The Plaintive Cry

2Samuel 22:7

In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.

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It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan from the soundtrack to "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."

The plaintive cries of a man who dies violently. He's got a badge and where he's going he won't need it. He's got guns and where he's going he won't need it. He knows he's about to die and there's no solace for him. Why? Who knows. "The bad guy got him and town's not safe" is a good bet, but it's only a guess. But there is mourning in the words, and mourning in almost everyone who sings this song. It's the kind of mourning that hints that there is more death coming, and the man is saddened.

Of course the Guns 'N' Roses version really doesn't show this, but Axl Rose has never been one for remorse or regret.

In this song, this song of David from 2Samuel, David rejoices that the Lord does hear and did deliver him from his enemies and from Saul. David begins by praising the Lord, his fortress, his deliverer, his rock, his shield, his stronghold, his refuge, the horn of his salvation, his savior and his God. His Lord saves him from violence. His Lord saves him from his enemies. His Lord is worthy to be praised.

His Lord saves him from his enemies. His Lord saves him from death. He cries to the Lord and the Lord hears his cries.

The Lord hears cries. The Lord hears the plaintive cries of the people. The Lord listens and pays attention. The only negative thing that can be said is that the Lord doesn't respond the way we want or in what we might call a timely manner.

Yet here's the truth. We knock on heaven's door. We don't particularly want to die. We especially don't want to die when there's still what we would consider "work to be done" on the table.

God hears our cries. Sometimes the story will end like it did for David, the greatest grandfather of our Lord. Sometimes it's like this nameless man who dies with his boots on. Both knock on heaven's door and neither is a failure. David claims the Lord as his God and savior, and so must we. As for the rest, knocking on heaven's door by the grace of God takes care of that.