A shiggaion[a] 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 [b] 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 [c] 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.
In this Psalm, David is dealing with rumors that are circling around about him. And sadly they are being believed. David is hurt by the fact that he is being blamed. But instead of trying to seek revenge, instead of standing up for himself, he humbles himself. He looks deep within his heart to try to see if there really was something he may have done to cause it. He looks to see if maybe there is something to be guilty about.
And he knows that God will bring about the truth. He knows that God will look after his sheep when the lions come to devour them. And he knows that God will deal with handling judgment.
It is not our place to bring about judgment. There is only one judge. It is important that we just focus on ourselves. I have day care kiddos that I watch that like to tattle on everyone else. And I am constantly telling them to not worry about other people and to just worry about themselves.
We need to take that same advice.
Look at the sin in your own life and deal with it severly. Sin in your life can cause others to stumble. It can cause others to sin. And it becomes a vicious cycle. Humble yourself...look to yourself continusously. Focus on how you can do a better job at showing God's love to everyone you meet.
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