A Psalm for the Present Age
Psalm 43: 1-5
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Our psalm selection for today reads like it was written especially for the end of our twentieth century. Given the present mood in conservative circles, verse one here is most appropriate. Our psalmist also lived in less than perfect times and He approached God in heaven with this prayer. He senses that he lives in an ungodly nation and pleads that he be delivered from the plans and purposes of the worldly wicked.
There is a certain sense here in this verse that must eventually be learned by every person who names the Name of Christ. That sense is the realization that heaven is our real home when we belong to Christ. As we become citizens of Christ's heavenly kingdom, we must begin to realize the difference in our calling from the worldly cultures in which we are caught up. When people go through a conversion experience they begin to notice the wickedness of the world. The perspective changes sometimes within a single week. They realize that something has happened and while you can't quite put your finger on it, life is different. C S Lewis described it similarly. One day, Lewis went away on a motor trip a pagan. When he came home, he was different. The second birth had occurred. To really appreciate the nuances of this particular psalm, it helps to be familiar with the nature of the conversion process.
Verse two reminds us that even as converted Christians we still hang onto some aspects of the old unconverted self. How do we know that? Well, did you realize last week when many of you voted, that you still voted as Republicans or Democrats even in local elections. Well did George Washington hope to hold back the process of party politics in our young Republic. Unfortunately he was unable to maintain that constitutional process whereby electors could choose from all of the qualified statesmen and select a President. And so, our politicians have begun next year's election already, posturing for position and money to enhance their ability to draw more of the same.
Indeed, that portion of the Constitution concerning the election of the president and vice-president, were the very first portion to be abandoned for a more political process. The imperfect process we have does not affirm the most qualified candidates but instead produces a winner and a loser. Losers, and especially their followers are pained because of that process. So pained that they sometimes fail to see the providence of God at work in their very midst!
How many of you have focused on the last phrase of verse one in any election in this decade? "Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!" How many of you have fleetingly thought the second line of verse two? "Why do You cast me of?" We have to be careful not to fall into a continual siege mentality, comically counting the long days until the next election. Of course, we can sit back like one popular political comedian, Mark Russell on PBS and enjoy the Republican and Democratic scenes in Washington DC.
For more serious fare, we can seek the light of our Father and His truth to guide us. And I believe that we may all take the seriousness of our psalmists request here to heart and imitate it very carefully in our prayer life. Remember, unlike the politicians believe, the center of the universe is not located on the Maryland and Virginia border. Instead, as our psalmist hearkens us back to the Exodus experience, it is the holy mountain where God exists, the place where He dwells! For us the Jerusalem revelation of Jesus Christ is our focus. Mount Zion and the smaller hill of Golgatha just outside. The Jews of Jesus' time missed the opportunity of knowing Christ because of their political fixation.
That same political fixation can plague the evangelical scene in our own day as well! I remember one popular Carter poster of the seventies which portrayed Jimmy in a Christ like beard and first century robe. Of course that heretical poster was not just a Democratic phenomena because Ronald Reagan was welcomed in his Republican party as an almost messianic character.
Verse four calls us to praise the real power in this universe. We are invited to the very altar of our God. We are invited to come to Him in joy and delight. I almost think we are called to be apolitical creatures, voting carefully for the very best candidates who have some integrity of character without regard to their politics. But, leaving the political process at that point and giving our complete devotion to God alone is difficult. "For I shall yet praise Him," our psalmist declares as he realizes the purpose for which he was created and called. "And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God." If we can come humbly before His presence and offer Him our heartfelt praise, how can we then go on to worry about the political and economic process?
In our last verse, our psalmist would encourage us. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?" Why do I hear at the very same things that I hear in Columbus, also in Bellefontaine? How long O Lord until you come? Now I don't want you to stop talking to me and sharing your concerns, because I have a duty and an obligation to listen and advise you even as I am trying earnestly today. But, I want you to know that we are not alone in our political concerns. There appears to be very much company. Enough so, that the worst of the current political goals may be wiffled and waffled back to the middle of the road.
Was it Shakespeare who said "All the world's a stage"? Well, let's remember who has written the script. And even as our psalmist did so many centuries ago: "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him." May you be encouraged to do so, even as you sit back with a bowel of pop corn and watch the worldly political soap opera try to thwart God's sovereign purpose. And like another popular commentator, we might just have a chuckle now and then as these self-important republicans and democrats run around their beltway in Washington DC. Remember, God is in control and all things happen within the context of His sovereign will. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. | |
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The Holy
Bible, New King James
Version. | ||
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Psm 043a |
28 March 93 & 07 November 99 | |