Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 140:6-13
Ps 140:6-13
6 O LORD, I say to you, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy. 7 O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle--8 do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah 9 Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. 10 Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. 11 Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down men of violence. 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you.
So much has changed since this Psalm was written that it is difficult for us to grasp the perspective from which it was penned. Israel was a physical nation and they were God’s people. Today God’s people comprise a spiritual nation known as his church. They had an earthly king that led them into battles against other nations, with the winner showing whose God was supreme (at least they looked at it in this way). Today we fight a spiritual battle against the world forces of evil and often against enemies we cannot see.
So today we are told to love our enemies and pray for them. We are told to do good to them when we have the opportunity. We are to try to win our battles with the word of God by convincing others the truth of the gospel. We are to show forth God and his glory in our lives in such a way that a wicked world is brought to shame and their evil is exposed.
What has not changed is that we still worship and serve the same God. He still cares about his people. He still gives the power for our victories. He is still a merciful God who shields us and protects us against the enemy. God still secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy and the righteous still praise his name and live for him. We must remember that we are just passing through this world and it is not our home as we seek to please him.
O God, I am so very thankful for your love, your mercy and your grace shown to me in Jesus Christ. Give me wisdom and boldness to tell others about Jesus. Use me to encourage others in all I say and do. I thank you for many who have done so much to help me at times and have encouraged me. I am thankful for my family and the many opportunities this has given me in life. Help me be the kind of husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather you want me to be. Bless me as a son, a brother, an uncle and in every relationship of life. Most of all, I thank you for being my Father and Jesus my brother. In his name I pray.
Robert
