1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day of your power,
in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
REFLECTION:
This psalm acknowledges God as the eternal King-Priest who will settle all disputes and judge all nations. The New Testament often uses this psalm to refer to Jesus as the Anointed One (Messiah) in the continuing dynasty of David. It refers both to His kingly role (v1, Acts 2:34-35) and the priestly role (v4, Heb. 5:6).
Think about the enemies you have. Picture them and yourself one day coming to Christ the Supreme Justice who will settle all disputes and rule with an iron hand. That means submitting any of your own behaviors and beliefs that are not conformed or submissive to the Lord. How do you feel as you consider this scene?
Whatever battles you are engaged in right now, rest assured that the Lord will ultimately triumph and that the Lord’s army will tackle those problems with you.
What battles or problems can you turn over to Him now for His intercession and judgment?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
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. 3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause. 4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.[a] 5 So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love. 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!… 16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the brokenhearted, to put them to death. 17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
He did not delight in blessing; may it be far[c] from him! 18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
may it soak[d] into his body like water,
like oil into his bones! 19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
like a belt that he puts on every day! 20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
of those who speak evil against my life!
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:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being! 2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn! 3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations. 4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth! 6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
7 God has promised in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth. 8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom? 11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies. 12 Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man! 13 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
REFLECTION:
David began this psalm, which is a prayer for help against Israel’s enemies, with an expression of total confidence in the Lord. David’s very petition was worship, for he knew that “your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds” (v4).
God has promised the victory that David claimed. To “cast my shoe” (v9) represented Israel’s domination of a humbled and submissive Moab. David, even before the battle, so relied on the covenant commitment of God to be with Israel’s armies, that he spoke as if the victories were already won.
This is a great expression of dependence on God and trust in Him for the deliverance He promised. We who are God’s people should face our spiritual enemies with the same humility and confidence.
How has God’s provision or rescue for you in the past given you hope for the future?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
REFLECTION:
The hungry, thirsty and homeless of Judah cried to the Lord. God redeemed, and with unfailing love led them to a city where they could settle.
The pattern seen here is followed in each portrait of redemption. (If time permits, try to read through the whole Psalm.) Calamity leaves God’s people in desperate straits. They cry to God. He rescues them. Each calamity and rescue enriches our understanding of redemption, that we might praise God.
In response to God’s rescue, the psalmist calls us to: “thank the Lord for his steadfast love…” (vv8, 15, 21, 31) Thanksgiving leads us to remember God’s action but, even more, it gives witness to God’s character: His goodness, His steadfast love, etc.
Are you likely to call out to God in the midst of your trouble as those in this passage did? Why or why not?
In what ways can you imitate the goodness of God displayed in this psalm?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
