The Shelter of Wings – Psalm 17

A text – Psalm 17:1-9

A Prayer of David.

¹ Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
² From you let my vindication come; let your eyes see the right.

³ If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.
⁴ As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸ Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me.

A reflection:

If we had vindication claims on Wednesday in Job, today we see even earlier pleas for it from David. This lament cries out for God’s help, God’s refuge, God’s guardianship. If you or I were pleading for protection, to whom would we go? The person we know with the biggest, strongest house? That reminds me of Martin Luther’s famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” a most reliable shelter.

Once upon a time a friend of ours was fleeing her husband, a man who had sometimes shown a violent temper. She came to our house with her daughter. Of course we gave her shelter and space to decide a few things. She came asking for help “from lips free of deceit” (verse 1). Was she telling us the whole truth? Had she ever made mistakes herself before? It did not matter. She was our friend and she needed us. We wanted her to have shelter and rest, so. As the saying goes, we took her under our wing.

David had a long relationship with God. He knew God was trustworthy. God had told Samuel to anoint David king even when he was a teenager tending sheep for his father, even when the present king, Saul, was suffering in the early stages of mental illness. David knew God expected leadership from him, even though he had made many mistakes, and he knew that God loved him and would protect him. He had come to God many times before in both praise and lament. They knew one another well, God and David.

Always remember, you and I are beloved children of that same God, and if we just ask, God will do the same for us. Our reluctance probably comes from not knowing God as well as David did. But there’s a remedy for that. Pray in good times and bad. Begin to feel God’s presence. God is just a breath away and is ready to hear us and be near us. We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to ask and God will help us.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the psalms of David that teach us to keep having our relationship with God. Help us never to lose that connection, or, if we feel we have lost it, renew it by spending time with God a little each day, renewing our trust and hope in the shelter of God’s wings. Amen.