The psalm begins as one might expect. The Lord who is King, enthroned above angelic beings, terrifying in their own right, causes people to tremble as the earth quakes. Before the Lord who is exalted over everyone and everything, praise is not an option. Kings of the human variety, with far less power and majesty, tend to magnify themselves at the expense of their subjects. Not so with the Holy God, the lover of justice, who hears the cries of those who pleading for mercy receive forgiveness. But we might pause before we shout alleluia, for while the Holy One forgives the wrongdoer the wrongdoing must be avenged. Like it or not that’s the way equity is established. And as difficult and painful as that is, living outside the boundaries of God’s decrees is more so. The trouble is we always seem to find ways to bear the unbearable and tolerate the painful. So the Holy God who knew no wrong becomes a wrongdoer and is avenged with a vengeance. In that avenging of wrongdoing is our salvation and God’s hope that one day we will love justice as much as God does.
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