Devotional Reading From Psalm 35:1-14
Psalm 35:1–14
A Psalm of David.
1 Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me:
Fight against them that fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for mine help.
3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me:
Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul:
Let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
5 Let them be as chaff before the wind:
And let the angel of the Lord chase them.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery:
And let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit,
Which without cause they have digged for my soul.
8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares;
And let his net that he hath hid catch himself:
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord:
It shall rejoice in his salvation.
10 All my bones shall say,
Lord, Who is like unto thee,
Which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him,
Yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
11 False witnesses did rise up;
They laid to my charge things that I knew not.
12 They rewarded me evil for good
To the spoiling of my soul.
13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:
I humbled my soul with fasting;
And my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother:
I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
Yet again we find David coming to God for deliverance from people who have mistreated him, have lied about him, that rejoice at his failures and rewarded his good friendship with something bad. We all have had this happen to us haven’t we? We all have had someone that we thought was close to us turn against us. I have people in my life who I have tried to help that hate me. I have some “friends” who were only there to find fault in me then and rejoice in their discovery of what we all knew was there. Why? Maybe they wanted to find a failure in a follower of Jesus so they can use that as a reason to go the other way or maybe it is just human nature. Could it be that we have something within us that wants to prove ourselves superior to others? Could it be that we think we will build ourselves up by tearing others around us down? Either way, it hurts. When the people you thought were there for the long haul leave it hurts. What can we do about it? I don’t think you can fix it on your own. David asked God to plead his cause. David didn’t seek revenge on these people but instead asked God to take care of them. The most important thing that he did is found in verse 9 and 10. “…my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation”. My Lord was faithful to those that forsook him when in his earthly life. He has been faithful to me when I have forsaken him. He was even forsaken by the Father so I could be accepted in him. He knows what I am going through and is there for me when I feel alone. I rejoice in him. He is my example and he is my faithful friend that sticks closer than a brother.
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