To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.
3 Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Reflection
- In what ways is God your “rock”?
- In the commentary on this Psalm Chad Bird said, “when life seems out of control or when life feels out of control . . . ” What are the significance of those words, “seem” and “feel.”? To what reality do those words point?
- For meditation or pondering long, think and write/consider your reaction on the thoughts expressed in this audio clip:
- “The Lord joins us in the bottom of the pit in that every experience we have (joyful and painful), God as a man experienced as well.”
- The things that afflict us, afflict him.
- Jesus in a pit.
from the Hidden Streams podcast