“A double-edged sword”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Psalm 70 (Forward, p. 58) CEV p. 596
Commentators and scholars of the psalms have often remarked that there is a psalm for almost every situation or occasion, and for almost every emotion that we humans are subject to. That reason, they suggest, is why countless people over the centuries have turned to the psalms to find the words to express what they are going through at the time.
Seen in this light, today’s psalm offers what might be called ‘a double-edged sword’. It speaks both of what the psalmist desires for himself and of what he desires for his enemies. In terms of his enemies, he’s pretty specific. He wants them:
-disappointed, defeated, and confused
-turned away/ turned back and disgraced/ dishonoured
-embarrassed and shamed
All of this sounds pretty good in terms of the nasties of our world—and the nasties in our lives.
For himself, the psalmist simply wants God to respond quickly and save and help him. God, he says, is his ‘help and his deliverer.’ Interestingly, he suggests that this deliverance will have a side effect, namely, to inspire others to have faith and confidence in God and to elicit their praises of God. So, perhaps this is a hitherto unappreciated aspect of our prayers, that they not only bring ‘results’ to ourselves, but also inspire others to pray as well. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “O Lord, make haste to help me” (verse 1b).
“Fourth-century theologian John Cassian opened his prayers by saying, ‘O Lord, make haste to help me.’ The Episcopal Church carries this portion of Psalm 70 into evening prayer. Opening our prayers with this realization that we need God to act right now positions our souls to communicate more honestly with God.
“In a week in which many of Jesus’s closest disciples abandon him, we ask ourselves why we, too, aren’t always fully present with God in every aspect of our lives. Perhaps this unwillingness to be open to God is more pervasive than we want to admit. How do we know what to pray for, especially when we question whether a specific subject is appropriate or not appropriate to include in our prayers/
“A spiritual director once said, ‘Don’t edit your prayers. Whatever you want to pray for, pray for it. Even if you are praying a prayer that you think is wrong in some way, God will redeem your prayer. Only in this way can you be brutally honest with God, and in your honesty, God can offer you redemption.”
Moving Forward: “Begin your prayers this week with these words, ‘O Lord, make haste to help me.’”