expression of deep resentment.

Even though the psalms speak to us from a culture that routinely indulges in extreme language, nevertheless we are being pointed to a fundamental truth. To possess a stubborn conviction that God is faithful in every circumstance can make all the difference between personal disintegration and recovery.

The timeless message of this song comes to us strong and clear in its last verse. “Deliverance belongs to the Lord.”

Consider a serious frustration in your life. Ask God to show you a way through your trouble. Consider someone you know who is suffering a serious frustration in their life. Ask God to be with them and to show them a way through their suffering.