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."
You’re right, friend Matt. It’s really cool that the One who is omnipotent is also the One who loves us more than anybody else does!
ReplyDeleteForgiveness is a really big deal! (Matthew 6:14-15) Maybe when we say the Lord’s prayer we ought to turn to each other and remind each other what Jesus taught at the end of the prayer. Forgiveness has eternal implications. We can’t focus too much on forgiving each other.
Genesis:
It’s safe to say that the Bible knows what’s going to happen long before we do. Genesis 16:12 has “he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers”, while Genesis 17:20 has “and as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.” Ishmael was the ancestor to the Arabs. Look at how great their numbers have been, their Ottoman Empire of the not so distant past, their huge wealth of oil-rich lands now. They are & have been a “great nation”. Plus, look at how much they’ve been at war & are still at war with so many different people (fulfilling Genesis 16:12). This is all the more proof that wisdom begins by reading the Word of God.