1 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5 But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous will see and fear,
And will laugh at him, saying, 9 7 'Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches
And was strong in his evil desire.'
10 8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
11 9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good,
in the presence of Your godly ones."
Verse 6 really jumped out at me when I read this the other day. The righteous will fearandlaugh. Thinking about this woman who killed two of her triplets, I fear God because I know that there but for His grace go I. I fear becoming so calloused. I fear having a conscience so seared that I could boast about heinous sins. But I will laugh over the punishment of the wicked, and righteously so. I don't think most evangelicals think that's possible -- both to fear and to laugh -- so in the name of humility they end up doing neither. Or worse, they end up doing the reverse -- fearing the wicked, fearing the idea that the wicked will be punished, and thereby scoffing at the holiness of God. Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 7/29/2004 01:40:00 PM
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