God's Character behind the Curtain

Psalm 79 “O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.” (v.8-12)

Psalms 79 is believed to be written by a man named Asaph or one of his descendants after experiencing the Babylonian Invasion. The destruction of Jerusalem was widespread and Jerusalem suffered hardship under the foot of the enemy, where even the dead were prevented from being buried. The sights and smells of defeat and despair pervaded while needless injustice seemed limitless. Destruction of the city and the crush of defeat would be enough to bear. But to remain in a state of continued injustice and abuse under the power of the enemy only serve to crush any hope of salvation. Within that plea, the psalmist is willing to own any fault for sins which may have contributed to the defeat from their enemy by consequence. In verse 8, “let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us”,carries the idea of asking God to stir a sense of anticipating justice from God against unrestrained evil. This speaks clearly to a people suffering great defeat unto complete exhaustion and grief. Their eyes of hope seemed to be covered by a curtain of despair The only final plea was for God to grant them at least the expectation that justice would eventually come. The psalmist desperately clutches to the character of God, whom he serves. He trusts that God would surely “render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom”, as he requests that justice would come, and not only be complete, but that the laps of their enemy would always be reminded how they brought their own judgment upon themselves with great regret. There are times in our life we may experience a similar sense of hopelessness and the environment where we find ourselves does not give us any assurance of hope. In such times even justice may seem neglected. Reflection is needed as we take inventory about our own contribution to the trials where we find ourselves. But in our worst case, God's peace seems removed from us, we may rely on what we know of Gods character. We know that God is just and he will surely bring right Judgment in due time. When we find ourselves surrounded by the curtain of hopelessness, we can at least be confident that there is always justice to be found in God's character.

God is still God, even behind the curtain, my friends.