Psalm 43:2
May we ask God why He has done this or that? Is this not lifting ourselves in pride above Him and making Him our servant? Well, it makes a difference why you ask your question. Did not Jesus on the cross ask the Father why He had forsaken Him? And when David in Psalm 43:2 asks, "For Thou art the God of my strength: why hast Thou cast me off? why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" we do not have a sinful prayer. He is not questioning God's justice or His mercy or grace.
God is his strength, and in this confession David reveals that he believes that God is able to deliver him. And because we with David believe this, we do not necessarily sin when we sing (PRC Psalter):
On Thy strength alone relying,
Why am I cast off by Thee,
In my helpless sorrow sighing
While the foe oppresses me?
Neither with David nor with us is it fault-finding. We question neither God's justice nor His love. In fact, we clearly confess His ability to save us. For indeed every heartbeat and breath of life comes from Him. He is our strength in every sense, for our enemy also gets every heartbeat and breath only from God.
But why then does David ask God why He has cast him off so that unbelievers oppress him? The answer is that we can get the correct answer to all our questions only from God. And further, what we must always remember is that we must go to God with all our problems. David sets a good example here for us.
The one difference between David and us is that we have the complete word of God in the sixty-six books of Scripture. We live on this side of the cross of Christ and have a richer picture of what God has in His counsel. That Word of God has the answer to all our questions. We must search it, study it, as well as read it and hear it preached. And we must and may in prayer ask God to open the Scriptures to us. But if we do not read and study His word, we are not sincere in our request for light. God spoke and preserved His speech for us, so that we would have correct answers to all our questions.
Read: Psalm 42
Psalter versification: #120:2
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #9
Why not sing along??
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
1 Chronicles 19 ; 1 Chronicles 20 ; 1 Chronicles 21
Romans 2:25-29 ; Romans 3:1- 8
Psalm 11:1-7
Proverbs 19:10-12
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Quote for Reflection:
"Faith cannot be truly preached, without wholly depriving man of all praise by ascribing all to God’s mercy - it follows, that we are assisted by no works in obtaining righteousness." –John Calvin
Additional Info
- Date: 15-July
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.