Psalm 109

Reading for August 18, 2012      Psalm 109

You may have wanted to stop before you finished reading Psalm 109. It certainly seems to fly in the face of all that Jesus teaches His followers. However, we don’t want to dismiss it too quickly.

Have you ever been falsely accused? When accusations are made, everything changes. Even when the false accusations are revealed as such, relationships between everybody associated with the accusations, friend or foe, are changed. Why? It is the nature of our humanity to connect our sense of self-worth with our environment. Basically, what we do, how we perform in our world and what we perceive other people think of us affects our self-esteem. We can develop coping skills and thick skin to defend ourselves against the appraisal of others, but these self-defense skills also serve to diminish the intimacy of our relationships. Vulnerability and intimacy go hand and hand; one does not exist without the other.

In Psalm 109, the psalmist was deeply wounded by the accusations of others. In his world, the good will of others and a good reputation were essential to a sense of well-being. While he desires to live in a state of well-being grounded in love, his reality is the opposite of love: fear. Anger is the core attribute of fear, and the psalmist’s cup is running over with his anger. He prayed for vindication and vengeance in a desperate attempt to restore his sense of self-worth.

First, let’s resist the temptation to harshly judge David. Remember, he lived hundreds of years before the Apostle Paul taught the New Testament church about new life in Christ. David was doing his best to live within the religious and cultural norms of his era. However, we can learn a great deal from David’s emotional outpouring in Psalm 109. It was to God that David appealed, for both his vindication, and vengeance in his behalf.

As the followers of Christ, we know that we died to this life, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God. Even so, our sense of well-being is assaulted at times. We do experience fear and anger. Our efforts to stifle these emotions only serve to diminish our relationships with God and with other people. There are times when all of us would do well to follow David’s lead and ventilate our fears and anger. Ventilate to God and then rest in His presence until you can pray Psalm 23, with affection and love for the One who can set you free from your fear and anger.   

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

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Reading for August 19, 2012      Psalm 110