- Blessings follow those ‘who have regard for the weak’ (v.1) – those who care, for example, about the poor, the hungry, the sick, the addicts and those in prison. This should be a characteristic of those who follow the Lord. If you care for the poor, God promises to deliver you in times of trouble, to protect you, to preserve your life and to bless you (v.2). He promises to sustain you and to heal you (v.3). But these blessings from God do not go uncontested.
- Contested by trouble, sickness and slander
There may be ‘times of trouble’ (v.1b). There may be ‘foes’ (v.2b). There may be periods of ‘illness’ (v.3). There may be enemies: ‘they speak falsely, while their hearts gather slander; then they go out and spread it abroad’ (v.6).
Being aware that there are enemies around should put you on guard. There are some, for example, who come to ‘gather slander’. They are on a fishing expedition to find gossip against you so that they can go out and ‘spread it abroad’. But God promises his blessing and that he will ‘not surrender’ you (v.2b).
One of the encouraging things about the psalm is that this blessing of protection does not seem to be dependent on you always getting it right. David is very aware of his own sin, crying out to God for mercy and healing where he has fallen short (v.4).
Lord, thank you for all the blessings you have poured out on me. Thank you for your promise to deliver me in times of trouble, sickness and slander
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