A Psalm of David.
“Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. Also draw out the spear, and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life; let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt. Let them be like chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them. For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my life. Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, and let his net that he has hidden catch himself; into that very destruction let him fall. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
Fierce witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know. They reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced and gathered together; attackers gathered against me, and I did not know it; they tore at me and did not cease; with ungodly mockers at feasts they gnashed at me with their teeth.
Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, my precious life from the lions.
I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies; nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful matters against the quiet ones in the land. They also opened their mouth wide against me, and said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it.”
This You have seen, O Lord; do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, to my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.” Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt; let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who exalt themselves against me.
Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.”
If you were to graph the emotions depicted in this psalm, the results might look like an EKG of someone with ventricular tachycardia with alternating highs and lows. “Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; fight against those who fight against me.” David is under attack, and he is begging God to protect him.
“Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life; let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt. Let them be like chaff before the wind, and let the angel of the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them… And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation.” David recognizes that he needs divine help and divine protection and promises God to be grateful for the help.
“Fierce witnesses rise up; they ask me things that I do not know. They reward me evil for good, to the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.” Nothing is so painful as being betrayed by those whom you have previously helped. When David’s accusers were sick, he prayed and fasted for their healing; now the same people are doing everything they can do to bring him down.
“Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, my precious life from the lions…This You have seen, O Lord; do not keep silence. O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, to my cause, my God and my Lord. Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.” Nothing is so frightening as being caught in a crisis with no means of escape and no signs that God is paying the slightest attention. We can identify with David as he demands, “God! Where are You? Why aren’t You acting? When are You going to deal with these people?”
“Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “Let the Lord be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all the day long.” This psalm ends on a high note, with David affirming hopefully that God WILL deliver him.
APPLICATION: As long as David was simply herding sheep, the only threats he had to worry about were physical threats to the sheep and attacks by wild animals such as lions and bears. But once David became a warrior, King Saul viewed him as a threat to be eliminated as quickly as possible. Repeatedly, David and his men would fight to protect a city, only to have its citizens sidle off to King Saul to report their whereabouts in hopes of of gaining influence with Saul.
Just assume a position of leadership, and you immediately will find you have a target on your back and no shortage of people willing to attack you! One of the challenges of managing any group is to remain flexible and honest while also seeking to follow God’s leading. If we pray this over ourselves, we must first ask God to search our hearts and show us if there is anything we need to confess before we can ask God for justification.
As I am writing this, things continue to heat up in the Middle East. One week ago, Hamas attacked Israel, and now Israel is retaliating. Innocent civilians on both sides are suffering and dying. Cities are being destroyed. How can we possibly apply this psalm under such conditions?
- Remember that God KNOWS human hearts; He knows the righteous.
- We can pray this psalm over all the innocents caught in this conflict.
- We can pray for righteous leadership on all sides.
- We can pray for peace that only God can give.
- We can also beg God to guide us so that we will pray the prayers He wants prayed. God moves in response to our prayers, not to our wishes.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, Your people are dying in a horrible conflict. We pray for all the righteous innocents, that You will protect them. Please bring peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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