GOD OF THE POOR
Opening Prayer
Lord God, you understand my every desire and every thought. You know me completely and you still want me to draw close to you. Thank you.
Read PSALM 109
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
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[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
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 brokenhearted.
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 forever around 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 worshipers 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.
Footnotes
- Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘He stands at the right hand of the needy.’1
Think Further
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, and undermined by lies (vv. 2–5). He is hurt (v. 22). He is ill (v. 24). He is the laughingstock 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 judgment (vv. 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 judgment on evil. David’s prayer is not just a tit-for-tat diatribe. God is sovereign. The judgments David prays for are the reversal of his oppressors’ own actions (vv. 16–20). In a sense, these are the result of their own godless behavior (remember Jeroboam3). In his desperation, David knows that he is powerless and at the end of his own strength (vv. 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 (vv. 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’ (vv. 22, 31).
Apply
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.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Father, that you not only receive my prayers, but you welcome every one of them. When I come to you in prayer, help me to be real, to speak whatever is in my heart, listen for your voice, and feel your loving care.
1 Ps 109:31 2 1 Kings 19:9, 10 3 1 Kings 13:33, 34
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