Be at rest ㅡ Ps 55 ㅡ

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50102340170

 

>> 1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication! ... 3 by the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they cherish enmity against me. .... 6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7 yea, I would wander afar, I would lodge in the wilderness, .... 13 But it is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend 14 We used to hold sweet converse together; within God’s house we walked in fellowship. .... 22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 23 But thou, O God, wilt cast them down into the lowest pit; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in thee. (Ps 55) <<

 

If you win a war by deceiving your enemies, you are praised as a warrior of great wisdom; but if you betray your friends, you are called a shameful man. Today in the Scripture, David says that he would rather go to the wilderness and live alone there, because he feels disgusted at the world on account of his bad friends. There are some bad people in the world who make others dislike the world. Fathers are getting sick of the world and want to live alone in the wilderness, when their children dare to challenge their fathers' authority. The Bible, Prov 21:19, says that it is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious woman. Could the author of the passage say like that without really living with a severe virago? Whenever I read the passage, I feel very sorry for the author. It is a great honor to him that his remark was incorporated into the Scripture, but who, with what, can compensate him for his suffering? Many male people hate the world when they think of their wives who are specialists in nagging. Alas, where is the lovely woman who used to be so sweet and kindly when young? Why has her kindly and lovely character gone far away to the wilderness, leaving only the worst wife in the house? Women, please give your husband rest and peace. Throw away your vanity, but be thankful for not starving every day.

 

The Bible says that husbands should not bother their wives (Col 3:19). Some wives nag while some husbands utter wild words. Both are verbal abuses, which God hates. This problem can be solved if the husband and the wife love, respect, value, and pity each other. And it will be solved automatically if the couple serve God rightly. The husband must know that the original lovely wife has in fact fled to the wilderness because of his abusive language. The super bacteria have appeared and are terrifying people these days. The super bacteria defy all antibiotics. Super women often appear in the world, females whom husbands can never control with any words. How unfortunate! Jesus is the King of peace. When Jesus is in the house as the King, the family becomes a kingdom of peace. How wonderful, if the husband is happy in the world because of his wife, and the wife, because of her husband! Couples, be a blessed haven for each other. (May a lot of chances of promotion be upon the husbands who decide to treat their wives with care, kindness, and love. Amen!)

 

David's vulgar friend was at first a good believer together with David. "But it is you. ... We used to hold sweet converse together; within God’s house we walked in fellowship. (v. 13, 14)" This man used to say only good words smoother than oil to David, but now his tongue has become a sharp sword that pierces David ruthlessly. Now he might have said to others, "I know him (David) very well. In fact he is a rascal!" David got very angry at his attitude. So he prayed to God, "My God, cut off his tongue (v. 9 in Korean version). Cast him into hell alive (v. 15)"

 

There are evil human beings whose tongues I want to mutilate with a jakdu (작두), a straw-cutter. They are homosexuals. These wicked humans insist on their liberty, saying, "Why do straight (heterosexual) people force gay people to live heterosexually?" Hey, you dirty and wicked mental patients, then why do you force normal people to recognize your perverted behavior as 'normal (or acceptable)'? Why do you get angry with the normal people when they define your evil behavior as sexual perversion and avoid you? Why do you appear on the TV with disgusting faces and make a lot of normal people sick? We heterosexuals won't allow the homosexuals to appear on TV, or to wander around on the street, because we want our children to have a normal healthy sex-identity. Homosexuals should admit our requirement. The expulsion of evil homosexuals from the society is for the protection of the common people's right to pursue happiness, and this is an extremely legitimate right. Should the society tolerate pest? No way!

 

There is another kind of humans whose tongues are to be cut off. They are prostitutes, who are home wreckers. They demand that prostitution should be recognized as a legitimate job, and they say they are sex-workers. A whore married an empty-headed man. She said she had heartbreak on account of her husband. She complained that her husband slept with another whore while she (his wife) was pregnant. Her tongue should be cu* of*, because she, without remembering what she herself had done, said that she got angry when her husband slept with another whore.

 

There are other humans whose tongue should be cut off with a jakdu. They are shamans and Buddhist monks, who extort money from simple people, saying their bujoks have great mysterious power. (A bujok (부적, 符籍) is a Korean paper-talisman on which they write religious characters or draw strange pictures. They sell a bujok, a paper talisman, for an enormous price.) And abominable are the tongues of those Christian religioners who are embodiment of greed but like delivering a religious speech to the saints, "Let's give up greed!" In particular, the abominable tongues of Methodist pastors who have fought fiercely for the position of the head of the bishops these days will be cut mercilessly by the sharp sword of Jesus.

 

We must not live with false and selfish thoughts. We also shouldn't live the life of an opportunist. Especially we should not betray our friends and slander them to please the wicked as David's cheap friends did. If you only like to lie and live as an opportunist, you will end your life only as a man who has been thoroughly exploited and at last been deserted by others. Who in the world will trust in you, a man of lying tongue, and give an important mission and an important job to you, and entrust his precious wealth to you? A king accepts even the general of the enemy army if he is a good human. Some kings didn't kill captives who were leaders of the enemy, but appointed them as the high officials of his kingdom.

 

On the contrary, God hears the prayer of the honest with joy. God answered David's prayer very much. Even if a righteous man who hates lies does not defend himself with his tongue, the slander and misunderstanding about him will be cleared up, and his righteousness will be revealed. Even the righteousness of a dead man will be revealed if he was a righteous man. Abel died, but his blood cried to God. Could Mary, the mother of Jesus, explain to the people that she had a son as a virgin, if she had a hundred mouths or a thousand tongues? But an angel of God appeared to Joseph, a righteous man, in his dream and defended Mary. Jesus was crucified for blasphemy and political crime, but his righteousness was known to the whole world by his resurrection. The wicked are always afraid that their iniquities and lies will be exposed, so they have no peace; but the righteous are confident and peaceful even in face of death. Jesus said, "My peace I give to you. (Jn 14:27)" And the peace was possible when he thought of his perfect full glory beyond the death on the cross. Have you perhaps lost your peace thanks to your shameful poverty, sickness, and occupation, or thanks to hardship and failure? Take Jesus' peace as your peace if you have lived a faithful and honest life before God.

 

David is a man who tasted the peace of the righteous. "I call upon God; and the Lord will save me. (v. 16)" He who has the faith and confidence of the v. 16 can have peace in the turbulence of the world. But sometimes God says to someone, "Why should I help you?" God says to you, "Would you do this?", when there is no one but you to do it in the church. If you, however, refuse God's ask for help and say to him then, "Lord, I want to do it, but in order to enter a prestigious university and to succeed later, I must not neglect my study and do it now," God will say to you, "Why should I help you?", when you ask him for help later. If you join a Christian club in university, it will take up much of your time. Some students say, "I'll reduce the time spent for the club, for it is more honorable to God for me to study harder and get a scholarship." But the result was not so good. Life is another mountain after a mountain. (That is, life is a series of difficult problems.) How many times do you need God's help in your life? And how can you flatly reject God's request for help when you can do it? From now on, never reject God's request for help. And Jesus' peace will be your peace. Those who live without a thought to harm others, who do not hesitate to work hard for the kingdom of God, can live in great peace.

 

Verse 23 says, "Men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days." Of course the righteous may die early. However this death is not an evil and unfortunate death but a blessed death in the love of God. In some cases, God's plan absolutely needs an early death of a righteous man. However the wicked in the verse 23 died early, not living out his full life span thanks to the punishment of God. What a shameful life! We must live a good and beautiful life in the eyes of God so that we can enjoy the blessing of the joy of life. And we must not kill living creatures recklessly. We must cherish and take care of not only humans but also animals and plants. Unless it is used for food, a living creature should not be killed just for fun. (This is the attitude of revering God of all creatures.) This is beautiful and good in the sight of God. God grants the blessing of life to those who protect life. God most hates rape, abortion, prostitution, homosex, and adultery because they are acts of trampling down of and insulting of life. He who likes to shed the blood of others and to deceive others is after all one who hates his own life.

 

My brethren, do not betray others. Do not betray your friends. Do not betray your parents. Do not betray your teachers who hope that you'll be a good citizen. If you are a Christian, you should not become a bad student at school. It is truly a shame. Do not betray your pastor. Do not betray Jesus. Instead, be a man who gives joy and happiness to others. Far greater help, grace, and blessing will be with you if you become a one who makes others happy.

 

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. (v. 22)" Bless the Lord who is our blessed resting place.

 

Chong Tack Kim

                                  - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -