November 20
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CURSES TO THOSE WHO CURSE
May the guilt of his fathers be remembered before the LORD,
And do not let the sin of his mother be wiped out.
15 May they be before the LORD continually,
So that He may eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the afflicted and needy person,
And the despondent in heart, to put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it entered his body like water, and like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly wears around himself.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
And of those who speak evil against my soul. – Psalm 109:14-20
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According to enduringword.com, In verse 20, David hoped that the sins of his enemy’s ancestors would also be held against his enemy, and that the remembrance of those sins would be continually before the LORD. In verse 16, David’s enemy and his companions despised the goodness David extended to them (which goes back to verse 5). Yet the hateful ways went beyond the wrong done to David; he also persecuted the poor and needy. This merciless cruelty to the broken in heart was completely contrary to the nature of God. Psalm 34:18 says that The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart and in Psalm 51:17, it says that God never despises a broken heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come to him: David’s prayer was rooted in simple justice. He wanted God to do to this enemy what that guilty man had done to others. David wanted the man to be clothed with curses. According to Spurgeon, retaliation, not for private revenge, but as a measure of public justice, is demanded by David and deserved by the crime. Surely the malicious man cannot complain if he is judged by his own rule, and has his corn measured with his own bushel.” David’s heart is full of compassion and mercy to the poor.
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REFLECTION
• Why is David so adamant at getting justice for injustice to the poor in spirit?