Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our reading from Psalm 125:1-5 speaks of God’s separation of the good and the evil. the Lord, who is the only one qualified to do so, identifies what is good and what is evil. He sorts the good from the evil, and prevents his people from doing wrong.
It is tempting to see the distinction between good and evil as some sort of arrogance. We may be accused of having an elitist, holier-than-thou attitude if we say there is a difference between good and evil. Yet the themes of good and evil have been present throughout history. Although we sometimes find the distinctions slightly blurred, almost everyone will agree that, in the final analysis, there is good and evil. For the most part, people also find common ground about some things which they would consider good and some things they would consider evil.
What is the hope in this Psalm? It is that the Lord who knows good and evil perfectly would protect his people from evil. We ask God to keep us from inflicting evil on others. We ask Him to keep us from being harmed by others. To do this, we certainly hope and pray that we can recognize good and evil around us.
“Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
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