1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”
4 May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
She always sat in the third pew back, one of those women who had aged into a somewhat spheroid shape with twinkling eyes and a warm smile. Most congregations have at least one or two of these women and I praise God for them. She was there every week, and in every Bible study. Church was much of her life. Her income was not merely limited, it was constricted. Her husband had left her. Her children were far away. There were no silent pauses in Bible study. She would fill every moment with something. I think that was because her life was very silent at other times. It was just her and her cat. She had friends, and they were fiercely loyal to one another, but Church was her other home.
I cannot pray this prayer of David without thinking of her. “I am poor and needy,” David prayed. She was poor and needy, and a bit of a simple soul, but also delightful and faithful and kind. David continues, “You are my help and deliverer.” He prays that those who seek to do him harm be put to shame and confusion. I answer the phone these days and half the time it seems to be a robo-call pushing one scam or another. Lately they tell me that my car’s warranty is about to expire. Do they know that my car is nearly 20 years old and its warranty has long since been composted? No, they do not care. The click of my immediate hang-up does not bother them either. They are fishing for someone like my old friend, a vulnerable person who might be shamed or confused into listening. They cast their net widely with their computer-generated phone calls and would catch one in a thousand or ten thousand. It is enough for them to line their pockets at the expense of the vulnerable. “Let them be turned back!” begs David. I join him. Let them be turned back who say “Aha, Aha!” My friend rejoiced and was glad in the simplicity of her life. She always said, “God is good to me.” I have much to learn from her about patience and strength. Do you know vulnerable person who has been even more isolated in these days of pandemic? Give them a call today. Just talk to them a little bit. But also tell them to call you back before they respond to one of these rapacious calls. Be the instrument through which God turns back the schemes of those who seek after the livelihoods of God’s precious people.