IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

May God Bless when People Curse

Date: Jun. 25, 2022

Passage

Psalm 109:1-31 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

  Be not silent, O God of my praise!
  For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
  They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me without cause.
  In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer.
  So they reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.
  Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
  When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
  May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
  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 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 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.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 109:4

  In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer.

The Psalmist urges God to intervene for him because of personal attacks and accusations from those he considered his friends. Having ugly rumors spread about us may be one of the most painful kinds of suffering. Then, the psalmist prays for God to curse his accuser, with a detailed description of how he wants him to be utterly crushed and forsaken (6-20). The Psalmist may not be practicing “love your enemy” here, but at least he is taking his struggle to God and not taking revenge with his own hands. Then, he sends an earnest plea for help to God, confessing how weak he is (21-29). When our strength is almost gone, our prayers may not sound very gracious; still, God will answer in the best way. The Psalmist ends with praise for God who saves the needy (30-31).

The apostles understood this Psalm as a description of Jesus’ betrayal and suffering to pay the price for our sins, and of the condemnation that came upon Judas Iscariot. We may take comfort in knowing that Jesus has experienced all the pain that we have, even the pain of betrayal.

Prayer: Prayer: Father, help me pour out my heart to you when I am unfairly treated. Thank you for Jesus who was betrayed in order to take the punishment for our sins.

One Word: One Word: God saves the needy from accusers.

Daily Bread

Joseph is Put in Prison

Genesis 39:13-23

Key Verse: 39:23

The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.

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Intro Daily