Here’s a paradox. On the one hand, being the people of God can bring desperate hardship; on the other hand, God is our only hope. When Jesus offered his disciples an opportunity to opt out, avoiding the challenges of discipleship, Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ (John 6:68).

The situation in this psalm appears even more difficult: God has rejected his people (vs 1,10). And yet, God is sovereign (vs 6–8); their only hope lies in him (vs 9–12). This honest psalm helps the faith community to cling to the God who seems to reject them, confident of final victory (v 12). 

We all face seasons in our lives where we struggle to see God working for our good. At times, as in this psalm, this is the aftermath of our sinfulness or rebellion. We are under God’s judgement. The temptation may be to withdraw and hope the storm will blow over. But in the meantime, how can you live? As the ‘prodigal son’ found (Luke 15), the only sensible thing we can do is to set out in the direction of the one whose judgement we dread. Hosea expresses something similar: ‘Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds’ (Hosea 6:1).

‘O God, our help in ages past, / our hope for years to come, / still be our guard while troubles last, / and our eternal home.’¹ Pray for our broken world.

The 2020 pandemic shook the world. It is 2021 as I write and every part of the globe is still quaking from painful aftershocks. In these times of desperation, many fractured lives remain sunk in despair, some have loosened their grip on faith, others struggle to hold on to hope… 

God’s people are facing ‘desperate times’ (v 3). Their solid ground has been shaken and they even feel ‘rejected’ by God (v 1). Yet, although what once seemed firm is now fractured and fragile, a note of hope is introduced: ‘But … you have raised a banner’ (v 4). After evacuating a building, following a fire or some other emergency, people gather at a designated ‘assembly point’ – a secure place to wait, where heads are counted to make sure everyone is safe. In desperate times, the rallying point for God’s people is not a place but a person. ‘Fear’ of God (see v 4) signifies the people’s reverence; the reference to ‘those you love’ (v 5) speaks of God’s regard for them, because of which he reaches out in rescue. 

When God’s people listen as he speaks from his ‘sanctuary’ (v 6), this rallying point becomes a turning point. Despite earth-shaking, earth-shattering events, the heavenly throne remains unshakeable. The earth, with everything and everyone in it, belongs to God and will be dealt with  according to his sovereign purposes (vs 6–8). Israel’s enemies will be defeated – as the Amorites, Moabites and Midianites discovered when they tried to thwart God’s purposes² – and Israel’s inheritance is secure. Israel learned, often the hard way, that ‘human help is worthless’ and only God can give lasting victory (vs 11,12). It is a lesson that we, too, must learn.

In every choice or crisis, every opportunity or obstacle, let God be your rallying point. Allow his purposes and perspectives to inform, form and transform your vision, viewpoint and values.

¹ Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, ‘O God our help in ages past’  ² Num 21:21–31; 24:12–19; 31:1–12