All through the O.T. and N.T. God’s people have ever been an oppressed people, in one way or another. This psalm is an expression of this fact. It is a wail; a lament…they have greatly oppressed me.

REALITY OF OPPRESSION…1-4

Hebrew tsarar means To cramp, To tie up,  To bind. To oppress; To afflict.

Oppression; Persecution; Affliction. Squeezed; Imprisoned. Tied up; Burdened; Weighed down; Worried; Under attacked, besieged; In Bondage; Stressed out are all possible translations of the word. All involve suffering of one sort or the other.

Different Forms of Oppression:-

• Persecution.
• Mental & emotional distress
• Doubt.
• Satanic inspired oppression.

RESPONDING TO OPPRESSION. 5-8 When going gets tough…ask questions. Am I in the right place? Where is God in all this? Maybe I’m on the wrong path… John the Baptist…in prison…doubted.

• Not retaliation. Revenge
• Not Fatalism. Resignation
• Not compromise. Fit in; Keep quiet. Luke warm.
• Not apostasy. Turn your back and run.
• Not sentimental love.

Pray for their defeat! May their oppression not last. May it be brief and ineffective

LEARNING FROM OPPRESSION

Patience; long suffering…endurance…maturity. James 1:1ff

Endurance; Perseverance; Patience; Stick-to-it-iveness; Strength; Long Suffering.

God is righteous; not only right, but right relationship with creatures.

BUT GOD…Theology.

Heb 12:1-2…Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…

Heb 12:4…In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:-

• Differentiate between persecution in general and persecution specifically for being a Christian. What are the differences?

• Share ways in which you have experienced opposition for being a Christian.
• What things could help us respond correctly to persecution?
• Think of those you could pray for who are experiencing great oppression.