The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 53:4-5,
"Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread."
Evildoers, that is, those who never call on God, are filled with dread. We are all evildoers, sinners, but some of us have chosen to call on God, to place our faith in him. Those who chose to remain in their sins continue to be called "evildoers" while those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith are God's people.
We see a dynamic here: evildoers , those I refer to as "Team Cain", seek to destroy God's people. David in this psalm points to a motivating principle that drives the evildoers to do so- dread. Evildoers are overwhelmed with a felt dread, and in this psalm, David points out there is nothing for them to dread from God's people. What that dread is they feel is the unconscious fear the looming judgment of God brings. They may deny the existence of God, they may even be persuaded there exists no afterlife, however it is only an illusion. Reality bites everyone from time to time, and so even committed atheists have their moments of doubting their misguided convictions. It is in those times that I suspect there is an unconscious dread that generates within them.
Why would they lash out at God's people if they simply don't believe in God? Their animated hostility, felt in the public square today as they demand the removal of all things Judeo-Christian, whether statues, plaques, mentions of God, litigation against Christian business owners, prayer among school sports teams, etc. all betray the same attitude as those in David's day and reveal a motivation that drives them. It is a palpable dread.
In a parallel passage David goes further to explain this dread, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." Psalm 14:4-5. Here it becomes clear the source of hostility of "Team Cain" against God's people, "Team Abel." God, who will judge sinners condemned to death is not in their tent, not in their camp, not in their company. As they look over to the tent, the camp, the company of God's people, there God is - not with them but with those who "call on God."
John helps to explain this in 1 John 3:12-13, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
"Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread."
Evildoers, that is, those who never call on God, are filled with dread. We are all evildoers, sinners, but some of us have chosen to call on God, to place our faith in him. Those who chose to remain in their sins continue to be called "evildoers" while those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith are God's people.
We see a dynamic here: evildoers , those I refer to as "Team Cain", seek to destroy God's people. David in this psalm points to a motivating principle that drives the evildoers to do so- dread. Evildoers are overwhelmed with a felt dread, and in this psalm, David points out there is nothing for them to dread from God's people. What that dread is they feel is the unconscious fear the looming judgment of God brings. They may deny the existence of God, they may even be persuaded there exists no afterlife, however it is only an illusion. Reality bites everyone from time to time, and so even committed atheists have their moments of doubting their misguided convictions. It is in those times that I suspect there is an unconscious dread that generates within them.
Why would they lash out at God's people if they simply don't believe in God? Their animated hostility, felt in the public square today as they demand the removal of all things Judeo-Christian, whether statues, plaques, mentions of God, litigation against Christian business owners, prayer among school sports teams, etc. all betray the same attitude as those in David's day and reveal a motivation that drives them. It is a palpable dread.
In a parallel passage David goes further to explain this dread, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." Psalm 14:4-5. Here it becomes clear the source of hostility of "Team Cain" against God's people, "Team Abel." God, who will judge sinners condemned to death is not in their tent, not in their camp, not in their company. As they look over to the tent, the camp, the company of God's people, there God is - not with them but with those who "call on God."
John helps to explain this in 1 John 3:12-13, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
In Genesis 4 we read the account of Cain's murder of his brother Abel. Abel brought an offering to the Lord that the Lord desired. Cain, like all who follow in his footsteps, didn't want to worship the Lord the way the Lord desired, but in the way he wanted. Cain was guilty of "rolling his own" religion. When God embraced Abel's offering but rejected Cain's, it infuriated Cain and so he murdered Abel. An irrational act, but that is exactly what sinful and depraved people do when they are driven by an irrational hostility.
So it is today. The people who reject Jesus Christ do so because they want to do things their own way. As they do so, they sense the palpable dread of judgment that it will eventually bring, and as they are driven by that dread, they are driven to persecute the people of God.
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know..
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