March 17, 2018: But God!

Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 6-8, Psalm 64, Matthew 26:36-56, Romans 11:1-24 Psalm 64: When we think of complaining, we think of moaning, of unrighteous doubt about God’s provision or his care. But here David turns his unease into prayer: “Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint” (64:1). Do you have a complaint? Do you have something that is bugging you, that is a source of discomfort and disease in your soul? Is there something that you feel has been unjust or done against you unjustly? Turn that to prayer this morning. Bring it before God. Voice to God your concerns. For David, it was what his adversaries were saying that was the problem. They “whet their tongues like swords” (64:3). What a vivid image! Their words are carefully prepared, expertly honed, aimed just right, in order to cause maximum damage. Just as a person sharpens (or “whets”) his sword, so they are sharpening their words that those words might cut through and do the most damage to David. But, verse 7, there is a factor they have not taken into account. That factor is… God!  “But God.” So often does the Bible describe the situation and then insert the aversive clause: “But God.” When you have voiced your concerns to God, the great advantage is that you remember that there is a God! Man, in all his strength and vileness, cannot have the last word for his word is countermanded by God’s Word. There is a God! There is a God of love and justice and mercy! “But God”! God is now on the move. “Aslan” as C.S. Lewis famously said, “is on the move.” And in God’s providence, the very verbal attacks planned to do maximum damage to David will actually turn against his attackers. “They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them” (64:8). So often that is the case: when someone digs a pit for you to fall into, often enough it is that very pit that causes them trouble. And so? So, “Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him! Let all upright in heart exult!” (64:10).]]>