Slices
Prepare
Pray to be filled with God’s Spirit for the various demands of the coming week.
Bible passage
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
2 The Lord protects and preserves them –
they are counted among the blessed in the land –
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
3 The Lord sustains them on their sick-bed
and restores them from their bed of illness.
4 I said, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.’
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
‘When will he die and his name perish?’
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then he goes out and spreads it around.
7 All my enemies whisper together against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 ‘A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up from the place where he lies.’
9 Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned against me.
10 But may you have mercy on me, Lord;
raise me up, that I may repay them.
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 Because of my integrity you uphold me
and set me in your presence for ever.
13 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
Explore
Question: Whom does the Lord deliver, protect, preserve, bless, sustain and restore?
Answer: Those who ‘have regard for the weak’ (vs 1–3). ‘Have regard’ means more than making a casual donation. It means taking trouble and giving serious thought to what can be done for people in need. The Lord himself is a friend to the vulnerable. It is in his character, and he blesses the same trait in his people. ‘Blessed are the merciful,’ said Jesus (Matthew 5:7) ‘for they will be shown mercy.’
The psalmist’s life was blighted by two things: a debilitating illness and opponents who were taking advantage of it (vs 3–9). Sinner that he was, he looked to the Lord for mercy (vs 4,10) to help with both problems. If this was David the king speaking, it could be at a time of uprising in his kingdom. How he longed for the strength to be able to put things right! How frustrating that he couldn’t! Verse 9 tells us that a former friend had turned against him very unmercifully. Jesus pondered this verse when Judas turned against him (John 13:18).
The psalmist knows he can count on the pleasure and the presence of the Lord (vs 11,12). He calls on him for his merciful support (v 10).
Respond
Thank you, Lord, that you bless those who bless the weak. Show me how I can help any who are sick or unfairly treated. Amen.
Deeper Bible study
Help me, Lord, to bring to you, now, whatever burdens I am carrying, so that I can experience a lightening of my load.
David is weighed down with three burdens: his struggle with a guilty conscience, ill-health and betrayal by a close friend. In these battles, David experiences a sharp contrast between God’s care for him and other people’s malice. His enemies have written him off, expecting his death, but he is confident that God will sustain and restore him, despite his sins. He identifies himself with those who have integrity (v 12), who show concern for the weak and know God’s approval (v 1). Now that he is weak himself, he is ready to experience, firsthand, God’s care for the helpless.
David is doubly betrayed by others. Some people pretend to be friends but come only to learn things they can use against him (v 6). Others share in the slander and false witness. However, the greatest betrayal is from someone close to him (v 9). All these have resonances in the New Testament. Jesus is betrayed by people who twist his words, by the crowds who turn against him and by Judas who ‘shared [his] bread’ (see v 9). In John’s Gospel, Jesus quotes this verse at the Last Supper,1 when, having received bread, Judas leaves. Yet David’s confidence in the ultimate mercy and justice of God is again justified: echoed so powerfully and finally in the Messiah’s own victory over evil and death.
We too can share confidence in God, whatever burdens we are carrying. We can admit our faults to God and rely on the peace of forgiven sins. We can ask God to give us concern for the weak and make them a priority in our Christian service. Wherever we are weak, we can know God’s restoring strength and his blessings on our daily lives. The victory that David glimpsed and Jesus knew is ours also, through God’s eternal love.
Pray for those you know who struggle with weakness and heavy burdens today, that they will be drawn to the strength and compassion of God.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Judges 1,2; Romans 16
Pray for Scripture Union
Matthew 9 verse 37 says ‘The harvest is plentiful… ’ Give thanks to God that there is a real spiritual hunger among children and young people without church connections. (This week's prayers all relate to this story.)
