One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done. Psalms62:11-12
This is one of my favourite psalms. Its structure is interesting: It bounces between pictures of God and pictures of humanity.
Its pictures of God express His trustworthiness and power to save:
"1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
Its pictures of humanity express David's own frailty:
How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down--
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
And the viciousness of the wicked:
4 They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
But I love the way David concludes the Psalm - both about God and about humanity:
About Humanity he makes it clear: we'll have to answer for how we live.
But it's his thoughts about God that sustain me:
He hears ONE thing about God - but he understands it in two ways:
God is strong and God is loving.
We can't separate these two.
Sometimes we turn God into Father Christmas: Sentimental and kind, but ineffectual. Othertimes we see Him as powerful but aloof from our circumstances. But although David hears two things, they are just two sides of ONE coin! It's _who_ God is and _how_ He deals with us.
This week I've had to face my own limitations and I've faced frailty in deaths of beloved congregants, cancer diagnoses in friends and other heartaches. I've also experienced the reality of evil, duplicity and dishonesty. It leaves one heartsore and diminished in soul.
But like David I must look away from humanity and look toward a God who is strong enough to save and loving enough to heal my heart and restore my soul.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
