Psalm 70, 71
Psalm 70 is an urgent prayer for help that begins and ends with the plea, "O Lord, make haste to help me! O Lord, do not delay!"; the refrain is repeated in Psalm 71 - "O my God make haste to help me!"
I am listening to these Psalms in the context of the daily news: the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz; the war to regain territory from ISIL in Syria and Iraq; attacks on civilians by Boko Haram in Nigeria; missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada; neighbours who struggle to feed their families. You can add your own examples of people from around the world, and in your family who have looked, and are looking, for safety, for rescue, and for deliverance.
But what if, in spite of our prayers, rescue does not come for our brothers and sisters - or for those of us - who are looking for safety and rescue and deliverance? Or what if we don't recognize God's deliverance - for our neighbours or ourselves - because of our preconceived ideas of what it will or "should" look like?
I think the Psalmist, who alludes to having lived a long time, knows intimately the pain of betrayal and suffering and terror and doubt; if imminent rescue or deliverance was a given then why the repeated pleas for help. I imagine the Psalmist a bit like Anne Lamott who says in her book, Small Victories: Spotting improbable moments of grace, " Horribly, when all you want is relief from the pain, you instead need to tune in to it, right into the lonely clench". I imagine the Psalmist, and Anne Lamott, and all of us laying open the hurt, betrayal, pain and suffering they, and we, are enduring. And then, together with the Psalmist, praying, recognizing God as our rock of refuge in the midst of the messes of our lives, and praising God whom we believe will revive us again. Improbable moments of grace possibly leading to hope, deliverance, forgiveness and faith.
- Marilyn Malton
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