An Appeal

Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions. 18 I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng. 19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously. 20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. 21 They opened their mouth wide against me; They said, "Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!" 22 You have seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. 23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord. 24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them rejoice over me. 25 Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha, our desire!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!" 26 Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me. 27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant." 28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness And Your praise all day long. Psalm 35:17-28 (NASB)

The Good News Bible translates verse seventeen through nineteen, “How much longer, O Lord, will You just look on? Rescue me from their attacks; save my life from these lions! 18 Then I will thank you in the assembly of your people; I will praise you before them all. 19 Don't let my enemies, those liars, gloat over my defeat. Don't let those who hate me for no reason smirk with delight over my sorrow.” It is an appeal to the highest Judge to take action. He is crying out to the God he worships, the God of his fathers, the One he has served. He is crying out, “God, this isn't just a bear. It isn't just a lion. It isn't just one giant. It's a pride of lions. It's a whole group of giants. I NEED YOU!”

David was in a physical struggle and his life was on the line. He had people who had one goal in mind, David's death. Throughout the struggle, though, he didn't rely on his own strength. He relied on God. We face a much different battle. We are facing a battle that is trying to silence anything that lifts itself up for God so that they carry on their agenda without the inconvenience of His people's voice.

Listen, people. There are times that people will come against us who we think have no reason at all to come against us. Yet, they come with a vengeance. They want our death. I'm not even talking about physical death, necessarily. If they can just silence us, they think they will have no one to hold them to account. They aren't sinning against us. They are sinning against God. We are just the messengers who are saying, “I don't care how you label it!!! Sin is still sin. Wrong is still wrong, no matter what kind of laws you make that say it's okay. Right is still right, no matter what laws you make that say we aren't allowed to practice it. God is still God, no matter how much you say He doesn't matter. And God is still alive, no matter how many professors of so-called science say He is dead.” It doesn't matter now many choose to ignore Him. He still loves you so much that He reaches out to save you. And the substance of His care, His Love and His promise is in the cross. He gave His only Son just to save you from your own devices. All God requires is that we repent and accept His Son, Jesus.

Did you notice verse twenty-four? David begins the verse with, “Judge me, O Lord...” As the Scripture tells us, judgment begins in the house of God. Let us search ourselves and ask God to search us, to judge us. Let us bring EVERYTHING to the feet of Jesus. Let us lift up holy hands and cry out to the Living God. Just as he came to David's rescue, He will come to ours, but it doesn't stop there. That's where life begins. So, let us lift up our voice and praise our God. Amen!

Sunday, November 22, 2020