In the eye of the storm
We live in a world where danger can lurk around every corner. Left unchecked, fear can utterly cripple us. But thankfully, we find relief from all fear in God’s presence.
A David psalm.
1 YHWH is my light and my deliverance—
who should I fear?
YHWH is my life’s stronghold—
who should I dread?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh
my enemies, my foes
they stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army sets up camp against me
my heart will not fear.
Though war breaks out against me
in this I’ll keep trusting.
4 One thing I ask of YHWH—
it’s what I seek:
to live in YHWH’s house
every day of my life
to behold his beauty
and inquire in his temple.
5 Because he hides me under his roof
on the day of disaster
conceals under cover of his tent
lifts me high onto a rock.
6 Now my head will be lifted high
above my enemies surrounding me
and I’ll offer sacrifices in his tent
with joyful shouts:
I’ll sing and make music to YHWH.
7 So, hear my voice, YHWH
when I cry to you.
Be gracious to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you
“Seek my face.”
Your face, YHWH, I do seek.
9 Don’t hide your face from me
or push your servant aside in anger.
You’ve been my help.
Don’t leave me or forsake me
O God of my deliverance!
10 Even if my mom and dad abandon me
YHWH will shelter me.
11 Teach me, YHWH, your way
and lead me on a level path
because of my foes.
12 Don’t give me up to my enemies’s desires
because false witnesses breathe out violence.
13 I still believe I will see
the goodness of YHWH here in this life.
14 Hope in YHWH!
Be strong and take heart
and put your hope in YHWH.
David’s radiant confidence in verses 1-6 makes it hard to imagine he’s in trouble now. But his urgent pleas in verses 7-11 tell us the dangers he previously mentioned—e.g., an army on his doorstep—weren’t all hyperbole, but rather allude to his vulnerability in the moment. It’s not that David has a huge capacity to laugh danger off. It’s that he’s made an existential choice to trust YHWH, who has always proven faithful. That choice is what maintains the tension between the psalm’s two halves, holding them together.That and the fact that trust is always close to fear in the midst of the storm.
Which of David’s images should we take literally? Perhaps the line between literal and figurative doesn’t matter so much here. David has faced literal armies bearing down on him (e.g., 1 Sam. 24) and he’s longed to be a member of God’s household (e.g., Psa. 15). It’s immaterial whether he was literally lifted out of danger, onto a crag. Like Van Gogh’s swirling brush strokes in “The Starry Night,” his descriptions go beyond the purely literal to make what he depicts live and pulse for us. And their concreteness makes them suggestive of life’s many diverse situations.
At the psalm’s core is David’s deep longing to know God and engage with him intimately each day, a longing intensified by David’s desperation. He seeks this relationship because God alone is utterly reliable. Everyone else fails us at some point, even our parents, who brought us into the world. God’s reliability makes David confident God will come through for him. So, using the words of Moses and Joshua, he charges himself to be strong and courageous in obeying God and waiting for him to do what he alone can do.
Prayer:
Lord, you’re my shelter in the storm, the center of all that is. Help me seek you with all my heart, prize you above all else, and cherish your every word to me. Light my way and empower me with your strength. Make me bold always to trust, obey, and wait for you. Amen.
During your free moments today, pray these words:
One thing I ask of YHWH—
it’s what I seek:
to live in YHWH’s house
every day of my life
to behold his beauty
and inquire in his temple.
