WHAT ARE YOU UP AGAINST?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, “I am your salvation.”

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise — may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in His salvation. My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me.

How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise You. Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.”

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

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. 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.” My tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praises all day long.

Psalm 35

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Life isn’t always easy. And just as sure as we’ll have good experiences, we can bank on the fact we’ll also have our fair share of challenges. Sometimes those challenges come one at a time; sometimes they come in waves. Sometimes they come and go in short order; sometimes we have to persevere for years.

And so I ask today: what are you up against? What things in life are bring you difficulty?

David’s life was no different from our own. Although he was a king appointed by God Himself, he still endured a lot of hardship. Look at the scripture from the 35^th Psalm:

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, “I am your salvation.”

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise — may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin. Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in His salvation. My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved. Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother. But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge. They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me.

How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise You. Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye. They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.”

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

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. 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.” My tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praises all day long.

David’s own words reveal the trials he was facing, the matters of life he was up against. Consider his problems:

- Death. “May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame.”

- Scheming. “May those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.”

- Entrapment. “Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise — may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.”

- False witnesses. “Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about.”

- Evil. “They repay me evil for good and leave me like one bereaved.”

- Attack. “But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.”

- Slander. “They slandered me without ceasing.”

- Mocked. “Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me.”  

Yes, David went through a lot of adversity and opposition. Maybe you can relate to some of what he was going through.

Ever had someone scheme against you? Or give false witness about you? Or slander or mock you?

How about evil? Ever experience evil actions from another? Ever felt like you were under attack? Maybe you might have had your life threatened at some time.

I think we can see we all have a lot in common with David when we really think about it.

So how did David get through all this? How did he manage to navigate through a life that took him into peril and danger?

The answer is pretty obvious. He turned to the Lord, the only source of help David knew could help him in his need. We know that by his words from this psalm. Look again at the scriptures as they reveal the following ways David revealed his reliance on the Lord:

1. David knew the Lord was his only hope. 

“Lord, You have seen this; do not be silent. Do not be far from me, Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.”

If David had any chance, it would be because the Lord was contending for him.

2. David placed his trust in the Lord and no one else.

“Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God; do not let them gloat over me.”

Only the Lord could vindicate or defend David.

3. David didn’t know when the Lord would move but he had the faith He would move.

“Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me.”

Yes, David placed his trust in God and God alone, taking refuge in the only One who could save him. David knew of God’s amazing omnipotence and trusted in Him to move in His appointed way and at His appointed time, all in the spirit of working out good for His servant, the one He called from being a mere shepherd boy to become king over His chosen people.

Truly, as David would exclaim after God brought deliverance, ““Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” In other words, God is there for us in our times of need.

Friends, we will face difficulty and hard times in life but we, like David, cannot act as if we’re defeated. For we have an Almighty God who is for us, who promised us He would never leave us nor forsake us. This God expects that we will trust Him for who He is and embrace the promise that nothing is impossible with Him. And this God will contend for and deliver those who place their full hope and trust in Him.

Life will bring much against us and the road we must travel will seem treacherous at times. But the good news is that we never walk alone for God is with us and who can stand against us when He is by our side? (Romans 8:31)

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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