Cursed and Blessed

How often do curses rain down on the head of godly person!  David experienced this in his own life.  Christ said it would be so.  He indicated a time “When men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”  Simply stated, if we live for Christ, we will suffer the cursing of man.

For what reasons will they curse us?  They will curse us because the light of our testimony for Christ exposes their wicked deeds for being what they are.  They will curse us because the Word of God we proclaim is a rebuke to them.  They will curse us because their father the devil incites them to it.  “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”  While we do not enjoy this cursing, we must realistically expect it.

By contrast, what we very much desire is the blessing of God.  We seek it, hope for it, and pray for it. The text before us sets a contrast between the cursing of man and the blessing of God.  David prays, “Let them curse, but You bless.”  In effect David says, “I can bear the curse of man so long as I have the blessing of God.”

Think of the reverse of this situation.  What value would it be to us if all men spoke well of us, yet we were abiding under the curse of God?  Our life would be wretched, our eternity horrific.  David has his spiritual priorities in order.  He is ready to endure whatever curses his enemies will hurl at him, so long as he can have the certain knowledge that God’s blessing is upon him.  Therefor he prays, “Let them curse, but You bless.”

This is good, simple appropriate prayer for us when we observe our enemies on every side with tongues like swords.  God’s blessing will more than compensate for the most vitriolic cursing.  He can refresh our souls no matter how much abuse they heap upon us.  Our hateful enemies may curse, and our response can be “Let them curse, for I can live with that, so long as I have God’s blessings.”