Covering and Cobwebs
"Rescue me from my enemies, Yhwh, with you I have covered [kasah] myself" (Ps. 143:9, Goldingay's translation [1]).
"Their cobwebs are useless for clothing, they cannot cover [kasah] themselves with what they make" (Isa. 59:6).
The psalmist writes in the midst of enemies, in the midst of a life-threatening situation. Tears pour down. Decisions must be made. Something has to be done! "My spirit grows faint within me! My heart within me is dismayed!" (Ps. 143:4).
We reach out for a line to cling to. The temptation is to turn to myself and spin my own covering to protect and provide for myself. I can be tempted to return like-for-like as Psalm 141 shows, to meet the enemies on their own ground. It is a temptation I fight everyday. When I do it, I know what is being done. Yet, Yahweh, my covenantal God, calls me to cover myself with him. Him alone. This is what it means for him to be Lord. Lord of all, in all, throughout all, despite all. I trust in him alone, no matter how much it seems I am just waiting, watching, longing, as the dark closes in. No matter how much my fears wrap around me. Him alone.
Isaiah graphically depicts the folly of our covering ourselves--they are cobwebs. The tears of suffering line the spare threads, highlighting their sparsity. The overshadowing dark brings a chill, and we realize how frail and futile our own attempts to cover ourselves are. We cannot cover ourselves. Do we learn that?
But the limning tears turn into diamonds. The uncovering of our covering is one of the ways in which suffering is a blessing. It reveals to my own heart every day the choice I have to make: is Yahweh my Lord or am I my lord? Am I covering myself with him or trying to cover myself? We have the same decision to make in times of prosperity and peace, but it is a subtle decision. The bright sun's glare of favor can make my cobwebs glitter brightly and beautifully, and I can bask in the golden rays unconscious of my foolish apparel.
The limning tears are also an answer to prayer. The psalmist knows we can deceive ourselves. Cobwebs can be comfortable. So he prays for the Lord to "Show me the way I should go" and "Teach me to do your will" and "may your good Spirit lead me on level ground" (Ps. 143:8b, 10). We may think we know the way to go, how to follow the Lord, how to trust in him, and how to wait well. Yet, we need his divine enablement even for this. Suffering may be the Lord's gracious answer to teach us, and to cause us to pray this even more fervently.
I try to excuse myself for crafting my own coat of cobwebs: "If I trusted in you more. If you showed me your love more. If I hadn't been hurt so badly. If I didn't have this fear..." No wonder the psalmist cries out, "Enable me to learn to do what is acceptable to you!" (Psalm 143:10 [2]).
Ultimately, it comes down to lordship. He is my Lord, and I will cover myself with him alone. I will go to him alone. It is part of the dying to self. But he has shown us again and again how trustworthy he is. We have a Bible that recounts his redemptive history, culminating in Christ, showing his garments of salvation for us (Isa. 61:10).
We count on his salvation because we count on Him as our Lord. For it is a dual relationship--the Lord cares for his servant:
"For your name's sake... in your righteousness.... in your unfailing love... for I am your servant" (Psalm 143:11-12).
NOTES
(1) John E. Goldingay, Psalms, Vol. 3, Psalms 91-50, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 3:676.
(2) Ibid., 3:677.
"Their cobwebs are useless for clothing, they cannot cover [kasah] themselves with what they make" (Isa. 59:6).
The psalmist writes in the midst of enemies, in the midst of a life-threatening situation. Tears pour down. Decisions must be made. Something has to be done! "My spirit grows faint within me! My heart within me is dismayed!" (Ps. 143:4).
We reach out for a line to cling to. The temptation is to turn to myself and spin my own covering to protect and provide for myself. I can be tempted to return like-for-like as Psalm 141 shows, to meet the enemies on their own ground. It is a temptation I fight everyday. When I do it, I know what is being done. Yet, Yahweh, my covenantal God, calls me to cover myself with him. Him alone. This is what it means for him to be Lord. Lord of all, in all, throughout all, despite all. I trust in him alone, no matter how much it seems I am just waiting, watching, longing, as the dark closes in. No matter how much my fears wrap around me. Him alone.
Isaiah graphically depicts the folly of our covering ourselves--they are cobwebs. The tears of suffering line the spare threads, highlighting their sparsity. The overshadowing dark brings a chill, and we realize how frail and futile our own attempts to cover ourselves are. We cannot cover ourselves. Do we learn that?
But the limning tears turn into diamonds. The uncovering of our covering is one of the ways in which suffering is a blessing. It reveals to my own heart every day the choice I have to make: is Yahweh my Lord or am I my lord? Am I covering myself with him or trying to cover myself? We have the same decision to make in times of prosperity and peace, but it is a subtle decision. The bright sun's glare of favor can make my cobwebs glitter brightly and beautifully, and I can bask in the golden rays unconscious of my foolish apparel.
The limning tears are also an answer to prayer. The psalmist knows we can deceive ourselves. Cobwebs can be comfortable. So he prays for the Lord to "Show me the way I should go" and "Teach me to do your will" and "may your good Spirit lead me on level ground" (Ps. 143:8b, 10). We may think we know the way to go, how to follow the Lord, how to trust in him, and how to wait well. Yet, we need his divine enablement even for this. Suffering may be the Lord's gracious answer to teach us, and to cause us to pray this even more fervently.
I try to excuse myself for crafting my own coat of cobwebs: "If I trusted in you more. If you showed me your love more. If I hadn't been hurt so badly. If I didn't have this fear..." No wonder the psalmist cries out, "Enable me to learn to do what is acceptable to you!" (Psalm 143:10 [2]).
Ultimately, it comes down to lordship. He is my Lord, and I will cover myself with him alone. I will go to him alone. It is part of the dying to self. But he has shown us again and again how trustworthy he is. We have a Bible that recounts his redemptive history, culminating in Christ, showing his garments of salvation for us (Isa. 61:10).
We count on his salvation because we count on Him as our Lord. For it is a dual relationship--the Lord cares for his servant:
"For your name's sake... in your righteousness.... in your unfailing love... for I am your servant" (Psalm 143:11-12).
NOTES
(1) John E. Goldingay, Psalms, Vol. 3, Psalms 91-50, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 3:676.
(2) Ibid., 3:677.
Comments
Post a Comment