Isaiah 38:14 “Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.”
There are times in which we are so burdened and wearied by the troubles of this life, that we seem to “chatter” like the “crane or” “swallow”; their chattering sounds as if they are totally confused and don’t know what to do or where to turn. There are times in which we “mourn as a dove”; for their cooing sounds are often sad and mournful, sounds that bring to mind sadness and loneliness and heartbreak. There are times in which our “eyes fail with looking upward”, for we have prayed and prayed, and the Lord has not seen fit to answer. Then, our troubles seem to crescendo upon us like a waterfall over a cliff, then we cry unto the “LORD”, “I am oppressed”; that is, I am distressed and pressed down in my soul beyond my ability to recover myself! Then is when we pray, “LORD”, “undertake for me”; that is, we plea, “LORD” be my strength, my hope, and my deliverance! And, as we continue “looking upward”, in a time pleasing to Him, our “LORD” hears and mercifully acts on our behalf. Later, we joyfully proclaim, “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” (Isaiah 38:17)!