1Just like a deer that craves streams of water,
my whole being craves you, God.
2 My whole being thirsts for God, for the living God.
When will I come and see God’s face?
3 My tears have been my food both day and night,
as people constantly questioned me,
“Where’s your God now?”
4 But I remember these things as I bare my soul:
how I made my way to the mighty one’s abode,
to God’s own house,
with joyous shouts and thanksgiving songs—
a huge crowd celebrating the festival!
5 Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed?
Why are you so upset inside?
Hope in God!
Because I will again give him thanks,
my saving presence and my God.
6 My whole being is depressed.
That’s why I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep called to deep at the noise of your waterfalls;
all your massive waves surged over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his faithful love;
by night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my solid rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I have to walk around,
sad, oppressed by enemies?”
10 With my bones crushed, my foes make fun of me,
constantly questioning me: “Where’s your God now?”
11 Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed?
Why are you so upset inside?
Hope in God!
Because I will again give him thanks,
my saving presence and my God.
Reflection
Have you had those times when you feel God is so close, then other times you struggle to feel God’s presence?
As we commemorate Juneteenth – this date in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, received the news of their freedom 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation – I do wonder how enslaved people kept their faith that God would rescue them. After so many years of being an enslaved people, one might think that God was allowing their enemies to overtake them.
This psalm is full of the emotions that we could certainly imagine might be part of an oppressed people’s relationship with God. There’s a need to feel God near as one needs water, joy and thanksgiving of surviving the day, knowing family was safe, perhaps that someone escaped, loneliness when people were taken, depression for what would have seemed like a hopeless situation, and then hope that God would bring them to the other side.
It is amazing to me how strong their faith would have been to continue to worship with songs and prayers. Some of those songs were used as codes for meetings or safe places for people who had escaped, so they served multiple purposes, especially since most enslaved people were not taught how to read or write and so instead used the songs that were passed down. Lots of people continue to sing these songs today, and we should know their history and significance – not just as worship, but for the practical purposes they served as well.
God can make all things work together for good. This Psalm reminds us that we will have enemies and God sees and knows what is happening to us. We sometimes question why we struggle and ask when we will have a better life, or when those that have struggled for so many years will have a better life. Especially in today’s climate, we pray and wonder when all people will be treated as God’s children. Today we realize that in this country that was founded on the notion of freedom, that freedom was and always has been relative. I pray that we may all work together in whatever ways we can to help bring freedom to those who are oppressed.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
When do you feel God is closest and when do you feel God is furthest from you? What do we need to do to help us feel that God is near? How can we help others to see God through us? Today, is there some big or small thing that we can do to aid in helping others to feel and to trust God and to work toward the freedom for ALL God’s children – not just in this country but around the world?
Prayer: God of freedom, may we see you in all of our neighbors – near or far. Please give us the strength and courage to stand up for others that need our help. Help us to spread your kin-dom to all we come in contact with and those we will never meet. Be with us as a country to truly make this a place where freedom rings for all. Amen.
