Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14 From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
When I cry out to God, He will hear my cry. But that does not mean He will give me what I ask. He is righteous, and at times I am deceitful and don't even realize it. If I am asking something in His will, I believe He won't hesitate to give it to me.
Because God can see our lives in a way that we never could, we should ask Him to judge us righteously. Every day I should ask God to test me. To remove things from my life that shouldn't be there. To search me, even while I sleep. We should attempt to live as if there is no evil found in us. I should do as David says in verse 3 and purpose that my mouth will pure in God's eyes.
Verse 5 - See how important it is that we know God's word and the right choices? The words of God's lips can keep us from following the path of the destroyer - of wicked people. God will hold my hand along in this life. I don't want to slip on the path of life. The truth is, though, I will. But as I trip, and begin to slide, God will grab me and hoist me back up. On a real path, if you slip on mud by yourself, you fall and bust your bottom! But if you're holding on to someone they can tighten their grip on you to keep you from slipping. That is our God!!
God wants me to call on Him. When I do, He will hear me and incline His ear to me. When we trust in God and have people rising up against us He will save us. He will show how marvelous He is and how amazing His love for us is.
Psalm 17:8 - Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.
I have memorized that scripture because I helped Brianna memorize it and now it's forever in my mind (I hope!). I love it because it's a promise of comfort and love.
Keep me close to you, God, when my enemies surround me and I feel closed in. Their hearts are hard and closed up and yet they speak so boldly and so proudly. They remind David of a lion, hungry and stalking it's prey, surrounding it and licking it's lips, ready to pounce.
But David calls on God to ARISE.
Confront my enemy. Cast him down. Deliver me from this situation.
So many people in this life are content with life as it is. But that is going to be it for them. This life is the best they will ever see, and that is so sad.
But "as for me" (verse 15), the day I day is the beginning of my new life. When I can look at God and all His righteousness... when I awake in heaven - in God's presence - in His likeness - that will be the satisfaction for us as Christians. Not this life here on earth.
Comments? Questions?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment