March 3, 2005 Psalm 7

 March 3, 2005                                                                                                Psalm 7

 

Psalm 7:3-5 “O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause, then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust.”

 

            Have you ever been falsely accused of something? It could be as simple as a teacher making an error in class. Or maybe you were not the misbehaving sibling (this time), even though your parents thought you were.  How did that make you feel?  Even worse have you ever been punished for something you did not do?

            It is tough for children to realize that our parents sometimes make mistakes. They sometimes can place the blame on the wrong child. As a parent, I know I have made this type of mistake and seldom have I ever admitted it to the children. I usually figured it all sort of evened out for the times I didn’t catch the perpetrator in the act.  After all, it can get pretty hard to figure out who is guilty and who is just a victim of circumstance. Guilty or innocent, we rebel when we’re accused of something we didn’t do.

            When Christ met Zacchaeus, the diminutive tax collector reacted with words that remind me of this Psalm.  He was willing to give up many times the value of any perceived wrong to prove that he had been honest. At least that is the way I remember the story.  I think when we are falsely accused of something our reaction is to make a grand promise to demonstrate our innocence. 

            Does God require such behavior?  I’m not so sure.  God knows as well as we do, our guilt or innocence. If we are true to our self we know that we deserve God’s ire.   I’m certain that trying to prove our innocence in this manner holds little water with God.

            How about as a measure of our repentance?  After all, if loving God and loving neighbor are the greatest commandments, doesn’t it make sense that we would give anything to make a wrong right?   I know that I might.  There are many people I’ve hurt, intentionally or not, and I’d give anything to avoid those hurts and make it right again.

The beauty of God’s grace is the fact that good and bad things happen in this world not just because we have messed up.  God always give us chances to change and renew our relationship with him and with others.  In fact, the Scripture witness reminds us that God gives us many chances to repent and turn back to him each day.  Our task is to recognize our faults and make the effort to change.

 

Gracious Lord, forgive me the sins I’m pretty sure I didn’t commit.  Help me each day to turn my life more towards you.  This we ask in the name of Christ our Lord.  Amen.

 

Contributed by Anonymous