A Comfort Only GOD Can Give

Psalm 94:19 - In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

by Minister Nedelka F. Prescod

Our reflection focal text is verse 19 of Psalm 94, coming out of one of the books in our Bible, considered to be the anthology of Hebrew religious hymns -meaning the words were sung. Yet, I would like us to take a slow walk to the focus text and imagine beginning a hymn or song with the very first line of Psalm 94 as it reads in the New International Version: “ The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth.”

There’s a lot of interesting songs in our world today, and for many of them, the lyrics can be questionable. But, here in our Bible, this chapter begins with the attitude we laugh about in social media culture saying, “oh they woke up and chose violence!” The King James Version says; “O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.” The writer (assumed to be David, though

there is no attribution to him) holds no punches and immediately gets to the point, calling out to GOD, acknowledging GOD’s authority and asking GOD to show up in a visible way with “rewards” for the “proud” and to exact justice. Well, who are the proud? The oppressors. Those who are arrogant and selfishly entitled, with no consideration for others. And the “rewards” requested are not the kind anyone I know would be excited to receive or cash in on. The requested “rewards” here are strong consequences “given in

recognition of one's service, effort, or achievements.” For that is the definition of a reward -to give what is earned based on behavior and actions. The writer follows up this request with receipts, a litany of those who have offended, and how they have offended.

Listen. I get it. When we’ve had enough, though 1 Corinthians 13:5 teaches that “love keeps no record of wrong”, we sometimes have a justifiable grocery list full of the ways we feel offended, and can recite that list backward, forward, and in any improvised order based on our mood at the moment. I get it. As James Brown says in his iconic song, “The Payback”: “Revenge! I’m mad! Got to get back!”

And I don’t believe I’m the only one that is currently surveying the spiritual and sociological lay of our shared land, holding deep concerns for, and maybe even fears of, what is being presented before our eyes moment by moment throughout our days. Days turning into weeks, and weeks into months of a building storyline we fervently want to rewrite. There’s a feeling of powerlessness that can arise within us when we are confronted by those and those things that seem to move with unbridled authority against us and in ways that offend, oppress, harm and take advantage of others for their personal benefit, whatever that may be, and with no care and concern for anyone else besides those of their kindred mind.

I must admit that there have been times when I’ve looked back over my life, and instead of counting the blessings, I recited my list, named the names, and counted the ways I’d been offended. But I’ve learned that living in wait for some rectifying fate to happen to anyone is not a helpful or prosperous way to live life. In fact, the Bible is clear about desiring vengeance. It’s GOD’s. In GOD’s supreme wisdom, the consummate balancer of all things seen and unseen, and yet, loving…GOD offers a way to live life that allows us to heal and grow, even as our offenders can, if we so choose. GOD is not our personal genie. We can’t sic GOD on anyone. And to lay in wait for another’s demise because we believe that should be their reward is not the best use of energy, time, thought and emotion we could use to better our own selves, learn any available lessons, and make new choices hat bring us into healthier communities, realities, and relationships.

Let’s not pretend that it is that easy, especially if we are dealing with forces, or as the Bible puts it in Ephesians 6:12, “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Though, as we get closer to our focal text the writer begins to take a turn in a different direction starting around verse 15: “But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.”

Where the focus was originally on the offenders, we now see a focus on the righteous, the upright in heart, and I’ll even say, the believers. This faith walk is not easy. We rely on our senses to navigate the world; our eyes, our ears, our noses. As people of faith, we are called to use our senses while simultaneously trusting in GOD to interpret and make sense of what we receive, and wait… to receive an understanding for the best way to move, or the understanding that we should keep still. In so doing, we then begin to have a shift in perspective when we realize that in the midst of our being and feeling offended we were unable to see the full picture. We then even begin to shift our gaze and no longer focus on the problem and trust GOD to lead us into solutions.

This shift is our reward. It’s a privilege of being a believer. It’s the vision we begin to receive that makes small of the matters that once offended. So, at verse 15 the writer pivots and begins to remember that “if GOD be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:32).

The writer’s next question begins to remind me of Steve Harvey’s famous two-minute introduction of Jesus the Christ, leaving the audience in a standing ovation and himself in tears. At this point in our text, it’s less a question than it is praise report: “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.”

My, my. You can feel the shift. The shift from fear and anxiety to trust as they look back over their life and think some things over and remember that if it had not been for GOD on their side… oh, where would we be?

Taking our attention off the problem and placing all in the infinite and supernatural realm of GOD’s sovereignty is the game-changer. When thoughts overwhelm, turning our thoughts unto GOD is the way to a peace that passeth all understanding. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying just sit and think, for faith without action brings nothing. But at the end of the day, as verse 19 states: “ In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”

I wanted to leave you with a song whose lyrics remind you and me to keep our thoughts stayed on God, and I had a hard time choosing one. So, I’m sharing a playlist. Remember: shift your perspective and “think on these things” (Philippians 4:8): “When the care of [our] hearts are many, [GOD’s] consultations cheer [our] souls.

Be blessed. Be in peace.