9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay. NIV
Consider verses 9-10. In terms of
your relationship with God, what do you need to speak out today?
Describe David’s circumstance in
verses 11-12.
Describe the war of math between
verse 12 and verse 5. Who wins this war and how?
Does verse 13 make David a liar in
verse 1? How could crying out for an immediate response to God be an example of
patiently waiting?
Try to find all the different angles
of David’s prayer in verses 13-15:
Try to find all the different angles
of David’s prayer in verses 16-17:
What sudden discovery does David seem
to make in verse 17?
How do the very last words, “do not
delay”, fit together with the very first words of this psalm, “I waited
patiently”?
:::::
APPLICATION CHALLENGE :::::
If you could rewrite verses 16-17 in
your own words, what would you write? What unresolved tension do you need to
actively express to the Lord today… and what truth discovery to you need to
speak out in the process?
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