It is quite a shift to be reading Psalms this morning.
What a wonderful song. So rich, so full, so many stopping places to pause and allow the Lord to pour into my soul. It is mornings like these that I am so glad that I read entire chapters rather than a few lines.
David sings bold lines contrasting the God-lovers and the wicked.
It is difficult some days watching the wicked live well, often at the expense of the poor. I want to scream, “It’s not fair.” And it isn’t. Rather than screaming I should probably do more to correct the injustices I see, especially the injustices that grieve God’s heart.
This Psalm reminded me that we do not see the whole story. I latched onto to verses 35-38: I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked.
There will come a day when the wicked are no more. By contrast a future awaits those who seek peace. I know that isn’t always a satisfying answer. But if we truly believe that there is another live after death and that life is an eternity in duration, then these words begin to make sense. The Lord will straighten things out in His time. God will judge and render His verdict in His time!
In the mean time I cannot simply sit by and hope for the next world; I should be bringing what I can of eternity into this world. Throughout this Psalm, the God-lover is called to do good (3), to not fret and do the evil that comes from fretting (8). We are to live with God, to wait, trust, believe and do good.
I can do these things… for the Lord’s love is in me.
O, Lord, I pray for that coming day when Your full righteousness will be revealed. Until that day I will live for You and serve You and work for Your causes in this world. To You be the glory and the honor and the power. Amen.
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