The Perils of the Pilgrim
Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble? In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise. For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God. He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes. He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”
His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net. They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless. Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.” But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found. The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.
You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear, to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.”
It’s a question as old as mankind and the psalmist is angry! “GOD, WHY DO YOU ALLOW WICKED PEOPLE TO GET AWAY WITH THEIR EVIL DEEDS? ARE YOU HIDING? DO YOU CARE? AND IF YOU AREN’T HIDING AND IF YOU REALLY CARE, WHY DON’T YOU SMASH THE WICKED AND WIPE THEM OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH????”
“In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise. For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God. He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes. He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.” The psalmist can scarcely stand this arrogance. The wicked are prowling lions, lurking to catch the helpless and innocent. If God is really up there and cares, why hasn’t He stopped these outrageous people in their tracks?
“But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found. The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.” Throughout the Bible, God refers to Himself as the Father of the fatherless. Traditionally, fathers have protected their wives and children. Widows and orphans have found themselves at the mercy of the wicked with no protector apart from God.
“Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found. The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.” You can almost hear the psalmist pleading with God to act according to His nature and wipe out evil doers.
“You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear, to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.” Is the psalmist encouraging God or himself or both? The psalmist ends by begging God again to move and eliminate those terrorizing the innocent and vulnerable.
APPLICATION: There are many cultures in which it is difficult to talk about the fatherhood of God. We were shocked when we first arrived in Ghana and witnessed polygamy and the evils and abuses it can bring. For a time, we lived with a businessman and one of his four wives, along with a few of his forty plus children. (We never knew the exact number.) Two of the wives lived in other parts of town and one wife was dead. The remaining wife was a virtual prisoner in the house, never venturing out. We watched as one wife, a brilliant teacher, was forced to stand in the noonday sun in the courtyard for an hour as she begged for money to pay her children’s school fees. Even the young favorite wife had to travel several miles across town at night for conjugal visits. For those raised in such circumstances, describing God as a father would bring nothing but horrible images. These days children in America and Europe may struggle with similar problems due to being raised in marriages marred by divorce. It is difficult to become a good father without role models.
If God is the perfect Father, why does He allow evil to exist, let alone to flourish? We must remember that God is not merely the perfect Father for the good and virtuous but also for the wicked. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
“Wait, God! You mean You want Vladimir Putin to repent? You want terrorists of all kinds to repent? You want slum lords and loan sharks who victimize the poor to repent? You want those involved in the drug trade and sexual trafficking to repent? You want corrupt politicians who have betrayed their countries to repent?” God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!” Does this mean that God would rather see the wicked repent than that He is forced to destroy them? Yes again. God has known all these people from the womb and He has loved them for their entire lives. God has loved the wicked so much that He has sent Jesus to die on Calvary for those people as well as for the rest of us.
God is not watching from a distance but is intimately connected with every part of our lives. God sees the evil deeds of the wicked as well as the casual evil the rest of us do while we excuse ourselves by comparing ourselves to others. “Well, I’m certainly not THAT bad!” The plain fact is that all of us are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have sinned and that nothing we can do is good enough to wipe out those sins. As Your children, we now beg Your forgiveness and ask You to accept us to follow You all the rest of our lives. We trust in Your Mercy and Your Grace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment