A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite
1 LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
3 LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]
6 Arise, LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.
10 My shield[d] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he[e] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
Comments from McGurgle:
Here, David is asking God to judge him according to his righteousness and his integrity. Ask yourself this question, if you were standing before God today, and you asked God to judge you according to your righteousness and your integrity, how would you do? Would God be proud of you, would you be proud of yourself, or would you be ashamed, you might think that you have a great deal of work left to build your integrity?
The definition of integrity – in the Hebrew, means completeness, moral innocence, or perfection. The exact opposite of compromise. For disciples integrity is important. It defines to others who you are. When someone thinks of you, inevitably, they will think about whether or not you have integrity. People want to know if you’re "for real". Integrity determines how you will react in certain situations. When you are faced with circumstances where you have choice to either do right or do wrong, your integrity, or lack of it, will determine what you do. Integrity demonstrates your spiritual condition. If you have no integrity, then you have a spiritual problem, because God wants us to have integrity. If you lack integrity, it can damage your testimony. If someone knows that you have no integrity, they will certainly not listen to you when you share the Gospel with them. So, Imagine your standing before God and have an honest look, Is integrity in your heart and life or is it lacking?
