“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, ‘Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ “ Matthew 23:34-39
persecute
Words of Jesus; Son of God, God the Son – John 15:18-27
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, ‘The servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.” John 15:18-27 (KJB)
Dealing With The Enemy
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Psalm 35:1-3 (KJB)
In You, LORD, I Put My Trust
“O LORD my God, in You do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” Psalm 7:1-2 (KJB)
GOD… Not in Their Thoughts
“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride does persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the LORD abhors. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” Psalm 10:1-4 (KJV)
Does GOD ever come into your thoughts? Is your life planned around the godly events that go on in your life? Do you have godly events in your life? I know, what a way to begin a lesson in God’s word. Asking such personal questions. Maybe these are questions we need to ask ourselves. It seems quite clear to me that we do not question ourselves enough concerning our relationship, our fellowship with God; or even if we have either one. It is clear that one who has no relationship with God will have no fellowship with God.
It is the wicked who persecute the poor. It is also the wicked who do not think of God, neither of godliness, of what is right in God’s eyes or wrong in God’s eyes. The wicked bless the covetous; those who are always grabbing for more stuff, more gold, silver precious jewels – more wealth of whatever kind, and at the expense of others.
The wicked are secure in themselves and in their pride and arrogance do not want, neither do they need God; so they think. They are very much like the man Jesus tells us about who built many barns (Luke 12:16-21).
It would not be in error to say, “If you are secure in yourself, you never think of God, nor godly things; you never experience grief over your sins, then you are without God, and you are one of the wicked”. Is there hope for you? Just like for the rest of us; only through the cross of Jesus Christ who was put to death on the cross, was buried, and arose from the grave.
There is no hope for any except through the grace of God displayed in the cross of Jesus Christ.
If I Have Rewarded Evil Unto Him that Was at Peace with Me
“O LORD my God, in You do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yes, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy:) let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yes, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay my honor in the dust. Selah.” Psalm 7:1-5 (KJV)
As believers and followers of Jesus Christ we put our complete faith and trust in Him. It is a good thing not to be concerned about those who might persecute us due to our faith, but we ought always pray for them, and that they would come to the faith of Christ as well.
There are none who can deliver as our GOD and King who we believe, know, and receive through the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Our prayer can and should be that of David as he prayed this prayer – “If I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; if I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me…”, then, we can know that we will be aware when we have behaved ourselves unseemly toward another of Adamkind. We ought to always love our neighbor as we love ourselves; and that is seen the the final six Commandments God gave us.
In David’s prayer he even asks for his judgment to be swift and sure concerning his evil treatment of those who were at peace with him. I would say we ought to always be a good neighbor, no matter who that neighbor might be. Difficult? With some neighbors, NO! With other neighbors, Sometimes, and maybe always. The responsibility of being a good neighbor is mine, the Christians, not the neighbor’s.
If we mistreat someone who is peaceful toward us, then, we need not complain when we are treated likewise by someone else. There is still, and always will be application of Paul’s words, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7).
Broken Pieces 