God Who Defends the Afflicted
[Psalm 140]
Last Friday, while reading the online news on “Miju News En Joy,” I came across an interesting article titled, “Christian Lawyers Step Up to Resolve Disputes in Korean Churches.” I decided to read it (online). The article mentioned that around four Christian Korean lawyers and one pastor in Southern California had gathered to establish the “Korean Dispute Mediation Committee” with the goal of taking on two roles: resolving church disputes and providing preventative education to avoid conflicts. In other words, if a dispute arises and the parties involved request mediation, this group’s goal is to help resolve the issue before it escalates to court by offering mediation or negotiation. Additionally, they aim to provide conflict prevention education to prevent and resolve disputes early on.
One of the lawyers, Mr. Seo (an elder in a church in Los Angeles, who has been serving the community for 20-30 years), reportedly said in a lecture: “One judge in the LA area court asked, 'Why is it that Koreans are the only ones who cannot resolve their problems within the church and bring them to the court?' … Once a lawsuit begins, it costs at least $20,000 just for fact verification. Why should the precious offerings from the congregation be spent on this?"
Reading this article, I was reminded of a junior from my university. Now, as a lawyer, he goes to India once a year with other attorneys to defend the poor and powerless who have been wronged. When I think of him, I remember the verse from James 1:27: "Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
The Bible tells us that caring for the orphan and the widow in their affliction is true religion and devotion. Similarly, the psalmist Asaph says, “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy” (Psalm 82:3). A life of judgment and justice for the orphan, widow, poor, and afflicted is the ministry that Christians are called to serve. Why? Because it is God’s command and reflects God’s heart and actions.
In today’s Scripture, Psalm 140:12, the psalmist David speaks of God, saying: "I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor." In other words, David confesses that God is the one who defends the afflicted and brings justice to the poor. In his faith in this God, David’s prayer in this passage becomes a model for us. Let us consider two key points from his prayer.
First, David prays to God on his own behalf.
What David asked God for himself was deliverance (salvation) and protection (verses 1-5). Look at Psalm 140:1: "Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from violent men." David prayed to God to rescue him from the wicked and the violent (v. 1) and to protect him from them because his enemies were so evil that they wanted to destroy David at the core of his being. They plotted against David, gathered daily to fight him (v. 2), and like venomous snakes, they spewed poison at him, seeking to kill him (v. 3). Therefore, David prayed, "Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from violent men who have planned to overthrow my steps" (v. 4). These evil men were trying to push David down and make him stumble. This is the work of Satan. Satan is still working today to make you and me, believers in Jesus, stumble. His goal is to make us fall in the race of faith, to turn our backs on Jesus and lead us to apostasy. So, Satan, with his evil servants, gathers daily to plot against us. Psalm 140:5 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). Satan, through his proud servants, is setting traps and nets not only for David but for you and me as well, in order to bring us down. Therefore, we must be vigilant and not let our guard down, or we will inevitably fall into those traps and sin against God. To avoid falling into Satan's traps, we must be armed with God's Word, stay alert, and pray (1 Peter 4:7).
Secondly, David prayed for his enemies.
David's petitions for his enemies can be summarized in two main points (MacArthur):
(1) David prayed that God would interfere with his enemies' plans (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" (Selah). David prayed that God would intervene to prevent the evil plans of his enemies, who were gathering daily to plot against him. In offering this prayer, David had a strong assurance and belief in God. Look at Psalm 140:6-7: "I said to the Lord, 'You are my God;' hear 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 (e.g., when God thwarted Ahithophel's counsel and caused Absalom to listen to Hushai, thus protecting David and ultimately delivering him). Because of this experience, he was confident that God would protect and deliver him from his enemies in the present as well. With this assurance, David prayed in faith for God to thwart the plans of his enemies.
(2) David prayed that God would punish his enemies (Psalm 140:9-11).
Look at Psalm 140:9-11: "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 a slanderer be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him." Here, David prays that God would bring judgment upon his enemies, sending them calamity so that they would never rise again. He asks God to cause his enemies to be destroyed and never again be able to stand firmly in the world. This should also be our prayer. We should pray for God to oppose (hinder) our enemies, the enemies of God. We should pray that God would frustrate their evil schemes and cause them to destroy themselves.
Through the news, we occasionally hear stories about people who have been wrongfully accused and imprisoned, only to be released after DNA tests prove their innocence. When I see news about those who couldn’t afford a lawyer, who were wrongfully convicted and spent decades in prison, I wonder how we can ever give back the time they lost in prison. Amid this, I still believe that there are people who are suffering in prison unjustly. The reason for this is the extreme corruption in today’s courts, where lies are packaged as truth and create an environment full of sin. Prosecutors sometimes wrongly imprison innocent people, and lawyers, who are paid large sums of money, defend even criminals, claiming their innocence to prevent them from facing punishment. I believe this kind of corruption exists in the legal world.
What should we do, then, living in such a reality? Just as David in today’s passage from Psalm 140 prayed to God to defend and bring justice to the suffering and the poor, we too must pray to God for His justice and mercy. We must ask God for His grace of salvation and protection. But we must not stop there. We must also pray for God to defeat our enemies and punish them. May we, by experiencing the salvation of the righteous through the judgment of the wicked, give thanks to God.
Praying for God’s salvation, protection, and judgment on the wicked,
Pastor James Kim
(Victorious through the Word and Prayer!)