Psalm 17

 Psalm 17

One of the most difficult challenges we face is that of the apparent injustice of the universe. Why do bad things happen to good people while good things happen to bad people? David is wrestling with this question but is looking for a different kind of answer.

We tend to want to have the answer to the question “why?”—a cause-and-effect answer. David wants to know something else. In the first section, verses 1-5, David asserts the innocence of the righteous person, namely himself. In the next section, verses 6-12, he is honest about the painful reality of evil people. Their good life is admitted in verse 14. In the final section, verses 13-15, David asked for justice.

 A couple of points for us. Prosperity is not proof nor the purpose of God's favor. Just as hardship is not proof of His disfavor. Second, David asked for justice but not from his own hand. Perhaps most important, David is not looking for a cause-and-effect kind of answer. That approach is more Newtonian than Biblical. David is not asking “why?” but is apparently asking “who?” It is the relationship with the One who can bring about real justice and not the circumstances that dominates his thinking.

“Help me, Lord, to see beyond circumstance into my relationship with You. AMEN.”