The psalmist must not have read Isaiah who lays the blame for broken walls on the “pleasant planting” that produced sour grapes. There are times when we can identity clearly the cause and effect of choices made or delayed but there are just as many times when “why, O Lord?” has no obvious answer. Concert goers are not supposed to get mowed down by gunfire in Las Vegas especially by a shooter who appears "normal" whatever that means. We cannot endure for long with the "why, O Lord" and so when the walls of our security have been broken down and the pleasant planting of our lives are ravaged by calamity we cry aloud with the psalmist. “Restore us, God Almighty!” “Return to us, God Almighty!” “Look down from heaven and see!” Which is to say even when there are no satisfactory answers to “why?” we trust the Lord still tends the vine of our lives. So our hearts break for lives lost in such a violent and meaningless fashion while we still cling to faith that where justice and mercy meet God is present.
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