O Lord, I will trust in you.” This statement of
trust comes at the end of Psalm 55. This prayer
has the clear tone of familiarity for us for we
have prayed from this sentiment often in our
daily lives. We may not have used the same
words, but we have felt what the psalmist is
expressing here in this powerful prayer.
It starts with a desperate appeal to God. “Give
ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself
from my plea for mercy!” (verse 1) How often
have I sent up such a cry in my own life? How
often have I felt on the edge of desperation in the
face of some seemingly overwhelming trouble and
cried out to the Lord for his help, moaning and
fearful? Have I not wished at such times that I
could “have wings” so that I could fly away from
my troubles, to escape what, in reality, could not
be escaped? There have been many times that I
have longed for some quiet, far away place in the
wilderness where I could hide and be at peace
I have known anguish. I am no stranger to it. As
a combat veteran, I have felt the abject fear of
death bearing down on me with the enemy all
around me and I have sent up wild, desperate
prayers to God. Yes, I know the terrors that the
psalmist writes about in this psalm. His prayer
here sounds all too familiar to me. I’ve known,
too, the unfaithfulness of a friend, with whom I
took “sweet counsel.” In reality, what makes this
psalm so powerful a prayer for us is the fact that
we all know what David is talking about. We all
have known such fears, such assaults from
enemies within and without.
But this prayer’s true power is in the complete,
unquestioning faith in God that it expresses. “But
I call to God, and the Lord will save me” (verse
16). In faith, we know, as David does here, that
God will not abandon us. He will hear our cries
and answer them. “Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you, he will never permit the
righteous to be moved” (verse 22). If we have
faith enough in this truth we too will be able to
say with David, “But I will trust in you.”
Lord, increase in us a faith so deep that we will
never again fear the false and unjust attacks that
can come against us in this life. Empower us
with a love for you that will make us strong both
in trials and in mercy. We pray this in Jesus’
name. Amen!
Comments
Post a Comment