Revelation 6:10; How Long?

Revelation 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 

The psalmist in Psalm 13 cries out to God in the midst of his affliction. He has been tormented by those who sought to derail his faith in God. He had to endure the rigours of the trial. He sought the Lord – Psalm 13:1-6 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

The psalmist sought His God because it seemed that in his current dire predicament reaching the point of desperation, he felt that he had been forgotten by His God. 

Do we feel we are abandoned by God? This is the psalmist testimony in times of depression and desperation, the feeling is so real. Does God truly abandon His children? No! This is the lesson that God wants to teach His children. 

Due to the harshness and difficult circumstance that had confronted the psalmist, he felt that God is hiding Himself from him. Have you experienced how things seem to go wrong one after another and there seemed to be no let up? God seemed to be so far away in terms of giving favourable circumstances for him! Should we equate ‘good circumstance’ to God’s favour? 

The psalmist seemed to have a tenacity, an inner strength, in his heart not to give up although he could not understand the situations that had confronted him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. 

What a beautiful picture of the abiding presence of our LORD dwelling with His people even when we are at the bottom of our lives. It is a picture of great comfort. Remember in Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian arrived at a fire place in a house where he saw a man pouring water constantly on the fire but it does not extinguish? He was brought to the back of the fireplace in another room. There he saw a man pouring oil to keep the flickering fire aflame. The interpreter explained to Christian that the man pouring oil is Jesus Christ. He is the one that pours the oil of grace to keep the heart of faith aflame always even though Satan, the man in front of the fireplace keeps pouring water. Jesus is at the back of the fireplace, He is apparently not visible to us in our affliction, but He is there sustaining us by His grace!

God does not hide from His people.

His care and love for His children is constant and consistent. He that keeps Israel does neither slumber nor sleep. It does happen when we allow faithless thoughts and doubts to assail our soul.

The psalmist puts his faith in God first. This is what is needed in a trial. It is the critical point and test. May we not falter but triumph by faith. And because he put his faith in God first, he believed, therefore, he is blessed. He said ‘my heart shall rejoice to see Thy salvation.’ Has he seen God salvation already? Not physically but by faith he saw and he shall receive. Remember when Abraham was asked to kill Issac his own son, this is the same test.

Because the psalmist believed, therefore, he saw the glory of God in his salvation. He rejoiced to see the bountiful hand of God upon him.

Amen.