1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.
7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.
8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord:
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;
even the light has gone from my eyes.
11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;
my neighbours stay far away.
12 Those who want to kill me set their traps,
those who would harm me talk of my ruin;
all day long they scheme and lie.
13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;
14 I have become like one who does not hear,
whose mouth can offer no reply.
15 Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, ‘Do not let them gloat
or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.’
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.
18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
19 Many have become my enemies without cause;
those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20 Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me,
though I seek only to do what is good.
21 Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Saviour.
This is a more troubling psalm. For it seems to equate sickness and suffering with divine judgment and punishment for sins committed by the ill psalmist (vs1-2).
The totality of the suffering and the sovereignty of God come into contact through aching bones, festering sores, searing pain, failing sight and a sense of being crushed mentally and spiritually. The psalmist seems to have every possible ailment. Friends, family and foes are keeping well away. Social distancing in their hands seems to be both self-protection and a weapon of isolation.
And then, in the middle of this unutterably horrible suffering, comes, in verse 15, the familiar voice of trust: ‘Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.’ There is penitence in the cry of the psalmist. The suffering does draw his thoughts to his own sinfulness; like an amplifier, his body speaks to his soul's discomfort too. This is something that happens to all of us in the grip of serious illness. Our body's ill health speaks to our soul and strips bear who we are. But for the psalmist, this humbling of the soul through the humbling of the body does not strip him or her of hope. For at the end of the psalm comes these verses: ‘Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Saviour.’
The belief that sickness and suffering can be explained as God’s punishment is very problematic, yet occasionally present, in the bible. However, there are also many examples of the counter-position. Perhaps this is most supremely told as a story in the book of Job. Job suffers appallingly. He loses health, wealth, family and status in a series of catastrophic disasters. Yet despite his horrible and nightmarish afflictions, Job contends with his ‘friends’ and with God against the idea that his particular suffering and misfortune was due to sins or a result of divine punishment. And in the end he is vindicated. His theology is not based on punishment and retribution but upon awe and wonder and trust in God as supreme creator and just governor.
On the other hand, we also know that we do suffer because of decisions we, or others, make. We know that sinful societal structures cause injustice that lead to great harms and individual suffering. We know there is a link between sin and suffering and the choices that powerful and malign forces can make which damage the neediest, poorest and least powerful of all.
But the Jesus-inspired response is not to blame people for their suffering or to punish them for their suffering but to reach out in their suffering. This is the message of the cross of Jesus after all. He takes our suffering and bears it. This is the God whom the psalmist eventually turns to in those final verses – not a God of punishment but a God of hope.
The last word of the psalm is of a future which involves rescue and deliverance not one that looks back over the suffering. Disaster does not have the final word. Relationship does: ‘Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Saviour.’
[1] New International Version - UK (NIVUK) Holy
Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011
by Biblica, Inc.®
When I read this psalm the words of the General Confession from the Book of Common Prayer came to mind:
ReplyDelete“Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.”
Both the psalm and the confession convey an attitude of our utter need of God for salvation and wholeness and trust in his mercy.
Having then turned to my commentary written back in 2006 (John Eaton), I read this opening comment: “How brave are those who nurse sufferers from contagious diseases”. He compares those who bravely and selflessly nurse those who are sick, at risk to themselves, with those in this psalm who stand apart or far off in case they, too, are contaminated with evil or misfortune. Yesterday the nation stood still at 11am for one minute for key workers who have died of Covid-19. I was in the supermarket at the time. An announcement was made and all stood still and silent. Once again tears came to my eyes. Those who work on the frontline continue to inspire us with their selfless living and working.
In all the suffering around us and the constant high numbers of deaths, we can feel “utterly bowed down and brought very low” (v6) as a society. This psalm reflects how we can feel as a society as well as individuals. The burden is heavy to bear (v4) and the theology of sin and suffering remains problematic. Yet in the psalms there is always hope conveyed. We have hope in God who can be trusted and who hears our cries for help, who is not far from us. And so I also found hope yesterday in my road’s newly formed WhatsApp group who sent a message for any Foodbank donations which one person would then deliver. Neighbours all coming together to help the most vulnerable, seeking to do what is good (v20). Newly formed relationships bring some hope in the darkness.