Psalm 7

Psalm 7 (NRSV)
Psalm 7
Plea for Help against Persecutors
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God;a you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seatb on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.

Lord,
I’m not a bad person. When I look in the mirror, I see a man who has given his life to ministry within the church and who wants to follow the way of Jesus. I do not intentionally use my friends nor do I abuse those who oppose me. Looking at all the big sins, the really big ones, I think of myself as innocent. Like the poet, I claim my righteousness before you. I really want to say, “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.”

HUH OOOO! When I look in the mirror, I see the integrity of my life mostly because the mirror is a little foggy. But when I look at myself in the light of Jesus, I am not sure that I can use the words integrity and righteousness without qualifications.

Lord, I don’t want to swim in the dark pool of guilt and shame. I’m not into self-flagellation. But if honesty in the presence of Christ is your invitation to me, then my imperfections are real. I have sin to confess.

Some may hear my prayer and gloat, “Look at him. He’s a Christian and admits to being imperfect.” Well, Lord, let them look at themselves in the light of Christ and together we’ll understand our need for mutual understanding and pardon.

Today, I stand before you as one who has heard the invitation to receive forgiveness and has accepted it. I stand in a restored, and restoring, bond with you as a follower of Jesus. And while imperfection has never been overcome, my imperfection is very different than it would have been without your intervention in Jesus and I give you thanks.

Lord, a change in subject: Last night, I was called to the hospital and was there when she died – a stroke victim. It happened quickly and for that I am grateful. She did not seem to suffer. Receive her into your eternal presence and, after so many years of physical struggle, make her whole again. For her life and contribution to the family of Christ through the church, thank you. For the faith evident in her family and friends, thank you. For Eternity in that fellowship unbound by time and space and centered in Christ, thank you. Bless those who love her with healing and hope.

PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Look at yourself in the light of Jesus, admit your imperfections, ask forgiveness and receive it in Christ. Ask God to help you to live as a forgiven person.
Pray for those who need God’s healing help.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “Thank You.

In Christ’s name,
Amen.

9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.
10 God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If one does not repent, Godc will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
15 They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
[1]

a Or awake for me

b Cn: Heb return

c Heb he

[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989