Day 313: "My Defense And Shield Depend On God"
Read: Psalm 7:6 - 11
"My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart." In other versions of the Bible, the word 'shield' is translated as 'defense'. Continuing our journey through the Psalms I came to this verse and kind of got engrossed in it. The Amplified version of the Bible reads it this way ~ My defense and shield depend on God, Who saves the
upright in heart. Which brings to mind what I believe is an important
question for those of us who consider ourselves 'upright in heart' like
David did. That question is quite simply this; How do we deal with false
accusations as we try to live righteously before those ungodly and
sometimes vindictive people? How good a shield, a defense is God to us?
This is a psalm of deliverance. It is deliverance from a different type
of persecutor, that of the false accuser. We notice it is “concerning
the words of Cush, a Benjamite”. Whoever, it might be, there seems to be accusations made against David that are not true, and David feels oppressed because he knows he has done nothing to
deserve this. How does this translate to us today? Sometimes, we may
have the same sort of experiences David is having: People may lie about
us to get us in trouble, People may try and set traps to get us to
stumble, People may hate us so much as Christians that they gossip and
spread rumors about us. Nations will come right out and oppress us.
Just like David, we become frustrated when others spread false
accusations against us. Though they are not true, we will inevitably get
angry, confused, and hurt, in part because there's next to nothing we can do about it. Jesus both warned and comforted His disciples (Matthew 5:11). What is David's defense when he stood before his own wrongful accusers? "My defense and shield depend on God who saves the
upright of heart." "God is a righteous Judge, yes, a God Who is
indignant every day." (7:11). We catch an even clearer picture of
David's integrity and an model example of our own from verse 8 "If I
have done this and there is guilt on my hands, trample on my life!"
Standing your ground against false accusations is unquestionably
difficult and quite dangerous, and realistically can be potentially
lethal to one's health and well being. This is why we are all in need of God's greater grace. We walk in this grace, and we are to offer this grace to others as they journey as well. This is a
critical part of our commitment to Christ to 'pick up our cross daily
and follow Him (Luke 9:22 - 24). And evidence of His miracle working power in our lives. When you find yourself in a tough position where you could easily point an accusing finger - or have an
accusing finger pointed at you - pray, trust and forgive. Remember: "My
defense and shield are God!"
Let Us Pray: But you, O Sovereign
LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the goodness of
your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded
and stricken within me. 23 I am gone like the shadow when it lengthens
and declines; I toss up and down and am shaken off as the locust. 24 My
knees are weak and totter from fasting; and my body is gaunt and has no
fatness. 25 I have become also a reproach and a taunt to others; when
they see me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God; O save
me according to Your mercy and loving-kindness! 27 That they may know
that this is Your hand, that You, Lord, have done it. (Psalm 109:21 - 27 Amplified Version)
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Read: Psalm 7:6 - 11
"My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart." In other versions of the Bible, the word 'shield' is translated as 'defense'. Continuing our journey through the Psalms I came to this verse and kind of got engrossed in it. The Amplified version of the Bible reads it this way ~ My defense and shield depend on God, Who saves the upright in heart. Which brings to mind what I believe is an important question for those of us who consider ourselves 'upright in heart' like David did. That question is quite simply this; How do we deal with false accusations as we try to live righteously before those ungodly and sometimes vindictive people? How good a shield, a defense is God to us?
This is a psalm of deliverance. It is deliverance from a different type of persecutor, that of the false accuser. We notice it is “concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite”. Whoever, it might be, there seems to be accusations made against David that are not true, and David feels oppressed because he knows he has done nothing to deserve this. How does this translate to us today? Sometimes, we may have the same sort of experiences David is having: People may lie about us to get us in trouble, People may try and set traps to get us to stumble, People may hate us so much as Christians that they gossip and spread rumors about us. Nations will come right out and oppress us.
Just like David, we become frustrated when others spread false accusations against us. Though they are not true, we will inevitably get angry, confused, and hurt, in part because there's next to nothing we can do about it. Jesus both warned and comforted His disciples (Matthew 5:11). What is David's defense when he stood before his own wrongful accusers? "My defense and shield depend on God who saves the upright of heart." "God is a righteous Judge, yes, a God Who is indignant every day." (7:11). We catch an even clearer picture of David's integrity and an model example of our own from verse 8 "If I have done this and there is guilt on my hands, trample on my life!"
Standing your ground against false accusations is unquestionably difficult and quite dangerous, and realistically can be potentially lethal to one's health and well being. This is why we are all in need of God's greater grace. We walk in this grace, and we are to offer this grace to others as they journey as well. This is a critical part of our commitment to Christ to 'pick up our cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:22 - 24). And evidence of His miracle working power in our lives. When you find yourself in a tough position where you could easily point an accusing finger - or have an accusing finger pointed at you - pray, trust and forgive. Remember: "My defense and shield are God!"
Let Us Pray: But you, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with me for your name's sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded and stricken within me. 23 I am gone like the shadow when it lengthens and declines; I toss up and down and am shaken off as the locust. 24 My knees are weak and totter from fasting; and my body is gaunt and has no fatness. 25 I have become also a reproach and a taunt to others; when they see me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord my God; O save me according to Your mercy and loving-kindness! 27 That they may know that this is Your hand, that You, Lord, have done it. (Psalm 109:21 - 27 Amplified Version)
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