The Deep Thoughts of the Lord

 

 

 

 

[Psalm 92]

 

 

Today, my wife went to a rice cake shop in Koreatown to order rainbow rice cakes to celebrate our youngest daughter Yeun's birthday at kindergarten. According to Yeun, she told my wife that this Friday, for her birthday celebration at school, she would wear a hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and bring rainbow rice cakes. Haha. After ordering the rice cakes, my wife went to pick up the kids from their after-school church program, and Yeun introduced her mother to her friend by saying, "This is my mom." Hahaha. I laughed on one side, but on the other hand, I wondered whether Yeun was treating her mom like a friend, considering how she introduced her as "my mom" to her kindergarten friend... Hahaha. When I think of Yeun, Ye-ri, and Dylan, I realize that as a father, I am lacking, but I am also experiencing that it is God who is raising these children.

When I think about the children God has gifted us, I am reminded of the verse I read just before going to bed last night from Job chapter 1. Especially the verse 5, which says, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." As we already know, Job was "blameless and upright, a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1), yet after hosting a feast for his children, he offered burnt offerings to God the following morning, in case his children had sinned and cursed God in their hearts (1:5). In this passage, we can see that as a father, Job was concerned even with the hearts of his children. In the Korean Bible, it says that he feared they had "betrayed God in their hearts," but if we translate it into English, it would mean that Job offered burnt offerings because he feared they might have "cursed God in their hearts." While continuing to read the book of Job, I noticed the word "curse" appears several times. For example, in Job 2:9, after Satan afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head (2:7), his wife, seeing his suffering, said, "Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!" (2:9). Meditating on this, I am challenged by Job's example of being blameless, upright, and fearing God, and it makes me cautious of sinning against God in our thoughts or hearts. I am also reminded that we must diligently engage in the spiritual battle that takes place in our hearts and minds. To handle this spiritual battle well, we must be "transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:2). For this, we need to meditate on God's Word, understand the thoughts of the Lord, and train our thoughts to align with His thoughts.

In Psalm 92:5, the psalmist says: "How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep." Based on the phrase, "Your thoughts are very deep," I would like to reflect on two or three aspects of God's deep thoughts. By understanding His thoughts and believing in them, and by also thinking about His thoughts, I pray that this time will help us guard our hearts, remain steadfast, and continue to grow in transformation.

First, I would like to reflect on the deeply profound thoughts of the Lord towards the wicked.

The deeply profound thoughts of the Lord towards the wicked can be summarized in one word: destruction. Although the wicked grow like the grass, and those who commit iniquity prosper, they will ultimately perish forever (v. 7). This verse teaches us how we should view the prosperity of the wicked:

  1. As we see in real life, the wicked prosper quickly.

The psalmist compares the wicked to the grass in this passage, saying they "grow." This means that the wicked quickly succeed without effort, using deceitful means. In other words, the wicked may succeed quickly through their cunning methods, but in reality, that success is not true success or a blessing (according to Park Yun-Seon).

  1. The prosperity of the wicked may seem lush, like wild grass, but the important thing is that there is no fruit.

In other words, despite their prosperity, the wicked do not bear fruit in God's eyes. The prosperity of the wicked, like fruitless grass, is the image of the wicked that the Bible describes.

  1. The quick prosperity of the wicked ultimately leads to their eternal destruction.

For example, just as a pig is fed and fattened before being taken to the slaughterhouse, the purpose of the wicked's prosperity is their eternal destruction. Pastor D. L. Moody commented on the prosperity of the wicked in this verse, saying: "The wicked ultimately grow like grass to become fuel."

Once, while meditating on Psalm 73, I received a lesson from God regarding "the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous." In this psalm, the specific message about the prosperity of the wicked tells us that, although on the outside it may appear that the wicked "grow like grass" and "prosper," ultimately, they will face eternal destruction (Prov. 20:21). We do not need to envy or be jealous of the quick success or prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 73:3). Why? Because, just as the wicked succeed quickly, their destruction will also come swiftly.

Consider what Psalm 73:18-20 says: "Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awakes, so, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image." The destruction of the wicked will be even faster than their success, and faster than success itself. In the blink of an eye, they will be laid waste, like waking from a dream.

In today’s scripture, Psalm 92:9 also says: "For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, for behold, Your enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered." The wicked, those who practice iniquity, will perish as enemies of God and be scattered. Therefore, we do not need to envy or be jealous when we see our enemies succeeding and prospering. Even though the wicked and those who do evil may seem to win temporarily while persecuting God's church, we must stand firm in faith, believing that in the future, God will judge them and bring about their destruction (v. 11, Park Yun-Seon).

Reflecting on this, I began to think about God's deep thoughts, and I had a very small but profound thought. It was this: Why does God allow the wicked to grow and prosper, even for a brief time? I thought about what God’s intention (will) might be. God’s intention is for us, His children. In other words, the temporary prosperity, growth, and success of the wicked are for us.

Look at what Proverbs 13:22 says in the latter part: "... the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." In light of this, the growth and prosperity of the wicked (e.g., the wealth of the wicked) are actually for us. This is the deep will of God. When we understand this deep will of the Lord, we realize that we do not need to envy or be jealous of the growth, prosperity, or success of the wicked.

Furthermore, I believe that the reason the Lord allows the prosperity of the wicked is to test you and me. That test is whether, when we see the prosperity (success) of the wicked, we will, like the righteous, fully trust and rely on God through our trials, and confess the words of Psalm 73:25: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You."

Lastly, I would like to meditate on the deeply profound thoughts of the Lord towards the righteous.

While the wicked prosper (Ps. 92:7), the righteous, due to their enemies who do evil (v. 11), often suffer persecution and hardship. We may sometimes wonder why, if God loves us, He allows us to endure such unjust suffering and persecution. However, we must remember that even in our suffering, there is a deep purpose in the Lord's thoughts (will). In today’s passage from Psalm 92, we can find three main points that reveal God's profound thoughts toward the righteous.

  1. The Lord’s profound thoughts are that when we suffer, He plans and carries out His great works, specifically salvation.

    Psalm 92:5 says: "O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep." Here, the psalmist refers to the Lord's great works, specifically His plan of salvation. In other words, the God of our salvation delivers us from the wicked and their prosperity while allowing the wicked to perish. The deep thought of the Lord is that through our salvation, He reveals His greatness, majesty, and role as our Savior, showing us the fullness of His divinity.

  2. The Lord’s profound thoughts are that through His grace of salvation, He brings us joy and leads us to praise Him.

    Psalm 92:4 says: "For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work..." Through His great acts of salvation, God grants us the joy of salvation (Ps. 51:12). Thus, the Lord enables us to praise Him with gratitude for the joy we experience through our salvation. The psalmist expresses this in Psalm 92:1-4: "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, with the ten-stringed lute and the harp, with the melody of the lyre. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands."

  3. The Lord’s profound thoughts are that He causes us to flourish in His courts.

    Psalm 92:13 says: "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God." "Planted in the house of the Lord" refers to the union with Christ (Park Yun-Seon). This means that those who are united with Jesus Christ will flourish forever in the heavenly courts, which is a promise that although the wicked may prosper briefly on earth, the righteous will flourish eternally in heaven. We will "grow like a palm tree" and "flourish like the cedars of Lebanon" (v. 12). We will live forever in God’s courts, clothed in imperishable glory, revealing the fragrance of Christ. Unlike the fruitlessness of the wicked, the righteous will "bear fruit in old age" and "be full of sap and very green" (v. 14). In other words, God will make the righteous bear fruit, and they will experience abundant vitality (Park Yun-Seon).

This is the deep thought of the Lord toward us. Why does God make such promises to us? The reason is that He loves us and esteems us highly. In Psalm 92:10, we read: "But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; You have anointed me with fresh oil." The phrase "anointed me with fresh oil" refers to the custom in Judah of anointing honored guests with oil as a sign of great respect. This signifies that God treats His beloved ones as honored guests (Park Yun-Seon). In this way, God will welcome us into His heavenly courts, treating us as VIPs. There, He will allow us to live with Him forever.

How could we fully comprehend the deep thoughts of the Lord? However, one thing is certain: the Lord is always thinking of us. The psalmist expresses it this way: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you" (Psalm 139:17-18). While we may not fully understand the Lord's endless and deep thoughts toward us, we should live with the certainty that, even if we face suffering in this world for a time, by His saving grace we can rejoice, give thanks, and praise Him, believing that we will forever flourish in His courts.

 

 

 

After praising "all of us gathered here," on Wednesday night,

 

 

Pastor James shares

(wishing that the deep thoughts of the Lord may become my thoughts).