Slices
Prepare
Recall times in your life where you have experienced God as your helper. Give thanks to God for being with you and sustaining you.
Bible passage
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, ‘Is not David hiding among us?’
1 Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
3 Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me –
people without regard for God.
4 Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.
5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.
6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
7 You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
Explore
When I read aloud a psalm such as this, I often squirm a little as I ask God to destroy my enemies. It feels uncomfortable to be heard asking for something that appears to be at odds with Jesus’ teaching to love one’s enemies. However, I started to see it differently when I read it through the eyes of a victim of injustice.
I wonder if you have ever been a victim of injustice. It can be a very painful and disorientating experience, in which one can feel powerless or unsure as to how to use what power one has. The words of Psalm 54 can be a helpful prayer in such situations. The structure of this seven‑versed psalm intentionally places verse 4 at the centre: ‘Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.’ The verses surrounding it demonstrate that we can express to God our pain, our frustrations, our anger and our desires for an end to injustice. We can trust in God our helper and sustainer to enact justice perfectly.
Respond
Where do you see injustice happening today? It might be events happening in other countries or it might be situations that you personally are involved with. Use Psalm 54 as a template to pray to God about them.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 10–12; 2 Timothy 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray that God will guide SU Indonesia in the final stage of the Reading and Delving into the Bible training which started in July and finishes next Sunday. Pray that, as a result, children, young people, adults, pastors and congregations will grow in understanding and faith.
