Psalms 35
Psalms 35:1-28 (NLT)
1 A psalm of David. O LORD, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me.
2 Put on your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
3 Lift up your spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Let me hear you say, “I will give you victory!”
4 Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me; turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
5 Blow them away like chaff in the wind—a wind sent by the angel of the LORD.
6 Make their path dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me. I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let sudden ruin come upon them! Let them be caught in the trap they set for me! Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.
9 Then I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be glad because he rescues me.
10 With every bone in my body I will praise him: “LORD, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
11 Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good. I am sick with despair.
13 Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I denied myself by fasting for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.
14 I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.
15 But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they slander me constantly.
16 They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.
19 Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.
20 They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who mind their own business.
21 They shout, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!”
22 O LORD, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
23 Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
24 Declare me not guilty, O LORD my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
25 Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!”
26 May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor.
27 But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the LORD, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”
28 Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long.
Much of David’s encounters with God were related to victories against threatening enemies. Against the lion and the bear, David was confident that God’s hand was working through him to protect him and his flock. Against Goliath, King Saul, and countless others, he knew that alone he would have been defeated, but because of his covenant with God, his enemies didn’t stand a chance. Now, he is up against voices that persistently mock and threaten, although he has yet to be physically harmed by them. He will surely make it through to the other side of this onslaught, but there rises in him this cray for the same God who delivered in those perilous times to do so now in the flood of discouraging words. It’s like his belief in the covenant causes him to run in the face of physical harm and wilt under the weight of words.
Unlike this period of time, we are on the other side of the cross where every enemy of true darkness was rendered powerless and made of show of openly. While David promised a praise on the other side of deliverance, we are set forever on the other side of a victory that Jesus won for us. We are now seated far above all threats, physical, verbal, and spiritual. Now our key to victory isn’t an easing of onslaught, but rather praising the crushing defeat of the enemy’s best efforts. Rather than fixating on enemy movements, magnifying the ascension of the Master from the grave satan thought he held Jesus in. Our celebration is now about our ascension with Him and that we are forever conquerors in Christ no matter how we are attacked. We won and win endlessly.
David’s heart is shown here as he is describing those who have come against him, yet when they were sick and in need, he prayed and fasted for them, as if they were his brother. Wow.
It’s easy to pray a friend or someone we love with the intensity that David is describing, but how much harder is it to do for someone who hates us? Someone who constantly comes against us, hurts us or looks for our demise?! Praying for those is a true sign of walking in love, in a closeness with the Father, in a relationship with Him that allows you to overcome the flesh and submit to the Spirit.