Читать книгу The Psalms - Herbert O'Driscoll - Страница 32

Psalm 25

Protect my life and deliver me;

let me not be put to shame, for I have trusted in you.

anyone who has the least experience of counselling others knows that it usually takes some time for a person to confide the real agenda they bring to an encounter. There are exceptions, of course. There are times when someone will sit down and pour out what they must share. But most of us will talk first about less intense things, and move only gradually to the real agenda.

The psalmist meets us in this way. At first his topics are safe and unthreatening. “My God, I put my trust in you … teach me your paths.” But there are hints that other matters are not so easy to mention. “Let me not be humiliated … let the treacherous be disappointed.” Now we hear a little more about his relationship with God, his certainty of God’s “compassion and love.”

Once again he switches theme; this time he refers to “the sins of my youth.” But quickly he veers away from this troubling subject and returns to praising God. “Gracious and upright is the Lord … All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness.” Suddenly there is an intense appeal. “O Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great.” This is followed, as we have come to expect, by more a fervent reflection on God as friend and guide.

Now comes the full flood of the psalmist’s suffering. He is “alone and in misery. The sorrows of [his] heart have increased.” Again we hear the word “misery.” He has enemies. “They bear a violent hatred against me.” This time his thoughts about God are very far from calm reflection, and there is a naked appeal for help. “Protect my life … let me not be put to shame … my hope has been in you.”

The gift of the psalms to us is their honesty about human nature. This one example shows clearly why the whole Book of Psalms has become precious in our heritage. In this psalm the pretending, the struggle to face certain realities, the defences erected before suddenly tumbling down—all are well known to us. We have all known such struggle before finally confessing the truth to ourselves, often finding this truth extremely difficult to face.

Our prayer for such times is that we have One to turn to, of whom we can say, “My hope has been in you … deliver me … for I have trusted in you.”

We can all remember when, because of some perceived fault, we have felt despondent and unworthy. The Book of Genesis says we are made in the image of God. St. Paul speaks of the Christ within. Ask God to help you realize the divine goodness in you.