Psalm 7

Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.

1 O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;

4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)

5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

6 Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

7 So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sake therefore return thou on high.

8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

10 My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.

11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high. (KJV)

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

Verse nine is the theme of this psalm “O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.” It contains our acknowledgment of who God is and what should be the theme of our daily prayer. I Corinthians 2:11 states “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?” should be your guiding light when dealing with others. Stop and think how many times in course of your daily routine that you are quick to pass judgment on a person’s actions. Stop and think how many times in course of your daily routine that you hear others around you who are quick to pass judgment on a person’s actions. But in reality, do we really know what they are thinking? No, we can try to perceive their thoughts but only they know what they are really thinking. But God does know the thoughts and intents on the mind and the heart of all individuals. So, our prayers should be: God bring to an end the violence of the wick and make the righteous secure. I Corinthians 2:11, 12, 16 tells us how to have the mind of Christ; “In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” As you walk daily with Christ and study his word daily you should see a transformation in your own life of the striping away of the old self and the putting on the new man. God’s judgments are based on the thoughts and the intents of a man and not the actions of man as portrait in this psalm. I Corinthians 2:16 bring out an important reason to study God’s word “That we may understand what God has freely given us”. Surely goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I pray that this is the peace that you have with Christ tonight.

January 2, 2008

The Way of Our Walk

“And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?” – Genesis 50:19

As you go about your journey on this earth, do you have to be in control of the events in your life? Genesis 50 gives us a picture of how Joseph followed his father’s last wishes on his burial in the land on Canaan. Joseph took control and followed his father’s wishes and made everything happen the way Jacob wanted it to happen. However, after the funeral his brothers sent a message to him referring to Jacob’s request for the brothers to carry out concerning their past sin to Joseph. They were living in his presence however; since, they still had not confessed their sin and asked for his forgiveness, they probably did not have the close brotherly relationship with him as they should. Now with Jacob’s death they feared that Joseph would now carry out his our justice and give them the judgment that their sin desired. They were now at the mercy of Joseph who had the power to carry out judgment with his own hands.

Joseph’s reply was simple: “Fear not: for am I in the place of God?” Joseph knew the time, the place, and who was going to judge all men. The time is in God’s hand and he and he only knows it. The place is before him. And finally, it will be God who judges us. However, as you go about your journey on this earth you can partake of an attribute of God just as Joseph did. This attribute is our ability to forgive others. As Christ preached in Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” and then as Christ expanses on this in verse 14 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”. This was probably the thought that Joseph had then he replies to his brothers “I cannot judge you for your evil, however I can forgive you” and this is also the way in which we must walk.