ooh, i’m not sure i like this psalm, or maybe more importantly where my reading of it took me…

cos it’s david again, being a self-righteous plonker:

‘Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.
Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve.’
Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord and what His hands have done,
He will tear them down and never build them up again.’ [vs. 3-5]

starts off with a distancing of himself from ‘the wicked, those who do evil’ [which again makes me think this has to be a pre-Bathsheba break-most-of-the-commands-in-the-Book written psalm] and then lists all the nasty things he would like God to do to them… GET THEM, LORD!

and as i sat there reading and meditating on the psalm, thinking what a hypocrite david is, the silent voice [oh, you know the One] came to me with a bit of a “so you’re better than him, right?” and i knew i was in trouble. cos that’s just it. how david writes this psalm is so often how i live my life – my stuff is not so bad as your stuff – it’s arrogant, it’s self-righteous and more often than not it’s probably just a blatant downright lie.

God, have mercy on me a sinner.

but maybe once i have realised that, and gone to God in repentance [which means turning away from, not just uttering the word ‘sorry’ with nothing attached to it] and chosen to try and see the world through different eyes, His… maybe there is still hope for me:

‘Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.
My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.

The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.
Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.’ [vs 6-9]