Psalm 40
Consider the second verse of Psalm 40.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clayHe brought me out of the slimy pit, out of the miry bog
Three different translations.
I like them all.
Each one makes me feel the slipping danger, the threat of being pulled under, the desperation inherent in my inability to climb out.
What is the pit? There are a few clues in the surrounding context but they are pretty thin.
All I can surmise is that it was not a literal muddy pit.
It was a spiritual situation that felt like the pits.
It could have been many things.
Depression caused by painful events, a circumstance carved pit.
Sorrow over the consequences of my sin, a sort of self-inflicted pit.
Pain over the consequences of being sinned against, a pit dug by an enemy (or loved one who was acting temporarily as an enemy)
What do we know about the experience in the pit?
It feels horrible. It gets me all dirty and muddy.
It makes me want to cry.
Cry tears of sorrow and cry out pleas of desperation.
I need to get out.
But I cannot pull myself out.
I need to be brought out.
There is only one way.
Would You? Could You?
Enter the pit, O God.