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A Song of Victory
1The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song:
“Our city is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
and he gives us victory.
2Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
that is faithful to God.
3The Lord gives perfect peace
to those whose faith is firm.
4So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
our mighty rock.
5God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city
and rubbed it in the dirt.
6Now the poor and abused
trample all over that city.”
The Lord Can Be Trusted
7Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
for those who obey you.
8You are the one we trust
to bring about justice;
above all else we want
your name to be honored.
9Throughout the night,
my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
how to live right.
10Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
to your glory, our Lord.
11 Your hand is raised and ready
to punish them,
but they don't see it.
Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
intended for your enemies.
12You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
was by your power.
13Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
but we obey only you.
14Those enemies are now dead
and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
completely forgotten.
15Our nation has grown
because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
and you are honored.
The Lord Gives Life
16When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
to you, our Lord.
17Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
about to give birth.
18But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
to take over the earth.
19Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
you give life to the dead.
20Go inside and lock the doors,
my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
is no longer angry.
The Earth and the Sea
21The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
will be known and punished.
Reflect
Few things irk us more than seeing someone getting away with something. “THAT’S NOT RIGHT!” we shout when we see a cheater not getting caught. We fume when a speeder blows past us on the highway. We boil when we hear of the distress caused when a child support order is ignored. These actions violate our basic sense of fairness. They’re especially grating when we are powerless to right the wrong ourselves.
Something in us wants to see things put back into balance, the score evened up. In extreme cases, we derive no solace even in knowing the culprit is dead. We may think history’s great villains – Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot – got off too easy by escaping into their graves.
Letting our minds churn with reports of injustice causes restless nights waking into days of bitterness. Driven to despair, you could reach the point where you want to either give up entirely, or more tragically, join in on the lawlessness, if the risk of getting caught seems low.
While we are to strive for justice (Is.1:17), we can be kept in “perfect peace” (26:3) by reminding ourselves of these truths: (1) escaping justice today is only a short-term reprieve, (2) there will be a final reckoning by a judge who is completely just and has the power to dispense true punishment, and (3) there are things only God can make right. Seek justice, yes, but have your desire, your mind resting in him, knowing that in the ultimate righting of wrongs, only he has the capacity to do it right.
Respond
Lord – our world and our lives are immeasurably broken, uneven and undone. I know this isn’t the way you meant things to be and we accept that it is our embrace of sin that is to blame. But you are the Chief Justice, Lord. Help me seek justice. Draw me to you.
Gary Drouillard
Gary is enjoying a post-career afterlife in South Surrey, BC. His greatest professional achievement was pioneering a 10-year mission to make it possible for Canadians to use their cellphones around the world. Today, as a feeble but fascinated student of intellectual history and early church formation, his days are filled with reading, viewing online courses, thinking, and occasionally writing along with involvement with various volunteer work. His life’s journey has been made possible and pleasurable only by the accompaniment of his lovely, long-suffering wife, Pamela, and his two “too good for me” daughters who are now embellished with amazing American husbands.