Lent Day 6: Calling Upon God

I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God
   incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
  O savior of those who seek refuge
  from their adversaries at your right hand.
Guard me as the apple of your eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings.
~Psalm 17:6-8

When have you called out to God for help? Were you suffering? Frightened? Angry? Confused? Feeling under attack? Feeling lost? Feeling as if your world was falling apart?

We have all felt some or all of the emotions above, so it's a good thing there's a Book of Psalms right in the middle of our Bibles. John Calvin described the psalms as "a complete anatomy of the human soul," and said we can find every single human emotion in there. 

Psalm 17, a Psalm of David, was written when the psalmist was, indeed, feeling under attack, or maybe was, literally so--it has the feel of a battle psalm. It's called a "Psalm for Deliverance from Persecutors," so it sounds more like a political battle than a military one. But it could also be a "battle" about reputation, rather than position. 

Whatever its need, whatever its purpose, there are phrases here that apply to almost any situation in which we are crying out to God, "HELP!" (Ann Lamott has a wonderful little book about what she calls the three essential prayers: HELP, THANKS, and WOW! HIghly recommend.)

First, that hope against hope that God will actually hear us, that we are not crying into the void. I call because you will answer me, the psalmist sings, not without reason, because, apparently, they know what it feels like when God does indeed answer.

The plea for an experience of God's wondrously steadfast love, which means--the psalmist has felt that, known that before. A memory of grace. A recollection of blessing. An instance when God's presence felt so amazingly near, we could hardly breathe for the joy of it, and all the world felt like love.

The name given to God: "O Savior of those who take refuge from their adversaries." The psalmist is so confident of this, they use this saving action of God's as a name to describe who God is, essentially. God is savior. God gives us refuge.

And then, the delightful request: Guard me as the apple of your eye. I grew up hearing the phrase, "the apple of my eye," and knowing it meant being truly cherished. I suppose I heard it from my parents, and, like an apple could be, it sounded sweet and delicious. But I didn't honestly know what it was until I was much older. The apple of your eye is your pupil. Of course we have a strong instinct to protect it--imagine when something is hurtling toward your face, even something like an autumn leaf in a gust of wind. But the phrase means: someone you love, dearly, and would protect at all costs. 

We are the apple of God's eye. Scripture tells us that God is love, and there are reminders of that love scattered throughout its books and prophecies and letters. When we are ready to call HELP! it is good to remind ourselves, as the psalmist does here, of God's wondrously steadfast love for us. It is good to ground ourselves in that love, no matter what challenge or loss or attack we are facing. God is love. We are the apple of God's eye.