A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.
Selah
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high;
8 let the LORD judge the peoples.
Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 O righteous God,
who searches minds and hearts,
bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure.
10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 He who is pregnant with evil
and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.
15 He who digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit he has made.
16 The trouble he causes recoils on himself;
his violence comes down on his own head.
17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
My Understanding: David was being pursued by an enemy, so he called upon Almighty God to deliver him from all who pursue him, for he took refuge in the Lord. If God did not deliver him, David feared that his enemies would tear him like a lion tears his prey; and that he would be ripped to pieces with no one to rescue him. David was praying for physical deliverance from physical enemies. Yet, we know in reading the New Testament that Jesus was not rescued physically from his physical enemies, and neither were many of the apostles or prophets before them. We know that Jesus Christ told his followers that they would be treated like he was treated, and Paul often shared in his writings the sufferings that he went through, including false accusations, wrongful imprisonments, persecutions, beatings, etc., and all for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of the gospel, of which he was a herald. As well, the book of Revelation tells us a time is coming when all believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world will be severely persecuted, falsely accused, wrongfully imprisoned and/or killed for their faith in Christ. So, God does not always promise us physical deliverance from actual physical enemies.
Yet, what the Lord does promise us is that he will be with us during those trying times in our lives, that his grace will sustain us, and that he will strengthen us and give us peace within, if we are truly trusting in him as our Lord (master; ruler) and Savior (from sin) of our lives. He will deliver us within so that we don’t fear our enemies, or what they might do to us, even if all hell is breaking loose all around us. And, this is the greatest deliverance there is! This kind of deliverance within comes coupled with a realization that our true enemy is not man, but is Satan, who just uses men as his instruments. When we realize that the true battle is a spiritual battle for our minds, hearts and souls, and not a physical one with actual physical enemies, then we can begin to pray for the kind of deliverance that will give us victory over Satan, over sin, and over the fear of man, so that we can be at peace within even in the midst of great difficulties, persecutions and numerous trials. God is absolutely in control. We just have to put our faith and trust in him and in his divine providence and wisdom for our lives. He will work out all things according to his plan and purpose for our lives and for his glory. God is not finished with us yet.
Yet, although Jesus Christ was not rescued from death at the hand of his physical enemies, but he had to die a painful death, and more painful than we can possibly imagine, because he took upon himself the sins of the entire world, still that was not the end of the story. God the Father raised Jesus Christ, his Son, from the dead, in conquering death, hell, Satan and sin, so that we could go free. So, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance and obedience to Christ and his commands (by God’s grace alone), we are given that same hope of a resurrected life, free from the ultimate penalty and control of sin over our lives, so that sin no longer has to have dominion over us. And, that is true freedom! And, because of what Jesus Christ did for us in his death and resurrection, we can have that hope of eternal life with God forever. So, even if we face troubles, hardships, persecutions and even death for the sake of the gospel while we are on this earth, that is not the end of the story for us, either, for we will live on with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – forever!
Search Me, O God
When David came up against this hot pursuit of his enemies against him, though, he did not respond in arrogance or conceit, thinking he was completely in the right and his enemies in the wrong. He willingly examined his heart and mind before Almighty God to see if there was anything in his own life that needed to be cleansed. He willingly submitted himself to God’s justice if God should determine that David was in the wrong. He humbled himself before Almighty God, being willing for God to show him his wrong. And, that needs to be the attitude of our hearts, too, when we are being pursued by anyone we deem as an enemy, or when we feel we are being treated unjustly. We need to do a careful examination of our own hearts and minds before God to allow God to show us the wickedness in our own hearts, and for him to cleanse us of such wickedness, so that we are in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, and thus we can come to God in confidence, seeking his deliverance. We cannot be delivered within if we are still holding on to sin in our lives. We cannot expect God to come to our aid if our hearts are not clean before God. So, anytime we feel that we are under attack from the enemy of our souls, it should bring us to our knees in humility and in honest heart examination so that we make certain we are right with God/Jesus Christ.
David called upon God for his justice to prevail. Yet, justice does not always happen immediately. God allows sin in sinful man to continue for a time. He allows evil in this world of ours. And, the innocent are often targets of that evil, too. So, when we see injustice, our hearts may cry out for God to act immediately, but he may not, at least not in the way we hope he will. This may trouble our hearts and minds. Yet, what if God always acted immediately with justice in all of our lives? Where would grace be? Where would mercy be? The Bible says that none of us is without sin. No one is righteous, no not one. We are all guilty of sin. And, that is why Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternity in hell) and so we could go free from the control of sin over our lives. God is very patient with us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, so he gives us plenty of opportunities to willingly come to him in repentance before he acts with justice, because he is a merciful God. Yet, he will not let the guilty go unpunished forever. He will act with justice in his timing.
Pregnant with Evil
Then, David addressed the subject of those who are pregnant (weighed down; expectant) with evil, and those who conceive (create; devise) trouble. They eventually give birth to failure and defeat. The trouble that they cause others will eventually come back around and bite them. If it does not happen in this life, it will happen in the final judgment of God against them, if they are not in Christ through faith in what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross in freeing them from their sins. It never pays to play with sin, because it is a lot like playing with a snake. We cannot afford to allow sin in our lives to take hold, because sin destroys lives. That is why God hates sin so much, because of how much it hurts his people. That is why he came to set us free! So, if you are holding on to sin or are playing with sin and are counting on the odds that God will not notice, will not care, and will not judge you, because of his grace, then think again. God takes sin very seriously and he disciplines those whom he loves. So, I pray for all who are reading this today that you will search your hearts and minds before God/Jesus Christ in prayer, and that you will turn from your sins so that Jesus Christ can set you free and give you the kind of deliverance that is for eternity!
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness
and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
I pray this for myself, as well, and hope you will pray with me:
Search me, O God / James E. Orr 1936
Search me, O God, and know my heart today,
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.
I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;
Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;
Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.
O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;
Send a revival, start the work in me;
Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;
For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Search_Me_O_God/
No comments:
Post a Comment