Daily Lesson for November 16, 2017

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 34 verses 15 through 22:

15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, 

and his ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, 

to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them 

and delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted 

and will save those whose spirits are crushed.

19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, 

but the Lord will deliver him out of them all.

20 He will keep safe all his bones; 

not one of them shall be broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked, 

and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

22 The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, 

and none will be punished who trust in him.

“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous.”  They cry, and the LORD hears. The LORD acts. 

We do not believe solely in a distant, creator God. Our God is more than a clock maker, winding up history and letting it go. Our God is more than the Unmoved Mover, the first actor in a chain of often catastrophic events. No, we believe in a more active and personal and responsible God. We believe in a redeemer God. We believe in a God who hears and acts and comes near to save.

These are unsettling times. We read once more of talk about nuclear weapons and war and irrational state actors. The possibilities of chain reactions left unto themselves are terrifying. 

Yet, “the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.”

Evil and wickedness have the seeds of their own destruction within them. One destroys the other. They root and grow and strangle the earth, but in the end they destroy themselves in the pride of their own conceit.  God has ordained it so. God promises. The people hold onto the promises. 

God is not too distant now. The LORD will not leave us to our own devices. The LORD will not abandon us to evil.

Things may get worse before they get better. Darkness may set in before we see any light. But the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. 

“Many are the troubles of the righteous, 

but the Lord will deliver him out of them all.”

The LORD delivers. God saves. The people take heart. 

Let all the earth take heart.