“Countering the downward spiral of evil”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, August 25, 2023
Psalm 140 (Forward, p. 27) CEV p. 641
We know, from the fiction found in popular literature and television, from public disclosures, and all too often, in our own lives, that evil has a way of spiralling, of spiralling downwards. I saw this during my short career as a juvenile probation officer: often what started as harmless pranks or as relatively minor offences had their way of growing and worsening. Sneaking, shop-lifting a chocolate bar, turned to stealing bigger items from the store, which ended up with ‘big time’ breaking and entering and theft.
Here, in today’s psalm, our author details such a downward spiral. It starts with their thoughts: “They think up evil plans and always cause trouble” (verse 2). But then, they ‘progress’ to speaking them out loud, where they do their own kind of damage: “Their words bite deep like the poisonous fangs of a snake” (verse 3). Furthermore, they share these thoughts and bring others into their evil plots, their conspiracy, as is echoed in this prayer to God: “don’t let the wicked succeed on doing what they want, or else they might never stop planning evil” (verse 8).
So, our psalmist prays to be rescued from all this, to be protected and kept safe. In fact, he asks that they might become the ‘victims of their own vicious lies’ (verse 9) and succumb to troubles themselves. “Chase those cruel liars away! Let trouble hunt them down”, he prays (verse 11).
Indeed, he is quite confident that God will come to his aid and help him, for he ends this psalm as follows, “Our Lord, I know that you defend the homeless and see that the poor are given justice. Your people will praise you and will live with you because they do right” (verses 12-13).
And so, we, you and I, can be confident that God is with us in whatever calamity we find ourselves in, yes, even when evil or difficulties seem to be out of control, seem to be spiraling downwards—to know that God knows and understands, and will help us in whatever way is best. This help may not come quickly, or in quite the way that we deserve or anticipate, but it will indeed come, if we but trust in Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “Let hot burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the mire, never to rise again” (verse 10).
“You must admit that sometimes your have wished burning coals to fall upon them. Come on. Admit it. I certainly have. We can’t help it. We get hurt or offended or maligned or mistreated, and the bitter impulses of our souls bubble to the surface, searing our better selves, and we find ourselves wishing for burning coals and mire to be their lot. The psalms are so appealing, partly because they encompass the full range of human feelings, exalted and dubious.
“Acknowledge these troubling thoughts. But also remember the words from another of the psalms we read today: ‘Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God’ (Psalm 143:10). We can’t dwell with burning coals, and we can’t settle into the mire. As good as it feels to let our frustration out, remember to reach back to God. God will lead us to a better way.”
Moving Forward: “What can you do to dampen the burning coals and give thanks to God?”
A concluding note: The idea here of ‘heaping burning coals upon their heads’ has no connection at all to what the apostle Paul says in Romans 12:20, where the context is clearly not about retaliation but rather on returning evil with good. (See also, Proverbs 25:21-22).