“Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes. But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer” (Psalm 38:12-15).
Lord, David’s commitment not to rebuke his enemies is a valuable lesson to us. When we face threats and attacks we are tempted to fight back. David however describes himself as deaf and mute, communicating that even though he’s heard the attacks of his enemies, he is going to act as if he hadn’t; he is not going to respond. Lord, when it comes to fighting for ourselves, may we also be like David: grant that we might turn a deaf ear to the destructive attacks of others, and turn a mute mouth toward the temptation to speak defensively. Let us trust you; let us wait for you; because, as David has declared: you will answer. When we are silent, you speak. When we entrust our wellbeing to you, we need not fight with our words, but can leave room for you to bring conviction, and for you to vindicate us from every wrongful attack.
Lord, like David, let us not only be muted from speaking self-defensive words, but let the volume be turned up for us to confess our sins, as David does often in this psalm. We need humility in order to live a life of love toward others and worship toward you. Otherwise, in our pride, we will be insufferable, judging others, and praising ourselves more than you.
So often we need to pray for both justice and mercy. We need justice because we are wrongfully attacked and need you to come to our defense. And we need mercy because we too are the people who sin against you and against others. O Lord, you are our help and our salvation. We pray to you, amen.
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