Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. – Psalm 97:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 16, 2013): Psalm 97

On the night that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, the story is told of James Garfield standing in front of a mob on Wall Street. The country was in disarray. For most of the people, the dark time that surrounded the civil war and all of the uncertainty that brother standing against brother always brings, was supposed to be ending. And now, the president and leader of the nation was dead. It was a time of upheaval and questions; a time when people really, maybe for the first time even with the civil war, wondered if this nation could truly stand – that maybe the radical New World experiment called the United States of America was a mistake. The mob on Wall Street confronted Garfield (then a congressman) and Garfield is reported to have said to the people these words - "Fellow citizens! Clouds and darkness are round about Him. The dark waters of the seas and stars of the skies form His pavilion. Justice and judgment are the establishment of His throne. Mercy and truth go before His face. Fellow citizens, God still reigns! He will enable the government in Washington to carry on." The words, which were remembered at President Garfield’s funeral after he became the second sitting president to be assassinated, were a direct allusion to Psalm 97.

On that night of the Lincoln tragedy, Garfield words reminded a nation that God is shrouded by mystery – none of us really understand the mind of God. But just because we do not understand God, does not mean that he is no longer there, or that he no longer cares what happens on the earth. Garfield’s words of faith to a nation was basically – I know that we do not understand what has happened, not the war that we have been involved in for the last four years and not this terrible act of vengeance, but nothing that has happened in these dark times means that God is not accomplishing his work here among us. I do not understand why this has happened, but I know God. God is still on the throne, and the Republic still stands. God will see us through this time of national tragedy and carry us forward into the future.

The Psalmist could have been speaking his words to a nation in a time of national tragedy. But the reality is that God is still on the throne and that he is still the one that will lead the nation into the future. God himself may be shrouded in mystery. The traditional way of viewing any of the gods of the ancient world was with them wearing the clouds and darkness like clothes, and we may not understand all of the things that are happening, but he is still here.

There is no reason to doubt God because of the tragedy. Hardship is a natural occurrence of this life. And as much as we sometimes do not want to admit it, we grow more through the hard times then we do through the good. And that is in itself evidence that God still reigns and is still carrying us through even the toughest moments of our lives

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 98 & 99

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Baal Out" from the Series "I Married a Prostitiute" is now available on the VantagePoint website. You can find it here.