Prayer to the burden-bearing God
Betrayal, whether personal or on a broader social scale, is very hard to bear. Like David, we see conflict, gouging, fraud and violence in our cities. Whether we know it or not, we are all of us under attack.
A David psalm.
1 Listen to my prayer, O God.
Don’t pretend you don’t hear my cry!
2 Pay attention and answer me
because my trouble torments me.
I shudder at the enemy’s shouts
3 and the evildoers’ threats leave me distraught.
For they hurl curses down on me
and vent their fury on me.
4 My heart pounds in my chest
as death’s terrors overwhelm me.
5 Gripped by fear and trembling
I shake uncontrollably
6 and say, “If only I had wings like a dove
I’d fly away and find rest!
7 I’d flee far away
and find a safe place in the wilderness.
8 I’d hurry and find a shelter for myself there
from this raging storm of abuse.”
9 Muddy their thoughts, Lord
and muddle their words
for I see Violence and Quarreling in the city.
10 Tragically, they’re the ones
who patrol its walls day and night.
They leave Malice and Mischief living inside
11 Ruin a permanent resident
and Fraud and Gouging
ever-present in its marketplace!
12 It’s not an enemy taunting me—
that I could bear.
Nor is it a rival insolently tearing me down—
that I could hide from.
13 No, it’s you, my kindred spirit
my ally and close friend
14 whose companionship was so enjoyable to me
walking together with the crowd in God’s house!
15 Let death seize them suddenly
and the grave swallow them alive
for evil makes its home in their hearts.
16 But I call on God
and YHWH rescues me.
17 Morning, noon and night
I voice my complaint with loud moans
and he hears my cry.
18 He will redeem me safe and sound
from the battle around me
though so many people oppose me.
19 God, who sits enthroned forever
will hear me and humble them
since they’re obstinate and don’t fear him.
20 My companion attacked their friends
and violated their covenant.
21 Though their speech was smooth as butter
their heart was set on war.
Though their words were smoother than oil
in fact they were drawn swords.
22 Throw your burden on YHWH
and he’ll sustain you.
He’ll never let God-seekers be shaken.
23 But you, God
will throw the wicked down
into the deepest pit.
The treacherous and bloodthirsty
won’t live out half their days.
But as for me
I put my trust in you.
In hyperbolic descriptions, David takes us on the emotional rollercoaster of his current alienation and danger. He’s surrounded by enemies. But far more bitter, a close friend and confidant has betrayed him. This leaves him feeling so vulnerable he longs to escape his situation entirely. He also laments the havoc unfolding under his enemies, who have put the city’s safety into the hands of personified Violence and Quarreling and, so, betrayed their people as a whole.
With so much at stake, David’s requests come out as imperatives, telling God to both rescue him from his enemies and give them the reckoning they so richly deserve. Besides endangering his life, they wreak havoc on many other vulnerable people. So without mincing words, he asks God to send his enemies to their death. His paradigm here seems to be that of Israel’s exodus, by which the Israelites were set free and their enemies simultaneously overthrown. And David intersperses his laments and petitions with assurances of God’s power and commitment to deal with evil decisively and support his people—doubtless as much for his own encouragement as for ours.
We aren’t given the specifics of David’s situation. But this psalm fit the situations of both Jeremiah on his way to the pit and Jesus in Gethsemane very well. As the accuser of God’s children, Satan and the dark powers under him constantly try to weaken and defeat us in our efforts to do good. This tells us the psalm is for all of us in various ways.
God, I lament so many politicians’ betrayal of those in their care. Please end their misrule and replace them with people who share your values. I believe you care and will act. Help me to surrender my burden to you and trust you to sustain me. Amen.
Meditate on this truth during your free moments today:
Throw your burden on YHWH
and he’ll sustain you.
He’ll never let God-seekers be shaken.
