A cry in the dark
The stark realities of sickness, grief and death often put peace and security out of reach. But what if God himself is behind our problems? If he is, then he’s also the solution. Our only hope.
A David psalm.
1 Don’t rebuke me in your anger, YHWH
or punish me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, YHWH
because I’m languishing.
Heal me, YHWH
because even my bones shudder.
3 My soul is in deep anguish
while you, YHWH—how long?
4 Come back, YHWH, and spare my life!
Rescue me for the sake of your unfailing love.
5 No one thinks of you when they’re dead.
Who gives thanks to you in Sheol?
6 I’ve exhausted myself groaning.
Every night I flood my bed with woe
my pillow awash with me
on the salt sea of my tears.
7 Grief darkens my vision—
my eyesight fails because of all my foes.
8 Back off, all you evildoers!
Because YHWH has heard my crying.
9 YHWH has heard my plea for mercy.
YHWH will answer my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed
and in such anguish
they’ll suddenly retreat in disgrace!
David is languishing. Interestingly, the psalm’s ending focuses on his enemies’ defeat, leaving his healing only implicit. This may suggest that his illness is stress-related, caused by his enemies’ life-threatening attacks. Alternatively, his enemies may be attacking him because his illness has made him vulnerable. (Remember, illness was often fatal before the advent of modern medicine.) Either way, his enemies’ threats—devastating, scandalous, ongoing—leave him furious, anguished, shaken to the core, exhausted, asking God, “How long will you let this go on?”
But to David it’s not just mortal enemies against him. He clearly views his many challenges as God’s rebuke. In a sense, this makes God David’s real problem. So, he begs God—who clearly has his full attention—to stop angrily rebuking him and rescue, heal, and restore him before it’s too late.
God’s anger isn’t random or inscrutable. It always directly relates to wrongs that inflict harm, but David doesn’t mention his sins or express contrition as we might expect. He simply begs God to let up for the sake of his unyielding love. Then in humble dependence on God, he voices his conviction that YHWH has heard his cry for mercy and will assuredly rescue him. That’s why, though he’s still at risk, David orders his enemies to back off, confident that God will very soon turn the tables on them.
Prayer:
In a world riddled with sickness, violence and death, I cry, “How long, O God?” Yet I’m comforted to know that none of these things can separate me from your unfailing love—my certain hope in the dark of night. Deliver me from evil so I can glorify you with my every breath. Amen.
In your free moments today, pray these words:
Let up, YHWH
for the sake of your unfailing love!
Look down and rescue me
before it’s too late!
