Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 109:1-5
Ps 109:1-5
1 O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, 2 for wicked and deceitful men 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.
Matt 10:28-31
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Many commentators believe that this Psalm was written by David when his son Absalom rebelled against him and tried to take over the kingdom. After David had become king of Israel, he had shown kindness to the descendants of Saul instead of killing them all (as was the normal custom for a new king). One of these named Ahithophel cursed David and threw dirt at him as he fled from Jerusalem. Many believe that this Psalm is written about him on this occasion.
If this is the occasion, when we read the story as it happened, David did not take personal vengeance on Ahithophel as his soldiers wished to do. Instead, he said that God would take care of him and whatever happened would be the will of God and to the glory of God. David realized he was a pawn in God’s hand.
When we are done wrong for our service to God and we are mistreated for doing what is right, we must leave the vengeance up to God. If we are opposed for what we believe or practice, we must do what we understand is right. It is never right to do wrong. Our motive is to bring glory to God and to honor his name.
We see this attitude shown by Jesus as he hung on the cross and asked God to forgive those who crucified him. Stephen prayed for those who stoned him and asked that Jesus not hold it against them. Their motive was (and ours should be) forgiveness and a desire for their accusers to eventually be saved from their sins.
O Lord God, giver of life and all good things, I am so happy that you have provided a way for me to be forgiven from my sin. Thank you for loving me and extending your mercy to me in your grace. Help me be like you and to love, show mercy and grace to others. Thank you for the physical things I enjoy in this life, both material possessions and the many friends and family members. Use me to serve you and to lead others to you. Give me wisdom to always know what is right and strength to do it. Forgive me when I fail. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord.
Robert
