Always in praise

DEVOTION

PSALMS

ALWAYS IN PRAISE

Ps 35

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. 3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me .Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. 5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away; 6 may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them. 7 Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, 8 may ruin overtake them by surprise — may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. 9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. 10 My whole being will exclaim," Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them."

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. 12 They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn. 13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, 14 I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. 15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; attackers gathered against me when I was unaware. They slandered me without ceasing. 16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. 17 O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. 18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.

19 Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. 20 They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. 21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it."

22 O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord. 23 Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord. 24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me. 25 Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!" or say, "We have swallowed him up."

26 May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. 27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant." 28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.

NIV

There is a lot of prayer here regarding God doing harm to those who would do harm to David. But this whole prayer could also be seen as from Jesus upon the cross. It also could be seen as the struggle between the world and Christians. However, it does not seem right that we should pray God do them so much harm. But it is more of a prophetic prayer, or statement as to what God is going to do those who would attempt to do believers harm. When it really gets down to the core issues of life, those who do not believe, those who refuse to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, hate the idea of living for God. They prefer to live for their own wants and desires. They prefer to live according to their own philosophies of life. They may even ridicule us for having faith in something, or someone unseen. They refute the truth and say the god they believe in accepts all manner of lifestyles, they can live however they desire and their god is alright with it. But their god is of their own making, for their god is not the Almighty God who created all things. They may say theirs is, but it is not God. We say it, because some of them have created a female god, or a god without gender, or a god of whatever they want. They slander the true God. They defame his name. They hate the truth because it is light and the light exposes their sin. They prefer to hide in the darkness, the darkness of their own making, so sin cannot be seen, and if not seen then it is not sin. This psalm speaks of all the disaster that awaits them. But it concludes with the righteous shouting for joy and gladness over the vindication of believers. The Hebrew word order is even better. Let them shout for joy and be glad that favor my righteous cause. We should shout for joy and be glad because of the righteous cause of Christ on the cross. We should shout for joy and be glad because of the righteous cause of another believer. We should pray and say the Lord be exalted because we delight in the well-being of other believers. We should delight in the well-being of others. That would then put aside any of those feelings of jealousy, envy, greed, or selfishness. We would rejoice and shout for joy when someone is blessed by God. Our God is a God of righteousness. Again this speaks of Jesus, everything in this psalm could apply to Jesus, but also to every believer. So let our tongue always be in praise of our God, for what he is doing in our life as well as in the life of others.