Weapons of injustice vs. weapons of righteousness ㅡ Ps 57 ㅡ

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50102687994

 

>> 1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in thee my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. .... 4 I lie in the midst of lions that greedily devour the sons of men; their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let thy glory be over all the earth! .... 8 Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! .... (Ps 57) <<

 

David wrote this psalm when he was hiding in a cave because of Saul's troops. It is the best policy to hide when a foe stronger than you is threatening you with death. You can lose your life vainly if you try to oppose a strong villain by risking your life for justice. Sometimes it is grace and help of the considerate God for you to hide yourself safely. And you shouldn't complain about the uncomfortable hiding-place, for complaints result from unbelief. You need to have an attitude to think the refuge to be the shadow of God's wings, even if it is a cold cave or a cave in the wilderness that lacks everything. "In the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. (v. 1)"

 

I lived in a countryside before. Hens brooded eggs about once a year. Cute chicks were hatched after the hens had brooded the eggs patiently for about 20 days at one place, not eating enough feed. Hens are usually meek, but they become wild to humans or to other hens when the chicks are hatched. Chicks run into the wings of the mother hen when they perceive a danger. Midday sunlight harms people and animals in the hot countries. In particular, the fragile young birds can die in the heat. Then the mother bird spreads her wings to provide shade for the young. Seeing the devoted love of the mother birds, David beseeches God to become 'God like the mother bird' to him. Even a hen, a trifle creature, cherishes and takes care of her young with such devotion, but countless reckless women seek carnal pleasure and kill their babies by tearing their bodies to pieces in their wombs. What a shameful and deplorable sin! Who are such wicked women? Those women who, leading an intemperate life, got pregnant and had an abortion. The bad guys who impregnated them are of the same kind of evil humans.

 

God, who embraces and loves humans like a hen, hates those who are no better than beasts. There was a shocking incident in Japan before. A divorced woman stayed away from home for a week, leaving her two children at home. Neighbors could hear the children cry for a couple of days, but couldn't after then. The two children were starved to death. This woman worked at a bar after her divorce. She seemed to hate her ex-husband so extremely that she killed the two children, the seeds of her ex-husband, in such a harsh way. Divorce is such a deadly and evil thing to children! And what is as wicked as divorce is the obscene culture that separates the couples. In particular, prostitutes are the main culprits of home-destruction. God's punishment will come upon all who earn money by prostitution business, and upon all their sons as well forever. God is pleased when humans imitate his character. God is pleased when we are holy, when we love one another, and when we forgive one another with a magnanimous heart.

 

We must not use the body and soul we have received from God as weapons of unrighteousness. A body used for adultery and prostitution is a terrible weapon of injustice. He who uses his body and soul as an instrument of injustice is receiving God's wrath upon his whole body. Look at Saul in Psalm 57 today. Saul is a man who ruined using himself as an instrument of injustice. The king of a country has a sublime duty to care for and protect his people. It is shameful for a king to oppress his people, especially innocent ones, while enjoying all kinds of wealth and glory as a king. To David, Saul and his soldiers are atrocious gangsters whose teeth are like spears and arrows, whose tongues are like sharp swords (v. 4). They swarm around like hungry lions and persecute the weak. We must not use ourselves as an instrument of injustice like Saul.

 

Teeth mean violence, tongues like a sharp knife mean abusive language. Violence and harsh words cut off the beautiful green buds of growing children, and are main factors that make the good spouse frustrated and sad. Unfortunately and sadly enough, some of those who have suffered violence and violent language are destroyed in character and become violent people. However my brethren, you must never be violent to others even though you have suffered violence or abusive language for a long time. If you live as such an instrument of injustice, you future is sure to be bleak.

 

By the way, people don't realize that they so often utter violent words to others, if not commit physical violence. If you learn a little the skills of conversation, your abusive language that hurts others deeply will be much reduced. It is very important that you always allow others a chance to speak, and keep the cord (the relationship) of dialogue with them, lest they say to you, "Then, I have nothing to say to you!" You have a tongue like a sharp knife if you interrupt (or cut off) other's speaking when he hasn't said half of his thought yet. You should not cut (or stop) other's words in the middle like that. It means that you want him to continue to live with grudges, and want you and him to live without solving some problems, which, as a result, is a loss to you and him. Conversation is mutually beneficial; but if you unilaterally stopped a person from speaking, you could a little save your face for a moment, but it has been known to all that you are not a man of character, and you have missed 'words beneficial to you' that you could have heard if you had endured a little more. If you have cut other's saying halfway, how can you hear the rest words that can be beneficial to you? Hasn't the other person closed his heart already? Why do you live so foolishly and impatiently like that? From now on, never utter any words that bite others or cut others' words!

 

Saul and his men set a net and dug a pit to harm David's life (v. 6). This is a scheme they invented to kill another man. God gave David life, but Saul beat his brains to kill David. Then what was Saul in the eyes of God? "What an impudent and wicked fellow!" My brethren, God hates those who use their brains as evil instruments to harm others, makes them fall a prey to their own traps. It is evil in God's eyes that large corporations beat their brains to get into even small business areas. Why do you make other families that live giving thanks to God fail in business, so that the families are destroyed, and so that they cease to sing praises to God? Do not overthrow others' workplaces brutally. You've learned in church that Saul was a bad guy. Nevertheless, why do you try to destroy others' workplaces needed for their living? Repent! Is there any difference between Saul who tried to kill David and you who are engrossed in destroying other's shop?

 

We must use ourselves as weapons of righteousness. Then, Jesus, the righteous Judge, will praise us and give us a great reward later. You should use your brain not to kill others but to help others. We must keep our life holy in order to use our bodies as instruments of righteousness. The chaste virgin Mary was the most powerful weapon of righteousness in the world. Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Savior of all human beings, by her clean flesh, so she made a great contribution to the defeating of the Devil, the enemy of all humans. Purity is holiness. The Holy Spirit uses us as the weapon of righteousness when our body and mind are clean.

 

David confesses in several psalms that he served God honestly, that his hands were clean and unstained with blood, and that he earnestly wished his friends to go well. Even though he had a chance to kill Saul, he didn't kill him, thinking Saul had been anointed a king by God; thereby he respected God's authority. This life is an innocent life of a man who believes in God, and David was an innocent man, so that he was used as a valuable instrument of God. By David's correct faith and ethics, it was possible that hypocrisy, violence, lies, and idolatry were eliminated from Israel. There are precious persons in the world, but one of the most precious instruments of God is a good king who lives a righteous life in the eyes of God. David was a valuable righteous instrument of God.

 

One of the ways we become weapons of righteousness is to give thanks and praises to God. When we believe in the good God, sing praises to him, and pray him to conquer the enemies, we can defeat not only the wicked but also the demons who control them behind. "I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to thee among the nations. For thy steadfast love is great to the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds. (v. 9, 10)" There is no human being who can stand against the mighty warrior Jehovah. The most powerful weapons of righteousness in the world are a heart that firmly trusts God and a mouth that praises God.

 

David says, "Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! (v. 8)" Yes, my brethren! We must rediscover a loving and helping God. Our souls have almost fainted in the world full of wicked people. The jeopardy of eternal swoon threatens us. But the moment we confess our faith in God, our fainted souls wake up and come to life, and we can hope to live today, and our life that was in darkness has a new morning. My beloved brethren, don't be discouraged, but wake your soul up. Leave behind your life that has been in darkness until now, and receive the new morning as your own by faith. If we look to God who has given us life as a gift, our soul is awaked, and this day becomes a day full of hope and light to us.

 

Lord, give us a hopeful new day as a gift. Lord, give us the daily bread and the strength and courage to live today! I prayed in the name of Jesus. Amen!

 

 

Chong Tack Kim

                           - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -