Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

Psalm 35 A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
    Fight those who fight against me.
² Put on your armor, and take up your shield.
    Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
³ Lift up your spear and javelin
    against those who pursue me.
Let me hear you say,
    “I will give you victory!”
⁴ Bring shame and disgrace on those trying to kill me;
    turn them back and humiliate those who want to harm me.
⁵ Blow them away like chaff in the wind—
    a wind sent by the angel of the Lord.
⁶ Make their path dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷ I did them no wrong, but they laid a trap for me.
    I did them no wrong, but they dug a pit to catch me.
⁸ So let sudden ruin come upon them!
    Let them be caught in the trap they set for me!
    Let them be destroyed in the pit they dug for me.

⁹ Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
    I will be glad because he rescues me.
¹⁰ With every bone in my body I will praise him:
    “Lord, who can compare with you?
Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
    Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”

¹¹ Malicious witnesses testify against me.
    They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good.
    I am sick with despair.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them.
    I denied myself by fasting for them,
    but my prayers returned unanswered.
¹⁴ I was sad, as though they were my friends or family,
    as if I were grieving for my own mother.
¹⁵ But they are glad now that I am in trouble;
    they gleefully join together against me.
I am attacked by people I don’t even know;
    they slander me constantly.
¹⁶ They mock me and call me names;
    they snarl at me.

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
    Rescue me from their fierce attacks.
    Protect my life from these lions!
¹⁸ Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly.
    I will praise you before all the people.
¹⁹ Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat.
    Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.
²⁰ They don’t talk of peace;
    they plot against innocent people who mind their own business.
²¹ They shout, “Aha! Aha!
    With our own eyes we saw him do it!”

²² O Lord, you know all about this.
    Do not stay silent.
    Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
²³ Wake up! Rise to my defense!
    Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
²⁴ Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice.
    Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
²⁵ Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted!
    Now we will eat him alive!”

²⁶ May those who rejoice at my troubles
    be humiliated and disgraced.
May those who triumph over me
    be covered with shame and dishonor.
²⁷ But give great joy to those who came to my defense.
    Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord,
    who delights in blessing his servant with peace!”
²⁸ Then I will proclaim your justice,
    and I will praise you all day long.

Psalm 36 For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.

¹ Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.^[a]
    They have no fear of God at all.
² In their blind conceit,
    they cannot see how wicked they really are.
³ Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.
    They refuse to act wisely or do good.
⁴ They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.
    Their actions are never good.
    They make no attempt to turn from evil.

⁵ Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
    your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
⁷     How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
    in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
    letting them drink from your river of delights.
⁹ For you are the fountain of life,
    the light by which we see.

¹⁰ Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
    give justice to those with honest hearts.
¹¹ Don’t let the proud trample me
    or the wicked push me around.
¹² Look! Those who do evil have fallen!
    They are thrown down, never to rise again.

Footnotes

1. 36:1 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version, which read in his heart. Masoretic Text reads in my heart.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Psalm 35: Fr. Reardon makes the point that the proper “voice” for this psalm is the Lord Jesus Christ during His passion and death. I find it no “coincidence” that I am writing this reflection and prayer during Holy Week in 2022. My heart is both humbled and strengthened when I listen in as Jesus asks Father God to direct the warrior angels in the cosmic battle for the souls of all mankind. I recommend that the reader of this blog read this psalm aloud and ponder what Jesus might have been thinking and feeling as He prayed this prayer in Gethsemane and on Golgotha.

Psalm 36: Fr. Reardon calls Psalm 36 “a meditative prayer contrasting man’s wickedness with the mercy of God.”* Although some translations refer to the wickedness of others (either singular or plural) most Hebrew manuscripts focus on the wickedness in each person’s own heart. So that is the view this author will take. People need to acknowledge that sin whispers in their own wicked heart, “There is no God.” Blind conceit causes them not to see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely and do good. They lie awake at night plotting wicked actions, not even trying to turn from their evil ways. In contrast, the LORD’s unfailing love reaches beyond the farthest galaxies (beyond a million miles from earth). His righteousness is higher than Mount Everest. God’s justice is deeper than the Mariana Trench. The LORD cares about all His creation–human beings and animals (and the environment). How precious is His unfailing, inexhaustible reservoir of love! All humanity is welcome to shelter under God’s protection. He feeds them, houses them, and offers them a drink from His river of delights. The LORD God is the fountain of life and the light that allows people to even see. All that is required to receive this unfailing love and true justice is an honest heart that loves Him back, especially by loving His other children. God won’t let the proud and wicked trample His loved ones or push them around (even if it’s their own sinful nature). See how evil is conquered by God’s great mercy! Christ’s victory is so complete evil will never be able to raise its ugly head again!

*Christ in the Psalms by Patrick Henry Reardon, p. 67-70. 

Prayer: Dear Great, Awesome and Loving Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–God, thank You, Jesus, that You suffered all the following: being mocked, ridiculed, prosecuted, beaten, starved (deprived of water), tortured, and crucified for my sake to save my soul from being separated from You forever in Hell. The most miraculous thing about it is that You did this on behalf of all human beings’ (including my own) “deliberate ignorance of, even [our] resolved hatred of God” [Yourself]. * It was the ultimate display of Your vast mercy, grace, and love. There is nothing more important or powerful that I can do for those who are suffering than reading Psalm 35 aloud and pondering what persecuted Christians around the world might be thinking and feeling as they pray this psalm while being mocked, ridiculed, prosecuted, beaten, starved, tortured, or martyred for Christ. I take the occasion to do that now. Sin whispers in my own wicked heart, “There is no God.” Blind conceit causes me not to see how wicked I really am. Everything I say is crooked and deceitful. I refuse to act wisely and do good. I lie awake at night plotting wicked actions, not even trying to turn from my evil ways. In contrast, O LORD, Your unfailing love reaches beyond the farthest galaxies (beyond a million miles from earth). Your righteousness is higher than Mount Everest. Your justice is deeper than the Mariana Trench. You care about all Your creation–human beings and animals (and the environment). How precious is Your unfailing, inexhaustible reservoir of love! All humanity is welcome to shelter under Your protection. You feed us, house us, and offer us a drink from Your river of delights. You are the fountain of life and the light that allows us to even see. All that is required to receive this unfailing love and true justice is an honest heart that loves You back. Help me to show it by loving Your other children as well. Please don’t let the proud and wicked trample me or push me around (even if it’s my own sinful nature). I see how evil is conquered by Your great mercy, O God! Christ’s victory is so complete sin will never be able to raise its ugly head again! AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

• I will read Psalm 35 aloud and ponder what Jesus might have been thinking and feeling as He offered it as a prayer in Gethsemane and on Golgotha.
• I will read Psalm 35 aloud and ponder what persecuted Christians around the world might be thinking and feeling as they pray it while being mocked, ridiculed, prosecuted, beaten, starved, tortured, or martyred for Christ.
• I will read the prayer above aloud and rejoice in its truth, sharing it with at least one other person this week.
• I will acknowledge the wickedness of my own heart while claiming the vastness of God’s unfailing mercy, grace, and love.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.