Friday, May 28, 2010

psalm 13

the other day i sat down with my bible and decided to read some psalms. the only thing i knew about psalms before i read them was that they were songs of praise to God, and i was feeling especially in need of guidance as to how to praise God. my depression has been waxing and waning, and Heavenly Father, like the sun behind the clouds, has been peeking at me, it seems, through the fog of it.

anyhow, i read a few psalms and then got to this one, psalm 13:

"How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me."

what really struck me was the first line. my bible has no indications about this psalm, but i have to assume it is David who is saying it. but the, "how long wilt thou forget me, lord?" was eye-opening, as that was what i was feeling at that time. thinking, why do i feel farthest from god when i am depressed, when bad things are happening? i thought desperately about the "footprints" poem, and tried to imagine God carrying me through my trials.

the rest of it deals with feeling oppressed in a world that seems built on the backs of the wicked. i notice that David doesn't seem to be blaming his OWN problems on the "wicked", but rather sees them plainly for who they are, and puts his faith in God. but in his psalms, he asks God, "where are you? why are you letting this happen to me? why don't you help?"

and then by the end of the psalm, his faith is reaffirmed in God, that proof of God's love of him has already been proven.

next time i come across one of these depressions, or any of my daily obstacles, i will think back to the examples of God's love that have been given me.

1 comment:

  1. john piper has a beautiful series on depression and uses the psalms. google him and his website and you can download his messages. i have them on my ipod and listen while i am crocheting. :) (found your blog thru the ccc group on rav)

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