Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹ Be not silent, O God of my praise!
² For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.

⁶ Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
⁸ May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
⁹ May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
¹⁰ May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹ May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹² Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
¹³ May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
¹⁵ Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

²¹ But you, O God my Lord,
    deal 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 stricken 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, with no fat.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag 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!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

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 one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Reflection

• Puzzled and distraught, David listed the crimes of those who wanted to kill him for they returned attack for kindness, tried to corrupt the court, wished for the ruin of his family and lied constantly. So, David wanted God to turn the evil back toward his enemies, to curse and shame them. He appealed to God’s steadfast love and care for the poor and the needy and prayed for his vindication. But he left justice in God’s hands rather than acting vengefully on his own. This is a valuable lesson for us today.
• For most of us, anger is not a comfortable emotion. We know the damage that anger can do, the pain it can cause. We know that we have been hurt, and anger feeds our desire to hurt back. Feeling anger and expressing it honestly to God and to others makes it possible for us to continue growing toward forgiveness.
• What do you usually do when you are angry with someone who is important to you? What anger do you want to express to God today?
• How would expressing your anger to God be helpful to you? How can other people be helpful to you in your struggle with anger?

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the “Spiritual Journal” book.