He looked down from heaven and set the prisoners free
We read through this Psalm tonight in our daily Bible reading and it really resonated with me...
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:19 that he looked down from his holy height;from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,to set free those who were doomed to die,21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,and in Jerusalem his praise,22 when peoples gather together,and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. (Psalm 102: 18-22 ESV)
The image of God looking down in pity on those who are prisoners, prisoners of their own sin and doomed to die and in His mercy setting them free is a wonderful one, but also a sobering one for the Christian. Too often we think of God as being somehow obligated to save someone, but that is not what the Bible portrays. Equally often Reformed theology is caricatured as God looking down at a bunch of deserving, well-meaning people and arbitrarily saving some and tossing some into hell. But the reality is that God looks upon humanity, and sees us all in bondage to our sin, enslaved by our own rebellion and in His mercy He set some free. They why is only in God's mind but it is all for His glory, that His name be exalted. If you are saved, always remember that you once were imprisoned by your sin and but for the grace of God you would still be there. If that doesn't quench the urge for boasting, I don't know what will.
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