To my words give ear O Lord
give heed to my groaning
Attend to the sound of my cries
my king and my God
It is you whom I invoke O Lord
In the morning you hear me
In the morning I offer you my prayer
watching and waiting
You are no God who loves evil
no sinner is your guest
The boastful shall not stand their ground
before your face
You hate all who do evil
you destroy all who lie
The deceitful and bloodthirsty man
the Lord detests
But I through the greatness of your love
have access to your house
I bow down before your holy temple
filled with awe
Lead me Lord in your justice
because of those who lie in wait
make clear your way before me
No truth can be found in their mouths
their heart is all mischief
Their throat a wide-open grave
all honey their speech
Declare them guilty O God
Let them fail in their designs
Drive them out for their many offences
for they have defied you
All those you protect shall be glad
and ring out their joy
You shelter them in you they rejoice
those who love your name
It is you who bless the just man Lord
you surround him with favor as with a shield
We have reached the end of week 1 and it seems as good as any place for me to point out something that I consider of utmost importance: just because the Psalmist says how God feels about X doesn’t necessarily make it so & just because the Psalmist desires something doesn’t mean that God will give it.
While the Psalms are of utmost importance to the Christian we must never forget that we live on the other side of Christ’s revelation, and I am not talking about that crazy book at the end of the Bible. Jesus came to earth to show us how much God loves us; Paul says that even when we were still sinners that Jesus was sent as a sacrifice for us. Jesus tells a story of a lost son in Luke 15 where the father runs after a wayward son, while declaring that all that was his was his other son’s if he but asked for it. Jesus said that it was not the healthy but the sick that needed the doctor. In the Gospel of John, we are told that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that through him it might be saved.
All of which flies in the face of a comment like ‘You hate all who do evil.’ Jesus told us to pray for and do good to those who would mean us harm, are we held to a higher standard than that which God is held to? Are we commanded to do good while God just slays indiscriminately? Are we required to forgive 77 or 70 times 7 [depending on the translation] while God gives but one chance? Are we told to love our enemies while God hates them with an untold fire of destruction?
I’m not sure how you answer those questions, but I say that God’s love is not smaller than my love, nor is it equal to my love, but rather it is infinitely greater than my love, and if it is than whatever vengeance I might call down, God will cast aside.
+ How has the words of the Psalms caused you to question their validity? If they haven’t how do you reconcile their occasional calls of hate and destruction with the grace and mercy found in other areas of the Bible?
+ What tangible way might you begin to let go of the anger you have about various situations and take a more holistic and reconciliatory course of thought and action?
I comment as Anonymous because otherwise it is going to give you a link to swagbucks every time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for saying that the Psalmist doesn't always get everything right. Before I moved here, I memorized Psalm 139. It helped me tons when I was down and feeling all alone. But I was confused about the hatred that is spoken of towards the end. I agree God is love and we are to mirror that image. Sometimes I feel hate and judgement pouring out of me but my prayer is constantly asking God to take that from me and to feel my whole being with love and compassion for whoever comes my way. As usual, I love your thoughts. Thanks for writing this. -elisa