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30 September 2007
Psalm 70 v 1-5
God, come quickly and save me. LORD, hurry to help me.
Let those who are trying to kill me be ashamed and disgraced.
Let those who want to hurt me run away in disgrace.
Let those who make fun of me stop because of their shame.
But let all those who worship you rejoice and be glad.
Let those who love your salvation always say, "Praise the greatness of God."
I am poor and helpless; God, hurry to me. You help me and save me. LORD, do not wait.
A little while ago, I watched a programme on TV where a group of people put themselves through the training process that soldiers go through to join the elite SAS unit. The programme was called Are You Tough Enough? It was well named!
All the contestants were pushed to their limits - and beyond. Eventually, driven to moments of real despair and exhaustion, many of them realised they weren't tough enough on their own and that they needed the help of their team mates.
This psalm is a bit like that programme. The author is going through some pretty hard times: people want to make fun of him, hurt him and even kill him. Basically, he's having one of those moments when it seems that life can't get any worse, that there's nowhere else to go. I'm sure we've all found ourselves there. Having reached rock bottom the psalmist, like the contestants in the show, realises that he's not tough enough to cope on his own and that he needs someone else to help him. Unlike the contestants on the show, though, he has someone much better than team mates to help him out. He has God. And so do we. In the middle of all his misery, pleading to God to come and save him, he still has time to 'praise the greatness of God.'
When we're in trouble, it's easy to focus in on ourselves and our problems. Sometimes, it's much more helpful to cast our eyes upwards.
Dear God, when everything's going well I can feel on top of the world and forget that I need you. Sometimes, it's only when the going gets really hard that I remember I'm not tough enough on my own. Help me to know that all the time, and to always put my faith in you so that I don't need to go through the bad times to remember it. Lord God, hurry to me. You help and save me. Do not wait! Amen.
Written by David Redfield
Psalm 70 v 1-5
God, come quickly and save me. LORD, hurry to help me.
Let those who are trying to kill me be ashamed and disgraced.
Let those who want to hurt me run away in disgrace.
Let those who make fun of me stop because of their shame.
But let all those who worship you rejoice and be glad.
Let those who love your salvation always say, "Praise the greatness of God."
I am poor and helpless; God, hurry to me. You help me and save me. LORD, do not wait.
A little while ago, I watched a programme on TV where a group of people put themselves through the training process that soldiers go through to join the elite SAS unit. The programme was called Are You Tough Enough? It was well named!
All the contestants were pushed to their limits - and beyond. Eventually, driven to moments of real despair and exhaustion, many of them realised they weren't tough enough on their own and that they needed the help of their team mates.
This psalm is a bit like that programme. The author is going through some pretty hard times: people want to make fun of him, hurt him and even kill him. Basically, he's having one of those moments when it seems that life can't get any worse, that there's nowhere else to go. I'm sure we've all found ourselves there. Having reached rock bottom the psalmist, like the contestants in the show, realises that he's not tough enough to cope on his own and that he needs someone else to help him. Unlike the contestants on the show, though, he has someone much better than team mates to help him out. He has God. And so do we. In the middle of all his misery, pleading to God to come and save him, he still has time to 'praise the greatness of God.'
When we're in trouble, it's easy to focus in on ourselves and our problems. Sometimes, it's much more helpful to cast our eyes upwards.
Dear God, when everything's going well I can feel on top of the world and forget that I need you. Sometimes, it's only when the going gets really hard that I remember I'm not tough enough on my own. Help me to know that all the time, and to always put my faith in you so that I don't need to go through the bad times to remember it. Lord God, hurry to me. You help and save me. Do not wait! Amen.
Written by David Redfield
