June 24, 2021 — Psalm 59

“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
 protect me from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.

 Even now they lie in wait for my life;

the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah

Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words on their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
O my strength, I will watch for you;
for you, O God, are my fortress.

 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.” Psalm 59:1-10

“God can never be perfectly present to us here below on account of our flesh. But he can be almost perfectly absent from us in extreme affliction. This is the only possibility of perfection for us on earth. That is why the Cross is our only hope.” (Simone Weil, “Waiting for God”)              

Verses 4b and 5 of Psalm 59 read, “Rouse yourself, come to my help and see! You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.  Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.”  We have here a possible disturbing image of a G-d who is asleep – who is distracted – who is not paying attention. Are their times in your life where you have felt that way about G-d, that G-d needed to “remember” that you were here? Have there been times in the life of this country that you have felt that G-d was asleep, or needed arousing to remember us? Do you think that G-d forgets about us, or removes (himself) for periods of time?

I believe that G-d is always aware of our circumstances, always trying to make us aware of G-d’s presence in our lives – or at least G-d is trying to do just this. We simply are not paying attention, and therefore feel we need to plead with G-d, hoping that G-d is not asleep, but aware and walking with us.

Perhaps that is the point. G-d is always present – but we are so busy with the circumstances of life that we forget that G-d is always there. So, if you think G-d has forgotten about you, please remember, Jesus promises to be with us to the end of the ages.

Pastor Dave