Psalm 71:4

Psalm71:4

Deliver me, my God

Some of us were bullied when we were younger. I lived in fear of a number of older, bigger boys who liked to flaunt their strength and their physical dominance and because I didn’t fit into their social class, I had to put up with their taunts. The trouble is, there were one or two who took this further and laid in wait, they would push me to the ground and use their fists to intimidate and provoke me. Verbal bullying is bad enough, physical abuse is extremely unpleasant, and I wish I had been aware of this verse at the time! (Not that young boys could fully understand the import of an obscure text in the middle of the Psalms!)

I wonder if there is someone reading this who has experienced violence of this kind, who experiences it even now? You live under the dominance of another individual and he or she uses bullying and physical force to express their control over you. If that is so, then maybe this verse is the starting point on your journey to freedom. What is happening is wicked, it is cruel, and it is evil. 

If we are aware of people who carry such a burden and are cowed and broken by abuse, and we don’t know what to do, this prayer is a good place to start. “Deliver ….. my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.”

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