22 May their table before them become a snare;
And [o]when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p]camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have [q]wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
And may they not come into Your righteousness.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be [r]recorded with the righteous.29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart [u]revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 The [v]descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
This passage continues on with the psalmist praying that God would judge the wicked. But not just your average hooligan, these are people preying on and taking advantage of those who are already destitute. They see the weak, and they pounce on them without hesitation. So it is no wonder that the psalmist says, “I am afflicted and in pain…”
Yet instead of dwelling on that singular fact, rather than wallow in the mud, the psalmist begins to praise God with song and thanksgiving. How is that even possible? The answer lies in perspective. The wicked folks we begin with have eyes only for themselves. They care not who their victims are, but only seek their own gain.
The writer, on the other hand, has already expressed his concern for his fellow man, for those persecuted by evildoers, and even those wounded by (gasp) God himself. With eyes fixed outward then, the writer lifts his eyes to God. “The humble have seen it and are glad…” Seen what? The salvation of God, whether in their own lives, or in His word, or in the lives of others.
We know the God we serve, that He “hears the needy” and does not despise his children, even if they should be held captive or in prison. My kids were singing one of my favorite hymns this morning “Count your Blessings”. Like this psalm, it is a reminder that even when we are “tempest tossed, discouraged, and think all is lost, God is still in control.
If we take the time to look at what God has done, we will remember that He has worked miracles on our behalf, and that our troubles are only temporary, difficult as they may be. Our reward is eternal, and God will give us strength to endure until we see the day of His salvation.