AS A DEAD MAN … LIKE A BROKEN VESSEL

Job, a great man from the past, hit rock bottom after many vio­lent adversities shattered his life. He did not follow his wife’s advice and curse God, but he did curse the day he was born, Job 3. 1. Surrounded by enemies who hated him, David knew there was no way out. In his despair, he turned to God; he throws him­self upon God as the only possible solution to all his problems. This does not mean that he did not feel deeply the pressure from his many enemies and the utter hopelessness of his situation. Only an honest man can truly say, ‘I am in trouble’, v. 9. In that clear moment of reality, David wrote, ‘I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel’. How often do we express ourselves with such clarity?

The Psalm highlights important issues. It makes clear that David’s many enemies were determined to destroy him. Out­wardly, he was tangled in a net of conspiracy greater than he could handle on his own. He was not reluctant to recognize this, v. 4. In our world issues do arise in our lives when, if we are wise, we admit responsibly that we truly need God’s help. Often in such circumstances we identify with the poet’s lament, ‘I am for­gotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel’. How often do we shun a person who is going through a real mis­fortune? It certainly happened to Paul, for he shares with Timothy that all his friends left him. It is very natural in such a time to feel like a broken, discarded and worthless vessel. Yet the apostle affirms that the Lord stood with him, 2 Tim. 4. 16, 17. And that is the identical theme that runs right through this Psalm. We are not alone in our adversity. God is with us all along the road regardless of how rough it may be.

In the dark night of misfortune, the author begins this poem by emphasizing that his trust is in the Lord. He ends with a beau­tiful call to God’s people to love the Lord and to be strong, for God does preserve the faithful and He deals justly and firmly with those who are proud. If we feel that we are isolated, stand­ing on the sidelines like a broken vessel, we remember that He promised never to leave us nor forsake us. In that assurance, we know, as David knew, that God is our helper, Heb. 13. 5, 6.