A true "dark
night" is so fundamentally disorienting that everyone eventually cries
out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," not as a spiritual
exercise or a trite liturgy, but out of a genuine experience of abandonment.
~ Gary David Stratton
LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in
your wrath. Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones
are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long? Turn, LORD,
and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Among the dead no one
proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from my
groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with
tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away
from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has
heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be
overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to
shame.
~ Psalms 6:1-10
“Break the arms of the wicked and the evildoers; call them
to account for their wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.”
~ Psalms 10:15
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction
overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death
confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The
earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they
trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire
came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and
came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy
around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his
presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD
thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows
and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The
valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at
your rebuke, LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down
from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me
from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They
confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He
brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
~ Psalms 18:4-19
“These psalms are the voices of those who find their
circumstance dangerously, and not just inconveniently, changed. And they do not
like it. These are the speeches of caged men and women getting familiar with
their new place, feeling the wall for a break, hunting in the dark for hidden
weapons, testing the nerve and patience of those who have perpetrated the
wrong.”
~ Walter Brueggemann, Spirituality of the Psalms
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far
from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry out by day,
but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as
the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our ancestors put their
trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, not a human
being; I am scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock
me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. "He trusts in the LORD,"
they say, "let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights
in him." Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me feel secure on my
mother's breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother's womb you have
been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to
help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions
that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has
melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to
the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack
of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on
display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and
cast lots for my garment. But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my
strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life
from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from
the horns of the wild oxen.
~ Psalms 22:1-21
Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against
those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, "I am
your salvation." May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff
before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away; may their path
be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them. Since they hid
their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin
overtake them by surprise— may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall
into the pit, to their ruin. Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight
in his salvation. My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, LORD? You
rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those
who rob them." Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things
I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave me like one
bereaved. Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with
fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as
though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for
my mother. But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered
against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. Like the
ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. How long,
Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from
these lions.
~ Psalms 35:1-17
My tears have been my food day and night, while people say
to me all day long, "Where is your God?" These things I remember as I
pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of
the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my
soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I
will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of
Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all
your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my
Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed
by the enemy?" My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to
me all day long, "Where is your God?"
~ Psalms 42:3-10
Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are
wayward, spreading lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of
a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be. Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions! Let them vanish like water that flows
away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. May they be like a
slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees
the sun. Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be
green or dry—the wicked will be swept away. The righteous will be glad when
they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then
people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is
a God who judges the earth."
~ Psalms 58:3-11
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I
sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep
waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is
parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
~ Psalms 69:1-3
I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring
hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I
meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too
troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I
remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
"Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his
unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God
forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
~ Psalms 77:1-9
LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out
to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. I am
overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among
those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart
with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the
darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all
your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me
repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you. Do you show your
wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you? Is your love
declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known
in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? But
I cry to you for help, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Why,
LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? From my youth I have
suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they
surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken from
me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.
~ Psalms 88:1-18
Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do
not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I
call, answer me quickly. For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like
glowing embers. My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat
my food. In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones. I am
like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like
a bird alone on a roof. All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail
against me use my name as a curse. For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my
drink with tears because of your great wrath, for you have taken me up and
thrown me aside. My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
~ Psalms 102:1-11~ Psalms 118:5-8
~ Psalms 140:6-11
I cry aloud to the
LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out before him my
complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a
snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is
concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you,
LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the
living." Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from
those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my
prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
~ Psalms 142:1-7
LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your
faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant
into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long
dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I
remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what
your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a
parched land. Answer me quickly, LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face
from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring
me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way
I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies, LORD, for
I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your
good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name's sake, LORD, preserve my
life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love,
silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.
~ Psalms 143:1-12
Even when disorientation is caused by an enemy, the appeal
is still to Yahweh. The appeal is not to the enemy that the enemy should
desist, for that is a hopeless plea. The appeal is that Yahweh should intervene
to right the situation and to punish the destabilizer.
~ Walter Brueggemann, Spirituality of the Psalms
~ Jeremiah 30:10-11
"But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have
chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the
earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I
have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I
will uphold you with my righteous right hand. "All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing
and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those
who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD your God
who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help
you.
~ Isaiah 41:8-13
But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you,
Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I
have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I
will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep
over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames
will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since
you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give
nations in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life. Do not be
afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather
you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south,
'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends
of the earth—everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
~ Isaiah 43:1-7
In solitude, on wings of prayer
ReplyDeleteMy soul ascends before the throne;
My only hope of strength is where
My heart and His meet all alone.-Anon
Cling to God, your Father,and pray to Him
day & night, don't give up. Acknowledge His
lovingkindness, faithfulness, & righteousness.
I pray that your grip be strengthen on God, and never stop praying.
Psalm 88 recognizes the spectrum of human emotions, including depression. Other passages offer us words of hope & encouragement. "Weeping may endure of a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5
Chris - Have you gone off your meds?
ReplyDelete