“Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?” (Psa. 94:3).
In Psalm 94 judgment is looked for and vengeance to set the world right, but in the meanwhile, we find the discipline and comforts of the Lord sustaining the soul. The power of evil is evident, and the haughtiness of man presses on the one who knows God. But in all this, God does not immediately judge evil, but rather begins at His own house. God’s hand is in the dealings which make His people suffer, and it is to this that the heart of the saint turns. By this process of evil having the upper hand, God breaks the will, teaches dependence and separates the heart and spirit from the world.
When the haughty spirit of man drives back the heart, we become subdued, for the heart has tasted that the Lord is gracious. The heart is driven to God known in grace and the revelation of Himself, His ways and His purposes. The renewed heart gets into its own sphere, learning God’s ways, the development of His grace and truth, and His holiness in the sphere where He reveals Himself, for those who know Him. This is rest of heart for the saint, a repose of the spirit which seeks and delights in good. If we seek to deal with the evil, we become weary and heartbroken, but when we are driven up into our own place with God, we find rest.
If Our Minds Work
If our minds work, what questions present themselves to us, in the labyrinth of good and evil in the world! The power of evil awakens our thoughts, because we have knowledge of good and evil. But the mind enjoying God’s goodness may abstain from it. It sees another world of God’s power and retreats into God by faith. This comforts and delights my soul. There is a refuge and a resource, not in the explanation of everything to the mind, but in the introduction into the soul of the positive good which is in God. Then we know that we have blessedness and truth, whatever we may not be able to solve.
God has not set things right yet, nor am I competent to judge even how to do it. However, He has introduced good — perfect good —Himself into the midst of the evil. He has made me discover my own evil —judge myself — and this is an immense moral gain. Those who have done so may be called morally upright. This is a true, honest conscience. His love is shed abroad in our hearts, and His faithfulness in that love can be counted on. Direct communion with Himself raises us up to a kind and source of joy which the trouble and sorrow do not touch; nothing separates from His love. We are more than conquerors in the world, for we have the joys of another. The power of evil drives us into our retreat, our joy in Him who is always the same, and whom we learn to know better.
J. N. Darby, adapted from
Practical Reflections on the Psalms