Thursday, August 20, 2015

Prayer in suffering

Psalm 69:1-36
Misunderstanding: Those who hate me without reason, many are my enemies without cause.
Confess my sins: You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you. May my folly does not affect God's mercy to others; May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me.
Turn to God: But I pray to you in the time of your favor, in you great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Prayer: In your great mercy turn to me.
Worse situation : I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.
Echoed in the Godpels, descriing Jesus's crucifixion: They put gall(苦膽) in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
To the enemies: pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them.
The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.
This psalm seems to be a battle-march cum processional hymn, maybe sung as the Ark was carried into Jerusalem, or at the ceremony commemorating that event.
The psalm is often quoted in the New Testament. Like Psalm 22 it is a cry for help from one in desperate straits and close to death.
The psalmist's picture in v2, 14-15 could be taken for an actual description of the prophet Jeremiah's case. Verse 34-36 seem to belong specifically to a time following the wholesale destruction of Judean cities, but before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
The psalmist's trouble is through no fault of his own. His suffering is borne for God's sake. He prays that God, in his love, will rescue him before he is totally overwhelmed.
The guilt of his tormentors is clear: may they be punished for all they have done. May God set him free to praise; let the whole earth ring with praise at the restoration of God's people.
Why?
Under suffering and pray to the Lord for my folly and pray God for help. My hope is in the Lord.
There are not reason to be attacked, it is because of the Lord, so pray to the Lord for mercy and his great love and redeem my sins.
Pray to the Lord those wicked be punished for all they have done. God is righteousness.
How?
Pray to the Lord, God is my hope, my fortress and I will praise to the Lord in whole of my life.



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