Get Ready
Have you ever been angry with God? What were you angry about? Did you talk with God about your feelings? How did you end up dealing with your anger? Have you ever thought God was unfair to you? Did you pray about these feelings? How did you deal with this issue?
The Word
22 Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon
To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
58 3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
they err from their birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into
slime;
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
69 Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.
Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
. . .
9 It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help
14 rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up, or the Pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress —
make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies. NRSV
Get into the Word:
1. What is the situation of Psalm 51? What three things is David asking from God? Why does he need this from God [get details at 2 Samuel 11]? What is he depending on when he asks?
2. What is the psalmist (probably David) talking about in Psalm 58? How does he describe his subjects? Why do you suppose he chose to use these images?
3. What does the writer want God to do to these people? Why would he ask God for these types of harm? Which image strikes you as the strongest? Why? When does he want this to happen?
4. Who is the speaker in Psalm 69? How does he describe his situation? What are the predominant images? How do you respond to these metaphors?
5. How does the psalmist describe his enemies? How does he describe his relationship with God? How is God involved with the speaker’s enemies?
6. What does the psalmist want God to do? When should these things happen? Why is the writer confident this will happen? What is he relying on?
Get Personal
What image do you have of God when you pray? How confident are you? How often do you ask God for something? How often does God respond the way you expect?
Notes . . .
51:1. Mercy — acting favorably to someone who does not deserve it, also translated “compassion” or “forgiveness.”
Steadfast love — David had experienced God’s love in the past, he trusted God would love in the future.
Blot out — actually a legal term: “remove from the record.”
51:2. Wash me — a fairly common image for forgiveness in the Bible.
Cleanse me — echoes the ritual purification required in the Law.
58:6. Break the teeth — the writer calls on God to punish the leaders: without teeth animals of prey cannot attack and eat their victims; grass that is pressed down (“trodden”) will die; without water snails dry up in their shells.
NOTE: this type of request is known as an Imprecation – a curse or request that someone else suffer harm (often in order to make up for harm done to the requester). The New Testament also contains imprecations [check Matt 26:23-24, Gal 1:8-9, 1 Tim 4:14, Rev 6:10].
69:1. Waters . . . — David uses the image of drowning to describe his situation.
69:3. Throat . . . eyes — he then describes two actual symptoms: a dry, parched throat from crying, and dimming eyesight from waiting.
69:4. Hairs of my head — Jesus referred to this image.
69:5. You know — David knows that he is not innocent, either, but he asks God not to punish the people for his own sins.
69:7. For your sake — David’s actions to honor God have caused his enemies to attack him.
69:9. Zeal for your house — John refers to this when Jesus drives the money-
changers out of the temple [John 2:17]. Paul cites the second phrase in Romans 15:3, about Jesus’ sacrificial approach.
69:13. Acceptable time — even though David wants God to save him quickly, he realizes God’s time is not necessarily equal to our time (but he still asks God to “make haste” in v. 17).
69:15. Pit — usually a reference to “the place of the dead.”
69:21. Gave me vinegar — the same thing will happen to Jesus on the cross [Matt 27:28, Mark 15:36, Luke 23:36, John 19:29].
Memory Verse
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.
Psalm 51:1
Next Lesson
Psalm 145: Praise
