Scripture
Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.
~Psalm 35:24, NRSV
Quote
Men can be vicious and malicious but faith in Christ vindication is the answer, not retaliation.
~Ya’akov
It was not David’s idea to be a king. I doubt that David thought of such things while tending to the sheep and struggling to survive in a family of big brothers and sisters. Once Samuel planted the idea in his mind and anointed him in the name of Yahweh, David became a man of destiny. David was hated because he was anointed. His own brothers were jealous of him. The call of God put a target on his back. Saul hunted David like he was an animal. If David had been disloyal to Saul, you might understand but David was loyal to a fault and yet Saul hated him. The odds were not in David’s favor and for this reason, practically everyone in the State Department aligned themselves with Saul. This gave Saul the overwhelming advantage. He had all the resources of State while David had only a few friends and his cunning ability to escape danger. Of course the one thing David had that Saul did not have was the LORD’s protection and blessing. David was pursuing God’s will, Saul was pursuing his own will.
David cried out to God for vindication and he got it but not immediately. God vindicates His children but He does so in His own time. We don’t know exactly when David wrote this Psalm but his vindication came years later, possibly as many as 17 years later. This Psalm is not about David only, it is about Jesus the Son of David who was literally hated without a cause. Jesus was totally innocent of all charges where as David had brought some of his suffering on himself. The big difference between David and Jesus is in their response to injustice. David cursed his enemies…Let them be put to shame….Let them be confounded…Let them be chaff before the wind….Let their way be dark and slippery. In other words, David prayed for his enemies to slip and fall on their faces. On the other hand, Jesus blessed His enemies, He prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”
It is natural for us to want to see our enemies fail but if we become obsessed with their demise and forget our own sinful depravity, we will become our own worse enemy. When we take vengeance into our own hands, we don’t have to worry about the enemy destroying us, we will destroy ourselves. A horse fly can’t hurt a horse but it can get the horse so preoccupied with its presence and aggravated that the horse hurts himself. We are to be like Jesus. We are to have the calm assurance that our Heavenly Father will vindicate us in His own time and for His own glory. In other words, vindication is not our responsibility. Getting even is not our concern. Our assignment is to obey Christ and seek His kingdom above all other things. Our Father will take care of our enemies. He will vindicate His servants. I have no doubt about it–none!
- Keith Jenkins was in a wreck yesterday morning early. He is in HH but he may come home today. He broke some ribs and fractured his collarbone. They sent him from Decatur to HH because he had numbness in his left arm and hand.
- Yesterday was Billy Parker’s birthday and today is Mylee Garner, Judy Davis and Sarah Hooper. I only know this because June read it to me from Facebook.
- Continue to pray for our folks overseas. Keith McKay is in India and I think Eddie may be traveling today. He should be home tonight. I understand he has an option to go back to China.
- Pray for Jessica Hogan in New Mexico.
- GOLDEN GIRLS this Saturday.
- I had a ball last night preaching at DBC. I preach again at DBC on July 9th and July 30th. Lord willing, I will be at Mt. Zion this Sunday morning and night. If you have no place to go Sunday night; I will be preaching at 6:00 pm at Mt. Zion. The LORD is blessing, I booked a REVIVAL last night. I have only two openings in July, two in August and two in September.
- Junior Hill is coming to DBC on July 16, am service only.
