Psalm 7: Copping it for Jesus: persecution and slander.

 

                                                                      Song of a Slandered Saint

                                                                                               Psalm 7

Joe stood on a Sydney street corner near Hyde Park and held out his Bible, imploring the swirling crowd to listen to his gospel message. His voice echoed above the roar of the city traffic.

 

“How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Long ago, a rich man in hell pleaded for a beggar in paradise to cool his tongue, but there’s a massive gulf between heaven and hell, which no one can cross. Where will you spend eternity?”

 

 “Bible Basher! Jesus Freak! Nutter!” The gangster punched Joe in the face, knocked him flat to the ground and slammed his boot into Joe’s head, kick by blow until he blacked out. The Bible fell into the gutter, where a pink-haired punk girl picked it up.

Have you ever been attacked or slandered for your faith, or mocked while defending the truth? Before David became king in Israel, Saul pursued him, determined to end his life, but David was innocent. In Psalm 7, just as a lion rends its prey, another man, Cush, a Benjamite, wants to tear David apart and accuse him of gross wrongdoing. Again, David prays, remembering the lion and bear which once threatened his sheep. On those occasions, the Lord had delivered him.

 

 

 David didn’t run scared. I love his honesty and humility when he lays his soul bare before the Lord and seeks justice, even at his own expense.

 

“O Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands-if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe- then let my enemy overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.”

 

But, in his heart, he believes he is innocent, and the Lord’s pure justice will shield him. He calls on the Lord to avenge his enemies, rule over his people, to end the violence and make the righteous secure.

May this be our prayer for the Lord’s persecuted people today, in every land and culture who suffer for his name. If this is you, know you’re in my prayers.

 

Despite his failings, David’s heart burst with love for God and whenever he sinned, he repented. By bitter experience, he learned “he who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.” The price of sin is death because conniving and schemes lead to destruction until the sinner falls in the hole they’ve dug for their enemy. If human justice falters, God’s justice will eventually prevail because, unless they repent, the perpetrator will meet his match before God’s judgement throne. Repentance is the key to God’s love and mercy. Since vengeance belongs to the Lord, he promises to repay with justice, not malice. Our responsibility is to forgive. As Christians, Jesus calls us to pray for those who despitefully use us and to love our enemies.

 

 How can I forgive when my enemy has maimed or wounded me or hurt my family?

  When the Roman soldiers led Jesus into the Praetorium, their entire company encircled him. In the worst kind of irony, they stripped and dressed him in a scarlet robe, sumptuous, but the color of blood. Their humiliating crown of thorns scoffed at his authority as King of the Jews, but its piercing scars represented his willingness to suffer as the king of my heart. They spat on him and struck him on the head. By prophecy, Isaiah records they marred his face more than any man. Their malice knew no bounds.

 

                                                             What were Jesus’ words as he hung on the cross?

                                                         “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

 

Jesus loved his enemies and sacrificed his perfect life for our sinful life. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. Although we’ve despised him, mocked him, ignored and canceled him, he has forgiven us. With this same forgiveness, through sharing Christ’s unselfish love, which lives in us, we can forgive and pray for our abusers.

Forgiveness is a journey. As a bell tolls and comes to rest, so over time, the sting subsides as we hand it to the Lord Jesus. We don’t need to retaliate, knowing Jesus will vindicate us in his time.

 David’s closing words of Psalm 7 will resonate with us:

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

 

And as for Joe, he recovered, but the story doesn’t end there. Remember the pink-haired punk? Somewhere under her tough exterior, a strong sense of justice prevailed. Over the next couple of weeks, she ferreted out Joe in hospital, and returned his Bible. As he recovered, he asked her to read John’s gospel aloud to him. The story of the Samaritan woman struck a chord because Jesus’s love and forgiveness spoke to her need for love and acceptance. It is real and unconditional.

 

There’s a recurring theme for God’s purposes. When we belong to him, he never wastes our pain and suffering. The crucifixion brought salvation and victory, and the Lord will work through our pain to refine and purify us. Pain and persecution result from a fallen world, but Jesus is victorious in the battle.

 

                       

I will give thanks to the Lord… I will sing praise to the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17.

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