Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Psalm 7, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #243

MEMORY VERSE: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

NOTES: LORD my God, I take refuge in you; 
   save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
   and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
 3 LORD my God, if I have done this
   and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
   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.[c]
 6 Arise, 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,
   while you sit enthroned over them on high.
 8 Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
   according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
   and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
   who probes minds and hearts.
 10 My shield[d] is God Most High,
   who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
   a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
   he[e] 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 Whoever is pregnant with evil
   conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
   falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
   their violence comes down on their own heads.
 17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
   I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
What stuck out to me in this passage is v.3-5 is that David, who writes this Psalm, takes full responsibility for his actions. In fact, he asks God to give him punishment if he indeed has "guilt on [his] hands." This ties into what God has been teaching me lately, about facing my sins and flaws and being willing to endure discipline--even to welcome it. David pleads for God's anger and justice because "God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day" (v.11). He not only asks for the judgement of his enemies, but much of David's psalm centers around God's judgement on himself: "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High." Ultimately, God's wrath and justice is a beautifully painful thing because it kills off evil and gives birth to righteousness and love.

ACT OF LOVE: Poured a cup of tea for my aunt and my mom during lunch!
Also, helped babysit my nephew this afternoon while my sister & her husband went out to watch a movie. Played the ukulele for him and entertained him quite a bit! He started cracking up every time I played my uke. I only knew like 2 songs, but he loved it anyways and kept laughing until my sister came home from the mall. I love babies!

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