15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
There are a couple of things I notice right away. First is the comparison between the Lord's response to the righteous and the evil. His eyes and ears are turned toward the righteous, but his face is turned away from those who do evil. Well, eyes and ears are part of the face. I get a picture of the righteous on one side and the evil on the other and the Lord facing one direction...toward the righteous.
Also, verse 17 promises deliverance for the righteous, from all their troubles. But...and this is very important to notice...it does NOT promise that the righteous will never have trouble. This is where a lot of people's theology falls flat. There are many out there who would have us believe that Christians should never have any trouble. Well, this says otherwise. However, it DOES promise deliverance from those troubles. This causes us to have faith in times of trouble. If we know that the Lord is going to deliver us (note that we also don't know WHEN he is going to deliver us...it might be longer than we like), then we maintain our faith, even when it threatens to be shaken. If we think we aren't supposed to have any trouble to begin with, where does that leave us when the trouble comes? It leaves us with piles of questions that can't be answered, because the philosophy that created them is flawed to begin with.
Don Wyrtzen comments on this passage: "Though not denying the reality of sin, pain, suffering, and death, I need to embrace the greater reality--that the Lord is Victor over these. He has conquered the negatives of my life. He is my Savior and Deliverer. When I begin to see this, laborious lament is transformed into uproarious praise."
(From A Musician Looks At the Psalms)
I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.
This is Matthew Henry's commentary from Luke 10:25:37: "If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbor with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard aginst these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a kind Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbor as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveler. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise."
These are very good words, that we would all do well to heed. Christians in our country are getting a bad reputation for not having compassion, and for being pretty much bigots. Those of us who are "true" Christians need to step up and show what the love of Christ is really all about. It transcends party lines. It transcends national boundaries. I am reminded of some lines from a song by one of my favorite rock bands, Rush. The song, called "Territories," says this:
They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the color of their shirt
Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colorful rag is unfurled
While I realize that this is far from a "Christian" song, the sentiment is essentially the same. Our faith in Christ should carry us far beyond the petty disagreements that come from political parties and national struggles. We are to carry the gospel to the world. We have never, however, been instructed to try to make the rest of the world act like us.
Lord, I ask for more compassion for all people. This has been one of my weak points, throughout my life. I tend to be somewhat judgmental of people. I believe you would have me be more like the Samaritan in Jesus's parable. I know that there is sin in the world, and that we should preach against it. But, so often, the "preaching" of your children looks more like hatred toward the people whom you would have us love. I pray that we would all stop and consider that before we take any actions.
I thank you, Lord, that you have kept me around, now, for 52 years. As I celebrate this birthday (a concept which seems to be foreign to Scripture), I pray that, as I have entered my 53rd year of life, I can make some significant changes. Help me to be more healthy in this year. I drastically need to shed some poundage. I pray that you would help me return to the passion for music that defined my younger days. I have become lazy, musically, and you made me a musician. During this 53rd year, I pray that I would be more of a musician and be the musician that you would have me to be. Let me play and sing praises to you, making a joyful noise!
Grace and peace, friends.