Читать книгу The Psalms - Herbert O'Driscoll - Страница 35

Psalm 28

O Lord, I call to you;

my rock, do not be deaf to my cry …

Save your people and bless your inheritance.

Near the end of his life, in one of his letters to Maria von We-demeyer, his fiancee, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that it seemed impossible to find any interior solid ground to stand on in the heaving world of Europe in 1944.

Those of us who live in the world of this later decade can echo that feeling. In the flux of things we seek whatever will stay fixed, even for a short while. In the river of events we seek a rock. “O Lord, I call to you, my rock; do not be deaf to my cry.” So pleads the voice of the psalmist.

When you stand in front of one of the gigantic stones that form the base of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, it becomes clear why you might begin to think of God as a rock. The image is used frequently in the psalms and all through the Bible. In the wisdom of scripture the rock is never presented as just a mass of stone.

Since the rock is one of countless images for God, there is no danger of God being limited to such an image. Also, this rock pours out a flood of water. In other words, the God who is compared to rock is not only a source of strength, but of refreshment and energy. Because of this rock, “my heart dances for joy.”

As the psalmist faces the rock in prayer, he begins to think how unlike God he is. He bluntly states his total dependence on God. “If you do not hear me, I become like those who go down to the Pit.” The psalmist’s humanity is so weak that it can easily be seduced—very much different from rock. “Do not snatch me away with the wicked.” Perhaps the psalmist suspects how likely he might be to suffer the same fate!

Now, as is so often heard in the psalms, the poet moves away from his individual concerns. He has said, “Blessed is the Lord! for he has heard the voice of my prayer.” The odds are that most modern prayers or devotional poems would end here. What could be more important than my concerns and my relationship with God?

But the psalm insistently reminds us that we are more than mere individuals. We are members of a body, in our case, the Body of Christ, the People of God. “The Lord is the strength of his people … Save your people and bless your inheritance; shepherd them … carry them.”

When we feel vulnerable and defenceless against the forces that would injure us and our world, we need to think and pray more frequently in these terms.

Often we choose to face difficult times alone. We may hesitate to bother others or divulge our problems. Consider how much you depend on others for the necessities and luxuries of life. Pray that you may open yourself to help from God through others.