A Prayer of the Overwhelmed
Psalm 69:1-3, 6-18
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God….
6 Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children.
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help 14 rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up,
or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.
This is about half of Psalm 69.
Vs. 1-3 describe an emotional place where many have found themselves. Feeling like we are about to drown in the pressure and the stress, the grief and the anxiety. We know well crying until our throats hurt and there are no more tears. Is there a hint here that David, the writer, is about to stop trusting God, stop trying to follow God because the way is so hard?
That may be the case, as in vs. 6 David prays that his doubt, despair, anxiety would not cause other followers of God to lose hope. That David’s doubts would not cause others to lose faith. When David is confronted by the potential impact of his attitudes and actions on the rest of community who follows God the tone of the psalm changes. Things are still bleak – David feels he is being ridiculed and laughed at for following God (vs.10-12). But David is confident that God will answer at some time – a time acceptable to God (vs. 13 and 16). God’s steadfast love is to be trusted – God is still known for his abundant mercy.
David remains faithful to God because to do otherwise is to abandon God’s people. The community of faith is important in his determination to continue as a follower of God. While things are still frightening, he is able to still cry out to God believing God will act.
The community of believers called the church is important to our remaining faithful to God, they help us stay faithful, reminding us that God will be faithful to us in God’s timing. While being part of the church is very frustrating at times, trying to follow Jesus without the community of faith around us is impossible.
PRAYER:
Lord God, we are stressed and full of anxiety. We feel that people are laughing at us for following you. When our lives are overwhelming like this, we feel like abandoning our following of you. Ground us in a community of faith, where we can know that there are others who are following you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.