September 11th

Refuge from Terror

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah 4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.  Selah 6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 "Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"  8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints. Psalm 52 NIV 

My wife and I read this psalm just after the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States.  We, like many people, watched a good bit of television coverage bringing all the horror of September 11, 2001 back to mind.  

When I read this psalm, I thought of terrorists and pornographers as the people who boast of evil, trust in great wealth and grow strong by destroying others.  It is a great temptation to fear and hate these people, but God gives us firm reassurance that he will repay the evil they have sown.  He will bring them down to “everlasting ruin” and “tear” them from their tent.  He will uproot them from the land of the living.  

It was interesting how the tongue played a major role in the people David described.  Specifically:

  • They boasted about evil
  • Their tongue plotted destruction and acted like a sharpened razor
  • They loved falsehood rather than speaking truth
  • Their tongue loved every harmful word

Jesus said,“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35 NKJV).  Simply by listening to a person’s words, we can tell a lot about what is in their heart!  

The final section of this psalm is a helpful reminder to all of us.  When we trust in God’s unfailing love, we will be blessed and will flourish.  We need not worry about what the wicked people are doing, but simply keep trusting in the Lord. He will bring perfect justice to pass in his perfect timing.  While we are trusting God, we can praise him for who he is, what he has done and what he will do.  

Questions for further thought:

  • What does this psalm tell us about the power of words?
  • How are fear and faith opposites?
  • When we fear something other than God, what does that indicate about our trust in God?
  • How does praising God help us when we’re confronted with fear?

Prayer:

“Almighty God, you are God and there is none like you.  There is no God but you!  Thank you for protecting me and blessing me in my life in so many ways.   Father, please forgive me for the times in my life when I have boasted about evil deeds, trusted in wealth, or abused people for my own gain.  Please cleanse me of this sin by the blood of Jesus.  I renew my trust in your unfailing love.  I praise your holy and awesome name!  Amen.”

 

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