“But Yahweh has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of
my refuge.” Psalm 94:22.
And here is
where having the Psalms as a daily element of our flight plan yields blessings
for a lifetime, for we are drawn to Christ and the sound thinking and
perspective of His Kingdom.
What do we see
when we read Ps. 94:22?
“But Yahweh has
been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”
What is the
context of this statement? How did the psalmist arrive at this declaration? Can
we follow his path?
The psalm begins
with a plea for Yahweh, the “God of vengeance,” to “Rise up, O judge of the
earth, render recompense to the proud.”
Then we have the
question, “How long shall the wicked, O Yahweh, how long shall the wicked exult?”
Then we have a
description of what the wicked are doing: “They crush Your people, O Yahweh,
and afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the
orphans.”
Let me suggest
that there are many ways in which God’s heritage can be afflicted, that it need
not be overt persecution. It can be the introduction and propagation of false
doctrine and practice in the professing
church so as to pollute the souls of people and draw them away from fidelity to
Jesus Christ. It can be when we make secondary and tertiary things the Main
Thing. It can be when we make moral effort a substitute for abiding in the
Vine. It can be when we repudiate the working of the Holy Spirit, denying that
Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
There are also
many ways in which the widow and stranger and orphan can be slain – for a slow
death that lasts many years is nevertheless a death. To deny decent food and
shelter and education and medical care and public safety is to consign others
to a slow death of mind and heart and soul and body. To turn our hearts and
eyes away from strangers knocking on our door and pleading with us for help and
sanctuary can be to slay them – would Christ turn His heart and eyes?
Yes, there are
certainly obvious and egregious manifestations of wickedness throughout the
world, but I write the above because if we are not looking close to home, if
our attention is primarily focused elsewhere, then we will miss things in our
own lives of which we should be aware, and we will miss opportunities around us
to share Christ in word and deed.
Regarding the
wicked, “They have said, Yah does not see, nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”
Then the
psalmist speaks to the wicked, beginning with “Pay heed, you senseless among
the people; and when will you understand stupid ones? He who planted the ear,
does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who chastens the
nations, will He not rebuke, even He who teaches man knowledge?”
When the
psalmist looked at the wicked, he saw them living as if there would be no judgment
and reckoning. The wicked thought that they could inflict suffering on others
with impunity, and of course the wicked still think this way. How do we think?
Do we pick and
choose what we identify as wickedness? Do we give oppression and exploitation a
“pass” if it benefits us and our tribe? Is selling defective products fine if
we own stock in the company? Is purchasing clothing manufactured by slave
labor, or by child labor, or by labor paid less than a living wage, okay with
us if it means that we pay less for the product?
Do we turn our
eyes from genocide in an out-of-the-way (in our eyes) place because it does not
affect us economically or threaten our national security? Do we tolerate crime
in certain areas of our nation that we would never allow in other areas?
Do we invite
moral and spiritual filth into our homes via media, and offer our children as
sacrifices to these hideous images and messages because it is too much trouble
for us to go against the grain?
“Blessed is the
man whom You chasten, O Yah, and whom You teach out of Your law, that You may
grant him relief from the days of adversity, until a pit is dug for the wicked.”
In verse 10 the
instruction of Yahweh through chastisement and discipline is introduced; while
we’ll consider this more closely, the Lord willing, in our next reflection in
this series, right now I want to point out that if we are going to look at
events around us, if we are going to have some understanding of wickedness and suffering
and the judgment of God, that we ought to be open to the instruction,
discipline, and chastisement of God in our own lives.
Are we open to
our Father and Lord Jesus working deep within us, to clarify our understanding
and purify our souls? Are we willing to be God’s answer to our prayers for
others? Are we looking to the ways of “man” for our salvation, or is Jesus
Christ becoming our stronghold and Rock of refuge?
All followers of
Jesus ought to have a theodicy – that’s a word that means an understanding of
how God works out His justice and judgment in the world. If God is good and
righteous and all powerful, why is there evil and why does it seem as if evil
is not held accountable? Why do the righteous and innocent suffer? How do we
live in such a world?
If we aren’t
engaged in God’s Word, if we aren’t seeing Christ in and through the Scriptures,
then we will likely look for answers elsewhere – O how we need to see Christ daily
in the Bibe. In the psalms we encounter the struggle with theodicy again and
again and again – and make no mistake, it is a struggle. If you find someone
who gives you a neat and tidy answer to the questions of anguish of suffering
and evil and judgement – then you have found someone who understands the
infinite and eternal mystery of “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” My
advice is to run from such a person – this is a lifelong pilgrimage, we belong
at the foot of the Cross in worship, not above the Cross in analysis and in our
own understanding.
The psalms keep us
anchored in Christ and in Biblical thinking, including thinking about theodicy.
In the psalms we participate in the sorrows and questions and triumphs and
assurances of those who have gone before us, of our brethren in the world
today, and of Jesus Christ. This is what I wrote at the beginning of this
reflection:
When most of us
think of the Psalms we likely think of prayer and worship and praise; but do we
think of sound doctrine and Biblical teaching? The Psalms demonstrate that prayer
and worship and praise can (and ought!) to be permeated with Christ and sound
doctrine. Public worship ought to instruct as well as inspire. We can learn
to see Jesus Christ on every page of Psalms – are we learning to do so? We can
also receive sound instruction about God, the Church, the world, and ourselves
throughout the Psalms – are we doing so?
I am desperate
for the Psalms every day.
What about you?
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