As usual, here is my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1Judge me, O God.
Plead my cause against an unloving nation. Against a man of deceit and
injustice deliver me, 2because You [are] the God of my fortress.
Why do You reject me? Why do I walk to and fro
mourning in oppression of a hostile one?
Continuing from the last post, Psalm 43 was written in the
context of some kind of injustice. In some way, the psalmist feels he is being
treated unfairly or wrongly. It’s probably safe to say there’s never a time in
our lives when we don’t feel we’re being treated unfairly or wrongly in some
way or another. But then there are those times where the wrong is particularly
painful, when it seems to be the main course in our meal of life. What are we
to do? As in the last post, I am thankful the Lord included this passage of
Scripture and others like it in the Bible. We have here recorded the prayer of
a godly person as they face exactly what we do sooner or later. Hopefully as we
study a passage like this, the Lord will help us be better equipped and able to
respond to injustice in a mature and godly way.
Notice in verse 1, the focus is on the offender, the man of
“deceit and injustice.” The psalmist asks the Lord to plead his cause against
such a person. As we progress into verse 2, he gives the grounds of this
request: “… because You are the God of my fortress.” In this world we may or
may not have any human recourse to address the wrongs we suffer. Sometimes we
do but I would contend that usually we do not. As I said before, in my
experience it has generally done little good to try to defend oneself.
Accusers, slanderers, and those who hurt others generally have little concern
for truth. They have some other axe to grind or some personal gain they’re
grasping for. Our “case” or our “truth” simply gets in the way of their evil.
Again, there may be steps a person should take when under injustice. But even
if there are, a believer soon realizes he is pretty much helpless in a world of
trouble.
As in this Psalm, such realizations drive us to the Lord.
Yes, it is true. He is the God of my fortress. Ultimately He and He alone can
truly defend me and deliver me. Like Jesus, we must “entrust” ourselves “to Him
who judges justly.” He is our strength and our strong tower. What that means to
me is that I don’t have to let myself wallow in anger or self-pity. I can go on
loving, being kind, even being joyful whether the immediate injustice is
resolved or not. I am free to go on loving God, loving people, and honestly
loving life, because I know that God
is my fortress, He is in this for my good, and that the very best “deliverance”
is when I let Him change me through it all, when I allow Him to make me better
because of it..
As in this Psalm, however, before I get there, I may have to
work through some more emotional turmoil. Notice, while the psalmist started
his prayer feeling mistreated by another person, in verse 2 he turns the hurt
toward God Himself. “Why doYou reject me?” It is worthy of note that the Hebrew
word translated “reject” is a very strong word. It’s like taking a drink of
milk only then to realize it is seriously spoiled. How violently do you spit it
out? That’s the picture. And that is the intensity of the emotion the psalmist is
feeling.
First we see how we’re being treated; in this case mistreated.
We feel the pain and see the person(s) who seem to be inflicting it. But then,
because we believe God controls everything, our hearts go to the fact that He
is allowing it. “Why?” we ask in our grief! It seems that God has turned
against us too! “Why do You reject me? Why do You allow this pain that makes me
go to and fro mourning, being oppressed by this hostile person, this man of
deceit and injustice, this unloving nation?”
Jesus cried from the Cross, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
Job said, “Even today
my complaint is bitter; His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.
If only I knew
where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling! But if I go to the east,
He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. But He stands alone,
and who can oppose Him? He does whatever He pleases. He carries out His decree
against me, and many such plans He still has in store. That is why I am
terrified before Him; when I think of all this, I fear Him. God has made my
heart faint.”
In Psalm 88, the psalmist complains, “My soul is full of trouble … I cry to You for help, O Lord. Why do You
reject me and hide Your face from me? I have suffered Your terrors and am in
despair. Your wrath has swept over me. You have taken my companions and loved
ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.”
It used to puzzle me to hear such things. “Where is their
faith?” I asked myself. Then I realized the very complaint is an expression of
their faith. The very fact they are praying to God in their struggle is because
of their belief that He is in charge. As David said, “I believed, therefore I
said, ‘I am greatly afflicted!” Now it is certainly possible to question God in
unbelief. From unbelievers, we read and hear such things often, like “If there
is a God, then why does He allow so much evil in the world?” In their case, the
question is an expression of their unbelief. But, as in the Scripture passages
above, Jesus, and Job, and the Psalmist, and even we can wrestle through the
emotional turmoil of our pain “questioning” God. What’s important here is that
we’re talking to Him.
Charles Spurgeon said, “He who is the Author of a mysterious
trial can best expound it to us.” I believe we can say with confidence, based
on the Scriptures, that it is permissible, even good, to inquire of God
regarding our trials, even if at the time our emotions are raw and our
questions even appear to be challenging Him. He’s a big God. He can handle it. And
He “knoweth our frame, that we are but dust.” Though He must allow the trouble
to accomplish some good in our life, yet in His compassion He sees our pain, He
feels deeply for us, He pities our helplessness, as a mother loves and pities
her helpless little baby. And so He is not offended by our seeming accusations
and challenges. He wants us to talk to Him, regardless of, (yea, because of!) our
current emotional state.
He is the very One who said, “No trial for the present seems
joyous but grievous; but afterward yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness
to those who are exercised by it.”
So then, in the pain of our injustice, in the pain of being
mistreated, even before we “get our head straight,” let us take the matter to
our God. Let us fire away all the anguish and confusion and hurt, even if it
seems to be aimed at Him. He can handle it. He wants us to talk to Him. And He
alone will prove to be “the God of our fortress” before it is over. He alone
can “fix” us. He alone can give us wisdom and strength. He alone can even give
us joy in the midst of the storm.
Let us pray our hearts away! Like Jacob, let us wrestle with
Him in our darkness and say, “I will not let You go, lest You bless me!”
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