August 16th

Psalm #40

Hope in a hole

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and He turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.

I am reminded of the story of Jeremiah.  Jeremiah’s enemies conspire to have him punished.  They see him as an enemy of the state so they have him thrown into a muddy, waterless cistern and leave him to die (38.1-6). 

We’ve all been in the ‘mud and mire’ at some point.  Sometimes it’s due to our own foolish mistakes; sometimes its due to the malicious actions of others; and sometimes its due circumstances beyond our control.

• An employee cheated out of a promotion because of company gossip by a trusted friend.
• A deep depression caused by economic and career failure.
• The sudden loss of a loved one.
• The diagnosis of an incurable disease.
• The relentless ‘bad news’ fed us on our multiple screens.

Our psalmist gives us one method of dealing with hard times ‘in the hole.’  She begins (v.1-10) by remembering God’s past faithfulness to her and celebrates God’s grace in her life.

⁵ You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
   none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
   they would be more than can be counted.

It is on the basis of God’s past faithfulness that she can then express lament at her dire situation (v.11-17).

¹¹ Do not, O Lord, withhold
   your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   keep me safe for ever.
¹² For evils have encompassed me
   without number….

Jeremiah’s story had a happy ending….  

⁷ But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, ⁸ so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. ⁹ “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”

¹⁰ So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹ So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. ¹² Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, ¹³ they pulled him out.

When my brother was in his mid-40s he was diagnosed with Parkinsons.  He soon realized he would not be able to work again – his life was dramatically changing.  Ken never shied away from asking hard questions of his pastor, his friends, and God.  But he also refused to let his illness define his life.  He drew strength from his wife, his son, his church, and his many friends.  He had a kind of genius for making connections, including a stint as an ambassador for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 

What stands out in my memory (he died in 2015), was his unflagging gratitude for his life and his stalwart hope in the God who had brought him thus far.

Lament yes.  Pain yes.  Disappointment yes.  But there was also joy in knowing what this psalmist knew:

¹⁶ But may all who search for you
    be filled with joy and gladness in you.
May those who love your salvation
    repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”
¹⁷ As for me, since I am poor and needy,
    let the Lord keep me in his thoughts….

https://youtu.be/Y8kWXF4KLH4 - In the Rifted Rock