How does God’s kindness towards us differ from the way that the strong usually torment the weak?
Psalm 35:10
It is the inherent nature of this age that those with power tend to use it to dominate those who have none. Dictators crush the oppressed people they have conquered, trampling them with an iron boot. Youths band together in gangs and torment and terrorize those with the temerity to attempt passing by their “turf.” Corporations use their legal clout and overwhelming financial resources to gain an ever-increasing market share, grinding up the poor who work their plantations and sweat shops. Husbands batter their wives in rage, taking advantage of their superior size… as do parents in abusing their children. This tendency is inherent in the prideful root of our sin nature, and it can be seen from the earliest stages of our development. A three year-old girl grabs the toy away from her baby brother, who is powerless to stop her momentary dominance. And so, the tendency is rooted in our very being.
“Stop for a moment and ponder what kind of existence it would be if the God who created every atom in the universe were to use his power as a bully.”
Therefore, since we see the ravages of this kind of abuse of power daily in our groaning world, how can we ever praise God enough for the goodness, mercy, gentleness and kindness that are the foundation of his throne? As it says in Psalm 89:13-14, “Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation or your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” There it is… the clear combination of God’s absolute authority and power matched with his foundational commitment to the righteous, just, loving and faithful use of that power. Those beautiful qualities are actually the very essence of God’s reign. Stop for a moment and ponder what kind of existence it would be if the God who created every atom in the universe were to use his power as a bully. If he behaved as we do? If he were to torment us with constant terror, all for his own entertainment? Such an existence would defy description for its horror! At any moment, this capricious God could cause the very ground under you to swallow you alive for absolutely no reason at all. If God wielded his power the way we wield ours, surely insanity borne from ceaseless terror would be our universal lot.
But actually, God can no more do those things than he can tolerate them in his universe. His very Being recoils in anger and horror at the strong abusing the weak. And their punishment is to be treated by the actual Power in the universe the same way they have treated others. Verse 8 says, “may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into (their own) pit, to their ruin.” As Jesus said concerning another matter, “The measure you use will be the measure you receive.” All power and authority in the universe has been given to Christ (Matthew 28:18), and he will use it to judge those who use their own power to abuse others. In this is both comfort and warning. Comfort in that we can rest assured that God will reign and judge righteously. Warning in that we who have some power over the weak must use it as he does.
