More Bad News
Read Psalms 93:1–95:11
8. Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
9. Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?
10. He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing?
11. The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless!
12. Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.
13. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked.
14. The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession. 15. Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. Psalm 94:8-15
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If you’ve ever been around a cynical person, you know how maddening such company can be. A cynical outlook on life has two problems: (1) Negative attitudes are rarely necessary and rarely appreciated. (2) A cynical outlook makes every situation look bleak, even when it is not. What cures the cynic?
Psalm 94 has the answer. You’ll notice a lot of contemporary problems here, such as crime and corruption. That’s because some things, namely, human wickedness, never change. But the psalmist did not forget to look on the bright side.
The other two psalms in this reading contain similar lessons, but from different angles: learning from God’s creation (Psalm 93) and worshiping God (Psalm 95).
Today we have technology’s mixed blessing of finding out about events more quickly and in greater detail than ever before. So much of it, however, is negative news. When negative news fills our minds, it’s hard not to be cynical.
In the first half of Psalm 94, it seems as if the psalmist could think of nothing but bad news. He saw evil people prospering and oppressing others (Psalm 94:3-7), corrupt governments (Psalm 94:20), and the condemnation of the innocent (Psalm 94:21), much like what we see in our world today. But he had come to realize and take comfort in the fact that God would not allow evil to continue forever. By the end of the psalm, he expressed trust in God and a commitment to take responsibility for his life and to obey God.
The next time you feel overwhelmed by negative news, do what this psalm writer did: tell God how you feel, declare confidence in his wisdom and timing, and reaffirm your commitment to follow him.
