GOD'S RIGHT HAND

Why do you hold back Your hand, Your right hand?  Take it from the folds of Your garment and destroy them!  Psalm 74:11

To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.  Psalm 77:10

The first scripture seems a bit shocking on first reading, where is our loving God?  Then I remember that Your right hand is the hand of blessing and power and this is what the psalmist is appealing to in Psalm 77.

When You take out Your right hand and extend it over a person, situation, nation, etc. ALL the power of creation is brought to bear on it, and Your order is once again established.  Your right hand brings everything into divine order.  Off course it will destroy Your enemies!

This is a strong and wonder-filled revelation.  God's power and order is His alone.  It is not man-made or understood by man, but the One who knows the beginning and the end is lining everything up for His plans and purposes which are always ultimately GOOD.

Psalm 74 speaks of a time of attack and devastation and ruin.  No prophets, no miraculous signs, and seemingly no end to it all.  The call to God is to once again stretch out His right hand of blessing.  Then comes a reminder of all the greatness of God, the deeds He has done, and a call that He will rise up and defend His cause.

To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.  I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds.  Your ways, O God, are holy; what God is so great as our God?  You are a God who performs miracles, You display Your power among the peoples.   With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

It sounds old-fashioned to say 'count your blessings' but this is indeed what the psalmist is doing.  As we remind ourselves of God's actions and blessings, we renew our understanding of His greatness and sovereignty, we can again be still and know that He is God.  Once that is peacefully settled within us everything is possible in Him.

Psalm 78:25 reminds us that God's ability to take care of the situation is so good and great that "men ate the bread of angels"  When we learn to place ourselves constantly under His right hand then we learn to walk in faith whatever takes place in our lives and know that the Lord can bring us bread anywhere and any time.  We will cease to be afraid, and walk in this world with seed to sow and bread to share.

This place with God is summed up well by Thomas Merton in "Thoughts in Solitude":

"Truth rises from the silence of being to the quiet tremendous presence of the Word. Then, sinking again into silence, the truth of words bears us down into the silence of God.  Or rather, God rises up out of the seas like a treasure in the waves, and when language recedes His brightness remains on the shores of our own being."