Guest commentary by Donald McKim
Tucked in the midst of Psalm 50 is verse 15:
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
This verse may sound like a typical Psalm verse. God’s addresses the psalmist in the midst of a psalm that deals with worship sacrifices. The sacrifices of animals or burnt offerings are not of greatest importance – because these already belong to God. After all, God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (50:10). The true sacrifice is from those “who bring thanksgiving” because “their sacrifice honor me” (50:23).
For those who “go the right way” and see “the salvation of God” (50:23), verse 15 gives a snapshot of what God desires and how life under God is to be lived. As Christians reading this psalm, we recognize its direct message to us as well: “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Why is this so powerful?
This verse struck theologian Karl Barth as so vital that, in the final installment of his massive “Church Dogmatics,” he wrote that this command (“call upon me”) is “the basic meaning of every divine command, and we regard invocation according to this command as the basic meaning of all human obedience.”
Wow! Calling on God or “invocation” is what all divine commands point us to do. This is the basic meaning of our obedience. What it means most to obey God is to invoke God. What God permits us, said Barth, and what God “expects, wills, and requires” of us is a life of calling upon God. “This life of calling,” said the theologian, “will be a person’s Christian life.” It is our life “in freedom, conversion, faith, gratitude and faithfulness.” This insight was so powerful for Barth that he conceived the whole of the ethics of reconciliation, or the command of God the Reconciler, in terms of this command: “Call on me.”
Think of it. Barth said baptism is the foundation of our Christian lives and the Lord’s Supper is its renewal. In between – in our Christian existence between baptism and Lord’s Supper celebrations – is the Lord’s Prayer. This model prayer, given by Jesus, is supremely our calling upon God, as the psalmist was commanded. The Lord’s Prayer is the sign of our being “praying people.” Prayer is at the core of our Christian lives. So Barth’s book on the Christian life deals with the Lord’s Prayer – with what it means that we obey God’s command: “Call on me.”
God’s command to the psalmist enjoins prayer. The rest of the verse gives a full view of what our life of prayer promises and how we respond. As John Calvin put it, in this 15th verse: “We have first an injunction to prayer, then a promise of its being answered, and afterwards a call to thanksgiving.” See how much is packed in here! This is virtually the Christian life in a nutshell: God calls us to pray; God answers our prayers; we thank God.
God calls us to pray. God’s call is a command and invitation. We pray in “the day of trouble,” but also in all our days. Calvin says: “For prayer is a duty incumbent upon us every day, and every moment of our lives.” We hear an echo of Paul’s injunction: “Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is not an option for us. It is an absolute necessity. As Calvin reminds, “we must never cease to engage in the exercise of supplication, remembering that, if God should withdraw his favour for a moment, we would be undone.” Especially in times of affliction and difficulties we should pray—as at all other times, unceasingly. This is what God desires—and commands—of us.
God answers our prayers. Lest we be overwhelmed by our troubles, Calvin notes, God promises here to answer our prayers. God is our only safety, our help (Psalm 46:1; 121:1-2). We may be “overwhelmed by a sense of the majesty of God, or our own unworthiness,” said Calvin. So we certainly need this promise, “to animate us in the duty,” the Reformer said. We need not fear our prayers bounce off the ceiling or that God is indifferent or will be unresponsive when we pray. God promises, “I will deliver you.” To “deliver” is to “save” (see Psalm 6:4 for the same term). What we need most, God provides: God answers our prayers. Martin Luther reinforced this when he wrote, “the very best thing in prayer is faith which relies on God’s promise that He will hear, just as He has said [Psalm 50:15].” God’s promise is to answer and deliver – to save us!
We thank God. “You shall glorify me,” God says to the psalmist. Our response to the salvation, deliverance and answers to prayer we receive is to glorify and thank God. We are in the grip of gratitude for the blessings of being in a relationship of trust and love with the great loving God who hears and answers our prayers – and delivers and saves us in “the day of trouble.” What more could we ever want than this! Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a wonderful children’s curriculum called “Growing in Grace and Gratitude.” This captures it, doesn’t it? God calls us to pray and answers our prayers (gives us grace), and we glorify God (thanking God) – we respond in gratitude to God’s grace. This is the heartbeat, the rhythm of our Christian lives.
Let Psalm 50:15 seep into your pores and energize you this season! Put prayer at the center of your life, of your every breath! Trust God to hear and answer and deliver you in every situation. Glorify God in thanksgiving and gratitude for the grace given. Live the life God in Jesus Christ wants you to live. Hear God’s voice: “Call on me”!
DONALD K. MCKIM lives in Germantown, Tennessee. His most recent book is “John Calvin: A Companion to His Life and Theology.”
