The Quiet Of The Wilderness

Psalm 55:1-8

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1Listen to my prayer, O God.

Do not ignore my cry for help!

2Please listen and answer me,

for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

3My enemies shout at me,

making loud and wicked threats.

They bring trouble on me,

hunting me down in their anger.

4My heart is in anguish.

The terror of death overpowers me.

5Fear and trembling overwhelm me.

I can’t stop shaking.

6Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove;

then I would fly away and rest!

7I would fly far away

to the quiet of the wilderness.

Interlude

8How quickly I would escape—

far away from this wild storm of hatred.

Jerome was a busy man. It seems he was always teaching people the Bible, making some pilgrimage, or running some charitable operation, but he really just wanted to hole up somewhere and study the Bible.

It was the end of the fourth century, and Christianity was still finding its feet after enduring more than two centuries of persecution. Christians were in charge now, but they had a host of issues to tackle—both theological and practical. Jerome had opinions on every one. For a time he worked in Rome as right-hand man to Pope Damasus, where he began work on the project that made him famous: translating the Bible into Latin. But when the pope died, Jerome was disappointed that he wasn’t selected to replace him. What’s more, Jerome’s enemies started criticizing him more freely. Where could he go to find some peace?

He ended up in Bethlehem, where he spent the last thirty-five years of his life writing. It seems he finally found the hideaway he always wanted. In Bethlehem, Jerome finished his Bible translation, the Vulgate, and produced many other commentaries and essays.

It should come as no surprise that Psalm 55 was one of his favorites, especially verses 6 and 7: “Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.”

Oh, were I a feathered dove,

And innocence had wings.

I’d fly and with the God I love,

Leave all these restless things.

ISAAC WATTS

A Word on Words

Anguish in verse 4 literally means “trembling with pain.” In certain forms, the word is sometimes used to describe a woman’s pain in childbirth.

Notable Quotable

“The net is not pitched for ravenous birds, as are the hawk and the kite, but for poor harmless birds that never meditate mischief.”

JOHN RAWLINSON