“O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.” (Ps 74:10-11 AV)
Is it o.k. to be concerned with the direction of the world? Is it o.k. to be offended by the wickedness of the world? I don’t mean that in a self-righteous sort of way. We are all in this thing together. We are all in the same boat. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. None of us naturally seek God and His holiness. We are all wicked to the core. We are all condemned as utterly evil and deserve the full wrath of God. But does that mean we have no right to be concerned or offended by the evil of others? That all depends. If the wickedness of others is directly in opposition to the purpose and liberty of the saint, absolutely! The writer asks a very good question. The adversary wishes to destroy the godly. He, or they, wish to erase God’s people from the earth. They wish to inflict on the people of God circumstances or persecution that will hinder their life of sanctification towards the LORD. More importantly, this attack is more about God than it is about the people whom they torture. One has to ask, why is it that Christians are singled out for mistreatment more so than all others? Why is it that the world seems to hate believers more than any other demographic group? Is it right for the church to pray for the return of Christ or not?
That which is of note is the psalmist’s motive. He is not concerned with himself. He is not asking for deliverance. His concern is the adversaries’ attitude toward God Himself. It isn’t protection he seeks. It isn’t a return of sanity he wishes for. It isn’t world peace or prosperity that he yearns for. All these things would come if Messiah reigned. The motive above is purely for the glory of God. The mention of blasphemy is the key. When the world kills the unborn, that is blasphemy against the Creator. To assume mankind has the right to end a life as it pleases is absolute arrogance against the One who created that life. This whole satanically influenced child mutilation over gender reassignment is another example of mankind rejecting the Designer/Creator and setting up an idol in its own image. I am repulsed by the attitude of the God-haters to destroy their own kind for the mere ability to shake their collective fists at almighty God. Just recently, a well-known Pol went to an abortion clinic and invoked religion as a justification for it. When will this insanity end? As a reminder though, the child of God should be more offended at what this means for the reputation and glory of God more than how it might make us feel.
So, the question remains. Is it o.k. for the child of God to pray for the return of Jesus Christ for the glory of God? I believe so, yes. This is exactly what the psalmist above is doing. Our job is to preach the gospel of salvation to a wickedly lost and dying world. It is to be done with love, compassion, and due diligence. We are to love the unlovely. We are to preach without bias. We are to share what God can do for the penitent sinner. What that doesn’t mean is that we remain silent regarding the wickedness all around us. What that does not mean is to stifle our prayers as to the return of Jesus. What that does not mean is we look past the total depravity of mankind as though it is no big deal. What that doesn’t mean is we wish for infinite time and desire a postponement of the return of Christ. There needs to be a balance. We must wish for and seek opportunities to share the gospel in love. But at the same time, wish for the hastening return of the Messiah who will end this circus!
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