Read
(A psalm by David.)
A Prayer for Protection
1Fight my enemies, Lord!
Attack my attackers!
2Shield me and help me.
3Aim your spear at everyone
who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.
4Let all who want to kill me
be disgraced
and put to shame.
Chase away and confuse
all who plan to harm me.
5Send your angel after them
and let them be like straw
in the wind.
6Make them run in the dark
on a slippery road,
as your angel chases them.
7I did them no harm,
but they hid a net
to trap me,
and they dug a deep pit
to catch and kill me.
8 Surprise them with disaster!
Trap them in their own nets
and let them fall and rot
in the pits they have dug.
9I will celebrate and be joyful
because you, Lord,
have saved me.
10Every bone in my body
will shout:
“No one is like the Lord!”
You protect the helpless
from those in power;
you save the poor and needy
from those who hurt them.
11Liars accuse me of crimes
I know nothing about.
12They repay evil for good,
and I feel all alone.
13When they were sick,
I wore sackcloth
and went without food.
I truly prayed for them,
14as I would for a friend
or a relative.
I was in sorrow and mourned,
as I would for my mother.
15I have stumbled,
and worthless liars
I don't even know
surround me and sneer.
16Worthless people make fun
and never stop laughing.
17But all you do is watch!
When will you do something?
Save me from the attack
of those vicious lions.
18And when your people meet,
I will praise you
and thank you, Lord,
in front of them all.
19 Don't let my brutal enemies
be glad because of me.
They hate me for no reason.
Don't let them wink
behind my back.
20They say hurtful things,
and they lie to people
who want to live in peace.
21They are quick to accuse me.
They say, “You did it!
We saw you ourselves.”
22You see everything, Lord!
Please don't keep silent
or stay so far away.
23Fight to defend me, Lord God,
24and prove that I am right
by your standards.
Don't let them laugh at me
25or say to each other,
“Now we've got what we want!
We'll gobble him up!”
26Disappoint and confuse
all who are glad
to see me in trouble;
disgrace and embarrass
my proud enemies who say to me,
“You are nothing!”
27Let all who want me to win
be happy and joyful.
From now on let them say,
“The Lord is wonderful!
God is glad when all goes well
for his servant.”
28Then I will shout all day,
“Praise the Lord God!
He did what was right.”
Reflect
I must have only been on my journey in ministry a few months when I started to feel the weight of looming judgment around me. People who I thought were my friends seemed to be waiting for me to trip up and do something wrong. It was as if they wanted to “catch me red handed” in some great sin so that they could justify why I shouldn’t be in ministry. You don’t have to wait for me to show you I am a sinner.
However, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. I felt much like David did as he describes his feelings here in Psalm 35. David feels as though people were just standing around waiting so they can say, “You did it! We saw you ourselves” (v 21). David was being treated with evil for the good things he was doing.
It’s almost as if we are poor innocent lambs and a lion is lurking in the bushes just waiting for us to trip up so it can pounce! I know how wretched my heart is, but I am so thankful that Christ has come in order that I could be blameless before God. Christ showed nothing but holiness and love, and yet he was repaid with evil, torture, malice, and ultimately death on the cross.
Because of what he did and because he rose from the dead we can say, “Great is the Lord.” We have a way even among our accusers to praise him all the day long.
Respond
Father, we know that outside of the blood of Christ we have much to be accused of. Thank you for the great salvation you have given us. Help us to remember your righteousness and praise you all the day long.
J. R. Bucklew
J.R. Bucklew is a visionary with ideas that are quickly becoming the standard in other parts of the world. Born a hearing child of deaf parents (CODA), his first language growing up was American Sign Language (ASL), and he still considers ASL his heart language. He has a strong desire for the Deaf community to know and understand the Word of God. This has allowed him to travel to many parts of the world, both ministering to and being an advocate for the Deaf. Prior to coming to Albuquerque, NM, JR and his wife ministered to the Deaf in Ethiopia. They started a Deaf church and opened a café that exclusively employed Deaf people. They also formed two sign language centers and helped train others to work with the Deaf. JR’s journey with Deaf Bible began in 2012 and is now President and visionary-lead of the Deaf Bible Society. JR also serves on the boards of several other Deaf ministries in the United States.