I thought long and hard about what this Psalm meant. And these musings of mine aren’t meant to be anything but that – musings. I don’t claim to be a theologian (as you can probably tell from reading my other blurbs) and I don’t claim to have God’s mind on any of these subjects.
Like David, though, I’m an emotional guy, and I go through times of turmoil, also like David. And that’s what I like about the Psalms. They’re real. David spills his guts. He lays it all on the line. His writings pulse with emotion. So . . . when you read what I have to say, keep in mind that I’m a regular guy, going through trials and tribulations of my own, finding inspiration in David’s words.
As I said in an earlier rant, I appreciate how David goes to God when he’s in trouble. We often don’t do that. We go through difficulties with our health, in our jobs, in our relationships, and we seek relief. Different people turn to different things: alcohol or drugs, meaningless relationships, pornography, exercise, shopping, television . . . anything to mitigate the pain, at least temporarily. Why we avoid God when life turns upside down amazes me. I do it all the time. I think we’d do well to watch David’s example and cry out to God when life begins to crumble.
But this Psalm says more to me than that. This Psalm reminds me that God rules the earth. He created us; we can’t hope to fully understand Him; we don’t have the right to question His sovereignty. God will punish the wicked; they will come to ruin. This Psalm reminds me that Hell is real and that many people are headed there. How can this be fair? I can’t answer that question. But as David says,
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
We need to remember, like David, that being on God’s side is of utmost importance. The wicked will surely burn.
As a side note, on December 7, 1856, Charles Spurgeon wrote a sermon on Psalm 7:12 called “Turn or Burn.” I got my inspiration for my title from that sermon.
Great reminder. When life crashes we often blame God. Such only serves to reveal to us, to the angels, and to others, that we love things of life more than we love God. Undoubtedly there are difficult times in life. Equally, undoubtedly, we do not understand the “why’s” of such times. But David provides us a steadying guide. In times when our worlds collapse, the God in whom we trust remains our anchor and our hope. He is for us, but He also will cast away those who reject Him. Thanks for the reminder.