From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet–
when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land.
Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. (Ps 76:8-10)
Political correctness would tear psalms such as this one from the pages of the Bible. A cheer for the God who destroys enemies and brings rulers to heel? This sounds so foreign because we want a God who stands off at a distance and rolls His eyes at our interpersonal and international battles. No longer does God favor one nation over another or even condone the exclusivity of one religious path.
In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.
His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war. (vv 1-3)
Modern Christianity is personal. We call it our faith but do not extol its superiority over all others. Why not? We have here in the scriptures proclamations of God’s choice of Israel as His people and the Temple as His dwelling place. Dare we not say the same thing? God has chosen us in Christ and our soul is His dwelling place? Is this defeat for all competing belief systems?
Grace and peace to you..
image by musumemiyuki
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 