Psalm 147 "King of the Hill?"

Psalm for Today = 147:6, 10-11
⁶ The Lord lifts up the humble;
    he casts the wicked to the ground…

¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
¹¹ but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Comments:

Verse 6 is a repeated theme throughout the Bible and throughout human history. And when he does it, everyone cheers! The multitudes love it when the arrogant are thrown to the ground. Everyone likes it when a bully is thrown down. But what about the person who takes the bully’s place? He may have been the Lord’s instrument in throwing down the bully but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be judged for his own pride and the way that he treats God’s people…

God threw Egypt down for oppressing Israel,

Canaanites were thrown down in judgment by Israel,

Israel was thrown down by Assyria

Assyria and Judah were thrown down by Babylon,

Babylon was thrown down by the Medo-Persians,

Persian was thrown down by the Greeks,

Greece was thrown down by the Romans

Rome was thrown down by the Barbarians, and on and on it goes.

In a spiritual sense, the exclusivity of Israel was thrown down by the death of Christ as salvation—relationship with God—was offered to the Gentiles. Yet this should not be a point of pride for the gentiles against the Jews (though it has been) as Paul makes clear in Romans11:19-21.

^“Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.”

The same warning had been given to Israel when they first entered the land of Promise. In the New Testament, in both the Epistle of James (4:6) and 1 Peter (5:5) the warning is repeated to followers of Jesus Christ, the church, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” So why do we think that we are any different today? If we are proud then God will use some means to throw us to the ground…for our own good and for the good of others around us.

Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash

Yahweh (the Lord) sends the clouds, he prepares the rain, he makes the grass grow (v.7-9). All that we depend on is actually in his care. As a result, God is not in awe of our attempts at self-sufficiency. He is not impressed with how strong our plow horse, our warhorse, or our beer-wagon horse is, neither is he intimidated with the legs of a man how far he can run, how fast he can pedal, or how high or long he can jump. We just need to get over it. But more than that, having read the psalm, we should give praise where praise is due—the Lord God Almighty!

I would much rather hope in the steadfast love of God than in any façade my pride could throw up. I can force God to get up in my grill and throw me to the ground. He loves me enough to do it, but he much prefers to "have my back" when I trust him to do so.

Photo by John Torcasio on Unsplash

Ironically, when we give glory away to God we end up receiving glory through the grace of God, even being exalted in the process (at the right time). When we humble ourselves, God no longer has to play linebacker for the other team, driving our bluster into the mud, but instead, he faithfully heals our broken hearts, gently meets our needs and lifts us up in his love! I want to play on his team this season!