You may have heard that the good thing about hitting rock bottom is that there is nowhere to go but up. Sometimes, like the case with the Prodigal Son, it takes landing in the gutter to get us to come to our senses and realize that we need to look up. The view from the ditch is often that of God!
That's what Asaph the Psalmist sees as he and his people recover from a military onslaught, most likely that of the Babylonians who sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 586 B.C. Reading the first few verses gives you a taste of the suffering and humiliation undergone by the Jews during this time.
Rather than wallow in their misfortune, however, they turn their sights to God and plead with Him for mercy and deliverance and justice. They ask that God re-direct His anger away from His people and instead pour it out upon the enemy nations who do not know Him (vs. 6). They pray for His compassion to come upon them and lift them up from their trials (vs. 8). And they tell God that they would like to see their taunting neighbors get in trouble themselves! (vs. 12)
While we might argue with the thirst for vengeance expressed in this Psalm, it does reveal that when we lose everything in this world, our eyes naturally turn toward the next. Laying on your back in the ditch gives you a perfect view of heaven. If only it wouldn't take landing there to prompt us to remember God and His Word!
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