Читать книгу The Psalms - Herbert O'Driscoll - Страница 34

Psalm 27

What if I had not believed

that I should see the goodness of the Lord …

wait patiently for the Lord.

In her recent book A History of God, Karen Armstrong ends a chapter with the following story.

One day in Auschwitz, a group of Jews put God on trial. They charged [God] with cruelty and betrayal. Like Job, they found no consolation in the usual answers to the problem of evil and suffering in the midst of this current obscenity. They could find no excuse for God, no extenuating circumstances, so they find [God] guilty and, presumably, worthy of death. The Rabbi pronounced the verdict. Then he looked up and said that the trial was over: it was time for the evening prayer.

“Though war should rise up against me, yet will I put my trust in him.” So says the psalmist, and he continues to say this in different ways throughout the whole song. He has enemies, and they have attacked. Yet “they stumbled and fell.” Even if “an army should encamp against me … though war should rise … I will put my trust in him.”

This psalm conveys exactly the same impression we gained from the story of the Jews in Auschwitz. We are witnessing something awe-inspiring—an utter and unwavering trust in God.

We are not hearing mere fervent pieties. It is clear that this trust has been won the hard way. “Evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh.” He is extremely well aware of “the day of trouble.” Obviously there are “adversaries” and “enemies.” There are also those who wound with their tongues. “False witnesses have risen up against me … also those who speak malice.” Yet through all this the trust of the psalmist does not waver.

Is such trust possible? Or is this psalm a lyrical expression of an ideal that remains impossible for all but the greatest souls? There are moments when the vulnerability of the singer sounds. “Hide not your face from me … cast me not away.” We can identify with such feelings and, therefore, with the singer.

The psalmist is admitting that his song is not a boast about possessing impregnable trust. Instead, he prays to be given a measure of trust. Let this prayer also be ours.

Consider adopting a consistent pattern of personal conversation with God. Chat with God many times every day—giving thanks, asking for help, sharing your thoughts. Ask God to strengthen your resolve to build a trusting relationship with God.