Vengeance/Injustice/Anger
Preaching
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
O Lord, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, O Lord; they oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless. They say, "The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed." Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge? The Lord knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile. Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law; you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. Can a corrupt throne be allied with you -- one that brings on misery by its decrees? They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.
An odd choice for a funeral sermon, except that it addresses an issue that may occasionally be in the hearts and minds of the grieved. I once buried an innocent man who had been murdered. His family felt a deep sense of injustice. Their anger burned against the murderer and against God. This psalm might help a family to see that there are others who have felt these intense emotions. It might help them see that their emotions; their anger; is not inappropriate. It might give them permission to feel what they truly feel rather than try to pretend. And it may then enable them to place the delivery of justice to God. It may help them to make God their fortress as opposed to the anger, and hatred, and bitterness that can eat away at one's soul. This will not be an easy psalm to use or sermon to preach, but it will speak a needed word of both comfort and truth.
An odd choice for a funeral sermon, except that it addresses an issue that may occasionally be in the hearts and minds of the grieved. I once buried an innocent man who had been murdered. His family felt a deep sense of injustice. Their anger burned against the murderer and against God. This psalm might help a family to see that there are others who have felt these intense emotions. It might help them see that their emotions; their anger; is not inappropriate. It might give them permission to feel what they truly feel rather than try to pretend. And it may then enable them to place the delivery of justice to God. It may help them to make God their fortress as opposed to the anger, and hatred, and bitterness that can eat away at one's soul. This will not be an easy psalm to use or sermon to preach, but it will speak a needed word of both comfort and truth.
