The Blessing and Suffering of the Godly
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.
I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it.
All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt. “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.
As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.” Jesus told his disciples, “ Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” There is a common saying that “What goes around, comes around.” No matter how you express it, the laws of God’s kingdom are simple: actions have consequences.
“I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.” My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt. “An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.
” Whatever David has done, he is truly repentant; unfortunately, his enemies have gotten wind of his failure and are making capital of it. Even someone whom David has trusted has proven to be a traitor, sniffing out all the dirt he can find against David so he can run out and gossip about it. According to the rumors, David is suffering from some loathsome terminal disease from which he will die miserably. But David is trusting that his enemies will not triumph.
“As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.” David ends his psalm by praising God for continuing to favor him, despite the threats of his enemies.
APPLICATION: This psalm is short but very powerful. Look at the promises when we care for the poor and weak: God promises deliverance from trouble, preservation of our lives, blessings on the earth, deliverance from enemies, strength and sustenance when we are sick.
But what about the innocents in the Middle East who are dying? What about refugees in Sudan? What about poor and needy throughout the world? Do these promises work in crisis situations?
Either God’s promises work all the time, or they are false. Yes, these promises work. But there is still a great deal of evil in the world, and good people may suffer at the hands of the wicked. In 1978 Edith Schaeffer published a book titled Afflication. At the time, Schaeffer’s famous husband Francis was suffering from the lymphoma that eventually killed him. The main point of this book was that in the end, we will find that the grace of God has been proven sufficient for any kind of problems. There are those who are miraculously healed or delivered, demonstrating that God is powerful enough to do these things. But there are also those who are not healed or delivered miraculously but who are given the strength and the courage to endure, demonstrating that God’s power is also sufficient for those situations as well.
Even though God delivered David on many occasions, when David sinned, God allowed him to suffer the consequences and his family was ripped apart when two different sons rebelled attempting to seize the throne.
A popular song years ago said, “I never promised you a rose garden.” God never promises us rose gardens, but He does promise that He will help us. As Edith Schaeffer avowed, God’s grace is sufficient for all occasions.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You even when things are difficult. Let all who trust in You never be ashamed. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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