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Agony
“Trembling seized them;
labor pains like giving birth.”
(Psalm 48:7 {verse 6 in English})
In our society today, how rarely we take seriously the idea of being under God’s judgment. We make jokes about it, there are movies that celebrate it, and people write books suggesting that if anything, Hell would be more fun than heaven. Yet, beloved, how evil such sentiments are and how deceived we have allowed ourselves to be in these matters.
The Bible paints another picture for us — that of being struck with fear and trembling at the notion of God’s wrath. Here the psalmist speaks of the trembling of abject terror seizing ahold of him so much so that he cannot move and then the torment that comes from facing the wrath of God being like that of a woman in labor, giving birth…and the psalmist is actually just getting started.
Loved ones, take these words seriously for God’s wrath is against his enemies…all of them. Do not envy the wicked, for while their revelries may seem to fill their days with laughter, those days are fleeting and the end result is suffering greater than our human imagination is capable of relating. The psalmist here is paralleling the experience of the enemies of God in history to what is to come so that we turn from our wickedness and repent of our ways, pursuing the God of glory rather than the glory of the flesh. May indeed all of us heed his warning.
The Wall Goes Up!
“My eye has been made to see my wall being raised up;
Before me is the one who does evil;
My ear hears.”
(Psalm 92:12 [verse 11 in English])
A short survey of English Bible translations will give a vast variety of interpretations of this verse, thus it ought not be surprising that the one I offer above is again rather distinct from some of the others. In fact, about the only thing that each translation can be said to have in common is that it speaks of the eye seeing and the ear hearing something, though that something is debated by translators.
The text literally speaks of seeing “my wall” being raised up. The Hebrew word used there is r…wv (shur), which typically refers to a small wall that might be placed around a well or a fence that might be laid between two people’s property. In context, it seems that God is giving the psalmist the confidence to say that though the enemy is on my borders, I shall not fear because even now I see God erecting a wall to protect me and to protect this covenantal land that God has entrusted to my family.
If we translate the verse in this fashion, then rather than it speaking of the destruction of the psalmist’s enemies, its focus is really on the defense of the psalmist from his enemies…something that lends itself better to the following verses. Remember too, this is a Sabbath psalm, and as such, this is that which the assembled congregation would be singing as they implore God’s protection from the foes all around them.
The notion of the ear hearing things is not so much a notion of the psalmist hearing perhaps the clamor of the enemies outside of the walls, but instead it is covenantal language that speaks of the design of God: “He who has ears, let him hear” is a common Biblical phrase to say, “Listen to the design and wisdom of God.” In other words, while the enemy is before you, listen to God’s plan to preserve you healthy and strong from the onslaught of the wicked…for (as the following verses speak) it will be you who bear fruit in old age.
Thus it is a reminder to us to be confident and sure that God is in the business of strengthening and walling in his own to preserve them from the evil one. And indeed, God is still in the business of preserving his own today which ought not only to give us confidence in doing his work in this world, but it should also drive us to praise for he has done this for us.
Enemies shall Perish!
“For behold your enemies, Yahweh!
For behold your enemies shall perish!
All those who do iniquity shall be scattered!
(Psalm 92:10 [verse 9 in English])
Indeed, in the end, all of God’s enemies will be tossed into the lake of fire where they will be tormented forever…bringing an end to their torment of God’s own, their mocking of God’s name, and their flagrant sin and wickedness. In that end, all the enemies of God will know and intimately understand the finality of God’s wrath. And in that time, we will not weep. We will not mourn. We will not grieve. We will celebrate the victory of our Lord and the destruction of his enemies.
Yet, these words are not purely words that speak of the end times. Even in this life, God brings his hand of judgment upon the wicked and scatters them just as he scattered the wicked people who built the tower of Babel. For a season, from our perspective, they seem to prosper, but they are bereft of life and truth. They suffer their own sorrow and loneliness as they seek to find satisfaction in anything but the one who can bring satisfaction to their life. God even gives them over to their wickedness and allows them to become so mired in their wretchedness that they cannot see anything but their sin before their eyes. He robs them of satisfaction and he robs them of rest.
Beloved, we are all so often tempted to envy the wicked and their abundance. Do not be tricked into doing so. Their pleasure is fleeting and their satisfaction is empty. But in Christ, satisfaction is full and pleasure is eternal. Though we may suffer for a season, there is an eternal weight of glory before us that is beyond compare.
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