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PSALM 35 CONTENDING ON YOUR KNEES
Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
1 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.
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.
Although articulated in personal terms, the universal message in this psalm is that when those who are dedicated to the Lord’s ways are attacked by those who reject the Lord, it is proper for the former to cry out to God to reveal the truth by punishing those who are false. The situation the psalmist is experiencing is the cause of the prayer, but the focus of his prayer is clearly on his Lord. His prayer is not, “Strengthen me, O Lord, so I can totally overwhelm and destroy those who wish me harm.” Rather, he is calling on God to intervene directly for God’s own glory.
In a world of religious extremism and self-righteous activism, many of us have jettisoned an important element of the faith in order to appear reasonable and loving. That element is passion. In order to live in peace with all people, we have fallen into the sin of the Church in Laodicea.
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).
We are to be passionate about God and his will. What we are to avoid is taking it upon ourselves to execute God’s justice. If we are passionately in love with God, we cannot avoid being angered by those who reject him. But our fighting posture is to be on our knees and our weapons are to be open hands raised in supplication to the Lord.
Save me, O God from the extremes of vengeful self-righteousness and lukewarm tolerance when I am confronted with apostasy in the Church and God-ward hostility in the world. Give me a passion for you that is so overwhelming that I would not dare take revenge myself, but cry out to you to vindicate yourself so that all the world might know you are the Lord. Amen.