A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
King David cried out to the Lord for deliverance from his enemies. He did this as he awakened in the morning. He pleaded for judgment on them. There is urgency in his plea accompanied by a sense of confidence that the Lord is listening and will reply. David’s enemies are slandering him and speaking all manner of untruths about him. He describes these enemies as wicked, arrogant, liars, bloodthirsty, and deceitful. For these reasons he knows that his enemies are also the Lord’s enemies for the Lord cannot abide the evil and wicked in His holy presence.
David knows his own weaknesses as well. He knows he can come to the Lord not based on his own merits and good deeds, but only by means of His mercy. He has fear and reverence for the Lord. He has a humble teachable spirit that makes him aware of his limits weaknesses as well as God’s greatness. He knows that assurance and victory come from the Lord’s hand not his own.
It may feel odd for us to pray against our enemies. We are commanded by Jesus to love them and not wish them harm or take vengeance against them. However, we can pray that their deceitful plots against us will fail and fall upon themselves, as David does. And we can and should pray that their downfall leads them to faith in the Lord.
The path to repentance and faith, as we may know from our own experience, is difficult, painful and humiliating as we fight against the self-righteousness that consumes us and refuses to yield to the Lord, to admit defeat or failure. We are often just as arrogant, self-centered, rebellious, and stubborn as our “enemies”. If they remain steadfast in their ungodliness their ultimate end is out of our hands. Until then we are called to always extend God’s lovingkindness to them.