Psalm 31: Refuge
David, in Psalm 31, writes:
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
The internet has accelerated the news cycle from a breakneck pace to a rate that crushes our spirits. I often wonder if the age of information is not just another way of saying we constantly eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Now, through our phones and computer screens we can see the world at a meta-level in all of its horror. And worse yet, the allure of being “like God” turns out to be an illusion all over again—we have this pseudo omniscience and omnipresence yet severely lack much in the way of omnipotence. News of genocide in the Sudan is followed by the grim reports on our climate. And, as if to hammer home the absurdity of our media-spun culture, these stories are set alongside “news” of a figurehead monarch’s china selections for their wedding or the anxieties of balancing “career” and motherhood for reality-TV celebrity X. The temptation for us, trying to withstand the relentless onslaught of notifications, is either to despair or to distraction—its the best our figs and leaves can do.
Psalm 31 illustrates a man trying to find refuge in God in the midst of the insanities of life. What’s remarkable is how agile David remains in the face of his circumstances. Here, David maintains an honesty free of Instagram filters or carefully crafted status updates. Life is hard; traps are set for him (v. 4), he is afflicted (v. 7), strength is failing (v. 10), friends and neighbors have all abandoned him as though they had already buried him in the grave (vv.11-12). David hears the growing chorus of whispers, the slogan of the news outlets with their wars and rumors of wars, “Terror on every side” (v. 13).
It would seem completely reasonable for David to feel completely paralyzed by his present condition. And yet, David is not given to the fearful murmurings of so many in our generation who spend too much time watching the news. David is focused on something much more radical, much more real than the prophecies of doom, gloom, and inanity. He clings to something much more solid, a rock (v. 3), a fortress—David clings to hope.
David defiantly pronounces:
My times are in your hands
How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
-vv. 15; 19-20
Our times are in his hands. This is not the resignation of despair but a bold declaration of doxology. No matter the headlines, no matter our anguish, the Lord remains, he reigns and he saves. In a day such as our own, perhaps there is no more prescient reminder. We see our world at a macro-level and are overwhelmed, but our lives as small, insignificant, and vulnerable as we often feel are never “cut off from his sight” (v. 22).
We can cry out to him and he will hear (v.22b), we are free to love him with everything we have (v. 23). David’s closing exhortation is a rallying cry to the faithful, a word louder than the headlines:
Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord (v. 24).