Confession of Peter
I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
He reached down from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity;
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
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How we react when crisis strikes reveals much of who we are. Do we shut down in fear? Do we leap into action? Do we pause and think things through? Do we pray?
ReplyDeleteLook - prayer doesn't make the path of life a yellow brick road lined with sweet smelling roses. The prayer for rescue and deliverance isn't a get out of trouble free card. But a life of turning to God first on the good days means that when the real crisis hits, we're able to stop, turn to God, get some perspective, courage, and life giving hope, before we dive into the raging chaos.
There were some weeks in life I dreaded.. which were more peaceful and grace filled than I could have dreamed... precisely because I first called upon the Lord.
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I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from my enemies... this is the pithy camp song that has made this psalm famous.
The image of being pulled from the waters is appropriate for the January 18th festival of the Apostle Peter, who steped out on the water, following Jesus.
This psalm in particular, and the psalms in general,tend to follow the basic story cycle of the book of Judges. The people sin and forsake God... trouble ensues... the people turn back to God, calling for help... God acts to deliver... and people turn around to praise God in thanksgiving.