From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>

To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"

Cc:

Sent: Thu, Jan 26, 2023 at 5:02 AM

Subject: 1-26-23

1-26-23   THOUGHTS

Psalms 35 is a prayer for deliverance from evil persons.  There is a behavioral jewel in its midst. In verses 13-14, David  notes that when these very people who persecuted him were sick, he mourned and prayed  “as one sorrows for a mother”!   A command of Jesus comes to mind,  “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”   Matt 5:44.   A significant definition of an “enemy” is provided below.  David pleads, then promises, “I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.”  No wonder David was called “a man after God’s own heart.”  1Sam 13:14, Acts 13:22

Ps 35:9-18    And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD; It shall exult in His salvation. 10  All my bones will say, "LORD, who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?" 11  Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know.  12  They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul.
13  But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.  14  I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing. 16  Like godless jesters at a feast, They gnashed at me with their teeth. 17  Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions.  18  I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty throng.
Matt 5:8     "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

My  Prayer:
May I be humbled by our reading this morning, dear God.  Broaden my perspective of life and my part in it.  Help me to see that it’s not about me.  Help me to grow to where I can also say “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Teach me to mourn for this sinful world, and the consequences of sin.  Help me, O Lord, to see the sin within myself.   In the name of our Savior, Christ Jesus,     Amen.