Glory in the cave

I've been thinking about Psalm 57 today. It's one of those psalms where David tells God just what he's feeling. I don't know whether I'd have put verse 3 like that, but the great thing he keeps affirming is that "the God of all the earth will do right", as Abraham put it. God's character is both just and loving. As St John said of Jesus, "full of grace and truth". No one else combines both of those to perfection. When we hear of awful human atrocities, or even experience minor injustices ourselves, our reaction is naturally one of anger, which may well be appropriate, but maintaining love is beyond us.

I preached last Sunday about the Spirit in Prayer (Sermons at St John's/28th July), and quoted Maureen Greaves' testimony. The widow of the organist murdered going to Midnight Mass in Sheffield, at his funeral, said she had decided to forgive the two young men as it was what her husband would have wanted: “It has to be a daily act of saying ‘I place them in your hands, God’, so that I don’t have to worry about them, I don’t have to hate them. After the massive shock and heartbreak, this was probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to do, to go down the path of forgiving them.
“It has been a wonderful release that I have not had the burden of hatred towards them. I have to do it every day so I don’t lapse. It is not an easy journey to look two men in the face who have killed the person you love most in the world and hang onto that.
“When you are sitting there in court and you see them and you are heartbroken at what they have done to you, they have taken from you the person who is still your soulmate, it is very difficult to sit there and continue to forgive them and want to forgive them.
“One thing I have comforted myself with is that the God I believe in had a son who was beaten as Alan was beaten. The God I believe in had a son who was resurrected as I believe Alan will be resurrected to be with God.”

Only God's Holy Spirit can enable us to prayer from our hearts: "Your will (not mine) be done.... Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us." Only the Holy Spirit can give us the attitude of gratitude which David maintains, even in the blackness of his cave. Come, Holy Spirit.

Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfils his purpose for me.
³ He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
⁴ My soul is in the midst of lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.
⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!
⁶ They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
⁷ My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
⁸     Awake, my glory!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰ For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!  (English Standard Version)