Psalms for a Turbulent Time - Psalm 59: But I will sing of your might

Private Eye No.1522 22nd May - 4th June pg30

Psalm 59[1]

¹   Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;     
     protect me from those who rise up against me.
²   Deliver me from those who work evil; from the bloodthirsty save me.
³   Even now they lie in wait for my life; the mighty stir up strife against me.
      For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴    for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
      Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
⁵    You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
      Awake to punish all the nations;      
      spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.                                     Selah
⁶    Each evening they come back,       
       howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

⁷    There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
       with sharp words on their lips— for 'Who', they think, 'will hear us?'
⁸    But you laugh at them, O Lord; you hold all the nations in derision.

⁹     O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰   My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
       my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
¹¹  Do not kill them, or my people may forget;

       make them totter by your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
¹²   For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
       let them be trapped in their pride.

       For the cursing and lies that they utter,

¹³  consume them in wrath; consume them until they are no more.
       Then it will be known to the ends of the earth 
       that God rules over Jacob.                                                                                           Selah
¹⁴  Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

¹⁵  They roam about for food, and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶  But I will sing of your might;

       I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
       For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge on the day of my distress.

¹⁷  O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress,
       the God who shows me steadfast love.

Laughter and song. These are the responses promoted by the psalm-singer when besieged night after night by apparently powerful and destructive forces. Twice, in verses 6 and 14, the writer complains about being surrounded by a pack of howling dogs who return again and again in the dark. So the psalmist asks God to ‘wake up’ (vs4) because of this victimisation and take action on behalf of they who are innocent. Laughter is God’s weapon, says the psalm in verse 8. And a morning song in praise of God’s fortress-like refuge and might is the surrounded person’s inspired daily response (vs16).

This sense of being surrounded by harmful night forces and finding release in laughter and song, particularly in the morning, is a powerful motif for us in these pandemic days. Once again, the straight-forward theology of the psalm propels us towards a faithful trust in God's justice. Even when it seems we are surrounded by malign forces, God will not stand by inactive. God's reign is supreme, even in the face of realities which seem to say otherwise. The greatest challenge to the person of faith is keeping a sense of perspective and seeing beyond the horizon to God's peaceful reign - where all wrongs will be righted. This is what we sing for, so often. That yearning and longing is powerful deep. Suborn songs of hope maybe our only response.  Maybe laughter is reserved for God.

In these days, of course, one of the things we might all miss is being able to sing with others. But listening to music and being able to respond musically is something of a balm, nonetheless. And laughter is especially beneficial – maybe sparked silly things shared in a household or through tuning into to comedies on the television or radio or by buying Private Eye once in a while.

I went through a phase of not wanting to watch any news at all and preferring, instead, re-runs of sitcoms and satirical programmes. Sometimes laughing at the foolishness of politicians can somehow put things in perspective. At the same time, this laughter seems to also motivate prayers for something better as well as sympathy for those in power.

That sympathy may be in danger of draining away through the Dominic Cummins affair as yet again the hubris of those occupying positions of power is magnified by the press pack. Coincidentally, might it be for those in the eye of the storm (his family, for example) like being surrounded by a pack of dogs baying for blood, roaming for food until they get their fill?

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[1] New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)  New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.