Psalm 44:17-26
Two days ago, after reading the first eight verses of Psalm 44, I posted “…it’s all good, the writer recalling Israel’s past glory. It’s all remembrance, thanksgiving, confidence and praise…”. Then yesterday was just the opposite: “…the writer is … leveling the blame at God” for his situation. Blaming God, angry at God. He’s still there today. In spite of the writer’s claim to faithfulness, he maintains that God is against him and his situation: “…yet You have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.” (v. 19)
I can understand a forceful plea for God to intervene, as in Awake! Why are You sleeping, O Lord? Rouse Yourself! Do not reject us forever! (v. 23) And continuing with Rise up; come to our help! (v. 26a) But ascribing blame to God for whatever situation the psalmist is in… In my mind, that’s wrong!
I am not sure I agree about blaming, Fred. I read these lines and I see Jewish people pleading during the Holocaust, for example. Innocents led to the slaughter. Where are you, God?, they cry. But, they are still crying and seeking God, not rejecting Him.
Hmmm… A few thoughts on “blaming” God…
First, we must understand that God is sovereign. He is God Almighty and God Most High. So if God is not to “blame”, then who is? That is, if God is the Creator of all and is sovereign over all, then everything that exists and everything that happens is (ultimately) under His control. He either is the cause of it or He could have prevented it and chose not to. This is the crux of the “problem of evil” philosophical dilemma. How can a good God allow evil to exist? The cynic concludes either that God does not exist or that God is not good. The Christian understands God is better and wiser than we and that He brings about His good purposes even through evil, as Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Gen 50:20) (Unfortunately, modern evangelicals tend not to handle this issue particularly well, making wholly inadequate excuses for God and ignoring verses like Exodus 4:11 or the fact that God executes judgment. Instead, we treat Noah’s Flood as a children’s story, with cute happy animals streaming into a nice ark, completely ignoring the carnage that was the judgment of the Flood.)
Secondly, Fred is right that the psalmist is a bit out of line in his perspective, but it is not so much that he sees God’s hand in his troubles (because God is indeed responsible for bringing hardships upon them), but that he fails to see his (or the nation’s) role. That is, he declares (in Ps. 44:17-18) that Israel has kept the covenant, but Israel’s history was anything but one of faithfulness. Hence, despite the psalmist’s protestations, God is fully justified in disciplining them.
Thirdly, I’m glad the psalmist says what he says, even if he isn’t quite right, because he gives voice to our own frustrations, demonstrating that God is “big enough” to handle the criticism. Fred said, “Anger at God does not register with me.” Well, it sure has registered with me at various times through the years. Have I been justified in that anger? No, not ultimately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t felt it. And psalms like this one help me express those feelings to God honestly. Sometimes, we simply can’t see God’s ultimate good purposes or any justification for suffering. Sometimes we are very much like Job, not understanding what’s going on. And in those times we need to be able to ask, “Why are you sleeping, O Lord?” (v. 23)
Yes, I truly did write “Anger at God does not register with me.” And as I’ve racked my brain trying to report otherwise, I cannot find any time in my life when I ever got angry at God. Truly. I’m not trying to laud myself; it’s just that somehow I’ve always accepted the way things are and moved on. I’ve been kicked in the gut, I’ve been disappointed, I’ve cried, I’ve been angry at events or other people, and yes, I’ve pleaded with God to make things happen the way I wanted, but in the end for me it’s always been “Your will be done.” Is there anyone else out there who can say the same thing, who has also never been angry at God?
Fred, I can relate to your words about anger at God. I tend to have a response like you to adversity in my life, but probably unlike you in the past I wonder if sometimes my response could be grounded in “I don’t deserve better”. I have never learned how to handle anger rightly. Truthfully, anger makes me very uncomfortable. Having said this I believe and have found comfort in expressing my anger to God. In the past when things made me angry I would boil over in my head talking to whomever made me mad but refrained from speaking it aloud. What an unhealthy thing that was. My anger was silently expressed by my body language. It’s in expressing it to God that healing takes place. I find anger a place that the Holy Spirit needs to teach me how to have Holy anger.
I’m really glad all this has come up as it’s made me think about this issue and has shown me my need to explore within myself what makes me angry and talk more to God about it. Anger is a God-given emotion after all.
Could the psalmist’s frustrations with the inaction of God in his life be part of the healing process of dealing with life?