For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
So often in life we feel alone, neglected, and forgotten. Even in crowds an indi vidual can feel isolated, excluded, and supremely unimportant, sometimes through no fault of his or her own. Yet worse, often we are unfairly wronged by people who are supposed to be friends and loved ones, or we are persecuted and tormented by foes. The 94th Psalm is an appeal by the psalmist for the Lord to be a judge and to intercede on behalf of his people.
The English evangelist, Charles Spurgeon, declared of the 14th verse of the Psalm: “If any of you are deeply troubled, I counsel you to get a hold of this promise! Perhaps it seems to you as if two seas of sorrow had met around you and that you were in a whirlpool of trouble. Then I say again, lay hold of this text and grip it firmly.“ Those who are faithful and devoted to the Lord through the ages have asked, “Why does God allow the wicked to prosper?“ While our Lord may allow evil deeds to go unpunished for a time and allow pain and correction for his own people, he never casts them aside or forsakes them.
There is a particularly beautiful passage in the 9th chapter of John’s Gospel illustrating God’s intercession for his people. Jesus and his disciples were walking along, and they came upon a man who was born blind. At that time, it was common to believe a person’s physical infirmity was the result of that person’s sin or was inherited from the sin of his or her ancestors. His disciples asked him who had sinned “that he was born blind?“ Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.“
Jesus, of course, healed the man, and the Gospel writings are beautifully filled with accounts of Jesus’s earthly ministry. Christ sought out the destitute, the sick, the lonely, and the marginalized. The ministry and intercession of Christ is the greatest assurance that the Father has not cast aside or forsaken his people. It is why so many saints in Christianity have found inspiration and transformation where others could only find despair. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ testifies to the power of God in the present now and through all time. Those that will be cast aside are the ones who mock what is right and hurl insults at the Lord; they are lovers of worldly things and worldly principles, their lives are only for this world. Their joy and strength subsides for only a fleeting moment, but for those who put their trust and joy in the Lord; the psalmist also declares God will turn their “mourning into dancing.“
