Mostly I’d say a good man is one you can rely on, one who does his job and stands by what he believes.”
–Louis L’Amour (Sackett)
“You, our brothers, must look round and pick out from your number seven men of good reputation who are both practical and spiritually-minded and we will put them in charge of this matter.”
–Acts 6:3 (Phillips)
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John Calvin wrote, “No greater injury can be inflicted upon men than to wound their reputation.” This seems to be the cause of so many pseudo-historians today. They seek to find fault, to bring hideous and often untrue accusations against those of the past. True, men and women of renown in the past were human just like everyone else, but the trend seems to be to find something wrong, something secretive instead of accenting the positive contributions of their lives. The heading for Psalm 109 in the Bible I most often use is: “Plea for Judgment of False Accusers.” David doesn’t hesitate to ask God to act on his behalf.
1 — Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!
2 — For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 — They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
4 — In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer.
5 — Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 — Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 — When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin.
8 — Let his days be few, and let another take his office. (NKJV)
David begins his prayer with a “gush of anguish” (Wood). He was undergoing a character assassination at the hands of men who were out to get him. Men who wanted him brought down. Whoever it was brought great pain to David for it wounded something deep within him–his reputation and character and he had no way to set the record straight.
Perhaps you have or are having these same things brought against you. If so, turn to the Lord, as David did. He gave himself to prayer. He went to the Lord telling Him the situation and his feelings. The literal translation of verse 5 is “I am all prayer.” While David’s enemies were spewing false words and lies against him, he was speaking to God. It must not be just one person who was attacking David for he refers to them as “they.”
The last two verses above speak of David’s desire. He wants the words to be turned upon his attacker. Lawson says that David wants the words of his accuser to come back to condemn him. Then he prays that his enemy’s days be few. Let no more harm be done to the Lord’s work. Let another take his place of leadership (Lawson).
When we want to strike out it would serve us to remember these words of David and take the situation and the person to the Lord. Paul understood this when he wrote, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, NKJV) Here Paul is referring to the words in Deuteronomy 32.
“Jesus, thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
But with thine own lifeblood, for thy diadem.
With thy blessing filling each who come to thee,
Thou hast made us willing, thou hast made us free.
By thy grand redemption, by thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side, Savior, we are thine.”
–Frances R. Havergal
—————————–
John Calvin wrote, “No greater injury can be inflicted upon men than to wound their reputation.” This seems to be the cause of so many pseudo-historians today. They seek to find fault, to bring hideous and often untrue accusations against those of the past. True, men and women of renown in the past were human just like everyone else, but the trend seems to be to find something wrong, something secretive instead of accenting the positive contributions of their lives. The heading for Psalm 109 in the Bible I most often use is: “Plea for Judgment of False Accusers.” David doesn’t hesitate to ask God to act on his behalf.
1 — Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!
2 — For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 — They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause.
4 — In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer.
5 — Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 — Set a wicked man over him, and let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 — When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let his prayer become sin.
8 — Let his days be few, and let another take his office. (NKJV)
David begins his prayer with a “gush of anguish” (Wood). He was undergoing a character assassination at the hands of men who were out to get him. Men who wanted him brought down. Whoever it was brought great pain to David for it wounded something deep within him–his reputation and character and he had no way to set the record straight.
Perhaps you have or are having these same things brought against you. If so, turn to the Lord, as David did. He gave himself to prayer. He went to the Lord telling Him the situation and his feelings. The literal translation of verse 5 is “I am all prayer.” While David’s enemies were spewing false words and lies against him, he was speaking to God. It must not be just one person who was attacking David for he refers to them as “they.”
The last two verses above speak of David’s desire. He wants the words to be turned upon his attacker. Lawson says that David wants the words of his accuser to come back to condemn him. Then he prays that his enemy’s days be few. Let no more harm be done to the Lord’s work. Let another take his place of leadership (Lawson).
When we want to strike out it would serve us to remember these words of David and take the situation and the person to the Lord. Paul understood this when he wrote, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, NKJV) Here Paul is referring to the words in Deuteronomy 32.
“Jesus, thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
But with thine own lifeblood, for thy diadem.
With thy blessing filling each who come to thee,
Thou hast made us willing, thou hast made us free.
By thy grand redemption, by thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side, Savior, we are thine.”
–Frances R. Havergal