Relief

Psalm 94

The world had a hopeful beginning,
But man spoiled his chances by sinning.
We trust that the story will end in God’s glory,
But at present the other side is winning. —author unknown

Old folks in every generation have told us that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, but, by golly, this time they may be right: It does indeed seem that "the other side is winning." Who will be our champion? "Who will rise up against the wicked? Who will stand up against evildoers?" (94:16).

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” Martin Luther King said. The saying is true, not because history necessarily bends  toward justice, but because God is in control of the moral universe and He determines history's course and outcome. He is our hero!

Evil does seem to have the upper hand these days, but that's only the appearance of things. In reality, wicked men and women are even now suffering the consequences of their wrong-doing—sin leads to misery—and in due time God will "wipe them out" (94:23). Kaput!

But we must wait...

Meanwhile there is a promise imbedded in the psalm, a beatitude that calms us in our waiting: "Blessed is the man... You teach out of your law, to give him relief in days of trouble until a pit is dug for the wicked" (Psalm 94:13). 

The word translated “relief” means "to be quiet and undisturbed"—to be at peace while we wait for justice on the earth. The Jerusalem Bible translates, “His mind is at peace though things are bad" —a calming word in these unsettled and unsettling times. May the Lord teach us and give us "relief" as we wait.

David Roper
3.22.17