“Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high. Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness… My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow. He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows. I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;” (v1,6b-8a,10-13,17a abr)
David reveals a great deal about God’s character in just a few verses.
1. God is a protector – He is a refuge and a shield
2. God is just – He is alone can fairly judge people and declare them guilty or innocent
3. God is sovereign – He reigns over humankind
4. God is all-knowing – He knows the hearts and minds of people
5. God is righteous – He is justified and morally correct in His conduct
6. God is persistent/eternal – He does not give up, cease or relent
7. God is all-powerful – He will not be defeated in battle and His weapons are lethal
8. God is worthy of praise – no further thought needed here
9. God is most high – there are none greater
10. God is a peacemaker/peace-giver – He prefers to quell violence, not initiate it
I may have missed a couple, though these attributes of God are some good reminders to me that our omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God has no rival and no equal. He is the only one who is truly worthy of glory, our praise, and our obedience.
Another thing that really jumped out at me was the metaphor in v14 [NLT]: “The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies.” That’s quite the word picture – poetic, accurate in nature, yet disconcerting when pondered. It’s no wonder David begs God to “Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure – you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.” (v8b-9) David knows he is not without sin, however, he pleads with God to be found innocent anyway because of God’s own righteousness that is within him.
My prayer for today is that I continue to to explore who God really is, not putting Him in a box, not taking Him for granted, not even just going off of descriptions in a Psalm – but truly get to know Him as David got to know Him. David’s picture of God should not by exactly the same as my picture of God, because he and I will relate to God differently. My picture of my children will be different than an outsider’s perspective of my children. So too I should have my own unique picture of who God is in my life, and I want to explore what that picture looks like. God’s attributes will never change, He is the same God today as He was before time began, however, my own unique knowledge of God as He relates to me in my life will be different than anyone else’s, and that’s something to cherish, explore, celebrate and share as David did.
Be blessed by His presence as you explore your unique knowledge of who God is in your life.
~ Conqueror in Training