The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 109:1-5,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship."
In this psalm of imprecation (an imprecation is a curse) David speaks of the mistreatment he has become the victim of. The perpetrators were those he had offered his friendship to, verse 4, and now are attacking him through slander and lies.
David is among those who are recognized as heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, and Paul points out in Acts 13:22 that God himself had recognized David as a man after his own heart. David was a godly man. However, this also made him a target.
John tells us in 1 John 3:12-13 that the world, as exemplified by Cain who murdered his godly brother Abel, hates God's people, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
Those who are outside of the company of God's people are resentful and bitter, no matter how they may try to disown any acknowledgment of God. This they take out on God's people. In Psalm 14:4-5 David tells us, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous."
I need to be mindful that there will be limits to the relationships I will ever have with those who reject Jesus Christ. The nearer I am to the Lord, the more strained my relationship with such a person will become. James inversely makes this observation, "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4:4.
do not remain silent,
for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship."
In this psalm of imprecation (an imprecation is a curse) David speaks of the mistreatment he has become the victim of. The perpetrators were those he had offered his friendship to, verse 4, and now are attacking him through slander and lies.
David is among those who are recognized as heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, and Paul points out in Acts 13:22 that God himself had recognized David as a man after his own heart. David was a godly man. However, this also made him a target.
John tells us in 1 John 3:12-13 that the world, as exemplified by Cain who murdered his godly brother Abel, hates God's people, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
Those who are outside of the company of God's people are resentful and bitter, no matter how they may try to disown any acknowledgment of God. This they take out on God's people. In Psalm 14:4-5 David tells us, "Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous."
I need to be mindful that there will be limits to the relationships I will ever have with those who reject Jesus Christ. The nearer I am to the Lord, the more strained my relationship with such a person will become. James inversely makes this observation, "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4:4.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment