Save Me, O Lord!

“I call on the Lord in my distress” (1). The psalmist starts in the best possible way. It’s a vital reminder, for I’m quick to pity myself and complain of, or to, others. I can be slow to begin with God. It is good to be reminded of the testimony: “and he answers me.” “Save me, Lord, from lying lips” (2). We have a saying: “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” It isn’t true, of course. Words can cause immense hurt. Their damage can be almost impossible to undo. Most of us know painful childhood moments when untrue words scarred us and have never been forgotten.

For the psalmist, to bring these hurts to the Lord reminds him of what has been promised for those who lie and are deceitful: the judgment of vs. 3 and 4. It is worth remembering this before our own sense of injustice makes us bitter. We have spent the past week looking at opposition to the gospel and the deceits told to thwart its progress, and it is good to remember that they do not slip past God’s radar screens.

“Too long have I lived among those who hate peace” (6). Many will be able to echo the psalmist’s sense of weariness at facing the same battles day after day after day. It may come from within the family or the office or the classroom, but it breeds a groan and a sigh at the relentlessness of it all. It is, however, to live where our Master lived, and v. 7 is truer for Jesus than for anyone else. It is a testimony that we should covet. It is a description to drive us back to calling on the Lord.

Have you faced or are you facing any lies or betrayal? Bring your hurt to God and resolve to trust his justice and mercy.