Psalm 33:4-5
For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Comments:
"Oh, for the love of God!" |
We need to look for God at work in the world. Yet we also
see injustice rear its ugly head in moments of acute oppression, not only in
places like Kabul, Paris, Munich, New Orleans, Dallas, where the violence is
shockingly senseless, but also in the routinely unjust systems that keep the
marginalized and powerless down and out. How can we stop the violence? How can
we defend against an attack? Where do we look for solutions? Too often our
first response is to arm ourselves and fight back. To some extent this approach
is effective, in the short-term, in keeping our power and standard of living.
However, such methods of avoiding death are not effective in actually providing
life.
We are infected with sin and the weapons and ways of the
world are of no use in combating a spiritual attack. Later in Psalm 33, the
author makes this clear,
v.16-19 "The king is not saved by his great
army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a
false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the
eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast
love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in
famine."
Where is our trust? I have been doing some freelance writing
this summer on the life of King David from 1 & 2 Samuel, and have been
impressed with his settled conviction to trust in the Lord for his deliverance.
Sure he was a great soldier, but it wasn’t in weapons and strength that he
ultimately put his trust. While he would defend others, he did not defend himself or raise himself up despite being "the Lord's anointed." In fact, it is possible that David wrote this very
psalm (though untitled, it is sandwiched between two other psalms by David).
Continuing on through the history of Israel recorded in Kings & Chronicles the
two nations, Israel & Judah, made a habit of looking for someone/something
else to trust other than God. It didn't work out so well for them. I would much
rather hope in God, even during a famine!
v. 20-22 "Our soul waits for the LORD; he is
our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his
holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we
hope in you."
As we hope in the Lord together, may we stop defending our own actions and motivation in favor
of listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit directing our efforts to advocate
for justice for others.
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