8 [i]He smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[j]Both of man and beast.
9 [k]He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [l]He smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And Og, king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [m]remembrance, O Lord, [n]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will judge His people
And will have compassion on His servants.
15 The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord;
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord;
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord;
You who [o]revere the Lord, bless the Lord.
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem.
[p]Praise [q]the Lord!
As this psalm continues, it contrasts the false gods and idols of various nations with God himself. One of these things doesn’t seem like it belongs, but it sure does. In v. 14, we see that “the Lord will judge His people” and one would say that doesn’t seem so different. And it isn’t, for in any religion, we see lots of judgment, overt or otherwise.
Folks all over are trying to appease their gods, but rarely knowing if they succeeded (because they cannot). Yet the second half of v. 14 is quite unique, and is a stark contrast against the first, “and will have compassion on His servants.” How does that go together with judgment? Well, it does if your god is motivated by love.
I struggle to think of a single religion out there which speaks of a god having love and compassion for their followers. Maybe there are one or two, but it isn’t common, that’s for sure! So how do they go together? The obvious bit is that with God being perfect, and holy, and us being flawed, His judgment is apt to find us lacking.
Thus we desperately need His compassion, but there’s a flip side. Reverse it, and we find yet another truth. Because God has compassion on his children, He judges them, and disciplines them. A loving parent doesn’t watch from afar and let their children mess up over and over with no correction. Rather, we know God loves us because He is faithful to let us know when we have messed up.
He doesn’t watch from afar, but is right there with us, nudging us if need be, or smacking us upside the head if we’re being extra stubborn. So join with the psalmist and bless the Lord, praise His name, because He loves you enough to keep you on the right track–even if that hurts!