Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Psalm 109: strength when bullied

 In Psalm 109 we read:

2 Wicked and deceitful people have opened their mouths against me.

    They speak against me with lying tongues.

3 They surround me with hateful words.

    They fight against me for no reason.

4 In return for my love, they accuse me,

    but I pray for them.[a]

5 They reward me with evil instead of good

    and with hatred instead of love.


What do I do when I meet wicked people that oppress me? David brought his case to the Lord. He prayed:


6 I said, “Appoint the evil one to oppose him.

    Let Satan stand beside him.

7         When he stands trial,

            let him be found guilty.

            Let his prayer be considered sinful.

8 Let his days be few in number.

    Let someone else take his position.


As a Christian should I always pray in favor of my enemies? Certainly David cursed his enemies. The closer I see in New Testament is in 1 Corinthians 5:

4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this (incestuous) man  over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.


David prays in Psalm 109:

15 Let their guilt and sin always remain on record

    in front of Yahweh.

        Let Yahweh remove every memory of him from the earth,

16 because he did not remember to be kind.



His prayer is very similar to Psalm 37:

11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

because the who is not meek (kind) will be removed from the earth.


David finishes Psalm 109 with:


26 Help me, O Yahweh my Elohim.

    Save me because of your mercy.

27 Then they will know that this is your doing,

    that you, O Yahweh, are the one who saved me.

28 They may curse, but you will bless.

    Let those who attack me be ashamed,

    but let me rejoice.

29 Let those who accuse me wear disgrace as though it were clothing.

    Let them be wrapped in their shame as though it were a robe.

30 With my mouth I will give many thanks to Yahweh.

    I will praise him among many people,

31 because he stands beside needy people

    to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

I was bullied when I was young. It's pretty sad to be made the clown of by everyone for no reason (is ethnicity a reason?). David trusts in the Lord amid the oppression of his enemies. David was strengthened by trusting in a merciful and just God.


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