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You're listening to Tim Bulkeley's
5 minute Bible
Universalism, or not? Part 2: Psalm 69``
Psalm 69 is
not-untypical of the commonest kind of psalm in the Book of Psalms
the commonest genre of psalm
it's a complaint, it begins typically
"Save me, O God, I'm about to drown and sinking deep in the mud
my feet are slipping, I'm about to be swept under by a mighty flood
I'm worn out with crying, my throat is dry
I waited for you till my eyes are blurred."
and then he gets to the reasons for the complaint
"There are more people who hate me for no reason then there are
hairs on my head. Many terrible enemies want to destroy me, God
Am I supposed to give back something I didn't steal
you know my foolish sins not one is hidden from you."
and then there's the typical
statement of trust in God: "Lord God all-powerful, ruler of israel
don't let me embarrass anyone who trusts and worships you
it's for your sake alone that I'm insulted and blush with shame
like a stranger to my relatives like a foreigner to my own family
and then the psalmist goes on and asserts his love for God and the rest of it
and then in verse 16: "Answer me Lord
you are kind and good, pay attention to me you're truly merciful
don't turn away from me, I am your servant, and I'm in trouble
please hurry and help! Come and save me from my enemies."
Which all sounds fine and good
except, he goes on in verse 19
"You know how I am insulted, mocked and disgraced, you know every one of my
enemies
I'm crushed by insults and I feel sick, I hoped for mercy and pity but there was
none
enemies poisoned my food when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar
make their table a trap for them and their friends
blind them with darkness and make them tremble, show them how angry you are
be furious and catch them, destroy their camp and don't let
anyone live in their tents." Okay,
what do we do with a psalm like that? There are lots of them
Psalms where the psalmist prays for vengeance on his enemies
Do we assume that God's answer to such prayers is always
"No, sorry mate, I can't do that that, that would be nasty, and I'm not a nasty person
really."
or do we assume that there are some occasions when God's reply to such prayers
is either a yes or a modified yes
Let's face it, all of us have candidates
who deserve God's punishment.
So, what do we do with these prayers of imprecation? Does God never answer them?
in which case there are an aweful lot of prayers that God refuses to say "yes" to
or are there some sins which I just so bad
that even a God who is dying to save us
has to say: "Sorry, that's too much!"
I don't know, but I do know that if God is just
then those who
hurt others, and in particular those who hurt others terribly
and persistently and deliberately
deserve some kind of punishment and if God doesn't punish them
then God is not just. Of course I don't want God to be just
when God is dealing with me I'd rather then that God was merciful and kind
but you see I think we have to put another stake in the ground
that says that at some point
even God's mercy ends
at what point that becomes true
that's one of the things I don't know, thank God!
but I trust God, to put it in the right place
wherever that place is and however it works out
and that's my take on this whole issue
there is so much I don't know
but I'm content trust God for it
and so in a way I'm ending with the psalmist
Verse 34: "Heaven and earth will praise our God so will the oceans and everything in
them
God will rescue Jerusalem and he will rebuild the towns of Judah
his people will live there on their own land when the time comes
their children will inherit the land then
everyone who loves God will also settle there
Amen