February 24, 2020 -- Psalm 119:121 -- Saved from Oppressors

I have done what is right and just,

do not leave me to my oppressors.

Psalm 119:121 English Standard Version

It may seem like boasting to say, “I have done what is right and just”. If this were not a prayer-psalm, I’d be more inclined to agree with that assessment. The words right and just are in the original language: righteousness and justice. What do the oppressors of this writer have to do with his working out of God’s righteousness and justice?

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, in The Gulag Archipelago wrote:

The line separating good and evil passes not through states,

nor between classes, nor between political parties either—

but right through every human heart—

and through all human hearts.

Interestingly, he goes on to say that even in the evillest heart there is a bridgehead of good. Obviously, I thoroughly disagree with him.

Scripture tells us that all of us were dead in our sins and trespasses. There is no line of good and evil. There is no single pinpoint of light or hope flickering within us calling out for salvation. It is not until the Spirit of Truth, directed by the Father, because of the work of Jesus, enters into a man and brings him to life can there be any good in him at all. Where the Spirit of God has taken up residence in a man’s life, he is filled with righteousness—an alien righteousness—such as comes from the accomplished work of Christ alone. The Spirit of God brings a man to the court of God where this man is declared just because Jesus has paid all the penalty.

Those who are thus made alive by the Spirit of God then will be sifted by the circumstances of their life. They will face trials and hardships that require more strength than any human mind, body or soul have. Here is where the line between good and evil is oscillating, as Solzhenitsyn would say it, and by the grace of the Spirit gaining territory—all the heart and life and mind has been claimed by God—now that is being worked out fully.

That is why the psalmist cried out to God—”do not leave me to my oppressors”. The oppressors all around us show us the evil that lingers in our hearts. The oppressors around us show us our profound and continuing need for the Savior. The oppressors by their evil deeds cause a rebel sigh to rise up from within us so that we would fight fire with fire, rather than let the Spirit of God extinguish the furnace of evil that bellows within us.

Wait, I have to be kind to those who oppress me? I have to show goodness to the wicked? Read what the Bible teaches: “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Romans 12:20 ESV). Basically, we are to leave up to God the task of apportioning out the right weight of judgment with the full confidence God by the activity of those around us will reveal to us our own evil impulses so that these can be excised. The request of the psalmist has been gloriously answered in Jesus’ words to Peter:  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus prayed. Jesus continues to pray for us so that our circumstances will not kill us but will be used to purify and refine us for His glory and add to the greater condemnation of those who refuse the glorious work of Christ—the Redeemer-King. More even than this, we who have been so tried will in turn be able to bless and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle with the example of our own life, where the victory of Christ in us defeated evil.

The prayer included below is for one voice. That means one voice [indicated by the pronoun ‘I’] prays for the congregation or the people gathered. The purpose is to emphasize the deeply personal nature of God’s saving work in me and through me, while at the same time recognizing as we all pray this, God in His infinite mercy and wisdom and love is coordinating His saving work so that all of us are knit together as members of the Body of Christ. The prayer is based on Ephesians 3:14-19).

Spirit of Truth let the words of Scripture sink into the murky places of my mind and heart—the very places where You are now most active in purging evil from me and bringing the healing work of Jesus. Direct me in all truth for the sake of Jesus Christ. Thank You Spirit of God for Your on-going, ever-faithful, persistent work in my life which enables me to perceive in incrementally greater measure the glorious greatness of the Father and the height, depth, breadth and width of the love of Christ by which I am filled with the fullness of God. Glory to You, Triune God. Blessing and honour, praise and adoration belong to You, now and forever. Amen.