“The Nearness of Evil and the Nearness of God”
“They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;
they are far from your law. But you are near, O LORD,
and all your commandments are true.”
(Psalm 119:150–151 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
“Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean that people really aren’t out to get you.” (Source unknown, but I suspect it is not me.)
Many biblical psalms speak of the psalmist’s enemies. It is not always clear who the psalmists’ enemies are, or why the psalmists had these enemies. It is the same for us.
I suspect that we all have such people, no matter how “nice” we try to be, or how much we try to avoid conflict. Enemies are a fact of life. And we also often do not know why we have such enemies. Was it something we did? Is the problem in them?
But, in Psalm 119, notice that the nearness of enemies is counterbalanced with the nearness of God. No, not counterbalanced! God’s nearness more than counterbalances the nearness of enemies. God’s presence has a way of overcoming our sense of the proximity of anyone or anything that would harm us. This includes covid-19. Yes, it is all around us. Yes, it is even inside of us already. But then, there is the nearness of God.
Yet, Derek Kidner, with his usual terse insightfulness, writes, “Note the realism of the double statement, ‘They draw near … but thou art near.’ The threat is not glossed over; it is put in perspective by a bigger fact.”
We should never gloss over the nearness of our enemies. But the nearness of God is a “bigger fact.” We also should never forget God and God’s commandments, which are true.
What commandment do you and I particularly need to follow today? I do not know. But here is a good one, and one which frequently occurs in the Bible:
Fear not!
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