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Psalm 94/Politics...


    

1O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.2Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
3LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
4How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
5They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
6They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
7Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
8Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
11The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
12Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
13That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
14For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
15But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
16Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
18When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
19In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
20Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
21They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
22But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
23And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness;yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.
    
    This past week was filled with political stress and debate.  Many were filled with worry, frustration, and hopelessness.  It’s at times like these that we need to read Psalms like this.  “O Yahweh God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.  Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.” 
    These words of the Psalmist should encourage us and maybe convict us a little bit, too.  We must never forget that our God is the Sovereign Creator of the Universe.  As such, He is the Judge of the Earth. 
    Many people disregard the true God.  Many people mock Him and abuse His patience.  “Yahweh shall not see,” they say.  “The God of Jacob shall not regard it,” they convince themselves.  Our God is patient, but He is not blind.  He is not deaf to their taunts.  Justice will be meted out. 
    Many times we find ourselves asking the same question as this Psalmist.  “How long will the wicked triumph?  How long will they revel in their pride?  How long will they persecute the righteous and blaspheme God’s name?”  Thankfully, God gives us His guarantee that this will not last forever, but we must wait for His timing.  He is the Judge, and we must wait for His sentence. 
    As we marvel at the audacity of the Godless world, we should be filled with gratitude that God has made Himself known to us.  Look at verse 12.  “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Yahweh, and teachest him out of thy law.”
    Let’s draw a few points from this verse.  Firstly, it is a blessing to be chastened by God.  To chasten means to discipline or to admonish.  The Hebrew word carries with it idea of warning.  When God chastens us, He is not punishing us for our sins.  Instead, as a loving Shepherd, He is guiding our steps with the gentle reprimand of His rod. 
    Hebrews 12:7-11 tells us, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” 
    Secondly, it is a blessing to be taught by God.  Verse 2 told us that God is the Judge.  He is also the great Lawgiver.  His laws are not a burden; they are a blessing.  The word translated law properly means direction, instruction, or law.  When God gave us the Law, in both the Old and New Testaments, He was giving us direction for our lives.  The world is in darkness with no guidance or purpose for life.  We have been given the divine revelation to mark out our path for us. 
    With David we must pray, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  We can celebrate the light of God in an even greater way than David could.  We are living in the days prophesied by Jeremiah where God promised, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.”  The writer of Hebrews tells us that this has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  While Jesus removed from us the curse of the Law by His death, by His teaching He brought out the true spirit of the Law.
     Thirdly, when God chastens us and teaches us, He does it to give us rest.  Verse 13 says, “That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.”  Sometimes worrying is easier than trusting, but God gives us peace in the midst of our trying times.  He may not rescue us from our lot in life.  In fact, He has a reason for putting us in that specific place with those specific circumstances.  His peace, however, helps us to transcend our issues and our persecutors while He prepares a pit for them, so to speak.  We can rest knowing the wicked will not triumph forever.
    No matter what happens this week, we can take comfort knowing that Yahweh will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.  We can rest knowing that Yahweh is our defense, and our God is the rock of our refuge.  He is in control and He is using these times and these people in His own way.
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