1 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;
protect me from men of violence,
2 who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
Psalm 140:1-3
As David sat and wrote this psalm, he had probably seen evil transgressions all around him, wicked men who worked their wicked ways, doing their evil against their fellow man, against the children of God, the children of Israel. They worked with scorn and hatred in their hearts, they moved through this world without seemingly any obstacle, without any barriers, their wickedness just seemed to expand, their power just seemed to grow. They were able to do what they wanted when they wanted, according to their will, according to their greed or ambition, according to their hatred and their loathing of their fellow man. He saw this all around him, and what else was there to do but to cry out to the Lord, who when evil was on the march, when evil was on the rise, when it seemed to have no obstacle in its way, nothing that could divert its attention or divert its focus, there was no power in this world that could withstand it, it is only through the love and mercy and grace and the compassion of the Lord that redemption can be found and righteousness will triumph, guiding the hearts and the souls of men to a better tomorrow, to a better life. So he cries out, he cries out for the Lord to rescue him from those were wicked and violent because he knows that the Lord God Almighty is ever faithful, ever vigilant to the cause of His children, that the Lord’s love, given in grace, to all of those of those who put their hope and their trust, their faith in Him. Amidst that, come what may, come what must, wickedness will not be able to withstand the power of His might.
And if this has been the love of the Lord for David, if this has been the love of the Lord for the prophets and the kings, the apostles and the saints, those mighty disciples and martyrs that have come before us, then what is the love of the Lord for us now but the same ever-present, ever-vigilant love? For He is the shield of our righteousness and the sword of our redemption, and He moves throughout this world to work His will, to work His presence, to guide our way like a beacon of hope. The evil things that seek to work us harm, He is there to rescue His people, to rescue them from evil plots and from vile doings, and there is no power, no might that can withstand the power of the Lord God Almighty, that ever-constant presence in this world. It doesn’t matter what the forces of evil are, it could be pirates, or terrorists, or bitter, tyrannical regimes, or sex-traders who seek to work their evil, to inflict themselves on their fellow man, to persecute them, to use them as nothing more than cattle, to make them into slaves, to ransom them off to the highest bidder. It doesn’t matter who they are, God Almighty is present throughout this world to work His justice, to work His cause, to fight and contend for the struggle for liberty for all His people. And there He shall rescue, He shall free, and we may not always understand when He rescues, we may not always understand the full magnitude of His plan, but what we can always put our hope and our reliance on, is the understanding that His plan is there, and that it is moving, it is transcending all understanding to ensure that the cause of His people is upheld.
This is a faithful trust, this is a faithful reliance that we can have in our lives, God Almighty will always be there for us, that our Heavenly Father will protect His children, who guides them, who girds them with strength and might, with power and love. Truly then we shall know that we are guarded, come whatever happens in this world, come whatever might happen in this world, for our Lord is right there beside us, each and every step of the way, regardless of where we may go, regardless of where we may be taken. And in His time He shall set His people free. Place your hope therefore in that reliance, in that trust, and know that the Lord shall rescue, just as He has rescued His children each and every time, each and every chapter of our history, just as He rescued them from the power of sin, death and the Devil through the bright light of our Messiah coming, of Jesus’ great and encompassing love for us.
Trust in Him, and know that you shall never be failed, that you shall never be left out, that His love shall transcend all understanding.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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