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Psalm 35 Prayed
Praying
for vindication
Contend, O Lord Jesus, with
those who contend
with
me;
fight
against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and buckler;
arise
and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin
against
those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I
am your salvation.”
May those spiritual forces
who
seek to destroy my faith
be
disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be
turned back in dismay.
May Satan and his tormentors
be
like chaff before the wind,
with
you, the angel of the Lord
driving
them away;
may their path be dark and
slippery,
with
you, the angel of the Lord, pursuing them.
They hid their net for you
without cause
and
without cause dug a pit for you,
but by the victory of the
cross,
ruin
has overtaken them by surprise—
the net they hid has entangled
them,
they
have fallen into the pit, to their ruin.
For this was your Father’s
secret wisdom,
a
wisdom that has been hidden,
and that you destined for our
glory,
before
time began,
None of the demonic rulers of
this age understood it,
for
if they had they would not have crucified
you,
the Lord of glory.
My soul will rejoice in you, Lord
Jesus
and
delight in your salvation.
My whole being will exclaim,
“Who
is like you, O Lord?
You rescue the poor from those
too strong for
them,
the
poor and needy from those who rob them.”
During your trials, O Jesus,
the
chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin
were
looking for false evidence against you
so
that they could put you to death.
But they did not find any,
though
ruthless witnesses came forward;
They questioned you on
things you knew nothing
about.
They repaid you evil for good
and
left your soul forlorn.
Yet when they were ill, you put
on sackcloth
and
humbled yourself with fasting.
If your prayers returned to you
unanswered,
you
went about mourning
as
though for your friend or brother.
You bowed your head in grief
as
though weeping for your mother Mary.
After the soldiers had mocked you,
they
took off the robe
and
put you own clothes on him.
Then they led you away to
crucify you.
But when you stumbled
as
they were going out,
they met a man from Cyrene,
named Simon,
and
they forced him to carry the cross.
They gathered in glee;
attackers
gathered against you when you were
unaware.
They
slandered you without ceasing.
Like the ungodly they
maliciously mocked;
they
gnashed their teeth at you.
Those who passed by hurled
insults at you,
shaking
their heads and saying,
“So! You who are going to
destroy the temple
and
build it in three days,
come down from the cross
and
save yourself!”
Even one of the criminals who
hung there
hurled
insults at you:
“Aren’t you the Christ?
Save
yourself and us!”
But your Father remained your hope, O
Jesus,
you
could cry out to him:
“O Lord my Father, how long will you look on?
Rescue
my life from their ravages,
my
precious life from these lions.”
Yet even then, this was your
confidence,
your
hope beyond the grave:
“I will give you thanks, O my
Father,
in
the great assembly of heaven;
among
throngs of people I will praise you.”
But even as you suffered
crucifixion,
you
could look to your Father for vindication.
You could cry out to him,
saying;
“Let
not those gloat over me
who
are my enemies without cause;
let not 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 gape at me and say, “Aha!
Aha!
With
our own eyes we have seen it.”
O Lord my Father,
you
have seen this happen to your own Son;
be
not silent.
Do
not be far from me, O Lord.”
Lord Jesus, even as I suffer
rejection,
as
those around me turn on me for my faith,
help
me to remember the words you spoke to
me:
Since no servant is greater
than his master,
as
they persecuted you,
so
they persecute me also.
But you have made your Father
known to me,
and
you continue to make him known,
in order that the love he has
for you, his own Son,
may
also be in me,
and
that you yourself may be in me.
Doubt and despair assail my
soul,
Awake,
and rise to my defence!
Contend
for me, my God and Lord.
Vindicate me in your
righteousness,
O
Lord my God;
do
not let these spiritual foes gloat over me.
Do not let them think,
“Aha, just what we
wanted!”
or
say, “We have swallowed him up.”
May all my spiritual enemies,
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 the angels and saints
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 speak of
your righteousness
and
of your praises all day long.
and of your
praises all day long.
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Psalm 35 Prayed
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