In the eye of the storm
We live in a world where danger lurks around every corner. And left unchecked, fear can utterly cripple us. But thankfully, we find relief from all our fears in God’s presence.
A David psalm.
1 YHWH is my light and my salvation.
Who should I fear?
YHWH is my rock-solid fortress.
Who should I dread?
2 When vicious thugs close in on me
teeth bared for the kill
it’s my enemies, my foes
who trip and fall flat!
3 Even if a whole army deploys against me
my heart won’t give way to fear.
Though war breaks out against me
my course remains steady.
4 I ask only one thing of YHWH—
I seek it above all else.
To live in YHWH’s house
every day of my life
to behold his matchless beauty
and discover all that he desires for me.
5 Because when I’m in trouble
he shelters me under his roof
hides me inside his tent
lifts me up onto a mountain crag.
6 Now with head held high
above all my enemies surrounding me
I offer sacrifices to YHWH
and fill his tent with joyful shouts
music and songs of praise.
7 So, hear my voice, YHWH
as I cry out to you.
Be gracious and answer me.
8 My heart says of you
“Come, seek my face.”
I do seek your face, YHWH.
9 Don’t hide your face from me
or angrily push your servant aside
you who have been my help.
Don’t leave me or forsake me
my God who rescues me!
10 Even if my dad and mom abandon me
YHWH will take me in his arms.
11 Teach me how to live life to the full, YHWH
and lead me on a level path
for many are waiting for me to slip and fall.
12 Don’t turn me over to my enemies
for them to do whatever they want with me—
those who witness falsely against me
maliciously seeking my blood.
13 I firmly believe I will yet see
YHWH’s goodness poured out on me
right here in this life.
14 Wait for YHWH to come through.
Be strong and take heart.
I say it again:
Wait for YHWH to come through.
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 true center of all that is. Help me to seek you with all my heart, to 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:
I ask only one thing of YHWH—
I seek it above all else.
To live in YHWH’s house
every day of my life
to behold his matchless beauty
and discover all that he desires for me.
