Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Boice points out the difference between revenge and vengeance; revenge being an act of passion while vengeance is an act of justice 3 . We are forbidden to seek revenge and we are encouraged to leave all vengeance to God who will execute perfect justice. “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19) Grace demands a new level of attitude towards our enemy: “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Rom. 12:21) “How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? Hear their arrogance! How these evildoers boast! They oppress your people, Lord, hurting those you love. They kill widows and foreign- ers and murder orphans. ‘The Lord isn’t looking,’ they say, ‘and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.’” (3-7) Delayed vengeance is not denied vengeance. God does hear the arrogant oppression against his people and the pain of those he loves. There is special concern for the widows, as they traditionally had no one to provide for them as well as the foreigner, as they had no one to plead for them and the or- phan, as they had no one to protect them. Merciful treatment of these groups of people reflects the true heart of God; He is observing as he deeply cares for their unfortunate circumstance. II HE PUNISHES THE NATIONS - 8-11 The Psalmist Speaks to the Wicked “Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on? Is the one who made your ears deaf? Is the one who formed your eyes blind? He punishes the nations–won’t he also punish you? He knows every- thing–doesn’t he also know what you are doing? The Lord knows people’s thoughts, that they are worth- less!” (8-11) ‘Everything that is excellent in the creature, God must indeed possess in original, absolute perfec- tion 4 .’ Although God does not have ears he has the ability to hear and though he does not have eyes, he certainly sees. His perception is absolute and his understanding is perfect in all matters. He is watch- ing and listening to all the evil thoughts of mankind and sees them as worthless and futile. This is not a judgment against all human thought but a comment about the thoughts of the wicked. One of the unmistakable signs of the Messiah was his ability to heal the deaf and the blind on both the natural and spiritual level. “Jesus told them, ‘Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen–the blind see…the deaf hear…and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Mt. 11:4,5) Jesus was implying; ‘hear and see what the miracles are saying, I am the Messiah!’

III

HAPPY ARE THOSE - The Psalmist Speaks to the Just- 12-15

“Happy are those whom you discipline, Lord, and those whom you teach from your law. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.” (12,13)

This is not necessarily corrective discipline but instructive discipline, the kind that builds positive habits and deeply ingrained convictions. The Lord desires to be personally involved with us, instructing us as we read and reflect upon his word: “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true–it is not a lie.” (1 Jn. 2:27) The aim of all instruction is to teach us what is right so we may avoid the destructive life-style of those who oppose God and his ways.

“The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his own special possession. Judgment will come again for the righteous, and those who are upright will have a reward.” (14,15)

God wants us to have an anchor for our souls when we pass through deeply troubling times; he will not reject us, he will not abandon us. There is a day of reckoning when evil will be humiliated and those who stood for what is right will be paid back all that was denied them in their trial. We are encouraged in this psalm to keep our eyes on that future moment.

IV

HOPE AND CHEER - 16-19 The Psalmist Speaks to God

“Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? (16)

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