Laughter of a Different Kind

Scripture:  Psalms 37:13 (NKJV) - “The Lord laughs at him for He sees his day coming,…”  

Laughter doeth good like medicine.  Most people easily identify with the truth of that Scripture found in Proverbs 17:22; but have you ever reflected on the fact that God laughs derisively at the rebellion of the wicked?  The type of laughter mentioned in today’s verse and in Psalm 2:4, magnifies our holy God’s disdain for sinful rebellion and its consequences here and hereafter for human souls.  “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision,” says Psalm 2:4.

These verses must be understood in their proper context.  God does not ever delight in wickedness or in the foolishness of souls that reject His offer of salvation.  Second Peter 3:9 says He’s not willing that any should perish, yet many are perishing, for lack of embracing the truth.  (2 Thess. 2:9, 10) Many are avoiding that “narrow gate” referenced in Matthew 7:13, like some stigmatizing plague!  They prefer their own version of the truth, rather than that which has been supernaturally preserved by God’s hand over the centuries—written over the course of about 1,600 years, by about forty different authors whose writings were superintended by the Holy Spirit Himself—all heralding the same life-giving message:  “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”  (1 Cor. 15:22, NIV)

Today’s verse strongly expresses the disdain that God has toward sin!  The fact that Christ suffered death so horribly and unjustly for the souls of us sinful “whosoevers,” for all who would heed His call to believe the biblical testimony, gives Him the divine prerogative to “..see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied..”  Our blessed Christ became the propitiation (or appeasement) of God’s wrath against all our personal sins!  So what about this derision that He expresses against those who, though often reproved, harden their neck, as described in Proverbs 29:1? He is the Omniscient “I AM,” and we are not! Romans 9:22 asks a similarly compelling question:  “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?”  If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior today, praise God daily and often for His awesome salvation!  

Prayer:  Dear Father, thank You for the entirety of Your Word which reveals Your complete holiness and sovereignty, which exceed our comprehension.  You are the God who is angry at the wicked every day. (Ps. 7:11);  yet because of Your grace and mercy we are humbled at having been chosen to have life more abundantly.  Help us to daily walk worthily of that high calling.   Bless Your holy name!  Amen.

(by Denise Diggs)