Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.  

For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.  

I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.

I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.  

For I hear the whispering of many - terror all around! - as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.  

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God."

My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.  

Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

So many images reflecting our times! Was this psalm really written so long ago? The prayer requests come flooding in, describing heart-rending situations ("my eye wastes away from grief"). Newspapers describe horrific acts against folks who "don't belong here." ("I am…a horror to my neighbors"). Relationships break down, and we struggle to re-build them ("I have become like a broken vessel"). Our government reminds us that the war on terrorism continues ("they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life").

Still, the psalm calls me to the proper resting place, the only harbor worthy of my trust and where the broken vessel can be repaired. It is a place of deliverance because time is in God's hand, because his face shines on me there, and because his steadfast love alone can save. All I have to do is to say, "You are my God."