Psalm 109:21

Psalm 109:21

Help me for Your name's sake

The anger and vitriol expressed by David against his antagonists has come to an end, he has “vented his spleen” as we say, and now the Psalm changes direction. David looks at himself and the effects of his enemy’s accusations and he begins to plead with the Lord God for help. Perhaps the first point to make here is one we have already considered, that if we are hounded, abused, lied about and cursed by others, the Lord God is ready to hear our complaints, and He will allow us to pour out our anger and our darkest thoughts at His feet. He does not have to be addressed politely all the time, although we should, of course, pay Him the respect that He deserves. God knows our thoughts so what’s the point of trying to hide them from Him? He is willing to hear our cries, to allow us to pour our anger and hurt out before Him. As they say, “a problem shared is a problem halved”, in this case the fractions are stacked far more in our favour!

Once he has verbalized his anger, David is able to plead for help, the situation is beyond him and it has occurred to him, now that he is thinking more rationally, that it is not just his name that has been abused but the name of the Lord. The Lord’s name is the very essence of who He is, it reveals His character. The name of the Lord protects and saves us, it reveals that He is near and not a distant deity and we may hope and trust in that name. David identifies with the name and therefore whatever happens to him is a reflection of that name. And David knows that God is love, that He is good and that He saves His people. I don’t think he is trying to bargain with the Lord here by asking Him to save His reputation, I think that David is simply stating facts, this is the Lord the Sovereign Lord, the Lord who loves His children, and He will deliver! Hallelujah!

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