Deliverance

It is an interesting experience reading Psalms 5 through 8 in one sitting, isn't it?

Psalms 5, 6, and 7 are marked by cries for the Lord's deliverance. There is a feeling of immediate danger. Fear and anxiety were motivating factors in the writing. Enemies were real, and David (the author of all four of these psalms) is looking for the Lord's hand in the midst of the ugliness and violence and deceit of life. I found the emotions of Psalm 5 to 7 to be nearly the same as the emotions of reading the headline news this morning. Violence, deceit, and injustice, play a major role in both places.

As David looks at the ugliness of his world through the lens of God's righteousness, he notes the contrast between the way things are and the way God desires them to be.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. (Psalm 5:4-6)

Harsh words. Direct words. They leave no question about how God feels about pride and lies and violence toward others. Can there be any question about how God views the activities of our own society at this moment?

If we contemplate this, we may come to ask with David: "how long?" (Psalm 6:3) How long, O Lord, will you allow this to continue? How long before you return to rescue the righteous and judge the wicked? How long?

In the meantime, we who seek the glory and the goodness of God take refuge in God's strength (Psalm 7:1), do the works of justice, and pray for the intervention of God. "Arise, O Lord!" (Psalm 7:6).

And if our soul is still troubled, if we are still anxious and fearful and upset about the state of our nation, our culture, and our world, then Psalm 8 comes like a breath of fresh air. It is a contemplation, not of the troubles of the world, but of the greatness of God.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1)

In the greatness of God there is peace. In the power of God there is deliverance. In the presence of God there is hope.