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Psalm Six The Psalms are inexhaustible, and deserve to be read, said,

On the last day of their sailing class, two boys rode the stiff breeze down the bay on the back side of the island. The water was calm there, not like the rough ocean on the other side of the island. The conditions were perfect to test what the boys had been learning. Their instructor had sent her students out in pairs and told them she would be watching. She wanted to see them go a bit down the bay and perform their maneuvers: coming about, capsizing and righting their vessel, and tacking back against the wind. The two boys felt confident, and having fun riding with their sails full, went farther than the other students. They had no thoughts of danger or failure. After ten weeks of lessons, the bay felt as familiar as their neighborhoods at home. On one side, a row of houses stood with docks extending out into the water; on the other, a seemingly endless expanse of marsh wetlands with narrow waterways weaving between them. Though the day had been bright when they set off, clouds had begun to roll in so that, when they reached the last few houses, the sky and the water around them had darkened, and the breeze had picked up into a solid wind. The boys took turns capsizing and righting and coming about as they had been instructed, and admired each other for the skill with which they each performed the maneuvers. Then, with nothing but victory in their minds, they turned their efforts to the most challenging maneuver. Tacking required agility, persistence, and skill. It was a seemingly physics-defying process that consisted of carefully directing the sailboat in a zigzag pattern to capture the energy from a headwind and propel the vessel forward against the wind itself. After some efforts, the boys made some progress. They managed to work their way past the first three houses beside them, but just as they were approaching the fourth house, the sky darkened, a few drops of rain began to fall, and the wind picked up, pushing them back. They put more effort in, working more and more furiously against the wind until one of the boys collapsed in tears and sobbed, “We’re never going to make it!” The other boy, still fighting furiously against the elements, had no words for his companion. He pushed the rudder over to the other side of the stern and shouted, “Coming about,” as both boys ducked under the boom and sail that swung to the other side of the boat. The wind continued to push them backward, but the second boy refused to give up, and with a growing annoyance at the emotional collapse of his companion, he shouted, “Coming about,” pushed the rudder across, and ducked under the boom. “Come on,” he shouted, “help me!” But the first boy only wept. The sailing instructor stood far upwind on the dock watching the boys, and seeing the worsening weather conditions, she asked a friend with a small powerboat to go and tow them back. The boy who had been sobbing felt a wave of relief at the arrival of their rescuer. The second boy, who by this time had been considering docking the boat at the house next to them and walking back, only felt disappointment and failure. When the world confronts you with insurmountable challenges, what do you do? We live in a world that celebrates champions, victory, and self made men and women. Scripture teaches us to also celebrate weakness, tears, and God-made men and women. In Psalm 6, David speaks of weeping until his bed is drenched and his eyes are swollen. But the Lord hears the sound of his weeping. The Lord accepts David’s prayer.

sung, chanted, whispered, learned by heart, and even shouted from the rooftops. They express all the emotions we are ever likely to feel (including some we hope we may not), and they lay them, raw and open, in the presence of God.

-N.T. Wright Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense