I went down a strange and wonderful rabbit hole last week. A good friend recommended a poem to me, and as I read it, I noticed in the footnote that it was inspired by Psalm 89. So naturally I looked up Psalm 89, which led me to read commentary on what was happening when it was written, which led to more research … in other words, if you give a mouse a cookie, she will spend two hours reading things. I learned some wonderful things about this psalm, but more importantly, this friend’s message that led to reading a poem, that led to researching Psalm 89, led me to the whole reason for God dropping this passage on me today. Psalm 89 speaks directly to my heart in this moment in time.

So, first, let’s talk about what I learned. The title of this psalm is A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite. There are several men named Ethan in the Hebrew Scriptures, but this man is mentioned specifically in 1 Kings 4:31 as someone who was famous for his wisdom – yet surpassed by Solomon’s greater wisdom. This means he was likely a contemporary of Solomon and was also alive during the reign of David. You can see his allegiance to David and his appreciation for David’s rule. He wrote this during a time when the Israelites had strayed from God’s word and God’s will, and they were feeling God’s wrath. Ethan stands in the gap to plead for them. God does not respond, and Ethan’s pleas get stronger and more urgent. He feels dejected.

Have you ever felt misunderstood, and when you tried to straighten it out, you only made it worse? Have you ever been taunted by your enemies, rejected, left alone? Was there ever a time when you couldn’t find God in the midst of your heart ache? Ethan felt that way, too.

Psalm 89 (New Revised Standard Version)

How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is—
    for what vanity you have created all mortals!
⁴⁸ Who can live and never see death?
    Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah

⁴⁹ Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted,
    how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
⁵¹ with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
    with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.

What strikes me the most about this psalm is that that Ethan never resolves it. There is no triumphant victory over his enemies, no intervention of God who comes to his defense, no reassurance that God indeed is here and fighting his battle next to him. We know from history that God forgave and redeemed Israel, but you would not know that from reading this psalm. No, instead, we see Ethan deal with his trouble by blessing God in the midst of it:

⁵² Blessed be the Lord forever.
                Amen and Amen.

Sometimes you just have to live through a moment. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can to reconcile a situation and then move on. Sometimes you just have to let go and let God. Tomorrow is another day.

Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and amen.

I Will Arise by Ginger Enderson