February 7 – Sense of Justice

       Psalm 7:11a – "God is a just judge..."

       If there is one thing with which most of the world agrees, both Christians and pagans, it is a sense of justice – especially when one feels as if he has been wronged. We all have an intrinsic sense of fairness, whether we have all the facts or not. Even small children have this sense when they see things going awry. This phenomenon alone should point us to the natural law of wrong and right. But let us dig deeper into this concept.

       In Psalm 7, David explores three related angles of justice, as he cries for God to save him from his personal or perceived enemies. The first two verses are a prayer to God for help and rescue. The next four verses are quite introspective and are the first leg of this triangle. 1) He concedes that justice should be done to him, if he so deserves it. This is quite an attitude of humility, even if it implies his belief in his own integrity. 2) The following eight verses then expounds David's trust in God as a just judge, one who is continually angry at the injustices in the world, and one who metes out judgment. 3) Then verses 14-17 explain the details of reaping and sowing, as summarized in Galatians 6:7.

       Of course, in all of David's Psalms in which he asks God to rescue him from injustice, he is expecting it during his lifetime. He even expects justice when Nathan tells him the story of the extorted sheep, which is a parable of his own sins against Uriah, when he basically "took" Bathsheba from an innocent man. In due time, David does get justice, as Bathsheba's pregnancy ends in the death of the newborn baby. This is an example of God's justice through reaping and sowing.

       Regarding that sense of justice mentioned at the beginning, sometimes there is a perceived injustice that we can't prove or that is hard for us to put a finger upon. This happens when we see cronyism or something that "smacks" of corruption in political officials or even in elected leaders. It may not be a personal attack upon me, but a general attack upon the public. The principle of reaping and sowing still applies to individuals, but that may not line up with what I deem to be the deserved justice. God definitely sees wrongdoing, but he has the ultimate view of the facts, knowing every detail of what physically happened, along with the thoughts and intentions of the hearts of those acting immorally (verse 9). When I personally have been wronged in a non-legal sense, I should not seek my own justice, but I should allow God to handle the situation, because he sees all the facts and is not blinded by his own emotions. (Pursuing legal recourse for wrongs against us – while related to this subject – is another topic in itself and for another time). Paul tells us in Romans 12:19: "Do not avenge yourselves; leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay.' [Deutoronomy 32:35]" God knows how to perfectly exact justice on my behalf, while simultaneously overseeing the reaping of what we have sown.

       This latter thought also turns our attention to the radical ideas of Jesus given in Matthew 6:38-45. "Turn the other cheek...give your cloak as well, when sued for your own shirt...go the extra mile when compelled to go the first mile...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Each of these concepts can be further examined for deeper clarity; however, on the surface, Jesus is asking us to extend grace to someone who does not deserve it. Why? Because all of us are more sinful than we even realize. Jesus has just finished revealing our sinful hearts in Matthew chapter 5, when his radical statements in chapter 6 appear. We need to be very careful when asking God for personal revenge, as David did in Psalm 7:3-7. 

      We should also consider Psalm 130:3 – "Yahweh, if you kept track of iniquities, who could stand before you?" More on that topic for February 8.

 

August 11 – Hanging up the harps?

Psalm 137:2-4, 6: “There on the poplars, we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs....How can we sing the songs of Yahweh while in a foreign land?....May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth....if I don't consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”

        This Psalm was definitely written or edited after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC and after some of the people were taken captive to Babylon. To them it must have felt like a death sentence, to be ripped out of one's homeland by force and taken far away to live the rest of one's life. We don't know if this writer was one of the “righteous” ones living in Judah, or whether he was one of the wicked ones. Nonetheless, we can learn a few things from this Psalm as they pertain to the body of Christ.

        How can we sing the songs of Yahweh while in a foreign land? All of us believers are in a foreign land. 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13 mention believers and the ancients as spiritually being aliens and strangers. Jesus even mentions in John 18:36 that his kingdom is not of this world. Our citizenship is a heavenly one (Philippians 3:20). When our earthly kingdoms and comforts are crushed, how can we sing praises to our God? Hebrews 13:14, 15 has the answer, even as it continues this theme. “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” It takes discipline to sing praises during times of difficulty. However, this can be made a little easier by obeying Ephesians 5:19, 20 as we do these things with other believers: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to Yahweh, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our master Jesus Christ.”

        And speaking of psalms, it is interesting to note that the compiling and unofficial numbering of the Psalms has put 136 right before the woes of the captives in 137. Psalm 136 is a retelling of the wonders God did when he brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, with each line of description ending in “His kindness endures forever” – 26 times total. If we can keep our eyes on that fact, that God's kindness endures toward his children, then we can certainly put our trust in that kindness, no matter in what circumstance we find ourselves.

       As a further note, I have a question about Psalm 137:6. Can I infer that the city of Jerusalem was the captives' highest joy (as stated), instead of God himself? Could this have been part of the downfall of the inhabitants of Judah, turning God's residence and regulations into idols themselves, instead of worshiping in spirit the One who gave these objects to his chosen people? That concept sounds very eerily like the environment of Israel when Jesus was revealed. Caiaphas, the high priest at that time, predicted that one person should die in order to preserve the physical nation – which is exactly what happened when Jesus was killed...except that forty years later, the 2^nd temple was ruined again, and the occupied Jews were once again scattered away from the city of Jerusalem (deja vu).

        Let's remember that we as believers have come to a new Jerusalem, the city of the living God. We have joined the body of Christ, where God now dwells (Hebrews 12:22-24). Let's rejoice, because in that city, we are not aliens, but supernatural-born citizens.