When the bottom falls out
Psalm 55
I read of a brick layer who ended up in the hospital with extensive injuries because of a work-related accident. His insurance company wanted information about his injuries, so he attached the following explanation:
In your letter, you asked for clarification regarding my insurance claim. I hope the following information is adequate to explain my situation.
I am a brick layer by trade. I completed a 6 story building. When I got done, I had 500 pounds of bricks left at the top of the building. I rigged up a barrel to a rope and pulley, secured the rope carefully below, and after climbing to the top, filled the barrel with the 500 pounds of bricks. I then descended to let the bricks down. I carefully untied the rope to let the barrel of bricks down, but as you can see from Box 6 above my weight is only 135 pounds. I was so surprised when I started to ascend that I clung tightly to the rope and in the vicinity of the 3rd floor I met the barrel on its way down, which explains my skull fracture and broken collar bone.
I continued up to the top and the barrel of bricks hit the ground just as my one hand in its glove wrapped itself in the pulley, trapping me there. Meanwhile, because of the heavy weight in the barrel, the bottom fell out, leaving only the shell. With the reduced weight, the barrel started up. In the vicinity of the 3rd floor I met the barrel coming up which explains my fractured ankle. I fell onto the pile of bricks which explains my broken vertebrae, and was so surprised that I let go of the rope and the barrel came down on top of me.
In the world of hard knocks, sometimes we get to the end of the rope, the bottom falls out, and we feel like we’ve been hit by a ton of bricks. Maybe you have been there.
Sometimes it seems like circumstances have conspired to do us in. It may be an accident, illness, unemployment, or a relationship that went sour or a combination. Whatever it is, it puts you down and you wonder how in the world you can take another blow or can ever get up again. When you end up there, read Psalm 55. This psalm describes the pain and anguish of one who has experienced one of life’s most painful reversals, when one whom he trusted turned against him.
We have been sampling some of the types of psalms during the past several weeks. Psalm 55 is in the category of lament, crying out because of pain and anguish, asking for God’s judgment on whoever caused it, and turning to God for help. But as modern readers of this psalm, we dare never forget that we are reading it on this side of the cross and that the death of Jesus and the power of his resurrection makes a difference in the way we understand our troubles.
First, the Complaint. There are 23 verses in the psalm. The first 8 describe the distress level David is feeling. Run your fingers over the words he uses beginning in v. 2: troubled, distraught, anguish, fear, trembling, horror, to name some of them. If have been in the hospital, you know that sometimes a doctor will ask about your pain, “On a scale of 1-10, how much does it hurt?” David’s emotional pain is off the chart. It is extremely intense. Some of you have gone through pain like that. Maybe it was excruciating physical pain. About 2 weeks ago, our grandson in Cleveland wiped out while he was riding his bike and fractured his arm. He said it hurt. Maybe you were laid off from your job or terminated and you winced every time someone asked you, “Did you find a job yet?” I know what that is like. During the year after we returned from Japan in the 80s, for a whole year I called companies, sent out resumes, and scoured the newspaper for ads for a fulltime job. It was a painful time. Or maybe someone you thought you could trust betrayed you by molesting you, abusing you, or turning against you. And inside you felt all upset and emotionally you became a basket case. Whatever it may have been, you are able to understand what David is talking about here.
There are two things we can learn in this first part. First, as David begins this psalm he is not just venting or running at the mouth about his problems. This psalm is written as a prayer. “Give ear to my prayer,” he says. “Attend to me. Answer me.” And every word after this is a part of his expression to God. Psalm 50:15 says, “Call on me in the day of trouble,” and that is exactly what David does. When life caves in, pray. Did you know that God cares so much for you, he can’t let you go? He can’t get you out of his mind. He wants to hear from you. That is why we sing the words of the hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus.” The second stanza asks,
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Second, we read some interesting words in verse 6. “Oh that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” While in Portland this past week, we took our grandchildren to the zoo where we saw a bird show. It was amazing to see big birds of prey, including the red-tailed hawk and even a bald eagle, fly from perch to perch. Their powerful wings would lift them up as they swooped over our heads. There were no doves there, but I learned that David wanted the wings of a dove for a special reason. When the wings of most birds get tired, they have to stop and rest, but the dove can fold one wing in for rest while it flies with the other. David wanted to get away for rest. The Bible reminds us often of the importance of rest – rest for our bodies, rest for our souls. And we put ourselves at risk by not following the guidelines for Sabbath keeping. Some of you may find it strange that Sue and I go to the mountains for vacation, but that is where we are able to renew ourselves in the solitude of the great out-of-doors among the peaks, the trees, the rock formations. It may not be possible for you to go to the mountains, but you can separate yourself from your distress in other ways maybe by a walk through the woods or around the reservoir or spending a couple of hours in the library. Jesus, after all, frequently withdrew from his intense schedule.
In Psalm 55, David used the image of a dove to represent this separation and renewal. The same image has appeared in hymns and gospel songs. Albert Brumley wrote a song based on the image of a dove flying away, only this time it would be a permanent flight. When Albert was born to hard-working tenant farmers in 1905, no one guessed he would be a great composer of gospel music who would find a place in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Albert became a good cotton picker and enjoyed simple farm ways. He knew it took courage to farm and he admired people who worked the land. As a composer, he drew heavily on boyhood experiences. His parents had strong religious beliefs. Hard work was considered honorable, even noble. Work-filled days were interlaced with pleasurable moments revolving around home, school, and church. William learned to play the fiddle and would play it when his family gathered to sing after supper.
At age sixteen Albert determined to write gospel music. That year he completed his first song. Eventually, he left the farm and attended music school in Arkansas. As he kept writing, he checked the words with his father-in-law, a great student of the Scriptures, to be sure they were Biblically accurate. He became a careful student of language so he could write phrases that were grammatically correct. And he always carried a pencil and paper.
He composed about 700 songs, but his most famous one is "I’ll Fly Away." We’ve asked Jerry to sing it for us today.
—Lindell Mitchell, Fort Worth Lectures 2002, Hymns And Songs We Sing, Chapter – “The Blood That Stained The Old Rugged Cross” pgs. 257-263
Second, David’s Lament. The next 7 verses recognize the evil of the world we live in. Even in David’s day, there was violence and strife in the city. Those with power oppress the powerless. Those with money cheat those who have little. Sadly, we have come to expect economic fraud, domestic violence, and gang warfare in our cities today even though cities have much potential for good. People live close enough to each other to be good neighbors, to help each other and provide support. But, unfortunately, some instead take advantage of others.
David is so upset by what he sees that he asks the Lord to confuse their speech. Remember where that happened before? In Genesis 11, the story of the tower of Babel, the city where people forgot about God and tried to make a name for themselves.
But even more upsetting to David is what happened when his son Absalom and his friend Ahithophel betrayed him. Ahithophel was one of his close advisors, but he conspired with Absalom to revolt against David. II Samuel 15-18 tells the story. Note the pain David expresses in 55: 13,14,20,21. It is heart-wrenching when members of your own family turn against you. And one of the deepest tragedies of sin in our world happens when someone we have worshiped and fellowshipped with turns away and has nothing more to do with us. In my conversations with people, some have told me that they won’t have anything to do with church because a Christian community failed them somehow and people of faith inflicted pain on them. How sad.
In our hymnal we have a number of songs that come from the Taize community in France. Taize is an ecumenical monastic community founded in the 40s with a message of peace and friendship across cultures. The group’s unique meditative music and worship style draws tens of thousands of youth and young adult pilgrims from around the world every year. Many of its members have limited mental capacities, so their music is simple.
The Christian world was shaken last week when the founder, Brother Roger, was stabbed to death in front of 2500 worshippers by a mentally disturbed woman during an evening prayer service at the community’s Reconciliation Church. Brother Roger was 90 years old.
Nancy Faus, former professor of our seminary in Richmond, IN, who has visited there, said. “The manner of Brother Roger’s death, and his character of "deep compassion and tremendous love," made the tragedy "unbelievable and ironic. Here was a man who started this community with an emphasis on peace and love and reconciliation for Christians and the world. For this to happen in a service of prayer is beyond all comprehension."
How can we deal with such pain? David doesn’t have an easy answer. Neither do I. But we know that Jesus also bore that burden. He endured everything we do, including betrayal of one his best friends, so that he knows our suffering. Hebr. 4:15. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” He will stand beside us all the way through.
Taize HYMN “Jesus remember me”
Third, David’s Trust. The last 8 verses help us understand the confidence we can have in God. David could no longer trust either his son or his friend, but he knew he could trust in God, so he lifts his eyes to God, trusting that He will answer.
How do we express that confidence? First, through regular prayer. David prayed evening and morning and at noon, he says. That doesn’t mean he only prayed three times a day. He is talking about a pattern of prayer, a habit of prayer. Last Thursday morning in Portland at 5:00 as we rode on the electric train to the airport, across from us was sitting a woman with a pleasant face, her eyes closed, and her lips were moving. And I wondered if it was a prayer she was offering as she began her day. I don’t know. I like to think so. The discipline of regular prayer is one way to express our confidence in God.
Second, in an attitude of trust. Note that David does not take things into his own hands to punish those who have hurt him. He leaves that part in God’s hands, trusting him to bring justice. Remember, I said that being on this side of the cross makes a difference because of the way Jesus treated those who betrayed him. That is why Romans 12:19 is so important. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God.” Vengeance on others is not ours to take. Leave it in God’s hands.
Third, v.22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.” This is a verse you can take with you. Say it with me. Let it come to mind this week when you get worn to a frazzle.
Psalm 55 is a psalm you can pray when the bottom falls out. You can make your complaint to God. You can express your lament. And you can put your trust in God.
Meditate on it as you hear the words of the song “Cast your burden.” (CD)
