A World of Apparent Injustice and Suffering

Today I would like to talk about the subject of human suffering and how we as followers of Jesus Christ can seek the best for the other person who is facing suffering to the glory of God. You have likely heard someone say, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I know that the Scriptures teach us that no one is good, but I do not think that this is what is in mind when this question is asked. There are those who are following the Lord and seeking the best for their neighbor who undergo tremendous tragedy, seemingly without explanation. The thinking in most people’s minds when asking this question is that if you do good you get good and if you do bad you get bad.

By profession I am a Critical Care Registered Nurse; which means that I help people, who, because of illness or injury are unable to sustain life without help. Everyone who is in the intensive care unit is there, because either they want to get well or someone else wants them to get well. I see a great deal of human suffering in this profession, many people do get better but many others do not. Why does one person who does things that seem foolish with regards to health; like excessive drinking and smoking live well into their 80’s, while another person who does not do these things has a massive heart attack at half that age and either dies or suffers with heart failure for several years before sub-coming to the disease?

 The books of Job and Ecclesiastes deal with this question on a personal level, but neither gives the full answer as to why there is human suffering. These two books acknowledge that evil and human suffering both exist. These two books also acknowledge the attributes of God’s divine power; that God is sovereign and omniscient.  These two books also acknowledge the attributes of God’s goodness; that God is benevolent and just. In the face of human suffering people have a tendency to doubt God. John M. Frame said, “We simply feel a discrepancy between our experience and what we believe God to be.”1 The thought process is this; if God is all powerful and God is all good then he would not allow evil to exist.2 This is because human logic puts God into a box, we forget that God is incomprehensible.

The book of Job gives an answer for Job's suffering, but Job himself is not given an answer. We the readers get to look in on a scene in heaven that Job is not privy too. We know that Job is suffering, because God’s policies for running the world are on trial. The acquisition by Satan is that Job is righteous, because God is good to him. Job suffers to demonstrate the righteousness of God. Job is never given the reason for his suffering, but comes to understand that God is incomprehensible.

Then Job answered the Lord and said,

"I know that You can do all things,

And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'

Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

'Hear, now, and I will speak;

I will ask You, and You instruct me.'

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;

But now my eye sees You;

Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes."

The preacher/teacher in Ecclesiastes says that all is vanity, that the wise and the fool alike die.4 The preacher/teacher in Ecclesiastes concludes that retribution theology is wrong, God gives good things to both the evil and good alike, because he is benevolent, therefore we should enjoy the good things that God gives us.5 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. We should fear God and keep his commandments this is true worship.”6 The conclusion that the preacher/teacher makes in the book of Ecclesiastes is that God is benevolent to both the evil and the good, but you need to fear God and keep his commandments because when all is said done God is judge. This brings to mind the name of God given to Moses on Mount Saini.

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."7

In conclusion neither Job nor Ecclesiastes gives the answer for human suffering, both point to the fact that human suffering does exist. Therefore, when talking with someone who is suffering we should not deny that evil exists nor pretend that we have all the answers. What we do know is that God is sovereign and good, but let us never forget that God is incomprehensible. Therefore, let us not put him in a box. So when others are suffering acknowledge their suffering. Walk with them in their suffering, hold their hand and pray with them. Let them know that you do not have all the answers, but also let them know that God is good and God is Sovereign even in the face of their suffering and loss.

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1 John M. Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God an Introduction (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 1994), 150.

2 Cf. Ibid., 150.

3 Job 42:1-6 (NASB).

4 Cf. Ecclesiastes 2:12-17.

5 Cf. Ecclesiastes 5:18 & 9:9.

6 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NASB).

7 Exodus 34:6-7 (NASB).

Bibliography

Frame, John M. Apologetics to the Glory of God an Introduction. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 1994.

The Lockman Foundation. The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.

Psalms Classifications

Hermann Gunkel in his form-critical approach to the Psalms identified seven types or genres of psalms.1 The seven types or genres that Gunkel identified are: the individual lament, the communal lament, the hymn, the psalms of thanksgiving, the royal psalms, the wisdom and Torah psalms, and the entrance liturgies.2 Others have recognized only three general categories of psalms: praise, wisdom, and lament with subcategories within each category.3 For example, the individual lament and the communal lament that Gunkel identified could be generally categorized as lament psalms, then further subcategorized.

For the purpose of this article I will be identifying three general classifications of psalms: lament psalms, hymns, and wisdom psalms. I will give one psalm for each general classification of psalms describing how that psalm illustrates the classification. I will be presenting them in the order that they appear in the book of the psalms.

Psalm 1 is a good example of a wisdom psalm. Being that it is the first psalm, it sets the foundation for all of the other psalms. What is that foundation? The phrase “Fear of the Lord” is exposed throughout wisdom literature as being the beginning of wisdom. The actual phrase “Fear of the Lord” is absent from psalm 1, but its definition is manifestly present.4 Therefore, you must begin reading the psalms with a “Fear of the Lord.” Psalm 1, as well as other wisdom psalms parallel two very different lives; the life of the righteous and the life of the wicked. Read Psalm 1 yourself and see how it compares these two lives.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the wicked will perish.5

Psalm 54 is an example of a lament psalm. Lament psalms typically have five parts in their structure: an opening address (O God, My God, or Lord), a description of what is wrong, a plea to Yahweh for help, a profession of faith, and a promise to praise God or offer a sacrifice. Most all lament psalms have these five parts, but not necessarily in the order that I have listed.6 In Psalm 54 the author (David) begins with a plea for salvation followed by the vocative “O God”. Then he tells God that strangers have risen up against him (a description of what is wrong). Then after the exclamation “Selah” the author gives a statement of faith in God, the one who he is pleading to for help against his foes. The author then tells God that he willingly will sacrifice to God and give thanks to his name (Yahweh).

Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your power.

Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers have risen against me

And violent men have sought my life;

They have not set God before them.

Selah.

Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

He will recompense the evil to my foes;

Destroy them in Your faithfulness.

Willingly I will sacrifice to You;

I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

For He has delivered me from all trouble,

And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.7

Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the bible and is a really good example of a hymn psalm. Hymns can also be called songs of praise; they make up about 20% of the psalms. Hymns have only three elements; an opening invitation to praise Yahweh, a reason or rational for that praise, and a reinvigorated call to praise Yahweh God.8 You can see this format easily in the short psalm of 117 being that it has three clear statements. The beginning statement is an opening call for everyone to praise Yahweh, “Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples!”9 The second statement gives the reason that we should praise Yahweh, “For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.”10 The author is stating that we should praise Yahweh because of his nature; Moses made haste to bow low and worship Yahweh.11 The third and final statement in the psalm is a renewed call to praise Yahweh, “Praise the Lord.”12

Praise the Lord, all nations;

Laud Him, all peoples!

For His lovingkindness is great toward us,

And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.

Praise the Lord.13

Bibliography

Hearson, N. B. "Notes on the Psalms." Kansas City: Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, n.d.

Longman III, Tremper, and Peter Enns, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. DownersGrove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2008.

The Lockman Foundation. The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.

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1 W. D. Tucker Jr., “Psalms Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 581.

2 W. D. Tucker Jr., “Psalms Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 581-585.

3 N. B. Hearson, “Notes on the Psalms”, I. b. i.

4 cf. Deuteronomy 10:12-13.

5 Psalm 1 (NASB).

6 W. D. Tucker Jr., “Psalms Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 581-582.

7 Psalm 54 (NASB).

8 W. D. Tucker Jr., “Psalms Book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 582.

9 Psalm 117:1 (NASB).

10 Psalm 117:2a (NASB).

11 cf. Exodus 34:6-8.

12 Psalm 117:2b (NASB).

13 Psalm 117 (NASB).