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 58:9-11,
"Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
Then people will say,
'Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.'"
In this psalm David brings an accusation against unjust rulers. He accuses them of "devising injustice", and fomenting violence, verse 2. In verses 3-5 he describes how these unjust rulers are wicked from birth, "from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies". In verses 6-8 he calls for God to curse them and then in the final verses 9-11 David reflects on how God's justice will prevail, "The righteous will be glad when they are avenged...", verse 10a. He ends this psalm with his observation of people saying, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."
This psalm deals with a deeply seated desire we all have to see all things resolved in fairness, in a just and appropriate outcome. I believe this comes from our being created in the image of God. One of God's chief character traits is his finely tuned sense of justice, "'let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord."
Certainly the heart of sinful mankind has corrupted that felt need for justice, with the definition of what is just becoming skewed, degraded, debased - yet that desire continues to reside within us. We even see little toddlers complain, "That's not fair!" when they are refused what they want. Social justice warriors of today display a certain corruption of what is just, yet their zeal in demanding what they understand as just and fair points to this desire within the depths of the fibers of our being.
For those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith and have subordinated our understanding of what is just and fair to God's own measure, we have a beautiful day ahead of us when we will see God's justice expressed in its fulness. Where this will be horrific and frightful for all who have rejected Jesus Christ, I believe it will be the ultimate fulfillment in satisfaction of a certain frustration we feel today that is born from that inner desire we all have for fairness and justice that goes wanting.
While we are thankful and beyond appreciative that as believers we are no longer the object of God's judgment, we still experience much frustration that this lost and fallen world provides in this regard. However... the day is coming...
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..
"Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
Then people will say,
'Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.'"
In this psalm David brings an accusation against unjust rulers. He accuses them of "devising injustice", and fomenting violence, verse 2. In verses 3-5 he describes how these unjust rulers are wicked from birth, "from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies". In verses 6-8 he calls for God to curse them and then in the final verses 9-11 David reflects on how God's justice will prevail, "The righteous will be glad when they are avenged...", verse 10a. He ends this psalm with his observation of people saying, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."
This psalm deals with a deeply seated desire we all have to see all things resolved in fairness, in a just and appropriate outcome. I believe this comes from our being created in the image of God. One of God's chief character traits is his finely tuned sense of justice, "'let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord."
Certainly the heart of sinful mankind has corrupted that felt need for justice, with the definition of what is just becoming skewed, degraded, debased - yet that desire continues to reside within us. We even see little toddlers complain, "That's not fair!" when they are refused what they want. Social justice warriors of today display a certain corruption of what is just, yet their zeal in demanding what they understand as just and fair points to this desire within the depths of the fibers of our being.
For those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith and have subordinated our understanding of what is just and fair to God's own measure, we have a beautiful day ahead of us when we will see God's justice expressed in its fulness. Where this will be horrific and frightful for all who have rejected Jesus Christ, I believe it will be the ultimate fulfillment in satisfaction of a certain frustration we feel today that is born from that inner desire we all have for fairness and justice that goes wanting.
While we are thankful and beyond appreciative that as believers we are no longer the object of God's judgment, we still experience much frustration that this lost and fallen world provides in this regard. However... the day is coming...
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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