Psalm 6-7, Enemies

 Psalm 6-7, Enemies

Psalms 6:1-10 (NET) 

1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger! Do not discipline me in your raging fury! 2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am frail! Heal me, LORD, for my bones are shaking! 3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, LORD - how long will this continue? 

4 Relent, LORD, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness! 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death, In Sheol who gives you thanks? 

6 I am exhausted as I groan; all night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies. 

8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping! 9 The LORD has heard my appeal for mercy; the LORD has accepted my prayer. 10 May all my enemies be humiliated and absolutely terrified! May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!

Psalms 7:1-17 (NET) 1 O LORD my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me! 2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 

3 O LORD my God, if I have done what they say, or am guilty of unjust actions, 4 or have wronged my ally, or helped his lawless enemy, 5 may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me; may he trample me to death and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah) 

6 Stand up angrily, LORD! Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them! 7 The countries are assembled all around you; take once more your rightful place over them! 

8 The LORD judges the nations. Vindicate me, LORD, because I am innocent, because I am blameless, O Exalted One! 9 May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end! But make the innocent secure, O righteous God, you who examine inner thoughts and motives! 10 The Exalted God is my shield, the one who delivers the morally upright. 11 God is a just judge; he is angry throughout the day. 

12 If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword and prepares to shoot his bow. 13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. 14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness, who conceives destructive plans, and gives birth to harmful lies - 15 he digs a pit and then falls into the hole he has made. 16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. 

17 I will thank the LORD for his justice; I will sing praises to the sovereign LORD! 

I have been reluctant to write about these two psalms because they deal with uncomfortable subjects. A Christian is not supposed to hate his enemies, be depressed about his condition or be afraid , or be angry. The psalmist here expresses all these strong emotions, and that makes us uncomfortable. 

6:1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger! 2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am frail! Heal me, LORD, for my bones are shaking! 3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, LORD - how long will this continue? 

What has he done that he is afraid that the Lord is angry? What has happened to make him so terrified that his bones shake? Why is he in despair that things will ever get better? We are taught not express such emotions lest people thing we are weak or depressed, and they have drugs for that. Many people are out in psychoactive drugs to numb their mind so they can’t feel or express these kinds of feelings. 

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping! 9 The LORD has heard my appeal for mercy; the LORD has accepted my prayer. 10 May all my enemies be humiliated and absolutely terrified! May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!

The psalmist does have hope however. Even in his deep despair, he knows that the Lord has heard his prayer and is sending help to deliver him from his enemies. The psalmist was probably thinking of earthy enemies, but our true enemies are the evil spirits behind these people. We are in a spiritual war and we need spiritual weapons and spiritual assistance to overcome there enemies.

6:8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping! 9 The LORD has heard my appeal for mercy; the LORD has accepted my prayer. 10 May all my enemies be humiliated and absolutely terrified! May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!

Even in the depths of his despair, the psalmist has hope and confidence that the Lord will overcome his enemies. I’m not sure it is appropriate for a modern Christian to pray that our enemies be humiliated and terrified. Jesus said to love our enemies and pray for them, but we certainly want our spiritual enemies to be totally defeated and terrified to attack us again.

7:1 O LORD my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me! 2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 

Psalm 7 continues in much the same vein. The psalmist seems to be beyond Hope here. He says that his his problems are so. Ad that no one can rescue him.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done what they say, or am guilty of unjust actions, 4 or have wronged my ally, …

The psalmist has discovered a key here; repentance. He turns away from any wrong that he might have done and accepts the consequences of any wrongs that he might have done. This is a key first step.

7:8 The LORD judges the nations. Vindicate me, LORD, because I am innocent, because I am blameless, O Exalted One! 9 May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end! But make the innocent secure, O righteous God, you who examine inner thoughts and motives! 10 The Exalted God is my shield, the one who delivers the morally upright. 11 God is a just judge; he is angry throughout the day. 

But then he calls upon the Lord, the righteous judge, to examine is inner thoughts and motives and vindicate him. He trusts in the Lord to defend him when he has been sincerely trying to follow the Lord and to overcome his enemies.

12 If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword and prepares to shoot his bow. 13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. 14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness, who conceives destructive plans, and gives birth to harmful lies - 15 he digs a pit and then falls into the hole he has made. 16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. 

Next he warns his enemies the consequences of opposing the Lord. It is proper here for him to warn them that their evil actions will come back on themselves. We can take Hope in that, that wickedness has its own reward, and it is not pleasant! The worlds people that oppose us may seem to prosper,  it in the end, they will bring down their evil in their ow. Heads.

17 I will thank the LORD for his justice; I will sing praises to the sovereign LORD! 

Finally, he thanks the Lord for his justice, it is always good to be thankful and praise the Lord, even in difficult circumstances. Or maybe I should say, especially in difficult circumstances! I think if Paul and Silas in prison in Acts 16:25. They were in a dark and dank dungeon at midnight, but they were praising God. They had every right to be depressed, instead they were thankful and were praising God when the angel came to deliver them. 

I don’t know what problems you have today. We each have our own struggles. I certainly have things that I tend to get depressed about; problems that seem insoluble. But God… it takes a conscious effort to thank God and Praise Him in the midst of your problems,  it that is the key to finding Hope in the Lord.