Be Careful What You Ask For

Psalm 35:1-18

English Standard Version (ESV)

Of David.

35 Contend, O Lord, with those who ^(A)contend with me;
    ^(B)fight against those who fight against me!
² Take hold of ^(C)shield and buckler
    and rise for my help!
³ Draw the spear and javelin^[a]
    against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation!”

^4 (D)Let them be ^(E)put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
Let them be ^(F)turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
⁵ Let them be like ^(G)chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
⁶ Let their way be dark and ^(H)slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

⁷ For ^(I)without cause ^(J)they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug ^(K)a pit for my life.^[b]
8 Let ^(L)destruction come upon him ^(M)when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
    let him fall into it—to his destruction!

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
    ^(N)exulting in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my ^(O)bones shall say,
    “O Lord, ^(P)who is like you,
delivering the poor
    from him who is too strong for him,
    the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

^11 (Q)Malicious^[c] witnesses rise up;
    they ask me of things that I do not know.
^12 (R)They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is bereft.^[d]
13 But I, ^(S)when they were sick—
    I ^(T)wore sackcloth;
    I ^(U)afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed ^(V)with head bowed^[e] on my chest.
¹⁴     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
    I ^(W)bowed down in mourning.

¹⁵ But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
    they gathered together against me;
^(X)wretches whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
¹⁶ like profane mockers at a feast,^[f]
    they ^(Y)gnash at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you ^(Z)look on?
    Rescue me from their destruction,
    ^(AA)my precious life from the lions!
¹⁸ I will thank you in ^(AB)the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2035:1%20-%2018&version=ESV)

Be careful what you ask for.  In these scriptures David is once again feeling sorry for himself.  In the previous chapter he was finding comfort in the Lord but in this chapter it seems like life has gotten the best of him and now he just wants his enemies to pay.  Sound familiar?  It is all too familiar with me.  Why is it that we can know that our Lord is the Lord of all comfort yet when we are being wrongfully treated we want to seek revenge?

I have a dear friend that was from another country.  She was forced out of that country by the leader and came to the United States.  Her family had to be separated for a while until all could be settled and they could all legally move to the United States.  The leader of that country died and I said to her, “You must feel relief” but her words will ever ring in my ears, she said, “In some ways yes but he was a human being who had a family so I am a little sad too.”  Wow, she is an amazing woman!  If we only looked at our enemies as human beings who need the Lord, would our prayers be different than this song of David?

So many times we get so wrapped up in what others are doing to us that we forget about what Christ did for not only us but for them as well.  If only they could recognize His love for them and become followers of Christ.  That is what our song should be, redeem them Father, reveal yourself to them.  I have to wonder if someone prayed that prayer for Saul, later the Apostle Paul, as they were being persecuted under his direction, maybe even Stephen.  Stephen, just before being stoned, gave account after account of God’s greatness and how they had turned from it.  They did not listen to him but chose to stone him and Jesus on the cross asked the Father to forgive those who were persecuting Him because they did not know what they were doing.  Yet, when I feel rejected, put down, wrongfully accused . . . I find my request for justice to be noteworthy and expect God to answer and not to linger on.  Wow, that is not who I am called to be.  That is not what any of us are called to be. 

Even David lamented over the death of the one who had chased him and who tried to kill him on numerous occasions. When King Saul died David mourned.  I think at that point I would have felt a sigh of relief but when Saul was taken so was David’s best friend Jonathon. 

We need to keep our anger in check.  We need to keep our wants and our desires in check.  We need to continually seek the Lord and His ways.  It is so hard sometimes to put our full trust in Him and let Him act in His time.  He understands that our wait seems long to us but we can rest assured that He sees the greater picture, we only see a piece.  There is no doubt that our Father loves us but the Kingdom of God is far greater than any of us and first and foremost we should be praying not for revenge but that those who hurt us can see the Lord in all His glory.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila