Sunday, February 13, 2011

God examines hearts and kidneys

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PSALM 7  for the weekly PsalmChallenge which is centered in Athens.
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1. A Shiggaiaon. Of David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning Cush, a Benjaminite


2. O LORD, my God, in You I take refuge; deliver me from all my pursuers and save me,
3. lest he, like a lion, rend me, tear me apart, with no one to save me.
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4. O LORD, my God, if I have done this: if my hands bear the guilt of wrongdoing,
5. if I have dealt evil to my ally, or plundered my foe without cause,
6. then let the enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my body in the dust. Selah.
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7. Rise O LORD in Your anger; lift Yourself up against the fury of my foes, bestir on my behalf the judgment You have ordained.
8. An assembly of peoples gathers about You - above it return on high.
9. The LORD brings the peoples to trial; judge me, O LORD, for the righteousness and blamelessness that is in me.
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10. Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; He who probes the heart and conscience  is the righteous God.
11. My shield is with God, the deliverer of the upright in heart.
12. God judges the righteous; God pronounces doom each day.
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13. If one does not turn back, but whets his sword, bends his bow and prepares it,


14. then against himself he prepares deadly weapons, and makes his arrows sharp. 


15. See, he hatches evil, conceives mischief, and gives birth to lies.

16. He has created a pit and dug it out, and he will fall into the trap he made.17. His mischief will turn back on his own head; his lawlessness will come down upon his skull.
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18. I will praise the LORD for His righteousness, and sing a hymn to the name of the LORD Most High.
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Note  Verse 10:  ט יְהֹוָה יָדִין עַמִּים שָׁפְטֵנִי יְהֹוָה כְּצִדְקִי וּכְתֻמִּי עָלָֽי
: י יִגְמָר־נָא רַע
רְשָׁעִים וּתְכוֹנֵן צַדִּיק וּבֹחֵן לִבּוֹת וּכְלָיוֹת אֱלֹהִים צַדִּֽיק

Bochen libot uklayot  means literally  "examines hearts and kidneys." 
 
In Biblical times, the kidneys were the seat of emotion; the heart was the source of thought.
Today the idiom is translated "
God tests the hearts and insides" or "probes the heart and conscience" or " tries hearts and minds."
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Photos:  1. Detail, exterior of Church of the Holy Sepulchre   2. a courtroom in Israel's Supreme Court  3 and 4. an archer in Switzerland  5. Canaanite shaft tomb,  Holyland Park excavations
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12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Great illustrated pictures to the verses Dina!
    Wish you a blessed sunday:-)

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  3. You do an awesome interpretation of the Psalms for Robert's Psalm challenge!
    Happy Sunday, Dina!

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  4. You have shown how rich this psalm is. At this very moment this psalm appeals to me more than any other psalm. You illustrated the psalm and highlighted all sides of it. Perhaps I should have written the whole psalm like you did.
    Last night I saw a movie about Dresden, February 1945. I was really very sad about the destruction of this bombardment and how the evil powers in the city continued to kill their own people while the bombing was going on, because they were deserter or spies.War is hell

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  5. A bit "ham fisted" before my first cup of coffee. I think I'll go back to bed and hide under the covers

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  6. You did a great job of finding all the photos to match the psalm. Wow!

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  7. It's clear to see that you put a lot of thought and effort into illustrating Psalm 7. These are very interesting and appropriate photos. Thanks, too, for the literal translation of Verse 10. I've learned something new today.

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  8. Thank you very much for this thoughtful contemporary interpretation, maybe even explanation of this Psalm. Thank you for your participation !


    Excuse please the missing linkage system. I'll try to make it appear next time again. Please have a wonderful new week.

    daily athens

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  9. You linked some very different images with the text of the psalm. This is more difficult than my walks...

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  10. Dina, it's a complex and important Psalm, you've so well described it in this post.

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  11. What a wonderful and poignant post. I like the photos to go with, great depictions to accompany the verses.

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