Psalm 7

How many times do we wish ill on those who hurt us, those who betray us, those who seek to destroy us?  It is not an uncommon feeling to desire that God's justice be that of destruction of our enemies.  In fact the Psalmist desires just that in Psalm 7   He says in verses 11-13  "God is a righteous judge, a God who is angry at evil every single day.  If someone doesn't change their ways, God will sharen his sword, will bend his bow, will string an arrow.  God has deadly weapons in store for those who won't change he gets his flaming arrows ready!"  What an image.  I can see it in my minds eye now.  The Big man in the sky, loading up his bow with flaming arrows ready to shoot at those who do wrong.  It's an image that we may all be familiar with.   It's not the image of God I now hold.  I now understand that God battles violence and hatred with love.  He battled evil through becoming human and walking among us.  He battled evil through sacrificing his very own life.  He battled evil through the conquering of death in the resurrection.  He battled evil in the sending of the Holy Spirit.  He continues to battle evil today through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power of love.  The psalmist comes to recognize that it is not God who destroys his enemies.  No, eventually those who do evil destroy themselves.  Verses 15 and 16 say "They make a pit, dig it all out; and then fall right into the hole that they've made! The trouble they cause will come back on their own heads; the violence they commit will come down on their own skulls."  The Psalmist recognizes that God doesn't have to punish us when we stray away.  We handle that all on our own.  The Psalmist concludes that for him he will "thank the Lord for his righteousness; sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High."   May we all come to that conclusion today.  Let's cry out for justice.  Let's live a life of Love and lets give thanks to the Lord.