Sunday 5 January 2014

Psalm 58 Justice and Peace

Noah and his family were rescued from a society which had no fear of God
and had no intention to change their ways.
When God imposed justice , Noah and his family were saved.
The Children of Israel were freed from slavery in Egypt.
Their freedom and justice  was achieved when the judgement of God
fell on the Egyptians.
Those who proclaim "peace at any price" and even pray for "peace at any price"
 are dislocated from the will of God and His active presence in the world.
Since "God With Us" is "God For Us" the psalmist dared to pray
for the judgement of God to come into effect in his own oppressed circumstances.
There is a sense that when we pray for justice and for God's  intervention in a
situation, we are asking God to act according to His judgement (not ours).
So to pray for justice and peace is to pray for the judgement of God to be implemented.

If I was praying for justice and peace for the innocent in Syria or South Sudan or Somalia,
in faith that God would act according to his judgement ,I might not mention the terrorists
or their teeth ; but the psalmist prayed with integrity  and with urgency.
And if I really felt that families of believers in those countries are my brothers and sisters.....
then each news bulletin of atrocities might cause my prayer to become more urgent
and more explicit.
And would righteous men not rejoice if we witnessed that there is indeed
Divine Justice on Earth ?
Lord , may there be divine justice in Syria , in South Sudan and in Somalia. AMEN.

No comments:

Post a Comment