Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Year 8, Day 240: Psalm 109


Theological Commentary: Click Here



Upon reading this psalm, I felt a great wrestle within me.  I don’t really care for it.  I know it is a part of God’s Word and therefore it should be respected as such.  Yet at the same time I am not sure how I feel about an author of God’s Word actively calling upon God’s wrath against His opponents.



Don’t get me wrong.  I understand the human emotion.  There is a lesson to be learned here.  David gets it.  God gets it.  Sometimes humans find themselves persecuted and we want those who persecute us to get what they deserve.  That’s human.  It’s part of who we are.



I also believe that God calls us above it.  God is a God of forgiveness.  God is a God of repentance.  He is a God of turning the other cheek.  He is a God of giving a second tunic the person who takes our first one.  God is grace, love, and mercy.  That’s God; that’s what makes Him different than us.



If there is any saving grace here, it is that the psalmist does call upon God to act and doesn’t take it upon himself.  While the psalmist does expose his darker inner being, at least he doesn’t act upon it.  He does call upon God to act, but He lets the action be up to God. It’s not, much, but it may also be the most important part.  We can’t help the humanity that we feel inside, but we can help how that humanity comes out.  Maybe the psalmist has it figured out after all.



<><

No comments:

Post a Comment