Today's reading - Psalm 109, Hebrews 2:14-15
“This is
a Psalm of David, and is thought to be the strongest of what are known as
the imprecatory psalms, David’s songs that call down curses upon his enemies. It
is important to remember that these are prayers, committing vengeance unto God.
With the greater revelation of grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, we
understand that we are to pray for the good of our enemies, and not for their
ruin.
Yet, we remind
ourselves that David refused to act upon these curses; he left vengeance up to
God. This is especially relevant regarding David, who knew what it was to take
life with the sword. When David withheld vengeance, it was because he chose to,
not because he lacked the opportunity, skill, or courage.” (enduringword.com)
When my husband and I married, we were the only
Christians in both our families and for the first years we were the object of
the hate and mockery of our closest relatives: for example: his mother hated
me, and my mother hated him! This (plus other family issues) inflicted in us so
much pain and this also brought problems into our marriage! It was very
difficult for us to bear this situation! Only through God’s Word were we able
to stand firm, love and forgive our family. Paul encourages to:
“ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your
strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the
power of His [boundless] might. (Eph. 6:10)
I remember a Christian friend that would say this: “he
(she) is an instrument of satan!”, I could not fully grasp this, but the more I
grew in His Word I could now understand why she said it:
“ Put on the full armor of God [for His
precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you
may be able to [successfully] stand up
against all the schemes and the strategies and the
deceits of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 AMP- emphasis mine)
Just as David
we now know what it is to have to suffer from the attacks of our fiery enemies,
especially those of us who are now in Christ whose first enemy is Satan, who
came to steal, kill and destroy us, our families, our marriages, our faith, etc.
(John 10:10), and as Paul continues to warn us:
“For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical
opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world
forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. “ (Ephesians
6:12 AMP)
The only way we could fight back the attacks from our
families was crying out to the Lord in prayer, like David did:
“O God of my praise! Do not keep silent,
2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the
deceitful are opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me
without a cause.4 In return for my love, they attack me,
But I am in prayer.
5 They have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love.” (Psalm
109:1-5 AMP)
Then some years later, our Heavenly Father literally
took us away from our enemies, when we moved thousands of miles away from our
families, and friends. We began attending a wonderful Church were we grew spiritually
and all of a sudden we found ourselves surrounded by our spiritual family, whom
we dearly loved over the years! And also over the years we learned to love and
forgive our families:
“7 The end and culmination
of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the
purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that
your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to
Him.] 8 Above all, have [a]fervent and unfailing love for
one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness
and unselfishly seeks the best for others].” (1 Peter 4:7-8)
We would travel back home to visit our families at
least once a year and they expressed how much they missed us, and some were
also willing to listen to us as we shared the Gospel!
Now, as I look back, I can only praise our Abba like
David did:
“I will give great praise and thanks
to the Lord with my mouth; And in the midst of many I will
praise Him. 31 For He will
stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.” (Psalm
109:30-31)
“The psalm began with addressing ‘the God of my
praise’; it ends with the confidence and the vow that the singer will yet
praise Him. It painted an adversary standing at the right hand of the wicked to
condemn him; it ends with the assurance that Jehovah stands at the right hand
of His afflicted servant, as his advocate to protect him.” (Maclaren)
Let us pray: (Psalm 34:14-19)
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your lovingkindness and
Your Word that instructs us. We humbly come to You and we ask you “14 to turn us away from evil and do good; to guide us to seek peace and pursue it. 15 For Your eyes are toward the righteous
[those with moral courage and spiritual integrity] And Your
ears are open to their cry. We thank You, because 16 Your Face oh Lord, is against those who do
evil, and You cut off the memory of them from the
earth. 17When the righteous cry [for
help], You Lord hear and rescue us from all our
distress and troubles. 18 You
Lord are near to the heartbroken and You
save those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their
sin).19Many hardships and perplexing
circumstances confront the righteous, but You Lord rescue us from them all. (Psalm 34: 14-19) We praise You and
give You thanks for You have promised to stand at the right hand of the needy! In
Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen!
Mari
