Written by: Laura Laryea
Psalm 35 v 1-3
LORD, battle with those who battle with me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
Pick up the shield and armour.
Rise up and help me.
Lift up your spears, both large and small, against those who chase me.
Tell me, "I will save you."
Notes
This is a royal psalm in which the king is being falsely accused of breaking
his treaty obligation by allies who are looking for an excuse to attack him.
In this passage his words are desperate, honest and humble; he recognises
his own weakness and knows that only God can save him (v 3).
As a young child, my hand was so small in my dad's hand; he felt so strong, and I believed without a doubt that if I was ever in trouble he would protect me. It was the same for my mum; if ever I had a problem, I believed that I could tell her what it was and she would give me an answer to fix it. As I got older, I realised that my parents couldn't save me from all troubles, but I learnt that God can. The Bible says, "Our God is a God who saves us" (Psalm 68 v 20), "he is able always to save" (Hebrews 7 v 25), but he still requires us to come as children (see Matthew 18 v 3).
Where do you go to in times of trouble? To friends, family or to your heavenly Father? God says, "All people everywhere, follow me and be saved. I am God. There is no other God" (Isaiah 45 v 22).
Prayer
Lord, help me honestly and humbly to come to you first when I have troubles,
to come to you as a child and to trust that you will save me. Amen
Psalm 35 v 4-10
Make those who want to kill me be ashamed and disgraced.
Make those who plan to harm me turn back and run away.
Make them like chaff blown by the wind as the angel of the LORD forces them
away.
Let their road be dark and slippery as the angel of the LORD chases them.
For no reason they spread out their net to trap me; for no reason they dug
a pit for me.
So let ruin strike them suddenly.
Let them be caught in their own nets; let them fall into the pit and die.
Then I will rejoice in the LORD; I will be happy when he saves me.
Even my bones will say, "LORD, who is like you?
You save the weak from the strong, the weak and poor from robbers."
Notes
WHAT? That doesn't sound very Christ-like. What happened to Love Your Neighbour?
Those were my first thoughts when I read this passage, but then I started to think a bit more. I envisioned people who have spent years in detention camps suffering torture and deprivation; the sad, dull eyes of the orphan whose parents died in war; the woman who is scared every time she hears the door open for fear of another night's entertainment of beatings; and I started to imagine the feelings of the psalmist. His God, our God, is the same God of these people who are oppressed today; he is the same God who freed the Israelites from the Egyptians; the same God who shook the prison walls and freed Paul and Silas (Acts 16 v 25-26). He is indeed the God who understands oppression; he must regularly hear today similar cries to that of the psalmist to chase away enemies (v 6), to let ruin strike them down and to make them fall and die (v 8).
George Knight says it perfectly when he says, "The unhappy soul takes it for granted that his enemies are God's enemies. He forgets that they too are unfortunate human beings… If we had suffered long and horribly at the hands of cruel people, would we not echo the words of the psalmist?"
Prayer
Lord, help me to understand the cries of those who are oppressed, not to judge
them (saying they are not very Christian), but to have compassion for them.
Amen
Psalm 35 v 11-18
Men without mercy stand up to testify.
They ask me things I do not know.
They repay me with evil for the good I have done, and they make me very sad.
Yet when they were sick, I put on clothes of sadness and showed my sorrow by
going without food.
But my prayers were not answered.
I acted as if they were my friends or brothers.
I bowed in sadness as if I were crying for my mother.
But when I was in trouble, they gathered and laughed; they gathered to attack
before I knew it.
They insulted me without stopping.
They made fun of me and were cruel to me and ground their teeth at me in anger.
Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from their attacks; save me from these people who are like lions.
I will praise you in the great meeting.
I will praise you among crowds of people.
Notes
Have you ever felt betrayed or let down by someone you really care about? How
have you reacted? The psalmist obviously felt tremendous hurt and sadness.
He cried out to God for help.
Similarly, Jesus felt this betrayal. He knew at the last supper before he would be crucified that the men who had been like family to him, who had spent each day together, would either betray him or deny him. He knew that Judas would betray him "with evil for the good I have done" (v 12), but what was his reaction?
I know what my reaction would be. I would probably burst out in anger against my so-called friends, scream abuse at them or strut out of the room, vowing never to speak to them again. Thankfully, however, that was not Jesus' response. His response was to wash their feet, to humbly kneel before those he knew would betray him and serve them (see Matthew 20 v 28 for Jesus' attitude). The same person who put the stars in the sky, knelt down and washed the dirt from their feet, and in doing so forgave them in advance.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for your example. Help me to be like you by putting my pride
aside and humbly forgiving those who hurt me. I can only do this with your
strength, so please help me. Amen
Psalm 35 v 19-21
Do not let my enemies laugh at me; they hate me for no reason.
Do not let them make fun of me; they have no cause to hate me.
Their words are not friendly but are lies about peace-loving people.
They speak against me and say, "Aha! We saw what you did!"
Notes
I am a big fan of the card game Top Trumps. I often play it with my husband
and set down the challenge that I am unbeatable; I am obnoxiously cocky and
probably quite annoying.
Although this is a joke in our family, I can imagine that the accusers of the psalmist were much the same. In some translations the Bible says that they had a "wink in the eye" (v 19) as if to say "he's already been beaten", and their mouths were "open wide" (v 21), which is usually a sign of mockery. The words of the psalmist sound desperate and lonely; these people were mocking him specifically, trying to make a fool out of him.
There are many examples in the Bible of Christians being persecuted for their faith. Jesus knew that people would mock his followers and so encouraged us with words such as: "Those who are treated badly for doing good are happy" (Matthew 5 v 10). It is through persecution that we have the honour of suffering like Jesus.
A friend told me of a time when her non-believing family continuously mocked her faith, saying that it was just a phase she was going through and that she would get over it. Three years later she is still walking with Jesus and her family have a deep respect for her and her faith.
If you are being mocked for your faith in Jesus, whether subtly or blatantly, remember Jesus experienced it too. His home town of Nazareth rejected him (see Matthew 13 v 53-58). He was ultimately rejected on the cross, but his obedience to do God's will in the face of abuse and mocking has paid for our freedom. You don't know what God will do through you in the face of persecution.
Prayer
Lord God, help me to love those who jeer at me. Help me to be an example in
the way that I live, and help me to rejoice in times of trouble because then
I will grow and be more like you. Amen
Psalm 35 v 22-25
LORD, you have been watching. Do not keep quiet.
Lord, do not leave me alone.
Wake up! Come and defend me!
My God and Lord, fight for me!
LORD my God, defend me with your justice.
Don't let them laugh at me.
Don't let them think, "Aha! We got what we wanted!"
Don't let them say, "We destroyed him."
Notes
Have you ever cried out to God, "Where are you?" I worked in one
of the hardest areas in inner London for three years, with broken and tough
young people. Many times I lay in bed after listening to their stories and
cried out to God, "Where are you?" But like this psalmist I trusted
that God was watching (v 22).
Before Jesus' death he cried out to God too, asking, "if it is possible, do not give me this cup of suffering" (Matthew 26 v 39). It is a prayer of praise to cry out to God seeking earnestly for him; it is the honest prayer of a child who desperately needs an answer and expects one.
It is God's will, however, how he will answer. We cannot always understand God's ways. Isaiah 55 v 8 reads: "My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways." We only see the small picture. Someone once told me that it is as if we are looking at a tapestry from the other side; all we see are the knots and messy thread ends, but God sees it from the top and is sewing the perfect picture. Romans says, "We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8 v 28).
Are you ready to hear God's voice if it means sacrifice, or if the answer is different to what you want it to be? Are you ready to be obedient, like Jesus, if God tells you that he will not take the cup from you? Knowing that God will not give me more can I can bear (see 1 Corinthians 10 v 13), and knowing that he is sewing the perfect picture, makes me want to obey him completely.
Prayer
Father, help me to listen to your will; to be ready to obey you and trust you
completely. Help me to be more and more like Jesus so that I will be ready
to bear the cup that you may have for me. Amen
Psalm 35 v 26-28
Let them be ashamed and embarrassed, because they were happy when I hurt.
Cover them with shame and disgrace, because they thought they were better than
I was.
May my friends sing and shout for joy.
May they always say, "Praise the greatness of the LORD, who loves to see
his servants do well."
I will tell of your goodness and will praise you every day.
Notes
Verse 27 describes how God is happy when his servants prosper. The New King
James Version of the Bible says that the Hebrew word translated here as "prosperity" carries
a much fuller meaning: "safety, wellness, happiness, healthiness, peacefulness".
In the first year of my marriage, my husband and I were both in ministry. Many people often wondered out loud how we could afford to live and pay our bills. In fact, the reality is that we have always had enough … and more. God has always provided for us financially, but more than that, he has led us to be at the right place at the right time, knowing what is best for us, he has healed us when we have been sick, made places for us to rest when we have needed it, and given us peace in times of worry or difficulty.
I used to think that the Christian life was about hardship and struggles. Though there are seasons for these things, so that God can help us grow, God is in fact our loving Father. The Bible says that if your sinful, human father wants to give you good gifts, how much more does your heavenly Father want to give you good gifts (see Matthew 7 v 11). Receiving prosperity (in the wider sense of the word) is often directly related to sowing "seed" in God's kingdom. Jesus said: "Give and it will be given to you" (Luke 6 v 38, New King James Version).
Prayer
Today, remember to thank God for the prosperity that he gives to you, for safety,
wellness, happiness, healthiness and peacefulness. Amen
Psalm 36 v 1-4
Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts.
They have no fear of God.
They think too much of themselves so they don't see their sin and hate it.
Their words are wicked lies; they are no longer wise or good.
At night they make evil plans; what they do leads to nothing good.
They don't refuse things that are evil.
Notes
These verses seem to sum up the current thinking of most of today's society
- a life without God, where many do not accept a higher authority than their
own. The opposite is to live a life with God, to hate sin, fear God, refuse
evil things and make good plans. The verses are very black and white, expressing
a hatred of sin (v 2), not just an acceptance of it, and a fear of God (v
1), not just a respect for him.
I once asked my previous youth group how they thought of God - as a loving Father and friend, or as Lord and Saviour? They all replied "Father and friend". Whilst this is indeed an important aspect of God's character, he is also the creator of the heavens and the earth (see Genesis 2 v 1-2), the one who conquered death to bring us victory (see 2 Timothy 1 v 10), and in acknowledging his sovereignty and power we learn to be obedient to him.
Exodus reveals how God freed the Israelites from the captivity and slavery of the Egyptians, and he gave them manna and quail to eat in the desert when they had no food. Despite these things they continued to moan and disobey God. Because of their lack of fear of him they continued to sin and so did not leave the desert and reach the promised land. It took the next generation to get it right and only they entered the promised land.
How do you think of God? Do you recognise God's power and authority? Do you hate your sin or just put up with it? Yes, God is forgiving, but do you want to miss out on the promised land because of your sin and lack of fear of God?
Prayer exercise
Meditate for a moment on who God is. Ask him to help you see all aspects of
his character, and in doing so, to be obedient to him.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes