Read
(A psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “The Death of the Son.”)
Sing Praises to the Lord
1I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart
and tell about the wonders
you have worked.
2God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you.
3When my enemies face you,
they run away and stumble
and are destroyed.
4You take your seat as judge,
and your fair decisions prove
that I was in the right.
5You warn the nations
and destroy evil people;
you wipe out their names
forever and ever.
6Our enemies are destroyed
completely for all time.
Their cities are torn down,
and they will never
be remembered again.
7You rule forever, Lord,
and you are on your throne,
ready for judgment.
8You judge the world fairly
and treat all nations
with justice.
9The poor can run to you
because you are a fortress
in times of trouble.
10Everyone who honors your name
can trust you,
because you are faithful
to all who depend on you.
11You rule from Zion, Lord,
and we sing about you
to let the nations know
everything you have done.
12You did not forget
to punish the guilty
or listen to the cries
of those in need.
13 Please have mercy, Lord!
My enemies mistreat me.
Keep me from the gates
that lead to death,
14and I will sing about you
at the gate to Zion.
I will be happy there
because you rescued me.
15 Our Lord, the nations fell
into their own pits,
and their feet were caught
in their own traps.
16You showed what you are like,
and you made certain
that justice is done,
but evil people are trapped
by their own evil deeds.
17The wicked will go down
to the world of the dead
to be with those nations
that forgot about you.
18The poor and the homeless
won't always be forgotten
and without hope.
19Do something, Lord!
Don't let the nations win.
Make them stand trial
in your court of law.
20Make the nations afraid
and let them all discover
just how weak they are.
Reflect
Something is different in this psalm: the psalmist’s enemies have turned tail and run. They stumbled on God and fell on their faces! The psalmist is jubilant – foot-on-chest-winner jubilation.
Woohoo we cry: finally, God, you have crushed the enemies! But are we allowed to be so jubilant when another is trampled, even if that other is our enemy who has trampled us? Are we allowed to blast our own triumphal horn so blatantly?
There is a mid-air collision in this psalm between human reality and God’s sovereignty – the psalmist gets this. Although the triumphalism is raw human emotion expressed with the relief from enemy attacks, this psalm is primarily grateful thanks that when I needed you, you were there, taking charge. God, you acted.
Embedded in this collision are deeper questions: why does God allow such evil to go on for so long before he seems to act? Or why are the poor nameless and the humble humiliated while the wicked create cunning machinery and set snares to trap the powerless? Even though the psalmist tells us that God tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan, it doesn’t remove the pain or threat of that cunning machinery and snares.
So once again, the psalmist boldly shakes his fist at God demanding aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose and shake them up God! Don’t we long for God to do that? I do. But Jesus leads us into a radical new way to live: we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. (Matt 5:44)
The psalmist is right in reminding us that God is our safe-house when battered, our sanctuary during bad times, not sheltering us from our real world but being there as a solid, safe-house for us.
Respond
Father, how I long for you for the day when evil will be no more – if it were me, I’d do it tomorrow . . . but then I might just be the one destroyed. Help me to rest in your time zones and not rush ahead of your sovereignty in all things cosmic. In the name of Jesus who carved the path to your safe-house. Amen.
Elaine Pountney
Integration: a key word in Elaine’s life. Integrating a Science Degree into Counselling; integrating healing and wholeness into effective team building in an international business context (e.g. Sony Canada, Ontario Hydro, Schonbek LIghting); integrating counselling concepts with a Biblical understanding of what builds healthy communities and relationships with groups in the Caucasus, Africa, Brazil and the Arctic. Is it any wonder that she now works with leaders across Canada ‘bringing the pieces together’ toward Spiritual Integration? Publications: Reclaiming the Wonder of Sexuality. Trafford Pub: BC, Canada. 2008; “Reclaiming the wonder of sexuality: toward a Biblical understanding of male & female” teaching manual.