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Still On His Throne

           In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain. For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

          The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face. (Psalm 11)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)

…the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say (Revelation 4:10)

 

          If there was ever a psalm written for our time, this is it. We hear the claim the psalmist asks about from three sources. Some tell us to flee because they are afraid. Some tell us to flee because they want to hunt us down or enjoy tormenting us. And some, like me, don’t so much say to flee as to notice that the wicked bend their bows because we need to be alert and of sober mind, and recognize we have enemies.

          Then, there are those who rightly point out the second half of the psalm. God is in His holy temple. He is on His heavenly throne. His eyes do examine all of us, etc. Both messages are necessary. As Robert Browning put it in Pippa’s song, “God’s in His heaven-- All’s right with the world!” And those of us who believe our vision clearer wonder how they can claim such things.

          The answer is that both claims are true. There are wicked people out there – some more wicked than we, but not all. And no matter how wicked people get, ultimately, God is still righteous, still omnipresent, still omnipotent, still omniscient, still loving, compassionate, graceful, forgiving, just, and in His haven. Even if the wicked put us in prison and do all manner of unspeakable evil to us; even when the foundations seem to be being shaken… God.

          Saying that doesn’t involve pretending that the wickedness doesn’t exist, or that the pain it brings doesn’t hurt. But the hurt is temporary. It will be healed. God will reward us for times we thought we lost but we actually won with Him, and we will lay our crowns before His throne.

Others may ask, “Aren’t you the one who …?”

And we’ll answer, “Oh no, God is the One who…” but He did it for us, in us, or through us.  Here and now, we may not see how it can be all right. We can’t see how the wicked can seem to prosper, but their prosperity is temporary and in the meanwhile, God’s still on His throne.

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