Pit

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.
– Psalm 40:2

When I was (much) younger, my best friend and I were avid cavers. We spent numerous hours climbing, crawling, even slithering through caves in West Virginia and Kentucky. A few expeditions were enough to have us underground for more than 24 hours at a time. The adventures brought much fun, often a sense of accomplishment, and occasionally a sense of gratitude for being delivered from what were literally tight places. While most of the caving was horizontal-ish in nature, from time to time we would “drop a pit.” As you can guess, a pit pretty much is a vertical cave. Sometimes the pit is the opening into a larger cave system. Other times it is just a vertical drop into the ground.

Caves have a way of imposing a vulnerable feeling on those who enter. People with any degree of claustrophobia can immediately feel anxious when in a cave, even one that is spacious. The mind that is left to wander will begin to weigh potential odds of rock slides, floods, or any other event that could trap one underground. Though the odds of such things are quite slim, the thought of them can still leave one feeling uneasy. Pits in particular have a knack for this. When you are standing on surface ground looking down, it just looks cool. When you are standing at the bottom of the pit looking up, it still looks cool, but it also sparks the thought, “I hope I can get out of here!”

The pit envisioned by the psalmist was certainly not a destination for recreational pleasure. Though we don’t know if the writer had a particular pit in mind, we easily understand what is meant. Psalm writers make reference to pits fifteen times (Ps. 7, 9, 28, 30, 35, 40, 55, 57, 69, 88, 94, 103, 119, 140, 143), and it is never used in a positive manner. If you visit the House of Caiphas in Jerusalem, you will be able to enter a pit that was used as a dungeon. Tradition teaches that Jesus, on the night before his death, was held there by the High Priest before being taken to Pilate. The pit is about 20 ft. deep with a very small opening at the top. If you visit the bottom of that pit, there is on display a reading from Psalm 88 to help you identify with our Lord’s suffering.

You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.
– Psalm 88:6-7

Thankfully the pit is not the end of the story for Jesus, nor for the psalmist, nor for us. God is a redeemer, One who reaches into the pits in order to rescue those who are His. The psalmist expresses joy in recognizing the work of the Lord. God has brought him out of the miry pit of destruction and set his feet on a firm foundation, ground on which he is free and safe from harm. (For reflection on this safe ground, see the blog post Rock.)

I know what it feels like to be set free from dangerous places, to have anxiety—even downright fear—wash away. The peace is so sweet, the gratitude so deep. Life has a tangible newness to it, enough to inspire a song of praise. If you know the sense of rescue that comes with trusting Jesus, you know just what the psalmist is expressing. Has Jesus rescued you from the pit of destruction? If so, sing that new song, that many may come to put their trust in the Lord.

My heart was distressed ’neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.