A Musician Looks at the Psalms
Devotion for Sunday , November 08, 2009 |
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A Musician Looks at the Psalms: 365 Daily Meditations by Don Wyrtzen This devotion is like a "modern-day psalter,
written by one who has grappled with the hard
realities of life in the workplace, at home, and
in the secret sanctuary of his own heart. Like
the psalmists, he does not offer pat answers to
complex problems. Rather, he strips away the
superficialities he encounters in daily living
and probes all one hundred and fifty psalms for
the light they shed on his spiritual
pilgrimage." Copyright 2004 by Don Wyrtzen,
published by Broadman & Holman Publishers |
DELIVERANCE
Since my youth they have often attacked me-let
Israel say-Since my youth they have often
attacked me, but they have not prevailed against
me. Plowmen plowed over my back; they made
their furrows long. The LORD is
righteous; He has cut the ropes of the wicked
(vv. 1-4).
- Psalm 129
We desperately need to grapple with a theology of suffering. Many Christians are surprised and even shocked when they're called upon to experience any degree of pain. This leads to a feeling of displacement, dislocation, even disinheritance. We may be confused and feel a profound sense of injustice. We may feel that more was promised than was delivered. Our doubt, anger, and resentment may even shake the foundations of our faith.
This psalmist laments, in a kind of summary, all of the national disasters that have befallen his people and prays for the overthrow of their enemies. Israel has suffered indignity, ignominy, and hostility for generations. She has been besieged continuously by the Canaanites, the Aramaeans, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Philistines, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans. He remembers many such attacks from his youth, but he also recalls that the enemy has never prevailed against him for long.
The literary figure is gripping! Israel is pictured as a poor wretch lying facedown on the ground as plowmen cut deep furrows in the tender flesh. This gives us some idea of the extreme suffering and severe pain that was commonplace for that nation.
But the psalmist does not dwell on these inhumane acts. He praises the righteous Lord who has delivered his people. He has "cut the ropes of the wicked" (v. 4).
Perhaps we need to learn about adversity from ancient Israel. Perhaps we need to remember that suffering is part of being human in a fallen world that ungodly people suffer too. And perhaps we need to remind ourselves that our God is a righteous God. Justice will ultimately prevail. He has promised victory and deliverance-if not immediately-then in the world to come!
Personal Prayer
I thank you, Lord, for your righteousness. I pray that you will execute justice in my life
and by your mercy cut me free from the ropes of wickedness.
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