Psalm 10 God's Justice

Psalm 10:14-15 "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out."

There is something within me that stands up and cheers like a hockey fan in the playoffs whenever I hear of people getting what they deserve. This week a jury convicted Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling in one of the largest fraud scandals ever. At one time they turned Enron, a former pipeline company, into a hot energy trading company that became a symbol of the new economy. Underneath it all, however, they hid debt and inflated assets. When the company collapsed, thousands lost their jobs and pensions. The jury took six days to deliberate, but in the end brought down convictions would could lead to life imprisonment for both men.

When things like this happen, I want to yell, "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay God!" There is justice. There is such a thing as fairness. Right wins after all. Wrong is defeated.

This is the way life is supposed to turn out, isn't it? I don't know how many movies I've seen where I've had to hold myself in my seat when the bad guys get taken out. I want to jump up, pumping the air with my fist, yelling, "Yes!!!!!" But I don't, because, well, that would seem silly at the theatre, wouldn't it?

Life doesn't always work out this way, it seems. Evil exists in many forms and it affects lots of people. I guess that's why I take comfort in psalms like this one which remind us about the justice of God. The evil appear to prosper, buy only for a season. At some point it will end and God will call them to account.

I love verse 15. God will call them into account for their "wickedness that would not be found out." Its been said that a lot of secrets have been buried with the people who hold them. But there is nothing secret or hidden to God.

Every once in a while I write a song. Generally they are worship songs or "feel good" songs. One song is called "Holiness." Another is about repentance. My night-time ritual with the boys inspired one called "Whisker Rubbin' At Bedtime." A few weeks of rain prompted a song to begin, "First sunny day today, its been raining for three whole weeks..."

I normally know how I might use the songs when I write them - in worship, as "specials" in church, or at fundraisers. There is one song however, which was inspired by this psalm which is a little harder to use. Its darker, with a lot of edge. I don't play electric guitar but I hear this song in my head with heavy electric guitar.

There are those who lie in wait,

Only hoping we'll take the bait

Whether child or adult they don't care

Just like a lion, tiger or bear

CHORUS

Wrong is wrong and right is right

Doesn't matter who's got the might

Rise O Lord and lift your hand

And when you do they won't stand a chance

Sneakin' up so they'll have their way

These people are evil plain as day

Their strategy is simple - one thing they seek

Separate the pack and take the weak

But there's One who's bigger than the strong

One who cares and rights the wrongs

He sees the afflicted and hears their cries

And when he acts he doesn't ask "Why"

There is a day coming when God is going to come to "break the arm" of the wicked. I think the psalmist had two things in mind. 1) To break the strength of people who persist in their evil, since the arm is often a symbol of strength in the Bible. 2) The psalmist understood wishing bad things to happen to evil people, like God breaking their arms.

There are times we want to know the moral system of the universe is not messed up, that right and wrong matter. Psalms like this one show me that these things do matter to God, and there is a day coming when he will take care of it all.

May 29 2006. All scripture New International Version.