“I come to You for protection, O Lord my God. Save me from my persecutors – rescue me!” – Psalm 7:1 (NLT)
“God is my Shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. God is an honest Judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.” – Psalm 7:10-11
“If a person does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He will bend and string His bow. He will prepare His deadly weapons and shoot His flaming arrows.” – Psalm 7:12-13
David gives us such a clear picture of two traits found in the character of the Father. One is that of a protector. Anyone who has been involved in a church or body of believers for any amount of time has most likely heard teachings and talks concerning this side of the Lord. His protection. His sheltering. He is a Shield, a Protector for His people. He is the Refuge to which we can run for safety in the midst of trials and tribulations. Our spirits are forever safe and secure in the protection of His Spirit. This is true for those who belong to Him, whose hearts are true and right before Him, as the Psalmist wrote. Those who live in righteousness before Him.
The other trait of God is one on which we hear very little teaching. Everyone wants to talk about and listen to talks concerning a loving God, but no one wants to acknowledge the very real reality of God’s justness towards those who are not of Him. Those who do evil and are evil in their hearts. In order to fully know God, however, we must understand that this is a characteristic of God which we cannot throw out. There is a very real God who absolutely is a God of love and mercy to those who will turn to Him and repent of their evil and wicked ways. But it is because of this love and mercy for those who belong to Him that He also is the God of anger and wrath. The God of justness. The God who is Justice.
It is because He is a Shield for His people that He is also the Judge of the wicked. For who can truly protect those who belong to them unless there is some form counterattack against the attackers? A king does not let the enemy march on the city without fighting back. Not fighting back against the attacker means that the king is an evil king, and does not deserve to rule and reign. And we know that God is the only True King, the only True Ruler. Therefore, He will protect His people, ending in the destruction of the wicked.
This is a reality of God’s character. It is one that too many try to ignore and explain away. But God does not change, meaning that His character is consistent through the ages. And the result in the end will be Life for those who are pure and righteous before Him, those who belong to Him. For the wicked, though, there will only be death and destruction for all of eternity. There will only be the burning wrath of God against them for the eternal world to come.
Here is the reality of the Gospel, which is something even David understood long before Jesus came to the earth. You are either for God, meaning you are true and right before Him; or you are against God, meaning you are evil and bent on selfish, fleshly desires, caring nothing for righteousness. There is no in between, no gray area for those who want to question this. It is black and white, as clear as yes and no. To ignore the simple reality of the truth is to reject the reality of the Lord. But God has given time for all to repent if they will only choose to turn to Him in the fullness of their heart. So their is yet still time for those who are apart from Him, but the time draws short.
“I will thank the Lord because He is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” – Psalm 7:17
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