Friday, May 13, 2011

Psalm 58--The Godly Shall Rejoice

First, a brief note to the four readers--posting was unavailable since around yesterday afternoon, even though the blog could still be viewed. I apologize for the hole my lack of posting created in your lives, but it was out of my control.

Psalm 58:1 states in 12 words the basis of the political philosophy that established this country, and it states:

Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men?

The history of the world is filled with tyrannical leadership, which I've commented on before and will definitely return to later. The idea of elected leadership is so recent as to be a blip in the timeline of the world. No, the common condition is unjust rule and draconian leadership. To expect otherwise, particularly in David's time, was to be delusional.

But even 3,000 years ago, David recognized that tyranny couldn't last forever. Verse 11 states:

"Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth."

The question becomes not IF the judgment occurs, but WHEN. The common trap is that judgment will occur in our time and in our way. Consider how Israel treated Jesus in his time--they sought earthly deliverance from Rome and had no idea he was talking about eternal deliverance from sin. We can't blame them--as we'll see abundantly when we reach the New Testament (and it's coming--really, it is--we're only about five months away), even the disciples who spent three years in his presence couldn't fully comprehend what he was telling them until near the end of his ministry (specifically, on November 4th), and even then they needed the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to enable them to effectively communicate the message.

The world is still one filled with tyrannical, despotic leadership, and it will continue that way until Christ returns. THAT'S when we can expect the reward of the righteous and the punishment for those who ruled unjustly. To expect otherwise is to set oneself up for disappointment.
Scott

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