Verse 9:
"Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with blood-thirsty men,"
The Psalmist now turns to prayer in these verses before us.
This prayer reminds us of David's prayer in Psalm 51:10-12:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me"
(NIV).
"Do not take away my soul along with sinners."
David could have added: "I know I deserve it! But I'm asking for Your mercy and grace."
Billy Sunday said: "If you live wrong, you can't die right."
Don Wyrtzen says: "David prayed for deliverance from the fate of sinners and petitioned the Lord to redeem him. He trusted Yahweh to spare him from the fate inevitably coming to the wicked. David's beautiful prayer unveiled his true character. In it we see his authenticity, integrity, and deep humility. Wholehearted in his commitment, David would continue to walk along the path he had chosen. His life was characterized by loyalty and righteousness."
Several years ago B. J. Tomas wrote a great song "
Home Where I Belong
": They say that heaven's pretty/And living here is too/But if they said that I /would have to choose between the two/I'd go home, going home, where I belong/And sometimes when I'm dreaming/It comes as no surprise/That if you look and see/The homesick feeling in my eyes/I'm going home, going home, where I belong/While I'm here I'll serve him gladly/And sing him all my songs/I'm here, but not for long/And when I'm feeling lonely/And when I'm feeling blue/It's such a joy to know that/I am only passing through/I'm headed home, going home, where I belong/And one day I'll be sleeping,/When death knocks on my door/And I'll awake and find that/I'm not homesick anymore/I'll be home, going home, where I belong."
Verse
10:
"in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes."
This verse reminds me of Proverbs 6:18-19:
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers"
(NIV).
Psalm 9:17:
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God"
(KJV).
Jesus says in Matthew 10:28:
"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"
(NASB).
Jude 7:
"Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire"
(NASB).
Abraham asks the question of the Lord just preceding the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah:
"Then Abraham approached him and said: 'Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?'"
(Genesis 18:23 KJV).
The answer is also very clear in 2 Peter 3:9:
"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance"
(NASB).
