As I prepared to write this review of Psalm 35, I couldn’t help but think of Ally’s review of Psalm 140 a few weeks ago. I feel like Ally when she wrote, “It’s always a bummer when the Psalm schedule comes out and you get a hard Psalm. Not a sweet one ...” Like 140, Psalm 35 is a little hard and not so sweet. In verses 4 through 9, David calls on God to do some pretty ugly things to those who are persecuting him, and he’s sure that if God does so, his very soul will be able to rejoice. It seems that David is getting attacked from every side. But more than calling upon God for judgment of and deliverance from his enemies, he also longs for the opportunity to say to his soul, “I am your servant” (vs 3) and for his whole being to 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.” (vs 10).
So, for me, conviction #1 from Psalm 35: Do I remember in my own afflictions to acknowledge that I am called to serve God? Do I remember to praise Him for the fact that He is the source of my deliverance?
Psalm 35 reminds me that it’s okay to be bummed out (paraphrasing Ally) over life’s difficult circumstances. At the same time, I can be thankful that He’s sovereign over those circumstances and that He may in fact be orchestrating them to draw me closer to Him. Verse 22 strikes me as possibly the most poignant in the whole Psalm: “Do not be far from me, O Lord.” I’m not ashamed to admit that this verse draws me to tears.
Again, for me, conviction #2 from Psalm 35: What do I want most during times of aversity? Do I want deliverance more than closeness with my God? Is it possible that I can have one without the other?
I pray that God blesses us with relief from all that causes anguish. I pray even more that He draws us close to Him during our times of anguish.
- Lynn P.