Daily Devotional • September 11
Psalm 59
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers
and save me from those who are after my blood.
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
5 You, Lord God Almighty,
you who are the God of Israel,
rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to wicked traitors.
6 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
7 See what they spew from their mouths—
the words from their lips are sharp as swords,
and they think, “Who can hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you scoff at all those nations.
9 You are my strength, I watch for you;
you, God, are my fortress,
10 my God on whom I can rely.
God will go before me
and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
11 But do not kill them, Lord our shield,
or my people will forget.
In your might uproot them
and bring them down.
12 For the sins of their mouths,
for the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
For the curses and lies they utter,
13 consume them in your wrath,
consume them till they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
14 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
15 They wander about for food
and howl if not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely.
Meditation
Psalms 59 and 60 form a sort of one-two punch. Psalm 59 says, in effect, “The bad guys are after me, Lord, and they’re not just ordinary bad guys, they are really, really bad. Please rescue me, and kick their rear ends while you’re at it. “But you laugh at them, Lord, you scoff at all those nations … In your might uproot them and bring them down.”
As if to acknowledge a lack of divine response from that plea, Psalm 60 sharpens the point—again, I paraphrase: “Lord, we’re in a bad way. Maybe we deserve it—who knows? But, please, enough is enough. Can we move on?” This time, the trying circumstances are understood to originate from God and not from any external enemies. And the initiative to relieve the crushing adversity can then only come from God.
There is a presumption here that God’s love underlies God’s wrath, that the lode of divine grace runs deeper than the lode of divine anger. This is no glib assurance that relief is just around the corner. The burden of stress and sorrow that is laid on us can easily feel overwhelming, and sometimes our calling is simply to be overwhelmed, to allow ourselves to drown in our adversity. In those moments, we might do well, counterintuitively, to look for God precisely in and by means of the act of surrender. This is the hope the Psalmist expresses: “You have set up a banner for those who fear you.”
The Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins is retired Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in the Episcopal Church.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
The Diocese of Oleh – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
The Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins is retired Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in the Episcopal Church.
