Psalm 109

0 To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
1  Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
2  For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
  speaking against me with lying tongues.
3  They beset me with words of hate,
  and attack me without cause.
4  In return for my love they accuse me,
  even while I make prayer for them.
5  So they reward me evil for good,
  and hatred for my love.
6  They say, “Appoint a wicked man against him;
  let an accuser stand on his right.
7  When he is tried, let him be found guilty;
  let his prayer be counted as sin.
8  May his days be few;
  may another seize his position.
9  May his children be orphans,
  and his wife a widow.
10  May his children wander about and beg;
  may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.
11  May the creditor seize all that he has;
  may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12  May there be no one to do him a kindness,
  nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.
13  May his posterity be cut off;
  may his name be blotted out in the second generation.
14  May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the LORD,
  and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15  Let them be before the LORD continually,
  and may his memory be cut off from the earth.
16  For he did not remember to show kindness,
  but pursued the poor and needy
  and the brokenhearted to their death.
17  He loved to curse; let curses come on him.
  He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.
18  He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,
  may it soak into his body like water,
  like oil into his bones.
19  May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself,
  like a belt that he wears every day.”
20  May that be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
  of those who speak evil against my life.
21  But you, O LORD my Lord,
  act on my behalf for your name’s sake;
  because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.
22  For I am poor and needy,
  and my heart is pierced within me.
23  I am gone like a shadow at evening;
  I am shaken off like a locust.
24  My knees are weak through fasting;
  my body has become gaunt.
25  I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
  when they see me, they shake their heads.
26  Help me, O LORD my God!
  Save me according to your steadfast love.
27  Let them know that this is your hand;
  you, O LORD, have done it.
28  Let them curse, but you will bless.
  Let my assailants be put to shame; may your servant be glad.
29  May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
  may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.
30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
  I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31  For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
  to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 109:4)

Dear Lord, one of the hardest things for my soul is to be falsely accused, especially by someone I have sought to love. The sting of rejection is sharp, the sense of injustice bitter. Surely, Lord, I have made plenty of mistakes. But I don't think I deserve what I receive in return, and it really hurts.

How grateful I am that You understand how this feels, and in a way I'll never even approach. You reached out to Your people again and again, only to be spurned by them. Finally You sent Your Son, yet even He was rejected.

Nevertheless, by Your grace at work in me, may I continue to love those who think and speak poorly of me. Help me to forgive, and to seek their best. May I continue to pray for them, with a heart tenderized by Your mercy to me.

Postscript

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

                         John 1:10-13

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved