This semester in my daily quiet time, I've been reading through two or three psalms and meditating on them, journaling, etc. I was struck this week by the violent, distressed nature of some of the chapters. Verses such as these:
10:15- "Break the arm of the wicked and evil person; call his wickedness into account until nothing remains of it."
18:40, 42- "You have made my enemies retreat before me, I annihilate those who hate me...I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets."
What happened to the happy, uplifting psalms I remember from my Sunday School days? I've come to realize that those so-called "uplifting" psalms don't really exist. Sure, there are parts of the Psalms that show God as loving and caring for His children such as:
20:4- "May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose."
21:7- "For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken."
25:6- "Remember ,Lord, Your compassion and Your faithful love, for they have existed from antiquity."
But verses in these same chapters speak like those above of violence, terror, and disgrace. I've read through the first 25 chapters of Psalms, and I'm already realizing a great truth from them that I've never realized before. Violence and love go together. If we try to separate the attributes of God, we miss Him as a whole. Yes, He is loving and gracious and kind, but He is also very much wrathful, just, and avenging of His people. All of these things exist in harmony in the person of God and I claim to follow Him so I cannot dare to separate the "nice" parts of God from the "scary" parts because that is who God is. I trust God, therefore I trust His whole being. The wrath as well as the undying love. That is what makes God the only truly awesome being in the universe. He is everything at once, He is perfection. And I will worship Him as such. Nothing more or less than His whole being. I know I'll never understand God completely, but even this minuscule glimpse into His character gives me reason to sing and praise Him. Why are you praising God on this Sunday?
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