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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection vi
Answer me when I call ...
Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014. There are times, where God's help seems to be far away. There are times, where we feel strongly troubled, where we suffer from things which we cannot change.
In Tears …
In the Psalms we find many passages where strong distress is discribed:
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith.1 A Psalm of David. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. (Psalm 6)
Distress and Salvation …
We need to accept that there are times, where we are in trouble. We need to accept that there is suffering. It comes to us, and sometimes it is even caused by us. In the above psalm, David does not try to hide his suffering. No, he is bringing it to the Lord in this song.
But the song does not stay with the suffering. David goes into prayer. He talks to the Lord. He askes for help. He urges God to help. He brings arguments. He tries to convince God that help is better than death. It is a key point here: to argue with the Lord, to put our pleas in.
And then, David comes to the point where he experiences God's grace. The requests are granted. Even before things have happened, he knows that God has heard him and that he will help. Certainty comes to David in this time of prayer. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts