In the Bible, “vexed” refers to being troubled, distressed, or agitated, often due to external circumstances or the actions of others. It conveys a sense of emotional turmoil or irritation experienced by individuals, as seen in various passages such as in Genesis 26:35 and Judges 10:16.
Scripture
1 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you torment me
and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
are you not ashamed to wrong me?
4 Even if I have truly erred, my error remains with myself.
5 If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me,
6 know then that God has put me in the wrong
and closed his net about me.
7 Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths.
9 He has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head.
10 They have broken me down on every side; I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary.
12 His troops come on together;
they have cast up their siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent.
13 “He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.”
14 My relatives have failed me,
my close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who dwell in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
17 My breath is strange to my wife,
and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.
18 Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’
and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’
29 be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment.”
Vexed in the Bible: Meaning Explained
The concept of being “vexed” in the Bible speaks to the emotional and spiritual turmoil that arises from conflicts, injustices, or challenges faced by individuals or communities. This term encapsulates a spectrum of distress, from irritation to profound anguish, often linked to the actions of others or adverse circumstances. For instance, in Genesis 26:35, Isaac’s marriage to women who “made life bitter” for him and Rebekah illustrates how personal relationships can lead to emotional vexation due to conflicting values and priorities. Similarly, in Judges 10:16, the Israelites’ cries to God encapsulate a communal vexation; they experience anguish as they grapple with the consequences of turning away from divine guidance, leading to oppression by their enemies.
Moreover, the idea of being vexed serves as a reminder of the human condition and the need for divine intervention in the face of distress. It highlights the significance of seeking solace and resolution through faith, as seen in Psalm 119:143, which states, “Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.” Here, vexation can lead believers to turn back to God and His teachings to find peace amidst turmoil. The broader meaning underscores both the legitimate experience of distress in life while also pointing to the redemptive power of faith and the promise of restoration through God’s presence and guidance. Thus, the idea of being vexed in the biblical context reflects not only the trials of life but also the hope that comes from reliance on divine wisdom and mercy.
The theme of vexation in the Bible not only addresses individual suffering but also reflects broader societal and relational dynamics. For example, in the story of Lot in Genesis, the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah deeply distresses him. In 2 Peter 2:7-8, Lot is described as being “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” This suggests that he was troubled by the moral depravity surrounding him, which highlighted a righteous man’s struggle amidst pervasive sin. Lot’s vexation illustrates the inner conflict believers may experience when their values clash with their environment, prompting them to seek refuge in God’s righteousness.
Moreover, the theme of vexation often intertwines with the call for justice and righteousness seen throughout the prophetic literature. Prophets like Jeremiah express profound dismay over the unfaithfulness of God’s people and the injustices they inflict upon one another. Jeremiah, in his lamentation, articulates the pain of witnessing broken covenant relationships and societal decay, leading to his exasperated cries for repentance and restoration. In this context, vexation embodies not only personal discomfort but also a prophetic burden, calling for acknowledgment of sin and a return to divine principles. Such instances underscore the dual nature of vexation in the biblical narrative, where it becomes both a catalyst for self-reflection and a response to collective moral dilemmas, ultimately driving individuals and communities towards seeking God’s reconciliation and healing.
Emotional Distress and Turmoil
In the Bible, the term “vexed” often conveys a sense of emotional distress or turmoil. It reflects a state of being troubled or agitated, whether due to external circumstances or internal conflicts. This emotional state can arise from various sources, including personal struggles, societal pressures, or spiritual challenges. The depiction of vexation in this context serves to highlight the human experience of suffering and the need for divine intervention or comfort.
Conflict and Strife
Another broader meaning of “vexed” in the biblical context relates to conflict and strife, particularly in interpersonal relationships or communal settings. It can signify the discord that arises between individuals or groups, often leading to disputes or animosity. This aspect of vexation underscores the importance of reconciliation, forgiveness, and the pursuit of peace as central themes in biblical teachings.
Spiritual Discontent
Vexation can also represent a form of spiritual discontent or dissatisfaction. This meaning reflects a struggle with faith, doubt, or the challenges of living a righteous life in a world filled with temptation and sin. Such vexation may lead individuals to seek deeper understanding, guidance, or a renewed commitment to their spiritual journey, emphasizing the transformative power of faith in overcoming life’s challenges.
How to Find Peace Amidst Anguish and Distress
Finding peace amidst anguish and distress can feel like an insurmountable challenge, but as Christians, we are reminded that our faith is a source of profound comfort. In Philippians 4:6-7, we are encouraged to bring our worries to God in prayer, and in return, He promises a peace that surpasses all understanding. When I find myself overwhelmed, I take a moment to breathe deeply and reflect on God’s promises, reminding myself that He is always with me, even in the darkest times. Engaging in prayer, reading scripture, and surrounding myself with a supportive community can transform my perspective, allowing me to see my struggles through the lens of hope. Remember, it’s okay to feel distressed; what matters is how we respond. By leaning into our faith and trusting in God’s plan, we can cultivate a sense of peace that anchors us, no matter the storm we face.
Bible References to Being Vexed:
Psalm 6:1-10: 1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
Psalm 10:1-18: 1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless.
9 He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten; he has hidden his face; he will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear.
18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalm 25:1-22: 1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13 His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred.
20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Psalm 31:1-24: 1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.
4 Rescue me from the hand of my enemy and from my persecutors!
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
6 I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul.
8 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.
11 I am the scorn of my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the whispering of many— terror on every side!— as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
16 Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!
17 O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute, which speak insolently against the righteous in pride and contempt.
19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
20 In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of man; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.
22 I said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
Psalm 42:1-11: 1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.
6 My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 55:1-23: 1 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3 Because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;
7 I would hasten to escape to a distant place,
I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten to escape to the wilderness, to find a lodging place for myself.
9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace.
11 Ruin is in her midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from her streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
15 Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16 But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, because they do not change and do not fear God.
20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant.
21 The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
23 But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
Psalm 69:1-36: 1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 Let their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add guilt to their guilt, and may they not come into your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people 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 up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it.
36 The offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
Psalm 77:1-20: 1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search.
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?”
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion? Selah
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; the flashes of your lightning lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 88:1-18: 1 O Lord, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength.
5 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape.
9 My eye grows dim through sorrow; every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?
15 I am afflicted and close to death from my youth up; I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
Psalm 102:1-28: 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my groaning I am like a desert owl, like an owl of the waste places.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like an owl of the waste places.
7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 My enemies taunt me all the day; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink.
10 Because of your indignation and your anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory.
17 He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
19 For he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth.
20 To hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 That people may declare in Zion the name of the Lord, and in Jerusalem his praise.
22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
24 I say, “O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!”
25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away.
27 But you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.
Psalm 109:1-31: 1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
5 Thus they return me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
10 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 May there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15 Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16 For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him. He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing as his coat; so let it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones.
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself, like a belt that he puts on every day.
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting, and my body has become gaunt.
25 I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
26 Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 That they may know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!
28 But you may be glad when they see your shame, and let them be put to shame.
29 May my accusers be clothed with shame; may they be wrapped in their own guilt as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
Psalm 143:1-12: 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.
Isaiah 63:7-19: 7 I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord,
the praises of the Lord,
according to all that the Lord has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8 For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior.
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit;
therefore he turned to be their enemy,
and himself fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit,
12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,
who divided the waters before them
to make for himself an everlasting name,
13 who led them through the depths?
14 Like livestock that go down into the valley,
the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.
So you led your people,
to make for yourself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.
16 For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
Lamentations 3:1-66: 1 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
2 He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light;
3 Surely against me he turns his hand
again and again the whole day.
4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones;
5 He has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation;
6 He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.
7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy.
8 though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.
10 He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding;
11 He turned to me his hand all the day.
12 He bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow.
13 He pierced my kidneys with his arrows;
14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,
the object of their taunts all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood.
16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever,
32 Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
34 To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
the Lord does not approve.
37 Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
39 Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:
42 “We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.
43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity;”
44 “You have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.”
45 “You have made us scum and garbage
among the peoples.”
46 “All our enemies open their mouths against us;”
47 “Panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction;”
48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite,”
50 till the Lord looks down and sees from heaven.
51 My eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
52 “They chased me like a bird, those who were my enemies without cause;
53 They flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me;
54 water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’
55 “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit;”
56 You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.
57 You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’
58 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.”
59 You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord; judge my cause.
60 You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me.
61 “You have heard their taunts, O Lord,
all their plots against me.”
62 the lips of my assailants and their whispering against me all the day.
63 Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.
64 You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them.
66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.
Ezekiel 13:17-23: 17 “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own minds. Prophesy against them”
18 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?
19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds.”
21 I will tear your veils and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
22 Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life,
23 therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination.
Matthew 15:21-28: 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 But he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
Mark 5:1-20: 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.
12 And they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”
13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.
17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Luke 6:6-11: 6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there.
9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.
11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Luke 8:26-39: 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.
31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
36 Then those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.
37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Acts 16:16-18: 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.
17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Rev. François Dupont is a dedicated church minister with a wealth of experience in serving spiritual communities. With a calm and serene demeanor, he has been devoted to sharing the message of love, compassion, and tolerance for over two decades. Through his thoughtful sermons, compassionate counseling, and unwavering support, Rev. Dupont has touched the lives of countless individuals, allowing them to find solace and strength during difficult times. His serene presence and deep understanding of the human condition make him a trusted guide for those seeking spiritual nourishment and guidance.