God Who Vindicates the Suffering
[Psalm 140]
Last Friday, I came across an interesting article on the “Minju News & Joy” internet news titled “Christian Lawyers Step in to Resolve Korean Church Disputes” (Internet). The article explained that a group of about four Korean Christian lawyers and one pastor from Southern California came together to establish the “Korean Dispute Mediation Committee” with two main goals: to resolve church disputes and provide preventive education. Specifically, the committee helps mediate or negotiate conflicts when a dispute arises, ensuring that issues are resolved before they reach the courtroom. It also provides education to prevent conflicts from occurring in the first place and to address them early. One of the lawyers, who has served the community for over 20-30 years and is an elder at a church in LA, shared in a special lecture: “A judge in the LA court said, ‘Why is it that Koreans can’t resolve their issues within the church and bring them to court?’ … When a lawsuit is filed, the fact-finding process costs at least $20,000. Why are precious offerings from church members being used for this?”
As I read this article, I was reminded of a fellow alumnus from college. Now, as a lawyer, he goes to India once a year with other attorneys to defend the oppressed and powerless people. I thought of him when I remembered James 1:27, which says: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” The Bible teaches that looking after orphans and widows in their distress is true religion and godliness. Similarly, the psalmist Asaph also says, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed” (Psalm 82:3). Defending the rights of orphans, widows, the poor, and the oppressed, and showing justice on their behalf, is a ministry of service that we Christians must fulfill. Why is this so? Because it is God’s command, and it is also God’s heart and action.
In Psalm 140:12, the psalmist David says about God: “I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.” In other words, David confesses that God is the one who vindicates the suffering and brings justice to the oppressed. It is in this faith that David prays to God in the passage we will explore today. Let’s look at the prayer’s content, which we can break down into two key points.
First, David prayed to God for himself.
What did David pray to God for himself? It was for God's deliverance (salvation) and protection (verses 1-5). Look at Psalm 140:1: "Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men." David prayed to God to deliver him from the wicked and from violent people (verse 1) and to protect him from them. The reason for David's plea was that his enemies were so wicked that they sought to destroy him. They conspired against him and gathered every day to fight with David (verse 2). They were like poisonous snakes, trying to kill him by spewing venom (verse 3). Therefore, David prayed to God, "Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purpose to make my steps stumble." (verse 4). These wicked people wanted to push David’s steps, to make him fall.
This is exactly the work of Satan. Satan is still working today to make you and me, who believe in Jesus, stumble. His purpose is to make us fall in the race of faith. His goal is to turn us away from Jesus and lead us down the path of apostasy. That’s why Satan, with his evil servants, gathers every day to conspire against us. In Psalm 140:5, it says: "The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set traps for me." (Selah). Through his proud servants, Satan not only tries to destroy David but also tries to destroy us by setting traps to make us fall. If we are not careful, we will fall into these traps and sin against God. Therefore, to avoid falling into Satan’s traps, we must arm ourselves with the Word of God, be vigilant, and pray (1 Peter 4:7).
Second, David prayed to God for his enemies.
His petitions can be summarized in two points (MacArthur):
(1) David prayed that God would hinder his enemies (Psalm 140:6-8).
Look at Psalm 140:8: "Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their wicked schemes, lest they be exalted." David prayed that God would hinder the evil schemes of his enemies, who gathered every day to conspire against him. David prayed with a clear assurance and conviction towards God. Look at Psalm 140:6-7: "I said to the Lord, 'You are my God; give ear to the voice of my supplications, O Lord. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.'" David had experienced God’s protection and salvation in the past (for example, when God thwarted Ahithophel’s counsel and allowed Hushai’s counsel to be heard by Absalom, protecting and ultimately saving David). Because of this experience, David was sure that God would continue to protect him from his enemies and deliver him. With this assurance, he prayed in faith for God to hinder the plans of his enemies.
(2) David prayed that God would punish his enemies (verses 9-11).
Look at Psalm 140:9-11 in today’s passage: “As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips cover them; let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not up again. Let not an evil speaker be established on the earth; evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” Here, David prays that God would punish his enemies with disaster, so that they may never rise again. He asks God to bring them down and prevent them from standing firm in the world again. This is also something we should pray for. For our enemies, and God's enemies, we must pray that God would oppose them (impede them). We should pray that their deceitful schemes would be thwarted and that they would destroy themselves.
Through the news, we sometimes hear stories about people who have been wrongfully accused and imprisoned, but later released after DNA tests proved their innocence. These individuals, who couldn't afford a lawyer and ended up wrongfully imprisoned for many years, make us think about how we can restore the years they spent in prison. Even now, I believe there are still people suffering in prison unfairly. The reason for this is that in today's legal system, there is a corrupt environment where lies are packaged as truth, which is becoming increasingly common. Prosecutors sometimes send innocent people to prison by mistake, and especially lawyers, who enjoy enormous profits, even defend criminals by claiming their innocence to help them escape punishment. This is the corrupt atmosphere that exists in the legal world.
How should we, who live in such a reality, respond? We must pray, like David in today’s passage, to God, who delivers the oppressed and poor, and who brings justice. We must pray for God's grace and protection, asking Him to intervene on behalf of the suffering. But we must not stop there. We must also pray that God will defeat our enemies and punish them.
Therefore, I pray that all of us will experience the salvation of the righteous through God’s judgment of the wicked and give thanks to Him.
Praying for God's salvation, protection, and judgment of the wicked,
James Kim, Pastor
(Success through the Word and Prayer!)