THE JUDGE WHO NEVER SLEEPS ~ Psalm 35

My family is a hockey family. Two of my sons are predominantly defensemen, the other son plays more in the offensive positions. One thing is certain: If a player with the puck on the other team is skating past our defensemen without any attempts at checking him or trying to take the puck from him, there is going to be an outcry from our own bench as well as from the fans in the stands. While not the godliest responses, phrases such as the following would be heard throughout the arena: “What are you doing? Are you asleep? Are you blind?” If a police officer turned his head away from a major crime that was taking place in front of him, or any officer of the court turned his eye from seeking justice based upon truth, we would be appalled.

On top of the struggles this country has faced amidst the Covid-19 pandemic for the past three months, today we are facing national riots in all our major cities as a cry for justice over the recent, blatant killing of a man at the hands of one who is called to stand for justice. While we should never attempt to take justice into our own hands or seek revenge, we understand the frustration that comes in these types of situations in life.

In every trial of faith, our faith is being tested and proved. In that very process, true faith is strengthened. One of the goals in every trial we face is that the Lord would sanctify us making us more Christlike. Our flesh is greatly agitated and stirred up when we experience trials. In trials, we must lean all the harder upon the Lord as we focus on walking in the Spirit rather than our flesh. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16-24—But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

One of the things we lack in our flesh is patience, and James 1:3 says that the testing of our faith produces endurance or patient endurance, steadfastness, or perseverance. He then goes on to tell us that we are to let endurance have its perfect result, so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The testing of our faith leads to maturity and Christlikeness. The patience that the Spirit produces in us in Galatians 5 means patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance. But it can also mean forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs. As Christians, we ought to want the Lord to work in the hearts of our enemies just as He has in our own hearts. Thankfully, each time we sinned in the wickedness of our hearts, the Lord did not release His wrath on us at that moment. He was patient or longsuffering with us.

In my last post, we saw David’s frustrations as he pleads to the Lord to act in justice toward his case. He has rightly said that the Lord had seen it all.  He believes that God is omniscient and omnipresent; yet in his despair, he cries out here and in Psalm 10:1—Why do you stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? If you have spent any length of time in the Psalms, you have probably realized this great reversal from despair to heights of new hope as David works through what he knows as truth in his own circumstances. It is the process of wrestling through the lies our flesh tries to get us to believe (often represented by our feelings), as we apply truth that crucifies that flesh in all its evil deeds. The psalms encourage us as we walk though our own trials because we see our own heart struggles reflected there. We want that kind of faith, too. Working through his theology in this way sharpens the psalmist’s weapons of faith. The pleas themselves prove faith is winning the battle! He has not given up in despair. He is fighting for the truth as He walks in the Spirit. Trials of faith are a battle in our souls for the truth. Truth is God’s protective armor that enables us to recognize and resist lies, and it strengthens us that we might stand firm in our faith. The victory we gain over our flesh in these battles is more important than the battle itself in view of eternity. The stronger the hold on our flesh, the longer the battle for maturity and Christlikeness. But, make no mistake about it, God is never late. If deliverance and vindication is delayed, there is a greater battle being fought and something far more valuable at stake.

David’s enemies had falsely claimed to have seen the evil that he supposedly had done. David cries, “No, Lord! You have seen it! Please don’t keep quiet about what You have seen.” When God does not act immediately, as our flesh desires, we need to abide in what we know as truth. It seems to us that God is far away. We must replace that lie with what we know is truth. He said He will never leave nor forsake His own. We know from Scripture that He is everywhere. Paul, in his sermon on Mars Hill said in Acts 17, that He is not far from each one of us (vs. 27). In Jeremiah 23:23-24, the prophet, speaking for the Lord says: “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. For God’s children, the fact that the Lord is near is a comfort. For the wicked, it should be a great threat for His mercy towards them will not last forever. Even though it might not appear to the psalmist or others that the Lord is helping—that it appears He is deaf, far off, inactive, and asleep—nothing could be farther from the truth.

Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right and to my cause, my God and my Lord. (vs. 23)

To stir up means to awake, to arise, to rise in triumph, to act in an aroused manner, to be alert and watchful as opposed to being asleep and idle, or to be awake and answering. My right is a legal term meaning to judgment, the act of deciding a case, place, court, seat of judgment, litigation before judges, sentence, decision, execution of judgment, to act in justice. To my cause means in my quarrel, dispute, controversy, or case at law.

Psalm 44:23-26—Arouse Yourself, why do You sleep, O Lord? Awake, do not reject us forever.  Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and our oppression?  For our soul has sunk down into the dust; our body cleaves to the earth. Rise up, be our help, and redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness. Psalm 59:4—For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to help me and see!

Two things jump out at me from which I can relate my own experiences. My defense counselor sat on my right. A defense counselor rises to stand before the judge when making his case in defense of his client. A defense attorney is given the authority to fight one’s case against his accusers on his behalf. In a court of law, the defense is only as strong as the truth of its evidence and its power to defend against all accusations. In other words, if the defense counselor has strong evidence to refute the claims of the prosecution, he should not lose the case for his clients unless he fails to present the evidence or fails in allowing false claims of the prosecution to go unchallenged. If the evidence is strong and irrefutable, it will clearly be seen as the truth. God’s right hand refers to the Messiah to whom was given the power and authority to subdue His enemies. There is no one who could sit at God’s right hand other than Jesus Christ. He not only represents the truth; He is the Truth! The fact that He is now sitting refers to the fact that His work of redemption is done.

The second thing that jumps out at me is something I have written in the notes of my Bible. The Lord God is Judge over all. He does not sleep. In the trial of my son and me, the judge on several occasions, and at least one or more of the jury members, were seen to be sleeping. The prosecution had to get the judge’s attention several times. One day a pastor friend and another friend just happened to be in the courtroom. After that day’s testimonies, they walked up to us and were appalled that they had witnessed the judge sleeping on several occasions; and they could point out which specific jury member could not keep his eyes open and his head from nodding off. They wrote affidavits for us specifically stating as much. They addressed our defense counsel with their concerns. The response was equally appalling: “Oh! That happens all the time; it’s no big deal!”

In the notes in my Bible, I wrote this: “You, O Lord, are never a sleeping Judge!” The insinuation David makes is that even though he knows that God does not sleep, a just judge would not sleep, or he could not rule effectively.

An article by KSN News posted on November 27, 2019 read as follows: TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Kansas Supreme Court says a Sedgwick County man’s convictions shouldn’t be automatically reversed because the judge fell asleep during the first day of trial. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the state’s highest court rejected on Wednesday a legal interpretation by the lower Kansas Court of Appeals that had granted Daquantrius Johnson a new trial on firearms charges. Justice Caleb Stegall wrote in the court’s opinion that there was no precedent in Kansas to justify a finding of structural error simply because a judge catnapped during a trial. District Judge Benjamin Burgess acknowledged to the jury that he fell asleep but noted that no objections from attorneys were raised while he was temporarily out of commission. The Supreme Court concluded the trial judge’s slumber amounted to regrettable misconduct.

In any other profession, persistent sleeping on the job could result in an employee being fired. If one was employed in a manufacturing facility, sleeping on the job could result in injury to himself or to others. If one was employed as a truck driver, to be asleep at the wheel could result in massive injury and the death of anyone in the path of that 18-wheeler. Since it appears that most people believe that the government is always right, the grueling task of being forced to sit through an entire trial inducing periods of narcolepsy-like episodes must be nothing more than a formality to those who must tolerate the “rights” of others as they go through the motions of doing their “duty”.

Righteousness matters. Justice matters. Truth matters. One day all will come to realize that You, O Lord, have never been a sleeping Judge!