This is a hard psalm.
I don’t think I’m comfortable with what it
says.
Sometimes, when I’m not sure what to say
about a Scripture passage, I find it helpful to read what others have written
about that section of God’s Word. This
time I turned to Reading the Psalms with
Luther (an excellent resource from Concordia Publishing House) and read
Luther’s comments: “The 60th
psalm is a psalm of thanks in which David thanks God that He has given him an
excellent kingdom in which God’s Word was taught and there was good, orderly
government, which truly is a precious jewel.”
I wondered if Luther was reading the same
Psalter I was.
David begins, “O God, you have rejected us,
broken our defenses; you have been angry; oh, restore us.” That sounds like a cry of pain to me.
There is a tension throughout this
psalm. On the one hand David is dealing
with the reality of God’s righteous anger and punishment of our sin. On the other hand he holds to God’s Word and
Promise and speaks of Israel as God’s people; His “beloved ones.” Once again we see God dealing with His people
through Law and Gospel in His Word.
There is often a deep gulf between our
experiences in this world and the reality of God’s grace. Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians when he
says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
(4:8-10 ESV)
It is often in our suffering that we begin to
see how deep, broad, and high God’s love really is for us. When things are going well, we can be
oblivious to God’s goodness to us.
Ironic, isn’t it?
David says, “You have made your people see
hard things ….” And that is the way of
our life on earth. But he also says, “You
have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the
bow,” and those who would shoot the bow at them! He places hope before us. “That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!”
What is this banner that God has raised for
us? It is none other than the crucified
and risen Jesus. For Jesus, Himself,
said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man
be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John3:14-15
ESV) In the same vein, He said, “And I,
when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (John
12:32 ESV) It is through Jesus that God
calls to the world, to you, and to me, to say, “Come to me and I will give you
rest from the pain and the sorrows. You
experience rejection because of your sins, but in Me you will find forgiveness,
love, welcome, and strength for life.”
Life is hard.
Make no mistake about it!
However, “With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down
our foes.” Indeed, He has, by Jesus’
suffering, death, and restoration.
Father, do not reject me in my sin, but let me always stand by Jesus’ grace
as your witness. Amen.
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