Angered by the evil around us

How often do you get angered by the evil that you see around you?  That’s how the psalmist felt.

What did he see around him?  Lying lips.  Deceitful tongues.  (2)  And people who not only disrupted peace, but caused war because of the evil in their hearts.   (Psalm 120:6-7)

And so the psalmist moaned,

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar! (Psalm 120:5)

According to Charles Spurgeon, these were basically wandering tribes that went around plundering the peoples around them.

Whether the psalmist literally lived among them, or he was saying that the people around him were like these people, I don’t know.

The interesting thing, though, is this a song of ascent.  Namely, it was a song that people sang as they made their pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

It seems a bit strange that one would be singing this kind of song as they’re turning their faces towards God to worship him.  But then again, maybe it’s not so strange.

Life is not always pleasant.  And when we look at the world around us, it’s easy to get depressed.  To wonder where God is.  To wonder if he’s doing anything about the evil we see.

But as this psalmist turns his eyes towards God, he reminds himself that God will ultimately bring justice, and that all will be made right.  He writes,

What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?

He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.  (3-4)

So let us not get discouraged by the evil we see on the news.  Instead, let us remember our God is good and that he is just.

Take your eyes off of the evil that you see, and put them on the God who will someday make all things right.