How many of you are saying (shouting) that phrase right now in your lives? “How many are my foes!” Well, you are in good company. David began Psalm 3 with those very words. Three times he uses the word “many” in reference to those who were attacking him . . .
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Pope Benedict has begun a new series on prayer in his weekly Wednesday audiences. I thought I would share with you part of his meditation on the beginning of Psalm 3. I hope you find it as encouraging as I did.
Ps 3.1-2 O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God.
“The prayer’s description of his situation is marked by strongly dramatic tones. Three times he repeats the idea of the multitude — ‘numerous,’ ‘many,’ ‘how many’ — which in the original text is said with the same Hebrew root, in order to underline even more the immensity of the danger in a repeated, almost relentless way. This insistence on the number and greatness of the foe serves to express the psalmist’s perception of the absolute disproportion there is between himself and his persecutors — a disproportion that justifies and forms the basis of the urgency of his request for help; the aggressors are many; they have the upper hand, while the man praying is alone and defenseless, at the mercy of his assailants.
“And yet, the first word the psalmist pronounces is ‘Lord’; his cry begins with an invocation to God. A multitude looms over and arises against him a fear that magnifies the threat, making it appear even greater and more terrifying; but the man praying does not allow himself to be conquered by this vision of death; he remains steadfast in his relationship with the God of life, and the first thing he does is turn to Him for help.
“However, his enemies also attempt to break this bond with God and to destroy their victim’s faith. They insinuate that the Lord cannot intervene; they maintain that not even God can save him. The assault, then, is not only physical but also touches the spiritual dimension: ‘The Lord cannot save him’ — they say — even the core of the psalmist’s soul is attacked.
“This is the great temptation to which the believer is subjected — the temptation to lose faith, to lose trust in the nearness of God. The just man overcomes this ultimate test; he remains steadfast in the faith, in the certainty of the truth and in full confidence in God, and it is precisely in this way that he finds life and truth. It seems to me that here the psalm touches us very personally; in so many problems we are tempted to think that perhaps not even God can save me, that He doesn’t know me, that perhaps it is not possible for Him; the temptation against faith is the enemy’s final assault, and this we must resist — in so doing, we find God and we find life.”
Tomorrow I will post his comments on the next couple of verses of Psalm 3. Or you can read his whole meditation here.
Today is the feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. St. Gregory the Great, in one of his homilies, tells us what each of their names mean: “Michael means ‘Who is like God?’; Gabriel is ‘The Strength of God’; and Raphael is ‘God’s Remedy.'” I started thinking about how often I pray to St. Michael–daily–but how I never pray to the other two. I need God’s strength every day, and I could be praying to Gabriel for that every day. I know so many people and situations that need “God’s Remedy” and could be interceding to Raphael for them. May we all take more advantage of these heavenly helpers God has provided for us.
Witnesses to Hope 