Rachel Workman: 1 I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude
I love the first verse. I come to you for
protection. If we only knew the protection God provides us with every day we'd
truly be frightened. The evil that surrounds us waiting to devour us is
unimaginable. Thank God for a loving God who does offer us protection.
6 Arise, O Lord, in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
7 Gather the nations before you.
Rule over them from on high.
8 The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
for I am innocent, O Most High!
9 End the evil of those who are wicked,
and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
O righteous God.
David was a man of great in-site. I love how
he says for you look deep within the mind and heart. No one knows our heart
better than God. He knows our thoughts before we even think them. Which is a
little unfortunate for us. Fortunately we have a loving Savior who in love made
the ultimate sacrifice.
10 God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11 God is an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If a person does not repent,
God[b] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and shoot his flaming arrows.
14 The wicked conceive evil;
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
The violence they plan falls on their own heads.
17 I will thank the Lord because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
Again this is a beautiful Psalm. God is my
shield, those words need time to just sink in. I don't want to be the
unrepentant person whom God sharpens his sword against. There are plenty of bad
things that happen to us in this life. But I can't think of anything worse than
rejecting the opportunity to repent and be saved. Nothing on this earth could
possibly be worse than that. I am grateful that Jesus loved us enough to go to
the cross. We often say that we would go to hell for our children knowing that
won't happen. But Jesus did and he did it willingly.
____________________________________________________________________________________
John
Burnett: 7 O
Lord my God, in You I have taken
refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul like a lion,
[d]Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord
my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
If there is injustice in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to [e]my friend,
Or have plundered [f]him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue [g]my soul and overtake [h]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. [i]Selah.
6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries,
And arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
[l]Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and [m]minds. Only God is just and righteous and thankfully, he judges us based on Christ’s record and not ours.
10 My shield is [n]with God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries,
And arouse Yourself [j]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You,
And over [k]them return on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
[l]Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and [m]minds. Only God is just and righteous and thankfully, he judges us based on Christ’s record and not ours.
10 My shield is [n]with God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.
12 If [o]a man does not repent, He
will sharpen His sword; Repent and put your trust
in Jesus. God is going to pour out His wrath on those who have not
imputed Christ’s Righteousness.
He has bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
He has bent His bow and [p]made it ready.
13 He has also prepared [q]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon [r]his own pate.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Grimm: 1 I come to you for protection, O Lord
my God.
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude
Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
2 If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
or am guilty of injustice,
4 if I have betrayed a friend
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 then let my enemies capture me.
Let them trample me into the ground
and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude
6 Arise, O Lord,
in anger!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
Have you ever been falsely accused
or so badly hurt that you wanted revenge? David wrote this Psalm in response to
the slanderous accusations of those who claimed he was trying to kill Saul and
seize the throne (1 Samuel 24:9-11). Instead of taking matters into his own
hands and striking back, David cried out to God for justice. The proper
response to slander is prayer, not revenge, because God says, “It is mine to
avenge; I will repay” (Romans 12:19). Instead of striking back, ask God to take
your case, bring justice, and restore your reputation.
7 Gather the nations before you.
Rule over them from on high.
8 The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
for I am innocent, O Most High!
9 End the evil of those who are wicked,
and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
O righteous God.
God “searches minds and hearts.”
Nothing is hidden from God – this can either be terrifying or comforting. Our
thoughts are an open book to Him. Because He knows even our motives, we have no
place to hide, no way to pretend sin. But that very knowledge also gives us
great comfort. We don’t have to impress God or put up a false front. Instead,
we can trust God to help us work through our weaknesses in order to serve Him
as He has planned. When we truly follow God, He rewards our effort.
10 God is my shield,
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11 God is an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
saving those whose hearts are true and right.
11 God is an honest judge.
He is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If a person does not repent,
God will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and shoot his flaming arrows.
God will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He will prepare his deadly weapons
and shoot his flaming arrows.
14 The wicked conceive evil;
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
The violence they plan falls on their own heads.
they are pregnant with trouble
and give birth to lies.
15 They dig a deep pit to trap others,
then fall into it themselves.
16 The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
The violence they plan falls on their own heads.
When allowed to run its course,
evil destroys itself. Violent people become victims of violence, and liars
become victims of others’ deceit. But in the process, innocent people are hurt.
Sometimes God intervenes and stops the evildoers in their tracks in order to
protect His followers. At other times, for reasons known only to Him, God
allows evil to continue even though innocent people are hurt. It is during
these times that we must ask God to protect us. Remember that God will execute
final justice, even if it is not during our lifetime.
17 I will thank the Lord
because he is just;
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
During a time of great evil and
injustice, David was grateful that God is righteous. When we wonder if anyone
is honest or fair, we can be assured that God will continue to bring justice
and fairness when we involve Him in our activities. If you ever feel that you are
being treated unfairly, ask the one who is always fair and just to be with you.
Then thank Him for His presence.
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