 Rise up, LORD, Confront them, Bring them Down! Scripture: Psalm 17 Click Logo to LISTEN NOW!  Greetings! BlogFam, I have shared this with you on more than one
occasional posting. I am a huge fan of
the Book of Psalms! I promise you
this. If you need a book in the Bible
that helps you put into words what you want to pray or praise, I believe you
will find it in one of the 150 divisions of the Book of Psalms. I have often searched this book due to a
variety of situations in which I have found myself. And I know, we are striving
to be peaceful, poised, progressive men and women of God but there are moments
when I do not want to lay my religion all the way down so when I need a good,
feisty word to pray in the heat of battle, I turn to a Psalm. Let us look at the word for today. Today’s Psalm is a Psalm of David and this blog post is
definitely, specifically for those who may have some righteous indignation
building up within and yet you still want to keep it holy. Here is a Psalm, just for you. Psalm 17 Hear me, LORD, my plea is just; listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips. Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded. My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. I call on you, my God, for you will
answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance. They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring
them down; with your sword rescue me from the wicked. By your hand save me from such people, LORD, from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones. As for me, I will be vindicated and
will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Now, you all know, I try to minimize the number of
verses I share in each post, but today, I had to share this Psalm in its
entirety with you. You need to know that
even the man after God’s own heart prayed a feisty prayer. Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down; YES! YES! Now, I do not know about you, but there are haters whom I have had to confront, ignore, and endure. And let me just keep it real. I do not always want to pray sweet prayers asking the Lord to extend grace and mercy to those who try to kill my dreams, deny my gifts, extinguish my joy, tarnish my testimony, or humiliate me in my presence. Is there anybody who feels me on today? I just want to know if there is at least one of you will admit that when the going gets tough and it is clearly not your fault, because sometimes, it is, but when it clearly is a vicious attack of the enemy, I need a good word from on high to vindicate my cause! Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down; BlogFam, I have never met a Christian who did not have
at least one person in their life – past or present – whom they wanted to lift
up to the altar of God’s wrath. I know
this might sound cruel and not so kind, but this is the Word of the Lord and I
say, THANKS BE TO GOD! I am glad that
there are passages of Scriptures such as Psalm 17 for me to pray in tough times. I am glad that there are passages of
Scriptures like Psalm 17 supporting my cause when the enemy is attacking me in
person, in principalities, or in powers.
I am glad that there are passages of Scriptures like Psalm 17 for me to
pray when I want to say how I really feel and how I really feel is frustrated,
aggravated, or just outright upset that the enemy would seek to steal, kill, or
destroy me for no good reason! Friends,
I do not know about you but I need a good scripture like Psalm 17 bookmarked in
my life. Now, before we get too excited for the wrong reasons, I
also want to point out that we must strike a balance. I appreciate the passionate pleas of this
psalm; however, I also acknowledge that the psalmist uses his own reputation as
collateral to support his case. Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded. My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. So before you run to the altar with you request, I must
ask you about the reputation of your witness.
This is what the psalmist says to set up his passionate plea. He says, Lord, look at my life – You will
find no evil planned, I speak wholesome words, I walk the straight and narrow
path and I have not stumbled or strayed from that. I know.
I know. Bummer, right? My Friends, our lives must be in order. We cannot go around asking the Lord to bring
our enemies down if our lifestyles mirror the motives, means, and methods of
the enemy. We must check ourselves so
that the rising of the Lord up to deliver us from evil is not also a rising of
the Lord to expose our own dirty hands. My sistas and brothas, based on this Psalm, David
establishes his reputation with God and then he expresses his expectations to
hear a response from God. I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. David is confident the Lord our God will hear his case
and relieve his stress. And while he
definitely seeks the refuge of the Lord, he knows that his prayer request is
asking God to reinforce what God has already done in His life. David has already been the apple of God’s eye
and he needs the reassurance that our God will keep it that way. This is one of the wonders of God’s great
love - that our God will target David, and us, with God’s loving salvation and
protection in times of peace and in times of chaos. David establishes his reputation with God and then he
expresses his expectations to hear a response from God. Now David exposes the
way his enemies actions do not reflect the righteousness of God. They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance. They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground. They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. And after all of this, he then says - Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down; with your sword rescue me from the wicked. By your hand save me from such people, LORD, from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones. My Friends, I am so glad that this Psalm is included in
what we have come to accept as holy. I
truly am. And I am sure that many of you all are as well. We all need holy words to say what we need to
say when the enemy is in attack mode in our lives. Psalm 17 is one of those Psalms that helps us
to keep a godly perspective and to use righteous language in such times. And in the end, when we handle our business
God’s way, we experience the rewarding feeling of vindication by our God. As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. BlogFam, in the end, you will be satisfied with what
the Lord has done. When you awake, when this nightmare comes to
an end, when tomorrow comes, when your enemy finally is kept at bay, you will
see God. This is truly what this prayer
is about. Yes, David is taking his issue
with his enemy to the Almighty God, but in the end, the victory is not that his
enemies are actually brought down but that his perspective is brought up! The victory is that, in the end, David sees
God. In the end, David’s perspective is
raised above the petty manipulations of his enemies. In the end, David does not
gloat in the destruction of his enemies but he does awaken to the
transformation of his soul into the likeness of our God. In the end, you will see the face of God
because the hand of God has moved on your behalf, honoring your request. In the end, as valid as my prayer against my
enemies tactics to steal, kill, and destroy me may be, the greatest validation
is that when this is all over – and even as I may walk through, I see the face
of God and I am satisfied with God’s likeness. Thanks be to God!  God Loves You and I do too!Delesslyn Twitter - @AudraSunshine or @SpiritedConcept Email - [email protected] ***MY FIRST BOOK*** Step Out of the Boat: An Invitation to Walk on Water Purchase TODAY!!!  THANK YOU for your support!!! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE on the left to get email updates,SHARE it with three people, COMMENT below, and click here to GIVE a donation of $5.00 or your best gift to keep it going! I WRITE by faith and NOT by Sight... |
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Categories#100PoundsOfExcuses#FREEFlowFriday #iThrive #LentInAugust #TheAffirmation #TheSHIFT 2012 End of Year Reflections 3:17 40 Days of Fasting A NEW DAY!!! 8-1-2012 A Proverb A Day Keeps the Foolishness At Bay AFTER He Rose! Best Practices COPYRIGHT - Permissions Policy Cover Up! CROSS-Eyed Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Disciples Dos and Don'ts G.R.A.C.E. GAIN SOME WAIT!!! GET A CLUE...About Me HOME is Where YOUR Heart Is HOPE & HEALING HOPE! INTRODUCTION Isaiah Reflections John 3 MY VISION FAST NEW YEAR, NEW LOVE NOT SO RANDOM THOUGHTS ONE WORD REST. Period. Saying Goodbye Starting Over Starting Fresh STEP OUT OF THE BOAT - Matthew 14 The EIGHTH Day The EIGHTH Day 2 The Good Samaritan The KEY of LOVE The Living Room Christian Fellowship The POWER to be PERFECT! The Prayer Bridge Things We Left On the Mountain! VISION Wholesome Habits of Healthy Disciples WWJD = What Would JUSTICE Do? |
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