TURN TO THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children. May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation. May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. May their sins always remain before the Lord, that He may blot out their name from the earth.

For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted. He loved to pronounce a curse — may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing — may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil. May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him. May this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers, to those who speak evil of me.

But You, Sovereign Lord, help me for Your name’s sake; out of the goodness of Your love, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.

Help me, Lord my God; save me according to Your unfailing love. Let them know that it is Your hand, that you, Lord, have done it. While they curse, may You bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may Your servant rejoice. May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.

With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise Him. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Psalm 109

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever experienced any of the following?

- Anyone who was wicked and evil.

- Anyone who was deceitful.

- Anyone who lied about you.

- Anyone who spoke to you in hate.

- Anyone who attacked you without reason.

- Anyone who accused you of doing something.

- Anyone who routinely chose to be unkind.

- Anyone who betrayed your friendship.

- Anyone who cursed you.

Truly, there are times when we face any or all of these and, when we do, they are never pleasant experiences.

Of interest, we see that King David, the author of the 109th Psalm went through all the aforementioned issue and, as we look at his life, so much more. As we read his words, we fully sense how hard it is to be victimized and besieged by those who would rain down verbal and physical harm on another. We see that David was very bitter, clearly hurt by the actions of those who opposed him. Maybe you can relate to his feelings as he speaks to God and requests the following to befall his enemies:

- Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy.

- Let an accuser stand at his right hand.

- When he is tried, let him be found guilty.

- May his prayers condemn him.

- May his days be few

- May another take his place of leadership.

- May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

- May his children be wandering beggars and driven from their ruined homes. May no one pity them.

- May a creditor seize all he has.

- May strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

- May no one extend kindness to him.

- May his descendants be cut off and blotted out from the next generation.

- May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord.

- May the sin of his mother never be blotted out.

- May their sins always remain before the Lord and may He blot out their name from the earth.

- May the curses he pronounced come back on him.

- May blessings be far from him.

- May curses be upon him forever.

Yes, David was resentful over the way he had been treated and the impact it had made on his life, defined by the following statements:

- “I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.”

- “I fade away like an evening shadow.”

- “I am shaken off like a locust.”

- “My knees give way from fasting.”

- “My body is thin and gaunt.”

- “I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.”

There’s little doubt how difficult the times were for David. You can feel his pain and anguish in his words.

Maybe you can relate to his emotions as you deal with your own matters of life.

So what are we to do in times like this? What did David do in the midst of his anguish and hardship?

The answer is simple. We turn to the Lord in prayer.

For note the words of David early on in this psalm. He quickly details his enemies and how they are assailing him but in the midst of this he makes this important proclamation:

“I am a man of prayer.”

Indeed, look at what David did here. He was angry and upset but he refrained from taking matters into his own hands. No, instead he turned to the only One he knew he could trust to help in his times of trouble. Note what David says he finds in the Lord:

1. Help.

“You, Sovereign Lord, help me for Your name’s sake.”

“He stands at the right hand of the needy.”

2. Love and Goodness and Deliverance.

“Out of the goodness of Your love, deliver me.

3. Salvation.

“Help me, Lord my God; save me according to Your unfailing love.”

“He stands to save their (the needy) lives from those who would condemn them.”

4. Authority.

“Let them know that it is Your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.”

5. Blessings.

“While they curse, may You bless.”

6. Joy.

“May those who attack me be put to shame, but may Your servant rejoice.”

7. Judgment.

“May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.”

David, in the midst of hardship, knew he had God on his side, and that was all he really needed. It didn’t mean he would be immune from hardship. His words clearly show us that. But what David did have was more powerful than immunity because he had faith, faith in a Lord who could do all things, a Lord through which there were no impossibilities.

Given this, it’s little wonder we find David saying the following at the end of this psalm:

“With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng of worshipers I will praise Him.”

When life and the people in it press in on us in a way that leaves us distressed and wondering where we can turn, perhaps we need to remember this psalm and, like David, turn to the Lord, the only One who can do all things and handle whatever we go through.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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