Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In Psalm 62, the poet finds a quiet place of rest from his busy life and noisy enemies. He says,
    Only in God my soul finds rest;
        my salvation comes from him.
    Only he is my . . . fortress;
      I will not be shaken (vv 1-2). 

This psalm is unique because the poet doesn’t make any requests to God. Though he complains about enemies, he doesn’t ask God to save or rescue or deliver him. Instead, he finds in God a quiet shelter in his stormy life, a strong refuge in his weakness.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, this psalm tells us to trust in you at all times, to pour out our hearts to you, for you are our refuge (v. 8).

Thank you for welcoming the outpouring of our hearts, with their muddled thoughts and feelings. We present to you our thanks for food and shelter, our relief that spring has come at last, our fear of the coronavirus pandemic, our concern for the economy, and our faith that you are good. Take our hearts, Lord, protect and heal them.

With the poet we form a prayer of rest around three times our psalm uses the word “only”.

About his enemies, the poet says,
    How long will your assail [me]
       will you batter [me],
        like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
    Your only plan is to bring me down. . .
    With your mouth you bless,
        but in your heart you curse (vv.3-5, paraphrased).

O God, our enemies are single-minded–their only plan is to bring us down. The enemy in our minds discourages and depresses us. The enemy in our hearts creates numbness and apathy. The enemy in our relationships destroys trust and goodwill. The enemy in our spirits tells us faith is an illusion. O God, how often, like the poet, we are a leaning wall, a tottering fence. Fragile and vulnerable, we live on the edge of failure and ruin. But we choose with the poet to rest in your shelter. 

In a second use of the word “only”, the poet says,
    Those of low estate are only a breath,
          those of high estate only a delusion;
          in the balances they go up;
    together they are lighter than breath (v. 9). 

O God, the heavyweights of our world are not as weighty as they imagine–they are only a breath of air. When they stand on the scales, the needle doesn’t move. When they walk through the sand, they leave no footprints. When they stand before you, O God, their haughty speech and mighty words are reduced to silence. They cannot provide a reliable fortress or a  trustworthy salvation.

The poet also uses the word “only” to talk about you, God, for you alone are his focus. Twice he says,:
    Only in God does my soul find rest,
    Only he is my rock and my salvation (vv. 1-2, 5-6). 

Thank you that our souls find rest in you. Thank you for each night of sleep. Thank you for each day of peace. Thank you for the downtime that coronavirus imposes on our hyperactive society. As we take a break from shopping, eating out, commuting, and attending church, we invite you to bring us to rest. May this coronavirus sabbatical become a holy time of rest in your name. Bring us through the epidemic with a new desire to seek you in our lives and to follow you in our world. Care for the unemployed, the displaced, the weary, and the sick in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

Psalm 61 is a poignant statement of faith. Listen to the poet’s prayer:
  From the ends of the earth I call to you,
      when my heart is overwhelmed;
  lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
  For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe (vv. 2-3). 

Do you experience that same feeling: “From the ends of the earth I call to you when my heart is overwhelmed.” I don’t often get to the geographical ends of the earth, but like the poet I bump into my emotional limits and get overwhelmed.

What brings you to the “ends of the earth” where you feel overwhelmed and far from God? Maybe anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder. Or cancer? Perhaps it’s money: you don’t know where the next paycheck is coming from, unable to accumulate savings, buried under a pile of debt. Perhaps it’s the relational crises of your life–marriage not so good, kids are wayward, neighbours are jerks. Maybe it’s family who judge and avoid you. Or maybe it’s God: you are not sure if he exists, and if he does, why doesn’t he listen to you and care about you? 

Whatever makes you alone and isolated–bring it to this psalm. Are you at the end of your wits? At the ends of the earth? Overwhelmed? Then say with the poet, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  Yes, that’s what we need when earthquakes shake us, when troubles frighten, when waves of stress threaten to drown us. We need a rock to stand on, a firm place to plant our feet, some solid ground where we can look around, take our bearings, and find relief. 

The poet says, “That firm place is you, O God. You have been my refuge, a strong tower against my foes.” 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we are refugees, driven from the homes we tried to build. We imagined happy and fulfilling lives but we have ended up with disturbed states of mind and body, in a world without answers.

We are refugees from church, driven into the wilderness by doctrines we can’t accept and rules that judge us. 

We are refugees from families that misunderstand and avoid us. 

O Jesus, we are all refugees in many ways. 

Lead us, we pray, to the rock that is higher than us. Be a refuge for the refugees, bring us to your tent, shelter us under your wings of protection and comfort.

We pray for the lonely elderly whose care facilities are locked down. In their loneliness and fear, be their refuge. 

We pray for health care workers in masks and hazmat suits, caring for the sick, watching people die. Be their strong tower. 

We pray for the unemployed, watching television at home as bills pile up. Make their home a tent where they dwell with you. 

We pray for refugees, far from home and family, scarred by violence and abuse. Protect them in the shelter of your wings. 

We pray for ourselves when we are overwhelmed. Lead us to the rock that is higher than us.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”. 

In Psalm 60, the warrior-poet experienced desperate times. He says,
    Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
      and no longer go out with our armies?
    Give us aid against the enemy,
      for human help is worthless.

The poet was accustomed to God giving his army victory, but unexpectedly his army started losing. This surprised  and shocked the poet. He was offended that God stopped helping his army. So he prayed: “God, do things the old way! You are supposed to make our army winners. Losing is no fun. Start helping us again.” 

Has God ever caught  you by surprise like that? Perhaps he’s always given you good health, and suddenly the doctor delivers a scary diagnosis. Or unexpectedly, your comfortable finances are exploded by unemployment and a pile of bills? Or your children who have done well in the past are now throwing your life into chaos. 

Today, the coronavirus pandemic has created desperate times for entire nations. A third of the planet is on coronavirus lockdown, millions are unemployed, health systems are overwhelmed, business are at risk, and governments are mortgaging the future to flatten the curve. Do you, like the poet, ask God what this is all about? Do you say to him, “Why don’t you look after us better?” Do you wonder if maybe he is judging the sins of civilization? 

Author N. T. Wright titled a recent article Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To. He says. “Rationalists . . . want explanations; Romantics . . . want a sigh of relief. But perhaps what we need more than either is to recover the biblical tradition of lament. Lament is what happens when people ask, ‘Why?’ and don’t get an answer.”  (N.T. Wright article at Time.Com: Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To (Time.com, 29 Mar 2020). https://time.com/5808495/coronavirus-christianity/)

Let’s use Psalm 60 to pray a lament over the pandemic.

Our father, 
   You have shaken the land and torn it open;
      mend its fractures, for it is quaking.
  You have shown your people desperate times;
      you have given us wine that makes us stagger.
  But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner
      to be unfurled against the bow.
  Save us and help us with your right hand,
      so that those you love may be delivered (vv. 2-5). 

O God, look at our society as it staggers under the pandemic. Look at the charts where the death toll goes steeply up and the stock market steeply down. Look at the body bags coming out of New York hospitals straight into refrigerator trucks. Look at us keeping social distance, being isolated, tempted to fear and anxiety. Lord, our whole world groans. What can we do but cry out to you? 

In Psalm 60 you proclaim your victory over the poet’s enemies. You say:
  Moab is my washbasin,
      over Edom I toss out my sandal
      over Philistia I shout in triumph (v. 8).

O God, we wait in hope for you to bring healing to our broken world. . 
    Who but you will bring us to a time of health?
      Who but you will lead us through the valley?
    Give us aid against our enemy
        for human help is worthless (vv. 9,11, paraphrased). 

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.