Slices
Prepare
Think of an example of injustice in the news. How does it make you feel? How would you pray about it?
Bible passage
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,
2 who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
4 Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net
and have set traps for me along my path.
6 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God.’
Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.
7 Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord;
do not let their plans succeed.
9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,
into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent.
12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,
and the upright will live in your presence.
Explore
Psalm 140 probably doesn’t make it into many people’s list of favourite psalms. It belongs to a category of cursing psalms and to read it can feel distinctly unchristian. After all, didn’t Jesus clearly tell his followers to bless their enemies? What are we to make of praying that burning coals fall on those we do not like?
Many years ago, I did have cause to pray this psalm when I found myself working for a client who was so unpleasant and ungodly that I felt soiled even by being in his presence. ‘Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent’ (v 4). Even if our contact with such people is thankfully rare, there are Christians in many parts of the world whose lives are threatened by living among the wicked and the violent. Would they pray Psalm 140 in a different way from us?
St Augustine believed that in the psalms Christ prays with and for his church. As we read them, we pray in his voice as much as ours. Read Psalm 140 with its cry for protection, justice and even vengeance as though it is the cry of Jesus for his people. And take encouragement from the faithful ending. The Lord does secure justice for the poor.
Respond
‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21). Are there ways in which you can overcome evil with good today?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Chronicles 24–27; Galatians 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for SU Rwanda’s ministry with young girls living on the streets, asking that the SU team will help the girls find hope and practical ways to make a living by learning new skills.
