Sermon(Ps 7): Lord, I flee to thee. Save me!

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025222334

 

 

 

Scripture reading:

> 1 O Lord my God, in thee do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me, 2 lest like a lion they rend me, dragging me away, with none to rescue. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, 4 if I have requited my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, 5 let enemy pursue me and overtake me, and let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. Selah .... 10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. ... 12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow. .... 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made. .... < - Ps 7 -

) --> 

It is David's poem. David became the enemy of King Saul. And Cush, a member of the tribe of Benjamin to which Saul belonged, seemed to be zealous to harass David. Perhaps David wrote this poem in the deep resentment against Saul and Cush for they tried to harm him though he had done nothing wrong to them. The antipathy of the tribe of Benjamin against David is well described in the curse on David of Shimei, a member of Saul's house, tribe of Benjamin, who uttered it as David fled from the rebellion of his son Absalom. We can see the words of his curse in 2 Sam 16:5-13, but others' abusive words were not written there. David became king after Saul, so Benjaminites, especially members of Saul's house, must have a deep grudge against him. If a man named Cush was alive then, he as a Benjaminite would certainly say when he saw David fleeing, "You David, servant of king Saul. You have taken the throne of your lord Saul. God punishes a disloyal man like you, so your son is driving you out. Serve you right!"

) --> 

Brethren, there are these and those assertions about you in the world. If you would hear all words of these or those men, you'll hear also curses or swearwords on you of others. Especially in the age when the gap between rich and poor is very wide, the intemperate language of those who are leading a hard life in the competition of survival is very serious. If the swearwords are just, they will arrive at heaven, and will cause the punishment of God befall those who deserve the swearwords. The owners of the companies of multi-level distributorship (or pyramid distributorship) who robbed poor people of plenty of money and disappeared are sued by them to the God, and countless people's cries and grudges are going up into the heaven, even if they can't see those robbers because they have hidden themselves in secret places. God looks into the reasons of the resentment and accusation of the people and passes grave judgements on the evildoers. Sometimes young people with healthy body are on the news for they have defrauded innocent old people living in rural areas of money. God is listening to the complaints of the old people, and will punish the evildoers severely at an opportune time. God was listening to the groaning of the Israelites when they served Egyptians as their slaves, and sent Moses to them and punished Egypt severely, then delivered his people from there.

) --> 

V. 8 says that the Lord judges the peoples. God punishes each man according to his sins, no matter who he is, male or female, young or old, black or white, eastern or western. V. 9 says that God is righteous and tries the minds and hearts. God sees the inner heart of men and makes righteous judgment on the people. V. 11 says that God is a righteous judge and has indignation every day. V. 12 says that God will whet his sword and has bent and strung his bow if a man does not repent. Brethren, God is such a one. David had known this God. So he thought of this God whenever he did something, and tried to live up to his (God's) standards of righteousness.

) --> 

Many people, including Shimei and Cush, called David a sinner who should be cursed, so David defended himself before God. In v. 3-5, David says that they may harm him if they are telling the truth, or if he really has committed sins with his hands, or if he has requited his friend with evil. David even insists that he has never taken away the wealth of his enemies without cause. This claim of David is not a display of his righteousness before God but a self-defense before God that he has never harmed the members, the houses, the tribes of those who are accusing and cursing David. David is saying that God, therefore, must not punish David based on their assertion.

) --> 

Do you know the 9th commandment of the Decalogue? It is >Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.< This means that you should not send innocent people to prison by perjury in court, and that you should not put an innocent man to death by making him a murderer. The wicked Queen Jezebel made the righteous Naboth a sinner and put him (and his family) to death, and took his vineyard. What was her punishment? She fell from a high place and died to be a meal for dogs. The president, the prosecutor and the judge who invented the Inhyeokdang Incident and executed many good people will be severely punished by God after death if they haven't been justly punished on earth. These days also, wicked humans are uttering worthless complaints. The migrant real estate agencies, some of the ordinary real estate agencies and the real estate speculators are actually crooks, and are really bad people who raised the prices of houses and apartments irresponsibly. They are responsible for the chaos in the real estate market, but unscrupulous opposition parties, their supporters and the evil press are complaining unconditionally that the government was wrong. This behavior is unconscionable and evil. Christians should not join in these dirty grudges. Why do they blame the government that tries to prevent the unconscionable deeds, not accusing the criminals? I'm saying this at the time of preaching because it's about conscience, regardless of political position. Wicked perjury or unfounded accusations or grudges are by no means minor offenses, for they defame others, hurt others deeply, and actually do others a lot of harm. So God gave strict order that he who would harm another man by perjury be punished with the punishment of the crime that he invented against the man. "The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you. And the rest shall hear, and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity; it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deut 19:18-21)" My brethren, keep away from any false harmful witness and groundless complaint against any men or institutions, such as individuals, organizations or the government. This is a biblical lesson.

) --> 

David says, "The wicked man conceives evil, and is pregnant with mischief, and brings forth lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own pate his violence descends. (v. 14-16)" Brethren, the tribe of Benjamin thought David was a sinner, but David was not that kind of man they thought he was. He was a man who could say, "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. (v. 8)" This, of course, was David's self-justification. David, who had cried a lot before God for his sins, said this because he wanted God to know that those who accused David were not right. He was saying that he was a sinner before God, but not a sinner to his enemies. Therefore he said so to them who accused him. My brethren, not all high officials are evil. Some high officials like king David live uprightly before God and man, contrary to our guess. If you make complaints, grudges and swearwords against such upright men, you become a grave sinner to God; and if you would ensnare others and put them in danger based on your own subjective judgement, you will fall into the grave you've dug for them. David prays to God, v. 9, "O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous," because God is one who tries the minds and hearts, who is righteous, who, therefore, will judge rightly.

) --> 

Unlike his enemies, David always thanked God and praised his holy name. "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. (v. 17)" Our life is God's gift. God has given us the ability to speak in order that we may thank and prise him. Brethren, thank God for giving you the eternal life. Thank God for giving us a beautiful and livable country - Korea. A good land like this is not common, a land that has four distinct seasons, and moderate temperature and climate. The people also are in general gentle and clever, so they are not less good than the people of any other countries. You must thank God for a good wife, a good husband, and good children. Considering many unhappy people, your ordinary home is actually a great blessing. These days, TV and newspapers are competitively complaining, so you come to be unaware of people to thank and things to appreciate in such a social atmosphere. How regrettable! If you give a little thanks to men and God, they will feel better and your life will be richer. Let's stop evil words and thoughts such as complaints, offensive words, curses or words of discouragement. Devil has infused them into your heart to make your life arid. People say that your body reacts and you become healthy if you laugh only for the laugh itself. How much better a thing will happen to you if you appreciate something even if under obligation? Let's thank God and people.

) --> 

We must also praise much the name of God and praise much the other people with our mouths. God has givens us much sunlight and rain, and made our mouths happy with much food, so we must extol his holy name with our mouths. The vocal complaints of your mouth about things you have suffered are not a beautiful and sweet sound to the ears of God and man, whether they (the complaints) are just or not. Sweet music makes our ears happy. Loud noises give pain to the ears. Complaints, grudges, or words of slander and malice against the righteous can never be a beautiful music. Praising God and men is beautiful music.

) --> 

God is the high fortress for all the suffering righteous men. "The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Ps 9:9)" David had found refuge in God before he became a king, and he found refuge in him whenever he was in trouble after he became a king. He who is truly wise behaves so. A somewhat foolish man depends on himself or depends on the power of sinners and seeks refuge in them - a foolish deed. Even such excellent generals as Gae-so-mun Yon and Man-chun Yang can't be safe castles for you. Brethren, I have not so much religious experience, but I assure you that God never forsakes those who seek help from him. If you come to God, a God of justice, and pray to him honestly about your problems, he will surely hear your prayer and remove your enemies in due course. You must not join up with evil men, and must not depend on them and commit sins during a fleeting life to hear complaints of others. You must be a man like David, who was an honest and conscientious man to God and man before and after he became a king, and kept a close fellowship with God, and told him his problems whenever he suffered from his enemies, and obtained God's help whenever it was needed. You should be a clean and blessed man.

) --> 

May God forgive all your sins and wash your conscience clean and be your safe haven in times of trouble.

) --> 

Chong Tack Kim

                                   - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -

) -->