Psalm 91:1-4
You who live in the shelter of the Most HIgh,
who abide in the shadow of the almighty,
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
Late last Wednesday evening in a darkened hospital room in Olympia, my step-father, Art, lay in bed heavily sedated, breathing shallow and irregular, while his assistant pastor, Steve, bent low close to his ear and read him Psalm 91, that great Psalm of deliverance. I was a little taken aback. My step-father was facing imminent death after a long battle with kidney failure and other ailments. Deliverance wasn't in the cards for him. The family had decided to keep him comfortable until the inevitable. I was thinking the 23rd Psalm would be more appropriate, offering reassurance that the Good Shepherd would lead Art home. Art died later in the week, comfortably, having fully received the love and care of his family, his pastor and the Good Shepherd.
Since then, I've given more thought than usual to Psalm 91. I like some things about it. I don't like others. The promise of deliverance of course is beautiful. But the promise seems so uncompromising. What happens when God doesn't deliver, when a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, and you fall too? What happens when you can't escape evil? What does this say about God? Is it a matter of believing hard enough or saying the right words?
It is also so conditional. God protects those who love God, but are they the only ones God protects? Do others stand a chance?
Is this an appropriate Psalm when all hope is lost?
Read it for yourselves. What do you take away from it?
The author of Psalm 91 seemed to be giving comfort and encouragement to people in crisis. Giving his community the assurance that God will not abandon them to their darkness. They have a “safe haven” in God. They will always have God's love and presence in this time of crisis. I understand that in the days of the psalmist, life was much harder and knowing that God would protect them from all evil in the world is understandable. As for today, I don't think it is up to God to rescue us from whatever life throws our way. I don't know if God does miracles or causes suffering in the world, but knowing that God is present to every person on this Earth is comforting to me. No matter if the person believes in God in the myriad of ways that humans worship or does not believe in God at all, God is always present. All we need to do is to reach out.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I'm sorry to hear of you're step dad's dieing. I suppose he is out of pain now, so there is comfort in that. My prayers for you, your family and mom.
ReplyDeleteI don't really like this Psalm. It borders pretty closely on a "you do something and God will help you out" scenario. I'm not so sure about God protecting me from bad things. I have not experienced that. Perhaps others have. I could almost understand offering this as a comfort to a christian that is dieing as they probably can clearly be encouraged that they are in God's hands and he is with them. Not sure about a christian that is still in the world dealing with tragedy and missteps no matter how hard they try.
Verses 14-16 seem to take a twist, almost as if they are being said by God. "Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him." Not a pledge from the weaker person, but seems to be a responce from God. Interesting.
I don't think I could pass judgement over the Israelites for bargaining with God. I don't know what it was like under enslavement, oppression, and/or persecution, but I suspect that they were reaching out for hope. It is better than depression and despair. I know you are not suppose to bargain with God. I can somewhat empathize. When I was in crisis, you don't think logically. You grab at whatever hope you can get your hands on. So I know that if one is suffering it is hard not to bargain with God, or blame God for what is happening to you or your loved ones who are suffering, but I think it is a way of reaching out to God in our time of suffering.
ReplyDeleteIn this Psalm, I first noticed verses 11-12 that Satan used to tempt Jesus in the wilderness at the start of his ministry. It reminds me that when the Holy Spirit is not helping my reading, I might stray into paths where God seems far away.
ReplyDeleteThat thought leads me to the reminder that our spiritual community can help us discern when God is in the meanings we derive from our reading of this Psalm or other scripture. The way I would interpret verses 14-16 is like the cure versus healing situation of the people who have chronic health conditions. While they would want a cure and be rid of the condition, some people learn to accept and live with the condition. I would define this second situation as healing. We may not receive delivery from trouble the way we envisioned, but maybe, with our church community's help, we can see that we have a workable alternative.