Slices
Prepare
Pray: Lord God, you understand our every desire and every thought. You know us completely and you still want us to draw close to you. Thank you.
Bible passage
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 My God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.
3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.
10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labour.
12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before the Lord,
that he may blot out their name from the earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
but hounded to death the poor
and the needy and the broken-hearted.
17 He loved to pronounce a curse –
may it come back on him.
He found no pleasure in blessing –
may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,
into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped about him,
like a belt tied for ever round him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil of me.
21 But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give way from fasting;
my body is thin and gaunt.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know that it is your hand,
that you, Lord, have done it.
28 While they curse, may you bless;
may those who attack me be put to shame,
but may your servant rejoice.
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng of worshippers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Explore
I am glad David wrote Psalm 109. Trace the emotions that lie behind David’s words. It is reassuring to know we can be completely open with God about what we are going through and how we feel about it. Do you have a complaint? Are you indignant? Take those feelings to God (vs 2–5). Are you desperate (vs 1,6,21,26), hurt and at the end of your resources (vs 22–25)? Pour it out to the Lord. Are you fuming about injustice (vs 16–18), and inwardly boiling for revenge (vs 8–15)? Release your frustration, your anger and your darkest desires to God. He can handle it.
When we bring our darkest thoughts into God’s light through prayer, something shifts. Prayer is the ultimate safe space to release our dark thoughts and emotions. God does not leave us stewing in our darkness. Notice how David’s rant of verses 7 to 20 and the self-absorption of verses 21 to 25 change to something more measured by the last stanza.
Through prayer, God shifts our focus to his character. Once we are assured of God’s love (v 26), his justice (v 31) and his willingness to bless (v 28), we can leave our grievances with him, knowing he will do what is good and right.
Respond
God knows you and your present situation completely. Pour out your heart to him.
Deeper Bible study
‘He stands at the right hand of the needy.’1
Here is a prayer for those who feel alone in their commitment to God. It is written by David – this ‘man of prayer’ (v 4). He is persecuted, hated undeservedly, undermined by lies (vs 2–5). He is hurt (v 22). He is ill (v 24). He is the laughing-stock of his mockers (v 25). Perhaps, in our own ministries and lives, we have felt ourselves to be in a similar place, but, like David (and like Elijah2), we turn to our faithful God, trusting in his love for us (v 26).
As twenty-first-century Christians, we may feel uncomfortable with appeals for God’s judgement (vs 6–15), but perhaps we have not experienced directly the cruelty of evil leaders who do not respect God’s ways. As I write, Christian friends in Ukraine are crying out to God for his judgement on evil. David’s prayer is not just a tit-for-tat diatribe. God is sovereign. The judgements David prays for are the reversal of his oppressors’ own actions (vs 16–20). In a sense, these are the result of their own godless behaviour (remember Jeroboam3). In his desperation, David knows that he is powerless, at the end of his own strength (vs 21–25). He can only throw himself on God’s love, for God’s sake (v 21).
When we’re desperate, here are lessons for our own prayers. Consistently, we are to acknowledge our sovereign God and his faithfulness (vs 1,21,26). Persistently, we are to look for his solutions and activity, rather than trying to fix things ourselves. With determination, we are to keep praising and extolling our God (v 30). And always, we must remember that God stands with those who know that they are ‘poor and needy’ (vs 22,31).
Like the psalmist, we live in chaotic times. Bring your particular concerns to God now. Ask him to help you stand with those who are poor and in need.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 17–20; Titus 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for the SU New Zealand AGM on Zoom this Thursday asking for a good online attendance and fruitful outcomes. Pray that God will continue to guide and empower the team.
