Devotional for February 21

Mountain View UMC - Boulder, Colorado

Read Psalms 7-9

Psalm 7 (Amplified Bible)

¹ O Lord my God, in You I take refuge; Save me and rescue me from all those who pursue me, ² So that my enemy will not tear me like a lion, Dragging me away while there is no one to rescue [me]. ³ O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, ⁴ If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me, Or  without cause robbed him who was my enemy, ⁵  Let the enemy    pursue me and overtake me; And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my honor in the dust. Selah.

⁶ Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; Lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies; Rise up for me; You have commanded judgment and indication. ⁷ Let the assembly of the nations be gathered around You, And return on high over them. ⁸  The Lord judges the peoples; Judge me, O Lord, and  grant me justice according to my righteousness and according to the integrity within me. ⁹ Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You]; For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

¹⁰  My shield and my defense depend on God, Who saves the upright in heart. ¹¹ God is a righteous judge, And a God who is indignant every day. ¹² If a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has strung and bent His [mighty] bow and made it ready. ¹³ He has also prepared [other] deadly weapons for Himself; He makes His arrows fiery shafts [aimed at the unrepentant].

¹⁴ Behold, the [wicked and irreverent] man is pregnant with sin, And he conceives mischief and gives birth to lies. ¹⁵ He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the [very] pit which he made [as a trap]. ¹⁶ His mischief will return on his own head, And his violence will come down on the top of his head [like loose dirt]. ¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteouness and justice,  And I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.