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GOD’S WORD TO THE PERSECUTED
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Psalm 119:83-84

Matthew 5:10-12

 

“Blessed are they which are
persecuted for

righteousness’ sake…”

 

GOD’S WORD TO THE PERSECUTED
 
Being persecuted is not a light matter. The heartless pounding and deafening screams of the hunter will confuse and confound the victim. Sooner or later, he will be cornered, and shredded to pieces. Such a feeling is demoralising and may cause the victim to be mentally deranged due to the pressure from the persecutor.
 
I have become like a bottle in the smoke: The psalmist describes this condition vividly in Psalm 119:83. He is like a bottle in the smoke. In the Old Testament, bottles were not made of glass or plastic, but of animal skins. You can imagine skin being placed over a smoking furnace. This is the kind of torture he gets from the persecutor. Soon, the skin will be hardened. It will easily break and will never be restored to be a bottle again. It is irreparable. Only the power of God’s Word through the Holy Spirit can restore and revive the persecuted.
 
Yet I do not forget Thy statutes: The only way by which the persecuted can continue to endure is the everlasting power of God through His Word. His only trust is in the unchanging words of God that will guide him in his pilgrim journey amid persecutors. He wants to be attentive always to the Word, for it is his only hope of reviving from the miry clay of discouragements and humiliation. He has the statutes of God in the Scriptures, and they must not be lost from his heart and mind.
 
The psalmist asks God a question, pleading for His immediate action. How many are the days of Thy servant? It is like a vapour, it will soon pass away. Then, he follows on to inquire as to when God will execute His righteous judgment. This of course is not for man to know. God has His perfect timing. From this, however, we can feel the strength of the psalmist (who is pounded daily by the enemy’s persistent attacks) draining.
 
Dear reader, be like the psalmist who, when he is left brittle and breaking, does not in any way forget God’s promises to him. Surely, the God of the Bible is the righteous judge.
 
THOUGHT: Must God’s justice on the persecutor be executed on earth?
PRAYER: Father, may Thy Word dwell in me richly that I may not forget the sure promise of deliverance Thou hast for Thy children.

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